Inside the herb garden, that figure whipped its head around.
Its cheeks were stuffed to bursting, and blood trickled from its nose.
Catching sight of Li Guanqi's terrifying visage and imposing aura, it was scared out of its wits and bolted at full speed!
Even as it fled, it did not forget to shove the spirit herb in its hand into its mouth.
Qisha watched the scene, completely dumbfounded.
"This domain... was breached that easily by a spirit creature?"
"What on earth is that thing? A white radish? Isn't it a bit too fat?"
Lin Wujiu's mouth hung slightly open, near tears as he looked over the devastated herb garden.
He glanced to the left, then to the right...
"Glacial Silver Bamboo, Earthly Haven Wood, Heavenly Rhyme Flower..."
"What a spendthrift! This... this profligate little bastard!"
The giant white radish had sleek, glistening skin without a single wrinkle, plump as a ball, with nosebleeds streaming down.
Beneath his mask, Li Guanqi was grinning from ear to ear. With a few flicks of his sword, he sealed off its avenues of escape.
Earth erupted. Terrified, Pengluo tried to tear open the domain, only to find the barrier reinforced by an invisible force, impregnable and unyielding.
Pengluo had been moving so fast it blurred, yet now it came to an abrupt halt with a screeching knee slide.
Trembling all over, it dropped to its knees with a plop, clasping its little hands upward in prayer.
"Mercy, please! Spare my life..."
Li Guanqi chuckled inwardly. Pengluo truly remained as greedy as ever; even in such a predicament, its cheeks were still furiously chewing the immortal herb.
*Even if I die, I won't die an empty-bellied ghost!*
Looking at the hem of the incoming dark-red robe, Pengluo shuddered to the core.
The newcomer's murderous aura had practically condensed into physical substance!
Falling into the hands of someone like this, it was almost certainly doomed.
Yet right then, the person came to a halt and crouched down before Pengluo.
Removing his mask, Li Guanqi took hold of the lush green leaves atop Pengluo's head and hoisted it up before his face.
"Never expected the first one I'd run into would be you."
Pengluo, who had been squeezing its eyes shut, snapped them open at the sound of that gentle, amused voice!
When it saw that incomparably familiar face, its eyes widened in shock.
Held aloft in Li Guanqi's hand, Pengluo rubbed its eyes with two chubby hands.
"Master? Master!"
"Aiya, my dear Master! I missed you so much!"
"You have no idea what I've been through since ascending! Life... it was so bitter!"
Right after crying about how bitter life was, Li Guanqi gave its rump a resounding smack. That skin... that texture...
Pengluo seemed to realize this did not match its sob story and said with reddened eyes, "Heheh, bitter... well, it wasn't that bad. Just living in constant fear and running around hiding."
"Heheh, Master, I never dreamed I'd run into you here."
"I missed you terribly. Really, from the bottom of my heart."
As it spoke, Pengluo raised its fingers to swear an oath.
However, its fingers were so chubby that it could not hold three upright, so it simply made a fist and thrust it high into the air.
Li Guanqi smiled fondly and set it atop his head.
Straddling Li Guanqi's neck, Pengluo naturally gripped his ears with both hands, grinning as brightly as could be.
By now, Pengluo had actually reached the ranks of ranked spirit creatures, rivaling a cultivator of the third layer of the Mystic Immortal realm.
And at this moment, it finally sensed Li Guanqi's aura!
Peak eighth layer of Mystic Immortal!
"Tsk, as expected of my Master, absolutely awesome!"
"Ah... having a backer feels so good."
Li Guanqi carried Pengluo over to Lin Wujiu and said with a sheepish look, "Let me introduce you two. This is my good partner, Pengluo."
"Originally a spirit creature of the Immortal Realm, from the Divine Pattern Heavenly Radish clan."
"It followed me in the Spirit Realm, but we got separated after ascending. I never imagined I'd find it here."
"As for this herb garden... I'll personally explain it to Uncle Lin later..."
Lin Wujiu looked at the giant white radish currently scrutinizing him and furrowed his brows slightly.
He pointed toward Li Guanqi's head.
"The way it's looking at me... it seems to look down on me."
Qisha nodded in full agreement, turning to Lin Wujiu. "Yeah, it's looking at me that way too."
Li Guanqi grinned, plucked Pengluo down, and tossed it away.
"A good beating will fix that."
Lin Wujiu and Qisha did not hesitate. Since Li Guanqi himself had said so, they showed no mercy.
A short while later.
Beaten black and blue, Pengluo knelt on the ground with its back straight and both hands resting solemnly on its knees.
"Noble heroes, my apologies. It was my arrogance, my wishful thinking, my petty-mindedness, my vile self getting carried away, my blind foolishness..."
"Alright, alright, that's enough..."
"*Cough*, that'll do."
Pengluo dusted off its bottom, wiped the blood from its nose, and stood up.
"You two promised, remember! Master, you heard them!"
With that, Pengluo supported its hip with its left hand, grabbed Li Guanqi's robes with its right, and scrambled back up.
A sly grin curled its lips, squeezing its eyes into slits.
Perched on Li Guanqi's neck and hugging his head, soft snores began to emanate from it before long.
Lin Wujiu shot it a glance and chuckled. "This little thing is quite interesting. Ascending from the Spirit Realm, it actually managed to avoid getting caught by those fellows from the Ascension Palace?"
Qisha nodded slightly as well. For spirit creatures, ascending to the Immortal Realm was perilous beyond measure.
Li Guanqi dared not turn his neck, keeping his steps steady as he walked toward the stone platform deep within the herb garden.
As he walked, Li Guanqi channeled his immortal essence to nourish Pengluo, feeling immense heartache for it.
Yet after running a cycle of immortal essence, Li Guanqi withdrew it and cursed under his breath.
"Eating one more stalk would have made you burst, yet you still kept shoving them down your gullet, you little bastard..."
Li Guanqi had circulated his immortal essence intending to check if Pengluo had any hidden injuries or ailments.
Instead, when the immortal essence completed a circuit and returned, it was noticeably thicker and more potent than before.
Pengluo's skin was currently stretched taut to the point of bursting; any more immortal essence really would have blown it up!
How did this look anything like someone who had suffered hardship?
It was plainly a spoiled brat, fat as a pig, gorging itself wherever it went.
Hearing this, Lin Wujiu and Qisha both burst into hearty laughter.
The tender warmth of a reunion in the Immortal Realm instantly evaporated.
Even so, Lin Wujiu noticed that Li Guanqi continued using his immortal essence to gently soothe and balance the forces within it, easing its discomfort.
Noticing the looks from the two, Li Guanqi said softly, "In the Spirit Realm, without it, I would have died countless times."
"Don't let its glib tongue fool you. Deep down... it is fiercely unyielding."
At this, Li Guanqi looked at Lin Wujiu with a smile. "Don't worry, they're just some immortal herbs. Later, I'll have it snap off a few of its arms and legs for you—they work far better than those herbs anyway."
Lin Wujiu looked at Li Guanqi with a bizarre expression, parting his lips without knowing what to say.
Li Guanqi lifted Pengluo from his head and set it on his lap.
Gathering the power of Shiwu's flames in his palm, he gently patted Pengluo's back.
With its hands folded beneath its cheek, Pengluo rested its head against Li Guanqi's thigh, sleeping like a log as snores filled the air.
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, his gaze softening as he looked down at Pengluo.
"Don't worry. The Seven Treasures Pavilion using you as a medicine slave—I haven't forgotten that debt..."
Chapter 1653