Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The carriage stopped at the mouth of a canyon.

The mountain walls on both sides are straight up and down, as if they were cleaved open with an axe.

The stone was black, covered with a thick layer of ice.

There are no trees or grass here, only bare stones and the howling wind.

Gu Xiang jumped off the carriage, his feet crunching on the gravel.

He walked to the mouth of the canyon and reached out to touch the black rock wall.

Cold and hard.

There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy, nor any trace of any formation.

Tu Ling rolled off the cart shaft, his two short legs sinking into the snow.

It pressed its large head to the ground, its nostrils twitching incessantly.

After a long while, it raised its head, its face full of confusion.

"That's all."

Tu Ling patted the mud off his hands.

"That metallic and incense smell disappears here."

Gu Xiang frowned.

"It's broken?"

"A clean break."

Tu Ling pointed into the canyon.

"There's only the smell of wind in here, nothing else."

Gu Xiang did not believe it.

He drew the long sword from his waist, its blade swirling with a powerful aura.

He strode into the canyon.

The canyon is very deep, and you can't see the end of it.

Gu Xiang walked for a long time, from midday to sunset.

He tapped every suspicious stone with the hilt of his sword and swept every inch of land with his divine sense.

No.

There was nothing there.

The enormous sycamore tree, along with the mysterious bag that swallowed it, seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Gu Xiang stood deep in the canyon, looking at the narrow strip of sky above him.

His knuckles were white as he gripped the sword.

Su Qing floated out from the jade pendant.

Her figure appeared somewhat pale compared to a few days ago.

Sunlight streamed through her body and fell on the pebbles on the ground, casting no shadow.

"Stop looking."

Su Qing's voice was somewhat ethereal.

"Since the other party has the means to swallow the tree, they naturally have the means to erase the traces."

Gu Xiang turned around and looked at her.

He reached out to pull her, but pulled his hand back halfway.

He was afraid to go through it.

There will always be traces.

Gu Xiang said.

"As long as you are still in this world, it is impossible to leave no trace at all."

Su Qing smiled, but the smile seemed somewhat forced.

"You idiot, you're just like a pedantic old scholar who's stuck on to the smallest details."

Gu Xiang didn't laugh.

He turned and walked back.

"Rest first, we'll look again tomorrow."

Night falls.

Gu Xiang found a sheltered spot at the mouth of the canyon and started a fire.

The flickering firelight illuminated this small patch of land.

Tu Ling huddled by the fire, holding a hot pancake that Gu Xiang had baked for it, and nibbled on it in small bites.

Gu Xiang sat on the other side, holding a tree branch in his hand, unconsciously poking at the fire.

Su Qing sat opposite him.

Since her soul had left her body, she didn't need to eat and wasn't afraid of the cold.

But she still habitually moved closer to the fire.

The firelight reflected on her face, making her complexion look rosier.

But Gu Xiang saw it clearly.

Her eyes were somewhat unfocused.

That's a sign of mental instability.

This clone was like a tree without roots, relying entirely on the dragon-patterned jade pendant for sustenance.

Now that her physical body is out of contact and the causal thread is broken, her soul is like a kite with a broken string, which may dissipate at any time.

Gu Xiang took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket.

That's a Soul Nourishing Pill.

He poured out one and handed it to Su Qing.

"have eaten."

Su Qing shook her head.

"it's useless."

"have eaten."

Gu Xiang's voice became a few decibels louder.

Su Qing glanced at him, opened her mouth, and let the pill transform into medicinal power and be inhaled into her body.

Her figure became slightly more solid, but the weariness in her eyes could not be concealed.

"Gu Xiang".

Su Qing suddenly spoke.

"If we can't find it..."

"Shut up."

Gu Xiang interrupted her.

He broke off the branch in his hand and threw it into the fire.

"There are no 'ifs'."

"I am the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. There is nothing in this world that I cannot accomplish if I set my mind to it."

Su Qing looked at his tense profile and sighed.

She reached out, wanting to touch his face.

My fingertips touched his skin, but I couldn't feel anything.

Her hand ran across his cheek.

Gu Xiang's body stiffened for a moment.

He suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Su Qing's wrist.

