The Dragon

Although she said that, Gu Fuyou wasn’t really going to make Scholar Zhai walk there; she was just trying to scare her. Zhong Michu was proficient in both internal and external cultivation and could control a flying sword. Gu Fuyou had often ridden on her sword seven hundred years ago, and it seemed she would need to trouble Zhong Michu once more for this journey.

However, Zhong Michu shook her head. Gu Fuyou leaned in and whispered, “You don’t want to take her? Scholar Zhai is very well-behaved, calm as a maiden, she won’t cause trouble. She’s much more obedient than I was back then.” She nodded affirmatively as she spoke.

Zhong Michu replied, “I never disliked you.”

Gu Fuyou chuckled, “That’s not what I’m talking about. Nevermind, if you don’t want to, it’s fine. It’s just going to be a bit uncomfortable for Scholar Zhai to walk all the way there.”

Thinking of flying swords, Gu Fuyou remembered Zhong Michu’s spirit sword, Gengchen, which she hadn’t seen for a long time. She was somewhat nostalgic for it and wondered if Zhong Michu had managed to reforge it after it was broken at Xuan Miao Sect.

“Hey, why don’t you summon Gengchen and introduce it to Yinhen, my sword? When I finally forge Yinhen, they can become sworn siblings,” Gu Fuyou suggested.

Zhong Michu gave her a look and said nothing.

“What’s wrong? Oh, Gengchen is a bit older, but that’s okay, they can be friends despite the age difference,” Gu Fuyou reassured.

Zhong Michu suggested, “Why don’t you check your storage bag? There might be some artifacts you collected before that we can ride.”

“Really?” Gu Fuyou searched her storage bag and indeed found an artifact – a mystical turtle shell that could change size, suitable for riding and defense, and could even serve as a temporary tent during outdoor excursions. Holding the green shell in her hands, Gu Fuyou was at a loss for words, wondering about the things she had collected in the past.

Scholar Zhai, sitting on the turtle shell, seemed quite happy. Gu Fuyou and Zhong Michu led the way through the wind, taking Scholar Zhai to Moon Exit Pass.

This place, previously a bustling market and racing venue where an entry token was required, was now unguarded, protected only by a barrier to prevent ordinary people from accidentally entering.

The barrier was no obstacle for Gu Fuyou, and the three entered Yunduan Grand Canyon through Moon Exit Pass.

Inside the canyon, mist shrouded everything, reducing visibility. Despite being summer, it was unusually cold and damp. Scholar Zhai rubbed her arms and asked, “The canyon stretches for thousands of miles. Where do we start looking?”

Gu Fuyou pondered. She could use her formations to search, but that would attract the attention of others in the canyon.

There were many cultivators from the Zuo family in the area, and she preferred to encounter the spirit beast when no one else was around. She looked at Zhong Michu, who was standing behind her, also gazing at her. Gu Fuyou realized she was always quietly watching her, no matter when.

Gu Fuyou described the characteristics of the spirit beast to Zhong Michu and asked, “Do you have a way to find it?”

Zhong Michu extended her hand, palm facing upward, as if receiving something. Gu Fuyou noticed the mist around them slowly drifting, flowing like water over Zhong Michu’s hand.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhong Michu glanced towards the north. Gu Fuyou asked, “Is it over there?”

Zhong Michu shook her head and pointed east, “It’s that way.”

As the three of them progressed through the canyon, they encountered several cultivators flying on swords, all in search of something. Scholar Zhai commented, “There are quite a number of people from the Zuo family here. What kind of powerful spirit beast has them going to such great lengths?”

Gu Fuyou responded, “We’ll find out when we meet it.”

Preferring not to join the Zuo family members, Gu Fuyou concealed their presence in the mist. They passed through a stone forest and arrived at the Duantian Waterfall, where the sound of the water grew louder and more thunderous as they reached the base of the cliff.

On both sides of the waterfall were dense forests, their colors dulled in the mist. On a hilly terrain near the cliff was a small hill. As Gu Fuyou flew closer, the hill began to uncurl and rise, revealing itself not as a hill but a giant spirit beast with two golden lights shining through the hazy mist.

This spirit beast had a scar on its shoulder, hairless and bearing sharp fangs. Its body radiated a fierce aura. With a long roar that stirred up a fierce wind, it blew the mist away and swung down a palm as if it could topple the sky.

Gu Fuyou remained calm and composed, moving gracefully like a cloud. She effortlessly glided through its fingers to land on its hand, then leapt in front of it, smiling, “Big guy, don’t you recognize me?”

Being so close to Gu Fuyou, the beast appeared somewhat dazed, resembling the creature from Gu Fuyou’s memories. This was the spirit beast that had been trapped beneath the Xu Ling Sect and had finally broken free from its shackles. Gu Fuyou felt immensely relieved, as if keeping a small flame alive in her heart.

She touched its nose, smiling, “I’m your neighbor.”

