The reason why Luan Qing Xiao lifted Nie Zhen'er's punishment was because Nie Zhen'er would stray into the back mountain’s Forbidden Land this afternoon and meet the injured Ying Yuan Yu.



After Ying Yuan Yu was reborn, he found that his body’s spiritual roots were jumbled and not suitable for cultivation, so he wanted to refine himself a Poison Fire Pill. The Poison Fire Pill was also known as the Sole Survivor Pill, since swallowing a fire-typed medicine with jumbled roots will remove all the remaining spiritual roots except the fire root.



To refine the Poison Fire Pill, the most essential ingredient is only available in the back mountain of the Shang Qing Palace. Previously when he was a Bai Li Yuan Yu, Luan Qing Xiao personally picked and gifted the elixir to please him. Now he can only think of a way to acquire it by himself from the Shang Qing Palace. That's why he withdrew from Bai Ze Zong and entered Shang Qing  Palace.



Under the excuse of cultivating, Ying Yuan Yu came to the back mountain later that afternoon. The entrance to the Forbidden Land was in a hidden place. He has heard Luan Qing Xiao describe it once, but he didn't care at the time and couldn't remember the details clearly. He could only vaguely recall that Luan Qing Xiao mentioned something about water.



Ying Yuan Yu strolled around the back mountain once before finding a secluded pool in the northeast corner.



The lake water was such a deep green that it seems dark green paint was poured into it.



Ying Yuan Yu spent a long time searching for the entrance to the Forbidden Land by the area surrounding the pool. Finally, he gave up and speculated that the entrance was underwater.



Thinking of this, Ying Yuan Yu didn't hesitate any longer. He jumped directly into the pool and soon found a narrow tunnel similar to an entrance of the cave.



When Ying Yuan Yu swam over, the water suddenly became clean and clear, which confirmed his speculation.



Luan Qing Xiao stayed at Fan Chun Hall to personally guide Nie Zhen’er in her cultivation.



While Nie Zhen'er was meditating, she peeked at Luan Qing Xiao the entire time. Although Luan Qing Xiao had her eyes closed, her divine sense kept a close eye on Nie Zhen'er's every move.



After a quarter of an hour, Luan Qing Xiao saw that Nie Zhen'er was still unable to calm down. She opened her eyes to lock eyes Nie Zhen'er.



"Zhen’er, if you don't want to stay here to practice, go back to your own residence." Luan Qing Xiao stated lightly.



Initially, Nie Zhen'er had her head lowered out of a guilty conscience; Hearing her words, her head immediately popped up as she objected anxiously. "Mistress, I don't want to go back."



"If you don't want to head back, why don’t you practice properly?"



Nie Zhen'er bit her lower lip. Her apricot eyes glanced at Luan Qing Xiao timidly as her eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly. "I-I was thinking that Mistress-Mistress hasn’t answered my previous question, so I couldn't calm down and focus on practicing."



"Mistress, can you pleaseee answer me? Your favorite apprentice is still me, right?"



Luan Qing Xiao, "... … Eh." Faced with Nie Zhen'er's expectant gaze, Luan Qing Xiao couldn’t reject her.



Nie Zhen'er couldn't believe what she heard. She stood up and ran to Luan Qing Xiao to pull on her sleeves, "Mistress, you just said ‘eh’, right?" The entire universe seemed to be reflected in her bright eyes.



Luan Qing Xiao shifted her gaze away. If she continues to watch any longer, she would definitely OCC.



"Hurry up and go practice."



Nie Zhen'er's eyebrows curled. "Yes, Mistress!"



Even if there was a cute Little Junior Sister, Mistress still likes her the most. So happy~



She didn't know if it was because she was in a good mood. This time Nie Zhen'er sat down and swiftly engrossed herself in cultivation.



Luan Qing Xiao was planning to head over to the Forbidden Land to save the male lead. Before leaving, she got up and set up a protection barrier for Nie Zhen'er since she was in middle of cycling her qi, which couldn’t be disturbed. With her constitution, it would take at least three hours to complete one meridian cycle. By then, she would be back.



