Chapter 503: with translation of chapter title

Madam, hear me out, actually I... ah ya, don't... don't hit me... ah ya

Please, please, don't hit me anymore.

New master, say something quickly!

Yunhe looked at the hammer artifact spirit of the exploding hammer old gourd before him; its voice was a pleasant female voice, and its abode was a vast palace atop the artifact domain—no wonder the old gourd previously called her 'Madam Hammer', which indeed fits perfectly.

Junior Yunhe pays respects to Madam Hammer! Please, Madam Hammer, show mercy.

Yunhe bowed respectfully; at this moment the old gourd, after being beaten by Madam Hammer, had a swollen face and bruised nose, making him unable to bear looking further.

Hearing that his new master finally spoke, the old gourd seemed to have grasped a lifeline, rushing over and clinging tightly to Yunhe's feet, tears and snot smearing Yunhe's shoe: 'Oh, you, a mere mid-stage Nascent Soul, actually dare to steal the deity's artifact spirit? Since you want this palace to show mercy, let the palace see what you're capable of!'

The hammer-shaped artifact spirit seemed somewhat resentful, wanting to strike and teach a lesson to the seemingly ordinary youth before it.

No, no, Madam.

But see, the old gourd that had just been feigning pity, upon seeing Madam Hammer apparently truly intending to act against Yunhe, instantly turned into a fleshly shield, preventing her from stepping forward: 'Good, good, good old gourd, it hasn't been long since you couldn't bear loneliness and prepared to flee, right? Now you're even protecting an outsider—are you about to strike me as well?'

Just moments ago shouting for battle, Madam Hammer, upon seeing the old gourd using his body as a shield, actually showed a hint of sorrow.

How could it be, Little Iron Hammer, you are the only artifact spirit I have ever loved in this life; I, Old Three Gourd, swear to heaven.

At this moment, the old gourd's eyes shone with flowing light, resembling a fool lost in the river of love; the sincerity on his face made Yunhe feel as if he were getting to know him anew.

Mmm, I thought you were thinking about those random flutes and zithers out there, those messy artifact spirits, which is why you wanted to go out.

Madam Hammer seemed to believe the old gourd's words; the mighty hammer even dropped a few transparent beads of water, speaking as she slowly approached the old gourd.

However, upon hearing 'flute' and 'zither', the old gourd broke out in a cold sweat; despite feeling guilty, he still wore a full-faced bright smile.

He even occasionally glanced furtively at Yunhe, seemingly seeking credit, as if to say, 'Look, I've bewitched her into a daze—entering the city is practically like being home.' Yet he completely failed to notice that the hammer Madam had already turned into a black shadow and was smashing toward him; by the time the old gourd realized, it was too late—'Bang!'

Only see the old gourd being heavily struck by Madam Hammer, turning into a brownish-red rainbow that flew out, and then Yunhe steadily caught it.

Universe in the Palm!

Only see Yunhe flip his sleeve, and the already fainted old gourd safely appeared in his hand.

Senior, are you being a bit too excessive?

Yunhe said in a low voice, his eyes carrying a hint of threat.

Yo, hasn't it been only a short while and you're already starting to feel sorry?

But Madam Hammer showed a completely indifferent face; it's just the weakest artifact spirit—hit it, hit it, she's hit it plenty before, what's the issue? Now in her artifact domain, everything is up to her.

Now this mid-stage Nascent Soul junior wants to strike me? Know that when the deity was present, cultivators of this level seeing me would have to kneel on the ground, not even getting a chance to glance at me—hmph.

Madam Hammer's thoughts surged, yet she couldn't help but admit that the times have changed; without the Void God's protection, her status is different, but even if she were to seek a new master, she should look for someone strong with a chance at Void God—this mid-stage Nascent Soul, who knows if he can even survive leaving the secret realm!

Today I'll spare you; if you come to my Purple Heaven City, I'll surely make you look bad!

Having said that, Madam Hammer turned into a speck of white light and vanished in the heavens.

But after this conversation, Madam Hammer also realized that Yunhe is not a person driven by profit or utterly wicked; at least with Old Gourd following him, he should not suffer——————I am the divider line——————

You do have good intentions.

Yunhe looked at the old gourd in his hand, still not recovered, and sighed.

