Chapter 21: Wanting to Build a Nest

“My daughter’s figure is too good, isn’t it? No, wait, my daughter was seen naked!”

Embarrassed, the thought flashed through Huo Zhi’s mind. She immediately pulled a garment from her Storage Bag, draped it over Linlang to wrap her up, and then looked left and right to see if anyone else saw. But she saw the group of people on the other side, who had been stripping the Fire Scale Flood Dragon skin, all looking in their direction!

Huo Zhi glared at them.

Even though Linlang’s long hair reached past her hips and only her back was seen, Huo Zhi still cared deeply.

She wanted to use Forgetting Talismans on them!

Linlang didn’t care about being unclothed. She didn’t wear clothes when she turned into a Cinnabar Bird anyway.

She turned her head and cast a cold, sweeping glance at the other cultivators, seeing who would dare step forward again.

Right now, the clothes, veiled hat, and face veil on Linlang had all been burned away, revealing a head of fiery red long hair and ruby-like crimson eyes.

This situation, where hair and eye color differed from others, was generally a trait of a demon beast that had taken human form.

The others who saw this had varied expressions in their eyes.

“Everyone, don’t look at what you shouldn’t! We have not harmed you all, and have repeatedly saved you. If you truly lack any sense of honor and want to make a move on us, feel free to try! That cultivator just now is your fate!” Huo Zhi pulled Linlang behind her to shield her. Her expression turned cold as she spoke to the crowd, her tone indifferent, her eyes carrying a fierce edge.

These cultivators had little sense of law and order. Strength was supreme, especially within a secret realm, where no one would come to investigate the truth. They were even more unrestrained.

“Sister, they won’t. That person just now wasn’t from the Artifact Talisman Sect. Neither I nor the Artifact Talisman Sect’s people will steal things. I swear it! You all swear too!” Ji Shuling urgently spoke up to express her stance.

Ji Boxu remained silent, looking at Huo Zhi and Linlang with increased wariness.

Human cultivators and demon beasts had a long-standing feud. Encounters were basically life-or-death situations.

If Linlang’s cultivation level hadn’t intimidated them, these people probably would have attacked already.

While Huo Zhi was speaking, Linlang only looked at Huo Zhi. Huo Zhi, who was usually somewhat timid, was now so serious and even fierce in her defense. That aloof and transcendent face, to Linlang, seemed incredibly adorable.

“Sister Ji, I believe you. You and your brother control your people, and we’ll all be safe.” Hearing Ji Shuling’s words, Huo Zhi’s expression noticeably softened, her tone like coaxing a child.

“Alright, each of us relies on our own abilities!” Ji Boxu responded.

Huo Zhi paid them no more attention. She took out several more garments for Linlang to change into.

“Host, Linlang’s Happiness Value just rose by 200, then dropped by 300.” 006’s report made Huo Zhi’s movements pause.

“Linlang, it’s fine. Sister Ji will keep those people in check. Put your clothes on?” Huo Zhi looked at Linlang and said, wanting to discern something from her expression. But the cool-looking Linlang just looked like an exquisitely carved doll, revealing no emotion whatsoever, making Huo Zhi’s face flush just looking at her.

My daughter is just too beautiful!

My daughter’s beauty is number one under heaven!

My daughter is adorably, invincibly gap-moe!

“No need. I still have to go back over.” Linlang’s face was drawn, her mood not good. Why was Huo Zhi so special towards Ji Shuling, trusting her so much!

“Ah, true. These clothes aren’t fire-resistant. Oh, among the things you just fished out, there seem to be clothes. If they could stay intact in there, they must be fire-resistant Talisman Robes. Try wearing these.” Huo Zhi said as she looked at the two items Linlang had retrieved.

A pair of Gold-Embroidered Brocade Boots, and a Dark Red Gold-Embroidered Robe.

Linlang looked at Huo Zhi, her gaze softening again. Both of these were made of Thousand-Year Frost Silkworm Silk, specifically chosen by Linlang for the heat-intolerant Huo Zhi.

Huo Zhi was the same as always; she thought of her first with everything good, not even noticing her own flushed face, sweat trickling down her cheeks, and lips parched dry from the hot air.

“I’m not afraid of fire. These are all for you.” Linlang lifted the robe, draped it over Huo Zhi’s shoulders, and placed the boots in front of Huo Zhi, gesturing for her to change.

As Linlang’s mood eased, her Happiness Value rose another 200.

After Huo Zhi put on the robe, she felt its coolness and softness. She was moved in her heart. My daughter is just so filial! My love for her isn’t wasted!

“You’re not afraid of fire, but you can’t go without clothes on your body. Your body is your secret; it cannot be seen by outsiders, understand? You wear the robe, I’ll wear the boots, alright?” Huo Zhi said, draping the robe back onto Linlang’s shoulders.

