Fairy, don't let your golden finger chase after me!

Chapter 37: Haha! I've succeeded, Daoist Master!

Looking at the pupil technique reward given by the system, Dong Mo immediately activated the True Eye of Truth and experienced the many benefits that this pupil technique brought him. Then he nodded with satisfaction.

Hmm...not bad. With this ability, I have another trump card in my hand!

Afterwards, Dong Mo finished his practice and got up, following the scent of his maid Xiao Bai.

At the other end of the palace corridor, Xiao Bai was practicing her swordplay in front of the bronze puppet that Dong Mo had lent her. Although her movements seemed slow, she was exceptionally focused, pausing for a moment after each thrust to carefully study the sword intent on the bronze puppet.

Upon hearing Dong Mo's footsteps, Xiao Bai suddenly turned around, his eyes lighting up instantly.

"Ah! Young Master, you've finally emerged from seclusion!"

Upon seeing this, Dong Mo raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing the unusual nature of Xiao Bai's words and expression.

"Huh? Why are you making such a fuss, Xiaobai? Have I been in seclusion for a long time?"

"Young Master, you've been in seclusion for a whole day and night!"

Huh? A whole day and night?

Dong Mo was stunned. In his perception, he had only just refined the Heaven-Mending Pill, and after waking up, he had flipped through a few pages of the manual. At most, only an hour had passed.

But Xiao Bai said he had been in seclusion for a day and a night, and given Xiao Bai's character, he wouldn't lie to him. Is this what they mean by "time flies in the mountains, but a thousand years have passed in the world"?

"Hmm? Young Master, what's wrong?"

Seeing him lost in thought, Xiao Bai tilted his head curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing." Dong Mo snapped out of his reverie and brought his thoughts back to the present moment.

"Xiao Bai, how's your sword practice going? Have you been able to glean any secrets from the bronze puppet?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai looked somewhat flustered and whispered apologetically to Dong Mo.

"I apologize, young master. Please forgive my ignorance... I haven't figured out any secrets yet. However... while observing this bronze puppet, I did get a general idea of ​​what it was all about."

"I just don't know yet how to organize it into a complete sword technique."

"Oh, it's nothing."

Dong Mo smiled and gently comforted Xiao Bai.

"Now that we've made some progress, I'll leave this bronze puppet with you for now. You can return it to me when you've mastered the sword technique."

Xiao Bai hugged the bronze puppet tightly and nodded vigorously.

Dong Mo withdrew his hand, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the tightly closed palace gates.

"Oh, by the way, has Gu Ziyue come out?"

Xiao Bai shook his head and said, "No, Miss Ziyue has been staying in the palace and hasn't come out yet. There's been no movement from her."

Upon hearing this, Dong Mo thoughtfully stroked his chin.

Hmm... That's strange. Even if it's for ancestral worship, that silly fox shouldn't be taking this long!

Gu Ziyue, could it be that she discovered some precious treasure in the secret realm and wanted to keep it for herself, so she deliberately sent me away?

The more Dong Mo thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After all, when Gu Ziyue willingly gave him the Phoenix Blood Grass, she did so quite readily…

Given that guy's calculating nature, he wouldn't have agreed so readily if there wasn't something really profitable to be had.

As Dong Mo was pondering this, a deafening roar suddenly came from the direction of the distant palace.

"Boom..."

Immediately afterwards, the entire palace trembled, and rubble fell from the eaves. Then, a burst of extremely triumphant laughter suddenly erupted from the depths of the palace.

"Practice until your body resembles a crane, and you can read two volumes of scriptures beneath a thousand pine trees."

"I came to ask the question, but there was nothing more to say; the clouds are in the blue sky, and the water is in the bottle."

"Hahaha... I've succeeded!"

Then a purple figure rushed out of the palace gate like a whirlwind.

Gu Ziyue's face was flushed, and her long purple hair stood on end slightly with excitement, as excited as a husky that loves to run around.

Looking at her chest, one could see that a delicate tortoise shell pendant had appeared there at some point. The pendant was only the size of a fingernail and had an ancient, ethereal glow.

Gu Ziyue was excited when she suddenly heard Dong Mo's gentle greeting.

"You've succeeded? Miss Ziyue, what have you succeeded in?"

Gu Ziyue's laughter stopped abruptly. Only then did she notice that Dong Mo and Xiao Bai were still standing in the corridor. The fox froze on the spot, her expression like that of a child caught stealing candy.

"Huh? Xiao Mo, Dong Bai...you didn't leave?"

Dong Mo smiled and said, "Since we are all allies, of course we should go together."

"Hmm. But judging from Miss Ziyue's expression, she seems to be hoping we'll leave quickly?"

"Miss Ziyue, what are you expecting?"

Dong Mo leaned close to Gu Ziyue's ear and whispered a question to her like a villain.

"Hehe~ Judging from your expression, you must have made some new gains in the secret realm?"

