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墨書 Inktalez
Chuxiong spent a long time in seclusion this time. Li Hong often went out since there was nothing to do.
He first visited the nameless Gorge filled with strange white wormwood, bringing Big Silver Ball and Small Silver Ball to the Green Pavilion. The two little ones were initially very uncomfortable, bustling around restlessly, but perhaps due to Li Hong carrying Multicolored Spiritual Energy, Big Silver Ball and Small Silver Ball quickly grew fond of being close to him. After a few days, they settled down and followed Li Hong around.
As a result, people from Nine Vermilion Peaks frequently saw Li Hong accompanied by three spirit beasts. Unless he was out, if he was at Nine Vermilion Peaks, three peculiar figures would surely follow him.
Big Silver Ball and Small Silver Ball looked as if they were clad in silver-white armor, making a clattering sound as they walked. It was often seen that they would roll down the hillside in a tumble, their long pointed beaks and gem-like eyes sparkling, looking incredibly adorable. The Golden Silk Cat, only the size of a palm, was extremely cute, meowing softly and sweetly, causing those disciples who loved small animals to stretch their necks in the Dining Hall, eagerly waiting for Li Hong to bring it out so they could play with it for a while.
Before long, all the disciples of Jiu Zhu Peak adored these three little ones. However, trouble soon arose.
One day, after finishing his practice of “Five Elements Shuttle” behind the building in the Green Forest, Li Hong heard an earth-shattering roar from below in the Herb Grove: “Who gnawed on my ginseng! Oh no, this ginseng has been nurtured for Three Thousand Years, and I was about to harvest it to refine into a Supplementary Spirit Pill! Who did this? Come out!” Followed by a long string of furious curses inappropriate for children.
Who had the audacity to touch the master's treasure! Just as Li Hong was astonished, a lightning-fast golden figure dashed towards him and stopped in front of him.
It was Little Fei. It meowed twice and slowly approached, even sticking out its pink little tongue to lick its snowy white paws. Upon closer inspection, there were some slightly yellow crumbs on its tongue. Squatting down to sniff, he found that the scent wafting from its mouth was indeed that of Thousand-Year Ginseng.
It actually ate something—specifically, the master’s Thousand-Year Ginseng! Li Hong felt his head swell; he squatted down and thought, oh no, this little cat doesn’t like fish but prefers spirit herbs!
Then two round Silver Shadow figures rolled over like electric bolts, stopping in front of him and standing up to reveal their sharp beaks and long claws. Looking at Big Silver Ball and Small Silver Ball, he felt another wave of frustration.
He shouted: “Little Fei!”
This naughty little cat not only misbehaved itself but also taught them bad habits. There was still a root of ginseng dangling from the mouth of Silver Ball!
He grabbed Little Fei by the scruff of its neck and pulled it into the Green Pavilion, gritting his teeth as he whispered angrily: “No more going to the Herb Grove! No more harming the master’s spirit herbs! No teaching bad habits to Silver Ball and Silver Ball! Otherwise, hum hum!”
Little Fei lowered its head submissively, not daring to make a sound. Big Silver Ball and Small Silver Ball seemed to realize they had done something wrong as they slowly crawled in, lying at Li Hong's feet with their heads down, looking just like two obedient little dogs.
Feeling soft-hearted, Li Hong listened attentively to the commotion in the middle of the mountain at the Herb Grove, unable to shake off his mischievous thoughts.
The Spirit Stone did not discover Little Fei's secret, but this incident served as a reminder for Li Hong. He had always thought that neither Little Fei nor Big Silver Ball and Small Silver Ball ate anything; it seemed they did eat after all—just not meat but rather vegetables. And these vegetables were quite special; they only consumed precious spirit herbs.
He dared not provoke the master’s Herb Grove. Thus, Li Hong began to think about other places in the Nine Li Cave Heaven. He first thought of the abundant Golden Lantern Flowers in the Golden Lantern Gorge.
Experiments have proven that Little Fei and Silver Ball Gold Lantern Flower are indeed edible, but they seem to eat them reluctantly, as if they do not particularly enjoy the taste.
In Nine Li Cave Heaven, Li Hong is unfamiliar with the other factions and does not dare to approach them to gather their cultivated spiritual herbs. The Cosmic Bag does contain a large number of celestial herbs obtained from the Ancient Celestial Field. However, these items have already been registered with Ling Xuzi and will eventually need to be submitted. Moreover, feeding celestial herbs to cats would be a waste.
After thinking it over, he remembered the Soul Maple. It is important to note that Soul Maple is a true ancient Spiritual Root, so eating a few branches or leaves should not be a problem, right? After all, it is a large area, and he wouldn’t be taking precious Tree Sap.
That night, Li Hong quietly slipped over.
