你这个杂鱼惹烦了！”
白枫满脸无奈，抬手挠了挠头：“真是……我这是在培养一个小恶魔吗？”
转身一看，身边的小伙伴们都兴奋得像是打了鸡血，个个都朝着天空指指点点。
“白枫哥哥，这次真的是修仙路要开了吧？”白羽茉眼中闪着星星，激动得几乎要跳起来。
“是啊，东洲的门要开了，你们准备好迎接仙界的到来了吗？”白枫干咳一声，故作严肃。
“等不及了，我还要去抢先占个好位置呢！”云月窈笑嘻嘻地拉着玉瑶，两人简直乐开了花。
“你们确定不是去打魔兽吗？”白枫无奈地摇头，心想这帮孩子们真的是，连仙路开了都还想着打打杀杀。
“我才不打呢，我可不想跟小九一样，做个野生狐狸！”玉瑶一脸认真，跟打了鸡血似的。
小九在一旁愤愤不平：“什么叫野生狐狸，本姑娘可是经过严格锻炼的好狐狸！”
“严谨训练的野生狐狸，哈哈哈！”白枫忍不住笑出声来。
“嘁，笑什么笑，我才不需要你评价！”小九撅着小嘴，向旁边飞去。
“别这么激动嘛，都是一家人。”白枫心里暗暗乐着，觉得这帮孩子真是一点都不让人省心。
于是，他抬头望向开着的仙路，心中默默祈祷，这次别再出什么幺蛾子。他思索着这些稀奇古怪的事情，突然感觉到了一种说不出的期待——这次的冒险，能不能给这帮小伙伴们点不一样的惊喜呢？
就在这时，铃兰飞回来，脸色有些红：“白枫，我……我去问巧巧了！”她气喘吁吁，脸上挂着朦胧的期待。
“问她什么？是不是减肥的秘诀？”白枫坏笑。
“怎么可能！我才不是在乎那些的！”铃兰连忙否认，却不自觉摸了摸自己的肚子。
“那我就放心了，毕竟你现在胖得跟个气球似的。”白枫调侃，惹得周围一阵哄笑。
“我真的是羽毛蓬松而已！”铃兰又开始反驳，脸上还是红红的，让人忍俊不禁。
在一片欢声笑语中，众人纷纷把目光投向即将开启的仙路，各自怀着各自的愿望，期待着新的冒险与机遇。
白枫忍不住感慨，或许，正是这些小伙伴们，让这条修仙之路变得更加有趣了。
【完结。】
“I’m so mad I can’t sleep! I’m heading back to the Celestial Realm, haha!”
Facing such an arrogant Incarnation of the Tao, Bai Feng wasn’t really angry; instead, he had a ton of questions to ask, like why the heck the Incarnation told him the timing was delayed, but in the end, he could only chuckle helplessly and said, “Goodbye, thanks.”
The Incarnation suddenly stopped laughing, looked at Bai Feng with pursed lips, and finally turned away, her voice dropping to a low whisper, “Goodbye.”
In the next moment, she vanished into thin air.
“…”
Bai Feng let out a light sigh. Although he had already expected the Incarnation of the Tao to return to her realm, he still felt a bit sad and uncomfortable when the day came. Especially since she had deliberately concealed the real timing of the opening of the path to immortality, not even giving him a chance to say goodbye.
Just as he was about to head back inside, a sudden scream pierced the air.
He turned around to find the Incarnation of the Tao, who was supposed to have returned to the Celestial Realm, now sitting awkwardly on the ground.
“Well…” The Incarnation noticed Bai Feng’s gaze and her lips twitched slightly, “The Tao saw that I developed feelings, so it rejected me. After pulling back the power of the Tao, it sent the mortal me back to the world of cultivation.”
Seeing Bai Feng walk closer and extend a hand, she quickly shielded her backside, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to call you a little fish; I just…”
Before she could finish, Bai Feng placed his hand gently on her head and stroked it, saying, “Welcome back.”
PS: It’s over, confetti time!
Extra: Little Fish, I Need Your Help to Cultivate
“So, you’re a mortal now?”
Bai Feng asked, watching the Incarnation of the Tao feasting at the dining table.
“Yep, absolutely real.” The Incarnation nodded after swallowing a mouthful of food. “But being a mortal is really troublesome. You have to eat, drink, and your body is weak, with hardly any power.”
“Just become a cultivator; you should be able to practice, right?”
“Of course! My talent is way better than yours, you little fish!” The Incarnation flashed a confident smile, “I’m the Incarnation of the Tao; there are no bottlenecks before me! I just lack Spirit Power!”
“Oh.”
