"This... what is this?!"
Chen Ye’s pupils constricted.
He saw that pale golden drop of blood, the moment it touched the lifeless body of the Iron-Horned Demon Bull, it exploded with dazzling golden light like the most scorching sun!
But it was just a single drop, far from enough.
The golden light only shone briefly and quickly dimmed, devoured by the Iron-Horned Demon Bull.
As for Qing Jun, whose arm was cut and bleeding, she was now crying her heart out.
She hugged her arm, watching the blood continuously oozing out, her eyes, which were initially somewhat narrow, were now crying so much they resembled boiled eggs!
"Wuuu... bleeding... Qing Jun is bleeding a lot... Qing Jun is going to die!"
And the fresh blood continuously seeping from her wound was being devoured by the Iron-Horned Demon Bull, drop by drop.
"Sizzle—! Sizzle—!"
The piercing sound akin to hot oil in water continuously rang out!
"What’s going on?"
Chen Ye watched this incredible scene in utter astonishment.
How could ordinary blood have such miraculous effects?
If she were truly a ghost, her blood would be incredibly cold, so how could it emit such a strong, sun-like aura?
This was clearly his precious disciple with the True Dragon Bloodline!
"Qing Jun!"
Thinking of Qing Jun,
Chen Ye rushed forward, embraced the still weeping Qing Jun into his arms with a mix of affection and surprise.
All this time...
He seemed to have underestimated his little disciple?
After all, Qing Jun possessed the True Dragon Bloodline, akin to a walking human elixir!
He tore a corner of his robe, carefully bandaged his disciple’s bleeding wound, and gently comforted her:
"Qing Jun, why did you suddenly... come here? Master, there was a misunderstanding... wait, let Master show you something fun!"
"No!"
Qing Jun in his arms showed no gratitude.
She pushed Chen Ye away with those red and swollen eyes from crying, glaring at him fiercely,
"Master is a big bad guy! Qing Jun will never talk to you again!"
She said that while trying to break free from Chen Ye’s embrace, but how could her little strength compete with Chen Ye?
Seeing her aggrieved and angry little face made Chen Ye feel even more guilty.
This time, he really frightened the little girl.
"Alright, alright, it’s Master’s fault, it’s Master’s mistake."
Disregarding everything else, Chen Ye held Qing Jun tightly, gently nuzzling her tear-stained face with his cheek:
"Qing Jun, you can punish Master however you want. Hit or scold, just... don’t ignore Master, okay?"
Hmm...
Chen Ye had never been this sappy before.
But coaxing a little girl requires a bit of sweetness...
When Qing Jun grows up, she might be grossed out to the point of nausea hearing him coax her like this?
"Hmph!"
Feeling the warmth of her Master’s embrace, Qing Jun’s grievances in her heart subsided quite a bit.
But she was still unsatisfied.
She extended her uninjured hand and lightly punched him on the chest, puffing out her cheeks, "Then... then you must never scare me again!"
"I won’t, I won’t scare you anymore." Chen Ye repeatedly promised.
"And!" Qing Jun added, "You must never leave me alone again! Wherever you go, you... you have to take me!"
"Uh... alright, if Qing Jun wants to go, Master will take you."
"And, and!" The little girl continued, "If you dare make me angry again... you have to buy me one hundred candied hawthorn sticks!"
"...Alright, I’ll do as you say."
That’s the good thing about little girls, they are easily placated.
After Master made all those promises, she contentedly extended her arms, clung to his neck, unwilling to get up, turning into a little pendant hanging on her Master, lightly murmuring:
"Master, Master, Master... I hate Master the most..."
Naughty little girl!
Still claiming to hate him!
"This little girl... now dares to hang on Master’s neck and won’t get up, I can’t imagine what she’ll do in the future..."
Chen Ye muttered, using the Spiritual Power from the Evergreen Technique to heal the wound on her arm.
Her insistence on clinging to his neck made treating her arm challenging for him.
"Hmm? Master is saying bad things!"
The little girl stared at him, thinking, Qing Jun is not a bad kid!
What her Master said made it seem as if she would boss him around in the future!
"Uh... nothing. By the way, how did you find your way here? Master merely stepped out for a while, why go looking for me everywhere?"
Chen Ye brushed off her concerns, then curiously asked Qing Jun.
From his own perspective, he had only been in this cave for one night.
"A while?"
Qing Jun heard this, her phoenix eyes still wet with recent tears widened again, and she looked at Chen Ye with disbelief, her voice raised a pitch:
"What do you mean a while! Master, you’ve... you’ve been gone for a whole day and night!"
"What?"
Chen Ye was bewildered, instinctively wanting to refute, but seeing the truth on his disciple’s earnest face, he swallowed his words back.
He suddenly remembered a point mentioned in the Puppet Refining Technique.
The most critical step in refining a Corpse Puppet is to use one’s own Divine Soul imprint to forcibly refine the lingering remnant soul of a Demon Beast after death, thus controlling its corpse.
This process is extremely perilous; any carelessness can lead to being counterattacked by the remnant soul, causing divine sense damage at best, or becoming a walking corpse at worst.
And once a Cultivator immerses their entire spirit in the Sea of Consciousness for a Divine Soul confrontation, they temporarily lose fundamental perception of external time passage.