Revival Valley was silent. The tall Soul Maples stood straight, reaching dozens of feet high, with the highest ones almost touching the cliffs nearby. The trunks emitted a dazzling green and golden glow in the dark night, looking as if they were made of jade or gold—truly extraordinary.
The leaves of the Revival Maple only began to grow at the very top. Li Hong nervously glanced towards the valley entrance for a moment, confirming that the guards had not noticed him. He immediately took flight on his sword and summoned the Five Elements Shuttle to begin his thievery.
He remembered that when extracting tree sap, one must use tools that do not enter the five elements. However, since he only needed to gather tender branches and leaves this time, it should be fine. With his mind set, the Five Elements Shuttle flashed sharply; a large cluster of pre-selected branches along with their leaves were swiftly cut down.
Suddenly, the entire Soul Maple began to shake violently, emitting a thunderous roar as if it had come to life.
Li Hong felt his scalp tingle—he hadn’t taken any blood from it; he was just gathering a few branches. Why was it making such a noise?
Movement was detected at the valley entrance; he quickly grabbed the branches and turned to fly into the sky.
Just as he flew a short distance away, he heard a loud sound behind him as someone shouted: “What a bold little thief! How dare you trespass into Revival Valley and cut my spiritual tree! Just wait until I catch you and take you to Disciplinary Hall!”
With whooshing sounds filling the air, several fireballs shot toward him. Li Hong had no choice; the Five Elements Shuttle automatically moved to intercept them. With a flash of Iridescence, several fireballs were instantly deflected.
“You little thief! How dare you resist!” The person shouted angrily as more fireballs came rushing in.
Li Hong didn’t even have time to see what kind of treasures those fireballs were; feeling his scalp tingle and lacking any fighting spirit, he quickly fled.
This person was at least at the early Golden Core stage—a true elder. This was serious trouble; he definitely couldn’t win in a fight and couldn’t afford to be ruthless either. He needed to escape quickly!
As he fled, he heard more whooshing sounds approaching from afar. It turned out that this elder guarding Revival Valley had called for reinforcements from Disciplinary Hall. Thinking about how Elder Yue Mangzi had been waiting for an opportunity to catch him making mistakes made Li Hong feel even more anxious.
Just as he was contemplating how to fabricate a story, the dazzling fireballs caught up with him. Li Hong had no choice but to put away the Revival Maple branch into his Cosmic Bag and turn around to face his pursuer.
He stepped on the Five Elements Shuttle, which suddenly transformed into five figures, dazzling light swirling around him. Like a storm of wind and rain, he clashed with the dozen fireballs rushing toward him, sparks flying around as if it were raining fire in the sky, accompanied by loud crackling sounds. Li Hong surprisingly held his ground.
The person behind him exclaimed in surprise, stopping mid-air to scrutinize him from head to toe. Suddenly, he called out, "I recognize you; you are Chu Hong from Nine Vermilion Peaks! Stop fighting and let’s talk!" With a wave of his hand, the fireballs quickly retreated and vanished.
Li Hong retracted the Five Elements Shuttle and looked at the elder in front of him with uncertainty, wondering how he knew him.
The man appeared to be in his forties, with a rosy and sturdy face, not very tall, dressed in an exceptionally unique purple-black robe—Li Hong could not recall any sect that wore such colors. However, the robe resembled the attire of the Nine Li Sect, with a small Green Grass Mark at the cuffs.
Could this be the emblem of the Revival Valley's guarding elder?
The elder was examining him with curiosity and contemplation, but it was clear that he bore no hostility.
Li Hong gritted his teeth and cupped his fists in acknowledgment: "I am indeed Chu Hong from Nine Vermilion Peaks. I have trespassed into Revival Valley for a reason..."
Before he could finish, he heard several Flying Swords slicing through the air behind him. Li Hong had to pause his words, revealing a look of pleading and unease.
The elder pondered for a moment before approaching the people from the Disciplinary Hall. He said, "It seems I made a mistake; this is merely a misunderstanding. Thank you for your patience."
"Haha, Elder Yao summoned me; how could I not come to check! If it's just a misunderstanding, then that's great..." At this point, the man's voice paused as he looked at Li Hong suspiciously, feeling that his back seemed familiar. He called out loudly, "Who is that senior ahead? Please come over to speak."
Li Hong felt helpless and turned around with trepidation. He recognized the owner of that voice; it belonged to one of Chief Elder of Punishment's disciples. Although he couldn't recall his name, they had seen each other often enough to be quite familiar.
The man immediately recognized Li Hong; his expression turned quite strange—fluctuating between blue and purple—as if unsure what to make of it. After a moment, he forced a smile and said, "So it's you. It must have been a misunderstanding. Since there’s nothing wrong now, we’ll take our leave." He bowed respectfully to Elder Yao on his Flying Sword and without another word turned to leave with his companions.
