The world was covered in a blanket of silver.

When a region that is perpetually shrouded in thick clouds and never sees the sun is pierced by beams of sunlight illuminating this small area, it is completely reborn.

Xie Shuci lay on the snow with his head resting on his arms. He had grown up in the south and had almost never seen so much snow before, nor had he ever played in it so thoroughly.

He was breathing heavily, with the little blind man and the king sitting beside him. The powerful sunlight was all he could see, enough to dispel all the gloom in his heart.

At this moment, Ye Changxuan and the others had finished resting and stood neatly in the snow. They bowed to Xie Shuci and the others, saying, "Thank you so much for saving our lives, fellow Daoists. We will never forget it."

Xie Shuci was really going a bit crazy this time, so he waved his hand, indicating that they didn't need to do that.

Chu Guiyi accepted the greeting, returned the bow to everyone, and said, "Please don't take it to heart."

Ye Changxuan smiled and said, "Young Master Chu, now that your cultivation has been restored, you're likely to make a name for yourself in the Immortal Sect Selection in six months."

Chu Guiyi chuckled and said, "There are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people."

After listening to their pleasantries, Xie Shuci turned to look at Xie An.

The little blind boy quietly lowered his eyelashes, his figure almost blending into the silvery snow on the ground, so pure and holy.

Xie Shuci disliked him like this, always feeling that there was an invisible and insurmountable chasm between him and this little blind man.

Then Xie Shuci had a sudden inspiration. He sat up, dug a hole in the snow in front of Xie An, rubbed the damp soil between his fingertips, and then looked at Xie An with ill intent.

The latter had no idea what he was thinking.

Xie Shuci squatted down in front of him and touched Xie An's cheek with his mud-covered fingers. "Little blind man, there's something on your face. Let me wipe it off for you."

Xie Shuci offered a plausible excuse.

However, as soon as his hand approached, Xie An grabbed it.

Xie An slightly lifted his eyelids, a faint smile playing on his lips. "What do you want to do?"

"Oh, no, I just saw some dirt on your face and wanted to wipe it off for you."

Xie An pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.

"Quick, let me wipe it for you."

Once Xie An loosened his grip, Xie Shuci immediately wiped the dirt off his fingertips.

The cool mud clung to Xie An's cheeks, and he instinctively reached out to wipe it away, but Xie Shuci immediately pressed his hand down, saying, "It looks good, it looks good like this."

Xie An didn't speak, but rubbed his right hand against Xie Shuci's palm, then smeared the dirt on Xie Shuci's forehead. "Looks good?"

"nice!"

Chu Wenfeng rolled his eyes. "Xie Shuci, can't you act like an older brother?"

"What do you know?" Xie Shuci snorted.

Before long, the group set off to leave the snowfield.

Xie Shuci was too lazy to move, so he had the Great King transform back into the form of the Crimson Snow Wolf and lay on its back, dozing off.

The current environment made him feel extremely safe. Listening to the sound of his footsteps crunching on the silvery snow, Xie Shuci gradually fell asleep.

"What are your plans..." Deng Changqing turned to the group and said.

"Shh!" Chu Wenfeng put his hand to his lips, gesturing for silence, and then pointed to Xie Shuci on the back of the Crimson Snow Wolf.

Deng Changqing was taken aback, then nodded knowingly and turned his head back.

The group walked silently through the snow for about half an hour.

As they stepped out of the dividing line of the snowfield, more than a dozen disciples in black robes suddenly sprang out from the waist-high grass beside them. They drew their swords and pointed them at the group, cursing, "Chu Guiyi, you bastard!"

As soon as the disciple finished speaking, he was suddenly met with dozens of glares, each one looking fierce and menacing, as if they wanted to devour him.

"Um……"

On the wolf's back, Xie Shuci was startled by the sudden sound. Perhaps he had a bad dream, he buried his head in the king's fur and whimpered softly like a puppy.

The disciple was stunned for a moment, seemingly not understanding why the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect and the Hehuan Sect were looking at him as if he had killed their entire family, even though he had only cursed Chu Guiyi.

Perhaps sensing Xie Shuci's unease, the king immediately stopped and dared not move, for fear that he might accidentally wake Xie Shuci.

Xie An glanced at his disciple with a gloomy expression, then walked to Xie Shuci's side and patted him on the back reassuringly.

Chu Guiyi and Chu Wenfeng frowned, glanced at Xie Shuci, and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he had not been awakened.

