Taking a deep breath, temporarily setting aside her troubles, Lu Qiancha clumsily clasped her paws together, barely managing to steady the skewer of roasted chicken hanging from the bamboo stick in front of her.
She tentatively raised her paw, trembling as she brought the chicken to her mouth.
“Ah-woo~”
Carefully, she took a bite!
The scorching hot juice burst instantly in her mouth! The tender chicken fibers wrapped in a rich oily fragrance mixed with a hint of smoky charred aroma rushed down her throat. Upon closer savoring, there was even a faint trace of something clear and refreshing… a subtle sweetness.
Hmph.
Hmm… it’s probably undercooked.
Lu Qiancha lowered her head to examine the skewer in her hand—bright, glossy fat intertwined with streaks of vivid red blood ran along the sharp bamboo stick, winding down.
But maybe it was because she had become part of the Wolf Tribe; this half-raw, unseasoned wild game meat had a unique flavor all its own.
Still, these paws were just too inconvenient to use, which gave Lu Qiancha quite the headache.
Suddenly, she had an idea—perhaps Xun Xue would know how to turn her paws back into hands?
So she sent Xun Xue a message: “Mother, do you know how to turn my paws into hands?”
Before long, Xun Xue immediately replied: “Why would you want to change? Paws are great! Fluffy, warm, and so comfortable to pinch! Plus, they’re very practical.”
Xun Xue added: “Don’t underestimate them~ One-third of our Wolf Tribe’s combat power comes from our paws.”
Lu Qiancha stared at that sentence, speechless. Eighty percent of her combat power came from potions, and most of the remaining twenty percent was from her Magical Artifacts.
Setting those aside, her direct fighting ability was nearly zero. If it ever came to scratching someone with her paws, she figured it was time to prepare for the end.
So, Lu Qiancha replied bluntly: “But paws are really inconvenient to use.”
Xun Xue answered: “Alright then, I’ll do whatever my precious wants. OVO”
Xun Xue continued: “The Yao Clan’s secondary transformation requires a pill called the Transformation Pill. I have the materials and the recipe, but I don’t know how to refine pills.”
Seeing this, Lu Qiancha blinked. If the materials and recipe were there, refining it shouldn’t be difficult. Could it really be harder to refine than the Rebirth Pill? She didn’t believe it.
So Lu Qiancha sent back: “Okay! I’ll refine the pill myself! Thanks, Mom.”
“Hehe.”
Far away at the Tianyuan Sect, Xun Xue’s beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons upon seeing “Thanks, Mom.”
A lovesick smile crept onto her lips, and she almost instantly replied: “You’re welcome, my little treasure~()”
After finishing the chat and enjoying a good meal, Lu Qiancha was in high spirits. She took out her meditation cushion and the Isolation Formation Disk, setting up a simple Isolation Formation nearby.
Gazing up at the night sky heavy with stars and the Milky Way glittering, she sat cross-legged, immersed in a night of breathing exercises.
***
The next day, the dawn light was faint.
Lu Qiancha packed up and strolled again through this silent golden sea of fields.
Unlike the leisurely pace of yesterday, today her steps were purposeful, tinged with an urgent determination—to find the missing person quickly, complete her task, and return to pill refining.
That search stretched on for four days. Lu Qiancha traveled by day and sought places to meditate and cultivate by night.
As her divine sense continuously scanned the area, she finally caught a trace of something unusual—though the Earth Veins around were normal, the spiritual energy in the southeast was extremely thin, as if silently being swallowed whole by some invisible force, creating a strange vacuum of spiritual energy.
Lu Qiancha’s spirit lifted. Clenching the cold Magical Artifact cube in her palm, constantly shifting in form, she cautiously followed the flow of this spiritual energy southeastward.
The deeper she went, the sparser the withered bamboo forest became… until it vanished entirely.
A sudden, towering jagged wall of dark green-black stone stood like a giant axe chop, blocking her path.
In the very center of the stone wall was a deep, unfathomable cave, like the gaping maw of a colossal beast greedily swallowing the last vestiges of life-giving spiritual energy around it.
Feeling the deathly stillness of the spiritual energy, Lu Qiancha sensed she had come to the right place.
Passing through the cave, the light dimmed sharply. After walking several hundred steps, she indeed entered a dense Peach Blossom Paradise, just as the Peach Blossom Records had described.
