20: Chapter 20 A Triumphant Return, Master! Your disciple has brought back some wonderful things!

The dawn completely tore through the night, and the sea of clouds at Lanyue Peak rippled with layers of golden-red under the illumination of the rising sun.

Gu Yi stepped onto the bluestone stairs, still damp with dew, and walked briskly into the bottom of Guhan Cliff.

The familiar faint scent of sulfur within the valley, mixed with the cold mountain breeze unique to the early morning, rushed to meet him.

Passing through the outer concealment Formation, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Beneath the withered welcoming pine at Guhan Cliff stood a cold and aloof silhouette.

Today, Fei Yuechan had changed into a simple and elegant flowing cloud moon-white dress.

She kept one hand behind her back while her other hand gently grasped the hilt of the sword at her waist.

Although her gaze was level, fixed on the rolling sea of clouds ahead, her slightly furrowed willow-leaf eyebrows and tense jawline betrayed her turbulent state of mind.

A gentle breeze blew past, stirring the hem of her dress.

When the faint sound of Gu Yi's footsteps on the fallen leaves came from the Formation entrance, Fei Yuechan's slender white fingers gripping the sword hilt loosened imperceptibly.

Deep within those beautiful eyes, which were as profound as cold pools, a flash of relief quickly crossed.

This subtle change in expression was fleeting.

She slowly turned around, her stunning face once again covered by the layer of cold frost typical of someone who has held a high position for a long time.

Her gaze lingered for half a breath on Gu Yi's immaculate white brocade robe.

After confirming that this Rebellious Disciple was not only missing no limbs but hadn't even scraped his skin, she spoke coldly.

"You have been missing for an entire night. This Seat thought that you, this Rebellious Disciple, found the bitter cold of Guhan Cliff unbearable and had packed up and fled down the mountain overnight."

Her tone was cold, carrying a bit of the unique majesty and accusatory posture of a Xuantian Sect Peak Revered Master.

Gu Yi stopped walking. Seeing his Revered Master's forced iceberg demeanor, the smile in his eyes not only didn't fade but grew even more intense.

When he left the hot spring last night, he had personally placed a Blazing Sun Jade at the eye of the Formation.

With Fei Yuechan's Soul Transformation Stage cultivation, how could she not have noticed the movement of him leaving?

This Revered Master, who was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, had likely stood at this windy spot waiting for him for the better part of the night.

"Revered Master, those words really break this Disciple's heart."

Gu Yi felt no fear from the reprimand; instead, he walked forward unhurriedly, his tone carrying a lightheartedness feigned with grievance, "Last night, seeing that Revered Master was sleeping soundly, this Disciple truly couldn't bear to disturb you."

"Furthermore, this Disciple observed the celestial phenomena at night and sensed signs of a rare treasure emerging in the direction of the back mountain, so I thought I would try my luck and find a treasure for Revered Master that could completely eradicate the cold toxin."

"Absurd."

Fei Yuechan's beautiful eyebrows stood upright, and she snorted coldly, "The Forbidden Ground of the back mountain is filled with poisonous miasma and surrounded by natural killing Formations; even the Sect Elders dare not easily set foot there."

"You, a mere Golden Core Stage, dare to speak of going there to hunt for treasure? It is simply courting death! If you had run into any trouble in there, how would I face..."

Halfway through, she seemed to realize that her tone carried too much concern and anxiety that shouldn't be there, so she abruptly swallowed the rest of her words and turned her head away, no longer looking at Gu Yi.

A very faint blush quietly crept onto her crystal-clear earlobes.

Gu Yi took in her hypocritical appearance. He did not poke through that thin layer of window paper but walked up to Fei Yuechan quite naturally, his wrist turning slightly.

A ten-thousand-year mysterious ice jade box, emitting wisps of cold air, appeared in his palm out of thin air.

The moment the jade box appeared, the water vapor in the surrounding air quickly condensed, turning into fine ice crystals that drifted down.

Within this extreme cold, there was strangely a scorching fluctuation that seemed as if it would ignite the Soul.

