Calabash Fairy

After a while, Qilian suppressed the chaotic emotions rising in his soul, and his eyes gradually became clear.

"The Soul-Melting Grass is a rare and precious natural treasure. It's like finding a needle in a haystack in the vast Hundred Thousand Mountains."

"Given my current condition, if I leave the Ten Thousand Mountains, and the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences could be dire if things get out of control..."

Qi Lian pondered this, his gaze drifting northwards towards the outer edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

"The spirit path... the mountain god of Qingfeng Mountain... perhaps this is the only being who can help me right now..."

..............................

Late at night, halfway up Qingfeng Mountain.

The enormous tortoise, which was sleeping with its eyes closed in the stone pool, suddenly opened its eyes. The star map on its back echoed the starry sky above, flashing continuously.

As its connection with the Qi of Qingfeng Mountain becomes closer, it becomes increasingly sensitive to matters concerning Qingfeng Mountain.

"That four-thousand-year-old demon has its eyes on this place?!"

"But...why is it an auspicious sign?"

Xuan Shui's eyes were full of doubt. The star map on the tortoise's back kept flashing, but it was still an auspicious sign.

"Regardless, we must report this to our master as soon as possible..."

Xuan Shui never expected that when it arrived at the top of Qingfeng Mountain, it would see its master standing in front of the mountain god temple, watching the plum blossom petals falling from the tree, the Bagua diagram in his eyes slowly disappearing.

That's... the Eight Trigrams of the Primordial Heaven?!

Xuan Shui looked at his master in shock.

Unlike the star chart on his tortoise shell, the Eight Trigrams of the Primordial Heaven are a manifestation of the Way of Heaven, describing the origin and changes of all things in the world.

The legendary Emperor Fuxi discovered this diagram while observing the changes in heaven and earth and all things. He then passed it on to the world and gained immeasurable merit. This person was also one of the few who went the furthest along this path.

However, whether then or now, cultivators who can comprehend the innate Eight Trigrams are extremely rare, and before him stood one such person...

Xuan Shui's expression became somewhat complicated.

The owner's aura had just merged with the heavens and earth, clearly indicating that he was using the Eight Trigrams to perform divination techniques and even supernatural powers.

Now, even if it doesn't say anything, its owner probably knows what happened.

It originally thought that it could gain Fang Yan's attention with its innate talent for divination, and that it was a unique existence on this mountain, so it was quite proud.

But now, it's just like those three guys who practically lived there for free...

As the innate Bagua in his eyes slowly receded, Fang Yan saw that Xuan Shui's expression was downcast, so he simply waved his sleeve, and four beams of light flew to the four directions of the mountain.

One of them naturally fell to Xuan Shui.

Fang Yan smiled and said:

"I've gained supernatural powers today, and I'm in a good mood, so everyone will be rewarded."

Xuan Shui's eyes lit up as he looked at the full bottle of Blue Water Spirit Pills in front of him, and the complicated emotions in his heart instantly vanished!

It seems... eating and staying for free isn't so bad, huh...

It quickly put away the jade bottle and came before Fang Yan, repeatedly congratulating its master on achieving supernatural powers and promising a bright future...

Not long after, Fang Yan chased it down the mountain...

"Where did this Xuan Shui learn all these techniques?"

Fang Yan watched Xuan Shui fly down the mountain with amusement, then looked south.

He was drinking under the tree when he saw plum blossoms falling, which touched him and gave him a sudden realization.

With the foundation laid over the previous three years, he unknowingly mastered the skills of the Eight Trigrams and the Plum Blossom Divination.

"It turns out that after a human cultivator fell, his soul was temporarily preserved because he was buried in a peculiar spiritual land. It then merged with the demon soul and demon body, and was resurrected thousands of years later."

"Truly, the world is vast and full of wonders."

As he watched the plum blossoms fall, the Plum Blossom Divination technique naturally activated, and the various past events of that strange demon appeared in his mind.

Although the images were fragmented, they helped him to roughly sort out his thoughts.

"The connection between Qilian and me seems to go beyond this..."

"Very well, now that we know his background, we'll just wait for him to arrive. However, this person absolutely cannot be allowed into Qingfeng Mountain territory at this time."

Fang Yan looked thoughtful, put his hands behind his back, and slowly walked back into the mountain god temple.

................................

Yantian Village.

Years have passed, and Yantian Village has become dilapidated due to lack of residents, with even mountain creatures lingering there.

At this time, only the salt-drying area that had been cleared out in the past two days remained clean and intact in Yantian Village.

"Hurry! Pack all this dried salt tonight, so we can head back to the village first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Hey! Tighten the ropes, it'll be bumpy on the way, don't let them come loose halfway!"

The strong young men worked together to bag the glistening salt grains, which looked like moon sand under the moonlight, and then loaded them onto the carriage.

These young people all looked excited. Lately, every household has been reluctant to use salt, and the food has become too bland, making meals less appetizing than before.

If this salt were transported back to the village, we wouldn't have to worry about food for at least several years!

Most of the people on this trip were from Yantian Village.

Although everyone has now been incorporated into Xiahe Village and has a new life, it is still hard not to feel sad when you see the village that was once there so dilapidated.

That very day, people brought offerings from their homes and went to the nearby cemeteries to pay respects to their ancestors...

Although Yantian Village no longer exists, the villagers have all started new lives. The people in the mountains no longer need to live as cautiously as they once did, and they are full of hope for the future...

Qiu'er was standing by the salt lake not far from the village, looking at the lake surface reflected in the moonlight. At this time, the wooden boats on the lake shore had all rotted away, leaving only a pile of rotten wood stuck there.

She had only left the village once when she was a child, when she went to Jinzhi Village with her master.

If Nishikiori Village hadn't been destroyed by the monsters, it would probably be as dilapidated as Shiota Village before us now...

In Uncle Xu Hu's words, if no one lives in this house and it loses its human presence, it will rot and collapse in no time.

"If I leave in the future and come back here many years later, will I even be able to see any of this now...?"

Qiu'er murmured to herself, and just then, a burly young man slowly walked towards her.

"that..."

"What, Iron Egg~ You want me to be your wife~"

Qiu'er turned around and looked at the honest-looking young man behind her, whose ears were red, with a half-smile.

The boys and girls from back then have all grown up now. The boy who kept saying he wanted her to be his wife is even about to get married.

"Um...we were all young and didn't know any better back then, I apologize!! I came to thank you for saving me during the day!"

Tie Dan finished speaking in one breath and immediately breathed a huge sigh of relief, which Qiu'er found quite amusing.

During the day, when Tie Dan was walking in the village, a dilapidated wall suddenly collapsed. If Qiu'er hadn't wrapped her whip around his waist and pulled him away, he would have been crushed under the mud wall.

Qiu'er thought it was a small matter, but Tie Dan kept it in mind.

"Alright~ I'm magnanimous and accept your apology, but you're about to get married, so please don't be so handsy in the future~"

Qiu'er winked playfully, then turned around on her own, looking at the moonlight on the lake, no longer paying attention to Tie Dan.

At that moment, the dark-skinned youth stared blankly at the girl, who looked like a fairy under the moonlight.

He suddenly realized that the distance between them had, without him noticing, grown as vast as the distance between clouds and earth...