"Our palace cannot gain such a benefit for nothing. Lu Yang, tell me—what does your Dao Seeking Sect need?" Luo Hongxia asked. Right now she felt that Lu Yang was the finest, kindest child in all the world.
If the Twin River truly worked, just think how many of the palace's regrets it could make up for.
Even if Lu Yang were to ask for Lan Ting herself, she could agree to it on the spot.
"Uh—why don't you go and ask the Eldest Senior Sister about this kind of thing?" How would Lu Yang know what the Dao Seeking Sect needed? That was something only the Eldest Senior Sister could know.
"Right, right, right, I've gone muddled." Luo Hongxia came to her senses. Although Lu Yang was renowned throughout the world, he had not yet become a decision-maker of the Dao Seeking Sect; this matter should be discussed with Yun Zhi.
At that thought, Luo Hongxia calmed down. The matter was far too important to rush. To trade with the Dao Seeking Sect for such an immortal treasure, she ought to take careful stock of what things of equal value her palace had to offer.
As the master of her palace, Luo Hongxia had far more to consider than ordinary people.
Since it was still uncertain whether the Twin River would work, she could not raise a fuss, lest it all come to a joy for nothing.
After seeing Lu Yang off, Luo Hongxia paced in circles through her cave abode, hands clasped behind her back. It had been a long time since her emotions had been stirred so greatly.
The last time they had fluctuated this much was when she learned that Lan Ting had taken a liking to Lu Yang.
"To confirm whether the Twin River works, I need to find someone to test it on."
"Preferably someone of higher cultivation, in case something goes wrong and they can't be saved."
Suddenly Luo Hongxia thought of someone. She left her cave abode and quietly made her way to the Artifact Refining Room to find the Third Elder, Zhu Hong.
The Third Elder was a beauty with bronze skin, of an offshoot of the Barbarian clan. She disliked fussy formalities, and when forging artifacts she often wrapped only her private parts in a few scraps of cloth.
The Third Elder raised her hammer in mid-air and asked, puzzled, "Senior Sister, you came rushing over in such a hurry—do you want me to expedite the forging of some magic treasure?"
"Third Sister, haven't you always wanted a child? I can make you pregnant. Won't you come with me to the Dao Seeking Sect and give it a try?"
The Third Elder's mouth fell open, and she froze where she stood. At some point the hammer in her hand had slipped to the ground, smashing a deep crater into it.
Senior Sister, do you have any idea what you're saying?
…
At Tianmen Peak, visitors had come from the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace.
"So Palace Master Luo means that she would like to taste the water of the Twin River?" Yun Zhi asked.
At first, when she learned that Luo Hongxia wished to visit her, she had found it strange. Her little junior brother had been at the palace only two days—had he stirred up trouble already, so that Luo Hongxia was demanding she take him back?
That was a record-breaking pace for courting disaster.
Only after Luo Hongxia explained the purpose of her visit did the whole matter become clear.
So it was about the Twin River after all.
"Is that possible?"
"Of course it is."
Since her little junior brother had been able to reveal information about the Twin River to Luo Hongxia, it meant the matter had the Immortal Fairy's approval.
The Twin River belonged to the Immortal Fairy; naturally, the fairy could do with it as she pleased.
Luo Hongxia and Elder Zhu Hong exchanged a glance, both delighted.
"It's possible, but how the Twin River's water should be taken, and what taboos it carries, is still something we're working out. I must ask the two of you to wait a while; once we've researched it properly, we will invite Elder Zhu Hong to drink it."
Yun Zhi truly did not know how the Twin River's water should be consumed, how much to take, or what taboos there were—these were all things only the Immortal Fairy knew. Only when Lu Yang returned with the Immortal Fairy could she ask and get to the bottom of it.
But this could not be said outright; it would all too easily expose the Immortal Fairy's existence, or lead people to mistakenly believe that her little junior brother had the Immortal Ying Tian sealed inside his body.
