Chapter 1048: Xu Xiaoshou, Am I Beautiful?

"Let's divide the spoils!"

The question of staying or leaving wasn't something that could be resolved immediately.

Xu Xiaoshou finally felt a little relieved, seeing Tei Xier's shift from "complete resistance" to now showing a willingness to "accept help."

This was a positive change in attitude.

At least, Tei Xier was no longer keeping everyone at arm's length.

His junior sister was still his junior sister; even with some changes in her personality, the bond between them couldn't be easily broken.

But it was clear that Xu Xiaoshou, in his current state, didn't possess enough power to fight against all the wrongs committed against the former Lei family.

Tei Xier had a point.

He had indeed emptied the Shennong Medicinal Garden, but a single Void Servant could easily trap him on Void Island.

And yet, the vast Void Island was merely a prison used by the Sacred God Temple and even the five great Saint Emperor families to confine Half-Saints and Saint Emperors.

The difference was immense!

Fortunately, this wasn't an insurmountable gap.

"It's just a matter of time…"

Previously, Xu Xiaoshou was severely short on time. He knew that in his cultivation state, resources could be exchanged for time.

However, he lacked resources and, more importantly, time to acquire them, leading to a vicious cycle.

Now, things were different.

This Shennong Medicinal Garden could help Xu Xiaoshou grow rapidly, making up for the vast amount of cultivation time he lacked compared to the most senior and experienced cultivators.

"I am currently at the Grandmaster Celestial Phenomenon stage, but there's almost no bottleneck before breaking through to the Throne Dao Realm."

Xu Xiaoshou's gaze turned to the Shennong Medicinal Garden, his heart filled with fervent excitement.

For ordinary cultivators, the path of advancement was: Grandmaster for touching the Dao, Throne for comprehending the Dao, and Supreme Void for embodying the Heavenly Dao, thus reaching the Saint Dao.

He was different.

At his current Grandmaster stage, he had already entered the Dao comprehension realm usually exclusive to the Throne stage.

In terms of Sword Dao, Spirit Refining (Fire type), Spirit Array/Heaven's Mystery/Weaving Dao, and even Body Tempering, Xu Xiaoshou's comprehension of these various Daos was unlike that of ordinary Grandmasters; it was comparable to the Throne Dao Realm.

Breakthrough?

He only lacked "eating" them!

"Click."

Picking a Saintly Relic Fruit, Xu Xiaoshou tossed it to Tei Xier first.

"You still have the 'Auxiliary Saint Pill' I gave you, right? Greed God has already tested the medicine, so theoretically, there should be no problem. We're most short on time right now, so eat it quickly."

Although he didn't know how furious the Void Servants would be now that the Shennong Medicinal Garden was emptied, his Yuanfu world was independent of Void Island. He figured the Void Servants couldn't find him there.

Given this, while they were enraged and possibly tormenting others… he needed to grow stronger quickly!

Perhaps after leaving, his ability to escape would greatly increase?

Thinking this, Xu Xiaoshou picked another Saintly Relic Fruit for himself.

The rich medicinal fragrance was refreshing. Even before swallowing it, Xu Xiaoshou, who was already near the peak of the Grandmaster Celestial Phenomenon stage, felt that familiar urge to break through, just like when he first entered the Shennong Medicinal Garden.

"Is this the treasure that Shuangdai and Hong Dang risked their lives for?"

The head-sized Saintly Relic Fruit, upon closer inspection, revealed numerous profound saintly patterns gathered within, emitting an alluring fragrance.

And he had an entire garden filled with treasures like these…

Xu Xiaoshou felt as if he were in a dream.

To one side, Tei Xier caught the casually thrown Saintly Relic Fruit and then glanced at the Dragon Apricot behind her, which was radiating brilliant golden light. A playful smile touched her lips as she chuckled softly:

"Xu Xiaoshou, so after entering the Yuanfu world, were your heart and eyes truly only on me, making you forget to look for other even better treasures in this Shennong Medicinal Garden?"

"Taunted, Passive Point, +1."

"Huh?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked up blankly. "Treasures? Besides… uh, the Saintly Relic Fruits, what other treasures are there?"

