Chapter 103: Testing the Sword! Senior Sister, You Are Playing with Fire!

Bidding farewell to Master, that "powder keg".

Gu Lan held the newly forged "burning heaven broken sword" in his arms.

Humming a little tune all the way, he flew back to Cuiyun Peak on his sword.

Since he had already been promoted to core, his treatment in Cuiyun Peak naturally rose along with it.

The Nuanxiang Pavilion where he originally lived had been directly designated as his private Forbidden Land with a wave of Master's hand.

Within a radius of ten miles, without his permission, idlers and other unauthorized personnel were not allowed to enter.

"Hello, Senior Brother Gu!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Gu!"

Along the way, the Qingyun Sect Disciples he met, whether from the inner Sect or outer Sect, all stopped to salute the moment they saw Gu Lan, their eyes filled with awe and worship.

Xiao Chen, who had single-handedly suppressed the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection during the grand ceremony.

He had overwhelmed all the heroes at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, not only taking first place, but also "capturing" that arrogant Saintess of Tianxiang Valley.

One matter after another had long since made Gu Lan's name resound throughout the entire Sect.

Who would still dare to say that he was living off a woman now?

That was living off a woman with absolute toughness! That was strength!

"Tsk, this is what you call style."

Gu Lan quite enjoyed this feeling of being surrounded by stars like the moon, smiling and nodding in acknowledgment.

That calm and composed expert demeanor caused the female Disciples by the roadside to scream in a frenzy.

Returning to Nuanxiang Pavilion.

He activated the defensive grand formation, isolating the clamor of the outside world.

Gu Lan couldn't wait to arrive at the Martial Arts Arena in the backyard.

"Although Master helped refine it, I still have to test it to know what the true power of this sword is."

He glanced at the "black gold sword-testing stone" in the center of the Martial Arts Arena used to test power.

This was a special Ore comparable to the Physical Body hardness of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.

Ordinarily, even a full-strength strike from a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection would at most leave a white mark on it.

"I'll use you to make an example."

Gu Lan held the burning heaven broken sword in his hand.

He did not mobilize any Spiritual Qi, nor did he even use any sword moves.

Relying solely on the high temperature and sharpness inherent to the sword body, he casually swung it.

"Chi—"

There was no earth-shattering loud noise, nor were there sparks flying everywhere.

It was as smooth as a hot knife cutting through butter.

That incomparably hard black gold sword-testing stone was directly cut in half at the waist!

The cut surface was as smooth as a mirror, and even shimmered with red molten iron; clearly, the instantaneous high temperature had directly melted the contact surface!

"Hiss—"

Gu Lan drew a sharp breath, his eyes filled with wild joy.

"What an overbearing sword!"

"If this were to hack onto a person… Even the Protective Aura of the Golden Core Stage would probably be like paper, right?"

He fondled the scalding sword body, unable to put it down.

"I'll call you 'Burning Heaven' from now on."

Hum—

The broken sword hummed softly, seeming very satisfied with this name.

After testing the sword, Gu Lan felt his whole body somewhat hot and restless.

While doing Artifact Refining earlier at Master's place, he had picked up a body full of fire Qi, and now after testing the sword, it was just the right time to go to the spiritual spring in the backyard to take a bath and cool down.

The backyard of Nuanxiang Pavilion was connected to the earth-fire Spiritual Vein of Cuiyun Peak, possessing a natural spiritual spring.

Normally, Gu Lan liked taking a bath and Cultivating here the most, pondering life along the way.

"Splash!"

Gu Lan took off his clothes and jumped directly into the warm spring water, letting out a comfortable sigh.

"Comfortable…"

He leaned against the pool wall with his eyes closed, feeling Spiritual Qi drill into his body along his pores, nourishing the Meridians that had been somewhat depleted due to Artifact Refining earlier.

Just as he was dozing off.

"Splash—"

A slight sound of water suddenly came from behind.

Immediately following that, a pair of boneless, soft little hands gently rested on his shoulders, beginning to massage them with moderate strength.

"Who?!"

Gu Lan abruptly opened his eyes, just about to counterattack, when the tip of his nose caught a familiar scent of cosmetic powder.

That was… the unique scent of Senior Sister Hongxiu.

"What? You don't recognize Senior Sister the moment you come back?"

Hongxiu's charming voice sounded beside his ear.

Gu Lan turned his head.

He saw that Hongxiu was wearing only a thin red dudou at this moment, more than half of her body immersed in the water, her snow-white skin glowing with an alluring pink under the steaming heat.

She was looking at Gu Lan with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, her fox-like eyes filled with teasing.

"Senior Sister?"

Gu Lan breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately put on a wicked smile.

"Is Senior Sister… here to check up on me?"

"Indeed."

Hongxiu's fingers slid down along his shoulders, drawing circles on his chest.

"I heard you were having a carefree and romantic time in Tianxiang Valley, and even that arrogant Saintess was captured by you."

"Isn't Senior Sister afraid that you'll love the new and loathe the old, and forget about us sisters in Nuanxiang Pavilion?"

As she spoke, her entire body pressed up against him, and that astonishing softness made Gu Lan's mind sway.

"I've been wronged!"

Gu Lan grabbed that mischievous little hand and smoothly pulled her into his embrace.

"Didn't I immediately come here to report the moment I came back?"

"My heart has always been with Senior Sister."

"Smooth-tongued."

Hongxiu cast a reproachful sideways glance at him, but her body very honestly softened in his arms.

"Considering how majestic you were when testing the sword just now, I'll spare you this time."

She reached out her finger and gently tapped Gu Lan's forehead.

"However…"

"Those two girls, Lüluo and Lanyu, have missed you terribly these past few days."

"If you don't come back again, they'll probably tear this Nuanxiang Pavilion apart."

Hearing this, Gu Lan felt a warmth in his heart.

This feeling of being cared about by others was truly wonderful.

"I've made Senior Sisters worry."

Gu Lan kissed her on the cheek. "Tonight, I won't go out."

"I will cook personally and make a delicious meal for Senior Sisters to apologize, how about that?"

"Cooking?"

Hongxiu's eyes lit up, then immediately became ambiguous.

"Such a trivial matter as cooking can be discussed later."

"Right now…"

She leaned close to Gu Lan's ear, her breath smelling like orchids:

"Senior Sister's body is a bit…"

The spiritual spring of Nuanxiang Pavilion was destined to be even more boiling than usual today.