Very quickly, he arrived once again at the Yin Yun Mist Realm.
Not far ahead of him was a pool of spiritual spring water.
However, the water level in the spring had obviously dropped by a significant amount.
Gu Ze swallowed nervously, but before he could do anything, his neck was suddenly grabbed from behind.
“I didn’t expect you to dare come back, little thief!” Qingquan’s voice was icy, clearly filled with real murderous intent.
“Spare me, Senior, I’m here today to discuss the Dao with you.” He twisted his body, but couldn’t break free.
Even divine consciousness has different levels of strength—if Qingquan refused to let go, Gu Ze felt he might never return to his physical body again.
“Discuss the Dao? Why should I discuss the Dao with a shameless little thief like you?”
“Senior, although I did drink a mouthful of spring water, it… couldn’t have caused the water level to drop this much, could it?”
Gu Ze gestured with his hands.
He really had only taken a single sip, yet the spring in front of him, large enough for a person to encircle with their arms, had sunk by at least a foot.
Even if a cow came here, it couldn’t drink this much in a single gulp.
“Hmph, you don’t even remember the scene of your own misdeeds.”
Qingquan lifted Gu Ze’s pure-white miniature form of divine consciousness as if he were a doll, then gently brushed her hand. The surrounding mist drifted away.
Only then did Gu Ze notice that not far away in the vast Consciousness Sea, there was another spring source.
“The spring you drank yesterday was the first one I ever condensed. This one is the most recently formed.”
“Senior, did you condense so many springs to nurture disciples, to help them strengthen their divine consciousness?” Gu Ze ventured.
“No, I did it to…” She was about to explain in detail, but suddenly closed her mouth.
Wait—why am I talking so much to this little thief?
I should find a way to uncover his true identity, or simply seal him in my Consciousness Sea—sooner or later, he’ll confess everything. Qingquan thought to herself.
“Senior, since I possess a treasure capable of infiltrating your Consciousness Sea, I might also have a way to solve your predicament.” Gu Ze struggled as he spoke.
Cultivation Method.
Dao.
Clearly, he was looking to make a deal with Qingquan.
“Quite the tone you have there.” Qingquan’s brows twitched; although she feigned indifference, a hint of expectation appeared.
She tossed Gu Ze onto the ground and gazed out over the boundless Consciousness Sea, sighing.
“The Cultivation Method I practice is the Falling Stream Formula, which gathers and refines the water of one’s origin within. I once believed it perfectly suited my water-attribute constitution.”
“But after reaching Golden Core, I found that no matter how I refined my Consciousness Sea, I couldn’t form a Nascent Soul.”
“When I asked the Sect Leader to calculate for me, I learned my constitution was special—I must fill my Consciousness Sea with the water of origin to have any chance at forming a Nascent Soul.”
“But the Falling Stream Formula is so reserved, it can only condense one drop at a time.”
“To fill this entire Consciousness Sea… ha.”
Her tone carried a hint of self-mockery.
If she hadn’t chosen the wrong Cultivation Method back then, would she have wasted three hundred years at the peak of Golden Core?
The title of strongest Golden Core stage was nothing but self-deprecation for Qingquan.
She felt she might remain at Golden Core for the rest of her life.
“No wonder…” Gu Ze suddenly understood.
In the book, Qingquan hadn’t been given much of a role—perhaps she was just hyped up as the strongest Golden Core, then quickly brushed aside.
Li Xunmiao, in the story, didn’t become the Bi Luo Peak’s true disciple, but after obtaining the ‘Yellow Springs Heart Sutra’ from Bi Luo Peak, she wandered the Twenty-Four Peaks.
Now, having truly interacted with Qingquan, Gu Ze finally realized what kind of desperate situation she was in.
Even with nonstop effort, she could never reach Nascent Soul in her lifetime.
Perhaps this was why Qingquan often shut herself away for years at a time.
Though hope was slim, she had never truly given up.
“If—just saying if—I filled this Consciousness Sea with some other water, would that count as fulfilling the condition for you to form your Nascent Soul?” Gu Ze tested.
“This is my Consciousness Sea. Even if you had a treasure like Innate Rootless Water that could create a sea wherever it fell, you could never bring it inside. The Consciousness Sea and reality are two separate realms.” She sighed, the purple aura around her growing faint.
Gu Ze sucked in a cold breath.
Damn this System, even the reward it gives is connected to this?
So the Innate Rootless Water isn’t my own fortuitous encounter? It’s clearly meant for Qingquan.
Gu Ze focused his mind and took out that drop of Innate Rootless Water.
Qingquan whipped her head around; in an instant, the entire Consciousness Sea trembled.
“Little thief… how did you get such a supreme treasure? Innate treasures are nearly impossible to find, and as for Rootless Water—once it touches the ground, it instantly turns into a vast ocean and can never be refined again.”
“Don’t worry about it. Yesterday I snuck a sip of your spring water; today, I return you a drop of Rootless Water. Repaying a spring’s favor with a drop in return, you’re actually getting the worse end of the deal.” Gu Ze joked.
“Getting the worse end… wait, you wouldn’t… Did you come specifically for my spring?” The mist at the edge of the Consciousness Sea took on a faint pink hue.
