After dawn, Yun Xian opened his eyes and found that Ji Rongxue was no longer on the boat.

She had been lying outside all night, her whole body aching. She drowsily lifted the blanket and asked, "Is he gone?"

"She's gone." Su Chi, not knowing if he'd been on guard until now, leaned against the side of the boat and said, "She asked me to give this to you."

Yun Xian reached out to take it, and smiled when he got it.

In his hand was a solid ball of brown lion fur, soft yet not loose. Ji Rongxue's fur wasn't long to begin with, and he didn't know how long it had taken him to pull out this little ball. It wasn't big, barely even covering his palm.

An image suddenly surfaced before Yun Xian's eyes. Every time Ji Rongxue felt impatient or hesitant, she'd start plucking the fur from her tail. Should she trust him? To trust... To not trust... To trust... After a few months, the fur ball was ready.

"Looks like the young lady's fur is shiny and not split at all, so she might as well make a fur ball as good as a snow lion." Yun Xian smiled and put the brown lion fur ball into his storage ring, separating a small corner for it. "The collar on the headmaster's uniform is all snow lion fur, so it's time to replace it."

Lifting the blanket, the air was filled with the cool fragrance of Ji Rongxue's body. Yun Xian moved her legs, which had been numbed by the pressure, and the two of them rolled out. She quickly grabbed Qiao Lingshan's head, while Feng Ye bumped his head against the wall of the boat, instantly waking up in pain: "Who?! Someone is attacking!!"

Everyone woke up, but Qi Zhiye fell asleep, still holding the wine jug, and now his whole body reeked of alcohol.

After a day and a night, the treasure ship was about to leave the territory of the Body-Tempering Sect and arrived at Xiaoshi Town. The seal on the residence of the previously exterminated cultivator had been removed, and a lot of stuff was piled at the door, indicating that a new resident had moved in.

Qiao Lingshan said drunkenly, "So soon...? Don't you think it's a little... a little bad?"

If there were any spirits lingering around, Yun Xian and his companions would have discovered them long ago. While there were indeed no spirits, for ordinary cultivators, this was still considered a haunted house. No one would live here if they had no other choice.

Xue Lingxiu drank a lot of wine, but when she woke up in the morning, she was still dressed neatly, changed her clothes, and even re-tied her hair crown. She said, "That's the Taoist priest."

Yun Xian took a look and saw that the person coming in and out was indeed a young Taoist priest. He was immediately speechless: "Very good, very good."

Every profession has its own specialty. I'm in this business, so why should I be afraid of a haunted house?

The group left Little Stone Town along the same route they had come. On the way, they knocked open a number of ice sculptures frozen on the street. A monk jumped out of one, still smelling the familiar cornmeal. "Oh my god! I'm freezing! Why is the weather getting colder?!"

Qiao Lingshan thought, fortunately the young lady's accent is not heavy. Otherwise, the word "cold and beautiful" would have nothing to do with her.

"Hey, aren't you guys going a bit too far?!" Jiang Lancui had spent the entire night in the fishing nets, smelling the aroma of wine and coriander, and even had a silence talisman put on him, with no one paying any attention to him. Now, he finally found his chance and shouted angrily, "I said I'm not going back to Qiankun City! Why did you insist on taking me back?"

"Senior Jiang Fengtian said he wants to take you back." Yun Xian said, "If you have any dissatisfaction, go find your father."

"Why do you have to use this method to bring me back?" Jiang Lan asked gloomily, "Can't I just stand?"

Yun Xian said, "Of course. But your movements are too graceful, too handsome, and too cunning. I'm afraid I won't be able to stop you if you escape. This is a last resort. Brother Lan Cui, please forgive me a little."

Jiang Lan's voice suddenly fell silent: "..."

Feng Ye said weakly: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, your thoughts are really easy to guess."

"Who are you? When did you get here?" Jiang Lancui struggled hard again. "Let me out! I promise I won't run away. Okay? I'm warning you not to be ungrateful. Do you understand how valuable my promise is?!"

Understand, of course I don’t understand.