A surge of righteous energy erupted, enveloping her hand and forcibly giving her illusory soul a sense of reality.

"Don't move."

Gu Xiang said in a low voice.

"Save your energy."

Su Qing withdrew her hand and hid it in her sleeve.

"Understood, Lord Gu."

She smiled, feigning nonchalance.

"The real culprit."

For the next three days, they stayed at the mouth of the canyon.

Gu Xiang would get up before dawn every day and take Tu Ling to wander around the area.

He searched every mountain and every ravine within a radius of a hundred miles.

Got nothing.

Su Qing's time outside was getting shorter and shorter.

Most of the time, she hid inside the jade pendant and slept.

Occasionally, I would come out for some fresh air, but that usually meant sitting in a carriage and spacing out.

She no longer complained with the storybook like before, nor did she tease Tu Ling anymore.

She became very quiet.

The silence made Gu Xiang uneasy.

The evening of the fourth day.

Gu Xiang returned from outside, his body covered in snow and mud.

His face looked terrible, his eyes were sunken, and he had stubble on his beard.

Tu Ling followed behind him, dejected.

Su Qing sat by the fire, watching Gu Xiang walk over.

She tried to stand up to greet him, but swayed and almost fell.

Gu Xiang rushed over and helped her up.

His hands were shaking.

"fine."

Su Qing leaned against him, her voice very soft.

"I slept for a bit too long, and my legs are numb."

Where would a soul experience leg numbness?

Gu Xiang didn't expose her.

He helped her sit down and added a few more pieces of firewood to the fire.

The fire was burning brightly, making crackling sounds.

Gu Xiang turned his head and looked at Tu Ling, who was eating dry food.

"Radish".

Tu Ling raised his head, with crumbs still stuck to his lips.

"Son-in-law, what's wrong?"

Gu Xiang took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket and then a bag of gold leaves.

He placed these things in front of the earth spirit.

"You can leave now."

Tu Ling was stunned.

The pancake in my hand fell to the ground, rolled twice, and got covered in dust.

"Walk?"

Tu Ling blinked his beady green eyes.

"Where to?"

"Go back to the rocky slope, or go somewhere else."

Gu Xiang's voice was calm, so calm it was almost cold.

"There are no more clues here, and there's no point in dragging this out any longer."

"We must search deeper into the north, where the land is forsaken by the gods and is extremely dangerous."

"Your cultivation level is too low; going there would only be suicide."

Tu Ling looked at the spirit stones on the ground, then at Gu Xiang.

"Son-in-law, do you think I'm useless?"

"Yes."

Gu Xiang did not hesitate at all.

"You can't smell anything, and you can't fight back. Bringing you along would be a burden."

"Take these spirit stones and find yourself a good place to stay."

This is a lie. Gu Xiang reserved most of his tenderness for Su Qing. He didn't want to take Tu Ling, who had been traveling for several days, on any risks.

He has done enough.

Tu Ling opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Looking at Gu Xiang's cold, hard face, it knew that the scholar was serious.

It then turned to look at Su Qing.

Su Qing leaned against the rock, her eyes closed, as if she were asleep.

Her body appeared translucent in the firelight, as if it might dissipate in the wind at any moment.

Tu Ling sniffed.

It stretched out its short arms and gathered the spirit stones on the ground into its bosom.

"OK."

Tu Ling stuffed the spirit stone into his belly pocket and patted it.

"Since the son-in-law has spoken, then I won't be disliked."

It stood up and patted the dirt off its rear end.

"Well, sister and son-in-law, take care."

After saying that, it turned and walked into the darkness.

After taking a few steps, it stopped again.

It turned its head and looked at the two people by the fire.

Gu Xiang lowered his head and wiped the sword in his hand.

Su Qing remained motionless with her eyes closed.

This is how we've come this far.

From the rocky slope to the valley of ghosts crying, and then to this Phoenix Falling Slope.

Although these two are fierce in their words and often threaten to fight and kill, they also want to stew it for soup.

But when real danger comes, Gu Xiang always protects it behind her.

Although Su Qing liked to tease it, she never missed out on any good food.

Su Qing even casually tossed the precious petrified wood to it.

That was the best thing it had ever eaten in its life.

