"What the hell?"
Lan An and Dan Mengji stared in complete shock, as if ten thousand crows had flown over their hearts. Especially Lan An—his face was a picture of pure bewilderment.
A sword had transformed into an adorable little girl, opened her mouth, called him "daddy," and was now whining about being hungry?
He and his wives had fantasized countless times about having a daughter who would act spoiled in his arms, but he never imagined it would happen in such a bizarre way.
Seeing Lan An dazed and ignoring her hungry stomach, Little Hong'er's chubby cheeks puffed up. Her big, watery eyes filled with tears. Then, with a loud wail, she burst into crying.
"Waaah… Daddy doesn't care about me… Daddy doesn't want Hong'er anymore… huuuu!"
There was no denying it—a five- or six-year-old little girl as beautiful as an angel, with soft, milky skin, crying like this had devastating destructive power. Anyone who saw her would melt with affection.
Lan An's heart instantly softened. He hurriedly scooped her into his arms. Little Hong'er immediately buried her head in his chest, rubbing against him. Her tiny belly growled loudly. She cried even harder, acting spoiled:
"Hong'er is hungry, Daddy!"
"Good girl, wait a moment—Daddy will feed you until you're full!" Lan An was anxious about Wu San Niang's injuries. He wanted to find her first and then feed the little girl.
"Waaah… Daddy hates Hong'er… Daddy called himself 'I' to Hong'er!" The little girl cried even more fiercely. Her small mouth pouted so far it almost touched her chin, her face full of grievance.
Lan An's heart ached. He stammered awkwardly: "Okay… okay… it's Daddy… Daddy was wrong. Hong'er, be good—don't cry!"
Pfft—
Seeing the rare flustered look on Lan An's face, Dan Mengji couldn't help but burst out laughing. She looked at Little Hong'er with fondness. It seemed the Rear Palace would soon gain another adorable little treasure.
"But… what kind of race is this?" Dan Mengji murmured to herself.
She realized Little Hong'er wasn't an ordinary sword spirit. Sword spirits only had souls and no physical body to touch. Yet Little Hong'er was clearly flesh and blood—just like a real human little girl.
Moreover, sword spirits were bound to remain inside their swords. How could one freely switch between weapon and human form?
A being capable of transforming into a combat weapon… she had truly never heard of such a species. If not for seeing Hong'er with her own eyes, Dan Mengji wouldn't have believed it existed.
ROAR…
Suddenly, the Five-Dragon War Chariot came rushing over, carrying Wu San Niang who was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Her face was pale and somewhat weak.
However, the moment she saw Lan An holding a crying little girl who kept calling him "Daddy" and whining about food, Wu San Niang's expression instantly turned strange.
Lan An gave her a helpless shrug. With Little Hong'er here, the idea of dual cultivation to heal his master-wife was now just a pipe dream.
"Hong'er, be good. Say hello to Mommy!" Lan An patted the little girl's small shoulder and pointed toward Wu San Niang with a smile.
Though still sniffling, Little Hong'er obediently followed. With teary, pitiful eyes, she looked at Wu San Niang and called in her milky voice:
"Mommy… Hong'er is hungry!"
"Your little man already has a daughter?" The Manhuang Saintess asked Wu San Niang through their shared mind.
Wu San Niang didn't know how to respond. Her expression was full of weirdness. She suspiciously scanned Lan An from head to toe, clearly wondering if this guy had secretly had a child outside. After all, treasures capable of containing living beings weren't rare.
Lan An shrugged and shook his head. Without wasting words explaining, he placed Hong'er into Wu San Niang's lap. From his storage ring, he rummaged around and pulled out the corpse of a Sixth-Grade demon beast. Using Strange Flames, he carefully adjusted the heat and began roasting it…
This demon beast corpse was taken from the Beast Taming War Sect during the previous battle. Sixth-Grade demon beast meat was rare and delicious, rich in spiritual energy, and excellent for healing.
In moments, the aroma spread in all directions. Even the gravely injured Wu San Niang was immediately captivated. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Lan An selected the tenderest thigh meat—the most fragrant and soft part of the beast—carefully cut two pieces, one large and one small. The large one went to Wu San Niang, the small one to Hong'er.
Wu San Niang didn't hesitate. She took big bites, her full lips glistening with grease, eating with great relish.
Hong'er watched Wu San Niang eat, then looked at the piece in her own hands. With a puzzled face, she asked:
"Is this really edible? Daddy and Mommy aren't tricking me, right?"
Lan An took a big bite as an example, chewing happily while smiling: "It's very delicious—fragrant and crispy. Good girl, eat up!"
Little Hong'er pursed her tiny lips, opened her small mouth, and took a careful nibble.
