Flowing Cloud Sect, Green Lotus Peak, a small path halfway up the mountain.

A lone table was set in the middle of the road, blocking the way, but the chair behind it was empty.

Where had the owner of the chair gone?

Ah, there she was.

"Hehehe, Xiaobai, curious about what this is?"

In the woods beside the table, Ning Yunmiao took a large lump of clay from the extinguished fire and looked at Xiaobai, who was licking its fur, and asked.

"Meow~"

Xiaobai responded enthusiastically... although its attention was entirely on its fur.

"This, where I come from, is a delicacy called Beggar's Chicken." Ning Yunmiao gazed at the clay in her hand, intoxicated, "Don't be fooled by its muddy appearance, that's just the surface. If you peel it layer by layer, you'll get a delicious Beggar's Chicken!"

Saying this, Ning Yunmiao swallowed her saliva, then quickly placed the Beggar's Chicken in her hand alongside four others that were already prepared.

"No, no, I have to save these to eat with Senior Brother and the others. Then, after Second Senior Sister, Third Senior Brother, and Fifth Junior Sister refuse, I'll claim the other three Beggar's Chickens for myself." Muttering to herself, Ning Yunmiao took out more than a dozen top-grade spirit stones and a blueprint, and began arranging the spirit stones around the five Beggar's Chickens according to the instructions on the blueprint, "With the array formation I learned from the master at the Spirit Cuisine Hall, the flavor of this Beggar's Chicken will reach its peak! It will evolve into the Invincible Ultimate Beggar's Chicken!"

After arranging the top-grade spirit stones, Ning Yunmiao infused spiritual energy into the spirit stone serving as the array's core. The other top-grade spirit stones immediately emitted light, enveloping the five Beggar's Chickens.

"Whew, now I just have to wait for half an hour..." Ning Yunmiao looked lovingly at the five Beggar's Chickens within the array formation, wiped the corner of her eye, sniffed, and said, "Finally, I finally succeeded this time. This was so hard to make. If the paper wrapping is too little, it breaks; if the clay is too thick, it doesn't cook through, and you have to watch the heat... Boohoo, I finally succeeded! Xiaobai!"

She pulled Xiaobai into her arms, crying tears of joy.

...Poor Xiaobai, whose neck was being squeezed, looked utterly resigned.

Some might wonder why Ning Yunmiao wasn't napping in the afternoon but making Beggar's Chicken here instead.

Actually, according to Leng Youxue's plan, she needed to be the first checkpoint at Green Lotus Peak, waiting here for Gu Qingqing to arrive. Since Gu Qingqing could arrive at any time, Ning Yunmiao didn't dare to sleep. Coincidentally, she had caught some wild chickens on her way to sleep a few days ago, so she decided to take this time to make some Beggar's Chicken to try.

"Alright, let's go back to waiting for that Gu Qingqing."

After her excitement subsided, Ning Yunmiao left the woods with Xiaobai in her arms and sat back down behind the table, stroking Xiaobai in her arms and sighing, "Sigh, Gu Qingqing hasn't arrived yet. She must have been held up by the uncles and aunts, right? Master's plan is really effective... but poor Gu Qingqing..."

Just as she was muttering to herself, Ning Yunmiao saw a figure descend from the sky, landing not far ahead.

It was none other than the current Saintess of Mysterious Maiden Peak, Gu Qingqing.

However, compared to when she first entered the Flowing Cloud Sect, the current Saintess of Mysterious Maiden Peak had a word practically written on her face—irritated.

Even though she approached the process with a mindset of "endurance," running back and forth between several peaks to perform repetitive and overlapping tasks was still a bit too much for her... Especially with the Flowing Cloud Sect's pervasive mist, flying with her magic weapon was quite troublesome, and she almost had a few accidents while running back and forth earlier.

Fortunately, she finally arrived at Green Lotus Peak.

Phew, it's almost over, Qingqing, stay calm...

After telling herself this, Gu Qingqing looked ahead and saw Ning Yunmiao sitting behind the table. First, she was amazed by the girl's beauty, then she frowned.

Upon entering Green Lotus Peak, Gu Qingqing clearly felt the pull of an array formation, meaning that no matter where she entered Green Lotus Peak, she would end up here upon landing.

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She had long heard that Sect Master Leng's expertise in array formations was unparalleled in the cultivation world. It was indeed extraordinary...

If Gu Qingqing knew that this effect was actually modified by Yu Qiaoxi, she would have had different thoughts.

However, if I'm asked to fill out more forms or stamp anything, I won't endure it anymore!

Taking a deep breath, Gu Qingqing strode towards Ning Yunmiao.

Oh no, is that Gu Qingqing? She seems really angry. I'm doomed, I knew I shouldn't have been the first one!

Ning Yunmiao watched as Gu Qingqing approached step by step, instantly becoming nervous.

...This caused poor Xiaobai to have its neck squeezed even tighter.

"How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?"

Gu Qingqing stopped in front of the table and asked, looking at Ning Yunmiao.

"Hello, Fellow Daoist Ning. My surname is Gu, you can just call me Fellow Daoist Gu." The increasingly nervous Ning Yunmiao immediately stood up and responded.

...Then she realized what she had said and wished she could slap herself on the spot.

"Fellow Daoist Ning, is it?"

Gu Qingqing guessed Ning Yunmiao's identity and looked her up and down, this Immaculate Dao Heart that her master had mentioned, before continuing, "Do I still need to write anything or find someone to stamp something?"

"No, no." Ning Yunmiao shook her head.

Hearing this, Gu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, her expression softening considerably. Following the instructions of the last Peak Master Bai Li, she took out a pile of waist tokens and papers from her storage magic treasure and piled them on the table, "Then, please give me an invitation, Fellow Daoist Ning."

Seeing the irritation vanish from Gu Qingqing's face, Ning Yunmiao also breathed a sigh of relief. After hesitating for a moment, she still whispered the "lines" from the plan, "Um, Fellow Daoist Gu, it seems that the activation mark on your specially made waist token for outsiders isn't complete, so you might need to go to... Eek!!"

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Because as soon as Gu Qingqing heard the words "you might need to go to," she instantly had a long spear in her hand and swept it out to the side.

Don't misunderstand, Gu Qingqing wasn't about to attack Ning Yunmiao directly.

She merely swept her spear to knock down a section of the woods, venting her anger.

Enough is enough!

Don't push me too far!

Gu Qingqing gripped her long spear, her fighting spirit blazing.

...Then she saw Ning Yunmiao behind the table, whose eyes first lost their luster, and then... turned red as she began to cry.

"Huh?"

Gu Qingqing, whose anger had been mostly extinguished, looked at Ning Yunmiao, dumbfounded.

What's going on? I just knocked down some trees, and she's crying? It can't be...

As it turned out, Gu Qingqing's understanding was wrong.

Because...

"Waaah! My Beggar's Chicken! The Beggar's Chicken I spent two hours making! You owe me a Beggar's Chicken!"