Biluofeng, halfway up the mountainside.
Under the moonlight, a young girl held a sword.
Gu Ze’s mind wavered for a moment as the familiar scene before him overlapped with his memories, but in that instant, a sharp sword aura had already slashed toward him.
Fortunately, he was not the target.
The sword aura carried a hint of restrained greed within its flames, shooting skyward, brushing past Gu Ze and tearing apart the wispy clouds lit by moonlight, leaving behind an endless starry sky.
With one sword, she pointed directly at the half-moon.
Li Xunmiao had made a breakthrough.
[Qi Refinement Seventh Layer]
She did not hide her cultivation in the slightest, officially stepping into the late stage of Qi Refinement.
For most cultivators, the bottleneck she’d just overcome was something only surmountable with great effort and medicinal aid, yet for Li Xunmiao, it was nothing at all.
Impurities.
[Ding~ Detected that Li Xunmiao has gained a fortuitous encounter: World-burning Heavenly Fire]
[Host has received a reward: Wan Hua Soul Nourishing Fire]
Wan Hua Soul Nourishing Fire: Now bound to the host, it is one of a kind in the world. It can refine any substance into the purest spiritual energy, and when used for alchemy, no impurities will be produced in the resulting pills.
Gu Ze had only smiled slightly at first, thinking this Wan Hua Soul Nourishing Fire was similar to Li Xunmiao’s unique constitution, simply allowing him to absorb heavenly treasures or medicinal pills more efficiently.
But upon noticing the second half of the description, Gu Ze’s expression changed slightly.
When used for alchemy, no impurities would be present in the pills. Didn’t this mean that as long as he successfully refined them, the pills produced would all be of the highest quality?
This was the flame every alchemist dreamed of. Even though Gu Ze had never studied Dan Dao, he understood just how precious this was.
Luckily, it was unique in the world; other cultivators likely hadn’t even heard of it. As long as Gu Ze didn’t expose the unusual nature of this flame, he wouldn’t attract any trouble.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, he steadied his expression and descended toward Li Xunmiao’s figure on the ground.
“Senior Brother, I’ve trained bitterly for half a day and have almost completely mastered the World-burning Heavenly Fire. I’ve finally broken through!”
Li Xunmiao’s seemingly calm face revealed a faint trace of pride: “By the way, Senior Brother, you came back so late. What were you doing with Lian Yue Xianzun?”
Gu Ze was caught off guard and couldn’t respond.
Embarrassed, he pursed his lips, a little guilty as he glanced away and said, “Just… discussing the Dao.”
Li Xunmiao’s whole aura sharpened as she stared intently at the flaws in Gu Ze’s expression.
Before she could press further, Gu Ze seized the initiative: “By the way, Xunmiao, how did your cultivation suddenly leap so much?”
Li Xunmiao no longer concealed her cultivation, jumping straight from Qi Refinement Fourth Layer to Qi Refinement Seventh Layer—no one could ignore such a feat.
Her attention successfully diverted, she sheathed the Zangtian Sword behind her and began to explain, “Actually, when I first entered the sect, I asked Master for a magical treasure to help me conceal my cultivation.”
“It wasn’t that I intended to keep it from you, Senior Brother… it’s just, at the time, I was worried that as my cultivation grew, you’d drift further away from me.
When I first joined, I was alone and helpless. If it weren’t for your help, Senior Brother, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Now, having journeyed through the Weijin Mountain secret realm by your side, I realize that hiding my cultivation is meaningless.
Only by showing my full strength and defeating those at the Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core level, can I always… always remain Senior Brother Gu’s little junior sister.”
Her last words were barely audible, as if trying to hide something. Li Xunmiao wanted to become stronger, not to remain his junior sister forever.
Revealing her cultivation this time was, in part, prompted by Lian Yue’s provocation.
Even a Golden Core Immortal Lord so deeply adored Gu Ze, displaying every charm before him—why should she, Li Xunmiao, care about a difference in cultivation?
Even if one day her cultivation truly surpassed Gu Ze’s, what of it? Her feelings wouldn’t change—why care about what others thought?
Although Li Xunmiao felt her cultivation was progressing rapidly, there was always a subtle distance between her and Gu Ze.
She vaguely sensed in her heart that with Senior Brother Gu’s talent, he would never be an ordinary person in the future.
“Senior Brother, I’m going to catch up to you.” Li Xunmiao buried all her worries deep within her eyes and smiled sweetly.
Gu Ze reached out and ruffled her hair. “No matter what the future holds, or what cultivation you reach, you’ll always be my junior sister.”
