Chapter 610: Qing Lin Breaks Through to Dou Huang!

“Xiao Jin, you really are so thoughtful.”

Hearing Xiao Jin speak such words in his innocent voice, Qing Lin’s gaze grew incredibly gentle. She reached out and rubbed his head.

At this stage of mental development, Xiao Jin was essentially like a seven- or eight-year-old human child—dependent on and longing for his parents. Though Gu He was his master, in Xiao Jin’s eyes, he was akin to a father. Having been away for so long, Xiao Jin missed Gu He and wanted to come back for a visit.

“Xiao Jin, I’ll go back too, to see Master, Master’s wife, and the little one,” Qing Lin replied with a smile.

“Great!”

Hearing Qing Lin’s words, Xiao Jin nodded cheerfully. With Venerable Tianhuo, a Dou Zun expert, leading them, their travel speed was nearly ten times faster than before. A round trip wouldn’t take long at all.

“Senior Yao, don’t you know spatial traversal? Take us into the void space—it’ll be much quicker that way!” Having made up her mind, Qing Lin turned to Venerable Tianhuo with a grin.

“Alright! Alright! Alright!”

Venerable Tianhuo agreed readily to Qing Lin’s request, nodding repeatedly.

In the next moment, he extended his hand and lightly slashed through the air in front of him. Immediately, a pitch-black spatial rift several dozen feet wide opened in the space before them.

“Let’s go, you two little ones!”

As the enormous spatial rift appeared, Venerable Tianhuo released two gentle streams of Dou Qi, forming protective barriers around Xiao Jin and Qing Lin.

Given Xiao Jin’s current cultivation level, traveling through a spatial channel wasn’t much of a danger. But since he and Qing Lin both needed to move at enhanced speed, Venerable Tianhuo’s assistance ensured they could reach Yunlan Sect in less than a day.

Whoosh!

Once he had wrapped both Xiao Jin and Qing Lin in energy, Venerable Tianhuo stepped into the rift, bringing the two of them along. Soon, the trio’s figures disappeared from the sky, and the massive, panic-inducing spatial fissure began to slowly fade.

…

Eight hours later, above Yunlan Sect, within the main hall of the sect, Venerable Tianhuo suddenly appeared with Xiao Jin and Qing Lin.

Gu He had already sensed their return. With his soul power, he could detect any powerful presence within the entire Yunlan Mountain range and even dozens of miles beyond. Nothing strong could escape his perception.

At the moment Xiao Jin and Qing Lin appeared in the hall, Gu He arrived with Xiao Yuchen.

“Master, I’m back!”

As soon as she stepped into the hall, Qing Lin called out loudly.

Hearing the tone of her voice, Gu He was visibly stunned.

Before this, Qing Lin had always spoken softly, even timidly—never like this, so boisterous and carefree.

“This girl… after a year out in the world, she’s actually grown more lively!” Seeing Qing Lin’s bright smile and vibrant aura, Gu He couldn’t help but feel moved. “It seems there are many things that can’t be taught—they have to be experienced personally.”

“Master!”

Following Qing Lin’s greeting, Xiao Jin called out with a silly grin on his face.

“Brother Gu,” Venerable Tianhuo cupped his fists toward Gu He.

“It’s good that you’re back. It’s good that you’re back!” Seeing the three figures appear in the hall, a smile spread across Gu He’s face.

“Sister Qing Lin, you’re finally back!”

Just then, a voice rang out—one that had only recently shed its childish lilt.

Qing Lin and the others had been away for nearly a year. By now, Xiao Yuchen was about a year and a half old. Under Yun Yun’s guidance, she could already speak fluently. When Qing Lin had left, Xiao Yuchen was not yet even one, but she had already committed Qing Lin to memory. During her absence, Xiao Yuchen often thought of her.

“Aiya, Xiao Yuchen, you still remember Sister Qing Lin?”

Hearing Xiao Yuchen greet her, the smile on Qing Lin’s face deepened. She quickly stepped forward, and seeing this, Xiao Yuchen released Gu He’s hand and ran toward Qing Lin.

“Of course I remember! Back then we played together with Cai’er!” Xiao Yuchen stood in front of Qing Lin, staring at her with wide, dark eyes—looking utterly adorable.

Memories from seven or eight months old were clearly more vivid than those from infancy. Xiao Yuchen could still remember Qing Lin even after nearly a year, but it was much harder for her to recall Xiao Yixian, Han Yue, Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yin, or Xiao Xue.

However, in her mind there remained a vague image: a white silhouette personally placing a white-and-green bracelet onto her wrist. That bracelet was something she still wore to this day. Whenever she saw it, that image would flash across her mind, though as time passed, the figure within that image became more and more blurred.

Hearing Xiao Yuchen’s reply, Qing Lin smiled and said, “Since you’re being so sweet, this time I’ll let you share all the treasures I’ve collected!”

With that, Qing Lin took out a large pile of trinkets from her storage ring and laid them across the floor in front of Xiao Yuchen.

Some of these items were things Qing Lin liked herself, but most of them had been collected from the start with Xiao Yuchen in mind.

“(⊙o⊙) Wow! So many cool things!” Xiao Yuchen gasped in delight at the sight of more than a hundred little items, then excitedly began picking through them.

“Sister Qing Lin, I want this one, and this one, and this one too…”

…

Qing Lin and Xiao Jin didn’t stay at Yunlan Sect for long. Three days later, they set off again with Venerable Tianhuo, heading for the Mercenary Guild headquarters.

During those three days, Qing Lin once again received a transfer of cultivation from Gu He, and finally raised her strength to the Dou Huang level.

Among Gu He’s disciples, Qing Lin was exceptionally young and had also started cultivating much later than the others. She had only been training for a few years, yet she had already reached the Dou Huang realm—an astonishing feat. And this was merely the beginning. As time went on, her cultivation speed would increasingly pull ahead of the average person.

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