Firefly Journey

Two months later, the materials inside the alchemy furnace had changed, and could be considered to have been initially refined. The next step was to control the heat, and how to prevent the magical power within the materials from being lost too much became the problem to be solved.

For three days and three nights in a row, Lin Yuanran stayed by the alchemy furnace, keeping a close watch on it. This batch of pills was not only his first formal alchemy attempt, but also a way to improve his cultivation level in a short period of time, so he couldn't be careless.

Hard work pays off. Under Lin Yuanran's careful care, the melted materials are developing into a new stage. In the next few months, they will gradually fuse together and take shape, becoming a embryonic elixir.

Lin Yuanran finally felt relieved.

Over the course of two months, Lin Yuanran and Feng Ling used spatial teleportation and soundproofing techniques to travel between the peaks and uncover many secrets, but none of them were related to the mass disappearance of women.

The secrets discovered include, but are not limited to: the Qing Tang Sect Leader is rarely seen, but in the dead of night, she will quietly sing, though she is tone-deaf and extremely unpleasant to listen to.

Qingyun Daoist has a secret studio filled with portraits of men. Although she tries to conceal them, you can tell from the general outlines that she is painting Qingtang Daoist.

The Taoist Qingxiao was impeccably dressed and otherwise excellent, except for one bad habit: he loved to eat dog meat. Because of this, he had repeatedly sneaked up to Erlai Peak and stolen quite a few dogs. People within hundreds of miles of the Star Moon Alliance even locked their dogs in their bedrooms at night to prevent them from falling victim to his evil deeds.

Both Qingyang Daoist and Qinghen Daoist have their own secrets, just minor hobbies that are harmless. The most normal one is actually Lin Yuanran and Fengling's master.

But this kind of normality, placed among a group of abnormal people, is actually the biggest abnormality.

Lin Yuanran began to suspect that Qingfeng Daoist and Qingque Daoist might be playing a trick on each other, hiding something.

However, in the past six months, Lin Yuanran has not discovered any secrets about Qingfeng Daoist. Could it be that Wang Lingguan's guess was wrong and the root cause of the disappearance was not the Star Moon Alliance?

Just as Lin Yuanran's doubts were gradually dispelled, an unusual act by Qingfeng Daoist made Lin Yuanran alert again.

One day, Lin Yuanran happened to run into Qingfeng Daoist who was returning home late. After the usual greeting, Lin Yuanran smelled an unusual fragrance that he had never smelled before.

Was it an accident, or...?

Lin Yuanran could basically conclude that the fragrance came from a woman, and it seemed that he had to follow up with an investigation.

In response, Lin Yuanran contacted Fengling and told her about Qingfeng Daoist's unusual behavior.

He didn't use his phone, fearing being spied on, so he specifically used the ancestral artifact to avoid any accidents.

Unexpectedly, Fengling also made a discovery. She also noticed that Qingque Daoist had been engaging in some secret activities recently.

Therefore, Lin Yuanran concluded that the two were likely working together as a group, and he became even more concerned.

One dark and windy night, Qingfeng Daoist had clearly gone to sleep, but suddenly, his robes fluttered as he flew out of the bamboo forest.

Lin Yuanran had been waiting for a long time. When he saw him leave, he knew that his opportunity had come. So he used his absolute control over the spatial oracle to follow Qingfeng Daoist all the way, always keeping a certain distance, determined to uncover his secret.

Following closely behind, Daoist Qingfeng arrived at Feilai Peak.

Feilai Peak is usually uninhabited by disciples and is only used as an examination base. His sneaky behavior suggests that... those women did not die, but were imprisoned by him somewhere here.

Feilai Peak also has a protective formation, but Qingfeng Daoist used some secret technique to bypass the formation and enter the peak silently.

Suspicious, so suspicious!

Qingfeng Daoist is an elder of the lineage, and he is free to enter and leave Feilai Peak, but he chose to sneak in. Isn't that a problem?

Lin Yuanran felt that things were becoming clearer, and he had directly entered using spatial teleportation without triggering the protective formation.

Lin Yuanran followed, and saw that Qingfeng Daoist had stopped in a dense forest in the mountains. Lin Yuanran also chose a lush tree that was far away and stood in it.

Qingfeng Daoist was at the Jade Pool Realm. Even though he wasn't good at fighting, Lin Yuanran still kept a distance to be on the safe side, so as not to alert him.

After about ten minutes, Daoist Qingfeng stood there quietly, which greatly puzzled Lin Yuanran. What was he doing?

Just as Lin Yuanran was wondering, he suddenly felt the leaves on the tree next to him move.

"Who?!"

The wind chime parted the branches and, upon seeing Lin Yuanran, was clearly somewhat lost in thought.

