The two of them rode their swords together and left the valley. At the moment, Chu Xuan planned to rendezvous with the Daoist palace team and see if he could find other types of monkey blood along the way.

After all, there was no rule stating that only the Long-armed Ape’s blood could be in the Ruo Wood Secret Realm. What if there were other types?

Chu Xuan now felt he had made a big mistake by forgetting to ask the old monkey if there were other monkey tribes he could bother.

But then again, even if there were, it probably wouldn’t "betray" its kind.

Regaining his senses, Chu Xuan noticed Gu Haitang staring at him, so he looked back.

Haitang quickly looked away, pretending to be nonchalant.

Chu Xuan found it amusing and after thinking for a moment, said to her, "By the way, I only realized today that while Haitang may be scentless, it has a flavor, and it’s sweet~"

Gu Haitang’s face turned crimson, and she playfully hit Chu Xuan, "You rascal! Always teasing me."

Chu Xuan laughed defensively, "Alright, alright, don’t knock me down from the sky."

Then Haitang, a bit jealous, said, "Before I joined you, were you and Qingqing flirting like this the whole way?"

Chu Xuan was speechless; how did the topic jump to Qingqing?

Of course, he wouldn’t admit it, "No, absolutely not, don’t let your imagination run wild. Qingqing and I had just met at that time. How could a gentleman like me possibly tease her?"

Gu Haitang looked skeptical, "You, a gentleman? I’d be grateful if you could stop being a flirt."

It’s worth mentioning that the begonia flower Chu Xuan casually picked and gave to Haitang was carefully kept by her.

Gu Haitang planned to use Daoist methods on it after returning, to grow it into a new plant.

That way, as the old plant withered and the new one blossomed, it would be like Chu Xuan’s feelings always accompanying her.

...

Over there, Chu Xuan and Haitang were flirting and bantering playfully.

On this side, Duanmu Qing wasn’t in a very pleasant mood.

In fact, the Li’an Demon Sect’s operation was going smoothly with their formidable reputation, generally, no cultivators would dare to provoke them.

Even when packs of fierce beasts attacked, they easily slaughtered and stripped them, retreating only from overwhelmingly powerful ones.

At the moment, they were attacking an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling.

This cave was hidden underneath a cliff, beside a stream, protected by a gleaming grand formation. Various magical artifacts and Daoist techniques bombarded it, creating colorful displays.

Although everyone was engaged, Qingqing hardly exerted any effort, appearing absent-minded.

No one around her dared to criticize her, pretending not to see.

As time passed, Qingqing felt increasingly agitated, even sensing a vague premonition.

She couldn’t help but imagine the scene of those two alone, the more she thought about it, the more outrageous it became.

For instance, after Chu Xuan fell asleep, Gu Haitang drooling and glowing, stripped his clothes and insulted him wantonly...

Or the other way around, Gu Haitang pretending carelessness, half-undressed—a sight of snowy white, while Chu Xuan, this lustful cad, unable to resist the wicked woman’s intentional seduction, pounced fiercely...

No, no, no! Qingqing shook her head, dispelling these terrifying imaginings, comforting herself:

It couldn’t be true, couldn’t be true, Gu Haitang, a modest lady from a reputable family, would never do something shameless like that, right?

She didn’t even dare to hold Chu Xuan’s hand, how could she be reckless? How would she dare?

Chu Xuan too, despite his flirty talk, actually respects women and has never laid a hand on her.

Besides, Qingqing could tell that Chu Xuan still held certain doubts about Gu Haitang. If that Haitang kept pretending to be aloof, who knows, they might end up arguing and parting ways.

In any case, stop overthinking; there absolutely can’t be anything happening between them!

Even saying that, after being apart from Chu Xuan for a while, Qingqing still felt lonely, as if the whole world were deserted, leaving only her.

And soon, she would return to the sect, to fulfill her duties as the Saintess, to endure that endless pain.

Qingqing’s eyes dimmed, wondering how long this despair would last.

Chu Xuan, I really miss you.

...

Meanwhile, at the Cyan Lotus Daoist Palace, they were smoothly sent into the heavenly realm.

Why "smoothly" instead of "luckily"?

Because, according to the calculations of the real person Suanji from Celestial Secret Peak, entering the secret realm with Jiang Yiyi meant they would inevitably end up in the heavenly realm, hence the two leading real persons were not surprised.

Since entering the secret realm three days ago, their exploration hadn’t been very successful.

The trip’s main goal was to help Jiang Yiyi find an item.

Just half a month ago, this ancestor suddenly remembered something important, saying there should be a stone in the secret realm crucial to her.

Fuyun questioned her if it was a magical artifact, perhaps an Immortal Artifact?

She shook her head repeatedly, insisting it was merely a stone.

When asked its purpose, she couldn’t recall...

Had Jiang Yiyi simply stated that if the stone could be found, it might help her recover more memories.

Thus, after some discussion, the Daoist palace decided it was important, specifically letting Lu Jianxin take the lead.