"Chu Gui..." A disciple with no sense of propriety spoke again, but after only two words, a whip lashed out from a distance, knocking him unconscious.

Chu Guiyi said softly to everyone, "Take Shuci and go first, I will catch up."

Chu Wenfeng gave the Sun family disciple opposite him a warning look, made a gesture to the others, and walked forward.

Deng Changqing glanced back, tiptoed to Chu Wenfeng's side, and asked in a low voice, "Won't something happen if we leave Young Master Chu there alone?"

Chu Wenfeng glanced at the wolf's back and, seeing that Xie Shuci hadn't been disturbed, said to him, "No, all the disciples of the Sun family combined are no match for my senior brother. Besides, if we fight them, Xie Shuci will definitely be woken up. He's even more timid than a wind-eared snake. He must have suffered a lot of shock this time, and his spiritual energy has been severely depleted. Let him sleep a little longer."

Deng Changqing nodded, then suddenly remembered something, smiled shyly, and said, "Well... he said last time that he wanted me to make it up to him... cough! I've thought about it carefully. Although I like women, if it's him, I might give it a try. After he wakes up, could you please pass on my message?"

Looking at Deng Changqing's shy and embarrassed expression, Chu Wenfeng felt his stomach churning. After a moment, he pushed Deng Changqing forward and said, "Ugh... Get out of here."

Deng Changqing: "..."

At the same time, Chu Guiyi retracted his whip and coldly glanced at the dozen or so Sun family disciples who were lying on the ground.

"You...you've recovered your cultivation?!" a disciple exclaimed in fear.

The disciples' faces drained of color as they recalled the time they had humiliated Chu Guiyi with Sun Xiaohu.

Chu Guiyi merely glanced at them indifferently, then put the Flying Bird Nine-Section Whip into her waistband and strode away.

"Waking up my friend comes at a price."

Everyone was suddenly stunned. The reason Chu Guiyi attacked them was not because he had looked down on them before, nor because he had insulted them. It was simply because their presence had disturbed his friends!

Whether in the past or present, Chu Guiyi has always regarded all the acts of humiliation they have committed against him as clowns and has never taken them to heart.

Ignoring them is more frustrating than killing them!

Xie Shuci slept very soundly.

Although he had a nightmare in the middle, in which the ghostly men grabbed his limbs and the earth ghosts roared in his ears, he tried to run but couldn't move at all. He was so anxious that he almost cried. Finally, he felt a familiar big hand cover his back, and the heavy thing on his body immediately disappeared.

Xie Shuci slowly opened his eyes and found that his forehead was itchy and there was a familiar fragrance of his sleeves near his nose.

He paused for a moment, and before him was a slender wrist gently wiping the dried dirt from his forehead.

"Xie An?" Xie Shuci murmured.

Xie An paused, then asked softly, "Did I wake you?"

Xie Shuci shook his head. His mind was still a little foggy from sleeping for so long. He sat down in the shade of a tree with only the little blind boy beside him. The others were resting not far away.

"How long have I been asleep?" Xie Shuci asked in a hoarse voice.

Xie An said, "Two hours."

Two shichen, that's four hours!

Xie Shuci jolted awake and sat up from the ground. The king, who was sleeping with his head on Xie Shuci's calf, was jolted to the ground by Xie Shuci's sudden movement and instantly woke up from his dream.

"Aww?" The king stretched out his paw and cried out in confusion.

Xie An asked, "What's wrong?"

"You...you just left like that?"

Xie Shuci stared blankly at his surroundings. They were clearly no longer in the snowfield. They were backed by the Tongtian Waterfall, with wisps of mist rising around them. In front of them was a deep canyon, and in the distance, mountain peaks were hidden in the white mist, rising like the spines of dragons, like a fairyland on earth.

Xie An asked, puzzled, "What?"

"Treasures! Treasures! There are so many treasures in the Immortal's Tomb, and we haven't taken any yet!" Xie Shuci said with deep sorrow.

Xie An: "..."

The dog tilted its head in confusion, "Woof?"

Isn't the baby's nest?

Xie Shuci had a particular fondness for tomb raiding novels during high school. The burial goods in those novels were all incredibly valuable, worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. And this was the tomb of the Water God! Who knows what treasures it might contain! Maybe he could just casually grab a couple of items and live a life of ease.

"Ugh, how am I supposed to sleep?!" Xie Shuci grabbed a handful of hair in frustration and lowered his head dejectedly.

Xie An pursed his lips helplessly.

"Shuci, you're awake."

