Tai Zhu Xuan Xiang: Me and My Eight Golden Gourd Sisters

The moment the girl appeared, the vertical line between her brows suddenly split to the sides, transforming into a deep, divine eye.

Those eyes had no pupils, only dazzling lightning flowing within them, as if all the heavenly lightning had been concentrated in one eye and descended from the void to the mortal world.

The divine eye appeared, and the lightning patterns pulsed incessantly. Streams of violent lightning shot out from the pupil, like lightning dragons crisscrossing the platform, weaving into an impenetrable net of lightning that enveloped the stone tigers all around.

"Crackling and popping—boom!"

Where the lightning swept across, Shi Hu's body stiffened abruptly, his fur stood on end, and white smoke billowed from his mouth.

The first stone tiger struck didn't even have time to scream before it fell straight to the ground. The second stone tiger, seeing this, turned to flee, but was caught up by a bolt of lightning and struck in its hind leg. Its limbs instantly went numb and lost strength, and it staggered and fell to the ground, struggling for a few moments before falling completely silent.

The third head, the fourth head, the fifth head...

The bolts of lightning seemed to have eyes, striking each stone tiger with pinpoint accuracy.

Those struck by it all perished; none escaped unscathed.

Cai Xuan, inside the house, stared in disbelief, utterly shocked. He hadn't expected the second golden melon to be so powerful, possessing the ability to control lightning—truly extraordinary.

Xi'er, who had chased after the girl, sensed something was wrong and quickly returned to the wooden frame. Seeing the girl with the divine eyes between her brows, she was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed joyfully, "Little sister, you're out too!"

"Big sister," the girl replied gently, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

The lightning in the sky slowly subsided, and the divine eye between his brows gradually closed, transforming back into a faint, almost imperceptible line standing quietly on his forehead.

"You've come at the right time. Let's protect our sisters together and get rid of these evil things."

So the two fought side by side to protect the remaining unborn golden gourds. Xi'er was on the left, using both fists and feet, each strike carrying overwhelming power; the girl was on the right, her divine eye opening and closing, crackling with lightning. Working together, they quickly killed all the stone tigers that jumped up.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining stone tiger downstairs turned around and tried to escape.

Why would Xi'er and the girl give them a chance?

Xi'er flashed forward, quickly catching up and smashing the head of a stone tiger with a single punch; lightning crackled between the girl's brows, instantly turning a fleeing stone tiger into charred remains. In moments, the battle was over. The ferocious roars of the stone tigers ceased on the platform, leaving only a pile of corpses.

The giant golden gourd vine couldn't wait to stretch its roots from the ground, burrowing into the stone tiger's corpse and devouring its flesh and blood.

The corpse shriveled up at a visible rate, eventually turning into a pile of black ash that scattered on the platform.

The third golden gourd spewed out a stream of clear water, washing away the black ash. The platform became spotless; if it weren't for the clear claw marks remaining on the railings and other surfaces, one would hardly be able to tell that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

Xi'er and the girl stood under the wooden frame, looking up at the six small golden gourds hanging on it, and said, "Sisters, it's alright now, you can continue your cultivation in peace."

"Great, it's alright! Big sister and second sister are amazing!" The six little golden gourds shook their bodies happily and cheered.

At this moment, Cai Xuan pushed open the door and came out, asking Xi'er, the girl, and the six little golden gourds with concern, "Are you all alright?"

"What could possibly happen? This little bit of stuff isn't even enough for me to fight," Xi'er said dismissively.

The girl gently shook her head, indicating that she was fine.

"We're all fine!" the six little golden gourds above shouted in unison.

Cai Xuan was relieved to see that they were truly alright. To be honest, he felt a little ashamed. How could he hide in the house and let the girls face the situation when something happened? It was utterly heartless. He couldn't do that again next time. Even if he was a little weaker, it was no excuse to run away.

If you can dodge it once today, you can dodge it a second time in the future.

He keeps backing down and running away. Does he intend to hide behind these little brats whenever trouble comes his way? That's not the behavior of a grown man!

"Brother, your sister is out too," Xi'er said happily, holding the girl's hand.

"Brother." The girl looked up at Cai Xuan and called out softly and gently.