“So,” the Incarnation fixed her gaze on Bai Feng, “little fish, I need your help to cultivate.”
“…But you’ve been calling me a little fish nonstop, sounding like you’re not willing; never mind, I don’t like to force people.”
“How dare you, a mere little fish, defy me! Do you remember how much I helped you when I was the system?” The Incarnation shot him a fierce glare, then her gaze shifted slightly as she muttered under her breath, “And besides, how did you hear I was unwilling?”
“Oh? What did you say?”
“Little Fish! Stinky Little Fish! I should have stuffed you with Luck Points back in the day! Weren’t you having a blast hitting me before? Why aren’t you brave now?”
Bai Feng looked at the Incarnation of the Tao, who kept calling him a little fish, and skillfully pressed her down onto his lap.
Darn annoying little girl, let me just deal with you…
“Little Fish!”
Huh? She still dares to keep calling?
“Little Fish, wake up! It’s time to get up.”
Bai Feng opened his eyes to see the Incarnation of the Tao sitting on his lap atop the blanket. No, she should be called Bai Yuan now. That name doesn’t hold any special meaning; she just spent some days coming up with a pretty name for herself.
“What? You, being a little fish, feel happy that your cute and powerful Incarnation of the Tao is personally waking you up?” Bai Yuan said, grinning with her little hands on her cheeks.
“Are you still not the Incarnation of the Tao?” Bai Feng retorted, “By the way, your skin seems to be getting thicker by the day!”
“What I said is the truth! Am I not cute?”
“…I still prefer when you were quietly sitting when we first met.”
“So, you like that little fish version of me? I can’t quite understand, but I can’t deny it either.” Bai Yuan’s smile faded, replaced by a serene expression like an otherworldly immortal as she looked down at Bai Feng. “It’s time to get up.”
“You change moods faster than a flipping pancake.”
I have to say, Bai Yuan’s ‘Incarnation of the Tao’ mode is pretty misleading; I fell for it back then and was completely blindsided, only to find out underneath was just a little girl prone to drama.
“After all, this was the state I was in before you made me develop feelings by upsetting me.” Bai Yuan leaned down gracefully, “But enough of that, today you are joining me for cultivation, in this state.”
Having once been Bai Feng’s ‘system,’ she knew exactly which perks she had given him. So, to catch up with Bai Feng and the others in cultivation level, she knew just what to do to speed things up.
Bai Feng looked at Bai Yuan, who resembled an ethereal fairy, and scratched his chin, “But I feel a bit hesitant to act with you in this state.”
Unlike her little fish persona, this one didn’t incite irritation; it left him wanting to ‘teach’ her a lesson.
“I understand.” Bai Yuan nodded, then with her innocent little mouth, she said something ominously, “Looking at me like this, don’t you want to… you know, bring me down from my high pedestal? To drag this untouchable fairy down to earth and have some… fun?”
“Wait a second! Don’t say strange things like that while looking like this!” Bai Feng’s lips curled; this former Incarnation of the Tao was unexpectedly suggestive. Who did she learn this from? “Where did you pick up these… colorful knowledge, including calling me a little fish?”
“From those pictures you drew.” Bai Yuan casually explained. “Particularly the ‘little fish’ term—I find it amusing and fitting for a slacker like you.”
“That was a bit personal, huh?”
“So, what do you think?” Bai Yuan leaned in, her expression divine and serious, “Little Fish.”
After staring at her for a few seconds, Bai Feng quickly pulled her into the blanket.
This is no ordinary little girl anymore; something must be done!
…
After their training session, Bai Feng yawned as he walked out of the bedroom. As for Bai Yuan… let her nap a bit longer.
“Big Brother, you’re up?” Bai Yu Mo poked her head out from the kitchen. “Just a minute; breakfast will be ready soon.”
“Thanks for the trouble.”
Bai Feng nodded, but instead of sitting at the dining table waiting for food, he grabbed cat food, fox food, and pigeon food, pouring them into their respective bowls.
“Little Snow, it’s time to eat.”
He sat on the couch with a bowl, glancing around but not seeing Little Jiu and Ling Lan. Little Jiu must be up all night gaming again, but where did that food-loving Ling Lan go?
Then he recalled how Ling Lan had been mumbling about gaining weight yesterday, saying that no matter how much she ate, her cultivation didn’t keep pace. She wasn’t seriously considering a diet, was she?
“Meow~~”
“Slow down!”
As Little Snow devoured her food, Bai Feng chuckled and rubbed her head. Even though Little Snow’s bloodline wasn’t pure, after eating cat food for so long, it no longer impeded her progress; she had already achieved the Refinement Stage.
