"So, you're planning on having us help you, then betray Gui Xu?"

"It's not out of the question."

"But what do you plan to do? The Overlord of Gui Xu isn't the kind of opponent you can easily deal with. He's ruthless and tyrannical, incredibly powerful, and has been scheming meticulously for years, all to reach the true Dao fruit level. He's willing to pay any price for it. To betray such a madman, you have to be prepared to kill him completely, leaving him no chance to start over."

"But the question is, do you really have that chance?"

"Don't count on Qilin. He's even more useless than I am, like a bookworm."

Inside the museum, Zhu Que had already taken off her blazer. The sweater over her shirt made her look like a fluffy ball, her eyes were bright, and her hair was a wine-red color. The manicure on her fingernails was obviously meticulously done, and her white socks were stretched tight at her ankles, showing the smooth, beautiful curve of her calves.

Zhu Que bluntly assessed Qilin as useless.

And regarding betraying the Lord of Gui Xu, it was clear that she had absolutely no psychological barriers.

One couldn't help but wonder if the Lord of Gui Xu simply had too many talented subordinates, or if Fuzi's approach of winning people over with virtue was exceptionally effective.

Or perhaps it was a combination of both.

Wei Yuan looked at the notebook Qilin had given him, then at the girl in front of him, dressed in what seemed like a JK uniform—no, it wasn't JK anymore. Sakurajima had become Yingzhou, and the fashion there was quite different. You could even see demons walking openly on the streets.

This was retro JK style.

The girl held a cup of bubble tea, her phone dangling with pink decorations. She occasionally raised her phone, making a peace sign, showing a sweet smile, and taking a selfie, then immediately opened a photo editing app to further enhance her already stunning beauty.

Wei Yuan gasped and looked down at the little notebook Qilin had handed him.

On the yellowed pages, drawn with exquisite strokes, was a girl in ancient palace attire, her black hair falling down, apricot eyes and peach cheeks, her gaze quiet, her hands gently folded in front of her, her feet in light lotus-colored shoes, her silk stockings stirring up dust. Her jade pendant and sachet hung from her jade-green waistband, elegant and refined.

"This is you?"

"Of course, it's me."

"But...how did you suddenly change your style..."

Zhu Que posted the selfie on social media, watching the likes skyrocket with satisfaction. Then, she took a sip of her milk tea and retorted, "If it were you, wouldn't you get tired of eating the same food for thousands of years, no matter how delicious it was? I've been wearing these kinds of clothes for thousands of years. What's wrong with me changing my style?"

"Why are you even more rigid than that bookworm, Qilin?"

Wei Yuan choked.

Qilin, who had been thrown out, had already returned and angrily said, "You can say whatever you want about me, but you can't talk about Yuan-shixiong!"

"Besides, you're drinking this stuff again. Even if you're a god, aren't you afraid of turning into a fat chicken that can't even fly?"

Zhu Que gave Qilin a look as if he were an idiot and said, "Think about my elemental power before you say that!"

"How could a fire-attribute cultivator get fat?!"

Wei Yuan thought of the fire god Zhurong, as well as little phoenix Feng Siyu's absurd yet seemingly logical prayer methods, and the foundation-building technique that Feng Siyu and Tao Tie had created together—as long as you could eat, you could rapidly consume energy to strengthen yourself, and the stronger you became, the better your appetite, and the better the effect of refining essence into qi.

Fire-attribute cultivators almost never got fat.

Qilin was speechless and could only mutter, "But you still shouldn't drink too much bubble tea..."

"What bubble tea?!"

Zhu Que glared at Qilin.

"This is QQnene's Delicious Meppu Tea."

Wei Yuan: "..............."

Confirmed, she was someone who wanted to change her past image and catch up with the trends, but was always behind the times.

Zhu Que bit her straw, sizing up Wei Yuan. After being tempered in the Bagua Furnace, Wei Yuan's hair had returned to white. Now, dressed in modern clothes, he seemed perfectly ordinary. Zhu Que looked him up and down and said, "I don't have a problem with it... but Qilin said you want to pretend to be me?"

"Yes. Just to be clear, I respect all kinds of hobbies. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"I... ahem, I mean, I have a lot of professional ethics."

"It's just... when you transform into me, can I take some photos as a souvenir?"

She had already thought of the title.

Something about breaking free from constraints and releasing her true self, preferably with a very masculine photo, then comparing it with the cross-dressed photo, with some 'Big Shot's Serenade' BGM, and saying 'Me three years ago, me three years later' or something, the likes and views would definitely explode!

Zhu Que's eyes sparkled as she stared at Wei Yuan, but after being sternly rejected by the Daoist, she grumbled twice.

"Okay, if you don't want to, then forget it."

"But I still have to remind you, if you think ordinary transformations can fool the Lord of Gui Xu, you can forget about it now. He's a super-powerful expert who's lived since ancient times, cunning and ruthless. Oh, it doesn't matter if I tell you, the jade token that guards Gui Xu has been tampered with secretly. It can only be effective when it's in our own hands."

"Otherwise, you'll be detected almost immediately."

"Having lived for so many years, the Overlord of Gui Xu must have all sorts of tricks up his sleeve. You have to be careful."

Wei Yuan nodded at Zhu Que's kind reminder and said, "I'll be careful about that." He did need to be vigilant. The Lord of Gui Xu had been able to survive until now, and he was especially cocky even in his prime. He hadn't died until he jumped in Wei Yuan's face and was severely weakened.

In addition, Gui Xu guarded the myriad realms, and with their infinite domains, there were naturally infinite secret methods. In terms of verifying one's true identity, there were definitely all sorts of tricks, such as celestial mechanisms, secret techniques to confirm aura, and even methods to distort fate and destiny. Wei Yuan naturally wasn't afraid of him in a direct battle.