Urk… urk… urk…
Instantly, the little girl's face changed dramatically. She began spitting frantically, her expression twisted as she retched, trying to get everything out—even the aftertaste.
"Too yucky! Daddy and Mommy are big liars! Daddy and Mommy are bad!"
Lan An and Wu San Niang looked at each other in confusion, both seeing bewilderment in the other's eyes.
Normally, when hungry, humans would eat almost anything—as long as it wasn't outright terrible. Sixth-Grade demon beast meat was premium quality—even Void Refining cultivators might not always get to eat it. Yet Hong'er reacted so strangely?
"Hong'er, what do you want to eat?" Lan An pinched her chubby cheeks and asked gently.
"Daughter wants yummy food!" Little Hong'er mumbled, still rubbing her mouth.
"Yummy food? Like what?" Wu San Niang took another bite of fragrant meat, rubbed Hong'er's head, and asked.
"Just… yummy stuff!" Little Hong'er's vocabulary was limited—she could only express it like that.
"Try giving her some pills or spiritual herbs!" Dan Mengji suggested. As expected of an alchemist.
Lan An took out bottles of Youth Preserving Pills, Healing Pills, and others. He opened them and held them in front of Hong'er. The fragrance of the pills immediately filled the air—extremely pleasant.
"Too stinky! Daddy, take it away! Bullying Hong'er, waaah!" The little girl cried again, burying her head in Wu San Niang's chest to avoid the pill bottles.
Dan Mengji was speechless. It seemed this little girl wasn't going to get along with alchemists like them.
"This little girl can't be judged by normal human standards," the Manhuang Saintess silently concluded.
"What exactly does Hong'er like to eat? Jin'er?" Lan An had no choice but to seek help from within.
"Waaah, it smells so good!" Before Jin'er could answer, Little Hong'er's eyes suddenly lit up. She stared at the Heaven-Splitting Ancient Hand gloves lying on the chariot, leaped out of Wu San Niang's lap, and hugged them tightly. She opened her little mouth and bit down.
KENG…
Under everyone's stunned gazes, a heavy metallic sound rang out. The Heaven-Splitting Ancient Hand remained firmly in place. Only Little Hong'er rolled around in pain, clutching her mouth and crying:
"Ahh, too hard! It tastes so yummy but I can't chew it… huuu!"
The little girl clung tightly to the gloves, gnawing desperately—but to no avail.
Seeing this, a strange idea flashed through Lan An's mind. Without another word, he rummaged through his storage ring. Unfortunately, all his treasures were useful ones—he had long since cleared out any junk.
Wu San Niang, seeing Lan An's reaction, also understood something. She quickly took out a Mysterious-Rank weapon from her storage ring and placed it in Hong'er's hands.
Seeing this, Hong'er's eyes sparkled like she had found treasure. She hugged the Mysterious-Rank weapon and bit down.
CRACK…
Under everyone's wide-eyed stares, a chunk of the Mysterious-Rank weapon broke off. A perfect little teeth mark was left on its surface.
"Delicious! Finally, yummy food! Mommy is the best!" Hong'er was overjoyed. She stopped crying and smiled brightly, taking big bites of the poor weapon while sweetly praising Wu San Niang.
Unfortunately, Wu San Niang and the Manhuang Saintess were now completely speechless. They stared at Little Hong'er like they were looking at a monster, their minds reeling.
Though they were powerful Body Cultivators whose physical strength far surpassed Mysterious-Rank weapons, they could never chew and swallow one like that.
Yet this little girl had done it?
"I'm full… so sleepy… Daddy, Mommy, Hong'er wants to sleep!"
Very quickly, Hong'er finished devouring the Mysterious-Rank weapon. She rubbed her now-round little belly. Her eyes slowly closed. She jumped into Lan An's arms and fell fast asleep.
Light burst from her tiny body. The adorable little girl vanished. In Lan An's arms now lay a dark crimson greatsword with a razor-sharp edge.
"Yellow-Rank Mid-Grade?" Lan An exclaimed in shock. Before, the Crimson Fall Sword had been Yellow-Rank Low-Grade. Now it had risen to Mid-Grade?
In an instant, he began to understand why the System hadn't looked down on Yellow-Rank when summoning this weapon.
Was there any ordinary Yellow-Rank weapon that could turn into a little girl? Was there any Yellow-Rank weapon that could eat Mysterious-Rank weapons like candy and then rise a sub-grade?
Obviously not. The Crimson Fall Sword was clearly no ordinary treasure.
"How could a reward from an Epic Mission be ordinary? Young Master, you were overthinking it!" Jin'er said with a beaming smile. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the Crimson Fall Sword—with a rare trace of seriousness.
Meanwhile, Wu San Niang had long since run out of words to describe her feelings. Suppressing her chaotic emotions, she looked strangely at Lan An and asked:
"Where did Hong'er come from?"