“Ah…”
This little chapter isn’t over yet; please click the next page to continue enjoying the exciting content!
After Little Snow finished her meal, she stretched out her forelegs and body, her bottom sticking up high as she let out a comfortable yawn. The next moment, she transformed into her human form and opened her eyes to look towards Bai Feng.
Then she nestled closer, resting her arms on his legs, her head lazily lying on top, “Master, today Yu Yao said she needed to find you.”
“I’ll head over after I finish eating.” Bai Feng nodded, reaching out to rub her head.
“Okay, I’ll lead the way.” Little Snow nuzzled his palm, her long tail instinctively wrapping around his arm.
‘Lead the way? Why do I need a guide for such a short distance?’
Bai Feng could see Little Snow’s expectant expression and felt her motives were less than innocent.
He glanced at her tail, now coiled around his arm, and concluded her intentions were definitely not pure.
She used to sneak around when he was cultivating with Yu Yao, but now she wasn’t even pretending anymore.
“Big Brother, breakfast is ready.”
“Coming.”
…
Noon.
Bai Feng yawned. He had handed over most of the matters of Array Peak to his earnest disciples. Besides some major decisions requiring his say, he barely had to manage the daily affairs anymore.
So, he was enjoying his retired life in advance. Right now, he was leaning on the windowsill, feeding the little birds he raised. These birds would inform him about all sorts of happenings lately.
Though his hatred value had been cleared, and the Child of Destiny was no longer a threat, he didn’t plan to change the habit of keeping an ear to the ground; after all, it’s always good to stay informed.
After a while, he noticed a somewhat plump pigeon perched on the windowsill, staring blankly at the feed in his hand.
“What’s up? Want to grab some yourself?”
“No, I can’t continue to live such a decadent life.” The pigeon shook its head, then looked up at Bai Feng. “I realized being a pet has its limits. I learned one thing from my short pet life: no matter how much a pet cultivates, their progress remains slow, even while risking gaining weight by gobbling down pigeon food.”
“So you don’t want to be a pet anymore?” Bai Feng observed as Ling Lan transformed into her human form, gently rubbing her slightly rounder little face. “I have a few good job offers if you don’t want to be a pet…”
“No!” Ling Lan shook her head. “After asking Qiao Qiao multiple times, I finally found a method to enjoy pet life, lose weight, and speed up my cultivation all at once!”
“…”
Bai Feng had a feeling he could guess what she was about to say.
“Let’s train together!” Ling Lan extended her little hand onto his clothes, “Since you already touched me all over, I might as well go all the way! I’ve already claimed I’d be a pet, but you really are treating me like one!”
“…”
Is she reacting to Qiao Qiao breaking through to the Merging Stage?
Extra: The Alliance’s Leader of the Reversed Master and Apprentice
“Have you seen the latest Chun Qiu Monthly?”
“Of course! I’ve bought every issue since Teacher Chun Qiu started drawing.”
“Even though there are more and more artists after Teacher Chun Qiu shared her painting knowledge, I still miss her paintings!”
“Right? Without Teacher Chun Qiu, something feels amiss, like tofu pudding without sugar!”
“Ha, Central Continent person, I agree with your first point, but not the second; tofu pudding should be savory.”
“Shouldn’t tofu pudding just taste like tofu?” another person asked in confusion.
At that moment, another person walked over and halted their argument, “Stop bickering! Today, Teacher Chun Qiu released a compilation, collecting all her works from start to finish, and I’ve heard there are new pieces being released tomorrow!”
“What?!”
“Tomorrow?!”
“Oh no!”
“There’s definitely no good spots left!”
The three hurried to the nearest bookstore, but just as they expected, the entrance was packed with people.
As the trio lamented their lack of timely news, the man of the hour, Bai Feng, was jovially drinking with Lin Yan and Luo Chen.
“Don’t worry; your special edition of Chun Qiu has already been prepared for you,” Bai Feng said with a wave of his hand.
Lin Yan let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for you, Brother Bai. I know I should’ve been there to buy it myself, but I was busy refining pills the past few days. I only found out about this today, and by the time I get there, it’ll probably be too late.”
“Thanks, Brother Bai,” Luo Chen nodded, though his expression was clouded with worry, and his mood didn’t seem very high.
Before Bai Feng could ask, Lin Yan jumped in, “What’s wrong, Brother Luo?”
“I… I feel like my disciple is behaving a bit strangely.”
Bai Feng straightened up, leaning in slightly. “What do you mean?”
“At first, my disciple said she wanted to do something to repay my life-saving grace.”
“You turned her down?” Lin Yan asked.
