Afterward, Lu Xingzhou actually fell asleep.

Ye Tinglan was still enthusiastically studying the sticky substance on her hand when she turned to see the man asleep. Quite surprised, she reached out to take his pulse.

Soon, her expression grew strange.

Lu Xingzhou’s sleep was a result of mental relaxation after the completion of a “grand wish” and the end of a phase. In a sense, this was also a form of cultivation.

For example, if an alchemist set an extremely difficult alchemy goal for themselves and spent ten years striving for it, the moment the elixir was finally produced would bring a more complete spiritual progress than consuming the elixir itself.

Lu Xingzhou was in this state now. When he woke up, he would truly be at the threshold of the third rank.

But his “small goal” was not, as she had initially thought, “going out for trials” or “breaking through to the third rank.”

It was “obtaining Shifu.”

Damn it.

The Holy Lord cursed in her mind, a rare expletive she hadn’t uttered in a hundred years, clenching her fist, almost wanting to strike him.

But just as her fist was about to touch his cheek, Ye Tinglan chuckled to herself, and her fist turned into a caress.

“You haven’t even obtained me yet, and this counts?” Ye Tinglan’s eyes sparkled as she muttered softly, “Such ambition.”

Neither physically nor in public identity had he truly “obtained” her.

But the old woman knew the man’s internal boundaries.

If she was willing in her heart, it seemed, in the man’s mind, that he had already obtained her. Whether it was actually done seemed less important.

This was a man who acted from the heart. Those who only sought her body were naturally judged by a different standard.

Unbeknownst to her, he had once again expressed his sincerity, leaving Ye Tinglan truly dumbfounded.

But then she remembered that his judgment standard seemed to apply to more than just herself.

Shen Tang most likely hadn’t given herself to him either, but they seemed to have already tacitly agreed to be a couple.

Ye Tinglan’s expression immediately darkened. She stood up and went to the cabin’s edge, watching the changing sky in the dark night.

The route of the phoenix carriage was now heading to Xiazhou. Ye Tinglan knew that Lu Xingzhou would definitely pick up A’nuo after finishing his business. She had forgotten that going to Xiazhou also meant Lu Xingzhou seeing Shen Tang… She was sending her man to meet a love rival.

What would she do when they met?

Based on who came first, there was still a chance to contend. Shen Tang didn’t have a matchmaker or parental decree, and she, the Holy Lord, didn’t need such things. Victory!

But there was one major problem: Shen Tang was most likely truly intent on marrying Lu Xingzhou, but when Ye Tinglan repeatedly searched her heart, there was no option for marriage, she hadn’t even considered it.

It was over. From this perspective, it was completely over. What confidence did she have to face Shen Tang? She would truly become a mistress, sitting at a table with Pei Chuyun.

How did she end up like this?

Ye Tinglan irritably ruffled her hair, messing up her carefully coiled bun.

Fortunately, fortunately, she hadn’t given him everything in a moment of passion; there was still room for maneuver… Looking back now, her disciple’s earnest “be reserved” was very timely. If she hadn’t been reserved, it would have been even worse this time.

Qingli’s stern face was quite suitable for a disciplinary inspector… She would ask her disciple to remind her more often in the future not to get too carried away.

She turned to see Lu Xingzhou looking as if he was about to wake up. Ye Tinglan thought for a moment, took off her disheveled Dharma robe, and changed back into Mrs. Ye’s clothes.

Just as she finished changing, Lu Xingzhou opened his eyes, a bit disoriented, wondering how he had fallen asleep. Seeing Ye Tinglan had changed back into Mrs. Ye’s attire, he felt as if he had dreamt.

Ye Tinglan sat by the bed and once again took his pulse, saying with a stern face, “This trial has not significantly improved your alchemy skills, but your cultivation has reached the third-rank threshold. Do you have any plans for how to break through?”

Lu Xingzhou said, “Does Shifu have any suggestions?”

Ye Tinglan glanced at him sideways, “Not ‘Furen’ anymore?”

“Ah?” Lu Xingzhou didn’t have any particular attachment to “Shifu” or “Furen”; he just said them casually. In the context of asking for advice, “Shifu” came more naturally. He hadn’t expected her to have an opinion…

Ye Tinglan said with a stern face, “Is it because we’re almost in Xiazhou, and you want to put on an act in front of Shen Tang?”

What was this about? Lu Xingzhou hugged her, a wry smile on his face.

Sometimes, dealing with women didn’t require arguing; a kiss could solve all problems.

Ye Tinglan struggled a few times but couldn’t break free, so she obediently let herself be kissed thoroughly, and when they finally separated, she was weak all over.

Lu Xingzhou then repeated, “Does Shifu have any suggestions?”

“You treat Shifu like this…”

Lu Xingzhou’s large hand reached into her clothes. “Yes, because you are Shifu, that’s what makes it so tempting.”

This time, it was Ye Tinglan who couldn’t maintain her composure. She pressed his wandering hand. “If I must give advice, I’m afraid you won’t like it.”