Fei Yuechan's gaze was immediately drawn to this jade box made of extremely rare material.

"What is this?" She felt a trace of aura emanating from inside the jade box that made the true Qi within her body tremble, and her voice became a bit more solemn.

"This Disciple spent half the night blowing in the cold wind at the back mountain last night, but it was finally not a wasted trip."

Gu Yi smiled slightly, his fingers gently hooking onto the silver lock of the jade box, and with a "click," he flipped it open.

The moment the jade box was opened.

A heatwave so immense it was suffocating, like a fire Dragon breaking free from its shackles, roared and swept across the entire bottom of Guhan Cliff.

The morning chill and the surrounding ice crystals were completely evaporated in this instant.

A cyan flame quietly floated inside the jade box.

The edges of the flame outlined layers of shadows, like a green lotus quietly blooming in the Void Realm.

The cyan halo it emitted illuminated Fei Yuechan's stunning face, which was shocked beyond measure, in every detail.

"earth heart green lotus fire?!"

Fei Yuechan exclaimed, and the beautiful eyes that were usually calm as still water were now surging with huge waves.

As a Peak Revered Master of the Xuantian Sect, how could she not recognize this heaven and earth spiritual object that only existed in ancient legends?

For an exotic fire of this level, let alone the Golden Core Stage, even in her prime during the Soul Transformation Stage, she would have to peel off a layer of skin to subdue it.

After the shock, what followed was uncontrollable lingering fear and being moved.

She raised her head, her gaze fixed tightly on the young man in front of her who was smiling.

This was the earth heart green lotus fire! This Rebellious Disciple had just spoken lightly about going to the back mountain to try his luck, yet he had actually gone to retrieve this terrifying spiritual object that would cause one to vanish into ashes if one were slightly careless!

Moreover, his purpose in retrieving this exotic fire was simply to help her eradicate the cold toxin remaining in her body!

Fei Yuechan's breathing completely lost its rhythm.

The cold shell she used to feign majesty was shattered to pieces in the face of Gu Yi's life-risking "affectionate" actions.

"Are you crazy..."

Fei Yuechan's voice carried a tremor she herself hadn't noticed.

She subconsciously reached out, wanting to check if Gu Yi had any hidden injuries from the exotic fire's backlash, but stopped abruptly in mid-air, her fingers slightly curled, appearing somewhat flustered.

"Such a ferocious object of heaven and earth, how can your current cultivation easily touch it? If your Foundation is damaged, your immortal path for this life will be completely ruined!"

Looking at this appearance of his Revered Master, who seemed somewhat at a loss due to excessive worry, the softest part of Gu Yi's heart was gently touched.

Although he had intercepted this spiritual fire from Lin Tian without any effort, Fei Yuechan's pure concern was genuine.

Deep in the Sea of Consciousness, Ji Meier's seductive voice rang out at the right time, carrying a bit of teasing as if watching a show.

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at that little expression, her eyes are almost red. Little rascal, your trick of getting something for nothing is truly mastered to perfection."

"If that little Trash Lin Tian knew that the thing he risked half his life to exchange for had not only become your spoils of war but also helped you trick the beautiful Revered Master into shedding tears, he would probably be so angry that he would jump out of the lava pool as a living corpse on the spot."

Gu Yi chuckled in his heart and responded via Divine Sense transmission: "Sister, stop teasing me. To deal with different people, one must naturally use different methods. A personality like Revered Master's responds to soft tactics, not hard ones."

In reality.

Gu Yi did not explain how he obtained the fire. He took a step forward and quite naturally reached out to hold Fei Yuechan's slender hand, which was still suspended in mid-air and slightly cold.

The pure Yang temperature of the Primordial Limitless Creation Immortal Body was continuously transmitted through their touching skin.

Fei Yuechan trembled all over, instinctively wanting to pull her hand back, but under Gu Yi's steady and powerful grip, this struggle appeared extremely weak, more like a symbolic display of reserve.

