Chapter 211: Hush Money?

Dawn broke; the light of day was about to arrive.

"Looks like everything's ready," Xu Xing said, looking back.

"Mm." Ning Ruo nodded and withdrew her gaze as well. "Xu Dage, could you watch the sunrise with me first?"

"Sure."

Just for a little while—there was no need to rush at all.

At that moment, Chi Jiuyu seemed to realize something too. She did a kip-up, flipped herself onto her feet, and shook the clinging snow from her body.

Then, with a light leap, she jumped straight onto the head of the nearly five-meter-tall snowman, plopped down on it, and gazed into the distance.

Clearly, she wanted to enjoy the sunrise as well.

But the main reason was still to take photos and post them in the group chat.

Soon, the curtain of night slowly receded, and a streak of fish-belly white appeared on the horizon, like ink wash bleeding across a painting.

That bright hue gradually deepened, shifting from pale orange to deep crimson, like molten gold pouring slowly down.

The glazed-white branches and leaves of the divine tree, and the fruits glowing with a white radiance between them, were now dyed a dazzling gold.

Glints of gold shimmered at the treetops, as if draped in a thin layer of gold leaf.

Snowflakes still drifted and fluttered, like shards of gold scattered from the sky.

Darkness ebbed away like the tide, and a crimson sun burst forth, blazing gold in all directions. The clouds were dyed in brilliant hues, drifting above a golden sea.

Neither of them spoke, simply watching this scene in silence.

The sun within the grotto-heaven was a star Ning Ruo had carefully chosen from the starry sky and personally captured, then compressed to a smaller size with a great divine ability and suspended above the grotto-heaven.

The moon and the starry sky within the grotto-heaven, on the other hand, were transformed by her from the divine tree's fruits—namely, the Mysterious Candle Fruits.

"Then I'll head over first."

Ning Ruo stood up; the coat on her body once again became that white lab-coat, though what was underneath hadn't changed.

The morning sunlight fell upon her, as if plating her with a sacred halo, beautiful enough to intoxicate the heart.

"Xu Dage, you can get ready first and then come over."

"Mm." Xu Xing gazed into the distance and nodded lightly.

Seeing this, Ning Ruo merely smiled, then vanished on the spot.

Not long after, the silence of the night was finally broken completely, and the light of dawn at last bathed the entire world.

The snowman's head had already caved in a little. Chi Jiuyu, sitting atop it, seemed to be muttering something softly, then took out her phone and snapped a few photos with clicks, before jumping down from the snowman's head.

She patted her bottom and glanced around.

"Shishu, where's Senior Lingzu?"

"She's gone."

"Oh."

"What, can't bear to part with her?" Xu Xing said with a smile.

"No, no, no." Chi Jiuyu waved her hands. "That's not it."

She was her Master's disciple! She reminded herself once again in her heart.

"It's only just gotten light; I thought she'd stay a while longer."

After saying this, she glanced around furtively two more times, as if she were up to no good, then ran to Xu Xing's side and sat down in the spot where Ning Ruo had just been sitting.

"Shishu, tell me honestly—do you like Master, or do you like Senior Lingzu?"

Although she knew asking this was a bit like asking for death, she really was a little curious about it.

Smack! Chi Jiuyu took a direct slap.

"What are you, a little kid, asking about that kind of thing for?" Xu Xing said flatly.

Chi Jiuyu covered the back of her head.

She finally understood why Yue Ying always hit the back of her head.

So she'd learned it from Shishu!

"I'm already twenty-two! And don't hit my head, I'll get dumber!"

If her extraordinary, transcendent great wisdom were to be damaged because of that, what a pity that would be!

"Mm, then next time I hit you I'll pick a different spot."

"Hehe, best not to hit me at all." Chi Jiuyu grinned cheekily.

Xu Xing glanced at her, then stood up.

"Shishu, where are you going?"

"Get ready, then go somewhere."

With that, he walked into the house.

Chi Jiuyu watched her shishu's figure disappear from view before turning her head back.

Go somewhere? Got it! Eight chances out of ten he was going to see Senior Lingzu again!

Just as she fished out her phone, preparing to report this situation to her Master, Xu Xing walked out again.

"S-Shishu...?" Chi Jiuyu couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"This is for you." But Xu Xing handed her something.

Chi Jiuyu took a closer look.

She saw it was a palm-sized purple crystal card, with intricate and lavish patterns printed on its surface.

"What's this?"

Taking the card, she examined it against the sunlight for a while.

"Ning Ruo gave it. With this, you can exchange for some special resources at the inner sect of Ling Yin Fang."

Oh oh!

It's just a temporary authorization granted by the Elder Lingzu.

"The spirit stones I gave you yesterday…" Xu Xing paused, "Never mind, I'll give you a bit more."

Saying this, he pulled out another storage ring and tossed it to her.

"Arrange your own schedule for today."

After saying this, Xu Xing vanished.

Chi Jiuyu stared at the storage ring and the purple crystal card in her hand, her expression conflicted.

This…

Is this considered hush money? …………

Inside the main cavern realm.

In contrast to the inner sect cavern realm, it was now night.

The moon, born from the Some Some Some Xuanzhu fruit, hung silently in the sky, pure and flawless.

emm…

According to Ning Ruo's explanation, this was to constantly experience different scenery.

Ning Wanyin stood by the roadside, her face stiff and motionless.

"No need to wait." Her master's voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Huu~ She instantly relaxed, patted her chest, turned back to the previous reclining chair, took out her phone, and resumed her game.

Inside the mountain laboratory.

Still the same office, Ning Ruo had once again reverted to the way she appeared when she first met him at Ling Yin Fang.

This time, however, her long hair was not tied up, but loosely draped over her shoulders.

Xu Xing stood not far from her.

Ning Ruo gently pushed her glasses: "Xu Dage, please follow me."

The high heels clicked sharply against the floor as Xu Xing followed her.

The two walked one after the other down the long corridor, reaching its end—but did not enter the teleportation array as before.

Ning Ruo extended her hand and lightly tapped the air.

A ripple, visible to the naked eye, spread outward, revealing countless hidden and terrifying protective measures.

The restrictions Qian had left within the Alliance of the Righteous paled in comparison to these.

Space began to collapse and warp inward, finally spinning open a square passage, just wide enough for two people to pass through.

"To prevent accidents, I've hidden this place very deeply."

After explaining, the two walked in side by side.

On both sides of the space passage flowed colorful light, brimming with terrifying power—if it erupted, even a Dao-Truth cultivator would be erased.

"Xu Dage, do you remember the story you told me before?" Ning Ruo suddenly asked.

"You mean…"

"After stepping onto the Immortal Path: Qi Gathering, Foundation Establishment, Jin Dan, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Return, and finally merging with the Dao!" Ning Ruo's voice echoed through the space passage, "But what comes after merging with the Dao? Survive the tribulation to attain Great Ascension, attain the Dao as a Great Ascension, break through the boundary and ascend to immortality."

"That was just offhand talk," Xu Xing shook his head slightly. "After merging with the Dao, there are no calamities—so how could there be a tribulation? And we who become immortals do not need to break through boundaries to ascend."

"Mm." Ning Ruo nodded slightly. "We who become immortals indeed do not need to break through boundaries—but what about other worlds?"

During the attempts back then, they explored beyond the Tai Xuan Realm, but not even worlds approaching the Tai Xuan Realm's strength.

Most worlds couldn't even withstand a single glance from a True Immortal.

Even if one or two barely passable ones were found, their upper limit of allowable power was low.

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