68

As the city-state of Sangria was being reorganized, some buildings torn down, all the temples and most of the noble's mansions, the streets widened and the slums leveled and rebuilt into quarters made from long buildings, with stone foundations, a second story under the roof, and a small garden attached to the back entrance of every apartment.

The first priority to the new housing were the families with children, then married couples. The people still single would live in temporary wooden barracks with 200 beds each, until all the others were housed, and their own cultivators would emerged awakened a second time, able to help.

Having Aria on hand was a blessing, as her Tyrant rank made constructing housing simply Practice, the wooden beams obeying and flowing at her will. Xie was tasked with chopping trees and splice them into boards and beams, while Miss Ching took care of logistics and government, training a thousand people to become civil servants. It was only her amazing patience and brilliant mind which kept the city from imploding during this month.

The water Tyrant helped when asked, but he mostly studied the contents from the storage rings from all their kills, thousands of various magic artifacts, spell scrolls and medicinal herbs, most of them useless or malign.

But there were hundreds of stored herbs, like Black kudzu leaves and Black strangling vine, which would help one day, to craft alchemical Black Meridian Pills.

The hero was elated. 'So we have nine ingredients, and we need three more. Not so hard, right?'

'Perhaps later. You should go and check on Jovis, Aspirant. There are visitors.' the glove replied instead.

'Girls, I'll be back soon.' Pef sent with a qi pulse, then flew up from the Guardians House and accelerated at maximum speed towards Jovis.

Wordlessly, Xie sped up and joined her husband on this quest. Pef glanced at her, but didn't comment.

Even as a Tyrant, his wife wasn't confident to leave him go alone, always worrying and setting herself back from lack of confidence.

"Trouble?" the purple haired Tyrant asked as Jovis appeared on the horizon, a few hours later.

"We'll see in a few...well. Not the kind of trouble I expected, but yes." Pef muttered as he observed a two Tyrants and a Sovereign, floating above Jovis.

As he reached a hundred meters, he stopped, looking at his visitors carefully. All three had fire qi, and the Sovereign was a veiled woman with a glowing red aura. One of Volcanis' people then.

"Hello there folks. Out exploring?" Pef asked more confidently, flying 90 more meters to be in casual voice range.

"He has the glove, Honored Ignited. And..." the man said in a voiced warning, probably to let Pef know the correct appellation of the Volcanic Sovereign.

"Yes, Ardent Saren. I can see for myself. They both have dual auras." the veiled woman replied with a profound voice, her eyes focused on Xie for some reason.

Saren! That was his uncle. The defector.

"Ah, well met, uncle Saren! I'm Pef Xi, 20 years old. And this is my wife Xie." the Water Tyrant interjected, flying 5 meters closer, and gesturing towards the other Water Tyrant.

The three visitors spoke silently for a minute between them, using coded qi pulses encrypted with fire qi.

"The Patriarch gave you a Blue Meridian pill. Also, a Red pill too, if I'm not wrong..." Saren Xi observed in a barely noticed surprise, his hand producing a Red pill from his ring.

"Oh, that! I was a bit injured after being hit by some Locust spell. But it worked great. Thanks for making that Red pill, uncle!" Pef replied cheerfully, flying even closer, just a meter away from his uncle.

The Fire Tyrant glanced at the young man up and down, perhaps not quite believing the words. "A gift for your wife then. It's rare to see a Xi awaken his wife, and bring her along." Saren said softly, his left hand holding his wife's hand while his right hand offered the pill.

Pef grinned and shook his hand, the glove storing the pill. "Thanks, Saren! You're a good guy. And well met, Auntie Ardent and Lady Ignited." he offered nodding towards the other women. The uncle squeezed hard, possibly trying to test his strength, but the glove ignored the human ritual.

Saren's wife wasn't veiled, and she looked very pretty, if a bit old and pale. Her hair was braided into two braids framing her face, white strands mixed with red. It worked great with her white robe and red breastplate. Although it couldn't hide her advanced age and deathly pallor.

'She's dying isn't she?' he asked his glove, while Xie flew by his side, holding a hand to be embraced or something.

Pef smiled and deposited the Red pill in her waiting hand.

"You're roaming, I guess?" the uncle asked looking down at the newly freed city of Jovis, still covered by Pef's formation and guarded by a stuffed tiger.

"Of course. So, you guys drink molten lava or would cool wine be okay?" Pef offered while Xie's eyes twinkled silver for a second, and then she gulped the Red pill, without saying a word.

A snort emerged from under the Sovereign's veil, while the old Auntie smiled and then grimaced in pain.

"A short break would be nice. Thank you nephew." the Ardent disciple replied with a worried look towards his wife.

In a minute, they landed at the Guardians House, and took seats in the kitchen, while Saren began making tea, for all of them.

It took an hour, as the Fire alchemist had a lengthy procedure involved, from weird gestures and hand signs to qi waves and pulses aimed at his green teapot. Not even Lia made tea in such complicated way.

Meanwhile, Xie digested and compressed the Red pill, gaining a bit of qi but more importantly the improved regeneration, while Pef debated with his glove how to proceed.

'They aren't here by accident, Aspirant. A Sovereign only moves when there's an important task or a divine mission.' the glove said cautiously.

'Yes. And they have an alchemist and a dying woman in their party. Though there's nothing in Jovis that could...' Pef mused inside. Then his eyes opened and he offered his hand towards the suffering woman.