"Revered Master, rest assured, this Disciple has his own sense of propriety in doing things. Since I dared to go and retrieve it, I naturally had a hundred percent certainty of returning unscathed."

Gu Yi looked directly into Fei Yuechan's eyes, which were faintly shimmering with moisture.

His tone was gentle but carried an unquestionable dominance, "In this Disciple's eyes, no matter how precious a spiritual object is in this world, it cannot compare to Revered Master's Phoenix body's well-being."

"As long as I can spare Revered Master from the suffering of the cold toxin, even if the Forbidden Ground of the back mountain were ten times more dangerous, this Disciple would still dare to break in."

These words were spoken with resounding force and deep affection.

Two intoxicating blushes instantly flew onto Fei Yuechan's cheeks, spreading all the way to her snow-white neck.

Her Dao Heart, which had been silent for hundreds of years, was like a huge stone having been thrown into it, causing ripples that could not be calmed.

"Sweet-talking..."

She turned her face slightly away, not daring to look directly at Gu Yi's highly aggressive gaze, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, "All these sweet words in your mouth, I don't know which vixen you learned them from."

"This Seat... this Seat doesn't care for you taking such risks."

Although she was still stubbornly maintaining the dignity of a Revered Master with her words, the slender hand that was held in Gu Yi's palm obediently did not put up any further resistance.

Even, those slender fingers squeezed back ever so slightly in Gu Yi's palm.

The smile in Gu Yi's eyes rippled out completely.

He knew that the tsundere iceberg Revered Master before him had completely had her psychological defenses crumble.

"Yes, yes, yes, Revered Master is right to reprimand me. This Disciple will definitely be cautious in his words and actions in the future."

Gu Yi agreed as the situation flowed, then closed the ten-thousand-year mysterious ice jade box, isolating that terrifying high temperature.

He held Fei Yuechan's hand and turned to walk towards the direction where the water mist was thick in the depths of the valley.

"You... where are you taking this Seat?"

Fei Yuechan was pulled forward by him, her steps appearing somewhat chaotic, and a hint of tenderness and panic that she herself hadn't noticed appeared in her usually cold voice.

"Of course, I am taking you to eradicate the cold toxin for Revered Master."

Gu Yi turned his head, blinked at her, and his smile carried a bit of mischievousness and cunning, well-versed in romantic intrigue.

"This earth heart green lotus fire has a violent temperament; if refined directly outside, it might injure Revered Master's Meridians."

"Only by using the water spiritual Qi of that hot spring to neutralize it, combined with the close-contact guidance of this Disciple's Primordial Limitless Creation Immortal Body, can it be done without any risk."

Hearing the four words "close-contact guidance," the absurd scenes from a few days ago in the secret chamber of the Guanghan Cave Heaven uncontrollably surfaced in Fei Yuechan's mind.

Her already crimson cheeks were now so hot that it felt as if blood could drip from them.

"You Rebellious Disciple... stop spouting nonsense here!"

Fei Yuechan bit her lower lip and glared fiercely at Gu Yi, "Treating the injury is just treating the injury, where is the need for any close-contact... don't you think about taking the opportunity to take liberties with this Seat again!"

"Revered Master, you are wrongly accusing this Disciple. Every word this Disciple said is true, and I am only thinking of Revered Master's body; heaven and earth can bear witness."

Gu Yi complained of injustice with a straight face, but his pace did not slow down in the slightest.

He held Fei Yuechan's hand, skillfully bypassed several huge rocks, and arrived at the side of the steaming hot spring pool.

The warm scent of sulfur mixed with the white mist rising from the pool water, shrouding their figures in a hazy and romantic atmosphere.

Fei Yuechan stood by the pool, looking at the rolling spring water, her lips pressed tightly together.

Reason told her she should reject this absurd proposal, but looking at Gu Yi's clear yet slightly teasing eyes, and feeling the scorching heat coming from his palm, her hands, which should have been drawing her sword, could not be raised no matter what.

In the end, it turned into a helpless sigh.

"Fine, fine... if there is even the slightest mishap, this Seat will certainly not spare you."