71: Xiao Cui'er

After the trip to the Blood Forbidden Ground concluded, a month had passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Feng leaned against the jade couch in his Immortal Cave, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Sunlight, filtered through the moonstone embedded in the Immortal Cave's ceiling, cast a soft glow.

Han Yunzhi knelt beside him, her slender, delicate hands gently massaging his shoulders, her expression focused and obedient.

“Mmm~” Lin Feng comfortably narrowed his eyes, the faint scent of the young girl's body lingering in his nostrils.

This leisurely life almost made him forget the cruelty and urgency of the Cultivation World he was in.

Just as he was comfortably drifting off to sleep, a slight ripple suddenly came from the Restriction outside his Immortal Cave.

Immediately after, a clear and pleasant young girl's voice rang out: “Lin Feng Senior Brother! Lin Feng Senior Brother! Cuier is here to see you!”

Hearing this, Lin Feng's mouth twitched involuntarily, his originally contented expression instantly turning a little helpless.

This girl was truly persistent.

He patted Han Yunzhi's small hand, signaling her to stop.

“Yunzhi, I'm going out for a bit.”

Han Yunzhi nodded obediently, her clear eyes gazing at Lin Feng.

She rose and walked towards the corner of the Immortal Cave, where two snow-white demonic wolves were curled up, dozing.

She stretched out her hand, gently stroking the white wolf's soft fur, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

Lin Feng shook his head helplessly, got up, and tidied himself up.

He changed into the yellow robes of a Huangfeng Valley Disciple, then slowly walked out of the Immortal Cave, removing the Formation's concealment.

Outside the Immortal Cave, a young girl in a light green dress stood gracefully, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a double bun hairstyle, a melon seed Face, and a pair of large, bright eyes that were currently sparkling as she looked at him, full of joy.

It was Xiao Cuier.

Speaking of this Xiao Cuier, several months ago, Lin Feng took a small System mission and went to Yue Country.

When he passed through the imperial capital, the System unexpectedly triggered a side mission— “Save the distressed young girl Xiao Cuier, reward [Vigorous Dragon Art] × 1.”

Lin Feng did not act because of this Cultivation Technique, but because he couldn't stand seeing girls being bullied.

With a few punches and kicks, he dealt with the ruffians who were bullying Xiao Cuier.

After asking about the situation, he learned that Xiao Cuier's parents had both passed away, and she had no relatives.

Feeling soft-hearted for a moment, he brought her back to Huangfeng Valley.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment; he knew Xiao Cuier had a Spiritual Root and good Aptitude.

So, just as in the original work, he introduced her to Martial Uncle Ma.

Martial Uncle Ma was honest and kind; seeing Xiao Cuier was clever and cute, and also considering Lin Feng's rising reputation in Huangfeng Valley, he accepted her as a Disciple.

However, Lin Feng hadn't expected that after this girl took a Master, she wouldn't focus on Cultivating.

Instead, she would run to his Hundred Herbs Garden every few days, calling him “Lin Feng Senior Brother” with great affection.

Alas, it seemed being too handsome was also a kind of trouble.

“Cuier,” Lin Feng said with a gentle smile, trying to make his tone sound less perfunctory, “Why do you have time to come today? Have you finished all the assignments Martial Uncle Ma gave you?”

As soon as Xiao Cuier saw Lin Feng come out, she immediately darted over like a cheerful little bird, her big eyes blinking, with a hint of slyness: “Is Yunzhi Senior Sister not here? Cuier hasn't properly thanked Lin Feng Senior Brother for bringing me to Cultivate Immortals yet!”

Lin Feng, hearing this, said somewhat exasperatedly: “You're being disrespectful, call me Senior Brother!”

“Hehe, Lin Feng Senior Brother is the best!” Xiao Cuier stuck out her tongue and made a Face, clearly not taking his words to heart.

Lin Feng rubbed his forehead, completely at a loss with this girl.

He cleared his throat and changed the topic: “I happen to be going to the market to purchase some things.

If you have nothing to do, come along, and we can talk on the way.”

“Okay, okay! Wherever Lin Feng Senior Brother goes, Cuier will go!” Xiao Cuier immediately cheered excitedly, affectionately linking her arm through Lin Feng's.

Lin Feng, helpless, could only let her.

As the two walked along, Xiao Cuier chattered non-stop, from Martial Uncle Ma acquiring a strange bag of Spirit Grain seeds, to Senior Brother Wang from the neighboring medicinal garden being punished by Uncle Li to carry water, to which Senior Sister had recently acquired a beautiful magic robe—everything, no matter how small, she spoke of with great relish.

