"Yingying, did you say earlier that you wanted to give a gift?"
Lin Xiao tentatively asked, "Is today... any special day?"
Lu Yingying held his arm, her eyes like shimring autumn pools, pleading a little, "Eldest Senior Brother, can we not ask questions for now?"
"Anyway, you’ll definitely like it! You’ll understand once you go with Yingying and see!"
"However, on the way there, you can’t open your eyes! You can only open them when I tell you to!" the young girl added mysteriously.
What the hell is this girl planning? Lin Xiao grumbled to himself. He was well aware that the crucial events of the Five Branches Grand Competition were imminent, yet he still had several preparatory subplots to complete.
On the other hand, seeing her Eldest Senior Brother’s reluctance, the young girl took matters into her own hands; her slender, fair arms imdiately wrapped around him!
Ah, this... Lin Xiao gave an inward bitter laugh. She’s practically strong-arming ! His hands hung awkwardly in the air for a mont before he finally rested them on the girl’s shoulders, intending to caress her small face.
However, due to a blind spot, he misjudged the distance and inadvertently touched sothing soft and round, about the size of his palm.
Damn... he thought. Has she grown up too? This isn’t what I saw with the Photo Stone, is it?
Lin Xiao sighed inwardly. Still, she was soone he had watched grow up. At this mont, he felt more a sense of gratification, like seeing his own daughter co of age.
On the other side, Lu Yingying seed to sense sothing too. Her small face instantly turned red, but instead of dodging or pulling away, she hugged her Eldest Senior Brother even tighter!
At the sa ti, her eyes grew hazy, and her delicate, rosy lips pouted slightly, as if... lost in so deep emotion.
"AHEM, AHEM, AHEM!"
Lin Xiao, in a final effort to restore his persona, gave a symbolic squeeze, then stepped back, crossed his arms, cleared his throat, and said, "Very well! Yingying, it’s rare for you to be so considerate! Eldest Senior Brother will accompany you!"
"You’d better not disappoint !"
Damn it. His own junior sister was so adorable; what could he do? Spoil her, of course!
Of course, the most important thing was seeing that this reclusive and sowhat possessive junior sister wasn’t planning any tricks; he felt considerably more at ease.
Finally, amid Lu Yingying’s bell-like laughter, the two mounted the Lion Hawk Beast and flew into the depths of the Sacred Beast Garden.
「Sacred Beast Garden.」
The spiritual mist was thick, and the calls of auspicious beasts echoed. As one of the largest "Spiritual Beast Nature Reserves" in the Eastern Region of Central State, a single glance revealed a breathtakingly beautiful yet bizarre and otherworldly forest landscape.
As the Lion Hawk Beast flew deeper into the jungle, Lin Xiao could clearly sense the powerful aura of a Spiritual Beast! It was different from the ordinary Spiritual Monkeys, Spiritual Birds, and Illusory Kun Chickens they had encountered along the way. This aura belonged to at least a high-level Spiritual Beast above the Core Formation Stage!
And... there was more than one!
Damn, it seems I was too careless, Lin Xiao thought. This girl isn’t really planning sothing huge, is she?
A sense of unease crept into Lin Xiao’s heart as he recalled Lu Yingying’s Chiyou’s world-destroying relic from the original novel—the Beast Control King Chain.
"Alright, Eldest Senior Brother! You can open your eyes now!"
"Quick, look! What’s that in the sky—"
Lu Yingying suddenly removed her small hands from Lin Xiao’s eyes. He did as she said and looked up.
The mont his gaze pierced the heavens, he was utterly dumbfounded!
Above the azure sky, a vast expanse of fiery clouds, radiating a potent and sacred aura, swept over everything, magnificent and spectacular! It was as if the Fire God Zhu Rong himself had descended; even in the Cultivation World, it was a celestial marvel rarely seen in a millennium!
In an instant, the fiery clouds gradually dispersed, sotis aligning like a fire dragon, sotis gathering to form a blazing sun!
As cries of beasts pierced the sky, Lin Xiao finally realized sothing.
Are these all... Seven-colored Fire Phoenixes?
Lin Xiao was so astonished he was speechless.
Seven-colored Fire Phoenixes! These were ancient Innate Spiritual Beasts, extrely rare throughout the entire realm! Born Innate! They could naturally reach the Core Formation Stage within a month!
