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

Her consciousness was involuntarily transported through fragments of the past. Chu Xianlan was thrown into one chaotic stream of memories after another, forced to stand in her master's shoes and examine her own actions firsthand.

I dared not open my eyes, hoping it was just my imagination.

Regardless of what outsiders think, even Chu Xianlan himself feels that in these memories, he has already loved his master to the point of...

Earth-shattering!

I'm hopelessly addicted!

How could this be!

Rebellious disciple who defies his master!

No wonder his master kept looking at him with a hint of something in his eyes. Imagine this: a disciple you've raised since childhood suddenly mutates, and you can't just do whatever you want out of a sense of responsibility. Plus, the two of you are both bound by the Life-Binding Gu, and you can't even keep your distance... Anyone would probably be in a real headache.

But as the flashback memories accumulate...

Chu Xianlan gradually noticed some changes.

The initial helplessness and distress did not last long. From some point onward, Yi Chen stopped avoiding touching him and instead tacitly allowed him to approach time and time again. The coldness in his eyes was replaced by a wave of genuine affection.

Subsequently, those previously unknown feelings gradually surfaced, leaving traces that made Chu Xianlan realize that when her master expressed his feelings, he probably... truly believed that they were in love with each other.

That's why I wanted to form a Daoist couple contract.

That's why... he was so devastated when he knelt down and denied it.

Master truly believed it and took those words, both true and false, to heart.

A celestial being, untouched by worldly affairs, was moved by love and affection. He set aside all his reserve and pride, mustered all his courage to overcome worldly obstacles, and responded to his disciple's pursuit.

In the end, not only did he gain nothing, but he also discovered that he had been... wishful thinking.

How could they not be affected?

Even so, his master still indulged him in every way.

Suddenly, many more different images of his master flashed through Chu Xianlan's mind: gentle and compromising, serious and earnest, anxious and insecure... His emotions were restrained, yielding, and forbearing; his love was born in tolerance and accommodation.

Chu Xianlan pursed her lips, her heart feeling as if it had been drenched by a sudden rain, and she loosely embraced Yi Chen's back from behind.

"Master... Master..." he whispered.

Chu Xianlan seems to only ever say these two words, etched deep in her instincts, containing so many unique meanings. She calls out "Master" when she's overjoyed, "Master" when she's sad, and "Master" when she misses someone.

That was a spell that lingered in the boy's heart, a spell that belonged only to him.

Every time I utter these two words, I feel an overwhelming courage to split mountains and cleave seas.

However, the moment Chu Xianlan hugged her, the surrounding scenery changed again. The ice-type spiritual energy flowed as if it were tangible, and everything was clear and white.

He had already reached the deepest part of Yi Chen's sea of ​​consciousness.

Chu Xianlan stopped in her tracks, blinked, and stared ahead as if she were in a daze.

A child looked at him with clear, bright eyes, sitting upright with soft, fluffy white hair cascading down to his ankles, and the shadow of Yi Chen could be vaguely seen between his eyebrows and eyes.

Primordial spirit...

A cultivator's nascent soul usually resembles an infant in swaddling clothes, but when they reach the Nascent Soul stage, their nascent soul takes shape and resembles a child of about seven or eight years old.

Chu Xianlan's feelings were too complicated. The simplest way to destroy a cultivator was to shatter his soul foundation. Seeing the primordial spirit was equivalent to exposing Yi Chen's most vulnerable weakness to him without any defense.

"Who are you?"

A tender voice came from the mouth of a child with delicate features.

"I am..." Chu Xianlan pondered for a moment, then deliberately tilted her head and said, "Your Daoist partner."

Upon hearing this, Yi Chen's primordial spirit was startled.

The child couldn't believe his ears and walked over to Chu Xianlan, observing her closely.

"real?"

"Really," Chu Xianlan replied earnestly, her tone very friendly.

He squatted down to be at eye level with the child and gestured for him to come over. The little spirit hesitated and reached out, cautiously hovering around his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes, like a small animal trying to touch him, but ultimately withdrew.

So Chu Xianlan took his small hand and pressed it against her cheek.

