Xu Lin had just stepped inside when Jiang Luo’s voice came from behind him again.
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Hmm?” Xu Lin glanced sideways at Jiang Luo, who stood there, waiting for her to continue.
“Who exactly are you?”
That had been on Jiang Luo’s mind ever since she first met Xu Lin.
Not to mention that she had been in the Sunset Sect for so long, that day was the first time she ever saw him.
This guy had needed other disciples to guard his residence before, and he had been summoned by the Saintess. His background couldn’t possibly be ordinary.
“That’s a good question.” Xu Lin snapped his fingers, turned back, and said with a mysterious air, “What if I told you I’m the Saint of the Sunset Sect? Would you believe me?”
Jiang Luo’s eyes widened in shock, then slowly narrowed with suspicion. “You?”
“Don’t believe me? Or do I not look the part?”
Whether it was to tease Jiang Luo or a spur-of-the-moment whim, Xu Lin had never imagined he would one day introduce himself with that title.
Jiang Luo shook her head. “I admit you’re powerful, but if you were the Saint…”
With Yang Yao as the Saintess, she lived up to the title in both realm and demeanor.
Now telling her that this carefree, laid-back guy was the Saint? She had her doubts.
She knew her own cultivation talent wasn’t as good as others, but she never thought herself a fool.
Seeing Jiang Luo’s expression, Xu Lin lowered his voice and added mysteriously, “Let me tell you something else. I’m also the former Senior Brother of Green Cliff Peak in the Vast Dao Sect.”
Jiang Luo immediately puffed out her cheeks, confirming that this guy was really messing with her.
“Don’t think you can toy with me so easily. If it weren’t for the fact that you can help me, I would definitely not go easy on you!”
With a light snort, not wanting to hear any more of Xu Lin’s nonsense, Jiang Luo turned and left.
How could one person be both the Saint of the Sunset Sect and the Senior Brother of the Vast Dao Sect? That was simply impossible.
Xu Lin, still standing there, let out a helpless laugh. “I wasn’t lying to you. You just didn’t believe me.”
Neither identity was a lie—unfortunately, Jiang Luo didn’t believe him.
Back inside the room, Xu Lin immediately sat cross-legged, drew out the Demonic Aura he had absorbed from Yang Yao, and began refining it.
Yang Yao’s Demonic Aura was thick, far beyond what Jiang Luo’s could compare.
But under Xu Lin’s refinement, it soon merged with his own Spiritual Qi, intertwining and fusing until it became part of his own Spiritual Energy.
“It actually works.”
Though he had anticipated it, Xu Lin still couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Strange… What exactly is going on with me?”
Closing his eyes and looking inward, he saw two streams of energy twisting inside him—Spiritual Qi and Demonic Aura, each faintly visible yet not conflicting, filling the gap in his Spiritual Energy that had never been full.
The aura of the Heavenly Firmament Realm rippled out from him in gentle waves, filling the entire room.
Seeing that it worked, Xu Lin steadied his mind and continued cultivating.
This problem had troubled him for a long time. In fact, ever since he left the Vast Dao Sect, his realm had been stuck at the point where he had just stepped into the Heavenly Firmament Realm.
Sure, he had been in the Heavenly Firmament Realm for a while, but his foundation was shaky. If he actually faced a full-powered Heavenly Firmament Realm cultivator, he’d only have the ability to run.
He cultivated all the way until the next day, and when the morning sunlight streamed through the wooden window and into the room, Xu Lin slowly let out a breath of turbid air.
Only now had he truly stabilized his foothold in the Heavenly Firmament Realm.
Hearing movement outside the door, Xu Lin swept out his divine sense and muttered to himself, “Back already?”
Recognizing Jiang Luo’s aura, he wasn’t as wary as he had been with others.
Facing Jiang Luo, he somewhat understood what Xi Ranchen must have felt when dealing with him back then.
Xu Lin got out of bed, gave his sleeves a simple brush, and pushed open the door. Seeing Jiang Luo standing there, he couldn’t help but freeze.
Before him, Jiang Luo stood with the hem of her pink dress dripping wet, water endlessly trickling down, while several bird feathers were carelessly stuck in her hair.
In her left hand, she held a chicken; in her right, a fish hung from a string.
Anyone who saw her might think it was some kind of special decoration.
Xu Lin was amused. Had this girl been at it all night?
“What are you laughing at?”
After a whole night of trouble, she was already frustrated. Now, coming back to be mocked by this guy—it really set her off.
It was just like how Xu Lin had laughed at her that night.
“Were these two things really that hard to get? Look at the state you’re in.” Xu Lin didn’t hold back, his gaze sweeping up and down Jiang Luo.
“Hey.” Jiang Luo called out, then continued, “These aren’t simple things. This chicken is a spirit fowl I caught from the back mountain, and this fish was something I barely managed to get from Jade Spring Lake.”
She had agreed too quickly back then, but when she actually went to do it, she realized how tough it was.
In this huge Sunset Sect, where could she find ordinary chickens and fish? She had no choice but to go to the two places she mentioned and catch the wild ones.
If it weren’t for needing something from Xu Lin, she would never have gone through all this trouble.
Xu Lin was still smiling. He strolled forward, stopped in front of Jiang Luo, and casually plucked a feather from her hair.
When he looked again, he found Jiang Luo glaring at him in anger, as if she wanted to vent all her night’s fury on him.
Xu Lin just nodded slightly, so faintly it was barely noticeable, with a flicker of approval in his eyes that was hard to detect.
Clearly, Jiang Luo had passed his obedience test.
This girl really went and did the job, not caring whether he was joking or not.
“How do you want to eat it?” Jiang Luo stared at Xu Lin, still simmering.
But Xu Lin waved his hand. “I don’t have an appetite right now.”
“You…”
That one sentence nearly made Jiang Luo lose it, her face turning red.
This wasn’t just teasing—it was outright messing with her.
“I have some business today. You can come along and lend me a hand.” Xu Lin didn’t seem to care and continued, “As for those two things, just find a place to put them away.”
Xu Lin turned back, and Jiang Luo chewed her lips silently, making no sound.
When Xu Lin noticed and looked sideways at her, she immediately clamped her mouth shut, pursing her lips and letting out a muffled breath through her nose.
“You weren’t secretly cursing me out, were you?”
Jiang Luo simply turned her head away, not wanting to answer that question.
Last time, when he agreed to help Yang Yao completely remove the residual poison in her Root Bone, Xu Lin wasn’t joking—he really meant it.
The Sect Leader Token in his hand could indeed help, but Xu Lin wasn’t taking Yang Yao’s words or this token as repayment.
When the time came, he would need to get something ready-made.
Back inside, he picked up the Sect Leader Token and said to Jiang Luo, “I’m new here and don’t know the Sunset Sect well. Take me to the Elixir Workshop.”
With this token, Xu Lin could easily find any Sunset Sect disciple to lead the way, but that felt weird to him. It might even cause problems. Better to rely on Jiang Luo.
Although Jiang Luo was a bit angry with him, she had a good nature. She didn’t follow his every word, but she knew how to repay kindness—far better than Yang Yao.
So far, in Jiang Luo’s actions, as far as Xu Lin could see, she was within the range he could manage.