When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

"Peach Blossom Spring is a place where half-demons live. Can I, a human, also go in?" Chu Xianlan asked doubtfully.

Xiao Huandu walked ahead and casually replied, "It's alright. Not everyone living in Peach Blossom Spring is a half-demon; there are also humans and demons who voluntarily left their races."

"Why are there humans and demons here?"

Xiao Huandu chuckled and said, "Guess how a half-demon is born."

This really touched on a blind spot in my knowledge.

Because humans and demons are different, some Daoist couples who are not accepted by the world will choose to escape to Peach Blossom Spring.

As Chu Xianlan walked along the road, her gaze would unconsciously drift upwards.

Xiao Huandu's pair of black wolf ears swayed with his steps, fluffy and very noticeable.

After holding back for a while, Chu Xianlan finally couldn't help but ask, "Um, can I touch your ear?"

"No way." The tone was icy.

However, it did not originate from Xiao Huandu.

Chu Xianlan innocently turned her head to look at Yi Chen walking on her other side, and felt inexplicably cold, so she chose to remain silent.

Why not? Oh well, if Master says it won't work... then it won't work.

"Since you're living a good life in Peach Blossom Spring, why are you coming to Taiyi Sect?" Chu Xianlan changed the subject.

"It was not my intention to implicate the Taiyi Sect," Xiao Huandu said in a muffled voice, as if he had thought of something. "For years, I have been investigating something: the personal disciple... is just a convenient identity for my own purposes."

Chu Xianlan thought to herself, "Why didn't Junior Uncle beat you to death?"

Even knowing his reasons, Chu Xianlan still put herself in her junior uncle's shoes and shuddered at the thought.

The disciple whom I taught with all my heart not only betrayed his master and ancestors, but his identity was also fake.

There's not a single truth in the mouth of that big bad wolf.

You unfilial wretch!

As they were talking, Xiao Huandu stopped and closed his eyes to concentrate by a huge boulder, raising his hand to form a hand seal.

Xiao Huandu glanced at Chu Xianlan, his tone meaningful, "Speaking of which, you'll definitely like what we have there..."

The scene before my eyes suddenly changed.

The name "Peach Blossom Spring" always evokes images of a remote and backward village, where one might imagine entering a few dilapidated thatched huts and elderly people with white hair hunched over tilling the fields.

Actually it is not.

There is no sun or moon here, yet it is still bright everywhere, and it is the size of a town, complete with mountains and rivers.

The bamboo leaves rustled in the breeze. Bamboo houses were built on steep cliffs, firmly secured by intricate mechanisms, forming a circular arc. Each floor of the bamboo houses was connected by a suspended covered walkway, creating a truly magnificent sight.

The entire complex surrounds the central main building, its grandeur rivaling that of any large sect in the cultivation world.

Chu Xianlan looked around and noticed something slowly rotating on the top of the main building.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be all magical artifacts!

Xiao Huandu's voice came from the side, "Those magical artifacts are used to control the weather and day and night."

More mechanical constructs floated in various parts of the sky.

Some are patrolling automatically, some are delivering items, and even the terraced fields in the distance are irrigated with ritual implements, all in perfect order.

The countryside you imagine isn't the countryside; the place where you live is the countryside.

Chu Xianlan realized that this place was itself a giant mustard seed space.

To be able to open up a mustard seed space to such an extent, not only to accommodate a town, but also to maintain such precise operation, is unprecedented and will likely remain so.

That's true. If a half-demon can forge divine artifacts like ancient swords, then they can certainly do much more than that.

Chu Xianlan was about to feel envious, jealous, and resentful of the half-demon's wisdom!

Damn it, why am I not a half-demon?!

"Stop spacing out." Seeing his friend's surprised look, Xiao Huandu reached out and gave him a nudge, grinning mischievously. "I told you you'd like it."

"...Why didn't you bring me here sooner? Xiao Huandu, I'm breaking off all ties with you..."