This little thief dared to drink her spring! Dared to drink her spring water! Outrageous.
But then, he took out the supreme treasure she needed most, without the slightest defense.
Was he truly exchanging a drop of Innate Rootless Water for her single sip of spring water?
“You don’t want it?” Gu Ze pointed at the droplet, unsure what Qingquan was hesitating about.
“I’m just trying to figure out how you—a little thief—got your hands on an innate treasure, and who you really are. Dammit… What treasure did you use to so tightly conceal your fate from Heaven’s Will!”
She waved her fists, but didn’t hit Gu Ze, only venting her frustration in place.
She drew the water droplet over; as soon as it touched down, a colossal wave surged, transforming the Consciousness Sea into a true boundless ocean.
Gu Ze felt an overwhelming pressure crash into him, and was instantly kicked out of Qingquan’s Consciousness Sea.
In the final moment, Gu Ze saw the Rootless Water surging ceaselessly, and Qingquan standing upon the roiling sea, looking back at him as well.
“Little thief… no, I’ll call you Daoist Friend. When I form my Nascent Soul, I’ll trace this karmic link and definitely hunt you down!” she said through gritted teeth.
Yet Gu Ze could hear the joy trembling in her voice.
Daoist Friend, huh?
Opening his eyes again, Gu Ze realized it was already morning.
Having been thrown out of Qingquan’s Consciousness Sea, he’d actually been unconscious for that long?
This time, with Qingquan’s personal guidance, not only did he gain nothing, he even gave away the System’s reward.
Keeping the Innate Rootless Water wouldn’t benefit Gu Ze anyway—using it to smooth things over with Qingquan seemed like a good move.
If there was a next time Qingquan gave him personal guidance, her attitude would definitely be much better when he entered her Consciousness Sea.
If he wanted more rewards, he’d have to cling tightly to his junior sister’s thigh, Gu Ze thought to himself.
Stretching lazily, just as he was about to get up, he nearly jumped out of bed in shock.
Beside the bed stood a purple-clad figure.
Why was Qingquan here? Had his identity as a little thief… been exposed?
“G-greetings, Peak Master.” Gu Ze sat upright, hardly daring to breathe.
“Mm, no need to be so nervous. I’m here about what happened yesterday.” Both sides seemed to be testing the waters.
Qingquan didn’t actually think the little thief was the Gu Ze before her.
Based on what she knew, Gu Ze couldn’t possibly have such a treasure—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been stuck as an ordinary disciple at the foot of the mountain for three years.
But the slightly distorted voice and tone in the Consciousness Sea did resemble Gu Ze a bit.
“Yesterday… is it about whether I should retrain my Cultivation Method?”
“What else could it be?” Qingquan tossed the question back as usual.
Although she was usually rather easygoing, once the thought occurred that Gu Ze might—just possibly—be that infuriating yet somewhat grateful little thief, Qingquan’s mind became exceptionally sharp.
Thanks to the fortune brought by that Rootless Water, which the little thief somehow managed to bring in, Qingquan’s Consciousness Sea had been completed overnight and she was now ready to attempt forming her Nascent Soul.
So, it would be best to settle these small matters quickly.
“Peak Master, after thinking it over all night, I feel that giving up my cultivation would go against my Dao heart.”
“Then so be it.” Qingquan sighed, sounding slightly disappointed.
She had thought Gu Ze would despise his past weakness, and when given a chance to rise, would seize it without hesitation.
Instead, Gu Ze chose to stay where he was.
With a ripple of purple mist, Qingquan tossed a round disk in front of Gu Ze.
“You and Xunmiao discovered that secret realm together—let this treasure be your reward.”
“This treasure is called the Mirror of Frost Dust, a top-grade magical artifact. It can fully block any attacks below Foundation Establishment and even reflect them back to the caster.”
Gu Ze thanked Qingquan for her gift, and she quietly left.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but still feared that Qingquan might be watching him from somewhere, so he didn’t dare make any bold moves.
As for his Qi Layer Four cultivation, Gu Ze honestly didn’t care. But if he lost his cultivation now, during the time before Li Xunmiao developed hers, it would be much harder to help her seize her opportunities.
Cultivators, after all, were fundamentally different from ordinary mortals.
Qi Layer Four was already mid-stage of Qi Refining; it was at least enough to handle a few Qi Layer One or Qi Layer Two disciples.
And even Qi Layer Five or Qi Layer Six cultivators would have to show him some respect.
If a real fight broke out, Gu Ze would certainly lose, but his opponent wouldn’t come out unscathed either.
“At the very least, until Li Xunmiao’s cultivation surpasses mine, I can’t give up my cultivation.”
Anyway, retraining before Foundation Establishment wouldn’t affect his foundation. With Li Xunmiao’s talent, she’d overtake him in less than half a year; he could reconsider after that.
Gu Ze calculated in his mind.
This Heaven’s Mandate heroine found fortuitous encounters wherever she went—maybe he could pick up some scraps and even upgrade his trashy Cultivation Method.
If so, there’d be no need to consider retraining.
Just as he was daydreaming, the door was suddenly knocked.
Li Xunmiao gently pushed open the courtyard gate and carefully walked in.
“Senior Brother Gu, are you awake?”