Looking up, the sky was filled with drifting white and pink blossoms.
The sky was a clear blue, and pure light filtered through layers of peach blossom branches and leaves, casting onto the thick layer of humus below.
Rotting peach leaves and fallen fruit carpeted the ground, like soft, soggy mud nearly swallowing Lu Qiancha’s ankles. Stepping on it felt like walking through a swamp piled with decayed leaves.
But for Lu Qiancha, this obstacle was no more than a breeze. Lightly stepping on her toes, her figure flickered like a misty illusion, swiftly crossing the rotten leaf swamp and disappearing into the forest’s depths.
Ahead, a winding path suddenly appeared.
On either side stood two guards.
They wore simple yet sturdy wooden vine armor, holding long spears over a meter in length, their vigilant eyes scanning the surroundings. When they spotted the unexpected visitor, their gazes briefly narrowed.
“Little sister,” the young guard on the left spoke politely, with a hint of warning, “this place is quiet, with wild beasts often appearing. Since you are a visitor, please accompany us to avoid disturbing the forest spirits and inviting unnecessary trouble.”
“Wait… are you the Jiangling City constables? Li Qiang, Wang Ren! Why are you here… acting as guards?!”
Lu Qiancha frowned. She had seen the portraits of the missing people before coming, and immediately recognized these two.
“Oh?” Li Qiang’s eyes flashed with surprise for a moment, quickly suppressed, and he forced a somewhat startled smile. “Little sister, you’re really from Jiangling? Then… this is fate.”
“Cut the nonsense!” Lu Qiancha was blunt and direct. “Where are Tian Xia and the Sun siblings? County Magistrate Zhou ordered you to find them!”
The smile on Wang Ren’s face faded slightly, but his tone remained gentle, with an oddly persuasive calmness. “Little miss, you’ve misunderstood. Tian Xia and the others aren’t ‘missing,’ but rather…”
He glanced toward the vibrant peach forest, his eyes filled with sincere admiration and contentment.
“They’ve been deeply attracted to this Peach Blossom Paradise and have willingly stayed to become part of it.”
“Attracted?”
Lu Qiancha’s brow furrowed tightly, her gaze sharp as a blade. “Abandoning wife and child, forsaking family and career? What kind of ‘paradise’ can drive people to madness like that?!”
“Little sister, you are young. Some things are hard to understand right now.”
Li Qiang stepped aside, still respectful. “This place isn’t suitable for detailed discussion; it might disturb the mountain spirits. Please come with me, and I will explain more along the way.”
Lu Qiancha wasn’t afraid. She could sense these two were only at the Refining Qi Realm level. Even scratching them with her claws would send them running with their tails between their legs.
Wang Ren’s voice carried a strange soothing quality: “Here, there are no harsh taxes from the government, no military conscription, and no corrupt officials to oppress and exploit.”
He pointed toward the peaceful figures scattered among the fields in the distance. “Everyone can enjoy a piece of fertile land, sow in spring and reap in autumn, self-sufficient and living in peace.”
“Is it enough to be free from want and tax to make people abandon their flesh and blood?” Lu Qiancha’s voice was laced with biting doubt.
“Those who cherish their parents and children, who miss their spouses and offspring… can they truly be so at ease? And if this place is so wonderful, why not relocate entire families instead of coming alone?”
“You’re mistaken, little sister.”
Li Qiang shook his head gently, eyes turning toward the deep peach forest with near reverence.
“This is a dwelling of immortals! The entrance is profound and ever-shifting. To enter is already a blessing granted by heaven.”
His tone suddenly grew somber, with a lightness as if casting off earthly chains:
“To return to the mundane world? Where officials are like wolves, gangs like tigers and leopards, and harsh taxes like leeches attached to the bones… Hah… we common folk would rather not struggle in that mire.”
He took a deep breath, the scent of flowers filling his lungs. “Here in this blessed land, we can live free and die peacefully!”
Officials like wolves? Gangs like tigers and leopards? Was Jiangling City under County Magistrate Zhou really that unbearable? A flicker of doubt passed through Lu Qiancha’s eyes.
Li Qiang seemed about to continue painting his vision of this pure paradise.
But at a bend in the peach grove up ahead, his words suddenly stopped.
The scene before him seemed to render all his unsaid words meaningless. He halted his steps, stepped aside, and lowered his voice: “Little sister… we’ve arrived.”