"Are you a pig? You slept for two hours straight. If you don't wake up soon, we'll just leave you here and go back ourselves."

Xie Shuci looked up at Chu Guiyi and the other person who were slowly approaching with a mournful face.

"Are we just going back like this?" Xie Shuci asked.

“Yes, the purpose of Wen Feng and I coming here is the Qiankun Mirror,” Chu Guiyi nodded.

"Then... then you don't want to take any other treasures? Then I've come all this way for nothing! I almost lost my life and didn't even get a single treasure. What was the point of me coming in!"

Chu Wenfeng rolled his eyes and kicked the dog. "Can't you be a little more considerate? Isn't one little spirit beast enough for you to cherish?"

"Wow!" Yes, yes!

Xie Shuci pouted and said, "What treasure? It's just an extra mouth to eat. If we go back to the cultivation world, how dare I let it reveal its identity? Wouldn't I be courting death?"

"Awooo!" the king roared twice with great pride.

No way! I'll keep it safe!

Chu Guiyi pondered for a moment and said, "Shuci, Wenfeng and I need to leave first. It's too dangerous for you two to stay in the secret realm. Besides, I saw a pill manual in your pouch. Although I didn't look at it closely, I imagine it's no ordinary item."

"A manual on alchemy?" Xie Shuci was taken aback. He opened his small pouch and found the booklet at the bottom of a pile of bottles and jars.

"This? I found this in a pit." Xie Shuci took the booklet, patted off the dust, looked at the gold-threaded cover, and read out the gilded characters on it: "Investiture of the Gods, Elixir, Manual? What is this? It looks like the Investiture of the Gods."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guiyi took the book from his hand in surprise, flipped to a page, glanced at it quickly, and then smiled: "Shuci, the Conferred God Pill Manual was written by a very mysterious alchemy family within the Floating Pagoda Realm. This small book records the methods for refining many rare pills. To this day, apart from the Conferred God Pill Manual, there is no other clue to prove that this legendary alchemy family actually exists. Even the immortal disciples within the Floating Pagoda Realm have only heard of their name but never seen them in person."

Xie Shuci's eyes lit up. "So, it's a treasure?"

Chu Guiyi nodded: "Of course."

"A treasure?" Chu Wenfeng sneered. He flicked his wrist, and a Green Dragon Crescent Blade appeared out of thin air in his palm. "Do I have such a treasure?"

"Holy crap!" Xie Shuci's eyes widened immediately upon seeing it. "What kind of move is that? So cool!"

"This knife... is so cool!"

Compared to the unappealing alchemy manuals, the broadsword held considerable appeal for a passionate young man like Xie Shuci.

Chu Wenfeng raised his chin triumphantly, "The Green Dragon Crescent Blade, one of the divine weapons, there is only one in the world."

Xie Shuci touched the blade, looking envious. "What a fine weapon! But it looks so familiar."

"Ah! I remember now, isn't this the one Chu Yezhao is holding?"

"That's right, from now on, this will be my weapon."

Seeing how cocky he was, Xie Shuci was itching to get his hands on him.

Cold weapons are a man's romance. What man doesn't want a weapon of his own? Even if he doesn't use it for fighting, it's good to show off. What's the use of alchemy manuals? Just for refining pills. It sounds no different from eating and drinking.

"Nothing special." Xie Shuci rolled his eyes and picked up the king from his feet. "So what if you have a big sword? You still have to fight yourself. I have the king, who can run, jump, and fight."

The king stuck out his tongue in a cute but fierce way.

Chu Wenfeng gave him a cold glance and immediately put the crescent blade away. "You're just jealous."

"Pah! I'm jealous of you? Your Majesty, bite him!"

"Awooo! Awooo!" I'll bite you to death, I'll bite you to death!

Chu Wenfeng flicked the king's forehead with a half-smile, "Bite me?"

"Aww!"

After the two argued for a while, Ye Changxuan and the others found the group.

"Fellow Daoists, are you ready?"

"Did you all go back too?" Xie Shuci asked.

"Yes, our original purpose in coming here was just to gain experience. We need to return to the sect and report to the sect leader as soon as possible what happened in the Immortal's Tomb."

Deng Changqing echoed, "That's right. Young Master Xie, Young Master Chu, if you ever need the Xiaoyao Sect's help in the future, I will definitely do my utmost to assist you."

"Alright, alright, we're all friends who've been through thick and thin together. If anyone bullies me in the future, you'll have to help me get revenge."

Chu Guiyi chuckled and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, saying, "I will never forget my trip to the Dragon Fang Secret Realm."

