"Yes. Let’s talk when they come out." Tianmiao picked up her chopsticks and started eating, "Eat up, eat up, while it’s hot."
"Mm, thank you, Senior Sister Tian." Yan Rui picked up her chopsticks and started eating as well, unable to resist exclaiming as she ate.
"Senior Sister Tian, this is so delicious. Ah, that one is also so tasty. Wow, they’re all so good."
Tianmiao watched Yan Rui’s cheeks puffing like an adorable little hamster, and couldn’t help but smile.
The result of this meal was that Yan Rui fell asleep right after eating. The food was so nourishing that she couldn’t absorb it all. Tianmiao helped her circulate her energy a few cycles, then carried her out of the restaurant and sent her back to the inn where they were staying.
When Xu Zihai came out to meet them, he was initially startled, but after checking on her, he was relieved and full of gratitude towards Tianmiao.
"Thank you, Senior, thank you so much," Xu Zihai said gratefully as he took Yan Rui from Tianmiao. Yan Rui’s cultivation had advanced more than one realm, and her internal energy was stable and surging with spiritual power. Someone who could help Yan Rui digest so much spiritual power was no ordinary person. Naturally, Xu Zihai addressed her as Senior.
"No need to thank me. Little Yan Rui is very cute, you all must protect her well." Tianmiao glanced at Xu Zihai holding little Yan Rui and noticed a suspiciously shiny droplet at the corner of her mouth, which made her laugh again. She then turned her gaze to Yan Rui’s bun hairstyle, and couldn’t resist gently pinching it.
Xu Zihai also couldn’t help but laugh at Tianmiao’s actions.
"All of us wanted to pinch Little Junior Sister’s bun hairstyle at first, and we did. In the end, it became a mess, and she cried loudly. Later, all of us who wanted to pinch her bun learned how to fix it. So if we messed it up, we would immediately fix it, and then she wouldn’t cry, and she’d be willing to let us pinch it." Xu Zihai smiled as he recounted the amusing tale from their sect.
"So adorable." Tianmiao looked at the sleeping Yan Rui, "If she wants to come and play with me, bring her over. You should know where I live."
"Great, thank you, Senior," Xu Zihai said happily. Having Junior Sister make friends with such an approachable and powerful figure was a wonderful thing.
Tianmiao turned to leave, and Xu Zihai watched her silhouette disappear before turning back inside.
...
A hundred cultivators who entered the Secret Realm, upon entering, discovered that they were standing atop a mountain range.
Was this another dimension or within an illusion realm?
What should they do now?
"Cangwu Mountain."
Suddenly, someone noticed a stone monument on the mountainside.
"Is this the name of the mountain?"
"Are we in the illusion realm?"
"But it looks so real. Didn’t the seniors who came to this Secret Realm before say? The Secret Realm looks completely different from the outside."
"But those seniors also said they couldn’t tell if it was real or an illusion."
"There’s a path ahead."
The crowd looked ahead and saw a long stone stairway leading down the mountain.
The cultivators all stepped forward, moving ahead.
Luo Yunyi felt every breath in this place made his body feel smooth and satisfied. He surveyed the entire shrouded landscape in white mist a few times. After everyone had left, he too slowly stepped onto the stairs.
He didn’t notice that someone in the crowd glanced back at him with a complicated expression. That was Luo Yunfei.