Tei Xier's lips curved, suppressing a smile, and she tilted her head to look at the Dragon Apricot behind her. "See, this."

She found it hard to believe that Xu Xiaoshou genuinely hadn't noticed the Dragon Apricot, one of the Nine Ancestral Trees!

It was clearly radiating such dazzling golden light, so brilliant and eye-catching…

"What is this?"

Xu Xiaoshou's gaze finally moved from Tei Xier's small face to the other "treasures" in the Shennong Medicinal Garden, beyond the Saintly Relic Fruits he already recognized.

"The Dragon Apricot! One of the Nine Ancestral Trees, its true form!" Tei Xier's tone was no longer calm.

In fact, even without her saying anything, a single glance was enough for Xu Xiaoshou to recall all the information about the Dragon Apricot in his mind.

"Dragon Apricot: Bears fruit once every three thousand years."

"Dragon Apricots are sweet, with refreshing flesh, and can strengthen the body. Consuming ninety-nine Dragon Apricots can grant the power of the Dragon Ancestor."

"Watering the Dragon Apricot with dragon blood can shorten the time it takes to bear fruit."

"Other uses for Dragon Apricots: Can be brewed into True Dragon Bone Soup, used in Dragon Blood Powder for medicine, served with a Full Dragon Feast, juiced into blood to make 'Golden Red Dragon Drink' wine, or served as a dessert after meals…"

A dizzying array of information flooded Xu Xiaoshou's mind after a quick glance at the Dragon Apricot.

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

What?

The Dragon Apricot, one of the Nine Ancestral Trees… was in his Yuanfu world?

"Is this real?"

Xu Xiaoshou immediately put down the Saintly Relic Fruit, eyes wide, and walked toward the Dragon Apricot in disbelief, reaching out to touch this dream-like existence.

His Yuanfu world also contained a Blood Tree Shadow Branch and Bodhi Tree Root!

But currently, the effects of those two items might not even compare to a single Dragon Apricot fruit!

Although the description of Dragon Apricots in "Culinary Mastery" was incredibly varied, Xu Xiaoshou immediately grasped the key point.

"Strengthens the body!"

Even with such a simple and rough summary, Xu Xiaoshou could discern astonishing effects from these unadorned words.

Wasn't this just like his Passive System's nature?

Descriptions as plain as "Strong," "Sharp," or "Rebound" invariably came with terrifyingly powerful effects!

Suddenly, Xu Xiaoshou recalled the Eight Palaces incident.

Back then, Cen Jiaofu, who was at the Supreme Void stage, was able to resist hundreds of White Clad figures, several Supreme Voids, a Heavenly Secret Puppet that could unleash a combat form, and the Yu Ling Drop… all with a tiny Blood Tree Shadow Branch.

He had forcefully bought a significant amount of time for Ba Zun'an!

Afterwards, Cen Jiaofu had surprisingly neither died nor been captured, successfully escaping, albeit severely wounded!

He hadn't thought much of it before.

Now, it seemed his combat power was utterly absurd!

There were no ordinary people in the Supreme Void realm, and the White Clad of the Sacred God Temple were the elite of the elite, not to mention the Heavenly Secret Puppet, rumored to rival all Supreme Voids and briefly contend with Half-Saints!

Yet, Cen Jiaofu withstood all of them.

Besides his own already absurd combat strength, it was simply due to the support of that extra Blood Tree Shadow Branch.

A tiny branch from the Blood Tree, one of the Nine Ancestral Trees, could provide such a terrifying boost in combat power.

Wouldn't the Dragon Apricot fruits, which held the same status, effectively convert this combat power boost entirely into a cultivation energy boost?

"A single Dragon Apricot fruit should be equivalent to the combat power boost from one Blood Tree Shadow Branch, right? And it should be of a permanent nature…"

"If so, how much improvement could all the Dragon Apricot fruits here bring me?"

As Xu Xiaoshou pondered this, he tremblingly reached out to touch the Dragon Apricot tree trunk, simultaneously noticing the hundreds of Dragon Apricot fruits in its crown.

Was this the fragrance of the Throne Dao Realm?

Damn it, how could it smell so good?!

Tei Xier silently watched Xu Xiaoshou's entranced state and suddenly felt it was quite absurd.