Gu Ziyue took a half step back guiltily, subconsciously clutching the pendant on her chest, and said to Dong Mo with a stern face.

"How...how could that be! Didn't you and your ancestors take all the treasures from the secret realm? There's no way I could get any!"

Gu Ziyue tried her best to cover up the truth, but little did she know that Dong Mo had already seen through everything with the help of the system.

[Ding! New target detected.]

[Target of Strategy: Kunpeng Treasure Technique]

[The victim: Gu Ziyue]

[Personality: Aloof and stubborn, with a refined and gentle demeanor.]

Dong Mo was suddenly stunned when he saw this. Good heavens, it was actually the Kunpeng Treasure Technique, a top-tier cultivation technique from the original game! This was Gu Ziyue's signature cheat in the game!

The Kunpeng Treasure Technique has two forms, Kun and Peng. It governs the subtle Daoist methods of Yin and Yang transformation and contains the boundless changes of the ocean. More importantly, it is also a life-saving divine skill with extremely fast speed, allowing cultivators to escape and travel quickly!

It turns out that Gu Ziyue obtained this set of techniques in the secret realm of Heming Mountain!

Thinking of this, Dong Mo subconsciously looked at the pendant that Gu Ziyue was tightly covering on her chest.

I remember that when Gu Ziyue first entered the secret realm, she didn't have this item on her. She must have obtained this pendant in the secret realm.

Hiss... Judging from how much she values ​​this pendant, could it be related to the Kunpeng Treasure Technique?

Just as Dong Mo thought of this, a system dialog pop-up suddenly appeared in his body from the Devouring Heaven True Blood.

[Devouring Heaven's True Blood: Mom! Mom! Mom!]

[The Devouring Heaven True Blood declares that Mom's guess was correct; the pendant is indeed the Kunpeng Armor, which records the Kunpeng Treasure Technique. Not only does it contain the Kunpeng Treasure Technique, but it's also a defensive magic weapon that can freely expand and shrink!]

Hmm? A magic weapon? And it even contains the Kunpeng Treasure Technique?

Hmm... I need to figure out a way to get this pendant from Gu Ziyue's hands... no! I need to get it from her!

While Dong Mo was secretly making plans in his mind, Gu Ziyue across from him suddenly realized what was going on.

Hmm? Wait a minute. This young lady has already mastered the Kunpeng Treasure Technique, and the side effects of the Blood Madness have been completely eliminated thanks to this technique. Her strength has returned to its peak!

Since that's the case... then why should I be afraid of this brat Xiao Mo?

Noticing Gu Ziyue's sly smile, Dong Mo raised an eyebrow with a look of vigilance.

"Hey, why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh...no, it's nothing."

Gu Ziyue cleared her throat, put her hands behind her back, and tried her best to appear nonchalant to Dong Mo.

"I just suddenly remembered that someone told me back in the maze that we should have a good match after we conquered the secret realm, right?"

Upon hearing this, Dong Mo almost couldn't help but laugh.

Pfft... Is Gu Ziyue, this silly fox, only three years old? Her mind is way too easy to understand! After learning the Kunpeng Treasure Technique, does she think she's all that anymore and wants to teach me a lesson with her new ultimate move?

Hehe... But then again, does this girl think she's the only one who gained something from the secret realm?

Ah! No, I can't laugh! I have to hold it in!

If I laugh, that silly fox will probably notice something's wrong and change his mind on the spot!

Dong Mo rubbed his wrist and went along with it.

"Oh? What's wrong, Miss Gu Ziyue? Are you itching for a fight and want to challenge me to a duel?"

Without saying a word, Gu Ziyue drew the Xihe Sword, its blade shooting out a beam of moon-white light.

"To be honest, I've got my eye on that bronze puppet you got in the secret realm. I want to challenge you to a contest. If you lose, you have to give me the puppet."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai instinctively clenched the bronze sword-inspired puppet in his hand and hid it behind his back.

Dong Mo wasn't annoyed at all, and smiled leisurely.

"Sure, sure. But if I win, what are you going to give me?"

"If I lose, I'll give you the Xihe Sword!"

"Forget it." Dong Mo waved his hand, looking at Gu Ziyue with a face full of disdain.

"I told you before, I really don't like your Xihe Sword."

"If you want to compete with me, then put a different treasure as your stake."

Gu Ziyue was taken aback by his words, but at that moment, all she could think about was how to teach Dong Mo, that blond-haired brat, a lesson and let him know who the boss was. She couldn't care less about anything else.

She simply spread her hands and then very generously expressed to Dong Mo in front of her...

"Hmph! Name whatever you want. As long as it's within my reasonable and acceptable range, and your request isn't excessive, whatever you want!"

"I'll give you anything as long as you can beat me."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Dong Mo narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his hand to point at the tortoise shell pendant on Gu Ziyue's chest.

"If I want this, will you give it to me?"