How could he not see? Even though the old gourd usually holds a low status, he is still a domain master; today, being unable to strike back or retort, he likely doesn't want to provoke other artifact spirits and have the old gourd summoned back to the Pill Pavilion. Yunhe glanced around; the commotion here was not small, likely already noticed by someone—only see a purple arc flash, and Yunhe already appeared in a mountain cave.

He raised his hand and set up several concealed grand formations; Yunhe then began observing the fluctuating pearl in the cave.

Only see in his dantian, a pearl emitting five-colored light trembling slightly; obviously Ling'er has awakened, but since the two have not yet established a divine sense imprint, the resulting vibration reminds Yunhe of his own awakening: 'Ling'er, how do you feel?'

Yunhe gathered his mind, using inner vision of his soul, only to see that the originally little girl shorter than his leg now stood only a head shorter than him; Ling'er, who had consumed Yunhe's five-element spiritual power, was also astonished—she had merely slept, yet grown so much; the original red robe transformed from the Fire Demon King was now a bit short, revealing a pair of long, straight, snow-white legs. Fearful that Yunhe might see her immodesty, she hurriedly shouted.

Wait, wait! I'm changing clothes!

Yunhe felt somewhat bewildered, yet he waited outside the pearl.

At this moment, Ling'er imagined the fairy maiden dress she wanted; she saw her fiery red robe transform back into the Fire Demon King's attire: a red upper garment embroidered with five-colored golden lotuses, pipa sleeves revealing snow-white softness, and beneath a black-gold horse-face skirt appeared a pair of cute, lively feet. She glanced at her reflection by the lake, then relaxed, emerging from the pearl like a newly grown sixteen-year-old maiden in beautiful clothes.

This change in Ling'er still surprised Yunhe a little; he hadn't expected that in such a short time, Ling'er would go from a little girl to a young maiden.

After all, the previous master's spiritual power was only at the Jie Dan Stage, which cannot compare to Yunhe's abundant five-element spiritual power.

But what surprised Yunhe even more was that, at this moment, little Ling'er's face bore a faint resemblance to his own.

Of course, it's not a perfect copy from a mold, but her eyebrows and eyes are about fifty to sixty percent like him, and in form and spirit even more so—seventy to eighty percent similar; if they went out together, others might mistake Ling'er for his daughter or sister. However, Yunhe had no mind to think about these things.

Ling'er, are there any changes inside the pearl right now?

Upon Yunhe mentioning it, Ling'er then realized she had been preoccupied with dressing herself and forgotten to check for changes inside the pearl.

Only see within the pearl's world, its size now far exceeds the former world; mountain ranges overlap, even with flying waterfalls; the east remains dense forest, while the west's desert now shows patches of oases. 'I feel that another demon spirit is about to be born,' Ling'er placed Yunhe also into the pearl world; at this moment she can sense any change in the world: the swish of waterfalls, the gentle rustle of trees, the whoosh of sand, and even heard a few chirps.

Only see Ling'er's figure disappear, then in the next instant reappear, with a small golden-yellow bird now perched on her shoulder.

Huo Huo, this isn't for you to eat!

Only see the golden-yellow bird just appear, the Fire Demon King seemed to see a delicacy, lunging at the golden bird with a bloody maw wide open, frightening the bird so that three souls leapt out, six corporeal spirits turned into seven, because one soul had split.

Xin Xin, wake up quickly! Huo Huo! You can't do this!

Ling'er gently shook the newly obtained golden bird; seeing no sign of awakening, she angrily scolded the Fire Demon King, who had curled his tail tight.

It seems that as long as we nurture this a bit longer, more and more demon spirits will appear in this world!

Yunhe has been carefully sensing this world since just now; the pearl has already recognized its master, and he too can feel the world's changes, clearly sensing that this world will grow larger as his realm rises and his spiritual power increases.

No wonder this pearl has attracted so much contention!

Yunhe has already made up his mind: the pearl must absolutely not be exposed; what it entails is surely not this simple; the specifics, let's wait and see if we can learn from Chi Xiao's mouth.

With that thought, Yunhe intended to re-examine the broken spirit that had tried to attack him; a white light flashed, and Chi Xiao reappeared before Yunhe's eyes, but at this moment he was snoring loudly; it seems the previous slash still left him uncomfortable, requiring such a long hibernation.

Comfortable grassland, blue sky, the scent of soil still in his nose—'Am I dreaming?' Chi Xiao slightly opened his eyes, blinking twice; a golden small bird leapt onto his face, tilting its head to meet his gaze.