The beast’s eyes brightened and it hummed deeply, its voice now rich and resonant, unlike the broken bellows sound it used to make.

“That’s right, the girl with the Night Pearl,” Gu Fuyou said.

The beast howled twice in surprise. Gu Fuyou smiled, “Yes, I can understand your language now.” Her current body, being that of an Azure Phoenix, was versed in the language of myriad beasts, which made communicating with the spirit beast extremely convenient.

When the beast sat down, it was like a mountain descending from the sky. It extended its palm to hold Gu Fuyou, humming gently through its nose, no longer exuding the intense murderous aura it had before. Gu Fuyou said, “I’m also very happy to see you again.”

Standing on the beast’s palm, Gu Fuyou looked down to see numerous bodies of spirit beasts and humans below. “Did these people from the Zuo family come to trouble you?”

The beast hummed in response. Gu Fuyou sat on the edge of its palm, her legs dangling, and with a cold smirk, she said, “No, they deserved to die.”

She asked the beast, “When did you escape?”

The beast responded, recounting the events. Its spiritual power had been sealed, and its body suppressed in a dungeon devoid of spiritual energy, which kept it imprisoned for many years, unable to escape. The blood Gu Fuyou had given it cracked open its shackles. After diligent cultivation, it finally broke the seal.

Upon escaping Lihen Tian, it was filled with resentment and refused to just leave. It searched for Gu Fuyou but couldn’t find her. Instead, it encountered Zuo Taisui undergoing tribulation.

Its spiritual power had been stagnant for too long; though it was of high rank and originally powerful, the long period of being sealed meant it only regained half of its former power even after acquiring the Qilin Marrow. Unable to defeat the people from the Zuo family, it was injured and fled.

The scar on its shoulder was inflicted by Zuo Yuezhi.

While touching its palm, Gu Fuyou smiled and said, “You didn’t completely fail; at least you managed to escape, and that’s what matters most. Moreover, because of your interference, Zuo Taisui failed to ascend to the Immortalization stage during his tribulation, which is indeed a cause for joy. I’m very happy about that.”

As the saying goes, the seeds sown by one generation are reaped by the next; it’s all karma.

Hearing Gu Fuyou say she was “very happy,” the beast also felt joy, its voice becoming lighter. It then asked Gu Fuyou where she had been these past years. Swinging her feet and looking up at the sky, she replied, “Where have I been? To a very far place…”

Scholar Zhai flew over on the turtle shell. The spirit beast’s immense size was quite imposing, so Scholar Zhai kept her distance and called out, “Gu Fuyou, what’s going on, why is this spirit beast so obedient?”

Gu Fuyou turned and replied, “Scholar Zhai, it’s an old friend.” Through the hazy mist, she could see only Scholar Zhai, with no sign of Zhong Michu.

Gu Fuyou stood up and asked Scholar Zhai, “Where’s Zhong Michu?”

Scholar Zhai responded, “Miss Zhong said she had something to attend to and left a while ago, but she mentioned she would be back soon.”

“Something to attend to? Like what?”

“I have no idea.”

Gu Fuyou walked a few steps forward, only to realize, upon looking back and not seeing her, that she was unexpectedly not used to her absence. It was unsettling.

Suddenly, the spiritual beast hummed softly, its sound particularly endearing. The wind shifted. Then, from behind, a familiar voice asked, “Were you looking for me?”

Gu Fuyou turned around to see Zhong Michu standing there, her clothes slightly disheveled. Gu Fuyou smiled and asked, “Where did you go?”

Zhong Michu was holding a bead between her thumb and forefinger, a glowing white orb still tinged with blood – the core of a Water Spirit Root beast.

Gu Fuyou, surprised, asked, “Where did you find this?”

It was clearly freshly obtained and still warm. Remembering Zhong Michu’s earlier offer of her own core, Gu Fuyou involuntarily glanced at Zhong Michu’s dantian area.

Zhong Michu said, “Because you didn’t want my core…”

Gu Fuyou, somewhat exasperated, said, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Zhong Michu gently explained, “This is the core of Zuo Shaode’s spiritual beast. When I was searching for that black ape, I found his beast here too, likely here to capture the ape.”

Gu Fuyou took the bead. Zuo Shaode, the brother of Zuo Taisui and uncle to the current Xu Ling Sect leader Zuo Yuezhi, had a spirit beast different from his brother’s.

While Zuo Taisui’s spirit beast was a Huoyun Jiao, Zuo Shaode’s was a Fanjiang Dragon. Though called a dragon, it was, in reality, more of a glorified name for a Jiao. Its cultivation level was not low, and it was just barely suitable as material for her sword embryo.

“Zuo Shaode is here too?”

“Yes. He’s on his way here, his beast was left to guard his eldest son.”

“So, you ambushed it.” Gu Fuyou couldn’t help but laugh, almost wishing to pounce on her in excitement, exclaiming, “Oh, my dear sister, you slaughtered his beast right under Zuo Shaode’s nose.”