Clearly, she knew Lan An couldn't have fathered such a terrifying daughter.
"Master, Jin'er sent her to be raised!" Lan An originally wanted to store the Crimson Fall Sword in his ring. But remembering how adorable Little Hong'er was, he couldn't bear to treat her like an ordinary treasure. Instead, he slung the sword across his back.
"Let's go find the Saintess's bones!" Lan An sat down, hugged Wu San Niang, and let rich Spiritual Force flow into her body as he suggested.
The two were now sitting on the war chariot. Using the overwhelming pressure of Dragon Force, Lan An commanded the chariot to move.
"No need. I've already found her bones!" Wu San Niang shook her head with a smile.
"That's great! Thank you, Sister San Niang!" Dan Mengji exclaimed in joy. Having a chance to live again, she naturally wouldn't refuse.
"No need to thank me. Just ask her yourself!" Wu San Niang suddenly said. Then, under Lan An and Dan Mengji's puzzled gazes, her entire demeanor changed.
She had voluntarily handed control of the body to the Manhuang Saintess.
The usual bold and carefree Wu San Niang was now proud and cold—completely different in temperament.
Lan An's expression shifted. His Soul Force instantly probed Wu San Niang's body, checking the state of her soul.
Very quickly, his face changed. His brows furrowed. He took a deep breath and said: "Soul fusion… and almost complete. Separating them is practically impossible!"
The two souls had merged deeply. Especially after fighting together in harmony—with his knowledge of Soul Cultivation, even he felt helpless.
"She is the Manhuang Saintess?" Lan An asked seriously. From Wu San Niang's earlier words, it wasn't hard to guess the identity of this soul.
"Correct. This Saintess is Man Qiao—the Saintess of the Manhuang Sacred Ground!" Man Qiao lifted her head proudly, her sharp eyes fixed on Lan An.
Though this little man was very powerful, she was someone who had once fought countless powerful enemies alone—even death itself. Naturally, she wasn't afraid of him at all.
"A bit interesting!" Lan An smiled faintly. He lifted her smooth chin. In his eyes flickered the phantom of a Reverse Dragon coiling. With tyrannical dominance, he declared:
"Man Qiao, from now on, you are my woman!"
Man Qiao's face showed a flash of shock. She had thought this man would question why their souls were fused, investigate why she had tried to possess Wu San Niang, or even become furious when he learned the truth… She never expected him to act like this—so completely unconventional.
"You don't hate me? I almost seized your master-wife!" Man Qiao stared at him wide-eyed, refusing to back down in aura.
"So what? Didn't I sleep with you too? Would I kill my own woman?" Lan An laughed heartily and leaned down to kiss her lips.
"Pfft—who did you sleep with? It was that other woman, okay? Don't talk nonsense!" Man Qiao pushed him away, giving him a charming glare as she tried to calm her increasingly rapid heartbeat.
To conquer a strong woman, the fastest way was to be even stronger.
Lan An wouldn't dislike Man Qiao just because she once tried to possess Wu San Niang. After all, both sides had acted for their own goals—not out of deep hatred.
Moreover, he had indirectly slept with Man Qiao. How could he possibly let her go?
Lan An's current personality carried strong possessiveness. Not to mention he had already indirectly been with Man Qiao—the fact that she had resided in Wu San Niang's body and knew every inch of her skin was enough for him to decide to claim her.
Man Qiao wasn't some shy, weak woman either. She challenged him with a look: "If you want to completely conquer this Saintess, then show me your performance from now on!"
"Haha, just wait and see!" Lan An laughed with great interest. Finding bones for Dan Mengji, claiming both San Niang and Man Qiao, and gaining the terrifying Little Hong'er—his mood was excellent.
"You can use my skeleton however you want. This Saintess has already fused souls with that woman. Whether we can separate in the future is hard to say!" Man Qiao took the initiative.
"Thank you, Sister Qiao!" Dan Mengji said gratefully. Man Qiao was an existence from ancient times—strong enough to be called "sister" by her.
"No need to be polite. With that skeleton as your foundation, you only need to cultivate the Honghuang Bone Scripture. Your combat power will soar in the future!" Man Qiao said generously.
Dan Mengji sighed inwardly. Not long ago, when she and Qingxuan joined the Rear Palace, no woman there could match her strength when she was alive.
Now, more and more powerful women were appearing beside Lan An. The Rear Palace's dominance was already set in stone. This only fueled Dan Mengji's battle intent. The Honghuang Bone Scripture—she would definitely cultivate it…
Seeing that Man Qiao's personality was wild yet reasonable, Lan An nodded in satisfaction. Taking advantage of his good mood, he gave the command inwardly:
"System, proceed with the upgrade!"