After coaxing Li Xunmiao back to her cave residence, Gu Ze also returned to his small room.
Carefully closing the doors and windows, Gu Ze raised his palm, and a swaying white flame appeared in his hand.
Wan Hua Soul Nourishing Fire—light and pure white, without any warmth. It flickered like candlelight, making one feel it could go out at any moment.
Gu Ze took an unrefined spiritual ore from his storage pouch; the soul fire, as if drawn to it, moved on its own, the flame stretching like a vine and instantly enveloping the ore.
He had gathered quite a bit of spiritual ore and materials from Weijin Mountain, all tossed into his storage pouch without time to identify or sort them.
The metal stone melted into liquid under the burning flame, then dissolved into the pure white fire, transforming into spiritual energy that Gu Ze absorbed.
Even the impurities in the ore were completely burned away. Gu Ze couldn’t imagine how smooth alchemy would be with this flame.
Unfortunately, he had never studied Dan Dao. Still, it wasn’t too late; just because he hadn’t, didn’t mean he couldn’t learn.
Suddenly, a thought struck Gu Ze, and he simply tossed the soul fire into his storage pouch.
The flame flickered slightly, then began to devour the ores piled within the pouch like a wolf among sheep.
Gu Ze relaxed, closing his eyes to rest. The flame was well-behaved, perfectly obedient, and there was no need to worry about it causing trouble inside the storage pouch.
Moreover, with just a thought, Gu Ze could recall it at any time.
Night deepened.
In the haze, Gu Ze dreamt of a world filled with countless flames of every color, all flickering.
He himself transformed into one of the flames—but the only pure white one.
Passing through a sea of varied flames, Gu Ze seemed to reach the heart of that dim world.
In the dim light, he saw the silhouette of a delicate girl, her hair pure white, with small, rounded ears visible from the side and back. He could faintly hear her sobbing.
Just as he tried to approach, he suddenly felt as if he had stepped off solid ground and jolted awake.
By the time he came to his senses, morning had already arrived.
Shaking his head, the dream quickly faded from memory.
Today, he still had to take Li Xunmiao to see the Zhangmen for their reward, so Gu Ze didn’t dwell too long on the dream’s details.
He used the peak lord’s command token to contact Gong Lixing ahead of time. As soon as they agreed on a location, Gu Ze felt an ethereal power descend upon him.
His body grew light, and both he and Li Xunmiao were torn through space and brought before Gong Lixing.
They found themselves in a simple study. Gong Lixing sat on a carved wooden chair, back to a row of bookshelves.
His expression was calm, with an open book on the table in front of him.
He bestowed rewards upon the two of them as if finishing up a task during a break from work.
“You both performed admirably, resolving the Golden Core tribulation and saving many innocent lives.”
“By rights, I should reward you both publicly, letting all of Xianxia know of your deeds.”
“However, what happened at Weijin Mountain reflects poorly on the two peak lords involved, and making it public might threaten the peace of Xianxia. Thus, you can only receive your rewards in private.”
A reward—and also a hush payment.
Gong Lixing had the power to make all involved forget everything that happened at Weijin Mountain.
It was a disgrace for Golden Core cultivators and equally so for him as Zhangmen.
Gu Ze nodded, accepting Gong Lixing’s reasoning. He had no desire to probe the secrets behind the event or why Gong Lixing hadn’t acted himself.
Getting involved in such matters was of no benefit to cultivation.
On the other side, Li Xunmiao suddenly spoke up, “Any reward will do?”
She was clever and had clearly realized Gong Lixing was somewhat apprehensive about this matter.
She and Gu Ze had been used as Gong Lixing’s chess pieces, enduring many hardships. Naturally, they wouldn’t let such a good opportunity slip by without extorting a significant reward.
Ideally, one that would even make a Nascent Soul cultivator wince.
“Tell me what you want, then.”
Gong Lixing glanced at Li Xunmiao, noticing the greed in her eyes. Was her mind affected by the World-burning Heavenly Fire?
No, the toxicity of the World-burning Heavenly Fire had no effect on Li Xunmiao, so that shouldn’t be the case.
Gong Lixing decided to probe further.
Li Xunmiao took a deep breath and declared firmly, “I want to be unmatched in the world!”
The others fell silent.
Gong Lixing stroked his beard; he truly had no idea how to grant such a request.
Seeing the troubled look on Gong Lixing’s face, Gu Ze took the initiative to say to Li Xunmiao, “There’s no need to seek help from others for this. One day, Junior Sister will become unmatched in the world on her own.”