Luo Chen shook his head. “Of course not! I’m not that inflexible. Besides, it was her sincere intention; not letting her express it would be bad for her cultivation. I asked what she wanted to do.”
“And then?” Bai Feng, now fully intrigued, pressed on.
“She knew her skills were lacking, so she said she wanted to help with some laundry or chores.”
“With your personality, you must’ve agreed,” Lin Yan chuckled.
Luo Chen nodded. “Exactly. Even though my clothes don’t really need cleaning, I couldn’t think of anything else for her to do, so I agreed.”
“Tell me you didn’t find her doing something weird to your clothes!” Bai Feng stroked his chin.
“Uhh… I don’t think so?” Luo Chen paused, starting to worry as he realized that his disciple always took the clothes home to wash.
As he pondered, Lin Yan urged, “What happened next?”
“After that, she kept piling on the chores to repay my life-saving grace until now, when I finish my cultivation and find her managing things in my cave!”
Bai Feng nodded thoughtfully, while Lin Yan clapped a hand on Luo Chen’s shoulder and asked, “Brother Luo, is that all you find strange?”
“But my disciple has been very sensible in what she’s doing…”
“Classic case of boiling a frog in warm water,” Bai Feng remarked. Luo Chen’s disciple had quite a high game; it was no wonder he hadn’t caught on sooner.
Speaking of which, he remembered that Luo Chen’s disciple was called Qiu Xi. She had been to Array Peak several times while Luo Chen was designing his cave’s array, and he had brought Luo Qianqian along to help out, letting her get familiar with advanced array construction. During that time, they had become quite close… wait a minute.
He seemed to have hit on something and immediately asked Luo Chen, “When did your disciple mention wanting to repay you?”
“Quite a while back, just as my new cave was being completed.”
Bai Feng: “…”
Could it be that Qiu Xi had someone guiding her from behind (referring to Luo Qianqian)?
Meanwhile…
“Not bad, but I reckon your master has caught on, so you need to be a good girl for a bit,” Luo Qianqian instructed as she stood before Qiu Xi. “But you have other things to do, like slowly taking over your master’s tasks. You can represent your master in meetings, and the excuse is easy; you plan on becoming the master of Purple Cloud Peak, right? Just say you need to adapt early.”
“Sure!” Qiu Xi nodded seriously, then curiously asked, “姐, what about you and your teacher…?”
“Let’s not go there,” Luo Qianqian deflated, her once imposing ‘teacher’ aura disappearing. “Too many top-tier people around my teacher; I’m not a match.”
“But I remember Master Bai Feng is a good person, right? He cares for you and isn’t rigid. I feel like if you were more straightforward, it would work out better.”
“I can’t…”
Luo Qianqian’s eyes drifted away; after all, her true self and her teacher had a bit… well, let’s just say she didn’t dare.
Qiu Xi: “…”
Why does it feel like Luo Qianqian is more useless than me? How can I take the Union of Mentors and Disciples seriously like this?
…
“I never thought Brother Luo could find himself in such a situation!” After Luo Chen left, Lin Yan said with a hint of schadenfreude, “But this could be good; I always thought Brother Luo wasn’t suited for the heartless sword art. If he can take this opportunity to carve out his own path, that would be great.”
“True,” Bai Feng replied, “Speaking of which, I recently heard some rumors about you and the daughter of the Pill Pavilion’s owner.”
“Hey, that has nothing to do with me; she’s the one chasing me,” Lin Yan quickly waved it off. “Brother Bai, you know me; I believe women only slow me down when refining pills. I’m only interested in my custom puppet. I’m currently working with a puppet master to crack the ‘soul’ technique, and I believe I’ll soon be able to create the perfect partner!”
Bai Feng: “…?”
Wait, did Lin Yan suffer some trauma when he lost his cultivation? How did he turn out like this?
“Speaking of that, I have to mention the puppets that Teacher Chun Qiu draws—those puppet fairies and young girls never get hurt. Every time I see those works, I feel puppets are the best.”
“…”
Oh, of course, it’s just my fault then. No issues there.
At that moment, Bai Feng suddenly had a thought: “By the way, I remember that puppet master you know is also a woman, right?”
“Yes! She’s also a fan of Teacher Chun Qiu, and she shares a similar philosophy with me. If only she weren’t a woman, I’d want to become sworn brothers with her.”
“…”
“All right, enough about that. I should get back to tackling the ‘soul’ problem of puppets. See you later, Brother Bai.”
“Oh, goodbye.”
Bai Feng instinctively waved goodbye while deep down thinking—thank goodness his system has changed… cough, otherwise, he’d definitely be stuffed with luck points again.