Apart from the Jiange trio, who else here is short of money?

But under Jiang Lancui's strong protest, Yun Xian still released the fishing net and pulled him onto the deck.

Yun Xian and his group were heading towards Qiankun City, and the journey would still take two days.

"Be careful," Jiang Lan urged as they went up to the deck. Her tone was much better. She wiped the snow off her body and said coldly, "Even if we are both going to Qiankun City, I will part ways with you when we reach the city gate. I won't go in with you."

Yun Xian: "Why?"

"How long do you think the news will take to spread? Especially with a behemoth like the Body Refining Sect. I'm afraid all four realms know by now. The successor isn't Qiu Dan or Qiu Zhuo; both are dead. Instead, the unexpected Ji Rongxue has taken the throne. Add to that the Nan Ronghong incident, and everyone involved is in the spotlight. I think it's not just that Miss who's busy for the next month or two; you'll be busy too." Jiang Lan urged indifferently, "Attracting attention isn't a bad thing for you, but it could be fatal for me."

Feng Ye suddenly realized: "So you are the leader of the assassins."

Qiao Lingshan: “I can’t tell at all.”

Jiang Lancui was so angry that she said, "...Shut up! You guys are really annoying!!"

Evil will be punished by evil. Feng Ye and Qiao Lingshan were talking to him, while Yun Xian was huddled in the corner of the boat, looking like he was thinking about something.

Su Chi asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Yun Xian said solemnly, "I'm thinking about something very profound."

First, there was the demonic book. The book reminded her of "Pure Love Witch Hot," the one in her storage ring that had been misplaced thousands of miles away. Where had this book come from? While she'd considered the possibility of Chi You's ruse... this was clearly a faction opposed to Chi You. Given Yun Xian's personality, it would be strange if she didn't oppose Zhong Changyao. But what was this "side"?

Secondly, she had a vague suspicion that Zhong Changyao might have a book similar to hers. Zhong Changyao's daily behavior didn't seem like someone who could become a king. He was impulsive and inflexible. Aside from his overflowing luck and the various beauties who inexplicably flocked to him, Yun Xian couldn't see any other good qualities in him.

But Zhong Changyao always had a mysterious confidence. It was as if the whole world was in his hands, and he was bound to succeed. Naturally, Yun Xian couldn't rule out the possibility that this was just his nature. After all, there were many male cultivators like him in the world of cultivation. But what if he really had that book in his hands?

So here comes the question.

How was this sequence arranged? Did luck converge on him first, and then the book appeared, or did the book appear first, and then luck arrived? The meanings of these two situations are completely different.

Of course, there is still a question, that is, what kind of sword the eldest brother uses, and whether his original body is also so graceful. However, Yun Xian was afraid of being dragged into practicing sword for another two hours, so he decided not to ask for the time being.

"Oh, right." Yun Xian stretched his neck and asked, "Fellow Daoist Jiang! I heard that you and Zhong Changyao are friends?"

She still remembered what Shu Jiuwei had said before, that Jiang Lancui and Zhong Changyao were as close as brothers, arm in arm, drinking and causing trouble.

Jiang Lan urged, "Zhong Changyao?"

"Yes," Yun Xian described him. "He's the guy who's very thin and short, looks miserable, has extremely weak kidneys, holds a tattered jade water sword, and makes you want to slap him in the face whenever he speaks. Zhong Changyao!"

Everyone: “…”

There are too many hidden agendas! No matter how annoying Zhong Changyao is, he shouldn't do this!

"It seems there is such a person." Jiang Lan recalled for a long while before saying nonchalantly, "We can't really be considered friends. We just drink together occasionally. Drinking doesn't matter who you drink with. What's more, he likes to pay the bill. I wonder if he thinks money is too hot to handle."

"Do you remember Shu Jiuwei?" Poor Zhong Changyao, his love was misplaced. Yun Xian said, "She was there when you went to the demon tribe to assassinate the elder."

Jiang Lancui was getting annoyed by the questions: "If I have to remember every task, will I still be able to do other things?"

