Chen Ye’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He could understand the language of foxes.
The ingratitude mentioned by the little white fox mattered to him greatly.
In the Grotto Heaven, the little white fox saved Qing Jun and her group?
But in his disciple’s tale, he hadn’t noticed such a thing... Wait, Zhiwei once said that back then He Qinyuan’s soul lamp suddenly failed, and she took the chance to activate the array plate to lead everyone out alive.
If it was the little white fox who acted back then... hissing, how many secrets is this fox still hiding?
However.
The little white fox exposed itself to save his disciples.
Chen Ye considered himself a cultivator with a conscience, and naturally wouldn’t use this matter to question the little white fox, so he decided to pretend not to know.
After all, this fox bears no malice towards their master-disciple group and is now part of the family.
"Alright, stop scaring it."
Chen Ye reached out and lifted Qing Jun, who was kneeling on his lap, and placed her beside him,
"That bit of meat isn’t even enough to stuff your teeth."
"Hmph, lucky for it!"
Unwillingly, Qing Jun waved her little fist at the little white fox in the tree.
"Squeak!"
The little white fox bared its teeth at her, turned around angrily with its butt facing her, and continued to lick its dirty white fur.
"Master, what are we going to play?"
Seeing her master fall silent again, Qing Jun couldn’t help but tug at his sleeve and act spoiled.
"Play?"
Chen Ye’s lips curved into a smile,
"I’ve been reviewing quite a few records of Baopu Peak these days. Although our Baopu Peak is poor, there’s a spiritual bamboo forest in the back mountain. The spiritual bamboo shoots there, they’re tender and juicy. And then the spiritual tail fish in the mountain stream, when grilled..."
"Gulp."
Qing Jun couldn’t help it and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, her big eyes already shining.
"Let’s go, while your senior and junior sisters are still in seclusion, I’ll take you to inspect our future territory."
Chen Ye stood up and stretched lazily.
Forget it.
Might as well accompany this girl.
It’s not that he didn’t want to see the girl unhappy, he was just a bit bored.
Coincidentally.
This time going outside, to see if he could draw out that presence in the shadows...
"Yay! Inspection of the territory! Eating spiritual bamboo shoots! Grilled fish!"
Qing Jun cheered, jumped onto Chen Ye’s back, wrapped her little arms around his neck, and shouted excitedly.
...
Lingyin Sect, Baopu Peak.
As one of the Inner Sect Twelve Peaks, Baopu Peak’s expanse is indeed vast, its mountain range stretches on, shrouded in mist.
"Greetings, Peak Master Chen!"
"Hello, Instructor!"
The news of Chen Ye’s impending takeover of Baopu Peak had long spread throughout the sect.
Especially among the cultivators of Baopu Peak, though still young, they are descendants of the sect’s great cultivators, so they are well-informed.
Chen Ye smiled, nodding slightly in acknowledgment.
Qing Jun, walking beside him, held her head high, her big eyes curiously scanning left and right, as if she were inspecting her territory.
"Master, why is everyone calling you Peak Master? Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of ceremony first?" Qing Jun whispered.
"The title is already set, the ceremony is just a formality, and to officially receive the Mountain Master Seal." Chen Ye explained casually, shifting his steps away from the main path, heading toward the tranquil back mountain.
Soon, they passed through a dense pine forest, and the sound of flowing water came to their ears.
A serene mountain stream appeared before them, the water crystal clear at the bottom.
Across the stream lay a vast expanse of lush spiritual bamboo forest.
The breeze rustled through the bamboo leaves, bringing with it a fresh scent of spiritual wood energy.
"Wow! It’s really water! And there are little fish!"
Qing Jun exclaimed, leaping down.
As a dragon race hatchling, she had a natural affinity for water.
The little girl plunged into the shallow stream with a splash, not even bothering to remove her shoes or socks.
In an instant, the stream seemed to come alive, joyfully swirling around her ankles.
The highly vigilant spiritual tail fish, instead of fleeing, wagged their colorful tails foolishly approached Qing Jun’s hand.
"Master, look! This fish is so dumb, it swam right into my hand!"
Qing Jun held up a plump spiritual tail fish in one hand, her little face sprinkled with a few drops of crystalline water, smiling brighter than the sun.
"That’s because they can’t sense your killing intent, they really think you’re the same kind from the water." Chen Ye spoke, sitting on a green stone by the stream, smiling,
"Alright, now that you’ve caught one, today Master will show you the top culinary skills in the cultivation realm!"
"Okay!"
The little girl tossed the fish onto the shore and eagerly ran to her master’s side.
The master and disciple had clear roles. Qing Jun was responsible for washing the ingredients and starting the fire, while Chen Ye leisurely prepared the spiritual fish.
As the fish roasted, Qing Jun rested her chin in her hands, squatting by the fire and swallowing her saliva.
Meanwhile, Chen Ye patted the dirt from his hands, his gaze unconsciously sweeping across the tranquil back mountain.
"Strange..."
Chen Ye’s brow furrowed slightly.
Recently,
he always felt a faint sense of being watched... even in the Cangli Courtyard, this sense of surveillance lingered around him.
In recent days, Chen Ye had been meditating quietly to detect the source of this sense of being watched, but to no avail.
"When did this start... was it brought by my disciples, or by me?"
He mused to himself.
Eight days ago, while Chen Ye was refining the Heart Slaughter Sword, he first had this vague awareness of someone watching from the shadows.
At that time, Qing Jun’s tail had already revealed its original form... and this was what worried Chen Ye the most, that the watcher had already discovered Qing Jun’s identity!
To confirm this sense of being watched, Chen Ye had even deliberately allowed Qing Jun to display her dragon tail in the courtyard over these days, hoping to see if the one watching would reveal themselves by reacting to the appearance of a true dragon.