Fairy, don't go! I have a mod.

As Mu Tianmiao passed through the corridor behind the main hall, before he could even catch his breath, two figures blocked his path, one in front and one behind.

Walking in front was a petite and delicate female cultivator, wearing a dark blue narrow-sleeved long dress with the cuffs rolled up to her forearms, revealing two sections of her fair wrists, each adorned with a silver wire bracelet.

She had a pretty face and curved eyebrows, and looked like a girl of no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. She was Lin Yanluo, the elder of the weapon refining room.

With a cultivation level of the ninth stage of the Nascent Soul realm, her skillful hands can forge countless top-tier spiritual artifacts, and nearly half of the sect's magical treasures and flying swords are made by her.

The one who was half a step behind was tall and slender, with a cold and aloof temperament. Her features were exquisite, yet she exuded a sense of aloofness that kept people at a distance.

She wore a plain white dress, with a jade medicine basket hanging from her waist, and a faint medicinal fragrance lingered around her.

Tang Ruoyin, an elder in the alchemy industry, is in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and serves as the chief manager of the sect's pill supply.

It is said that her talent in alchemy in her youth attracted the attention of Medicine King Valley, but she chose to stay in Immortal Shadow Sect, where she has remained for hundreds of years.

The two elders stood still, their gazes fixed on Mu Tianmiao, saying nothing, just watching him.

Mu Tianmiao certainly knew what these two meant.

The dragon, about to transform into a dragon, is a treasure trove from head to toe.

Scales and leather are used for weapon crafting, while essence, blood, and inner cores are used for pill refining; this is the custom of the Immortal Shadow Sect.

His Demon Refining Pot contained an entire dragon corpse, which these two considered a walking treasure trove.

"Elder Lin, Elder Tang."

Mu Tianmiao quickly cupped his hands in greeting, a smile plastered on his face.

"I will visit the weapon-refining room and the alchemy room later to distribute the dragon materials one by one, without any favoritism."

Lin Yanlu blinked, her voice clear and melodious like a silver bell.

"You said it, then I'll go back to the weapon-refining room and wait for you. Don't stand me up."

"I want the complete scales, and I also want the dragon tendons; they are of great use to me."

Tang Ruoyin simply nodded, her tone cool and aloof.

"The mosquito bites are mine, I get 60% of the essence blood, and you can keep the rest. How about that?"

"Alright, alright, we'll do as the two elders say..."

Mu Tianmiao readily agreed... but cursed inwardly!

Damn it, you two are both leaving... Did I just waste all my time?

Even the mosquito bites are gone? I'm really...

Sigh... I really owe you two...

Chapter Six: How Could I Like Someone Like You?

The two elders then turned and left, satisfied.

Lin Yanluo took a few steps and then turned back to give him a gesture to hurry up, while Tang Ruoyin didn't turn her head and disappeared in a flash at the corner of the corridor.

Mu Tianmiao breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could swallow it, Li Xizhao stopped in front of her.

"Are you done talking?"

"I'm done talking, I'm done talking."

Mu Tianmiao quickly followed.

Li Xizhao didn't say anything more, turned around and continued walking forward.

After passing through three moon gates and crossing a stone bridge with a flowing spring, a bright and open view suddenly appeared before me.

Nestled amidst a lush bamboo grove, a simple and elegant palace stands quietly.

This is Li Xizhao's bedroom.

The entire building is constructed of jade and spirit wood, with upturned eaves and corners, and is simple and unadorned.

In front of the hall stands a thousand-year-old plum tree with gnarled and twisted branches. Although it is not the flowering season, a faint layer of spiritual mist lingers on its branches all year round.

Mu Tianmiao had visited his master's bedroom countless times.

When I was a child, I would run here when I was injured, and I would run here when I was bullied.

But for some reason, he felt that the open arc of the palace gate was inexplicably solemn today.

Li Xizhao pushed open the palace door, and with a gentle flick of her wide sleeves, the spirit lamps in the palace lit up one by one.

She walked straight to the head seat, sat down, picked up the spiritual tea that had been prepared on the table, and took a sip.

Then he looked up at Mu Tianmiao.

The gaze wasn't stern, but it wasn't gentle either.

Mu Tianmiao stood obediently in the center of the hall, not daring to breathe loudly.

Li Xizhao put down his teacup, speaking in a calm and unhurried tone.

"Speak, tell me exactly what happened in this secret realm, don't leave out a single word."

Mu Tianmiao stood in the center of the sleeping quarters and honestly recounted what had happened in the secret realm.

From overhearing Qin Shou's conspiracy to how he appeared and intercepted the dragon after its death.

As for how to take away the dragon's corpse.

At this point, his speech noticeably quickened, as if he were trying to use...

Then I came back, and those six words completely covered up the rest.

Li Xizhao held his teacup, listened without any expression, and slowly took a sip of tea.

The bedchamber was quiet for a few breaths.

She put down her teacup, the porcelain hitting the table with a soft sound that was particularly clear in the quiet bedroom.

