Chapter 112: The Whereabouts of Jiu'er

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Xiao Bai was shocked—when did the boss lay such a large egg? Can a human even lay an egg?

Zhou Qi recalled the story of the Dragon Mother. If he shouted “Daddy” at the egg every day, when it hatched, might it think he was its father and thus become the Dragon Dad? It seemed quite possible. Zhou Qi decided that no matter how busy he was, he would make time to instill the idea that he was the egg’s father.

If Long Luo knew Zhou Qi wanted to be the father of their dragon offspring, he wondered if they would end up fighting.

Huang Qianqian sneered at Zhou Qi’s actions. “If it were a fool, it might recognize you as its father after hatching. But our divine beasts have inherited memories. What you’re doing is pointless.”

Zhou Qi ignored her and continued patiently coaxing the dragon egg to call him “Daddy.”

Only then did Xiao Bai notice the bird perched on the boss’s shoulder, but he didn’t ask further. A subordinate mustn’t comment on their boss’s quirks, whether good or bad. However, this obsession with birds and eggs was certainly unique among cultivators.

After a while, Zhou Qi stopped the coaxing. This was like prenatal education, requiring years of subtle influence. He was determined to prove that long-term subtle influence could surpass inherited memory.

Naturally, the dragon egg couldn’t be brought into the Medicine Immortal Sanctuary. Zhou Qi placed it in an unused storage ring and gathered some herbs, pills, and useless spiritual artifacts from the sanctuary for the egg to absorb. Once the egg finished refining them, he would switch to another batch.

To refine the Root Bone Pill, red lotus grass, greenwood leaves, and twinborn chrysanthemum were needed. All were available in the sanctuary and belonged to the second-grade pill category. Zhou Qi refined it with ease. Besides these three ingredients, he also took a trace of old dragon essence blood and infused it into the dragon blood, making the Root Bone Pill radiate a powerful aura of qi and blood energy, brimming with life force. This likely exceeded the typical second-grade pill.

He handed the finished Root Bone Pill to Xiao Bai, who immediately recognized its immense value from its quality. At that moment, he felt nothing but gratitude. A person needed a benefactor in life, and the boss was his savior.

After swallowing the pill, Xiao Bai felt a tremendous energy explode within his body, improving his constitution and aptitude. After ordinary Foundation Establishment, the qi veins rarely burst open, but under the power of dragon blood, many solidified qi veins were now opened. Xiao Bai’s white hair gradually darkened, and his aged skin visibly became fair and radiant. Soon, a young, handsome cultivator sat cross-legged on the ground.

The Root Bone Pill not only enhanced Xiao Bai’s aptitude but also reversed his aging, greatly extending his lifespan. After fully assimilating the pill, Xiao Bai was moved to tears. The boss had truly changed his fate.

He quickly knelt and shouted, “Daddy, I pay you my respects.”

Xiao Bai’s sudden action and shout caught Zhou Qi off guard. His face darkened as he asked, “What did you call me?”

“Daddy. What’s wrong with that?” Xiao Bai thought the boss liked being called that since he kept teasing the egg to say it.

“Call me ‘Boss.’ I don’t have a son that old,” Zhou Qi snapped angrily.

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Huang Qianqian burst out laughing. “Oh, so you like being a dad so much? I’ll call you daddy—do you dare to accept that? Daddy, daddy…”

Zhou Qi was speechless. Had everyone gone mad? He only wanted to be a dragon dad, not have some perverted obsession.

Now Xiao Bai was truly a “pretty boy.” Before, it felt awkward calling an old man Xiao Bai, but now it was fitting. Zhou Qi couldn’t help but admire his own foresight.

After much coaxing, the man and bird finally stopped calling him “Daddy.” It was time to pursue the whereabouts of Jiu’er.

The three of them left the forest and headed toward the town to find the man who had earlier seen three Golden Core cultivators chasing Jiu’er.

“Fellow cultivator, where did you see three Golden Core cultivators pursuing two women?” Zhou Qi handed a storage bag to the cultivator.

The cultivator’s spiritual awareness swept over it, and he was very pleased. “About three hundred miles ahead, toward Liuji City, there’s a small river. I saw those three Golden Core cultivators attacking a tall woman and a smaller girl.”

Zhou Qi was shocked. “What happened to the two women?”

“They were injured, bleeding, but their wounds didn’t look severe. The three cultivators were about to capture them when the taller woman pulled out a formation plate. A thick fog instantly enveloped the three Golden Core cultivators. I wasn’t caught in the formation because I was outside the perimeter. After releasing the formation plate, the woman took the little girl and fled toward Liuji City,” the cultivator explained in detail.

Injured and employing a confusing grand formation—Zhou Qi was anxious. He thanked the cultivator and hurried with Xiao Bai and Huang Qianqian toward the battle site.

By the river, they saw messy footprints, traces of spiritual attacks, and plenty of blood. Huang Qianqian carefully sensed the blood and detected residual demon energy.

That had to be Jiu’er’s. “Senior, can you track this demon energy trail?” Zhou Qi looked at Huang Qianqian eagerly.

“Of course, but I’m not a dog. Why should I do such a thing? I have principles,” Huang Qianqian said haughtily, raising her bird-like head.

Zhou Qi took out a small flame, and Huang Qianqian immediately changed her tune. “Seeing your sincerity, I’ll help you this once. It’s not for the flame but because we’re both females, and I sympathize with them.”

Xiao Bai watched in astonishment and whispered, “Boss, this bird is so hypocritical.”

Zhou Qi nodded with a dark expression, fully agreeing.

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“You two whisper as if I can’t hear. Now that I’m in a bad mood, my sympathy is gone. Figure it out yourselves!” Huang Qianqian swallowed the flame whole and refused to act.

Zhou Qi was helpless and produced another flame. Only then did Huang Qianqian’s sympathy return, and she began to patiently sense the trail.

“Speak less from now on,” Zhou Qi warned Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai nodded fearfully. Nowadays, speaking the truth didn’t help.

“There’s residual demon energy from the blood about five hundred kilometers in that direction,” Huang Qianqian pointed.

Hearing this, Zhou Qi hurried in the indicated direction.

They came to a forest where many trees had been cut halfway through, and the surrounding plants bore signs of burning. Zhou Qi searched carefully and found some tattered robes that appeared to belong to the three Golden Core cultivators.

Given Jiu’er’s combat ability, it was unlikely she could damage the three Golden Core cultivators, so why were their robes torn?

“I sense the aura of those three Golden Core cultivators’ demise here. They were killed with a single blow, their forms utterly destroyed. I felt their terror before death,” Huang Qianqian said with an old-world calm.

A single strike killing three Golden Core cultivators—could a higher-level cultivator have appeared? But why kill the three? Was it to save or capture Jiu’er?

“Senior, what about the demon energy trail?” Zhou Qi asked.

“It disappeared here. They must have used a great displacement technique or masked their aura. There are no signs of battle here. The person who came was likely rescuing her. She should be safe,” Huang Qianqian said.

Relieved that Jiu’er was unharmed, Zhou Qi finally felt at ease. But Jiu’er, where have you gone?