Dense forests obscured the view in the Cangmang Mountains, but they couldn't hide two graceful figures.
"Does Senior Sister think highly of Fellow Daoist Li?"
On the way down the mountain,
Feng Ya looked at her Senior Sister, who stopped every three steps beside her, with great confusion.
"Uh..."
Zhao Xier was startled, then smiled and asked, "Is it that obvious?"
Feng Ya nodded emphatically: "Extremely obvious. I've never seen Senior Sister like this before!"
In Feng Ya's heart,
Senior Sister Zhao Xier was clearly like a Heavenly Immortal.
Not only was her Aptitude head and shoulders above the rest in the Sect, but her Heart-Nature was also top-notch.
But she never expected that
Senior Sister would value Fellow Daoist Li so much.
Zhao Xier's voice was gentle: "Xiaoya, what do you think of my strength?"
"Uh, Senior Sister is in the Body Forging Realm, and has cultivated her Physical Body to an incredible degree, unbelievably powerful."
"As Fellow Daoist Li said, the cultivation world's favored children of heaven are like carp crossing the river; I am nothing special."
Zhao Xier smiled and shook her head, then continued to ask, "Xiaoya, what do you think of Fellow Daoist Li's strength?"
"This... it should also be very powerful, after all, even the Little Squirrel he raised is so formidable."
Zhao Xier nodded, her tone becoming serious and solemn: "Fellow Daoist Li's strength far exceeds imagination; he is countless times stronger than me."
Feng Ya's beautiful eyes widened: "How is that possible?!"
"Look at my hands." Zhao Xier extended both her hands.
Even after consuming Medicinal Pills for healing,
Zhao Xier's palms were still red, and her fingers were burned.
"This... is it because Senior Sister touched that egg?"
Zhao Xier nodded: "Yes, the Fire Luan's egg possesses rich fire attributes, which an ordinary Physical Body simply cannot withstand."
She turned around and looked into the distance.
She seemed to want to pierce through the dense forest and continue to gaze at the figure of that powerful individual.
Then she slowly spoke.
"After you fainted, that egg fell into Fellow Daoist Li's hands."
"He just held it in both hands, looking calm and composed."
"I didn't believe Fellow Daoist Li's Physical Body strength at first."
"I thought he was just gritting his teeth and enduring."
"But when I was about to kill Feng Yanping, Fellow Daoist Li reached out and stopped me."
"His palm was so... ha, so fair, without a single scar."
Zhao Xier looked at her Junior Sister and said with a smile: "You know what this means, right?"
Feng Ya was stunned: "It means that Fellow Daoist Li can withstand the Fire Luan's fire attribute with his Physical Body."
"That's right." Zhao Xier nodded, her eyes filled with reverence,
"I refined my Physical Body, so I naturally know the hardship of Body Forging. Given the strength of Fellow Daoist Li's Physical Body, the suffering he endured was probably a thousand times more than mine."
Feng Ya murmured in a low voice: "No wonder Fellow Daoist Li possesses such resilient Heart-Nature. It's a pity that Fellow Daoist Li is unwilling to join our Bi Xiao Palace; it will be difficult to see him again in the future."
"Hehe~"
Zhao Xier responded with a sound.
She turned back and glanced again.
This beautiful woman's gaze was profound, lost in thought.
----
Li Zhuo stayed in the Crimson Luan's territory for another two days.
He helped it heal the other two eggs.
And completely erased all traces of Feng Yanping's presence.
He also made an agreement with the big bird, stating that he would need its help soon.
The big bird, whose favorability towards Li Zhuo was at its maximum, naturally nodded in agreement, indicating that it would definitely do its best.
After completing all this,
Li Zhuo then set off again.
"Why refuse? Wouldn't it be good if that big bird carried us back?"
The Little Squirrel was very confused, "And weren't you planning to subdue that big bird? Why did you just leave like that?"
Li Zhuo lightly flicked the Squirrel's head and explained with a smile: "Crimson Luan has many enemies and is too conspicuous. We are in the dangerous cultivation world, we must..."
"I know, I know! Be cautious, be low-key!"
