Just like those men in the mortal world who wait to propose to girls of age, many on Muyu Peak are waiting for Xu Chang'an to enter the Open Source Realm.
Everyone knows Xu Chang'an cultivates slowly. The senior sisters want to help him but are warned by the elders not to directly give him benefits, fearing it might affect his mental realm.
Quite troublesome indeed.
Why not just snatch him away?
"How to make a move on Pingniang's people?" the girl in black spat and pointed at the chessboard, saying, "Continue."
Obviously, she was once again frustrated by Xu Chang'an.
On Muyu Peak today, whether it's ways to drag someone into the Inner Realm or the mysterious and strange Illusion Realm, anything related to the Spirit Platform Sea of Consciousness doesn't work on Xu Chang'an.
He is the most peculiar anomaly in the eyes of the girls on Muyu Peak.
And at the same time, a treasure.
To drag an enemy into the Inner Realm, one must first adapt to the harshness of the Inner Realm, so Xu Chang'an is simply the best candidate to practice these cultivation techniques.
...
Xu Chang'an walked along the path, his gaze casually sweeping over the fish in the water.
As someone in the Qi Refining Realm, he doesn't understand why there's so much fuss over a game of chess. To him, it was just a simple game.
"The rules of this game are quite interesting, more complex than Go," Xu Chang'an mumbled to himself.
Yun Qian likes his wood carvings.
Carving a chessboard to play with her at home, he wondered if she would be interested.
Thinking about this, Xu Chang'an arrived in front of a white jade stele and placed his steward order on it.
When completing relatively low-level tasks, there's no need to go to the central hall; they can be completed autonomously.
After detecting the Tiger Demon Blood Qi absorbed at the corresponding location, the stele showed that he had completed the task, and at the same time dismissed the task, a brocade box appeared at the teleportation point.
Xu Chang'an opened it and, upon seeing the thumb-sized black elixir inside, curled his lips.
The Source Opening Pill... in his hands.
He looked eastward and saw a green mountain touching the clouds.
There are other outer sect disciples on Muyu Peak, but since he's the only male, he lives alone at the foot of the mountain not far to the east, and not in the disciple area.
"..."
Xu Chang'an slightly furrowed his brows.
As an Internal Affairs Steward, he usually needs to be busy at Muyu Peak's Internal Affairs Hall. Because everyone has a jade talisman or token symbolizing their identity, their movements, needs, repair locations, and a series of matters are automatically recorded on these white jade steles. His job is to integrate the information, which is quite easy.
But recently, guests from all directions have been coming, and those from outside need to be recorded, which should be busier than usual.
Moreover, not everyone likes using jade talismans; many senior sisters, like the one who wanted a pot of green radish, make requests orally.
The rest period is still one day; time is tight.
"I'd better go see Senior Wen..."
Senior Wen kindly organized a Source Opening Pill task for him, but he ended up killing the target knowing the information was mistaken because he wanted to activate the system, causing her to be penalized with spirit stones.
...
When Xu Chang'an arrived at Senior Wen's residence, he looked at the tightly closed dark wooden door in front of him.
"Not home?"
Xu Chang'an thought she must be busy with something, or perhaps in secluded cultivation.
He would speak with her when he had the chance in the future.
"Better head back..." Xu Chang'an gently tapped his storage pouch at his waist, took a deep breath, and his eyes filled with some hope.
According to the records in books, breaking through from Qi Refining Realm to Open Source Realm doesn't take long. If everything goes smoothly, an entire night will be enough.
Because he had a guaranteed success Open Source Talisman as an aid, Xu Chang'an didn't exchange all his contribution points and spirit stones for Source Opening Pills as he had initially planned.
Everything was ready except for the east wind, and now with the Source Opening Pill, he also had the east wind.
He walked towards the east, preparing to return to his own residence.
...
Xu Chang'an lived in a small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, backed by a mountain and facing water, with a backyard as a plantation area. Because of a spell blocking dampness, there wasn't much moisture in the courtyard.
The gentle breeze passed through the fine wooden lattice windows, making a pleasant swishing sound.
The fruit trees he planted were gradually maturing, so being close to his home, you could smell a faintly sweet fragrance.
Xu Chang'an took a deep breath, showing a look of intoxication and a bit of self-satisfaction.
The spirit fruit he planted tasted good, but had several shortcomings, like losing its spiritual power and turning into an ordinary fruit if not eaten in time after picking.
In the past, when he lived far away, now Yun Qian was on the mountain, he could pick some and bring them to her since she loved sweet things.
Xu Chang'an walked to his courtyard, took out the token at his waist, and was just about to open the door when he suddenly saw something.
He took a few steps back, circled to the backyard, and saw a cute Raccoon Flower cat lying on the wall, its hind legs dangling outside as it stared at the fruits in his backyard drooling.
Xu Chang'an walked over gently, smiling and saying, "Xiaohua?"
The Raccoon Flower cat turned its head to see Xu Chang'an's face, let out a meow, and jumped from the wall, leaping into his arms, its soft ears folding against him.
Xu Chang'an smiled and gently stroked the light fur of the little cat in front of him.
This was a very beautiful cat, extremely similar to the Raccoon Flower cat in Xu Chang'an's impression, only its eyes were more refined, and it was very cute.
It was discovered by a senior sister during training last year. Though considered a Raccoon Flower Demon, it had almost no demon qi, so she brought it back to Muyu Peak for free-range since it looked cute. It had no owner, but because it often came to beg for Xu Chang'an's fruit, it became familiar with him.
Xu Chang'an liked this cute little fellow and gave it the name Xiaohua.
Mmm... Raccoon Flower is a flower too.
"Xiaohua, why are you here?" Xu Chang'an opened the door, walked through the courtyard to the backyard, and picked a fruit to place on the table.
"Meow~~~"
The Raccoon Flower's eyes lit up, leaving Xu Chang'an's embrace to pounce on the spirit fruit, rolling on the table with the fruit in its arms, exposing its four pink pads to the air.
"Look at you, so promising," Xu Chang'an said helplessly.
Usually, Xiaohua only comes for food when he's around and doesn't come to steal when the house is empty, so Xu Chang'an saw the cat perched on the wall staring longingly at the spirit fruit.
Sometimes knowing the rules is how you avoid becoming a stray.
"Which senior sister made you deliver a message this time?" Xu Chang'an pinched Xiaohua's ear.
Xiaohua didn't rush to eat. Hearing Xu Chang'an's words, it came to its senses, and with a swipe of its paw, a jade talisman fell out.
Xu Chang'an picked up the jade talisman, inputted spiritual power, and was slightly stunned.
It wasn't from anyone else, but Senior Wen, who gave him the Cyan-eyed Tiger task.
She wrote about some items she needed for her recent cultivation and asked Xu Chang'an to prepare them and inquired about the spirit fruits he was growing and whether they were edible now because she wanted to buy some.
At the end, she casually mentioned a small matter—about the Cyan-eyed Tiger issue. If he hadn't yet completed the task, he should forget it; if he had already done it, then it didn't matter.
"Alright then."
Xu Chang'an put down the jade talisman and, with a hand supporting his forehead, looked helplessly at the adorable look in the cat's eyes.
He found it hard to connect the previously immensely antagonistic Wen Li with this now gentle-natured Senior Wen.
By the time he saw the jade talisman, it was already too late, so the line about the Cyan-eyed Tiger meant... I don't care, and you shouldn't care either?
Senior Wen is truly a good person.