Chapter 0 – Stealing the Master
“Me, me? Little Chair, don’t always talk about Yuan Zhen alone.”
At this moment, Qiu Qianyue also blinked a pair of very excited peach blossom eyes and said impatiently.
“Hold on, Little Chair still needs to explain many things about Lord Qin to everyone… A’yuan, and Older Sister Feiyan, are they still looking for Little Chair everywhere right now?”
“They are not too far away. I have already sent a sound transmission to inform everyone of Little Chair’s return.”
“That’s good, after all, we can’t delay Lord Qin’s important business.” Yi Chengying lightly nodded her head, hesitated for a moment before saying, “And if Sister Qiu is truly curious… Sister Qiu, in A’yuan’s hometown, you are probably the one who has changed the most among everyone Little Chair has seen.”
“What’s going on?”
“In that world, Sister Qiu actually converted to Buddhism, received the dharma name ‘Chan Master Miaoming,’ achieved the position of Abbess of Fusheng Nunn, and truly adhered to the precept of not being close to women, capable of condensing extremely pure golden Buddhist power!”
The Debt Girl had a strange expression, and after a moment’s thought, she couldn’t help but sigh, “I understand. The other me has probably already died and vanished? Little Chair doesn’t need to comfort me like this!”
“It’s true!” Little Chair didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Not long after, Gu Feiyan, A’yuan, Ao Banwei, and others all returned to the Thousand Refinement Domain.
After hearing Yi Chengying’s explanation for her sudden disappearance these past two days, Qin Yuan immediately asked, “Then, I wonderwhat is keeping Father so occupied that he still hasn’t returned successfully?”
Yi Chengying’s little face immediately turned serious, “Actually, Lord Qin is currently in…”
Beast Land Sacred Yan Pond, Core land.
“Strange, that Yan Shang fellow, where is he hiding?”
Qin Gou stood by the side of a peculiar, blood-red lake.
This small lake, called the ‘Sacred Flame Pool,’ although it appeared calm without a single ripple on its surface, it made Qin Gou, with his current powerful divine sense, unable to truly gauge its depth. No matter how he concentrated, he couldn’t see what lay beneath the mysterious, vibrant water surface.
“A’xi, could it be that Yan Shang isn’t here at all?” Qin Gou asked, puzzled, as he hadn’t detected any signs of life along the way.
“Ding. According to the information provided by Elder Yan Cang Zhou back then, Yan Shang, who is afflicted with Eternal Seal Ice, seems to have no other better place to go.”
Qin Gou nodded slightly and continued to speculate, “Then, could it be that the guy actually detected my presence long ago and is deliberately avoiding me?”
“Ding. The host has been extremely vigilant all along, fully concealing his aura. Moreover, Yan Shang needs to constantly divert his attention to the Eternal Seal Ice on his Dao Body, so his divine sense’s sensitivity must have greatly decreased. Therefore, the possibility of Yan Shang detecting the host a step ahead is very slim.”
“That makes sense. However, to avoid alerting the enemy, I also need to restrain my divine sense and cannot truly go all out to explore. Just searching blindly like this isn’t a solution, is it?”
As he spoke, Qin Gou gazed at the somewhat dazzling, blood-red Sacred Flame Pool water before him and mused, “Perhaps, besides stealing the guy’s method for alleviating the ice, there’s another way: to attack from the root, directly destroy and weaken the power of this Sacred Flame Pool, leaving Yan Shang with nowhere to borrow strength from!”
“And Yan Shang probably never expected that I could enter the Sacred Flame Pool area so silently from the outside. So, it seems he hasn’t set up any formations to guard against it here.”
“Ding. The Sacred Flame Pool has existed for many years. If the host’s idea is to be realized, it will likely not be accomplished in a single day.”
“I understand, but why not give it a try?”
Qin Gou smiled indifferently, “I’ve seen many rare treasures and wondrous blessed lands created by nature. These things all share a common weakness: they are most afraid of being tainted by certain impure things in the human world… Just like the Longevity Fruits I condensed using the Bud of Taihuang, even if they accidentally fall onto the dirt on the ground, their precious efficacy will be greatly diminished.”
“Ding! Host, should I close my eyes?” Upon hearing this, the old pal said without hesitation.
“Clever.”
As soon as the words fell, Qin Gou, who was decisive, didn’t put on any airs of a high-ranking cultivator. He unfastened his robe and let out a leisurely whistle, urinating into the terrifyingly powerful and renowned Sacred Flame Pool of the Beast Land… If one were to talk about the most charming figures of the Beast Land over millennia, it would likely be only the Celestial Master of Arc-Moon Mountain, Qin Gou, who treated the Flame Pool as a urinal.
“Still no good.”
Then, re-tying his robe, Qin Gou, now feeling refreshed, looked at the still calm water surface and couldn’t help but shake his head, filled with surprise and doubt, “Could it be that because I’ve already transformed into the form of a Realm Lord, even doing this, I’m still not impure enough?”
“Ding! Heavenly treasures are most afraid of murky impurities, which is indeed common knowledge. Otherwise, why don’t you just jump straight into the pool yourself?”
“Damn it… Huh?”
Qin Gou, who was about to start bickering with the system again, suddenly sensed a presence from someone else. He instantly stopped speaking and retreated, concealing his figure, even retracting his fluctuations at the fastest speed, dispelling even the protective spiritual energy on his body.
“Yan Shang!”
Seeing the person who arrived on the opposite bank of the Sacred Flame Pool from the shadows, Qin Gou couldn’t help but frown slightly.
“What’s wrong with this guy? Why isn’t he wearing any clothes at this moment?”
Before his eyes, Yan Shang, with a pair of fiery wings on his back, was completely naked. And on his Dao Body, there were indeed parts covered in dark blue ice, emitting an astonishing coldness.
“Ding. Perhaps this is related to Yan Shang using the power of the Sacred Flame Pool to suppress his Eternal Seal Ice?”
“That’s bad. If I have to learn from him, what will happen when A’yuan and the others arrive?” Qin Gou’s mouth twitched.
“Why should the host worry? After all, back in the ancient Spirit God Cult’s secret realm, didn’t the ‘Nightmare Ghost’ Spirit Puppet also transform into the host’s appearance and be naked? With that experience, Qin Yuan and fellow Daoists won’t be so easily disturbed in their state of mind.”
“Can it be the same? That Nightmare Ghost doesn’t have any real critical parts… Cough, forget it. Anyway, if I really have to do this, I’ll finish it quickly!” Qin Gou gritted his teeth, thinking to himself.
“Ding! Look, host, this person seems about to make a move. Opportunity knocks, the host must observe his actions carefully and remember them all!”
“Don’t worry, I understand.”
Qin Gou nodded slightly, his expression gradually returning to calmness, “Exhaustive method, right? Anyway, I have plenty of time. As long as I imitate everything this guy does meticulously, I’m bound to guess correctly…”
Just then, Yan Shang, who had slowly walked to the lakeside, suddenly bent down. Like a thirsty beast, he greedily drank large gulps of the blood-red Sacred Flame Pool water.
