Chapter 1246: Such a Person

"Oh, starting to vie for favor so soon?" Xu Que asked Liu Jingning with a beaming smile, his face full of teasing.

"I'm serious!" Liu Jingning retorted, shooting Xu Que an annoyed glance before shaking her head.

Xu Que reached out, ruffled Liu Jingning's hair, and smiled calmly, "Rest assured, I have it under control!"

In fact, from his earlier conversation with Bai Cailing, Xu Que had also realized that Bai Cailing's heart held nothing but the Yaochi Holy Land; no matter what she did, she would always start from the interests of Yaochi.

Logically speaking, since Yaochi and the Shennong Clan maintained friendly relations, Bai Cailing, as the Holy Maiden, should not have betrayed them.

Of course, even if she had betrayed them, it wouldn't have mattered much, since the friendly relations between these two factions were built on mutual exploitation from the very beginning; thus, Bai Cailing revealing the cultivation site of the Resurrection Thousand Gold Vine to Xu Que was no big deal.

However, she had already discovered this place while in the Ancient Battlefield Ruins but never mentioned it to Xu Que, likely already harboring thoughts of finding an opportunity to seek it out herself.

It was only upon Xu Que's return this time that she revealed this location, and only then did she request Xu Que to revive the Pantao Garden!

According to ordinary thinking, under such circumstances one should first make a request and then negotiate conditions for exchange, yet Bai Cailing did the exact opposite.

Clearly, she understood Xu Que's character, knowing that "Elder Xu" disliked being coerced or having conditions imposed upon him; she even wished to continue building good relations with him, so by revealing that location first before making her request, she knew "Elder Xu" would not refuse!

If these two matters were separate, perhaps nothing significant would arise, but when combined and their cause and effect considered, it became easy to perceive that Holy Maiden Bai possessed considerable depth; although her motives were for the sake of the Yaochi Holy Land, which was not wrong, it still left Xu Que feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

After all, from others' perspectives, such as in Liu Jingning's eyes, Xu Que appeared to be the one being exploited.

Yet Xu Que merely saw through it without exposing it; having lived two lives, how could he not understand such worldly affairs? It was just... truly unnecessary to expose it!

As for developing feelings for Bai Cailing, that simply did not exist!

Having navigated the Cultivation World for so long, he had indeed easily developed mortal attachments when he first started out; of course, most people around him back then were also very pure!

But nowadays, among those who could cultivate to such realms, which one was a simple character?

Xu Que was no longer the Xu Que of years past; how could he casually develop feelings for every pretty girl he encountered!

"Little Que Que, do you truly understand what I'm saying?" Liu Jingning asked Xu Que with some suspicion.

After all, in her view, this lad was still quite flirtatious!

"Haha, that's a question I should be asking you! Rest assured, could it be that you still think I remain unchanged as before?" Xu Que smiled with solemnity once more.

There was one sentence he did not speak aloud: he felt that having Liu Jingning, Jiang Hongyan, and the others was already more than enough, requiring no one else.

However, saying such things aloud would actually be quite scoundrel-like; after all, as a modern person who had experienced monogamy, even though polygamy was quite normal in the Cultivation World, he still felt somewhat embarrassed, so he simply chose not to say it, though he believed Liu Jingning would understand to some extent!

"Alright, it seems you've grown up!" Liu Jingning paused for a moment, then looked at Xu Que with a half-smile.

Xu Que chuckled, took a step forward into the Pantao Garden again, leaving Liu Jingning standing there, glaring at him with a face flushed from embarrassment and anger.

Soon, a day passed.

Xu Que diluted a bottle of Life Spirit Holy Water and sprinkled it over every Pantao Tree; this didn't require much time, but to make the people of Yaochi believe the task's difficulty was high, he stayed in the Pantao Garden for an extra day.

However, as soon as dawn broke on the second day, not only did all the Pantao Trees in the garden revive, but they also released surging Immortal Yuan Spiritual Energy that directly flooded the entire Yaochi Holy Land.

This massive disturbance naturally alarmed all the women of the Yaochi Holy Land.

Early in the morning, the area outside the Pantao Garden was already crowded with people; Xu Que pretended to have just woken up, leaning on his cane with bleary eyes as he walked out!

Bai Cailing and over a dozen stewards and Elders rushed over, and upon seeing the completely renewed Pantao Garden, they were instantly overwhelmed with excitement.

"Elder Xu, for such immense grace and virtue, the Yaochi Holy Land shall never forget!" Bai Cailing immediately clasped her hands and thanked Xu Que.

"It's nothing; I merely accompanied them for a night's sleep. Alright, now that the Pantao Garden has revived, this old man should set off to attend to official business; time is tight and cannot be delayed." Xu Que waved his hand and replied with solemnity.

"Very well, Elder Xu, I shall accompany you there immediately!" Bai Cailing said at once.

"Uh... that won't be necessary; besides, now that the Pantao Garden has just revived, you, as the Holy Maiden, surely have many matters to attend to; we can handle this journey ourselves!" Xu Que paused, responding with some surprise at Bai Cailing's enthusiasm, wondering if she also wanted to share some of the Resurrection Thousand Gold Vine?

Bai Cailing smiled slightly and said, "Elder Xu may not know that many special Restrictions exist within that Secret Realm, which cannot be forcibly broken; however, over these many years, countless generations of Yaochi Disciples have ventured therein, and through the accumulation of multiple generations, we have summarized methods to pass through those Restrictions, but these methods are extremely complex and involve too many elements, so I wish to personally guide Elder Xu, hoping to save you some time and effort!"

Speaking thus, Bai Cailing seemed to think of something and added, "However, what Elder Xu said earlier is correct; subsequently, Yaochi will also have many affairs requiring my personal attention, so after I guide Elder Xu inside, I can only return early!"

"Very well, then I must trouble Holy Maiden Bai!" Xu Que smiled slightly and nodded.

Bai Cailing's subsequent addition was clearly telling Xu Que that she had no intention of sharing in the spoils nor coveting those Resurrection Thousand Gold Vines, so after guiding them inside, she would return early; this was indeed the choice of a wise person.

Moreover, in Bai Cailing's eyes, the value of Yaochi's Pantao Garden far exceeded that of the Resurrection Thousand Gold Vine, and indeed it was so; otherwise, she would not have abandoned the secrets of that place in exchange for Xu Que's help in reviving their Pantao Garden!

Soon, Xu Que and his party set off on their journey.

Bai Cailing personally guided them, and this time she did not bring any Yaochi Disciples along, nor did any Guardians accompany them.

After all, that Secret Realm belonged to the Tianxiang Immortal Domain, and this matter was not convenient for too many people to know about, so she chose to guide them alone; this point also gave Xu Que a new understanding of her.

This woman was truly not simple; she possessed both courage and strategy, with some depth, yet Xu Que quite admired her, since what Bai Cailing did was not excessive, and from a certain perspective, she could even be considered a person of credit and righteousness.

Such a person has a limitless future ahead. Such a person generally does not need a man's care and protection. Such a person, on Earth, might perhaps become an extremely successful career woman!

【Supplementary Chapter Three. Four chapters remain; although my state is muddled and dawn is approaching, I can still persist and continue striving!】