Chapter 234

Yun Jiao opened her storage bag and took out a talisman. Instantly, all the immortal artifacts in the hall floated into the air, as if drawn by an unseen force. One by one, they neatly flew into the bag in a stream of light.

While collecting them, she casually asked, “How’s the cleanup at the Celestial Master Hall going?” She wondered if the main hall that Feng Xiaohuang had accidentally collapsed was finally repaired.

At her question, Hall Master Xu’s brows furrowed. He let out a long sigh. “Ah! It’s been quite troublesome. Mainly because it’s too hard to clean up. The Celestial Master Hall doesn’t have enough manpower. It’ll take a while to finish. I’ve already informed all sects to send their disciples who aren’t on missions to help. I’d say… maybe in two or three more months we’ll be done.”

“Two or three months?!” Yun Jiao was startled. “It was only half a hall that collapsed! It’s been months already—how is it still not done? And why do you need disciples from other sects? Doesn’t the Celestial Master Hall have thousands of its own?”

“Of course!” He nodded firmly and began listing details. “It’s a bit troublesome, but don’t worry, we’ve already divided the teams. There’s a skinning group, a blood-draining group, a tendon-extraction group, and a formation-sealing group. All are managed by disciples with prior experience—there won’t be any problems.”

“Wait…” Yun Jiao blinked. “What? What does building a hall have to do with skinning and bleeding? What exactly is the Celestial Master Hall doing these days?”

“Collecting materials!” Hall Master Xu replied with complete seriousness. Then, remembering something, his expression turned tired but oddly proud. “Master Yun, you didn’t see it—the size of those fallen immortals once their celestial energy dissipated and they returned to their true forms! Just the nine-tailed fox alone was as big as the main hall itself. It crushed dozens of disciples’ dwellings! We had no choice but to disassemble it. And that black dragon! It nearly flattened half a mountain—it’s a miracle it didn’t fall directly on the Celestial Master Hall. But the fox fur’s excellent quality! The weapon-smithing division said they can turn it into hidden weapon–type immortal tools. Perfect material! And then there’s also—”

Hall Master Xu nearly transformed into Ying Lun, babbling endlessly about all the materials they were gathering—from pelts to celestial bones, and even certain indescribable body parts that already had designated uses. He looked like a weary yet happy shopkeeper preparing for the New Year.

Yun Jiao: “…”

Ye Yuan: “…”

Both of them suddenly had the vague suspicion that they’d raised their disciples… in the wrong direction.

Finally, Yun Jiao understood what exactly they had been so “busy” with these days. Those celestial beings from the Southern Heavenly Court had appeared in human form at first, so she hadn’t thought much about it. But apparently, after Ying Lun pulled out their souls, their bodies reverted to their original forms. And given that the Southern Heavenly Court discriminated against ascended mortals, none of those fallen immortals had originally been from the lower realms.

Thinking about the size of Feng Xiaohuang’s dragon body—and multiplying that by several hundred…

This wasn’t just a pile of materials—this was a materials warehouse!

No wonder Hall Master Xu said they needed help from other sects. Those celestial corpses were so huge that the Celestial Master Hall probably didn’t even have space to stand around. Of course they’d need months to dismantle everything. If not for the fact that celestial bodies decayed slowly, they probably couldn’t even keep up.

Yun Jiao silently lit a metaphorical candle for the Southern Heavenly Court. What a generous gift—thousands of miles away, yet still sending “resources” to their doorstep!

“When it’s all done,” Hall Master Xu said cheerfully, counting off materials on his fingers, “our Xuanmen Academy will have plenty of new immortal tools. Oh, but there’s one problem—we don’t know what to do with the celestial flesh. There’s nowhere to bury it. By the way, Master Yun, do you need dragon meat? I can have some disciples deliver it to you.” He had several dragons’ worth on hand, after all.

“No… no need!” Yun Jiao’s mouth twitched. She was afraid Feng Xiaohuang might develop psychological trauma—especially since Ying Lun still needed the dragon’s help with farming.

“Oh.” Hall Master Xu looked a little disappointed, already calculating how many pits he’d need to dig for burial.

“Actually,” Yun Jiao said after a moment, “I can have the old man draw a few yin talismans for you—to disperse the remaining celestial energy and vitality in the bodies. That way you can bury them safely.” It was the same method Ying Lun had used to bury Feng Xiaohuang’s dragon body.

Hall Master Xu’s eyes lit up immediately. He slapped his thigh. “Perfect! Then I’ll trouble Senior Bai—uh, Fellow Daoist Bai?” He hesitated. After all, they’d all seen the old man manifest as the King of Hell himself.

Not just him—many disciples still found it surreal that they’d been learning exorcism from someone who was basically the real thing.

Yun Jiao noticed his unease and explained directly, “The old man isn’t a true Yama yet. We just have an acquaintance down in the underworld. He’s temporarily holding the Yama Command.”

“I see!” Hall Master Xu visibly relaxed. He had thought Fellow Daoist Bai had found some forbidden method to impersonate a living person—but he really was alive!

Glancing outside, Hall Master Xu saw the sky darkening. “It’s getting late. I should head back to—uh—collect bodies… I mean, materials. I won’t keep you any longer. Farewell, Master Yun.”

“Good.” Yun Jiao nodded and escorted him to the teleportation array.

As she returned, she thought to herself that it was time to finally finish that ten-year plan.

Just as she turned to head back to her study, she saw a familiar figure—silent the whole time—suddenly transform back into a human-sized koala. He wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her into his embrace, and somehow produced a red-and-green cookie from nowhere, holding it up to her lips.

“Want a cookie?”

He asked with a perfectly serious face, his cool expression unchanged—but his eyes were bright, fixed intently on… her lips.

The corner of Yun Jiao’s mouth twitched. Her expression cracked again as she sighed. “Patriarch, could you at least change your flirting method? It’s always cookies. It’s not even easy pretending I don’t know what you’re up to.”

Ye Yuan: “…”

A pause.

“Just one little sweet.”

“Get lost!”

“…”

(ಥ_ಥ)

So wronged…

She had agreed to try liking him—so why wouldn’t she let him have a sweet?!

Yun Jiao rubbed her temples, exasperated. She couldn’t tell which part of “try dating slowly” the Patriarch had misunderstood. Since last night, he’d been glued to her side—always sneaking close like a clingy bear, constantly finding excuses to hug or kiss her—oh no, not kiss, to have a “sweet.”

And refusing was useless; she couldn’t push him away at all. No matter how much she explained that relationships needed to progress step by step, he simply replied—utterly serious—that he was taking it step by step, and he hadn’t even used any magic to speed it up.

Yun Jiao: “…”

Truly a logic genius.

Eventually, she gave up resisting. Whatever—let him be.

After all, once you get used to the hugging… it’s not that bad.

╮(╯_╰)╭

Tomorrow, it’s back to business.

But for now… let them have their moment of sweetness.

(End of Chapter)