Watching Huo Zhi speak with the tone of talking to a child, Linlang paused briefly but didn’t refuse. She let Huo Zhi dress her, bending over as Huo Zhi circled around her, tying the sash.

The dark red garment further accentuated her snow-white skin. Moreover, since there was no underwear inside, even though Huo Zhi tried her best to pull it up, it was still somewhat of a deep V-neck. She looked like she was wearing a vintage evening gown heading to a banquet.

Huo Zhi glanced at her, her face flushing even more.

My daughter is a clothes hanger, looking good in anything!

If she had fireproof materials, Huo Zhi would make Linlang complete sets of outfits.

“Alright. You put on the boots. I’ll recover.” Linlang said. After speaking, she sat cross-legged next to Huo Zhi, taking out Spirit Stones to restore her spiritual energy.

Retrieving items barehanded from the pool had been very draining on her Spiritual Qi. If she hadn’t circulated it to the maximum, she would have been burned too.

Huo Zhi glanced around. No more reckless individuals were approaching. She bent down and took off her own boots, the soles already reeking of scorching, and changed into the boots Linlang had fished out.

True to being fire-resistant boots, a cool sensation emanated upwards from the soles of her feet upon wearing them, making her whole body feel somewhat cooler.

Were these just boots?

No, they were the love from her daughter!

Squinting her eyes, Huo Zhi looked “affectionately” at Linlang, then rounded her eyes, putting on what she felt was a very fierce expression, vigilantly watching the surroundings to protect Linlang.

Not far from them, the Artifact Talisman Sect group had peeled the Fire Scale Flood Dragon’s skin, crafted simple hooks, and already begun fishing for items.

Apart from some identifiable talisman artifacts without packaging floating in the magma pool, there were also many boxes of unknown contents, and another portion consisted of pieces of wood with gray patterns.

Hooking items wasn’t as fast as using hands; it required careful handling. But they could take turns, and it didn’t consume much Spiritual Qi. Before Linlang had fully recovered, they had already pulled up an item.

Huo Zhi looked over. It seemed to be a Profound-Grade long spear talisman artifact.

Profound-Grade, for the Young Sect Master of the Artifact Talisman Sect, was precious, but not to the point of risking one’s life. Their own sect had those. With some materials, the sect’s Ancestor could make them too.

They were aiming for items of even higher rank.

So when they continued fishing, they targeted those unknown boxes.

Talismans and talisman artifacts were divided into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow grades. Above Heaven-Grade were the legendary Immortal-Grade and Divine-Grade.

And within this pool, there should be that Immortal-Grade Talisman Brush mentioned in the original story. It was an item even Great Ascension Stage cultivators desired.

Among the items floating on the surface, they hadn’t seen anything like a talisman brush. It was very likely inside one of the boxes.

Originally, it should have been monopolized by the Artifact Talisman Sect. Now with Huo Zhi and Linlang joining, it depended on who had the luck.

That talisman brush not only increased the success rate of drawing talismans but also allowed installing different attribute Spirit Stones, breaking the rule that Talisman Masters could only draw talismans of their own attribute.

It was one of the original male lead’s important external aids.

If Linlang could have it, she’d have her own external aid as well—the beginning of a great, satisfying story for a female lead!

While the Artifact Talisman Sect members struggled to fish for boxes, Linlang finished recovering and opened her eyes.

“That kind of box, try picking those up first. The Artifact Talisman Sect people are fishing for boxes; there seems to be something good inside,” Huo Zhi reminded Linlang with a transmission.

Linlang nodded and walked forward a bit. After distancing herself from Huo Zhi, Linlang activated her fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, and the red mist rose again.

Inside, there were no more items like the Talisman Robe. Linlang originally intended to follow Huo Zhi’s suggestion and pick up boxes. However, upon seeing those pieces of wood with gray patterns in the pool, her eyes lit up with delight. She felt these things were even better, more precious. Her hands moved faster than her thoughts, and she quickly filled both hands and returned to Huo Zhi’s side. She retracted the fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, also absorbing the residual fire spiritual energy from the wood, and placed them at Huo Zhi’s feet.

Without the fire on them, these pieces of wood looked even more ordinary, like dead, fallen branches from an autumn tree, just slightly thicker.

“What are these?” Huo Zhi heard 006 report that Linlang’s Happiness Value had risen by five hundred. Looking at Linlang’s expression, she seemed quite happy too. Huo Zhi was a bit puzzled.

The wood was fire-resistant enough, but wasn’t a finished talisman artifact better?

“Parasol Tree Wood.” Linlang said. Feeling she still had enough spiritual energy, she went back to continue collecting.