Legend had it that when Seven-colored Fire Phoenixes appeared in flocks, great fortune would shower the mortal world. Wishing upon the sky at such a mont might bring unexpected, wonderful surprises!
That married Chairwoman of Phoenix Caw Peak, Martial Uncle Su, did indeed have one as her mount! But supposedly, her fake Dao companion, Nangong Wudao, had traveled all over the Divine Continent to find that phoenix egg in an ancient abyss, which eventually hatched.
For Seven-colored Fire Phoenixes, fully grown and moving in formation, to appear like this was nothing short of a miracle!
This girl... her abilities are stronger than I imagined, Lin Xiao mused. No wonder the original author hinted in the book that the woman in the entire Qinglan Sect most capable of world-destroying power, of single-handedly propping up the heavens, was not Xiao Hongling, but... this unassuming little girl before !
Lin Xiao gazed at the magnificent spectacle in the sky, lost in thought.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Yingying’s birthday gift for you... do you like it!? Hahaha, quick, tell Yingying!"
Lu Yingying tugged his hand, looking up with sparkling eyes, eagerly awaiting his answer.
"My birthday gift...?" Lin Xiao was sowhat dazed.
"Yes! Has Eldest Senior Brother forgotten? You told your birthday is the third day after the Start of Winter!"
"Yingying has always rembered!"
"And! That ti, Yingying asked you which spiritual beast you liked best, offering to catch one for you to see. Eldest Senior Brother, you shook your head and said that what you liked most was the rarest and most precious thing in this world. That’s why Yingying thought of these Seven-colored Fire Phoenixes!"
"It might not be exactly what Eldest Senior Brother wanted, but they’re rare enough!"
Lu Yingying’s smile was like a blooming flower, shallow dimples gracing her cheeks, and she seed even happier than he was.
Ah, this...
Hearing her words, Lin Xiao was shaken to his core, body and soul!
He carefully recalled. He had indeed told Lu Yingying about his birthday from his past life several years ago! But he never expected her to rember a casual remark for so many years.
Actually, what he had said he wanted back then was to return to Earth and reunite with his family!
But now, under the girl’s fervent, sincere gaze, his heart completely lted!
He knew that even his endearingly clueless little sister back on Earth might not rember his birthday!
Stay. They are your family too... A voice he had never heard before echoed in his mind.
"Eldest Senior Brother, why aren’t you saying anything? Is it... you don’t like it?"
Seeing her Eldest Senior Brother’s sorrowful expression, the light in Lu Yingying’s eyes dimd, and she asked in a low, crestfallen voice.
"I’m sorry, Eldest Senior Brother. Yingying is just too stupid. Eldest Senior Brother has never been interested in Beast Taming, so how could he like these phoenixes..."
"If Senior Sister Yurong or Senior Sister Youwei were here, they would surely know what Eldest Senior Brother likes better, sigh~"
By the end, her voice was choked with emotion, and tears welled in her eyes.
"No, no, no!"
"Yingying, actually, Eldest Senior Brother..."
Seeing his Little Junior Sister like this, Lin Xiao’s heart ached. Quick-witted as he usually was, he was at a loss for words. He couldn’t bear to revert to his villainous persona!
This girl’s move is truly masterful... he thought. Keep in mind, even in the original novel, Lu Yingying, who fell for Ye Chen, never made such a grand gesture for him! It seems... just like Youwei and Yurong... she might also know about the things I secretly did for them! So, the one she likes... is also , the one with a soul from the modern era!
Thinking this, a current of warmth surged through Lin Xiao. His heart was completely lted!
In that instant, he threw all thoughts of his villain persona to the wind. He pulled the girl’s slender body into his embrace, cupped her exquisite, lovely face, and gently kissed her forehead...
Just as he closed his eyes to savor the mont, a thought suddenly struck him!
Wait, sothing’s not right! I was just intimate with Yurong and Youwei last night, I just stole a kiss from Master on Fairy Cliff, and now I’m... with my own Little Junior Sister... This is too damn beastly! Rember, in the original story, Ye Chen only ever flirted; he never actually touched anyone! So... am I the actual over-amorous main character here?
Instantly, Lin Xiao gritted his teeth and retreated a step, his expression reverting to the arrogant, indifferent mask of the villainous Eldest Senior Brother.
The path to immortality is just one step away; how can I give up halfway!? Halt! Audacious temptation! Don’t you dare corrupt my Dao Heart!
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