The Central Three Pure Ones Palace, the Southern Dragon Tiger Palace, the Northern Mysterious Underworld Taoist Palace, the Western Spiritual Officer Palace, and the Eastern Mysterious Platform Taoist Palace—all five Tao Palaces were complete. This signified that Lei Jun had successfully reached the pinnacle of the Taoist Talisman Sect's Fifth Heavenly Layer.

The Great Five Elements Creation Qi had also been completely refined by Lei Jun.

The five elements, five viscera, and five Qi within his body were all nurtured to Perfection, continually transforming and interweaving with each other.

Another door to a higher level began to come into focus before Lei Jun.

The Great Five Elements Creation Qi not only accelerated Lei Jun's cultivation speed during the Fifth Heavenly Layer but also laid a solid foundation for him, making the sprint towards the Sixth Heavenly Layer much easier.

Lei Jun estimated that with just a little more Warming and Nurturing, he would be ready to cross the Heavenly Moat Tribulation between the Fifth Heavenly Layer and the Sixth Heavenly Layer.

He let out a long breath, pushed open the door, and stepped out of the quiet room into the courtyard.

"Eat... eat..."

Lei Jun suddenly heard a voice that was somewhat strange and childish.

He glanced around and, to his surprise, saw that ball of fur, Gungun, sitting in the courtyard with his back to him, neck craned.

With an odd expression, Lei Jun quietly moved behind this lazy creature. Peering over its head, he could see some Spirit Plants on the ground, such as leaves of the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

Gungun, for the moment, was not devouring its treats but was craning its nearly nonexistent neck, holding its large head high, and opening its mouth towards the sky.

"Eat... yummy... lunch is yummy!"

Despite the strange tone, the creature became more fluent as it spoke and couldn't help but waggle its head in satisfaction:

"Grandmaster is great, gives lots of yummy food! Eldest Master is second best, gives the second most yummy food! Master and Third Martial Uncle are just okay; they never give me food..."

Lei Jun, listening from behind, couldn't help but chuckle.

This creature hadn't been able to speak human language before. But as its spiritual intelligence grew, it not only came to understand the relationships among everyone but also frequently listened to their conversations. It had even figured out how to address them and pronounce their names.

It was a peculiar form of long-term accumulation finally paying off... Lei Jun was both amused and annoyed.

He picked up the little bear by the scruff of its neck. "What do you mean, Master is just okay?"

The rotund black and white furball was startled. Upon seeing Lei Jun clearly, it blinked non-stop, its childlike voice sounding rather earnest, "Master is the best!"

Lei Jun shook his head with a laugh. "When did you learn to speak?"

Gungun honestly replied, "The night before last, I made some noise. Yesterday, more. Today, I got the hang of it."

"Not bad, you're quite organized," Lei Jun said with satisfaction, ruffling the fur on the creature's head a couple of times.

He took Gungun to see Yuan Mobai.

Coincidentally, Tang Xiaotang was also at Yuan Mobai's residence.

Upon hearing Gungun speak, Tang Xiaotang clicked her tongue in wonder. "He can not only talk but also knows how to address people?"

Lei Jun said, "He was smart to begin with and often listened to our conversations. Recently, he cleared his vocal passages; once his breath flowed smoothly, he became fluent all at once. The Mountain Pi clan, after all, already had their own language for communication."

While speaking, he glanced at his master, Yuan Mobai.

Yuan Mobai was quite unperturbed by such matters. Meeting Lei Jun's gaze, he simply shook his head slightly.

Meanwhile, Tang Xiaotang, paying no attention to the subtle interaction between Lei Jun and his master, walked up to Gungun and pointed at Lei Jun. "Who is this?"

Gungun, now speaking more fluently, replied in a loud and resonant voice, "Master!"

"And this one?"

"Grandmaster!"

"What about me?"

"Master!"

"That's not right."

Tang Xiaotang smiled mischievously. Gungun paused, momentarily stunned, shaking its head as it glanced at Lei Jun in the distance and then looked back at her in confusion.

After a long moment, Gungun cautiously ventured, "...Sister?"

Lei Jun, overhearing this from the side, couldn't help but shoot a look.

You little sly thing, where did you learn that from?

Tang Xiaotang continued to smile. "Still not right."

Gungun was now perplexed, looking left at Tang Xiaotang and right at Lei Jun, uncertain of what to say.

Tang Xiaotang, as if by magic, produced a Spirit Grass in her hand, then dangled it. "Think harder?"

Gungun's eyes lit up, and he lunged at the Spirit Grass with lightning speed.

But no matter how fast he was, Tang Xiaotang was faster.

Gungun not only bit empty air but also got a pat on the head. "Lazy bum! You want to eat without working? Dream on!"

Gungun clutched its head innocently. After a long while, it hesitantly tried again:

"Auntie... OW!"

It got another knock on the head.

The creature's eyes darted about, looking utterly aggrieved as it gazed at Tang Xiaotang.

She cleared her throat, took a couple of paces, and deliberately brushed off her Nine-Colored Taoist Robe.

Gungun finally understood. It placed its plump little paws together in front of its body, meticulously imitating how Lei Jun and the others would make a formal Taoist salute, and said to Tang Xiaotang in a sweet, childish voice:

"Greetings, Celestial Master!"

"Good!"

The somewhat unreliable new Celestial Master was finally satisfied and handed the Spirit Grass to Gungun.

At once, Gungun lost all decorum, plopped down on the ground, and began to eat with great enjoyment.

Elder Lei's comment on this was, "Little Senior Sister, it's really hard to say which one of you is more mature."

Tang Xiaotang didn't mind. "That's not important."

Yuan Mobai, on the other hand, looked at Gungun with a smile. "Now that you can speak human language, after some more cultivation, you should be able to transform your body into a human form."

Before Lei Jun could say anything, Gungun paused. "Human form?"

Yuan Mobai smiled and nodded. "Like us."

Gungun shook its head. "Don't want to..."

Lei Jun asked with a smile, "Why is that?"

Gungun swallowed the Spirit Grass completely. "Because... I'm not human, after all."

Yuan Mobai chuckled upon hearing this. "You have a point. It's best to make up your own mind about such things."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.