But these endless little tricks were just too flashy.

Wei Yuan was least skilled at these flashy things.

Since it concerned the Dao fruit, he shouldn't be reckless.

He needed to be careful, very careful.

Wei Yuan rubbed his temples and said calmly, "It's fine, I have my own plans for this. But there's something I need you to do..." His gaze fell on Zhu Que, especially her ten manicured fingers and flashy hair, and said,

"For now, go back to a normal look. Preferably one that conceals your face and body."

"Wear tight-fitting clothing."

"If anyone asks, just say that it's for the sake of the Overlord of Gui Xu's final advancement ritual and return, such a big event, you need to be extra careful and wear something suitable for combat and dealing with emergencies, so you're temporarily abandoning these clothes."

Zhu Que's expression froze. She was about to retort, about to say that at this level, clothing wouldn't affect combat at all, and magical treasures could change their appearance at will. But seeing the Daoist in front of her, for some reason, the Zhu Que who had once been the most unruly, like a flame, felt a pause in her heart.

She had the illusion of seeing that figure, and the words of opposition she was about to say were swallowed back down. Finally, she said,

"That's natural... uh..."

"It's not like I can't do it."

With the biggest problem solved, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

If he really had to transform into the Zhu Que in front of him and sneak in, and then face Jue, Wei Yuan felt that he might as well draw his sword on the spot and charge towards the Overlord of Gui Xu. Qilin nodded, and Zhu Que gave Wei Yuan a strange look, then beckoned to Qilin, drawing closer:

"Hey, Qilin, what's your shixiong's background?"

"The Overlord of Gui Xu personally left traces behind. We can't even break them. Does he really think he can disguise himself so well that the Overlord of Gui Xu won't be able to see through it?"

Qilin said, "Although shixiong isn't very good at these delicate methods, I think it'll be fine."

"Oh? Why?"

Qilin puffed out his chest, his eyes shining, and said in a vibrating voice, "That's because Yuan-shixiong is the best!!!"

Zhu Que: "............"

"Are you sick?"

"But speaking of which, what about the promised reward..."

Qilin patted his chest and guaranteed, "Don't worry about that. My shixiong is such a figure, so powerful!"

"Don't even mention buying you all the haute couture little dresses, Lolita outfits, Hanfu, and JK uniforms. Even buying you three sets wouldn't be a problem. One set to wear, one set to collect, and another set to proselytize with!"

Qilin was full of confidence, as if the words he spoke were the absolute truth.

That's what he thought too.

Yuan-shixiong was so awesome, how could he be poor?

Hahahaha, unless someone stole all his luck, but he was the Yuanshi Tianzun.

Who could do that? Impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible.

Only then did Zhu Que nod in satisfaction and walk out after agreeing to the contract, thinking happily that once all the 'goods' arrived, she would have a good try. Holding her milk tea, she looked around and saw a trash can not far away, but she was too lazy to go over.

She clapped her hands together, and the incredibly high temperature instantly annihilated the milk tea cup completely.

Then, she naturally used flames to digest all the calories she had consumed.

Maintaining her fashionable and slender appearance, she walked forward.

Then, at the corner, she saw a young man, 1.85 meters tall, with a strong, handsome build, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes, yawning as he stuffed meat buns into his mouth, his eyes sleepy, as if he could never get enough to eat. The two bumped into each other head-on. The young man in the cap stumbled back two steps, dropping his buns, but he was quick-witted and picked them up.

Zhu Que picked up the other bun.

Tsk... pork and chive buns, the enemy of beautiful girls, they'll leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Zhu Que muttered to herself in disgust.

She looked up and saw the handsome and valiant young man, and the smile on her face froze.

It was as if she had been struck by Cupid's arrow, but unfortunately, this time it wasn't Cupid's arrow, but Hou Yi's sun-shooting arrow that could take your life -

Tao Tie...?

Tao Tie yawned sleepily.

He had received a call from the Zhenyao Museum and swam across the ocean to get back.

Why didn't he fly?

That's because he could eat a lot of sashimi along the way if he went by water.

Sleepy-eyed Tao Tie looked at the stiff girl in front of him, his gaze falling on the bun in her hand. Then, he bent down and snatched the bun from her hand, ate it in a few bites, his black eyes fixed on her, and asked in confusion, "Have we... met before?"

A cliché pickup line.

That's what passersby thought.

But the girl was already in tears and burst into tears.

"Waaaaaah, don't come over here!"

………………

"Hmm? Did I hear a scream?"

Qilin scratched his head, holding the signed contract.

"But I didn't expect Zhu Que to be so cooperative. It seems like Tao Tie was called back for nothing."

It was always said that you should plan before you act.

So you had to have backup plans.

But Fuzi also said, "Think thrice before you act? Twice is enough."

So you only need one backup plan.

And for Qilin, who knew so many dark secrets about the gods, if he had to find a backup plan that specifically countered Zhu Que among countless possibilities, then there was only one choice -

Close the door and release Tao Tie!

Zhu Que was crying, scared to tears. She cried loudly.

Tao Tie was puzzled.

And Wei Yuan, after thinking about it, found someone who could definitely let him enter Gui Xu without having to waste his energy fighting with the Overlord of Gui Xu for the Dao fruit. Although that person wasn't good at fighting, their power perfectly allowed Wei Yuan to transform into Zhu Que, not only in terms of aura and appearance, but even in terms of fate and destiny -

"Fetal Transformation." (Taihua Yixing)

"Senior Emperor Shu, are you free recently?"

On this day -

Emperor Shu, who had always been thin and ridiculed Emperor Hu for being fat, suddenly sneezed several times.