The Squirrel stood on Li Zhuo's shoulder, pulling its ears with its tiny paws.
Refusing to listen to Li Zhuo's sophistry.
After a while,
The Little Squirrel asked again: "I originally thought you were a pure coward, but you were quite decisive then~ I also had a lot of fun fighting~"
Three days ago,
The moment Feng Yanping's body crossed the cave entrance,
Li Zhuo didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately said: "Beat him up!"
The Little Squirrel was naturally excited.
With a howl, it charged forward.
And gave Feng Yanping a severe beating.
Thinking about it now,
This was completely not the behavior expected of a coward.
Li Zhuo spread his hands and said helplessly: "I wanted to keep hiding too, but that idiot insisted on running towards us. If he attracted the big bird, wouldn't we also be exposed?"
"Oh? Wasn't it to save someone?"
The Little Squirrel was a bit skeptical and continued to ask, "That heavily injured person told you to hide, and even moved his body to conceal the existence of our cave. Your eyes changed a bit then, you know~"
"That was because of anger!" Li Zhuo knocked the Little Squirrel's head again, saying angrily, "And you mountain mouse, what do you know about changing expressions?"
"You're the mouse! Take this punch!"
...
After walking for another distance,
When they were about to leave the Fire Luan's territory, Li Zhuo once again deprived the Little Squirrel of its right to speak.
Being in the Cangmang Mountains, it was natural to be cautious.
What's more,
Li Zhuo had many good things on him.
There was even a pile of Spirit Stones constantly emitting faint Spiritual Qi.
In these mountains, where Spiritual Qi was scarce,
Li Zhuo was like a candle in the dark, very conspicuous.
Therefore,
He had to be even more careful and cautious.
Even returning the same way took a longer time.
He even temporarily gave up on several spiritual objects he had found when descending the mountain.
Several more days passed.
Li Zhuo finally returned to the large lake.
Under the gentle breeze, ripples spread across the lake's surface.
The shimmering light reflected everything in the mountains, displaying a harmonious scene.
Li Zhuo looked up into the distance.
There was a patch of grassland there.
It was where he first woke up.
To the west of the grassland was an area of arbor trees.
Li Zhuo's gaze trembled.
He saw the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan.
As if sensing Li Zhuo's gaze, the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan's branches swayed in the wind, showing extreme joy.
Li Zhuo smiled happily.
Then he ran wildly with the Little Squirrel.
The breeze and leaves brushed against his cheeks, and the dry branches underfoot crackled.
All were the joy of returning home.
Finally, they arrived.
Li Zhuo stood under the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan, gently stroking the trunk, and said: "I'm back."
The branches and leaves of the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan swayed, forming a soft sound: "Great Immortal, I missed you ~"
The sound carried strong joy and longing.
"I brought you a gift ~"
As he spoke, Li Zhuo took out the spiritual liquid he had bought from the street vendor.
He used the 【All Things Modifier】 to remove Impurities and miscellaneous attributes.
The ordinary spiritual liquid became a treasure with great effects on spiritual plants.
Li Zhuo took the spiritual liquid and poured it around the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan.
It actually made this five-star spirit tree emit tiny points of light.
Li Zhuo checked the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan's attributes and found that its 【Wood】 attribute had increased slightly, and its Rank had also improved.
It was considered a huge harvest.
After doing all this,
Li Zhuo did not continue to open the snakeskin pouch.
Instead, he placed it aside.
He then lay comfortably on the bed, enjoying the rare tranquility.
After being out for so many days, Li Zhuo had almost constantly maintained a state of mental tension.
Only when he was in the Safe Zone, composed of the 【Sanctuary Zone】 and 【Core Zone】,
Could he truly relax.
At this moment,
Li Zhuo lay quietly.
Chatting idly with the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan beside him.
The fragrance of the calming spirit rose drifted by.
Li Zhuo gradually fell asleep.
The Daosheng Qingwen Banyan gently swayed its branches, sending a gentle breeze.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
Insects and birds chirped softly.
A night passed.
Li Zhuo woke up refreshed and began to take stock of his gains from this trip.