Miss Qing Xuantian

"Right, right, this is the place. I remember the way now."

As they approached Qingxuan Heaven, the little girl finally recalled the path home.

"You ran this far all by yourself?"

"And no one came looking for you?"

Chen Chang'an found it quite puzzling. The distance from where he had found her had taken him over half a month to traverse.

That was at Chen Chang'an's speed, not hers. Judging by the little girl's pace, she must have sneaked away at least a year or two ago, if not longer.

Are the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan really this careless? They don’t even search for a missing child?

"I... I ran away secretly. Maybe they haven’t noticed yet," the little girl said sheepishly.

"Big bro, this kind of thing is actually pretty normal," Little Earthworm chimed in.

"Some demonic beasts sleep for years, decades, or even centuries."

"If this little one slipped out without her family knowing, it’s not strange they haven’t noticed yet."

"Her parents might still be in deep slumber."

"So, when you were stolen back then, was it because the dragon clan was asleep too?"

"No one was watching over you?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.

"Well..."

"I wouldn’t know. I was just an egg at the time," Little Earthworm replied awkwardly.

Three more days passed before Chen Chang'an and his group finally arrived at the entrance to Qingxuan Heaven.

This was Chen Chang'an’s first time visiting a blessed paradise. In the Primordial Immortal Realm, these paradises existed as separate, independent spaces.

Inside, the immortal spiritual energy was abundant, and the environment was breathtakingly beautiful—perfect for both cultivation and living.

The space within was vast, practically a small world of its own.

"So beautiful!"

"Is this what a blessed paradise looks like?"

"I’ve never seen anything so stunning before."

"Absolutely mesmerizing," Da Huang exclaimed in awe.

"What’s there to be so surprised about? The blessed paradises of the dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans are even more impressive."

"And the nine great immortal clans of humanity? Their paradises surpass Qingxuan Heaven too."

Though it was Chen Chang'an’s first time seeing one, he didn’t gawk like Da Huang. While inwardly amazed, he remained outwardly composed.

One thing did pique his curiosity, though—the entrance to this paradise seemed oddly unsecured.

"Can anyone just waltz into a blessed paradise as long as they find the entrance?"

"Aren’t there any protective measures?"

"Like, say, needing a special method to open it?"

"Why was it so easy for us to get in?" Chen Chang'an asked.

"Big brother, it’s because I already opened the entrance, so we could come in."

"Look, this is the key to Qingxuan Heaven’s entrance."

The little girl waved a jade-like token—the key the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan used to access Qingxuan Heaven.

Seeing this, Chen Chang'an realized a potential problem.

"Da Huang, do you have one of these?"

"I’m not from the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan. Why would I?"

"I mean, do you have one for the qilin clan?"

"Ah..."

Da Huang immediately grasped Chen Chang'an’s concern. Damn it, without the qilin clan’s key, how were they supposed to get in?

"Oh crap!"

"Big bro, did we come all this way for nothing?"

"Big brother, didn’t you hear what I said earlier?"

"I told you, it’s very close from here to the qilin clan."

"And since we can go, we can definitely help you get there too," the little girl said with a smile.

Right!

Her words snapped Chen Chang'an back to reality. Being a good guy really does pay off.

As they spoke, Chen Chang'an sensed two auras rapidly approaching.

Soon, a man and a woman appeared within sight.

"As expected of the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan."

"In terms of looks, I can only say I’m slightly better," Chen Chang'an mused.

Hearing about them was one thing, but seeing them was another.

There was no denying it—the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan’s members were absolute top-tier in the looks department.

Whether in their true forms or human disguises, they perfectly aligned with human aesthetics—the highest standard, at that.

"Big bro, seems like the Tai Xuan Realm wasn’t completely off the mark."

Huh?

Tai Xuan Realm?

What does that have to do with anything?

"I read a lot of storybooks in the Tai Xuan Realm, and some were about fox spirits."

"The Tai Xuan Realm claimed fox spirits were breathtakingly beautiful, that no man or woman could resist their charm."

"Though I wonder if the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan also digs out hearts and lungs."

"Supposedly, fox spirits consider those a great tonic!"

Da Huang’s remark earned him a collective eye-roll. These were divine foxes—they thrived on absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

Even if they did eat, they had access to all kinds of heavenly treasures. Why would they resort to something so gruesome?

Besides, looking at the little girl’s innocent, clueless expression—could anyone imagine her tearing out hearts and lungs?

"What’s a storybook?" the little girl asked curiously.

"Well, a storybook is—"

Before Da Huang could explain, the little girl suddenly vanished from his sight.

The next moment, she was standing behind the two Nine-Tailed Divine Fox clansmen.

The two eyed Chen Chang'an’s group warily, shielding the little girl protectively.

"Who are you?"

"How did you enter our Qingxuan Heaven?"

"You’re not a demonic beast—you’re human?"

"What are you doing here?"

Chen Chang'an carried no trace of demonic energy, making it easy for experienced beasts to recognize him as human.

This was the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan’s territory. A mysterious human appearing out of nowhere was naturally cause for alarm.

"I brought her home."

"She was lost," Chen Chang'an said, gesturing to the little girl behind them.

"Uncle, auntie."

"Big brother is the one who brought me back."

"He’s a good person," the little girl quickly added.

"Young mistress, haven’t you heard that human hearts are inscrutable?"

"You can’t trust their words so easily."

"What does ‘inscrutable’ mean?"

"But he really is nice! He helped me come home."

"Otherwise, I wouldn’t have found my way back."

Seeing her naive demeanor, the two clansmen sighed helplessly.

Then their expressions suddenly shifted.

She couldn’t find her way back?

Young mistress… left Qingxuan Heaven?

"Young mistress!"

"You… you sneaked out?"

"Does the clan leader know?"

"Hehe, I ran away secretly. Pretty impressive, right?"

Hehe?

You’re laughing about this? Since when is this something to boast about?

"Damn, big bro, you’re something else. Randomly bumping into the Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Clan’s young mistress."

"You truly are blessed with boundless fortune!"