Yun Xian didn't ask any more questions. He couldn't get anything out of him anyway, but he still wanted to say, "Brother Lan Cui, are you really not considering changing the name of the Assassin's Organization? Thirteen Spices, that really sounds like a barbecue restaurant, and not one that's particularly delicious."

Feng Ye: "That's right."

Jiang Lan urged, "Get out of here!!! And don't call me Brother Lan Cui. We can't even tell who's older, sister!!"

Two days passed in a flash, and the group watched the scenery outside the window change from a snowfield to a wasteland. The snow in the far north was left behind the ship, gradually disappearing and could no longer be caught up.

Although winter had already arrived, the snow outside the city was gentler than the snow at the Body-Building Sect. The wind wasn't as harsh, no longer whistling enough to rip a layer of skin off a person's face. Yun Xian could vaguely see the bright lights and endless colorful signs of Qiankun City, as if it were a world away.

I have only been in the Body Strengthening Sect for nearly a month, and now seeing the green Qiankun City, I really feel uncomfortable.

Qiankun City is not like spring all year round, but the landscape plants that grow in this city are all very valuable and cost a lot of money to maintain. Some of them have fallen flowers all year round, let alone the four seasons of green.

As they were about to enter the city gate, Jiang Lan covered her face and said briefly, "We'll meet up there then." She put two fingers in front of her lips and with a "bang" on the boat, she disappeared out of thin air in an instant!

As expected of an assassin, he actually possesses such skills! Yun Xian was shocked: "Big Brother! This move is so cool! I want to learn this too!!"

Su Chi pointed to the side of the boat, Yun Xian stretched his head to look, and saw Jiang Lancui slowly crawling in a blind spot under the edge of the boat.

Su Chi: "Do you still want to learn?"

Yun Xian was silent: "...No. Qingyan's music notes are quite good."

Qiankun City is still as bustling as ever. With the arrival of winter, business-minded vendors have replaced their tea stalls with noodle shops, set up formations to ward off the cold, and also have food like small hot pots. People sit in a circle outside, eating enthusiastically, sweating profusely, and the aroma spreads for miles, making passers-by greedy.

Yun Xian showed the pass and entered the city.

As the treasure ship approached, everyone looked up in unison. When they saw Yun Xian and his group rowing at the bow, they could not hide the shock in their eyes. Their gazes followed the ship, and some even dropped their chopsticks to the ground with a clatter, and they almost forgot to pick them up.

No way, was the news really that fast? Yun Xian coughed twice and said pretentiously, "That's not necessary, that's not necessary. Everyone, just take a look. If anyone wants an autograph, just tell me! Don't crowd, everyone gets a share!"

Those people's eyes moved, as if they finally reacted, and said happily:

"Look! This guy is driving a boat on the ground! He's even driving it all the way in from the city gate!!"

"There's actually a fishing net? Are you serious? Hey, fellow Daoist, where are you going to fish? The lakes in the city are all frozen over! Are you going to lie on the ice and catch carp?"

"How can you be so funny and serious! Haha, hahahahaha!!"

Yun Xian: “…………”

She turned around with a gloomy face, and saw that the entire bow was empty except for her. Feng Ye, who had been standing next to her, now quickly squatted down with his head in his hands. His reaction was quite quick. Yun Xian gritted his teeth and said, "What's wrong with you guys?"

We can only share the good times but not the bad times, right?

The treasure ship had been sailing on the snowy plains for so long that she had gotten used to it and had forgotten there was anything wrong with it running on land.

Xue Lingxiu felt humiliated and said helplessly, "When I go back this time, I'll go to the auction house and get you a carriage. Can you stop thinking about this boat?"

"No!" Yun Xian said angrily, "Everyone, come out!"

“…”

Xiao Yuan was feeling very uncomfortable in the Xuanbao Pavilion, not knowing where to put her legs, when her masked subordinate hurried up and whispered something into her ear.

"What? Yun Xian is here?" Xiao Yuan was about to run away, "Then I'll go down and greet him right away—"

Xiao Wu: "Welcome what?"

Xiao Yuan was already halfway up, and said confidently: "My niece is back, and I'm afraid she's lost."