“Hm? What advice?”

“If you want to cultivate, you must venture out alone. Being by my side makes you lack all pressure, which is detrimental to personal cultivation. The same goes for following Yuan Muyu and Shen Tang; you always play a supportive role and lack your own driving force and pressure for advancement.” Ye Tinglan’s expression became serious. “If I told you to venture out alone, not even taking A’nuo, would you like to hear it? As for where to go and what to do for cultivation, those are secondary matters.”

This was probably what A’nuo would dislike even more.

Lu Xingzhou himself had actually thought about it long ago, but he had never been able to part with A’nuo, and even now, he hesitated, unable to let go.

This trip to Tianshuang Guo was already the longest time he had been separated from A’nuo in his life… Could it be considered a rehearsal for both their hearts to accept? But he missed A’nuo so much.

After much hesitation, Lu Xingzhou still found it difficult to make a decision and could only say, “We’ll see about that later…”

Ye Tinglan knew he couldn’t make such a decision and sighed, “Breaking through to the third rank is not too difficult for you. Even if I take you to a secret place in the Tianyao Sacred Land for secluded cultivation, it should help you break through. The main thing is the future; have you thought about what to do then?”

Lu Xingzhou said, “A secret place in the Tianyao Sacred Land… Can you take me there? Oh, if possible, imprint my spiritual sense on the communication array so it will be easier to find you and Qingli in the future.”

Previously, Ye Tinglan had refused this matter, but after thinking about it now, she felt that Qingli’s current situation was a bit troublesome, and it was more important for Qingli to be able to consult him at any time. So she nodded and said, “Alright, are we going to Xiazhou now or directly back to the Tianyao Sacred Land?”

Lu Xingzhou gave a conciliatory smile. “Xiazhou.”

Ye Tinglan glared at him unhappily.

Lu Xingzhou hurriedly looked for something to change the subject. “Oh, right…”

He pulled out the frozen blood given by Ling Qixuan. “Anyway, we have nothing to do, so let’s examine this? Maybe the opportunity for a breakthrough is here?”

Ye Tinglan didn’t dwell on it. The scoundrel wasn’t her true disciple after all, so she couldn’t plan his path for him; she could only offer suggestions, but he had to make his own decisions.

She took the frozen blood and studied it closely for a moment, her expression somewhat astonished. “This is definitely not human blood; it’s the blood of a type of alien beast. But limited by the few ancient alien beast samples we’ve encountered, we can’t determine what kind of alien beast this is right now.”

“What about its effects?”

“It contains extremely vast energy, somewhat like ‘one drop of blood, one world.’ This item… I can’t think of a suitable use for you temporarily. However, it’s very applicable to the demon race, having an excellent effect on their breakthroughs and bloodline evolution. If combined with alchemy, the effect might be even more unimaginable. You must keep it safe and not let the demon race know you possess such a thing.”

Lu Xingzhou felt a little regretful. He had originally planned to use it for his own breakthrough, but it seemed he had no destiny with it. But in any case, it was clearly a good thing. For Ye Tinglan to speak with such caution and praise, its rank could probably be considered super-grade. Ling Qixuan’s blind box toss-out was a huge loss.

After thinking about it, he simply gave it to Ye Tinglan. “Since it’s such a precious item, it would be a waste for me, a mere fourth-rank, to keep it. It’s more valuable for someone of your rank, so why not give it to you?”

Ye Tinglan was startled, her eyes curving into crescent moons. “Could my Tianyao Sacred Land lack items of this caliber? You keep it.”

In her heart, she was very happy. This item was clearly priceless, yet the young man gave it to her directly without a second thought because it was more useful to her. This truly felt like husband and wife.

“Your luck is somewhat strange, or perhaps it’s because you always make the best possible use of the resources you have. For example, you once obtained poisonous herbs from Fuxiang Lou, which are normally useless, but you managed to use them in the battle of the Black Snake. Keeping something like this on you might allow it to unexpectedly show its value when the time comes.” Ye Tinglan smiled and put the frozen blood back into Lu Xingzhou’s hand, then added, “Furthermore, carrying it on your person has an effect in itself…”

“What?”

“If an alien beast puts pressure on you, carrying this item might significantly counteract it, a flimsy form of self-defense, perhaps?”

Lu Xingzhou immediately thought of Long Qinghuang’s gaze, shivered, and quickly put it away. “Then I’ll keep it with me.”

As he spoke, the first ray of dawn appeared outside the window.

It was morning…

And the climate had changed from the cold of Tianshuang Guo to increasingly hot, until this moment when one could finally realize it was the scorching midsummer of early July.

It had been over two months since they left the capital… It was the hottest dog days of Daqian.

Having just come from a cold country, it felt as if they had traveled from winter to summer in a few hours, a very strange experience.

Even stranger was Ye Tinglan’s expression.

The mountains of Xiazhou were already in sight, and one could even see the sword qi piercing the sky from the morning exercises of the Tianxing Jianzong disciples.