Lin Feng responded offhandedly, but his Divine Sense quietly spread out, carefully probing the surrounding movements.

His trip to the market, besides buying some items for low-level Cultivators, had a more important purpose—to find Qi Yunxiao.

According to the original trajectory, Xin Ruyin, who possessed the Dragon's Roar Body, was now nearing her end.

Lin Feng felt regret over Xin Ruyin's fate.

That woman of exceptional talent, proficient in Formations, should not have met such an unfortunate end.

If he could find Qi Yunxiao in advance, perhaps her fate could be changed.

“System, can you sense the location of Qi Yunxiao or Xin Ruyin?” Lin Feng silently asked in his mind.

“Ding! The target person is not in a critical state, or their bond with the host is too low to pinpoint their location.

It is recommended that the host pay attention to key locations or events where the target person might appear in the original work.”

The System's response was cold and mechanical.

Lin Feng sighed; it seemed he could only search aimlessly.

The market was still bustling with people, lively and noisy.

Various hawking and bargaining sounds rose and fell.

Lin Feng, with Xiao Cuier, slowly strolled through the market.

His Divine Sense swept over every stall and every shop like flowing mercury, carefully observing the young men among the Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators.

Unfortunately, after a round of browsing, there were no discoveries.

Those Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators were either elderly individuals on the verge of death or young men who were clearly Sect Disciples, none of whom matched Qi Yunxiao's characteristics.

“Could it be that I have to wait until Xin Ruyin's storyline officially begins for the System to provide a hint?” Lin Feng couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

“Lin Feng Senior Brother, look at this fan, isn't it pretty?” Xiao Cuier tugged at his sleeve, pointing to a fan hanging on a small stall, her eyes full of fondness.

Lin Feng collected his thoughts and saw that the fan was indeed exquisitely crafted, so he smiled and bought it.

He also picked out a few small trinkets popular with young girls nowadays for the little girl, such as bracelets woven with colorful silk threads and hairpins embedded with cheap crystals.

Xiao Cuier, upon receiving the gifts, immediately beamed with joy, her earlier slight reserve thrown to the winds, and she chattered excitedly, showing Lin Feng her new treasures.

Lin Feng looked at her innocent and cheerful smile, and the slight disappointment in his heart dissipated considerably.

Forget it, the matter of Xin Ruyin couldn't be rushed; he would just pay more attention in the future.

The two continued to stroll through the market for a while, purchasing some low-level Talismans, Medicinal Pills, and Formation Materials.

Seeing that it was getting late, they set off to return to the Sect.

On the way back, Xiao Cuier was still in high spirits, talking about various gossip and interesting tidbits within the Sect.

“Lin Feng Senior Brother, have you heard? Our Huangfeng Valley has big news recently!” Xiao Cuier mysteriously leaned closer to Lin Feng, lowering her voice.

“Oh? What news?” Lin Feng asked casually.

He spent most of his time now secretly observing Han Li in his Immortal Cave and instructing Han Yunzhi in Cultivation, so he was largely unaware of what was happening within the Sect.

“It's about the Chen Family, the one that was almost wiped out by a mysterious Nascent Soul powerhouse!” Xiao Cuier said, “I heard that the younger sister of their new Clan Chief, at such a young age, actually achieved Foundation Establishment a few days ago! It even alarmed several Core Formation Grandmasters in our Sect!”

Lin Feng's heart stirred upon hearing this.

The younger sister of the Chen Family's new Clan Chief? Wasn't that… Chen Qiaoqian?

He remembered that when he left Chenjiawu, he had given Chen Qiaoqian and her brother some Medicinal Pills to help them Cultivate.

Calculating the time, it was reasonable for Chen Qiaoqian to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment at this moment, relying on those Medicinal Pills and her own Aptitude.

“Oh? And then?” Lin Feng asked calmly.

“And then,” Xiao Cuier's eyes sparkled, with a hint of envy in her tone, “Several Grandmasters wanted to take her as their Disciple! In the end, it was Grandmaster Hong Fu who got there first and took her as her Personal Disciple! I heard Grandmaster Hong Fu likes her a lot and even bestowed many good things upon her!”

Hongfu Immortal?

Lin Feng's eyebrows subtly raised.

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

Chen Qiaoqian becoming a Disciple of Hongfu Immortal would naturally elevate her status in Huangfeng Valley in the future.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

This first book is still too immature; if the platform doesn't block it, it will probably end when I reach the Spirit Realm~