Xiao Wu said, "Sit down."

Xiao Yuan: “…”

What to do, her butt seemed to have its own consciousness. She sat down in an instant.

"Master, I also think it's best if you don't go down." The subordinate recalled the toe-tickling scene and said speechlessly, "Master Xue was dragged around the streets in a boat. Now his face is red and he wants to cover his face with a folding fan."

What hatred or grudges? Yun Xian was beaming with joy, but the other people's faces were not so impenetrable. Now they were red and black, looking quite wonderful.

The Xuanbao Pavilion was silent as subordinates ushered someone in. Xiao Yuan, wearing a bamboo hat, still held himself in high esteem in front of the younger generation. He said, "Sister, you and Xiaoyun can chat, so I won't interrupt. I just have something else to do..."

"Is there something else?" Xiao Wu said impeccably, "Once you disappear from my sight, I won't be able to find you for at least three years. Say it again, sit down, and don't force me to beat you up."

Jiang Fengtian sat by the window, holding the knife, and laughed out loud in a rough voice: "Ha!"

A voice came from downstairs, and soon, Yun Xian and a group of people rushed up and asked, "Mother! How is Senior Nan now?"

Su Chi looked at Xiao Wu and nodded, "Master's Wife."

"Are you back? How's Xiao Ji doing? I heard the news. Thank you for your hard work." Xiao Wu skillfully took the call from Yun Xian, who was thrown at him like a cannonball, and said, "Rong Hong is recovering from her injuries now."

"Recovering from injuries?" Xue Lingxiu bowed to everyone present before saying, "Did they send it to Xinglin Pavilion? There's no smell of medicine here."

"There's no need for medicine," Xiao Wu said. "Her body is completely shattered, her meridians are severed, and no medicine is effective. She's beyond saving."

Everyone paused. Xiao Wu took out a small clay figurine from his arms and said, "For now, I can only nurture her consciousness here temporarily while I wait for the elders of Xingyan Sect to come and remake her body, or I can go to the demon tribe and obtain the precious spiritual flesh ginseng and make another one for her."

The small clay figurine was placed on the wooden table and began to move with difficulty. Nan Ronghong's voice rumbled from inside, "Is everything here? Yun Xian, can you help me take a look at what this clay figurine looks like? I asked Xiao Wu, but she refused to tell me. I suspect she's up to something again."

Yun Xian said honestly, "Aunt Nan, you only have three hairs on your body right now, and they're all on your head."

The clay figure flew towards Xiao Wu's head with unimaginable agility and speed: "...Xiao Wu!!!"

“…”

After playing around for a while, Yun Xian almost understood how to solve this problem.

Nurturing the spirit takes time, but this is the worst option. You can't keep your spirit inside a clay figurine forever. Xiao Wu mentioned two options. One is to seek out the elders of the Xingyan Sect. They can use formations within formations to forcibly connect the spirit to a humanoid body. The advantage is that you can choose the material—black iron, wood, cotton, whatever you want—and even have the head rotate backwards. But the disadvantage is that if something unexpected happens and the formation suddenly stops working, the body will be useless. The other option is to seek out the demon clan for soul-flesh ginseng. The body formed from soul-flesh ginseng is indistinguishable from a human body, requiring all cultivation to start over from scratch, equivalent to being reborn and living again. However, the highest level of cultivation is limited to the Spirit Severing stage.

For Nan Ronghong, the second option was naturally the best. Although the spiritual ginseng's cultivation was limited, she had originally been shackled to the Out-of-Body Stage due to the medicinal pill. Now she had the opportunity to break through to the Spiritual Stage, which was much better than before.

"The problem now," Xiao Wu said, "is how to snatch the spiritual flesh ginseng."

Everyone: “…”

Qi Zhiye said silently: "Why do you use the word 'grab' directly?"

Xiao Wu said: "Because the demon tribe will definitely not give it to me."

This kind of rare treasure is no different from a second life. How could it be given to a human with whom we have no relationship?

Yun Xian fell into deep thought.