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't been this captivated when facing her.

Yet, facing a tree, this guy seemed to have found true treasure.

It was simply laughable!

"That's because you're terrible. If I came out, Xu Xiaoshou would definitely be happier, happier than seeing the Dragon Apricot!" A charming little loli's voice suddenly flashed in Tei Xier's mind.

Tei Xier's delicate body stiffened. She quickly looked at Xu Xiaoshou, saw that he was still immersed in the Dragon Apricot's fragrance and hadn't heard the voice, and immediately relaxed.

"Little girl, it's time to sleep. Say a few more words, and you might get too weak and faint again," she responded amusingly in her mind.

"Thief!" In the dark consciousness space, a little loli in a green dress with twin pigtails stood with her hands on her hips, pouting. "You took over my body while I was asleep, you thief! Now I'm awake, give me back my body!"

"..." Tei Xier felt a wave of dizziness and rubbed her forehead helplessly. "You played yourself into a coma. If I hadn't come out to take over, this body would have died long ago. Are you blaming me?"

"I don't care, you're a thief!"

"Time for bed, little sister."

"Hmph, hmph, you'd better pray you don't get hurt, or I'll come out!"

"That's impossible."

"I'm hungry, give me a few more breaths of life spirit energy!"

Tei Xier chuckled, manifesting her figure in the consciousness space. Looking down from above, she leaned in with a smile, "Do you think I, your elder sister, would fall for that?"

"Arghh—" The little loli threw a tantrum. "When did you become my elder sister! Shut up! Go eat the holy medicines! Eat all the holy medicines in this garden, Xu Xiaoshou won't blame you!"

"Oh?" Tei Xier pinched her chin, her beautiful eyes narrowing playfully. "This is also your body. Do you… still want to become smaller?"

"Ugh!" The little loli, suppressed, clutched her head, gazing at the curvaceous body outlined by the black dress before her. She felt a suffocating sensation wash over her.

"I just couldn't control my mouth before, but now… well, then just eat half? Half would be fine!"

"Not even one. I, your elder sister, won't fall for it."

"Argh! You're so annoying, go eat! If you don't eat, I'll keep yelling in your mind, just like you used to annoy me! Vixen!"

Tei Xier was dumbfounded: ???

Vixen?

How could someone curse themselves?

And… when did I ever annoy you before? After I woke up, I only gave you a couple of warnings during occasional dangers. I'm very respectful of you.

Now that you're awake, you've said more than everything I've said combined previously.

And you still want to argue?

"You should sleep."

Tei Xier didn't want to argue anymore and exited the consciousness space.

"Arghh—"

In the darkness, only the little loli with twin pigtails remained, flailing her limbs on the black spatial ground. "Annoying, annoying, annoying… Xu Xiaoshou, my Xu Xiaoshou… Boohoohoo, give me back my Shou Baobao… Shou Baobao, hurry up, hit her!"

Tei Xier: "..."

So noisy!

Just because Xu Xiaoshou can't see you, you don't have to worry about your image, do you?!

I'm embarrassed for me… uh, for you!

Tei Xier tried hard to banish the noise from her mind. She glanced at Xu Xiaoshou, still engrossed under the Dragon Apricot, and decided to leave quickly.

Earlier, she thought staying by Xu Xiaoshou's side might be an option, but now she felt this plan might not work.

Whenever she saw Xu Xiaoshou, her other self… acted like a madwoman!

She glanced at the Saintly Relic Fruit, just thinking of putting it down, when her mind erupted as if something had exploded, letting out strange shrieks. Tei Xier's beautiful eyes widened. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, "I'll eat it! Is eating it not enough?"

"What did you say?"

Under the Dragon Apricot, Xu Xiaoshou finally broke free from his daze, regained his senses, and turned to look.

"Nothing…"

Tei Xier's heart tightened. Clutching the Saintly Relic Fruit, she dared not meet his gaze and turned away directly. "Then I'll go eat the fruit first…"

However, no sooner had she finished speaking than her body had not fully turned away.

Tei Xier suddenly stepped forward, drawing close to Xu Xiaoshou's face. Her breath, like orchids, whispered seductively, "Xu Xiaoshou, am I beautiful?"