Xie Shuci imitated him, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, and said, "Gentlemen, if you become rich and powerful, do not forget us!"

“Passing through the waterfall will take you back to the cultivation world,” Ye Changxuan said.

Xie Shuci put the booklet back into his small pouch, picked up the king, and led Xie An to the waterfall.

Chu Guiyi reminded him, "Shuci, the secret realm only allows cultivators to enter and exit. You need to cover Young Master Xie with your spiritual power to take him out with you."

"Oh, okay."

Xie Shuci grasped Xie An's left hand, which was hanging by his side, and gradually spread his spiritual power over Xie An's body until he was completely enveloped.

Upon reaching the waterfall, Xie Shuci suddenly stopped and looked at the bewildered king in his arms.

"Your Majesty, I'm going back to the cultivation world. Are you really sure you want to come back with us?" Xie Shuci's expression became complicated.

The king was only three months old and did not understand that the place it was about to go was a very dangerous and cruel place for it. Almost everyone wanted its life and the inner core inside its body, and Xie Shuci had no confidence that he could protect it.

"Aww!"

Thinking it was about to be abandoned, the king anxiously scratched at Xie Shuci's clothes with its paws and even grabbed it with its teeth, afraid that Xie Shuci would let it go here.

Although it was reluctant to part with Grandpa Tree and Grandma Earth, they said they would come looking for it again! It had finally found its father, and it didn't want to be separated from him.

Seeing his hesitation, Xie An began to speak: "How about..."

Seeing that the human he always disliked was speaking up for him, the king looked at him with gratitude, thinking, "You helped me persuade Diedie, so I won't go against you anymore!"

Xie An said calmly, "Why don't we just leave it here?"

Big. Baby. Wang: "..."

It immediately bared its teeth at the human, as if to say, "I may not be human, but you are a real dog! How could you leave your poor, helpless, orphaned little thing here? You have no heart."

Faced with the king's threat, Xie An lowered his eyes and took a step back without saying a word.

Xie Shuci pinched the king's cheek. "Your Majesty, you mustn't be mean to him!"

"Ouch!" The king angrily buried his head in Xie Shuci's arms, feeling utterly biased QAQ.

“Xie An, you too! How old is it? How could you leave a dog here like this?” Xie Shuci said.

"Awooo!" Yes! Diedie, quickly yell at him! Even though I'm not a dog...

Xie An frowned and said, "I just didn't want to put you in a difficult position."

Xie An was not in a good mood when he said this.

Xie Shuci couldn't stand seeing him like this, as if he had suffered a great injustice. "It's okay, I wasn't blaming you, don't be angry."

Your Majesty: "?"

You scolded him! How could you try to comfort him?

Xie An looked up and smiled at Xie Shuci.

That smile almost touched Xie Shuci's heart. What an understanding and patient little blind man he was! How could he be mean to him?

The King: "..."

Humans, so cunning!

Chu Guiyi, standing behind the two, couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing this, saying, "Shuci, the inner core that is born is different from that cultivated later. In addition, the Crimson Snow Wolf can transform into the size and shape of an ordinary house dog at will, regardless of whether it has an inner core or not. As long as it doesn't transform into a human, almost no one can tell except for the great powers who have already ascended."

Xie Shuci asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Um."

If that's the case, it will be much simpler.

Xie Shuci lowered his head and said very seriously to the king, "From now on, no matter how critical the situation, you must never become human without my permission, understand? If you disobey, I will discard you at any time."

The king timidly wagged his tail, indicating that he understood.

"I'll do it." Xie An suddenly took the king out of his arms.

The king kicked his four legs, trying to protest, but clearly, the protest was ineffective.

Xie Shuci rubbed its head and said, "Brother Xie An likes you so much. You're not allowed to be mean to him anymore, okay?"

"Awooo! Awooo..."

He doesn't like her at all! He just doesn't want Diedie to cuddle with him! He just wants to have Diedie all to himself!

Xie Shuci, his companion, and their dog entered the waterfall. The rapids parted automatically to the sides the moment they entered, forming an oval-shaped passage.

As soon as Xie Shuci entered the waterfall, he felt a dizzying sense of weightlessness. If nothing unexpected happened, it was his Mother Earth welcoming him home with gravity.

However, this feeling only lasted for a moment. Xie Shuci let out a scream that caught in his throat. Before he could even shout it out, his feet hit the ground.