Bird? Looks like reincarnation after all, wuwuwu, I didn't expect it to still be...

He seems somewhat sad: 'Is he having a nightmare?'

Ling'er turned her head to ask; the innocent question made Yunhe involuntarily smile faintly, he shook his head slightly and said, 'How much longer do you want to sleep?'

Only see Chi Xiao, upon hearing the voice, shudder all over; he immediately sat up straight, then respectfully knelt before Yunhe.

Junior thanks Senior for the Elixir; Senior, your noble integrity and great compassion.

Alright, I ask you, is this treasure pearl from the upper realm?

The figure that was kowtowing paused, eyes widened, not daring to lift its head for a long while, before finally speaking slowly.

Senior... Senior, you already know?

How did this treasure pearl end up in the lower realm? Yunhe asked.

However, Chixiao indeed does not know this question; after all, he was born in the lower realm, and to him the upper realm is merely a story he longs for.

Junior does not know, but my father perhaps knows a bit.

Although Chixiao does not know, his father might; he actually does not know whether his father knows, but as long as he can see his father, that's enough; whether his father knows is not important, we'll talk when we meet.

Yunhe's gaze was indifferent; without speaking further, just looking like that already made Chixiao break out in a cold sweat.

Forget it.

Having returned inside the Dharma Seal, Chixiao's hanging heart finally settled, but he also understood that this senior's strength is great, yet he is not some unpredictable madman— "Father, what should I do?"

———————I am the dividing line——————

When Ling'er, who had flown out of the treasure pearl, saw the tiny Yunhe Nascent Soul in the dantian, she couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Yun brother, is this your child? Hahaha, how adorable!"

After saying that, she reached out and pinched the Yunhe Nascent Soul's tender little face, knowing that the Nascent Soul shares the same fate as the physical body and is even more sensitive. Yunhe could clearly feel the odd sensation on his face: "I am Yunhe!"

The little Yunhe whose face was being pinched put on a stern face and spoke, but Ling'er did not let up.

Wow, you've learned to imitate so well!

Ling'er, who had lifted little Yunhe, blinked her big eyes, showing full curiosity; for her, who had been lonely since childhood, this was especially novel!

Ling'er, this is my Nascent Soul; as for matters in the cultivation world, you should get familiar with them as soon as possible.

Hearing the two Yunhes, big and small, speak together, Ling'er finally realized that the little Yunhe had not lied to her; just thinking about how she had cradled and played with the little Yunhe in her hands made her cheeks flush, and she promptly dove back into the treasure pearl.

Yunhe no longer paid attention to the girl's shyness, but instead calmed his mind to study the treasure pearl's uses.

In the treasure pearl's world, he had once felt that pure fire-element Spiritual Power within the body of the Fire Demon King; if he could gather the five-element demon spirits within the treasure pearl, he believed his cultivation efficiency would surely increase greatly.

Although he cultivates a Five Elements technique, why did the spawned demon spirit turn out to be only a single metal-attributed little bird? Yunhe carefully recalled the series of events that had occurred, and it seemed he had a clue.

That's right; when Ling'er fell into a slumber, the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword and the Five Qi Peacock Fan in his dantian also reacted with the treasure pearl, and at this moment the treasure pearl gave birth to a metal-attributed bird-type demon spirit.

This indicates that the birth of demon spirits is related to the treasure artifacts they come into contact with!

It might also be influenced by the artifact spirits of the treasures; the artifact spirit of the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder Sword is a Five-Colored Luan Bird, and that of the Five Qi Peacock Fan is a Five-Colored Peacock, both being birds. Moreover, the sword leans toward metal; even if it can be infused with five-element power, its essence remains metal. And the Five Qi Peacock Fan also possesses the precious "Geng Metal Qi", making it metal as well. Thus, to gather all five-element demon spirits, one would actually need more single-attribute treasures. As for the birth of the Fire Demon King, it likely also stems from the influence of Chixiao's Dharma Seal—of course, these are merely Yunhe's speculations, which still need to be tested in practice.

Yunhe slowly gathered his spirit and opened his bright eyes; when it comes to discussing treasures, where could compare to the artifact realm? Right before him lies an opportunity to obtain treasures of all attributes. Thinking this, Yunhe slowly rose to his feet: "It seems this artifact pavilion is a must-visit!"

(End of chapter)