When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

After having satisfied her craving for words, Hua Ling collapsed back to the ground, weakly touching her legs.

"With Youxin Valley destroyed like this, where can I find any spiritual energy from plants and trees to use? Besides..."

"My roots have been burned off," she said sadly.

Chu Xianlan then noticed that the entire ancient peach tree was leaning, with most of its damaged roots exposed, and only a few wisps of spiritual energy clinging to it, barely keeping it afloat.

Hua Ling beckoned to him like she was teasing a puppy, looking weak: "Come here... I'll try to see if I can use my most powerful spiritual energy to restore you to your original state."

"And then what? What will you do?"

"If my spiritual power dissipates, I'll just die, whatever." Hua Ling rolled her eyes.

Chu Xianlan frowned, about to say that this wouldn't work, when suddenly he felt a warmth in his chest. Gentle, spring-like spiritual energy from plants and trees surged into his body, and he was surrounded by green spiritual light. When the light dissipated, he returned to his normal form.

The next second, a gentle breeze swept by, and the once withered ancient peach tree suddenly sprouted new buds, and the tree was covered with blossoms that fluttered down in a shower of petals as the wind blew.

Chu Xianlan reached out in a daze and caught a petal that fell on her head.

Turning around, Hua Ling's figure had already disappeared, and the ancient peach tree had withered once again, as if the vitality that had just burst forth was just a fleeting dream.

If it weren't for the petals still scattered all over the ground, he would have almost thought he was seeing things.

"There's no need to feel guilty." Yi Chen's voice came from behind. "She was already at her last gasp. She deliberately kept you in the form of a child just so we would come here to find her."

Chu Xianlan felt empty inside and pursed her lips.

Looking for her? What for... to talk to her?

He crouched down, gathered a small handful of scattered petals with his hands, and piled them into a small mound next to the scorched earth.

So much happened in one day.

The master and disciple sat side by side cross-legged amidst the fallen peach petals. The world was silent except for the soft rustling of the wind through the withered branches.

Seeing Chu Xianlan hesitate and look worried, Yi Chen spoke first, "What do you want to say?"

Chu Xianlan lowered her head, picked up a petal, and, somewhat afraid to look at her master's face, asked in a low voice, "Master, is a half-demon truly unforgivable?"

In the past, he would never have asked his master this question. The matter of half-demon involves the bottom line and principles of the cultivation world, which is an unquestionable consensus of the righteous path for thousands of years.

Perhaps it was what he had seen today that made his resolve waver, and so he asked the question.

A calm and steadfast mind is what all righteous people aspire to, but how many people in this world can actually achieve it?

In Chu Xianlan's eyes, perhaps only her master could reach such a level.

"I have no idea."

Chu Xianlan looked over in surprise.

Yi Chen's deep gray eyes were gazing into the distance, yet it seemed as if they were not focused on any particular place; he was simply lost in thought.

For all disciples, the Master has always been a guiding light—in cultivation, in conduct, and in right and wrong, always providing clear answers.

The towering mountains that always stand before us guide those who come after. Chu Xianlan never imagined that one day she would hear her master say, "I don't know."

Even mountains can feel lost.

Yi Chen turned to look at his disciple and asked in return, "What do you think?"

A strange calm settled over her. Chu Xianlan stopped looking at the withered petal in her palm, met her master's eyes, and slowly said, "If half-demons were truly bloodthirsty and cruel, born evil scourges, those herb gatherers wouldn't have ended up in such a vulnerable state. I believe that just as humans are divided into good and evil, and demons into good and bad, half-demons... should be the same."

Yi Chen remained silent for a while, as if trying to convince himself, his voice cold and hard, "Half-demons wreak havoc on the world, and Heaven will not tolerate them."

Chu Xianlan frowned. This time, he did not subconsciously agree with his master's words as usual, nor did he try to find a standard answer from his master.

The boy mustered his courage and spoke his own answer: "Master, if Heaven cannot tolerate it, why was it ever born?"

Every word was spoken with resounding force.

These words were quite unorthodox, and Chu Xianlan was already prepared to be scolded as soon as she finished speaking.

As a result, he saw that his master's gaze was blank and his face was somewhat at a loss.

Chu Xianlan didn't know how to describe that feeling. It was as if his and his master's roles had been switched at that moment, and his master had become the one who needed to look up to find the answer.

This idea was rather arrogant, so he quickly added, "...This disciple is not trying to overturn the laws of nature, but I feel that if the malevolent energy of half-demons can really be suppressed by the Thousand-Cooled Cold Iron, they won't go berserk and out of control, um... so perhaps we don't need to... exterminate them all."

At that moment, Chu Xianlan was facing the direction of the rising sun, and a sliver of light fell on her face, causing her to sway slightly with her breath.

For a fleeting moment, Yi Chen's mind also swayed along with that light and shadow.

From a young age, he taught his disciples the universally recognized principles and moral codes of the cultivation world.

Even though he had a special identity, he never deliberately guided Chu Xianlan's thinking about the matter of being a half-demon.

But the young man before me, relying on what he had seen and felt, carved a crack in the ironclad rule that there was only one voice.

After a long while, Yi Chen nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "You're right. Nothing in this world is static."

Upon unexpectedly receiving her master's approval, Chu Xianlan's eyes lit up, and she immediately became overjoyed, chuckling to herself.

Yi Chen had regained his composure and asked seriously, "Have you told these things to anyone else?"

"Of course not. The person I trust most in this world is my master. Who else would I dare to tell besides you?" Chu Xianlan shook her head repeatedly to prove her innocence. "If it were the Discipline Elder, he would probably have already tied me up and whipped me at the Cliff of Repentance."

The boy's last words, spoken with a touch of coquettish complaint, were as soft as a breeze, dispelling the lingering heaviness in the air.

A gentle smile appeared on Yi Chen's face, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards. "I will not allow him to do such a thing."

Chu Xianlan was in high spirits, so she simply lay back on the peach blossoms, her arm behind her head. But she had only been lying there for a couple of seconds when she suddenly sat up, her head covered in petals, and cried out in despair, "Master! There's no Spirit Sprout!"

Oh no! How could he have forgotten about that!

Without the Spiritless Immortal Sprout, what can we use to cure the curse?

Seeing how eager he was to get rid of the Life-Binding Gu, Yi Chen's eyes darkened slightly.

The warmth that had arisen from the boy's dependence instantly cooled down.

That makes sense... After all, he... no longer likes it, and once he's fully awake, it's understandable that he's eager to get rid of the curse.

However, Yi Chen did not know that he would be so anxious that he couldn't wait even a moment longer.

He lowered his eyes. "I will think of other ways."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sarcastic, laced-up voice suddenly interrupted, "I will think of other ways."

Chu Xianlan was startled and looked down at his feet. There was a tiny flower spirit, no bigger than the palm of his hand, squatting there, resting its chin on its hand and looking at him.

"What's this smell?" She sniffed and added quietly, "Yi Chen, you're so sour."