"No rush. It will take a long time to warm up the soul anyway." Xiao Wu said slowly: "We can discuss this matter in the long run."

Seeing Xiao Yuan fidgeting, Yun Xian said, "Mom, this..."

"Don't worry about her." Xiao Wu laughed and said to Xiao Yuan, "You entertain them first. Yun Xian and I have something to talk about."

The two of them came to a small room. Xiao Wu lit the talisman fire and confirmed that there were no ears on the wall before asking, "Have you seen that thing?"

"What 'that thing'... I saw it and killed one of its clones, but before it left, it kept chattering away. It was really annoying." Yun Xian hesitated, "But isn't its name Chi You?"

Xiao Wu said indifferently, "Why call me something so nice? Just call me whatever sounds awful. Coward, big rotten devil, loser... as long as the meaning is conveyed."

Yun Xian thought about it and felt that it made a lot of sense.

Calculating the Sword Immortal era, this demon must be at least three or four thousand years old. Even after three or four thousand years, he still hasn't developed a brain capable of calculating everything, or even letting everyone catch him in his tracks. But whether he's smart or not is determined by fate, and she's not smart either, so she doesn't blame him too much in that regard—it's just that this demon has lingered on for so long, only daring to stir up trouble at the end of his life, bullying children with his age and engaging in pyramid schemes. How can this be described as cowardly?

"Back then, it wielded a sword, and so did the Sword Immortal. The former held a demonic sword, the latter a spiritual sword. They engaged in a terrifying battle in the Eastern Realm—you know what happened next." Xiao Wu continued, "The demonic sword Taiping was suppressed within the Sword Pavilion. After thousands of years of cleansing, the sword's violent aura weakened. This demon somehow escaped its seal, and being severely injured, it continued to commit evil while recuperating."

The first target is obviously the Buddhist sect. After all, everyone knows about the Buddhist demon.

"Then why didn't it come to Jiange?" Yun Xian had just made up his story last time, but now he had a vague feeling that he might have been right. "Could it be because it's really afraid?"

Xiao Wu looked at Su Chi, who was waiting with his eyes lowered. He did not make a final conclusion, but said, "The sword used by the Sword Immortal back then was a sword made of innate black iron. It was plain and simple, but unfortunately, it did not give rise to a sword spirit until the end."

"The Sword Immortal ascended, leaving the Black Iron Sword stuck at the foot of Jiange Mountain, untraceable. For countless generations and years, Black Iron witnessed the rise and fall of Jiange Mountain and witnessed the daily grind of the world. Until Yun Lang descended the mountain, he discovered the Black Iron Sword was gone. In its place, a young man, naive and unfeeling, had been found. Because he was so handsome, he was fed daily... But that's getting off topic. He wasn't sure, but he could only bring the man back to the mountain and accept him as his first disciple."

"So," Yun Xian said, "Big Brother, is this the Sword Spirit of the Sword Immortal's sword?"

"No." Xiao Wu said: "No."

"The sword spirit is essentially a spirit, derived from the sword and attached to the sword. However, Su Chi is the sword itself, not a spirit. Hmm..." Xiao Wu explained for a long time, then said simply and roughly: "You can also understand it as, your eldest brother is a piece of iron."

Yun Xian: “…”

Seeing Yun Xian's expression was not right, Xiao Wu wondered, "Is it that hard to accept? It doesn't make any difference whether he is iron or spirit."

"No, mother, you know what? My aunt looked at my astrology chart a while ago and said I was destined to have children, but I wouldn't be the one. I couldn't figure out how that worked, but now I see... it actually makes some sense." Yun Xian said with difficulty, "No way, my future child won't be a piece of iron, right?"

Knock off a piece of big iron and it becomes small iron.

No, this scene is too horrible! I can't think about it anymore!

She was still thinking, but Xiao Wu called her by her full name: "Yun Xian."

Hmm? There's murderous intent! Yun Xian immediately asked, "What's wrong, mother?"

"Can you explain it to me first?" Xiao Wu smiled and said, "How old are you? Why are you thinking about having a child with him?"

Yun Xian: “……!!!”