"elder brother!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a bright orange figure suddenly flew close from a distance and rushed into Xiao Huandu's arms without a care.

Xiao Huandu caught her in a flustered manner, "Sheng Sheng!?"

She was a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, with a beautiful and charming appearance, long hair reaching her waist, round almond-shaped eyes, and a fluffy tail swaying happily behind her.

"Brother, you're finally back!" Her voice was soft and sweet, almost pleading. "Spend more time with me this time, okay? Don't run away for so long again! Play with me and make it up to me!"

Xiao Huandu patted the little girl's head and introduced her somewhat awkwardly.

"Xiao Shengsheng, my sister."

Chu Xianlan had never heard of this before; Xiao Huandu had never mentioned that he had a younger sister.

We agreed to be orphans together.

Xiao Shengsheng only then noticed that there were outsiders. His fluffy ears perked up, and he blinked as he looked at Chu Xianlan, then at Yi Chen behind him, his face full of curiosity.

"Brother, they are—"

Just as Xiao Huandu was about to introduce them, Xiao Shengsheng broke free from his embrace and rushed over, wiping his drool, cupping his face in his hands, his eyes shining: "Oh my god, you two are both so handsome, much more handsome than my brother... Brother, you don't need to stay with me, you go ahead and do your work."

Xiao Huandu: "..."

Amidst the chirping and twittering of the flute, the group crossed the covered bridge and arrived at the main building.

As soon as everyone was seated, Xiao Shengsheng offered to serve tea and snacks.

The little girl skipped away, her ears and tail bouncing.

For demons, the most comfortable state is to revert to their original beast form, but for half-demons, the half-human, half-beast form is the most comfortable.

Chu Xianlan watched her retreating figure and said, "Your sister is quite lively."

In the past, most of the half-demons he encountered were suffering. They were either being hunted to the point of desperation, or tormented by malevolent energy, or like his master, they suppressed all their emotions and never showed them.

"Lively? More like a living father." Xiao Huandu's lips twitched. "She's never left Peach Blossom Spring, so she's oblivious to the dangers of the world."

Xiao Huandu casually complained about Xiao Shengsheng's glorious deeds. Although it was all complaints, his tone was full of doting affection.

Then, the conversation turned to business.

"What exactly are you investigating?" Chu Xianlan asked.

"Aggression."

Xiao Huandu slowly began to speak: "In the past, I had seen records about malevolent energy in some ancient texts of Peach Blossom Spring. In order to find out the truth and to save some innocent half-demons, I chose to leave this place."

At this point, Xiao Huandu summoned the Crimson Blade, "Back in the secret realm, I personally witnessed how demons, tainted by malevolence, could also go mad. This proves that malevolence is not exclusive to half-demons."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xianlan exchanged a glance with Yi Chen.

They had thought so before.

In fact, when Xiao Huandu was in the Taiyi Sect, he had already used his status as a direct disciple to collect various information. The more he investigated in private, the deeper the suspicions became.

The malevolent energy in the Immortal Realm of Ten Thousand Swords was an unexpected gain, which also indirectly confirmed his idea.

"If the malevolence is not a sin inherent in the bloodline of half-demons..." Xiao Huandu's gaze grew increasingly somber, "Then I suspect that there was an injustice in the chaos of the half-demons a thousand years ago."

"I'm back—ah!"

A loud shout and a series of crackling sounds broke the heavy atmosphere.

"What is it now, my young lady?" Xiao Huandu's expression changed, and he got up and walked out of the house.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Xiao cried from outside, "I lost my balance and fell down."

Seeing this, Chu Xianlan also went out to help tidy up.

Xiao Huandu picked his sister up from the ground and patted her. He was about to start scolding her when he suddenly stopped.

He sniffed, his gaze landing suspiciously on his good brother.

Xiao Huandu leaned closer to Chu Xianlan, sniffed her again with his dog nose, and said with a suspicious look:

"Hey, why do you smell like your master all over you? What did you two do?"