My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

The next morning, Ye Qingfeng sat cross-legged on the bed, having not slept all night.

He opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the continuous mountain shadows outside the window.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of Jingyang Prefecture and felt a vague unease in his heart.

A sudden whim? No, it doesn't seem so.

He raised his left hand, tapped his thumb lightly on his knuckles a few times, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, a look of understanding flashing in them.

The results showed that everything was fine in Jingyang Prefecture.

That evil spirit was severely injured by heavenly lightning after the battle at Jin Guang Temple, and is now in a state of dormancy and recovery.

There will be no further action in the near future.

Ye Qingfeng remained silent for a while.

He remembered the scene when the lightning struck; the power contained within that flesh and blood was extraordinary.

The fact that it could trigger divine punishment meant that the thing was at least a celestial being.

With his current cultivation level, the outcome of a head-on confrontation is uncertain.

Fortunately, the other party needs time to recover, and he also needs time to prepare.

He withdrew his hand and looked out the window.

Not urgent.

It's not too late to go back after things are settled here.

Two rooms away, Zhou Yan slowly woke up.

He opened his eyes, stared blankly at the unfamiliar rooftop above him for a long while before remembering where he was.

The room was quiet, and sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the window, drawing a golden line on the floor.

He slept very well yesterday, sleeping soundly until dawn without even having a dream.

I was so exhausted by that bowl of "radish porridge" the night before last that I didn't sleep a wink all night. Yesterday I lay in bed all day, but I slept really well at night.

He sat up and stretched his shoulders.

The wound still hurts a bit, but it's much better than it was a few days ago.

He tried to move his arm; although it hurt, at least he could lift it.

The door creaked open.

A Luo came in carrying a tray with a bowl of porridge, a small dish of side dishes, and half a salted duck egg on it.

She placed the tray on the table and turned to look at him: "Awake? You look much better today."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Slept soundly."

A Luo brought him the porridge and propped up his pillow a little: "You must have been tired yesterday, right? So many guests came and disturbed your rest."

Zhou Yan took the porridge and took a sip. It was thick white rice porridge with red dates and goji berries, and it was sweet.

"No, it was quite lively." He thought for a moment, then asked, "Who... is that Taoist priest?"

A'Luo shook her head: "I don't know either. I only know that he is very capable and helped me a lot at the market yesterday."

She briefly recounted what had happened yesterday, mentioning the man stealing ginseng and acting like a scoundrel, and the Taoist priest making the ginseng speak and summoning lightning to strike people. Zhou Yan listened, forgetting to drink the porridge in his hand.

"Make the ginseng speak? Summon thunder?" he murmured. "What kind of ability does that take..."

A'Luo nodded: "So the elders invited him to stay for a few days, and I also invited them to stay at my house. Anyway, I have plenty of empty rooms."

Zhou Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did he notice...?"

Aro paused for a moment, then asked, "What did you figure out?"

Zhou Yan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He originally wanted to ask the Taoist priest if he had figured out his identity or if he had realized that he was being chased, but then he thought that if the Taoist priest had really figured it out, he probably would have said so long ago and wouldn't have waited until now.

He shook his head: "It's nothing."

A Luo didn't ask any further questions; she simply peeled the salted duck eggs and placed them beside his bowl.

When it was time for breakfast, A Luo specially took the porridge to the main room to eat with Ye Qingfeng and the others.

Lu Yang took a sip of the porridge, his eyes lighting up: "This porridge is delicious! What did you put in it?"

A Luo smiled and said, "I added red dates, goji berries, and a little bit of honey."

Miao Gui also took a sip and nodded in satisfaction: "It tastes much better than the one at the inn."

As they were eating breakfast, A'Luo suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Master, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Ye Qingfeng looked at her.

A Luo hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "It's that chubby baby... Can we not let outsiders know about his radish-like spirit?"

Although the people in our village are not bad, if they knew there was a radish spirit, they would definitely want to catch it and make soup.

Needless to say, the people outside the village... He's timid and has no skills; if people find out, he'll definitely be dead."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, but her eyes shone brightly with a pleading look.

Lu Yang paused for a moment, recalling how the chubby baby had teased him last night. He wanted to say something sarcastic, but seeing A Luo's serious expression, he swallowed his words.

Miao Gui put down his bowl and nodded: "That's true. In the Ten Thousand Mountains, medicinal herbs that have become spirits are more valuable than monsters that have become spirits."

If people knew there was a radish spirit in the village, not only the villagers, but also ginseng gatherers, merchants, and even bandits from hundreds of miles around would flock here.

A'Luo's face turned even paler.

Ye Qingfeng glanced at her and smiled, "I understand."

A'Luo paused for a moment, then smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents: "Thank you, Immortal Master!"

Lu Yang muttered to himself, "What's so great about that kid that we're keeping it a secret..."

Upon hearing this, Aro said earnestly, "He has helped me many times. Without him, I would have starved to death long ago. He is my friend."

Lü Yang fell silent.

Miao Gui buried his head in his porridge, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

Shen Zhaoyue put down her bowl, glanced at A Luo, then at Ye Qingfeng, and said nothing.

Outside the window, the sun is shining brightly.

The village gradually became lively. Vegetable vendors were calling out their wares, buyers were haggling over prices, and children were chasing after dogs, their laughter carrying far away.

......

Sunlight shone from the eastern mountain, passing over the wooden fence of the village, over the green-tiled roofs, and into A'luo's small courtyard.

The loofah vines on the courtyard wall were illuminated by the sunlight, and the dew on the leaves were still wet, rolling down one by one.

Ye Qingfeng stood in the courtyard, his hands behind his back.

He was wearing a grayish-blue Taoist robe, faded from washing, with worn cuffs and hem, but the sunlight shining on it made it look as if the old cloth had been plated with a thin layer of gold.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly back, as if he were basking in the sun, or as if he were listening to some very distant sound.

This is what Lü Yang saw when he came out of the house.

He froze for a moment, and his steps slowed down.

Having followed the immortal master for so long, he had long been used to the immortal master's appearance, but for some reason, he felt that something was different today.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt as if the immortal master, standing there, had merged with the courtyard, the sunlight, and the distant mountains.

He walked over, stood next to Ye Qingfeng, and also closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

After a long while, unable to feel the charm of the immortal master, he gave up.

Then he remembered something.

He opened his eyes, turned to look at Ye Qingfeng, and looked somewhat bewildered.

"Immortal Master, there is something I cannot understand."

Ye Qingfeng didn't open his eyes: "Speak."

Lu Yang scratched his head: "I haven't cultivated much these past few days, but when I checked my internal energy just now, I found that my Qi has increased significantly. What's going on?"