Suddenly stepping on the soft grass, Xie Shuci swayed for a moment, and only managed to stand still by leaning against Xie An's shoulder. Chu Guiyi and the others also appeared on the grass one after another.

"Oh no, I need to rest for a bit."

Xie Shuci waved his hand and simply sat down on the ground, rubbing his temples. This was too exciting, like riding a roller coaster for hundreds of meters in an instant.

Xie Shuci sat on the ground, looking up at the sky.

The day and night cycles are reversed in the cultivation world and the Dragon Fang Secret Realm; it is daytime in the Dragon Fang Secret Realm and nighttime in the cultivation world.

The entrance to the Dragon Fang Secret Realm hovers in the night sky like a slowly flowing Milky Way, becoming a beautiful sight in the vast night sky.

"Shuci, are you alright?" Chu Guiyi stepped forward and asked.

Xie Shuci shook his head, indicating that he was alright, and stood up from the ground with Xie An's help.

After bidding farewell to the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect and the Hehuan Sect, Xie Shuci, his three companions, and their dog returned to the Manjiang Hall.

Perhaps because all the cultivators in the city had entered the Dragon Fang Secret Realm, the city of Luofang at night, though lit up with lanterns, appeared quiet and desolate.

Xie Shuci knocked on the door of Manjiangtang. After a short while, a waiter wearing an overcoat and yawning came forward and opened the door from the inside.

"The shop is closed... Young master? You're back?" the waiter said excitedly.

"Shh!" Xie Shuci gestured for him to be quiet. "Don't disturb the others' rest."

"Yes, yes! Please come in." The waiter stepped aside to let the four of them, covered in dust from their journey, enter Manjiangtang.

Looking at the spacious hall, the warm candlelight contrasted sharply with the coldness of the tomb. Perhaps no one could imagine that they had all died once in just one day in the Dragon Fang Secret Realm.

"Would you gentlemen like to take a bath and change clothes?"

Chu Guiyi shook his head and said, "It's too late, let's do it tomorrow."

"Okay, please let me know if you need anything."

Xie Shuci and his companions didn't bother the waiter, intending to return to their rooms to rest first and discuss anything else tomorrow. As they reached the upper floor, Xie An suddenly reached out and blocked their way, glancing sideways and saying, "Someone's here."

Xie Shuci's breath hitched, and he unconsciously slowed his pace.

Xie Shuci had mastered spiritual power to the point of complete control; he could walk silently by simply covering the soles of his feet with a thin layer of spiritual power.

As I walked into the corridor, sure enough, I heard two sets of footsteps ahead.

"Young master, are you sure this is really the house?"

"I'm sure. I scouted the place during the day, and the clothes inside are indeed those of the alchemist."

Another person hesitated and said, "Is this a good idea? After all, he's a disciple of the Floating Pagoda Realm. What if we steal his things..."

"Are you stupid! That alchemist has already gone into the secret realm and won't be back for seven days. How would he know we took it? Besides, I didn't take anything valuable from him!"

"What do you want from him?"

A strange voice suddenly entered from above, and the two of them didn't think much of it at first.

"Are you stupid? That Dan Xiu is a homosexual, always having a handsome blind man by his side. Is it just because he's good-looking? Isn't it because he's lusting after his body? I don't believe that nothing happened between them living in the same room! If I get any evidence, I'll write it into a story, and it'll definitely become popular in the cultivation world!"

The voice above him was now almost clenched through gritted teeth: "Oh? What kind of story are you planning to write?"

"What storybook? I've already thought of a title: 'The Untold Stories of a Reclusive Alchemist and His Male Concubine'... But it seems a bit too juicy. I heard that the alchemist was professing his love to a disciple of the Free and Unfettered Sect just a couple of days ago. Clearly, one male concubine isn't enough for him! I've decided to change it to..."

The person next to him seemed to notice something was wrong, and poked his shoulder with a livid face.

"What are you doing? My mind is flowing like a spring right now, don't bother me!" He glared at the person next to him. "In my opinion, how about calling it 'The Romantic Affairs of a Pill Cultivator'? A weak pill cultivator raises countless powerful male concubines, how exciting... and then there's a big twist at the end, the pill cultivator is taken down by the male concubines he raised... enjoying the pleasures of love every day..."

"Young Master..." The voices of those around him were already trembling.

"Shut up! I've finally found inspiration, and after writing storybooks for half my life, I finally feel like I've made it through!"

He had barely finished speaking when a sinister voice came from above:

"You've not only made it through, you've reached the very end, Your Majesty—bite him!"