"I see." Hearing this, Luo Hongxia and Elder Zhu Hong could not help but show a hint of disappointment.
Yun Zhi had no choice but to add, "Though how to take it is still unclear, please rest assured, both of you—the Twin River can certainly bring about pregnancy. This much I can guarantee."
There was no proof of it whatsoever, yet Yun Zhi's assurance seemed to carry a kind of magical force that made people believe it instinctively, and the two of them visibly perked up once more.
It was only a matter of waiting a little while, after all—as two cultivators of the Body Integration stage, were they short on time?
Watching the two figures recede into the distance, Yun Zhi could not help but feel that Luo Hongxia and Zhu Hong were like a couple long plagued by infertility, and that she herself was the old physician with a miraculous healing touch.
If Elder Zhu Hong truly became pregnant, it would hardly seem out of place for her to gift Yun Zhi a brocade banner praising her miraculous healing.
Yun Zhi shook her head, flinging the strange thought away. She felt that her constant contact with the Immortal Fairy was making her own thinking grow strange as well.
After the two departed, Yun Mengmeng stealthily emerged from within Yun Zhi and pounced right onto her.
"So there's actually something as fun as the Twin River?" Yun Mengmeng's eyes lit up, brimming with curiosity about the Twin River.
And it inevitably reminded her of the Child-and-Mother River back home.
Yun Zhi shot Yun Mengmeng a glare and pried the arm looped around her neck loose. "You are not to go researching the Twin River," she warned.
Yun Mengmeng stuck out her tongue in rebellion.
…
Lan Ting was more and more convinced that Lu Yang was amazing—he had arrived at the palace and solved a problem that had troubled them for a hundred thousand years.
If she were to be with Lu Yang, she imagined her master would not only refrain from stopping them, but would bless them from the bottom of her heart.
When nightfall came, and after Lan Ting had bidden Lu Yang farewell and left to cultivate, the Bai Ye from the previous night came looking for him again, a small stool in hand.
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, I've come to hear a story."
Lu Yang laughed despite himself. "Skipping cultivation and sneaking out again? Where did we leave off yesterday?"
"You got to the part where the three of you sneaked into the Immortal Cult's headquarters, then reported its location, and the Dao Seeking Sect and the imperial court joined forces to wipe out the Immortal Cult."
Bai Ye sat down on the small stool, her eyes lighting up the moment stories were mentioned.
The two of them sat beneath the moon laurel tree in the courtyard, one telling, one listening, and in this way yet another night slipped away.
As they parted, having agreed that she would come again the next day, Bai Ye cheerfully handed Lu Yang a paper bag.
At Bai Ye's prompting, Lu Yang opened it and found it full of flower petals.
"This is?"
"These are moon laurel petals. They're delicious. When you've got nothing to do, Senior Brother Lu Yang, you can nibble on them as a snack for fun."
The moon laurel tree even had petals? It was the first Lu Yang had ever heard of it.
He pinched one off and put it in his mouth. The sweet fragrance of osmanthus bloomed within, and laced through the sweetness was a faint trace of spiritual energy that, needing no refining, turned straight into his own spiritual power.
"No wonder you dare sneak out and skip your cultivation."
While eating the moon laurel petals, one was cultivating at the same time—how convenient.
Seeing how much Lu Yang enjoyed them, Bai Ye grinned and giggled. "I don't have many moon laurel petals myself, but if you like them, Senior Brother, I'll set some aside for you next time."
"Then it's settled."
Having never eaten them before, Lu Yang hadn't expected moon laurel petals to be so delicious; the more he ate, the more hooked he became.
Judging by Bai Ye's tone, they must not be anything precious. Had they been too precious, he would have felt too embarrassed to accept them.
In the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy had piled up an imperial throne out of snow and sat upon it, watching Bai Ye's figure as she murmured under her breath.
"Is this little lass a tree? Somehow, she doesn't quite seem like one."
"Little Yang is such a simpleton, can't see a thing at all. I suppose this is what they mean by fools having their own fortune."
Chapter 1016