After comforting Xu Xinran, Qin Yi took her out of the cave.

Initially, he planned to take Xu Xinran out of the mountains first and let her stay in a small town near the Famous Sword Sect.

But now the situation was different. Since Song Xianming and Xiahou Tai were both dead, she no longer had to worry about any future troubles.

Returning to the Famous Sword Sect would also make it more convenient for Qin Yi to meet her in private.

Thus, they left the mountains along the original path.

As soon as they reached the outskirts, a graceful figure ran up to them, "Qin Yi, you finally came out. I've been waiting for you for so long."

It was a girl speaking with a slightly complaining tone.

It was none other than Gu Yiyi!

When there was no one around, Xu Xinran was affectionate and close to Qin Yi, but as soon as they encountered others, she immediately distanced herself from him.

Deep down, she still believed that she was, after all, nominally Song Xianming's Dao Companion, and her relationship with Qin Yi was not legitimate.

Gu Yiyi was from Emerald Bamboo Peak and was Qin Yi's legitimate junior sister, so their closeness was natural. On the other hand, Xu Xinran felt like an outsider wedged between them.

"Oh, Senior Sister Xu, you're out too. Did you gather all your materials?" Gu Yiyi was surprised to see Xu Xinran following Qin Yi.

"Yes." Xu Xinran didn't say much, just gave a brief response and quickly walked away to avoid suspicion.

"That's great. This time, we found everything so quickly. Usually, it takes at least four or five days to gather all these materials." Gu Yiyi smiled, gazing into the forest, "Now only Junior Brother Miao Xiufeng is left. I wonder if he's gathered everything."

As fellow disciples, they were supposed to wait for each other to return together.

But if they didn't wait, it was also fine. After all, it wasn't mandatory.

"Should we wait for him?" Xu Xinran asked.

She had something on her mind and felt a bit guilty, so she just wanted to return quickly.

Qin Yi didn't mind either way and looked at Gu Yiyi.

Gu Yiyi thought for a moment, "Why don't we wait a bit? If he can't gather all his materials, we won't be able to complete the task with just what we have."

The task materials had to be submitted as a complete set.

If anything was missing, it wouldn't be considered complete.

So, the three of them waited for more than two hours.

They thought they might have to wait a day or two to see him.

But just as night was about to fall, Miao Xiufeng finally emerged from the mountains, looking quite disheveled.

He hurried outside, grinning happily, "Senior Brother Qin, Senior Sister Gu, Senior Sister Xu, I've gathered everything."

They had set out as four, and they returned as four.

All four of their materials were complete, not a single piece missing.

On the way back, Miao Xiufeng continued to pilot the Willow Leaf Boat.

After returning to the sect, they all went to the task pavilion to submit their task.

Once the task was recorded at the pavilion, they would be able to receive a certain amount of cultivation resources at the beginning of the next month.

However, while submitting the task, Qin Yi encountered Hua Yunfeng again.

He was in the task pavilion, learning alchemy from the alchemy elder.

When Qin Yi and the others delivered the materials, the alchemy elder's face lit up with joy and he said, "Yunfeng, your materials are complete. These Fire Salamander Bones are excellent. In the past, the bones brought back by other disciples were at most around five years old.

But these three sets of Fire Salamander Bones are at least ten years old, making them much more effective for alchemy."

"Thank you, Uncle Master," Hua Yunfeng said with a respectful bow.

"You are the hope of the sect's future. The sect leader has said that all resources should be prioritized for you, so you don't need to thank me. It's only right," the alchemy elder said with a smile, stroking his beard.

During the task submission, Hua Yunfeng also noticed Gu Yiyi.

He smiled and greeted her, but Gu Yiyi was not as friendly to him as she used to be.

When he greeted Gu Yiyi, she instinctively glanced at Qin Yi, as if afraid he would be displeased. So she didn't respond, just nodded and stood beside Qin Yi.

Seeing that the little junior sister who used to cling to him was now so distant, Hua Yunfeng couldn't help but frown, "Yiyi, why are you avoiding me?"

Gu Yiyi forced a smile, "Hello, Senior Brother Hua. I didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't say hello."

"You're being too formal," Hua Yunfeng chuckled.

The alchemy elder also laughed, "Little Yiyi, you used to always cling to him at this time, but now you don't. It seems you've grown up and become shy."

Hua Yunfeng smiled.

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Although he was recognized by everyone as Gu Qingshuang's Dao Companion, he still couldn't let go of the beautiful Yiyi, his little junior sister.

As the Child of Destiny, he wanted both the elder and younger sisters.

However, given the current situation, he had to secure Gu Qingshuang first. Once his cultivation level improved, he could then pursue Gu Yiyi.

After all, Gu Qingshuang was the sect leader's daughter. Once he became her Dao Companion, he would be the rightful future sect leader.

At that time, as the sect leader, who could say anything if he had multiple wives, including a pair of sisters?

Everyone in the task pavilion was laughing and joking.

In the past, Gu Yiyi would have blushed and stomped her foot before running away.

But this time, she was extremely nervous, constantly looking at Qin Yi, and even tugging at his sleeve, as if to assure him that she only had him in her heart now.

Qin Yi understood her feelings and patted her hand to reassure her.

However, this intimate gesture was caught by Hua Yunfeng.

The smile on Hua Yunfeng's face quickly disappeared, and he looked at Qin Yi with a slightly cold gaze, "So, you must be Qin Yi, Junior Brother Qin? I'm very satisfied with these Fire Salamander Bones you found. I hope you continue to work hard."

Qin Yi hadn't thought much of it at first, but after hearing this, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.

So all the hard work he did to gather these materials was just to benefit Hua Yunfeng for free?

Although gathering these materials wasn't exactly exhausting, he did travel a long way to get them.

Hua Yunfeng hadn't done anything, yet the sect prioritized him.

It was quite infuriating.

Moreover, Hua Yunfeng's words, though seemingly polite, carried two underlying messages.

The first was that by calling him "Junior Brother," he was asserting his seniority and demanding respect.

The second was that he was satisfied with the Fire Salamander Bones and hoped Qin Yi would continue to work hard, implying that Qin Yi was working for him.

Who could tolerate such words?

So, Qin Yi suddenly, in front of everyone, took all the materials off the task pavilion's counter.

"Sorry, I won't be submitting this task."