The little spirit opened its eyes wide in surprise, its eyelashes trembling, carefully feeling the warmth of the palm, and was reluctant to take its hand away.

"You're so warm." He slowly lowered his guard and looked at Chu Xianlan with innocent eyes.

"It can be even warmer." Chu Xianlan gently smiled and said, pulling the child into her arms.

The primordial spirit, being embraced, was clearly at a loss. The warm breath enveloped him completely, and he was not used to it. His body stiffened a little, and he subconsciously tilted his head back slightly, "Hmm."

Chu Xianlan raised her hand and stroked the back of his head.

The little spirit buried its head nervously and shyly, rubbing against the boy's shoulder.

It smells like a faint, refreshing fragrance, like the warmth of the sun.

So comfortable. So reassuring.

"If we were Daoist partners..." The little primordial spirit quickly accepted this identity and said somewhat dizzily, "Then, I would definitely like you very much."

"Yes," Chu Xianlan's nose suddenly felt sore, "Me too... I love Shizun the most."

The peaceful spiritual energy transformed into shimmering white light spots, swirling around the two of them.

Chu Xianlan asked softly, "Master, what happened here? Why is your sea of ​​consciousness so chaotic?"

The little spirit was very confused. "I...I don't know. I can't get out of here, and I can't understand what you're saying."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xianlan sensed something was amiss. Her gaze swept over the little primordial spirit from top to bottom, finally settling on his snow-white hair, and she was taken aback.

There was a pair of extremely tiny horns hidden there!

The light blue horns are round and short, almost blending into the hair, and you can hardly notice them unless you look closely!

Chu Xianlan held her breath, gently brushing aside Xiao Yuan's hair. "Master, why... why have you grown horns!?"

"This? I don't know, it's always been here."

The little spirit tilted its head to look at him, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Chu Xianlan's mind exploded with shock, utterly confused. How many creatures in the cultivation world had horns on their heads? Cows? Sheep? No, no, no, I'm getting off-topic... My master possesses half snake demon blood. Snake transforms into dragon, dragon transforms into dragon... the most plausible possibility is obviously...

dragon!

The moment this thought flashed through her mind, a powerful spiritual current rippled out like waves, a surging, overwhelming force capable of tearing everything apart, bursting forth with a threatening aura. In the midst of the chaos, Chu Xianlan was directly pulled out of her sea of ​​consciousness by a force, and her divine sense suddenly returned to her body!

When he opened his eyes, his body was inexplicably suspended thousands of feet in the air.

Chu Xianlan stared blankly: "??"

"Oh, you're awake?" A cheerful and light female voice came from beside me. "You two really know how to have fun, daring to trespass into the sea of ​​consciousness of a Nascent Soul cultivator."

That voice… Chu Xianlan stared in disbelief, turning her head away, her expression blank.

"Master, Grandmaster!?"

The female cultivator in front of me wore a loose blue Taoist robe, her dark hair was casually tied into a bun, one hand on her hip, and the other steadily holding her grand-disciple. She walked on flat ground without any magical artifacts or flying swords for support, without feeling any pressure whatsoever.

Master Zhiyue shook his wrist and smiled, "Long time no see, Little Xianlan."

Chu Xianlan was stunned. He really didn't understand the situation and was still in shock.

Just a second ago I was in my master's sea of ​​consciousness, how come I'm encountering my grandmaster the next second??

Zhi Yue showed no surprise whatsoever, casually praising, "Not bad. Not only have you not neglected your cultivation and reshaped your Heavenly Spiritual Root, you even seem to have grown taller?"

"Grandmaster! What are you doing here? Where is my master? He—"

"Look over there."

Master Zhiyue raised his chin.

Below the sea of ​​clouds, countless enormous ice pillars and icicles rise from the ground, seemingly extending from beneath the surface of the Water Dragon Abyss, stretching straight upwards to form a magnificent and spectacular landscape.

Gazing at the icy landscape, Master Zhiyue seemed to understand everything, his voice tinged with a touch of melancholy:

"It seems the little snake is about to transform into a dragon."