Chapter 366: The Mysterious Stone Stele

Chapter 366: The Mysterious Stone Stele

“Eh? Did you make this?”

Lin Nuo was a bit incredulous. He was quite picky about food, especially when it came to Meat Floss Cake, a pastry he adored; his standards were naturally higher, and not just any Meat Floss Cake could catch his fancy.

Surprisingly, the Meat Floss Cake made by Su Kexin actually suited his taste.

Moreover, there was a faint fragrance of peach blossoms within the cake, yet no peach petals in sight.

What kind of spice did she use? The flavor didn’t clash with the original taste of the Meat Floss Cake.

Typically, after eating Meat Floss Cake, one would feel a bit parched, craving some water to relieve it.

However, after chomping down on Su Kexin’s Meat Floss Cake, the thirst was surprisingly mild.

Sometimes, finishing a Meat Floss Cake would leave one guzzling loads of water, but Su Kexin’s creation managed to save on water consumption—a remarkable innovation!

What kind of baking technique and ingredients did she use? This piqued Lin Nuo’s curiosity.

Su Kexin nodded repeatedly:

“Yes, yes~ I know Senior Martial Brother loves Meat Floss Cake, so I learned to make it! I’ve practiced for quite a while and think I can present it now. What do you think, Senior?”

“Not bad.”

Lin Nuo was straightforward, finishing off the Meat Floss Cake right after.

Still wanting more.

“Is there any more?”

“I haven’t eaten mine; I can give it to Senior~”

“Thanks.”

Lin Nuo didn’t hold back, grabbing the leftover Meat Floss Cake from Su Kexin’s hand and biting into it.

Not bad! The floral aroma and the cake’s flavor complemented each other wonderfully, rather like icing on the cake.

While enjoying the Meat Floss Cake, one should ideally sip some refreshing water on the side. Perfect combination!

Too bad, though, there wasn’t any refreshing water.

Guess a sip from the mountain spring would have to do.

Lin Nuo scooped some spring water and took a sip.

Nice and sweet, definitely the taste from the river at Xuanyun Sect.

It reminded him that Mu Yiting made refreshing water from Tianling Mountain, which had a slightly different flavor from the local water—Tianling Mountain water was truly invigorating.

“Senior, if we follow the river, we should be able to return to Xuanyun Sect, right?” Su Kexin speculated.

“You decide,” Lin Nuo replied vaguely.

“Then it’s settled! We’ll walk upstream along the river.”

Su Kexin thought it was a good plan. After resting a bit, they’d continue on, surely they’d reach Xuanyun Sect this way.

Of course, they had no idea how long it would take.

This was the first time trekking up Tianling Mountain, and they were moving at a turtle’s speed. It would be dark soon.

If it gets dark…

Wouldn’t it be great to camp outdoors with Senior Brother?

Find a cozy little cave to stay the night, surrounded by the bright moon and twinkling stars, sitting by the river, starting a fire together, leaning on each other in the serene mountain wilderness, with fireflies dancing about as they gazed up at the starry sky.

How romantic!

Thinking that way, she actually hoped night would come faster.

By the river stood a rock, and they both sat down, leaning against it for a rest.

Of course, Su Kexin took the chance to lean against Lin Nuo, adjusting her white silk legs neatly, sitting upright.

Lin Nuo stole a glance with the corner of his eye.

He was no longer the villain who feared the main character; the best way to conquer fear was to face it. Since Su Kexin leaned against him, there was no need for him to specially avoid her; it felt more natural this way.

Seeing Lin Nuo didn’t move away, Su Kexin leaned in closer, even rubbing against his shoulder and laughing innocently.

“Hehe, it’s been a long time since I spent time alone with Senior Brother; this is a great moment~”

“Is it?”

“Of course! Does Senior Brother not think so~?”

“Then that’s good.”

If he were to choose, he preferred being alone; that way, no one would bother him.

“Senior Brother has been busy lately~ I wonder where you’ve been going for tasks?” Su Kexin asked curiously.

“Roaming about, going wherever there’s a need,” Lin Nuo replied, then countered, “What about you? Where have you been lately?”

“Uh… I haven’t gone anywhere, just went back to Zifeng Valley to cultivate,” Su Kexin pouted.

“Have you ascended to immortality yet?”

“Not yet! I don’t have that talent. If it weren’t for the kind favor of Elder Zhao Zhou, I wouldn’t even have been able to cultivate there; I’ve just been practicing some ordinary techniques.”

“You should return to Xuanyun Sect; Zifeng Valley isn’t suitable for you.”

Lin Nuo said plainly, without holding back at all. He was genuinely concerned, worried that Su Kexin might uncover some esoteric godly technique there, which would be catastrophic. At least at Xuanyun Sect, she remained at her beginner level while he was around.

“Yeah… I also think Zifeng Valley isn’t right for me. Such a waste of great resources. Sigh, Ruo’er is advancing faster than me.”

“What about Li Ruo’er?” Lin Nuo asked.

“Ruo’er fit right in at Zifeng Valley. The immortal beasts all listen to her, and she’s learned many immortal techniques and even mastered elixir-making—quite popular with the immortals!”

“That’s good.”

Lin Nuo was somewhat satisfied. Li Ruo’er was progressing well, gaining recognition in Zifeng Valley, and one day, she could become a pillar among the immortals. If she ever turned to darkness, it would deal a devastating blow to the immortals.

Li Ruo’er must walk the immortal path, and the immortal path was indeed like water to a fish, just like how Lin Nuo walked the demonic path.

“Senior Brother, how long have you been back at Xuanyun Sect?”

“For a while now, exact time unknown.”

“Senior Brother, when you’re at Xuanyun Sect, can you spend more time practicing with me?”

“Sure.”

Yes, he needed to see how she trained to prevent her from surpassing him too much.

“Mm-mm~ You’re the best, Senior Brother~”

Su Kexin giggled, nuzzling closer to Lin Nuo, hoping to bond with him a bit more.

After resting for a while, they continued on their path, and this time Su Kexin chose to walk upstream along the river.

Lin Nuo followed her, but as they walked, he sensed something was off.

This river didn’t flow down from the peak but rather emerged between two stone steles.

The distance between the two steles was just right for the river to pass through.

However, these two steles were odd—the front and back seemed fine, yet one had a river flowing before it, while the other had none behind it; it was as if they formed a unique space, bringing the river out with them.

The two steles emanated a dense aura and some faint luminescence.

“What’s going on, Senior Brother?”

Su Kexin noticed that the river had suddenly stopped flowing, with no visible source, but it continued to gurgle endlessly, leaving her confused.

“Could these two steles be creating the water source?”

Su Kexin wandered near one of the steles, where strange spirit runes were etched, which she couldn’t decipher.

Lin Nuo had never been here, so he didn’t know the situation either. He walked closer to the stele, examining the runes.

These weren’t uniform runes; they were a mix of various characters, and he could only understand a small portion.

He extracted some comprehensible information:

Sea Region, Dragon, Land, War.

What could this mean?