"Let me see, auntie." he asked gently. The dying Ardent disciple glanced towards the Sovereign for permission.

"It's okay, Ardent. The boy won't break the pact." the veiled woman answered with a warning look towards Pef.

As the woman's hand touched the glove, it immediately discerned the problem. 'They're gathering herbs for a Black Meridian Pill. She has already taken the Blue and the Red, but a Black one would cure most of her illness and extend her lifespan 10 thousands years. Perhaps enough to advance to the next rank.'

'Oh. The Fire Disciples still get sick...rudimentary qi method after all.' the young Water Tyrant thought inside, offering his palm to the other woman by habit.

A painful silence followed, the Ignited Sovereign observing the offered glove like a poisonous snake.

"It won't bite you, lady Ignited. Just a health check." Pef said with a careless shrug.

A pair of black eyes rose from the glove to Pef's youthful face, considering him for a few seconds before poking the glove with a fingertip at immense speed.

'Oh! Favored Ignited Yuan Ji Fire Blossom. Age about 350 thousands, second in command of the Volcanic Fire sect. Still a virgin and doesn't look a day over 20. She could be a Fire Saint, in some 5 million years. Barring lethal accidents or disease.' the glove explained a bit impressed.

Pef blinked, his eyebrows climbing while he glanced at the flame embossed breastplate. His thoughts were kinda bouncing all over. Still a virgin...350 thousands...never touched...

A bit of drool and lust dripped from the corner of his mouth, and then fell of the table as his wife slapped his head to expel the perverted ideas going through his mind.

The Water Tyrant awoke to reality and surreptitiously gathered the spit and fling the ball into the stove.

"You're very healthy, lady Ignited. But a bit of qi injection wouldn't hurt you too much. Perhaps I can be of aid." the young man said with a peaceful voice, making his uncle almost drop the tea tray he was bringing at the table.

The old auntie coughed in surprise, while the Sovereign laughed melodically, and took off her veil, while she smoothly picked up the tea cup made by Saren.

Pef and Xie could only stare at the heaven defying beauty, as she indeed looked fresh and young, like a burning flower blossom.

She had the red hair strands of the Fire disciples, and her lips were full and red like roses.

The kitchen became hot and steamy just from her presence, and Xie had to hide her eyes as to not crave the forbidden fruit.

Now she couldn't fault her moron husband anymore, as the hot Sovereign made her own blood boil with lust.

Impure desires assaulted the purple haired woman, and for once she actually hoped Pef would get lucky and bring this beauty into the harem. They could take baths and sleep in the same bed, maybe even share...

"Drink the tea, you two. And stop broadcasting horny thoughts. Now, have you seen or heard of Black Meridian Pill?" Uncle Saren said in a not so amused voice, then sipped a tiny bit of tea.

"Show me what you got, uncle. I do have a few vines and stuff." Pef replied while straining to divert his blood flow nto his upper brain.

The Sovereign cupped her white jade hands and the opened them to present a few strands of grass and tiny plant bulbs, from her own storage rings.

'That's great, Aspirant! They found Black Water grass and Black Lily bulbs. We only need Black Origin Mud Lotus now, if they share.' the glove exclaimed with obvious glee.

This user was too lucky! Then again, his lack of common sense made up for it.

Trying to marry this Sovereign woman wouldn't end up well. And regrowing melted groins would be possibly painful.

Pef nodded at his guest, and drank the tea in two gulps, enjoying the fine taste. It was similar to his own cooking somewhat, the tea herbs infused with qi and balanced perfectly.

Xie followed suit, and then smiled at Pef with the same thought. It seemed the talent for cooking was not exclusive to her husband, as his defector uncle had the same gift.

"What do you say, hubby? Trade them for our own herbs?" the Tyrant wife asked curios.

"Yes. And more. Lady Ignited Yuan Ji can be given an equivalent gift, for the Red pill." he replied at the glove's prompt.

A brass ring appeared in his hand, with a set of Black herbs for a meridian pill, and a precious Blue pill as well, stored inside.

Her offered it to the Sovereign with a kind smile, and an unspoken prayer to the heavens.

His aunt and uncle choked in outrage, as the young man appeared to offer a marriage ring.

But their Sovereign just smiled amused and picked up the ring with a gentle hand, then peered inside with her soul. "Well, this saves us a year of searching. Finding the last ingredient won't be so easy, I'm afraid." she spoke delicately, placing the sapphire storage ring on her free little finger.

'We do know who will have a few Black Origin Lotus flowers.' the orange glove said with an obvious ulterior purpose.

'Right, the Locust guy in Myrrth. And if this lady helps, it won't be too hard.' Pef concluded while grinning outwardly in a rather pleasant manner.

Even a little finger was a good step forward. Now he only had to grab the whole hand, somehow.

"Let's rest for today and prepare. We'll go together for that lotus, tomorrow. Guess I have to feed you guys as well, now that I'm stuck with you." he proclaimed heroically, raising from the table and starting to prepare a feast worthy of a goddess.

A pair of silver eyes followed the amusing husband, while the Sovereign sighed and then popped the qi pill in her mouth.

Blue light emerged from her skin and eyes, mingling with her red aura to create a pleasant purple atmosphere while the Tyrant chef cooked and murmured a silly nursery song about unending elephants.