Cai Xuan looked at the girl in front of him. Her eyes and brows were both innocent and childlike, yet they also carried a fierce and sharp spirit. Looking at the vertical line between her brows that concealed divine power, he thought to himself: She was indeed born with the spirit of heaven and earth, possessed unparalleled supernatural powers, and was sacred and extraordinary. She was truly blessed.

"Um."

Cai Xuan reached out and patted her head gently, saying, "You and Xi'er both did very well. I need to learn from you. By the way, do you have a name?"

"No." The girl shook her head.

"Then I'll give you a name." Cai Xuan looked at her beautiful yet spirited face and said slowly, "From now on, you'll be called Yun'er! Clouds represent the pure air of mountains and rivers, and are also the essence of heaven and earth, which best suits your identities. From now on, you will be the second sister. Xi'er will be the eldest sister, and when others are born in the future, they will be called the third and fourth sisters in order."

"Yun'er..."

The girl murmured her name, a faint smile playing on her lips, and said, "Thank you, brother."

"What's there to thank me for?" Cai Xuan patted her head again and said, "You must be hungry after fighting for so long. I'll go cook something for you." After saying that, he turned and walked towards the kitchen. After taking a few steps, he turned back to look at the little dress Yun'er was wearing, which was made from the stamen of a golden gourd flower. He sighed inwardly, "I have to make clothes again."

It seems the weaving project needs to be put on the agenda sooner rather than later, otherwise not only will these little guys have no clothes to wear, but we ourselves will also have no clothes to change into.

Xi'er and Yun'er stood side by side under the wooden frame, looking up at the little golden gourds above.

"Sisters, you need to come out quickly!" Xi'er said to the six little golden gourds.

"Don't worry, big sister, we'll work hard," the six golden gourds replied in unison, swaying their bodies.

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To be honest, Cai Xuan was reluctant to dismantle the tricycle, always wanting to wait until the gasoline inside ran out before removing the steel components. However, as his physical attributes improved and his strength increased dramatically, coupled with the dense forests and rugged roads in the mountains, making travel difficult, he decided to dismantle it.

Often, the tricycles would just sit in the caves and grow mold, eventually becoming something that was neither useful nor worth keeping.

In addition, when Shi Hu attacked, Cai Xuan saw that Xi'er and Yun'er were fighting Shi Hu with their bare hands, so he decided to dismantle the tricycle and use the steel on it to make weapons for them.

Cai Xuan spent several days melting down the three iron doors in the back of the tricycle to forge two short swords and a spear that matched their height for Xi'er and Yun'er.

He originally wanted to make a spear for Xi'er, but recently the little one had become skilled at chopping trees with an axe and felt that the axe was easier to use, so he chose the axe instead.

In addition, he made two small rattan bows for them, along with a quiver of short arrows.

"See that dot in the middle of the target? Aim there and shoot. Once you've learned this, you won't have to run away from fast-moving beasts like the stone tiger anymore. As long as you have arrows in your quiver, you won't be afraid of them. If you learn it well, you'll have arrows for ranged attacks and spears and axes for close combat, so you won't have to fight them bare-handed anymore."

With bows and arrows, they naturally needed to know how to shoot, so Cai Xuan made two targets and taught them how to shoot.

"I think using fists is more powerful," Xi'er retorted.

"Fists are powerful, but they are a last resort. In a real fight, you must strike first and injure the enemy from a distance. You can't wait for the ferocious beast to get close before you kill it. Close combat should always be the last resort, understand?" Cai Xuan instructed earnestly.

Xi'er moved her mouth a few times, but she still disagreed, thinking that fists and feet were more powerful, but she didn't argue anymore.

Cai Xuan began to teach them archery. The two were naturally intelligent and had extraordinary comprehension. In just a few days, they mastered all the skills, including drawing the bow, aiming, exerting force, and shooting.

Yun'er, in particular, is exceptionally gifted in archery, hitting the bullseye every time she draws her bow for the first time.

Even Xi'er is slightly inferior in this respect.

Afterwards, Cai Xuan also took out axe and spear techniques from the "Complete Collection of Chinese Martial Arts" he had brought with him and taught them some. He also learned some himself so that he wouldn't be caught off guard and unable to help when encountering ferocious beasts again, and would not only be unable to help but also almost get bitten.