Li Xunmiao’s eyes softened as she nodded gently, “Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother. I will work even harder in my cultivation!”
The study seemed filled with a sweet and sour fragrance.
Gong Lixing’s eyebrow twitched as he watched the two exchange looks right in front of him, sighing helplessly.
Qingquan, oh Qingquan, if you don’t come out of seclusion soon, your disciple is going to give you a disciple-grandchild.
Setting aside his wandering thoughts, he turned to Gu Ze, “Little Gu, what reward do you want?”
Gu Ze seemed prepared. He cupped his hands and said, “Reporting to Zhangmen, I gained much at Weijin Mountain. I wish to broaden my path and plan to study Dan Dao in the future. Please grant me a durable pill furnace.”
At these words, the other two were even more surprised.
Li Xunmiao wanting to be unmatched in the world was no surprise—her whole being radiated an indomitable will and desire for strength.
But for Gu Ze to suddenly want to practice alchemy had come without warning.
Gong Lixing accidentally yanked out a beard hair, rubbing his fingers as he asked, “If you plan to make pills, do you have a divine flame?”
Gu Ze remained silent, his expression tightening slightly as he nodded.
He released the Wan Hua Soul Nourishing Fire, his heart racing. This divine fire was a system reward, unique in all the world.
If Gong Lixing couldn’t tell what it was, Gu Ze could use it boldly without fear.
If Gong Lixing did recognize it, then at worst, Gu Ze would just use it with extra caution.
Gong Lixing was one of the few in this world who was so righteous he was almost suspicious; his path was one of benevolence, and he would never seize a treasure from the weak.
“This…” Gong Lixing stared intently at the soul fire, its glow reflected in his eyes. Yet he couldn’t detect anything unusual.
“There seems to be spiritual energy flowing within, but it looks ordinary. Still, my instincts tell me this isn’t a common flame. Did Fu Xu give it to you?”
“Sort of,” Gu Ze nodded.
Although Fu Xu hadn’t personally given it to him, Li Xunmiao’s World-burning Heavenly Fire was from Fu Xu, and Gu Ze’s reward was thanks to her obtaining that divine fire.
So by association, this soul fire also came from Fu Xu.
“Not bad, not bad. He’s traveled the world, so it’s no surprise he could gather such a treasure that even I can’t judge.”
“Since you wish to pursue Dan Dao, I’ll give you a purple-gold pill furnace. It’s only palm-sized, but has an internal space like a mustard seed, capable of refining large quantities of herbs at once and requiring only a small amount of fire.”
Without hesitation, Gong Lixing produced a pill furnace whose quality Gu Ze couldn’t gauge and handed it over through the air.
Gu Ze secretly activated his golden eyes, examining the dazzling purple-gold pill furnace, joy flashing in his eyes.
“Right, there’s one more thing. May I trouble Zhangmen to repair this for me?” Gu Ze put the pill furnace away and then took out the already-cracked Icy Dust Mirror, handing it to Gong Lixing.
“You rascal, always looking for an extra benefit. But this item must’ve been damaged in the secret realm. I’ll help you repair it.”
“Do you have any suitable materials? Ideally a top-grade magical treasure. Otherwise, it would take some time to find something appropriate.”
Top-grade treasures were much rarer and more precious than ordinary low-grade Foundation Establishment Lingbao, and difficult to forge.
Though Gong Lixing had many rare materials, it would be a waste to use them on a Qi Refinement magical treasure.
Hearing their exchange, Li Xunmiao moved.
“I have one.” From her sleeve flew a Jinfu.
It was the top-grade treasure, Bi Xin Jin Fu, which she had used to conceal her aura and now no longer needed.
Gong Lixing accepted the two items, and a wave of spiritual energy capable of distorting space fell upon the Jinfu. He shattered it into golden powder, letting it fall upon the Icy Dust Mirror.
Spiritual energy moved like threads, or like countless tiny hammers, tapping and forging the Icy Dust Mirror.
Gong Lixing focused intently, merging the two treasures.
The Icy Dust Mirror was originally pure silver, carved with blue patterns. Now gold and silver intertwined, its radiance even more formidable.
“The quality of this magical treasure has improved somewhat and is now on the threshold of a Lingbao. Even slightly weaker Foundation Establishment cultivators won’t be able to break it now.”
Gong Lixing was quite pleased with his work as he returned the enhanced Icy Dust Mirror to Gu Ze.