"Wind chimes?"

"Ario?"

Compared to Lin Yuanran, she still preferred to call him Ario, since it was the name they had used when they first met.

Lin Yuanran's decision to follow Qingfeng Daoist was impromptu and he did not inform Fengling. How did she end up here?

There's only one answer: the Qingque Daoist she was watching had also come here. They really were in cahoots!

"Look, the Azure Sparrow Taoist is here!" Lin Yuanran said, pointing to a spirit bird about half a person's height that flew in from the horizon.

Fengling wanted to roll her eyes, thinking to herself, "I came here with her, how could I not know?"

But she stopped herself just before she made the move. After all, their relationship was different now, so she shouldn't hurt him anymore and should treat him better.

The half-human-sized spirit bird landed on the ground and transformed into human form, which was none other than the Azure Sparrow Taoist.

Neither of them seemed inclined to leave; their lips were moving, suggesting they were talking about something.

Lin Yuanran dared not release his magic to spy, for fear of being discovered, but Feng Ling had the divine oracle of another world with her, so she was not afraid of being exposed at all.

The more she listened, the stranger the wind chimes looked.

Seeing the change in her expression, Lin Yuanran became anxious and quickly asked, "What are they plotting?"

The wind chimes waved gently, sharing the distant sound: "Listen to yourself."

As Lin Yuanran listened, his expression also became strange.

"Senior sister, I've thought about it, and I still think we can't be together."

"Why? Just because I'm a bird and you're a human?"

"No... My master took me back to the sect back then, saved my life, and taught me cultivation. Now that the sect is in decline, I really have no heart for it..."

"Junior Brother, you don't actually think that with your alchemy skills you can bring glory to the Star Moon Alliance, do you? Besides, our Star Moon Alliance is the leader of the four sects in Jiangdong, and we haven't disappointed Master and Mistress's expectations. What are you running away from?"

"I……"

"Could it be that you think I'm old because I was the one who changed your diapers back then?"

"I wouldn't dare! I would never have such thoughts!"

"Then why are you making excuses!"

The words of the man and the bird grew increasingly sincere, flowing like a never-ending river, eventually reaching a point unsuitable for children.

Lin Yuanran and Feng Ling didn't close their eyes; well, they're both adults.

With a wave of her hand, Feng Ling deactivated the amplified divine message; she really didn't want to hear anyone's sweet talk.

Lin Yuanran complained, "I didn't expect that Aunt Qingque was also into the nurturing genre. She and the great Julius should have a lot to talk about in this regard..."

Wind Chime glared at him, annoyed: "You're such a chatterbox! Now we've lost another clue!"

Lin Yuanran said, "I think that although the Star Moon Alliance looks down on rogue cultivators, it is due to long-standing prejudice. It doesn't mean that this place is so bad. At least what you and I see is quite harmonious and beautiful."

Fengling nodded, "The Star Moon Alliance can't be the problem, so we can only turn our attention to the other three sects."

Lin Yuanran smiled and said, "No rush. Let's wait until my batch of pills is refined. Wang Lingguan has given us a year. Let's figure out the situation in advance, and then we can do our own things in the remaining time."

The disappearance of a large number of women should have been investigated as quickly as possible, but after confirming that it had nothing to do with the Star Moon Alliance, the two left, but they could not immediately join the other three sects to continue their role as spies.

It would be better to stay in the Star Moon Alliance and use the upcoming Seven Veins Martial Arts Tournament as an opportunity.

That's right. When the Seven Sects Martial Arts Tournament is held, the Star Moon Alliance will invite the other three sects to attend the ceremony and exchange disciples for learning. That's an opportunity for Lin Yuanran and Feng Ling to infiltrate at least two of the sects to continue their undercover work.

Moreover, by then the one-year term will have expired, and if Wang Lingguan wants to continue employing the two men, he will have to "renew" their contracts and continue to provide them with compensation...

"I didn't realize you were so good at budgeting," Fengling praised.

Lin Yuanran recalled some past events, his eyes darting around: "I used to be poor, which has led me to always think about maximizing my interests in everything I do now."

Fengling knew he was referring to her experiences in the ancient continent. Although she had transmigrated into a noblewoman, she did not suffer as much as Lin Yuanran.

She suddenly felt a pang of heartache and whispered in Lin Yuanran's ear, "If only you had confessed your feelings in the Pan-Ancient Continent, maybe I would have been so happy that I would have made you the son-in-law of the Xu family."

"I don't want to be a live-in son-in-law..."

Before Lin Yuanran could finish speaking, Feng Ling strode away, giving him no chance to retaliate.

Lin Yuanran shrugged helplessly, but he couldn't hide his smile.