"You have done well."

The Queen Mother of the West spoke as she rose from the cold pool, seemingly oblivious to the eerie atmosphere wafting through the air.

Spiritual Spring Water cascaded thunderously off her massive figure.

Before the seven celestial maidens, she appeared not to bother concealing herself in any way.

Han Zhan’s head bowed even lower.

If looks could kill, he would have already been pierced through by a dozen sharp swords from behind, all because of his swift reaction.

"Why do you not dare to look me in the eye?" The Queen Mother of the West noticed Han Zhan’s odd behavior.

Han Zhan: "..."

I would love to, but my wives won’t allow it!

"Your majesty’s divine authority is overwhelming, rendering my heart and spirit trembling, unworthy of looking upon you." Han Zhan answered "truthfully."

Upon hearing Han Zhan’s words, whether it was an illusion or not, the chill in the cold pool seemed to abate considerably.

"You are quite commendable," the Queen Mother of the West generously praised.

"The reason I have summoned you all today is to reward you. You have done an excellent job guarding the Peach Garden."

As she spoke, rays of light descended, enveloping everyone.

Han Zhan only felt a warmth and comfort all over his body, especially in his palms, which began to heat up slightly.

The digit "1" representing his life slowly transformed into "2."

Is this... an extra life?

This reward came just at the right time.

Except for Xia Youwei, each of them had only one life left; if they died, unimaginable consequences would follow.

Having an extra life is like having additional insurance.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Han Zhan’s thanks were genuine, without any pretense.

"The second reward is this invitation."

The Queen Mother of the West continued, showering more brilliance, which coalesced before them into palm-sized invitations.

"These are invitations to the Peach Feast. With these invitations, you can travel to various places and invite the Immortals listed on them to attend the Peach Feast."

Since when did delivering invitations become a reward?

Before they could ponder for long, the Queen Mother’s voice rang out again, saying, "The invitation to the Peach Feast is something all celestials aspire to have. As my appointed ’messengers,’ you are sure to receive the gratitude of the Immortals."

"As for how abundant the gratitude is, that depends on your own fates."

So that’s how it is.

With the Queen Mother’s hint, Han Zhan understood.

It makes sense; if delivering invitations were straightforward, the Queen Mother could have used the Immortal Crane instead, without involving them.

By specifically withholding these invitations, she indeed meant them as a "reward."

The Immortals should all be wise; seeing a special envoy sent by the Queen Mother herself to deliver the invitation to the Peach Feast would prompt them to reciprocate, offering something in gratitude to the messenger.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Han Zhan accepted the invitation without examining it in detail, offering his thanks.

The Queen Mother neither confirmed nor denied his gesture.

She gestured, and the dreamlike celestial robe was draped once more over her body, enveloping her skin as smooth as jade.

The mountains and valleys were shrouded in mystery, and Han Zhan’s tensely lowered head found a tad bit of relief.

The feeling of pins and needles on his back eased significantly.

"The next is the third reward," the Queen Mother of the West spoke calmly.

A third reward?

At this, everyone felt a surge of happiness in their hearts.

"This third reward is the qualification to participate in the Peach Feast."

"This is likely something you have all dreamed of. However, given your status, even if you attend the Peach Feast, you may only have some ordinary Immortal Peaches and drink Jade Dew, without a seat or a share of the Flat Peaches."

For the Queen Mother of the West, simply granting them entry to the Peach Feast was already a great gift.

After all, the threshold for attending the Peach Feast was set high.

Even without the Flat Peaches and seats, merely drinking Jade Dew and eating Immortal Peaches was already a significant opportunity.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

This was their third time expressing gratitude, and after they thanked, the Queen Mother waved them off. "You are dismissed now."

The tiredness seemed to seep into her voice.

"Dismissed, why are you still standing there? Why haven’t you left yet?"

Her voice suddenly became harsher, causing the temperature within the Spiritual Spring Cold Pool to drop significantly.

With this abrupt change, Han Zhan immediately reacted, quickly leading the Contracted Spirit Girls out of the mountain hollow.

"Go!"

"Why haven’t you left?!"

The Queen Mother of the West violently raised her hands, slamming them onto the water surface, creating a thunderous roar as water splashed everywhere.

Hearing the commotion behind them, Jiang Lingling, amongst the hasty retreating group, glanced back.

That one glance sent a chill through her entire body as if struck by lightning.

What she saw was no longer the graceful form of a human figure but was a gigantic toad lying prone over the cold pool!

Its enormous mouth opened and closed, devouring the spiritual water, the terrifying dark red tongue crushing the nearby mountains and forests to bits!

...

"You say, you saw a gigantic toad?"

Han Zhan looked at Jiang Lingling with some surprise.

Now, they had already left Kunlun Mountain and returned to the Immortal Court.

When leaving, he had indeed heard the Queen Mother’s agitated voice and the commotion behind, but he had not seen a gigantic toad.

Not only Han Zhan but none of the other Contracted Spirit Girls saw it either.

Only Jiang Lingling.

"Could it be—the Flat Peach?" Shang Siteng pondered aloud, "A three-thousand-year Flat Peach, if it can help her see the real Kunlun, could it not also allow her to see the true ’Queen Mother of the West’?"

Mind Ape once mentioned that the "true sight" effect of the three-thousand-year Flat Peach was the weakest.

So, when she first met the Queen Mother of the West, Jiang Lingling had no reaction.

Only when they were leaving, with the Queen Mother losing control and unable to maintain her appearance, did Jiang Lingling witness the true form.

"We cannot rule out this possibility," Han Zhan said, his brow furrowed.

Mind Ape and the Queen Mother of the West most certainly had their own agendas.

Who should be trusted and who shouldn’t remained unclear.

"The main storyline following should be the Peach Feast, right?"

"My intuition tells me that at the Peach Feast, some truths will likely be revealed."

"Based on your earlier theory, that does seem likely." Shang Siteng turned to Han Zhan, and they mutually agreed on this point.

With lives increased and opportunities given.

It is easy to imagine that the future tasks will undoubtedly become more arduous.

"I think you should come and take a look at these invitations." At this time, Gongyang Jin’s voice rang out.

Han Zhan had given her all the invitations from the Queen Mother for her to handle sorting and distribution.

A total of seven invitations, perfectly corresponding to their seven members.

Gongyang Jin picked up the first invitation, on which four words were written: "Beidou Star Monarch."