Concealing her body, Luan Qing Xiao entered the back mountain on her sword. Since she had a Shang Qing Palace elder token, she could enter the Forbidden Land without going through the underwater entrance.



Stopping in front of an enormous stone tablet, Luan Qing Xiao stood on the platform and placed the token into the stone tablet. After the tablet rotated half a circle and a golden light flashed, Luan Qing Xiao had already entered the Forbidden Land.



When Luan Qing Xiao retrieved the elder token from the stone tablet, her nose caught a whiff of a bloody smell.



Luan Qing Xiao: 520, how did the male lead get injured?



From what she remembered from her memories, there were no powerful spirit beasts or monsters in the Forbidden Land. When Ying Yuan Yu was still Bai Li Yuan Yu, Luan Qing Xiao specifically told him. He must at least know there is a unique stone in the Forbidden Land that can’t be touched. Besides, the elixir Ying Yuan Yu needed wasn’t even close to where the stone was. Ying Yuan Yu had no reason to be injured.



【Ding! The Vermillion Celestial Grass that the male lead wants to collect has its own restrictions, only those who have a cultivation of Golden Core or higher may pick it. Right now, the male lead’s cultivation base is only at Qi Training. Although he successfully managed to harvest the Vermillion Celestial Grass by force, the elixir’s restrictions struck his heart and lungs. If he isn’t treated in time, the male lead will either bleed or freeze to death here. 】



Luan Qing Xiao followed the bloody scent inside and saw the unconscious Ying Yuan Yu.



The clothes on his body were bloody, his face was pale and he held a reddish long-leaf plant in his hands.



Using her divine sense, Luan Qing Xiao inspected Ying Yuan Yu's injuries. After confirming he only had surface injuries, she took out a small white porcelain bottle from her sleeve. She poured out one and put it into Ying Yuan Yu's mouth.



The moment the pill entered his mouth, it melted. Ying Yuan Yu's wound healed quickly, and he should wake up about half an hour later.



Luan Qing Xiao: 520, Ying Yuan Yu will be fine, right?



【That’s correct, Host dada. The male lead is more than healthy now~】



Once she confirmed Ying Yuan Yu wouldn’t die, Luan Qing Xiao left the Forbidden Land and flew on her sword back to Fan Chun Hall.



Since she left for less than half an hour, Nie Zhen'er was still practicing seriously.



Luan Qing Xiao removed the enchantment from Nie Zhen'er before turning around and sat down on the top of her cushion to cultivate.



After circulating the aqua-blue spiritual energy continuously throughout her lower meridians for a complete cycle, she uneasily opened her eyes to peer at Nie Zhen'er. Seeing her face was ruddy red and didn’t seem to be in trouble, she returned to continue absorbing qi.



Unknowingly, Luan Qing Xiao had already cycled one time through her upper meridians. Opening her eyes again, she was unexpectedly met with Nie Zhen'er's clear pupils and small fan-like eyelashes. Luan Qing Xiao's gaze shifted down, Nie Zhen’er pink lips were right there, not too far away. As long as Luan Qing Xiao moved a little, she would be able to touch it.



Knowing how soft Nie Zhen'er's lips were, her eyes darkened involuntarily. Her voice turned husky, "Zhen'er, why aren’t you keeping your distance from Mistress?"



Once Nie Zhen'er finished practicing, she found Luan Qing Xiao was still cultivating. Thinking Mistress probably wouldn’t notice her movements right now, she leaned in closer to Luan Qing Xiao's collar and planned to smell her to check if it was the same in the cave.



Who knows Luan Qing Xiao would happen to open her eyes at this time?



Nie Zhen'er glanced at Luan Qing Xiao's collar reluctantly, she didn’t have the time to smell it. It’s just that Mistress has already spoken. If she doesn't leave now, she’s afraid Mistress will really get angry...



Nie Zhen'er looked at Luan Qing Xiao timidly and took two steps back.



Luan Qing Xiao cleared her throat, "Why were you so close to Mistress?" She was simply testing her willpower.