She could even picture Zuo Shaode’s ashen face and dark eyes, filled with a mix of shock and alertness, upon sensing the death of his beast.

Then she remembered, “Wouldn’t the Zuo family have discovered you?”

Seeing her so happy, Zhong Michu also felt joy, her lips curling up slightly as she softly said, “No, the fog was thick.”

Scholar Zhai struck a dramatic pose, “Now that Zuo Shaode is coming, we should also get ready for our performance.”

Gu Fuyou looked at the spiritual beast and said, “We need to hide it first, to prevent it from falling into Zuo Shaode’s hands. He won’t let it go.”

Scholar Zhai shook her head, “You need to take it with you into the city.”

“Why?”

Scholar Zhai smiled, “Water and fire. Aren’t they incompatible? Let’s test it. Didn’t you say this beast disrupted Zuo Taisui’s tribulation, leading to his defeat at the hands of Miss Zhong? The Zuo family is hunting it, probably under orders from Zuo Yuezhi to avenge his father.”

“So?”

Scholar Zhai said, “So, if Zuo Shaode is truly devoted to his brother and loyal to his master, he won’t forgive this beast. Tell him you’ve tamed the beast and want to keep it as your mount, asking for its life to be spared. If he doesn’t report to Zuo Yuezhi and instead does you this favor, then his loyalty might not be so pure after all.”

Gu Fuyou asked, “What if he’s utterly loyal and decides to just kill the spirit beast?”

Scholar Zhai replied with a smile, “Then we’ll have to trouble Miss Zhong to create clouds and mist again to help the spirit beast escape.”

Gu Fuyou thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Turning to the large spirit beast, which was inconvenient to move around with, she asked, “Can you control your size, make yourself smaller?”

The spirit beast shook its head. Gu Fuyou looked at Zhong Michu again, who, without a word, understood her intention, swiftly approached the beast and taught it how to control its size.

In front of Zhong Michu, the beast was exceptionally obedient and smart, quickly learning to shrink to the size of a human, hunched over with long arms reaching past its knees.

Scholar Zhai, feeling self-satisfied, said, “I told you bringing Miss Zhong would be advantageous.”

Gu Fuyou was speechless.

Soon after, Zuo Shaode arrived with a group of men. Seeing the three of them, he was naturally surprised and inquired. Recognizing Gu Fuyou and being aware of the news from the Thirty-Three Skies, he understood that she might be the Azure Phoenix Yuezhi wanted to align with and asked, “Who might you be?”

Gu Fuyou looked at him with a sidelong glance, perfectly mimicking Qingluan’s arrogance, “I am Qing Jun.”

Zuo Shaode, having his suspicions, noticed the spirit beast behind Gu Fuyou but pretended otherwise. He instead asked, “I received a letter from Yuezhi about meeting a distinguished Qingluan. I presume you’re that elder. I heard you were heading to Bailu City; why did you visit Wantong City first?”

Gu Fuyou, finding it interesting that he addressed Yuezhi by name instead of as ‘Sect Leader’, shared a knowing look with Scholar Zhai.

Gu Fuyou replied indifferently, “My magical artifact broke, so I had to walk. I thought Wantong City, being near Bailu City, would be a convenient stop, so I used a teleportation formation to come here first.”

Zuo Shaode said, “Since you’re in Wantong City, as the City Lord, let me extend my hospitality. Would that be agreeable?”

Pretending to think it over, Gu Fuyou then smiled, “Then I’ll trouble the City Lord.”

Zuo Shaode smiled and glanced at Scholar Zhai and Zhong Michu, “And who might these two be?”

Gu Fuyou, knowing he could tell Scholar Zhai was a mortal and unable to discern Zhong’s cultivation, which would surely make him curious, said, “I presume the City Lord knows what I intend to do in Bailu City. These are two slaves I picked up along the way, quite useful. I wonder if Bailu City’s slaves can compare to them.”

Zuo Shaode retracted his scrutinizing gaze and replied, “Certainly, you won’t be disappointed.”

Leading the way, Zuo Shaode escorted Gu Fuyou, the three of them, and the spirit beast back to Wantong City.

On the way, keeping some distance from Zuo Shaode, Zhong Michu gave Gu Fuyou several glances. Gu Fuyou asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go to the Wantong City Lord’s mansion?” She thought Zhong might be reluctant to be near Zuo Shaode, who had once shattered her protective scale, leaving a fatal weakness.

Zhong Michu leaned in and asked seriously, “Should I call you Master?”

Gu Fuyou was startled, remembering her earlier claim to Zuo Shaode about them being her slaves. She decided to tease Zhong, “To avoid suspicion, yes, you should. Try calling me that.”

Zhong Michu said, “Master.”

Gu Fuyou’s heart skipped a beat, her face flushing red. She quickly reached to cover Zhong Michu’s mouth, “Ah, Heavens! I was just joking.”