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Emperor Chenghao was once again driven by his son to go and cultivate.

Before leaving, he thought of something and said to his son and daughter-in-law, "Seven, Chui, I am no longer the emperor of Dongling anymore, so you won't need to call me 'Father Emperor' from now on."

After finally stepping down as emperor, Emperor Chenghao—no, from now on, Ning Jichen—instantly felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

He no longer had to adhere to the rules of the Ning clan and be called "Father Emperor" by so many children who weren't even his own. Actually, the fathers of those children had their own complaints, and he had his own complaints too. His own children needed all his love, so why should I take in so many kids? And on top of that, those kids even complained that he, as emperor, played favorites with Ning Yuzhou—what a joke! Of course, I'd favor my own son over someone else's kid. He wasn't out of his mind.

When they heard his grumbling, Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao almost spit out their laughs.

Wen Qiao had never known that her father-in-law, who always put on imperial airs and seemed very dignified, had such a funny side in private. It was clear that being the emperor of Dongling had been quite a bitter pill to swallow.

"Understood, from now on, we'll just call you 'Dad,'" Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao both said.

Only then did Ning Jichen happily leave with the cultivation techniques in hand.

Ning Yuzhou once again tossed Wen Tuti and Wen Guangun over to help guide his father in cultivation, while Wen Qiao went to find Yi Xuan.

"Little Sister, what's the matter?"

Wen Qiao took out the Snow Domain Pearl from her storage bag and said, "Second Senior Brother, this is for you."

Qin Hongdao nosily came over, curious, and feeling the icy chill emanating from the Snow Domain Pearl, was utterly surprised. "What kind of treasure is this? Where did it come from?"

"My little sister here snatched it," Shi Wuming said with a chuckle, recounting how Wen Qiao had seized the opportunity to take the item.

Qin Hongdao and Yi Xuan immediately felt a sense of solidarity. Anyone who dared lay a hand on their little sister deserved to have their treasures taken by her.

The Snow Domain Pearl was an ice-attribute treasure, perfectly suited for cultivators with ice-element spiritual roots. Yi Xuan quickly discovered the hidden mysteries within the pearl and was both shocked and delighted. "Little Sister, the Snow Domain Pearl actually holds its own world inside. It can draw a person's soul into the snowy world within the pearl, causing their soul to disintegrate without them ever knowing."

No wonder it was called the Snow Domain Pearl—it had such a reason behind it.

"Really?" Wen Qiao was also surprised and then said with some relief, "Fortunately, that person didn't draw my soul into the Snow Domain Pearl at the time." If her soul had been drawn in, she wouldn't have been able to sense the spiritual plants outside, and she would have been trapped to death.

However, Wen Tuti was nearby, ready to come to her rescue, so Wen Qiao wasn't afraid.

Yi Xuan thought for a moment and said, "It's not that he didn't want to, but he hadn't fully refined the Snow Domain Pearl and couldn't extract a cultivator's soul. I think it's because his cultivation level wasn't high enough to refine the Snow Domain Pearl, or perhaps he didn't have an ice-element spiritual root and couldn't fully unleash the pearl's power."

"It must be the second case," Wen Qiao recalled her encounter with that person. "That person didn't have an ice-element spiritual root, so he could only control the Snow Domain Pearl but couldn't unleash its full power."

After examining the Snow Domain Pearl, Yi Xuan said somewhat sheepishly, "Little Sister, this Snow Domain Pearl is indeed very suitable for me, but I can't always accept things from you. How about..."

"Second Senior Brother, saying too much makes it seem distant," Wen Qiao said with a serious expression.

Ning Yuzhou chuckled lightly. "Chui is right."

Qin Hongdao nodded in agreement. "Second Senior Brother, don't be so polite. In the future, if you find something good, just remember Little Sister and Ning Yuzhou."

As someone who could never hold onto money or magical tools, Qin Hongdao didn't see anything wrong with this. Whenever she found something good, she would share it with her junior brothers and sisters. Similarly, if her juniors found something good, they could give it to those who needed it. This way, everyone could find the most suitable treasures for themselves, which would greatly benefit their cultivation.

With Qin Hongdao, the Eldest Senior Sister, having the final say, Yi Xuan had no choice but to blush and accept the pearl, secretly resolving to go on more adventures in the future to find good treasures. As a senior brother, he couldn't always rely on his juniors to provide for him.

After Yi Xuan left to refine the Snow Domain Pearl, Wen Qiao said, "Second Senior Brother may seem cold, but he's actually quite warm-hearted."

Qin Hongdao burst out laughing. "It's just because of the ice-element cultivation technique he practices that he became like this. When he was young, he was soft and shy, like a little girl, and he was obedient and adorable. He was the most beloved among us, and our master and mistress liked him the most. Unfortunately, influenced by his technique, he gradually became like this, much to the regret of our master and mistress."

Since the journey to the Inner Sea was quite long, Qin Hongdao said to Shi Wuming, "Fellow Daoist Shi, how about we spar a bit?"

Shi Wuming: "..." He didn't want to be beaten up.

Chapter 361

On the way to the Inner Sea Region, Shi Wuming experienced both pain and joy every day.

The pain came from being mercilessly beaten by the lady he admired, while the joy came from being able to spend time with her daily. Even if it was just sparring, they were still together daily, and perhaps over time, feelings would develop?

"Don't dream," Wen Tuti ruthlessly dashed his hopes. "Would you develop feelings for someone you consistently defeat?"

Shi Wuming immediately protested, "Brother Wen, can you stop dousing my hopes every time? Give me some face, will you?"

Wen Tuti was quite easy to talk to—after Shi Wuming handed her a bottle of Spirit Restoring Pills and several boxes of spirit fruits, she wiped her mouth with her little hand, indicating she wouldn’t discourage him anymore.

However, Shi Wuming soon became dissatisfied again.

Because Qin Hongdao began to take an interest in Wen Tuti and sought to spar with her, leaving his previous sparring partner cruelly ignored.

Shi Wuming: "..." What happened to building feelings together?

Wen Tuti had a favorable impression of Qin Hongdao, the Eldest Senior Sister, not only because Qin Hongdao was generous and had given her many gifts upon their first meeting, but also because she was righteous and treated her fellow disciples very well, protecting them like a mother hen.

So when Qin Hongdao wanted to spar with Wen Tuti, a demon cultivator of the Emperor Yuan Realm, she readily agreed.