"Are you done talking?"

"I'm done talking." Mu Tianmiao nodded.

"I hadn't even noticed it before."

Li Xizhao's tone was very casual, as if he were talking about something as trivial as the weather being nice today.

"You have the aura of a female cultivator's yin energy, which I only noticed after you gave me that cultivation technique."

Mu Tianmiao froze.

Li Xizhao looked up at him, her gaze as calm as a stagnant pool, but something was churning beneath.

"You're having a great time out there, aren't you?"

Her voice began to rise.

"Picking spiritual fruits, slaying dragons, obtaining cultivation techniques, and incidentally even having a one-night stand with a female cultivator—you're living a pretty comfortable life, aren't you?"

Mu Tianmiao opened her mouth, but didn't dare to reply.

"I'm extremely busy and overwhelmed in the sect."

Li Xizhao's voice suddenly rose, and he slammed his hand on the table. The teacup jumped up and fell back down, splashing half of the tabletop with spiritual tea.

"I'm losing spirit stones, and I'm about to run out of salaries. The elders are arguing with me every day. They even ask me to approve spirit stones to repair the leaky roof tiles... And you? You're out there having a good time!"

When the last four words were spoken, the windows of the entire sleeping quarters vibrated with a buzzing sound.

Mu Tianmiao shrank his neck.

The pressure of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator's anger is no joke. Although his master didn't release his true spiritual pressure, his voice alone was enough to overwhelm him.

"Master, please calm down!" He subconsciously took half a step back.

"Calm down!"

Li Xizhao stood up abruptly, her flowing, wide-sleeved dress billowing in the force of her movement, and the white jade hairpin in her hair swaying slightly with the motion.

She simply waved her hand.

The power of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator was so immense that Mu Tianmiao didn't even have time to think of dodging.

He was lifted up by an invisible force, and in a dizzying moment, he was hanging from the ceiling.

The spiritual energy transformed into ropes that bound his ankles, leaving him hanging precariously in mid-air with his head down.

Li Xizhao stood below him, her flowing, wide-sleeved fairy dress billowing and swirling with the surging spiritual energy around her, and the white jade hairpin in her hair trembled slightly with her rapid breathing.

Her brows were furrowed, and her eyes blazed with anger that had been suppressed for countless years.

"You told me you liked me years ago, haha!"

Her laughter was sharp and short, as if it were squeezed out from between her teeth.

"And then what? You turned around and had a fling with Elder Tang in the alchemy room, losing all your vital essence and having to change your cultivation method. I tolerated this, thinking you were just young and ignorant."

Mu Tianmiao was suspended upside down in the air, opening his mouth as if to say something, but Li Xizhao did not give him a chance to speak.

"Then you started flirting with Elder Lin. Don't think I didn't see through it! Even though you didn't sleep together, I'll accept it! My disciple is popular!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, her chest heaved more and more violently, and the knuckles of her fingers gripping the sword sheath turned white.

"Now look what's happened! Even going out once in a while, I end up getting entangled with female cultivators from other sects!"

"Aren't you taking me too lightly? Huh? How could I have a disciple like you! A womanizer! Leaving his lover everywhere!"

She got angrier and angrier as she spoke, and she practically shouted the last few words.

With a flick of her wrist, a longsword with its sheath attached appeared in her hand.

The scabbard was made of rosewood with copper trim, about three feet long, and felt quite heavy in the hand.

"Master! Wait! This disciple can explain!"

"Explain what!"

The sword sheath whistled through the air and struck Mu Tianmiao squarely on the buttocks.

Snapped!

A crisp sound echoed in the bedroom.

"Ah! Master! It hurts!"

"You still feel pain?"

Li Xizhao retaliated with another backhand strike, hitting the same spot again.

When you were with Tang Ruoyin, did you ever think about how much pain you were in?

When you were with Lin Yanluo, did you ever think about how much pain you were in?

"When you were fooling around with female cultivators of unknown origin, did you ever think about how it would hurt?"

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

The sword sheath was swung with great force, each strike landing precisely on the same spot.

Mu Tianmiao was hanging upside down, unable to dodge, and could only swing wildly in the air like a fish that had been thrown ashore.

"Master! Master, I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

"You always get it wrong! Have you changed it? When have you ever changed it?"

Li Xizhao sneered, took out the jade slip from before, and weighed it in his hand.

"Now you've really gone all out, bringing this stuff right in front of me!"

Her voice was forced out through clenched teeth, each word sounding as if it had been chilled to the bone.

"You're insane! What is this? A dual cultivation technique?"

Mu Tianmiao hung upside down in mid-air, swallowing hard.

"Luckily, it's dual cultivation, not sexual intercourse."

Li Xizhao stared at the jade slip in his hand, his tone chilling.

"If it's some kind of evil practice of replenishing yang by absorbing yin, you can forget about ever leaving the house again. I'll just break your legs."

She raised her hand, as if to smash Mu Tianmiao's head with the jade slip.