"Enticed, Passive Point, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened. Feeling the warm breath by his ear, his pupils momentarily lost focus.

"Plop."

His fingers splayed open, and the Saintly Relic Fruit simply fell to the ground.

"You, wh-what do you mean?" Xu Xiaoshou stammered, reaching out to touch Tei Xier's forehead.

*Whoosh.*

At his touch, Tei Xier recoiled several steps instantly, as if electrocuted.

The moment the words left her mouth, she had actually snapped back to reality, her face flushing crimson on the spot. Now, with time passing, even her earlobes were burning red, as if about to bleed.

"S-sorry, recently, I've had a little problem with my sanity…"

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Without offering further explanation, Tei Xier didn't dare linger for even a breath. She quickly walked away, while in her mind, she wanted to furiously curse.

"Muzi Xi!"

However, after a pause, Tei Xier ultimately couldn't bring herself to curse herself like Muzi Xi. She merely advised her helplessly:

"I advise you not to cause any more trouble. As someone who's been through it, I'm telling you, you've just woken up. Trying to forcefully control this body will only waste a lot of your energy."

"Hahahahaha…" In the dark consciousness space, only the little loli's gleeful laughter, accompanied by her flailing limbs, remained.

Fun, so much fun!

Xu Xiaoshou really falls for this kind of thing!

Tei Xier remained silent, quickening her pace, wanting only to leave.

She couldn't stay in the Shennong Medicinal Garden for another moment.

And Xu Xiaoshou… needed to leave quickly too!

After Void Island was over, they should part ways immediately. Staying longer would definitely lead to trouble!

Under the Dragon Apricot, Xu Xiaoshou's spirit remained detached from his body as he watched the graceful figure hurriedly depart. After a long while, as if remembering something, he called out:

"Tei Xier, are you really alright? Your forehead is very hot. Are you running a… uh, are you sick?"

"I'm fine," Tei Xier replied without turning her head.

"You definitely are…"

Before Xu Xiaoshou could finish his sentence, the rapidly receding figure in front stopped, then, with a flash, appeared before him again.

She leaned in again, reverting to her previous charming demeanor, and with a sweet smile, asked, "Xu Xiaoshou, who is more beautiful, me or the Ancestral Dragon Apricot tree?"

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

The last time he was teased like this, he hadn't fully reacted.

This time, after widening his eyes in disbelief, he saw it very clearly.

On the delicate, pretty face before him, a residual warmth of redness still lingered on her cheeks.

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly just inches away. Her usually mysterious Divine Demon Eyes now held no mystery, only the clearest, most direct expectation, and perhaps nervousness?

"Thump-thump…"

His heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

"Enticed, Passive Point, +1."

"Gulp."

Xu Xiaoshou's Adam's apple bobbed. He blurted out subconsciously, "You, you are far more beautiful?"

"Ahhh—"

As soon as Tei Xier finished her question, she suddenly shrieked.

Her voice was so piercing it nearly ruptured eardrums, and it certainly cut off Xu Xiaoshou's next words.

The next second, Tei Xier felt as if all her blood had reversed its flow, rushing to her face. Shame and embarrassment turned her crimson red, almost overflowing.

"Xu Xiaoshou! Don't answer my question!"

She stomped her foot, creating a crack in the ground of the Yuanfu world.

But the crack was too small. Tei Xier flashed and vanished, disappearing from the Shennong Medicinal Garden.

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

"But… that was your own question…"

As the master of the Yuanfu, he easily saw Tei Xier flash to the broken tower of the former Zhang Mansion's Scripture Repository, where she huddled in a corner, hugging her knees and facing the wall, her expression unclear.

"This?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked utterly bewildered.

He didn't understand, but he was greatly shocked.

Why, that didn't sound like something Tei Xier would ask…

Wait!

"'Who is more beautiful, me or…?' Wasn't that a little trick I used to play with my junior sister back in the Ling Palace? How could Tei Xier ask such an embarrassing question?"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized this was the crucial point!

In the past, whenever he asked his junior sister this during his leisure time from alchemy, he would always get a flurry of "cursed" notifications. Now that Tei Xier was asking the same question, did it mean…

His junior sister was back?