Chapter 64: The Celestial Serpent Boots

“Don’t mind it, senior sister simply didn’t have the fate to encounter such things,” Meng Jiao said, completely unconcerned about the matter. Then, with a hint of surprise, she asked, “So, little junior sister, you were drunk because you inhaled the wine mist from the Wine Spirit?”

Seeing Meng Jiao so excited, Ji Jiuxuan nodded, somewhat puzzled. “I suppose so. I just closed my eyes and walked toward the sound of your voice. The mist was thick, and the aroma of wine was overwhelming.”

Meng Jiao patted her chest in relief. That was wine mist capable of forming a Wine Spirit! Thankfully, her junior sister hadn’t fallen into a sleep she would never wake from, else even her life wouldn’t be enough to compensate for it.

“Luckily, luckily! Haha! Junior sister, I never expected your tolerance for alcohol to be so impressive!”

“Mhm!” Meng Jiao, feeling smug, froze at the sound of a familiar voice. She didn’t even need to look to know her master’s expression must be grim. She forced a laugh and stood up, “Ahaha, little junior sister, are you still sleepy? Maybe you should rest a bit more?”

Ji Jiuxuan watched her behave like a wild horse suddenly reined in, and couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not sleepy.” She then glanced at her grandfather and master. “It was just me, Ah Jiu, being playful. I made you worry about me.”

Qi Shuoyuan regarded her seriously. “Ah Jiu, grandfather has never stopped you from taking risks, but you must learn to judge the degree of danger and seek benefit while avoiding harm when it arises. Cultivating immortality means forging ahead, yes, but it is also for the sake of longevity. Do you understand?”

Sword cultivators were known for their ruthlessness and relentless pursuit, but now her grandfather advised her to learn discernment and caution.

Ji Jiuxuan understood his meaning: to weigh the circumstances during adventure. Yet, to truly master this was difficult—one might easily become hesitant and fearful.

She knew her grandfather was simply worried about her. “Grandfather, I understand. I’ll be careful in the future.”

“Good.” He produced a spatial box in his hand. “Wishing our Ah Jiu a happy birthday!”

“Thank you, grandfather!” It was her first time seeing a spatial container besides rings and bracelets—storage bags didn’t count.

Holding the exquisite spatial box, Ji Jiuxuan was full of curiosity.

“Do you like it, Ah Jiu?” Seeing the little girl happily studying the box, Zhou Guangsheng smiled and took out five different styles of boxes from his own space, each nearly equal in quality to the one Qi Shuoyuan had given. “These are for you, too.”

“Thank you, master!” And it wasn’t over yet—Zhou Guangsheng produced a small box made of Changxuan wood. “Happy birthday!”

The box was open, revealing its contents.

A wing-shaped magical artifact lay quietly inside, glowing with a soft light.

“Flying artifact!” She hadn’t expected her master to gift her such a rare item.

That evening, when her second senior uncle brought a chef puppet, Ji Jiuxuan’s eyes were glued to it, watching the puppet prepare and cook the ingredients. The aroma was utterly tantalizing.

“Second senior uncle, is it hard to make such puppets?”

She knew most puppets had limited functions and simple movements. This chef puppet opened a whole new world to her. If she could study it, it would surely be fascinating.

“It’s not too difficult. Do you like it?” Min Chengjun, sitting beside her master Qi Shuoyuan and the others, smiled at Ji Jiuxuan. “Among your gifts today, there are several puppets. You can set them to do whatever you want.”

She hadn’t yet examined the gifts from her grandfather and uncles—she’d definitely check them tonight.

Since her luck seemed so good today, perhaps she should draw from her previous lottery tickets. Who knows, maybe her fortune would be even better!

Ji Jiuxuan couldn’t help but secretly delight in this thought.

“Little junior sister, I completely forgot earlier—here’s something for you! Happy birthday!” Meng Jiao handed her a pair of boots. The color was very familiar. After a moment’s thought, Ji Jiuxuan exclaimed in surprise, “Is it the skin of the Heavenly Dry Giant Python?”

“Yes! Beautiful, isn’t it? Boots made from Heavenly Dry Giant Python skin are perfect—warm in winter and cool in summer, with decent defense.” She lifted her own foot as she spoke. “I have a pair, too. They’re so comfortable.”

Nie Xingyuan didn’t even want to expose her. He guessed these boots were made together earlier, and Meng Jiao simply forgot today was Ji Jiuxuan’s birthday, so she gave them as a birthday gift. Still, since she made them herself, it was heartfelt.

Frankly, Ji Jiuxuan loved the boots at first sight.

She was delighted—the boots made from Heavenly Dry Giant Python skin reminded her of the arrogant snake, and she couldn’t help but pat the boots and smile.

“I’ll try them on.” She sat down and changed into the boots. They, though a bit large at first, magically shrank to fit perfectly.

She then noticed there was a formation embedded in the boots.

“These boots can increase speed, great for running away without much effort,” Meng Jiao said proudly, lifting her head. “How about it? This is my exclusive design.”

Sensing her master’s gaze, Meng Jiao instantly became meek again. “Haha, as long as you like them, junior sister.”

Ji Jiuxuan couldn’t help but laugh at her behavior. She had seen Meng Jiao fiercely battle the Heavenly Dry Giant Python in the Ancient Fallen Forest.

“Senior sister, do you still have any of the python’s meat?” She had mentioned wanting to cook the python before, but forgot to tell her sister and wasn’t sure if it had been dealt with.

“Of course, I was waiting for you!” Meng Jiao winked mischievously. “You said you wanted to make soup, so I kept it. The rest, which could be used, I’ve started preparing for refining. Once it’s ready, we’ll divide it up together.”

The thought of them sharing things together warmed Ji Jiuxuan’s heart.

The meat was still there. Just imagining the delicious dishes made her impatient. “Shall we cook it now?”

“Sure!” In an instant, Meng Jiao produced a storage bag and handed it to Ji Jiuxuan. “The Heavenly Dry Giant Python is tricky to handle.”

The python was high-level; the three they encountered could even be used as medicinal ingredients. Its skin was highly defensive, and its meat was hard to process, with difficult impurities to remove and challenging to cook.

Having imagined cooking the python countless times, Ji Jiuxuan was confident, though she lamented not having a Phoenix Feather Royal Bird. The thought of stewing two high-level spirit beasts together made her mouth water.

The storage bag was ordinary, without any binding contract. Ji Jiuxuan took a large, low table from her spatial ring, then placed a huge section of python meat on it, covering the entire surface.

There were many ways to prepare python meat: steamed, braised, fried, barbecued—she wanted to try them all. But most importantly, there was Dragon Phoenix Soup.

With that in mind, Ji Jiuxuan brought out another table and placed three Phoenix Tail Chickens on it.

She’d discovered earlier that Phoenix Tail Chickens, though small, were much more tender than the large Silver Beaked Chickens, making them even more delicious.

She had completely forgotten the embarrassment and fear from being chased by chickens before, and thought that next time she returned to the Ancient Fallen Forest, she’d catch a few to enjoy slowly.

Seeing the little girl go all out, the adults were stunned, watching her skillfully use spiritual power to remove impurities from the meat with curiosity.

“Didn’t expect Ah Jiu’s ability to handle impurities has improved again,” Min Chengjun remarked. He’d seen her process Silver Beaked Chickens before, but now, dealing with the difficult python meat, she was even more meticulous.

After a while, Ji Jiuxuan stood before the table, looking at the cleaned meat, troubled by the sheer quantity—her small pot in the space could never stew it all at once.