The delicate cannon fodder is stunning, saving the male supporting role but getting teased instead

"I heard that you went to Guoyun Peak?" Chen Xuan asked casually while pinning the Qionghua on her temples.

Upon hearing this, Gong Xueying froze, and the fish food box in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang". The finely chopped bait scattered all over the ground, startling the koi in the pond and causing them to scatter in all directions.

"I...I just..." Her voice suddenly choked, her eyes flushed, "Senior Brother Chu...he didn't even let me in..."

A gloomy look flashed across Chen Xuan's eyes, but his expression softened. He gently grasped Gong Xueying's cool hand, feeling the deep pinch marks on her fingertips. "Brother Chu has gone through a major change, so it's unavoidable that he might be a bit extreme."

"But I never thought of harming him!" Gong Xueying suddenly became excited, tears rolling down their clasped hands, "That Soul-Eroding Powder is clearly..." She bit her lips hard, and the blood drained away.

Chen Xuan's eyes moved slightly, and he gently wiped away the tears on her face with his fingertips.

He was incredibly familiar with this action, having repeated it countless times over the years. "The Thousand Machines Secret Realm will open on the fifteenth of next month, right?" He changed the subject. "I heard that deep within the secret realm grows the 'Nine-Transformation Green Spirit Grass,' which can cure all poisons..."

Gong Xueying's eyes lit up, like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood: "Brother, you mean..."

"If Senior Brother Chu can get this opportunity..." Chen Xuan dragged out his tone meaningfully.

"I'll go and ask my father for help right now!" Gong Xueying lifted her skirt and ran towards the main hall, not even noticing that the white flower in her hair had fallen to the ground.

Chen Xuan bent down to pick up the dusty branch. With a gentle rub of his fingertips, the delicate petals turned to dust. He looked at Gong Xueying's retreating figure, a sneer curling his lips: "Idiot."

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Inside Xuantian Hall, the smoke rising from the gilded incense burner condensed into the shape of a crane's flapping wings. Gong Sheng was reviewing a document when his red brush suddenly stopped on the words "Thousand Machines Secret Realm." The splattered ink spread across the jade slip, resembling tiny specks of blood.

"Daddy!" Gong Xueying rushed in with her skirt lifted up. The pearl hairpin in her hair swayed violently with her movements. A pearl rolled to the ground, making a crisp sound.

Gong Sheng frowned, tapping the red brush on the table with a dull sound: "How can the daughter of the headmaster be so reckless?"

Gong Xueying didn't care about her manners and knelt directly on the cold jade cushion.

She crawled a few steps on her knees, her slender fingers tightly grasping her father's sleeve. "My daughter heard that there is a Nine-turn Green Spirit Grass in the Thousand Machine Secret Realm, which can cure all kinds of poisons in the world..."

"Ridiculous!" Gong Sheng slammed the table and stood up, his red pen scratching a glaring red mark on the memorial. "Now that his cultivation has been completely lost, how is entering the secret realm any different from committing suicide?"

"But if Senior Brother Chu keeps on being like this..." Gong Xueying was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes and her voice was filled with tears. "Sooner or later, the Chu family will..."

Gong Sheng's eyes suddenly narrowed. He certainly understood the deeper meaning of his daughter's words—the Chu family was the dominant power in the northern region, with three Nascent Soul ancestors ruling the clan. If they discovered the matter of the Soul-Erosion Powder...

The hall fell into a deathly silence, with only the regular ticking of the copper kettle. After a long moment, Gong Sheng suddenly sighed, and the sternness on his face turned into kindness. He personally helped his daughter to her feet and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Well, I'll make an exception for once.

He stroked his long beard and added, "However, the secret realm is dangerous, so we need to send a few elders to accompany us for protection."

Gong Xueying cried with joy and threw herself into her father's arms.

She didn't see the cold light that flashed in Gong Sheng's eyes, nor did she notice the magic formula that her father quietly made in his sleeves.

After his daughter left, Gong Sheng immediately activated the restriction by making a hand gesture. Mysterious runes circulated within the hall, isolating it into an independent space. He said calmly to the void, "Come out."

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. Chen Xuan emerged from behind the hall pillar, his face devoid of its usual warmth, his eyes gleaming coldly. "Master, you are wise. Chu Mo died in the secret realm, and the Chu family will only think it was a lack of luck."

Gong Sheng rubbed the black jade ring on his thumb, which had a blood-red pattern hidden inside. "You lead the team yourself." He paused, and lowered his voice a bit. "Remember, handle it cleanly and neatly. If anyone finds out..."

Gong Sheng snorted coldly and didn't finish his words. After all, the Chu Mo incident was entirely caused by Chen Xuan.

If Chen Xuan wasn't a little clever and had good cultivation, and his daughter wasn't currently infatuated with him, Gong Sheng would never have kept him.

Chen Xuan sneered, "I understand, disciple. This is a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone."

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As dusk fell, the little fox squatted on the branch of the bitter bamboo, looking at its own slender fingers with curiosity.

The afterglow of the setting sun gilded her silhouette, and three faintly visible fox tails swayed gently behind her. She tried a spell, and suddenly a cluster of bluish-white fox fire burst out from her fingertips—this was the innate true fire that only adult fox demons could control.

"Senior, look!" she shouted into the house, her voice still carrying the clearness of a young girl. "I can make a fire!"

Inside, Chu Mo was polishing the bronze lamp. Hearing the shout, his fingertips paused, and a spark suddenly erupted from the wick. He gazed thoughtfully out the window, only to see the fire from the little fox's fingertips echoing with the first star that lit up in the sky.

"Come in." He put down the copper lamp, his voice a little softer than usual.

The little fox lightly jumped down from the bamboo shoot and transformed back into a little girl when she landed. She skipped into the house and found Chu Mo's face terribly pale, with the dark blue poisonous lines on his chest wriggling strangely.

"Senior!" She rushed to the bed in panic, instinctively activating her golden elixir. Three fox tails appeared simultaneously, interweaving into a barrier that enveloped Chu Mo. The ferocious poisonous patterns, meeting the golden light of the fox tails, retreated slightly, like snow meeting the morning sun.

Chu Mo took a deep breath and looked at the evening primrose seeds on her neck: "Can you give me a strand of your fox fire?"

Without a word, the little fox condensed a cluster of dancing flames at his fingertips. This bluish-white fox fire was as cold as moonlight, but within it was a startling vitality.