Tu Ling patted his round belly.

It's warm and cozy there.

It is a spirit, born and raised by nature, without father or mother.

Having lived on the rocky slope for hundreds of years, they were used to the deceit and treachery, where might made right.

But these two people are different.

They didn't just see him as a tool to be summoned and dismissed at will.

Tu Ling gritted his teeth.

It suddenly turned around and ran back.

It ran up to Gu Xiang, took out all the spirit stones from its bosom, and threw them on the ground.

"I'm not leaving!"

Tu Ling shouted loudly.

Gu Xiang raised her head, her eyes cold.

"Are you going to come with us to your death?"

"So what if I die!"

Tu Ling stiffened his neck, and a hint of ruthlessness appeared on his comical face.

"Although I, Luobo, am afraid of death, I also know how to repay kindness!"

"With my elder sister like this now, if I leave, will I still be a spirit?"

It pointed at Su Qing, its eyes a little red.

"I know my older sister is good to me."

"I know you're good to me, son-in-law."

"You're facing difficulties now. If I take the spirit stones and run away, how can I live with myself afterward?"

Gu Xiang looked at it, and his grip on the sword loosened slightly.

"What can you do?"

Gu Xiang asked.

You can't find any clues.

Just because I can't find it on the ground doesn't mean I can't find it underground!

Tu Ling stomped his foot.

"I am the Earth Spirit! No one knows more about what happens underground than me!"

"Although the trail in this canyon has ended, the ley lines are still connected!"

"As long as I dig deep enough and follow the flow of the earth's veins, I'm bound to find some clues!"

Gu Xiang frowned.

"Deep within the earth's veins lies the fiery earth spirit; you cannot withstand it."

"You have to endure it, even if you can't!"

Tu Ling patted his chest.

"I have some petrified wood that my older sister gave me as a backup; that should last me a while!"

It looked at Gu Xiang with a determined gaze.

"Son-in-law, please trust me this once."

"I will definitely find my elder sister's true form!"

Gu Xiang remained silent for a long time.

Looking at the adorably ugly earth spirit in front of him, a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

"it is good."

Gu Xiang nodded.

"If it doesn't work, back down. Don't force it."

Tu Ling grinned, revealing a set of uneven teeth.

"Don't worry, son-in-law, I value my life."

It turned around and walked up to Su Qing.

Su Qing had opened her eyes at some point and was quietly looking at it.

"Big sister."

Tu Ling scratched his head.

Hang in there!

"When I come back, I still want to eat the fruit you gave me."

Su Qing smiled.

This time, her smile was genuine.

"Go."

Su Qing said softly.

"I'll buy you a whole truckload of fruit when I get back."

Tu Ling chuckled.

Without another word, it lowered its body, and like a drop of water merging into the ocean, it instantly burrowed into the hard rock.

Only a small mound of earth remained on the ground.

Gu Xiang stared at the mound of earth for a long time without looking away.

"It's a good demon."

Su Qing said.

"Um."

Gu Xiang responded.

He picked up the gold and silver from the ground and put them back in their proper places.

"When it returns, we'll build it a temple in the capital."

Gu Xiang said.

"Let it receive incense offerings and become a proper deity."

Su Qing nodded and then closed her eyes again.

"I'm a little tired, I'll sleep a little longer."

"Go to sleep."

Gu Xiang draped the cloak over her, though she couldn't feel any warmth.

He sat by the fire, sword in hand, like a statue.

The wind picked up.

The snow fell even harder.

Gu Xiang stared into the darkness deep within the canyon, his eyes sharp as knives.

No matter who it is.

No matter where they hide.

If he finds them, he will tear them to pieces.

Underground.

Tu Ling closed his eyes and traversed through the rock strata.

The further down you go, the greater the pressure becomes.

It was surrounded by dark rocks, which pressed down on its body.

It could feel its bones creaking.

Further down, there was a scorching heat.

That's Earthly Fiend Fire.

Tu Ling gritted his teeth, a faint green light emanating from his body.

That's the power of petrified wood.

It protected its heart and continued to dive deeper.

It needs to find the severed ley line node.

It needs to find out where that tree went.

For my eldest sister.

For that leftover barbecue.

We'll give it our all.