“Next up, I should go find Luo Qianqian and ask her about this.”
He stood up and walked toward where Luo Qianqian was working, not because he wanted to intervene in Luo Chen’s affairs, but because he simply wanted to enjoy the drama. After all, Luo Chen had been rather stingy with the details; it was high time for some juicy gossip.
…
“What should I do?”
After sending Qiu Xi away, Luo Qianqian lay on the table deep in thought.
Her plan for Qiu Xi was almost a success, while she hadn’t even taken the first step herself.
“Do I really need to be more direct like Qiu Xi says? But…” She pulled out an Image Retainer, staring at a secretly snapped photo of Bai Feng before breaking into a silly grin. “Hehe, Teacher is so handsome.”
“What’s so handsome?”
A voice suddenly echoed in her ear, and in the next second, her whole body froze.
Slowly turning her head, she saw Bai Feng smiling down at her, and she just stayed there like a statue, fading to monochrome.
Oh no!
“Don’t worry, I’m just curious about how things are between Qiu Xi and Luo Chen,” Bai Feng said with an intrigued smile as he took a seat next to her.
“Uhh…”
Luo Qianqian’s mouth dropped open as if a soul was about to escape.
It’s over; she really got caught!
“Relax, I just want to know what stage they’re at,” Bai Feng now had a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.
“Huh?”
Luo Qianqian snapped back to reality, noticing Bai Feng’s eager expression meant he wanted gossip. She felt a bit relieved—sorry, Qiu Xi, but if I don’t come clean, I’ll be done for! Plus, given Teacher’s methods, he’d find out sooner or later anyway. Concealing it made no sense.
Union of Mentors and Disciples, consider yourself disbanded!
Nodding quickly, she spilled everything about Qiu Xi and Luo Chen:
“Recently, we designed the cave array for Elder Luo, and when I asked Qiu Xi about her array requirements, I noticed she had a crush on him, so I couldn’t resist giving a little advice. One thing led to another, and they became familiar…”
From her recount, Bai Feng learned that most ideas came from Luo Qianqian, but Qiu Xi adjusted them based on Luo Chen’s character, which led to the situation of Qiu Xi gradually taking over all household chores and smoothly integrating into Luo Chen’s cave.
“You’re quite bold.”
He shot Luo Qianqian a glance, feeling that her reason for working with Qiu Xi wasn’t so simple.
“Haha…” Luo Qianqian chuckled awkwardly, then quickly guaranteed, “I won’t do it again; I’ll cut ties with Qiu Xi right now!”
“No need to go that far. Just don’t meddle in future plans. Let things flow naturally,” Bai Feng shook his head; after all, Luo Chen was training in a heartless sword art, and feelings couldn’t be rushed. If it were meant to be, it would probably coincide with Luo Chen breaking through his heartlessness and stepping onto his own path.
“Yes, Teacher,” Luo Qianqian nodded obediently.
Having enjoyed the gossip, Bai Feng waved dismissively, “Well, I won’t disturb you then.”
“Wait, Teacher…” As he left, Luo Qianqian suddenly called out, yet hesitated to speak for a while. Finally, she scratched her head and laughed sheepishly, “Uh, never mind. Take care, Teacher.”
Bai Feng scrutinized her, stroking his chin: “If there’s something, just spit it out. I don’t like cryptic people.”
“Really, there’s nothing…” Luo Qianqian shook her head nervously.
“Hmm…” Bai Feng crossed his arms behind his back, a peculiar spiritual artifact resembling an eye appearing in his hand. After pondering for a few seconds, he asked, “Got any questions about the array? You can ask me while I have the time, or you’ll miss the chance.”
Luo Qianqian first showed a flicker of doubt—why did the topic suddenly switch to arrays? But she quickly pulled her thoughts together; before she even opened her mouth to ask, she nodded vigorously. “Yes, Teacher! I have several questions about the array that I don’t understand!”
Hours later.
Luo Qianqian, who had studied all day, lay on her bed, a smile creeping across her face—today, not only did Teacher guide her through many difficult problems one-on-one, but he also stayed for a meal that she cooked!
Just thinking about it made her squirm with joy.
After squirming for a bit, she quickly pulled out her communicator and sent a message to her good friend Qiu Xi:
Luo Qianqian: Qiu Xi! Teacher stayed over at my house for a meal today. Do you think Teacher and I will get married soon? If we have kids someday, what should we name them?
Qiu Xi: …
Really? Just a meal, and you’re getting all dreamy over it?
How did I end up taking advice from this kind of person? Clearly, the leader of the Union of Mentors and Disciples should be me!
= The End =