The items she brought back were still Parasol Tree Wood, some quite large in volume, with a few pieces one or two meters tall.

“Host, Linlang’s Happiness Value rose another three hundred. Just six hundred more, and Linlang’s Happiness Value will be positive,” 006 excitedly reported.

Picking up Parasol Tree Wood raised Happiness Value significantly.

“Phoenixes perch on Parasol Trees. Linlang has a Phoenix Spirit Talisman; she probably likes Parasol Tree Wood very much too. If she picks it up, so be it. This Parasol Tree Wood is incredibly fire-resistant; it’s also a treasure.” Huo Zhi guessed.

Linlang collected quite a bit of Parasol Tree Wood, and incidentally picked up a few boxes too. When her spiritual energy was about spent, she sat cross-legged to recover.

“Good thing they didn’t pick up many boxes over there, just a bunch of useless waste wood… Clueless!” Ji Boxu glanced at Huo Zhi and Linlang’s side, only seeing a pile of gray wood, and breathed a sigh of relief.

They had hurriedly made a few hooks and were busy competing with Linlang for the treasures. Who would have thought Linlang’s side was picking up a bunch of wood!

Huo Zhi looked at the items in the boxes Linlang picked up; none were the talisman brush.

It seemed they could only leave it to fate.

After Linlang collected over ten more branches of Parasol Tree Wood, she took off the robe, transformed into a Cinnabar Bird, spread her wings, and flew to the center of the magma pool. She grabbed the central log—about seventy to eighty centimeters in diameter and over ten meters long—and flew unsteadily back to Huo Zhi’s side with it in her talons.

“Host, Linlang’s Happiness Value has risen to a positive number! It’s currently at positive 50,” 006 said, excited.

Huo Zhi gazed at the round log and rounded her eyes.

How much did this child love Parasol Tree Wood!

“Linlang, that’s about enough. The Storage Bag can’t hold any more,” Huo Zhi said to Linlang.

Linlang nodded, looking at the massive, long, and relatively symmetrical log, her eyes sparkling.

She didn’t know why, but seeing this Parasol Tree Wood, her heart felt an unspeakable joy, a desire to collect more and more.

She wanted, she wanted…

Linlang glanced at Huo Zhi and felt she had found the source.

She wanted to use the Parasol Tree Wood to build a nest, the most luxurious, most comfortable nest, put Huo Zhi into the nest she built, and incubate eggs together!

Just thinking about it made Linlang feel full of energy, her blood boiling.

She still wanted to go collect more Parasol Tree Wood!!

This desire to build a nest for her mate—she had never felt it in her previous life.

It seemed, in her previous life, she had been waiting for others to build a nest for her, but had never received one.

Just as Linlang was about to fly out to collect more, the surroundings suddenly began to shake violently. The magma in the pool also sloshed with the tremor, creating waves that surged over the pool’s edge, splashing towards them.

Linlang quickly scooped up Huo Zhi, dodging one wave. But the next wave was even fiercer. Moreover, the ceiling collapsed, revealing water-like red magma.

Linlang’s eyes narrowed. She transformed back into human form, wrapped Huo Zhi in that fire-resistant Talisman Robe, held Huo Zhi with one arm, and hoisted the Parasol Tree log, which couldn’t fit in a Storage Bag, with the other. She spun, blocking the falling magma and stone, and ran towards the exit.

Huo Zhi was so frightened she hugged Linlang’s neck tightly, watching Linlang flee while still carrying the log. She was certain the log was also true love.

Thankfully, the log was fire-resistant and could block some of the collapsing ceiling and the magma.

No one knew who triggered what mechanism, but the place was visibly collapsing, massive chunks of rock falling.

Linlang fled outside with Huo Zhi, the Artifact Talisman Sect members also scrambling to escape.

Earthquakes and cave-ins continued. The originally magnificent and resplendent place was completely destroyed.

Huo Zhi glanced back, feeling a bit regretful that the talisman brush hadn’t been found. Still, life was more important. Without life, there was nothing.

The surrounding temperature was too high. Huo Zhi also circulated her technique at full power, simultaneously activating several useful protective barriers.

It hadn’t felt like a large place when they entered, but getting out took a very long run. Linlang even suffered some internal injuries blocking a huge falling rock. When Huo Zhi and Linlang’s spiritual energy were nearly exhausted, they finally saw the collapsing exit. Linlang threw the log to prop up the exit, brought Huo Zhi past the falling rocks, and rolled out.

Both were practically at the end of their strength.

Breathing in the normal temperature air, Huo Zhi had just breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Linlang, who was holding her, tense up completely. She looked around, and her face instantly changed.

Several cultivators had actually surrounded them!

“It’s Fairy Yuheng!! What a windfall, hahahahaha!!” Someone shouted.