Nie Zhen'er spirited apricot eyes wandered around, "Well... This Disciple, This Disciple saw dust falling on Mistress's shoulders, and wanted to help Mistress wipe it off, so that's why..." She stuttered and couldn’t finish her sentence.



Luan Qing Xiao kept a Dust-Preventing Bead on herself, how could it be possible her shoulders would have dust?



"Enough, considering how serious you were cultivating, I’ll forgive you this one time. Next time, I won’t let you off as lightly"



Nie Zhen'er cozied up to Luan Qing Xiao. The apricot eyes on her milky white face turned into crescent moons, "Mistress, Zhen’er learned her lesson."



"Go back to your courtyard, come here early next morning and cultivate." Nie Zhen'er has only been able to reach Qi Training with ten years of training. Previously, the original owner only regarded her as a furnace. The lower the cultivation level of the furnace compared to the other person, the more that person will benefit in dual cultivation. Therefore, the original owner didn't urge her to practice well because she didn't want Bai Li Yuan Yu to lose his health due to dual cultivating with Nie Zhen'er in the future.



Nie Zhen'er furrowed her brows when she heard Luan Qing Xiao asking her to leave, "Mistress… … " She faltered and didn't dare to finish.



"Speak if you have something to say."



What did Zhen’er want to say? Could it be that she wants to sleep in and ask her to loosen the time restraint?



If so, it's not like that’s impossible. Nie Zhen'er was only seventeen years old this year and is still growing, so it's okay for her to sleep more.



"Mistress, can-can I sleep with you tonight?" This past half month, she was used to cuddling and smelling Mistress’ Ga Leng fragrance. If she goes back to her courtyard tonight, she will definitely suffer from insomnia.



Luan Qing Xiao, "... … No way."



"Mistress, I’m a docile sleeper~" Nie Zhen'er fluttered her puppy eyes and looked at Luan Qing Xiao pitifully.



"No means no, head back down." Luan Qing Xiao turned around and stopped looking at her.



Although Nie Zhen'er was testing Luan Qing Xiao's bottom line little by little, she knew pushing too much would have a counterproductive effect. Seeing Luan Qing Xiao refusing to communicate, she could only leave Fan Chun Hall in disappointment.



She returned to her yard, where dust-repelling beads were placed in the four corners of the yard. Even though there was no one living here for half a month, it wasn’t dirty at all.



It's just that she didn't feel it was unbearable before. However when she opened the door now, the house felt cold and empty without any sign of life.



A wave of loneliness suddenly hit Nie Zhen’er.



"Cultivation is lonely to begin with." Nie Zhen'er whispered to herself.



"But last month, Elder Liu Yun and his junior sister recently became a Dao couple. They lived  and cultivated together, they definitely won’t be lonely."



If she were to search for a companion, what kind of person would she look for?



Nie Zhen'er lied on the bed, pondering.



The moonlight outside the window entered the room as if it was spreading a layer of frost. Nie Zhen'er glanced at moonlight, and Luan Qing Xiao's aloof face suddenly appeared in her head.



"Ah, how can I think of Mistress like that!" Nie Zhen'er closed her eyes and tried to shake Luan Qing Xiao from her mind, but Luan Qing Xiao's reflection was like a shadow. No matter how she resisted it, it took root in her head and couldn’t be removed.



"Mistress don't like me, nor cared about me before. How could I like her?!" Nie Zhen'er didn't know the original owner's indifference to her was because she just didn't care about her. To live happily, certain facts can only be ignored.



"Yet... the current Mistress is so nice. Although she punished me to the back mountain because I went down the mountain without authorization, she was afraid that I would be cold at night, so she came to accompany me specially to help me keep warm."



"More-moreover Mistress admitted among the three apprentices, she likes me the most. Does that mean... ...  I expect more of Mistress’s affection?"



Nie Zhen'er's feather eyelashes trembled slightly. She slowly opened her apricot eyes and stretched out her hand to grab a handful of moonlight to hug it in her arms as if she was holding Luan Qing Xiao.