Chapter 18: The Blossom of Eternal Youth

Zhou Yi quietly pondered to himself as his right hand reached for his storage pouch. A palm-sized mirror appeared in his grasp. The wall of water lasted only a moment before the lion-bear beast smashed through it. Meanwhile, under Zhou Yi’s instructions, Qiu Han and the others had retreated far into the distance. Zhou Yi controlled the mirror with one hand, channeling spiritual power into it while murmuring incantations under his breath. Suddenly, the mirror shone with dazzling light, enveloping the lion-bear beast within. Trapped, the beast swung its massive arms, pounding furiously at the luminous barrier, yet it could not break free no matter how it struggled.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi swiftly drew a talisman from his storage pouch, pinching it between his fingers. With another quiet incantation, he tossed the talisman high into the air. “Go!” he commanded.

In the blink of an eye, the talisman transformed into a firebird over thirty feet long. Its flames blazed so fiercely that even Qiu Han and the others, dozens of yards away, felt a scorching heat rush toward them, forcing them to raise shields of spiritual energy for protection.

While still controlling the mirror, Zhou Yi directed the firebird with his spiritual sense. The firebird swooped down from above, diving toward the trapped lion-bear beast. In moments, the beast was engulfed, its body consumed by raging flames until nothing remained but a pile of blackened ash. The battle ended, Zhou Yi nodded in satisfaction. He waved his right hand, retrieving the mirror, and the firebird reverted into a talisman, flying back into his hand.

After storing both items away, Zhou Yi walked toward the spot where the Blossom of Everlasting Youth grew, plucked it, and placed it in his pouch. He turned to the others and waved sharply. “Return and await the sect’s punishment!”

In a lofty building on the rear peak of the Hengyuan Sect, Gu Suiwen and the elegant lady in palace attire gazed out the window toward the distant ravine, more than a hundred miles away, where the disciples were.

“Junior Brother Gu, your chief disciple Zhou Yi is quite remarkable. Though his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation made victory over that newly advanced second-tier lion-bear beast all but certain, to dispatch it so easily and swiftly proves his extraordinary strength. Among Foundation Establishment cultivators, he can indeed be considered a formidable one.”

Gu Suiwen smiled. “Senior Sister, you overpraise him. My unworthy disciple is unremarkable in other respects, but he is diligent in his cultivation. As for the Blossom of Everlasting Youth, I have little interest. Since you desire it, I will gladly yield it to you.”

He shifted the conversation, his words carrying a subtle implication.

“In that case, many thanks, Junior Brother. I hear you’ve recently encountered a bottleneck in your cultivation. As it happens, I possess some pills beneficial to Nascent Soul advancement. I hope they will not disappoint you.” The lady smiled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“Then I must thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister. Well, once they return—wait, something's wrong!”

Gu Suiwen’s expression turned grave. Without another word, his figure flickered and vanished from the room.

“Junior Brother, what on earth…?” The elegant lady, startled by his sudden reaction, was about to ask but found him gone. She spread her spiritual sense, her previous smile fading, and in a flash, followed in his wake.

In the ravine, Zhou Yi and the others had just prepared to fly back to the sect when a thunderous roar split the air from afar. Looking up, they saw atop one side of the canyon a massive python—over five hundred feet long, its body as thick as a house, glimmering silver-white—hurtling toward them at terrifying speed.

“A third-tier demon beast! Heavens, that’s a Core Formation stage Scarlet Python Beast—no, a White-Scaled Python!” Zhou Yi’s voice trembled with terror.

The Scarlet Python Beast’s skin was dark red, growing larger and changing color with each advancement in rank. The one before them had clearly reached the third tier. In a flash, the white-scaled python closed to within a hundred yards, raising its head—larger than a two-story pavilion—and spat a fireball at Zhou Yi and the others. The fireball, over thirty feet wide, radiated a heat far surpassing the firebird conjured earlier, its power dozens of times greater.

Reacting instantly, Zhou Yi took out a shield from his pouch—a simple, ancient design carved with the image of a turtle-like beast. Channeling spiritual energy into it, the shield expanded, a phantom black turtle manifesting around them, forming a protective barrier.

The fireball struck the shield, shattering it in a single breath. As the flames threatened to engulf them, the fireball abruptly extinguished, vanishing without warning. A figure appeared where the flames had been.

“Greetings, Master!”

“Disciple pays respect to Grandmaster!”

Zhou Yi and Qiu Han’s group recognized the figure and bowed respectfully in unison. It was none other than Gu Suiwen, inner elder of the Hengyuan Sect and their master.

Seeing his attack nullified, the white-scaled python went berserk, charging at Gu Suiwen in a frenzy.

“Wretched beast, you dare!” Gu Suiwen remained unmoved. He merely extended his right hand and lightly pushed forward. The python instantly froze, unable to advance. It howled at the sky, its great eyes fixed on Gu Suiwen. After half a stick of incense, it ceased its roaring, slithered back to where the scarlet python had died, seized its offspring’s corpse in its jaws, and sped away into the depths of the Vast Ten-Thousand Mountains.

Gu Suiwen watched the beast vanish, then turned to the disciples. “Return to the sect.”

At his command, Qiu Han and the rest bowed respectfully and flew off toward the sect.

Once they departed, another figure appeared at Gu Suiwen’s side—the lady in palace garb, the sect’s Grand Elder and Yun Rou’s master.

“Why did you let the beast go?” she asked.

“That beast came seeking vengeance for its slain offspring at Qiu Han’s hands. I did not wish to further bloodshed. Besides, the upcoming disciple trials in three years require us to negotiate in advance with the shape-shifting demon beasts of the Vast Ten-Thousand Mountains. If we slaughter too many high-ranked beasts now, it will have consequences in the future.” Gu Suiwen spoke calmly, gazing into the distant mountains as if weighing the matter in his heart.

“Junior Brother, your foresight is admirable. I had not fully considered the implications,” the lady acknowledged. She nodded, then disappeared in a flash. Gu Suiwen lingered in thought before departing as well.

Back at the Hengyuan Sect’s rear peak, Qiu Han returned to his quarters. Zhou Yi told him to wait in his room for his return before any decisions were made, then headed to the elders’ council hall.

Gu Suiwen and the palace-garbed lady had already returned. Gu Suiwen handed the Blossom of Everlasting Youth to her without a word about recent events. When Zhou Yi inquired how Qiu Han and the others should be dealt with, Gu Suiwen merely replied, “Let the matter rest,” and said nothing more.

Though puzzled, Zhou Yi did not press further. He was annoyed with Qiu Han’s actions, but since his master chose to overlook it, he gladly let it go. Upon returning, he sternly scolded Qiu Han for half an hour and warned him never to leave the sect without permission again, only then easing his anger somewhat.

In the days that followed, Qiu Han dutifully stayed at home cultivating. He seemed even on the verge of advancement. Zhou Yi and He Yitong could only marvel—why, though they too had single elemental spiritual roots, had their own progress in the Qi Refining stage never been so prodigious?