If Yun Jiuzi were present, he would surely recognize this person as one of the Disciplinary Hall disciples who attempted to steal the Cosmic Vitality Pill.
However, Li Hong was unaware of this minor incident and felt relieved that the Disciplinary Hall members were leaving on their own. Watching them fly away, Li Hong approached Elder Yao and deeply bowed: "Thank you, Elder."
Elder Yao regarded Li Hong thoughtfully and said, "It seems that the disciples from the Disciplinary Hall are somewhat afraid of you; it must be due to Yun Jiuzi being your great-granduncle."
Li Hong felt his face flush and bowed deeply again: "I apologize for my rudeness; please forgive me."
"Haha, there's no need to be overly formal. Besides, as far as I know, you're not someone who is overly formal anyway. I've heard quite a bit about your exploits. Since you're here, why not come sit down at my place?" Elder Yao was very amiable, chuckling heartily while gesturing for him to follow.
Had he once again caught the eye of Elder Yao? Li Hong was both surprised and delighted. With a quick glance, he thought that perhaps Soul Maple would have a future after all.
This time, having truly found clarity, he confidently followed Elder Yao back to Revival Valley.
At the valley entrance, a small flickering light illuminated a stone house with three openings. The entrance was already quite narrow, and this stone house effectively sealed it off completely. This was also the reason why Li Hong always used the "back door."
Elder Yao stopped in front of the stone house. He sensed that there were others residing in the east wing, as he could faintly detect two presences within, both engaged in cultivation.
Elder Yao led him to the west wing and pushed the door open.
A strong medicinal scent greeted them. The walls and floor were lined with jars and pots filled with various herbs. The long-standing aroma made one feel slightly dizzy. In the center stood a large wooden table about ten feet long, covered with mortar and pestle, leaving little room for anything else. This room was more akin to a pharmacy than anything else.
Elder Yao was indeed true to his name; with a thought, Li Hong understood why he recognized him.
Elder Yao gestured for Li Hong to sit on a stool and took a seat opposite him, smiling as he said, "Now tell me, how exactly was that Heavenly Transformation Pill refined? You all have such remarkable skills. I truly regret not informing the sect master’s nephew to witness that event firsthand!"
Li Hong smiled; it was indeed because of alchemy that Elder Yao recognized him.
As the flickering light danced, both men’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Li Hong spoke animatedly while Elder Yao listened intently, occasionally interjecting with questions. Li Hong realized that while Elder Yao might not know much about alchemy itself, he was incredibly knowledgeable about herbs and their properties—no wonder he was called Elder Yao.
Li Hong had some small plans brewing.
********
At dawn, Li Hong finally flew out of Revival Valley, having gained immensely from this trip.
First of all, regardless of whether Little Fei and Big Silver Ball or Small Silver Ball liked to eat Soul Maple or not, Elder Yao had promised that as long as it wasn’t excessive, they could come anytime to gather Reviving Maple Leaves. Secondly, he had achieved his own goals.
To this day, the celestial herbs obtained from the Ancient Celestial Field remained in his Cosmic Bag, primarily because most people from Nine Li Sect were unaware of their value. Elder Yao had already agreed to sort through all the celestial herbs and clarify their names and properties one by one. This would be a massive undertaking that saved him countless troubles. Originally, Spirit Stone had entrusted this daunting task to him.
Knowing the properties of these celestial herbs made Li Hong's eyes gleam with excitement; perhaps he could try refining other types of Elixirs? Just thinking about it made his breath quicken.
He laughed joyfully and flew straight back to Nine Vermilion Peaks. Upon reaching Green Pavilion, he saw a slender figure resembling White Shadow darting out towards him, stopping abruptly right in front of his chest.
Chu Xi looked at her with bright eyes, a hint of blush slowly spreading across her jade-like face. In an instant, her delicate features shone like a radiant flower.
"You've come."
"Yes, I've emerged from seclusion."
The two stood facing each other, so close that they could almost hear each other's heartbeat.
A strange feeling quietly surged in Li Hong's heart again, but at the same time, the beautiful yet sorrowful Face of Wanyi flashed through his mind.
What should I do? His heart was in turmoil.
He steadied himself and said seriously, "You came at the right time; I have something to discuss with you."
Chu Xi looked up at him, her gaze filled with respect, admiration, and expectation, gradually deepening into thoughtful wisdom. She always knew what to do and when to do it; perhaps this was also the reason for his hesitation.
Having a daughter who is too capable might not be a good thing. This thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he felt a bit ashamed. Shaking his head, he cast aside these chaotic thoughts and smiled at Chu Xi: "Let's go inside and talk."
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