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After Qin Mu sent Wan Minghai off, the door was pushed open again with a creak, and two graceful figures walked in.
“Aunt Lu! Miss Mengyu!”
At the sight of them, Qin Mu hurried over quickly.
Then, Qin Mu noticed another stunning woman in a red dress.
Senior Chu!?
“This junior pays respects to Senior Chu.”
Qin Mu performed a junior’s bow.
Chu Jiujiu looked at Qin Mu, sensing his Qi Refining Stage aura. Her palm flipped over, and a jade box appeared in her hand.
“The spirit medicine in this box can help you recover a bit, Young Master Qin.”
“Thank you, Senior Chu.”
Unlike Wan Minghai’s gift earlier, this time Qin Mu didn’t hesitate in the slightest. After the last incident, he had complete trust in Senior Chu and had no fear that she would harm him.
As for why Chu Jiujiu had come here?
***
Not long ago, Lu Qian brought Qin Mengyu to discuss matters with the Gu Tribe’s Great Priest. The reason she didn’t bring Qin Ruoshuang was that she never enjoyed talking much anyway, so bringing her or not made little difference.
When Lu Qian met Chu Jiujiu again, the latter was nowhere near as disheveled as their last encounter.
Clad in a red gown, a golden ribbon at her waist cinching her slender figure, her voluptuous curves carried an air of mature grace. Her skirt fanned out across the floor like a peacock’s tail, while her pretty face exuded a hint of cold beauty.
Even Lu Qian couldn’t help but be stunned by the beauty before her.
Seeing Lu Qian enter, Chu Jiujiu pointed a slender finger, and two cups of tea filled themselves.
“What brings Lu Sect Leader here today?”
Lu Qian took a delicate sip of tea, then said, “I’m sure the Great Priest can guess. It’s about Mu’er.”
Chu Jiujiu paused, pressed her lips together, and said, “Young Master Qin’s situation this time… is my oversight.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Lu Qian shook her head.
“Mu’er grew up under my watch. He’s never been to the Southern Region. Why would he be entangled in karma with the Gu Tribe?”
Lu Qian’s question was one Chu Jiujiu couldn’t answer either. Karma was something no one could explain clearly.
“Lu Sect Leader, I’m afraid I can’t answer that either. However, Young Master Qin has indeed become entangled in karma with our Gu Tribe.”
“In that case, what can Mu’er, a mere low-level cultivator, possibly help with? Or is it related to his golden veins?”
Lu Qian’s words genuinely caught Chu Jiujiu off guard.
“What Lu Sect Leader says holds some possibility. Even I cannot resolve the Gu Tribe’s problem this time. If Lu Sect Leader is worried about Young Master Qin’s safety, I guarantee that his safety will be ensured!”
***
After that conversation, to ensure Qin Mu’s absolute safety, Chu Jiujiu came personally. Together with Lu Qian, there were now two Tribulation Stage experts present. That lineup was truly terrifying.
Now, there was one more person added. Fortunately, the courtyard was spacious enough. Not to mention one more person, even five more would fit with room to spare.
And so, Chu Jiujiu settled in, waiting until Qin Mu fully recovered and the Gu Tribe’s problems were completely resolved.
However, that night, a young girl barged in—Lu Shuanger.
Without any pretense of politeness, Lu Shuanger shoved the door open with one hand and saw Qin Mu lying on a recliner.
Qin Mu shifted his gaze from his book to Lu Shuanger and asked,
“Why are you here?”
Lu Shuanger wrinkled her nose.
“Hmph, my master is here, so I came to check on her. What, does it bother you?”
Lu Shuanger had wanted to find her master but couldn’t find her anywhere after searching for ages. Only after asking the guards did she learn that her master had gone out with the Head of the Seven Stars Sect. She didn’t need to guess—her master must have gone to see Qin Mu.
So Lu Shuanger came straight over.
“Huh? You? How did your cultivation level drop?”
Lu Shuanger sensed Qin Mu’s strength. Hadn’t he broken through to Foundation Establishment before?
“Ah, don’t even mention it. It’s a long story.”
Just thinking about it made Qin Mu’s heart ache. He had finally achieved his long-held dream, only to be back where he started.
If he had a cigarette, Qin Mu would have lit one right now. Unfortunately, there were no cigarettes in this world.
“Whoa, you, did you use some life-burning secret art? I saw it—my master said she was going to give you a top-quality spirit medicine.”
Lu Shuanger made this guess because, on the Heavenly Profound Continent, when cultivators faced mortal danger, there were secret arts that could wildly boost their strength. The cost was that after use, their cultivation would drop and their lifespan would drastically decrease.
“Hey hey, don’t talk nonsense. I’m perfectly fine now. My cultivation just went back to the Qi Refining Stage. Am I not allowed to let my cultivation do sit-ups?”
Qin Mu said unhappily. However, the matter was indeed tricky. According to Divine Dragon Senior, there was a way to recover, but it required enormous energy. In terms of pills, even if he ate pills like meals every day, it would still take four or five years.
“How much cultivation do you have now?”
“Practicing Qi, Eighth Layer. Why?”
Hearing the answer, Lu Shuanger looked at Qin Mu, who was now only at Practicing Qi, Eighth Layer. She crossed her arms, tilted her head up slightly, and said,
“Ahem, Qin Mu, as of now, my cultivation is higher than yours. In our cultivation world, the one with the highest cultivation is supreme. So… hmm?”
Qin Mu understood Lu Shuanger’s implication—she just wanted him to voluntarily lower himself beneath her.
“Lu Shuanger, you’re overthinking it. I will never bow to evil forces!”
“What do you mean?”
Lu Shuanger said indignantly at Qin Mu’s words.
“I’m not some bad woman. Don’t think the worst of me.”
“Then what do you mean?”
Qin Mu looked at her warily.
“Nothing much.”
Lu Shuanger planted her hands on her hips.
“From today on, whenever you see me, Qin Mu, you must call me Sister Shuang’er. Got it?”
Shuanger… and “Sister”?!
Qin Mu really wished he could spray her to death with a mouthful of salt soda water.
“Wishful thinking! Absolutely not! Give it up!”
Qin Mu’s stance was firm.
Qin Mu’s reaction was within Lu Shuanger’s expectations, so she said leisurely,
“What if I said I can help you recover your strength?”
“No matter what you say, I won’t… What did you say?!”
Qin Mu snapped back to attention in an instant. Just now, he thought he heard…
“I said, I can help you, re·co·ver your strength!”
Lu Shuanger spoke the last few words especially slowly.
“Do you have any proof?”
Qin Mu stared at Lu Shuanger with suspicion. Even Miss Mengyu and Aunt Lu had no confidence, and neither did Divine Dragon Senior. Where did Lu Shuanger’s confidence come from? Who gave it to her? Liang Moumou?
Lu Shuanger patted her slightly rising chest and assured him,
“Of course! Would this young lady deceive you?”
“Wait! Let me think this over.”
Qin Mu pretended to hold his forehead in thought, but in reality…
“Divine Dragon Senior!!!”
His loud shout shook the Sea of Consciousness and sent ripples through it.
Before long, a response came.
“You brat, why are you yelling so loudly?”
Immediately after, a golden-haired young girl appeared out of thin air, rubbing her eyes that hadn’t even opened yet.
Qin Mu: !!!
‘Huh??? Where’s the wall here? Where did my great big wall go?’
‘And, Divine Dragon Senior, isn’t this your form from the Illusion Realm?’
‘Could it be that the golden-haired beauty Divine Dragon Senior transformed into within the Illusion Realm back then… is actually Divine Dragon Senior’s true body!?’