"Okay."

  The green gourd swayed and then tinued, "But you'll have to wait another day or two to e out. You have to wait until these three gourds are fully ripe."

  This was something that Fairy Lingyue had told Xu Taiping before.

  After waking up this time, her remnant soul would slowly nurture itself in this green gourd as a pce of residence, without the o rely on the Earthly Fruit.

  "Little Taiping, although I don't knoecific treasures are iher two gourds, the aura they emit is very powerful. This time, there may be a surprise."

  Fairy Lingyue tinued with a hint of excitement ione.

  "I also think there will be a surprise."

  Xu Taiping also nodded. He was also looking forward to the treasures that would result from the Earthly Fruit the sed time.

  After discussing some of the fusion in their cultivatiohe past few months with Fairy Lingyue, Xu Taipiuro the house to py a few games of chess with the little monkey, and then tinued his evening cultivation in the bedroom.

  He didn't want to waste any time now.

  As Xu Taiping began to cultivate, the little monkey, Ping'an, began to py alone in the courtyard, imitating Xu Taiping's posture, pung and climbing up and down the old banyan tree, having a great time.

  "Gulong..."

  As it was getting dark, Ping'an's stomach began to growl.

  The food ption of the mountain-moving ape was very rge. Even though it had eaten a whole roasted leg of mb at noon, it still felt hungry at this time.

  But even though it was hungry and weak, it didn't disturb Xu Taiping. It just hung itself on a tree branch with its tail, swinging bad forth, a reg the three-character scripture that Xu Taiping had taught it: "At the beginning of the monkey, its nature is good, simir in nature, different in habits, yellow sheep meat, big chi legs, roasted bear paws..."

  "Bang, bang, bang..."

  Just as Ping'an couldn't help but want to grab a handful of leaves to eat, there was a sudden knog at the door outside the courtyard.

  Ping'an shook its tail, swung its body onto a tree branch, covered its eyes with its hand to look outside, and then saw a middle-aged man in a blue shirt standing at the door.

  "Excuse me, is Xu Taiping at home?" the middle-aged man's voice rang out.

  "Jiji..."

  Ping'an jumped down from the tree and danced around the middle-aged man.

  "Little monkey, is your master in the courtyard?" the middle-aged man smiled at Ping'an.

  Hearing this, Ping'an suddenly realized that it seemed to be able to speak human nguage, and immediately shook its head and said, "Not here, you go, Xu Taiping, not ied, not ied in the Cloud Tower."

  It had just learo speak and could only speak in short sentences.

  "I see..."

  The middle-aged man houghtfully, a barely perceptible sly look fshing in his eyes. Then he looked back at Ping'an and said, "Little monkey, I have two spirit peaches here. Do you want to eat them?"

  As he spoke, he took out two fist-sized, tender peaches from his wide sleeves.

  A unique fragrance of spiritual fruit filled the area as soon as the two spirit peaches were taken out.

  "Jiji..."

  Smelling the fragrance of the spiritual fruit, Ping'an found it difficult to resist and began to scratch its head and cheeks.

  "Little monkey, if you want to eat, e a yourself."

  As the middle-aged man spoke, he picked up one of the spirit peaches and began to eat it with relish.

  "Jiji jiji..."

  Faced with the temptation of the middle-aged man, Ping'an wao jump down several times, but when it remembered Xu Taiping's warning, it finally resisted and, after scolding the middle-aged man auro the banyan tree in the courtyard.

  "Never mind, I'm too zy to tease you. The spirit peach is for you, e a yourself."

  The middle-aged man smiled and thehe spirit pea the ground before turning and leaving without looking back.

  "Jiji..."

  Seeing the middle-aged man leave, Ping'an finally rexed, jumped down, and quickly picked up the spirit fruit from the ground.

  But at that moment, the middle-aged man seemed to have disappeared as if he had turned invisible, and he appeared o Ping'an out of thin air.

  "Jiji..."

  Before Ping'an could scream, the middle-aged man grabbed it and k out with a palm.

  "Little guy, if you won't accept a toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit."

  The middle-aged man looked at the pque above the courtyard dreen Bamboo Residehen flicked his hand and shot a dart from his sleeve, straight into the pque.

  And on that dart was a letter.

  After doing all this, the middle-aged man's figure disappeared into thin air once again.

  ...

  "Taiping, if you want to get back your spiritual pet, e to Peach Blosse for a meeting within three days. Yuan Liu of the Cloud Tower will be waiting."When Xu Taiping saw the letter, a stick of inse had already burned down.

  He had been at a critical juncture in his cultivation practice, his mind fully immersed, and hadn't noticed what was happening outside.

  "Why would they do this to me, a mere begi the Opening Realm, especially when I have no quarrels with the Yunlou Association?"

  Xu Taiping, walking towards the medial garden while reading the letter, couldn't quite uand.

  "What's wrong, Taiping?"

  By now, Xu Taiping was standing in the medial garden, right beside the gourd vine.

  "A loose cultivator alliance called the Yunlou Association has kidnapped Little Monkey, demanding that I visit their estate within three days."

  Xu Taiping reted to Fairy Lingyue what had happeoday, as well as the repeated invitations from the Yunlou Associatiohe past days.

  "They must be after the medial herbs in yarden."

  Fairy Lingyue, an old hand in the world, immediately thought of this possibility.

  "That's possible. This year, all the herbs I've pnted in the garden are valuable."

  Xu Taiping nodded.

  "Don't worry too much, Taiping. Siheir goal is the herbs in yarden, they won't harm Little Taiping before meeting you. Tonight, these three gourds will fully mature. You should take the treasures to add a yer of prote, and then I'll apany you to Taoyuan Ridge."

  Fairy Lingyue suggested at this moment.

  "Mhm, that's the only way."

  Xu Taiping nodded.

  This was also why he hadn't rushed out immediately but had e to the medial garden instead.

  ...

  Late into the night.

  As the moon reached its zenith, with a "plop," the green gourd where Fairy Lingyue resided fell from the vine.

  Then Xu Taiping saw the green glowing faintly, floating straight towards him.

  "Little Taiping, you'll have to take good care of my dwelling from now on."

  Fairy Lingyue's someyful voice came from the gourd, followed by the opening of the gourd's mouth, and a somewhat transparent figure floated out from within.

  Who else could it be, if not Fairy Lingyue?

  kant34810