Chapter 534: Why Has Yao Hua Come?

The three walked along the stream, able to stand upright at first, but soon bent over as the mountain grew steep; by the time they reached the stream's end, they were walking along the sheer cliff face, nearly parallel to the hanging waterfall, their bodies almost level with the ground, appearing peculiar under the moonlight.

They crossed ancient trees jutting from the cliff edge, passed beneath massive hawk nests hanging from sheer rock faces, and threaded through sparse clouds drifting halfway up the mountain, feeling ever closer to the bright moon above.

At night, the mountain was merely a dark silhouette; the three in their Daoist robes stood out conspicuously.

Beside them flew a sparrow, and a fox trotted along.

As for the little dog, lacking sufficient cultivation to climb the cliff, Lin Jue had stuffed it into a cloth sack.

Gradually, they reached the end of the waterfall.

There, on the upper half of the high mountain, was a spring source; the spring reflected moonlight and emitted a radiant glow, orange-red bordering on crimson.

"This must be the Crimson Spring, then?"

Lin Jue bent down; though the spring emitted a radiant glow, it still reflected his shadow.

Soon, another head—white fox—appeared beside his, followed by the reflections of his senior brother, junior sister, and the color-patterned lynx.

But their reflections in the water were all youthful.

Lin Jue's face had changed little, only lacking the weathering of time; his features and brows had grown younger and softer, still wearing the same Daoist robe—he had once grown a full beard on purpose to avoid being recognized when living in the hut below the mountain, yet in the reflection, his face was clean-shaven.

His face was perfectly smooth.

His junior sister was much the same—her appearance unchanged in essence, only her features and brows subtly younger; at a glance, Lin Jue was reminded of her when the disciples had first descended the mountain.

"Junior sister…"

"Third Shixiong brother…"

Both exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously.

The fox beside them widened its eyes, then extended a fluffy, snow-white, round paw toward the spring:

"New yous!"

"What do you mean 'new yous'?"

"They're a bit old now!"

They wanted to argue, but fell silent.

Because it was true.

The fox spoke without restraint, saying whatever came to mind; though its phrasing was odd, it was perfectly apt.

Words like "youthful innocence," "weathering," or "traces of time" were nowhere near as fitting as "new" and "old."

They exchanged glances, then turned to their senior brother.

His transformation was drastic.

He had cultivated in seclusion on Fuxiu Dashan, deprived of the blessings Lin Jue and his younger sister enjoyed—no immortal fruits consumed, no rapid progress in cultivation—and he had never deliberately taken pills to preserve his youth; at over sixty, his face now looked like that of a forty-year-old, yet his simple nature made him appear even older.

The spring reflected a young man barely past twenty.

Square-faced, thick eyebrows, large eyes—still earnest, deeply approachable, and oddly charming.

"I never imagined Third Third Shixiong looked like this when young," Lin Jue laughed. "When we climbed the mountain, you were already forty, looked like thirty—never saw you like this before."

"Third Third Shixiong looks…"

The junior sister froze, unsure how to speak, scratching her head and giggling foolishly.

There was no real objection—just that someone so familiar suddenly wore a newer face felt strangely disorienting.

"Who is this?"

The fox pointed at the water.

"Just a skin."

Third Third Shixiong spoke calmly.

Only the color-patterned lynx and the fox remained unchanged.

The lynx had attained spirithood early and had always preserved its youthful form; even subtle changes were imperceptible to humans, visible only to another cat.

The fox, due to its unique bloodline, had not lived long enough in these twenty years to mature—it had never reached youth, so naturally, no change occurred.

"Splash…"

A hand shattered the spring's smooth surface; the reflections shattered with it.

"Let me taste a sip first."

Lin Jue cupped a handful of the radiant water and brought it to his lips.

White vapor rose from the water, resembling both warm spring steam and icy chill.

The pool's coldness was heavy, yet these were merely spiritual energy; once swallowed, it was merely cool, refreshing, sweet, and invigorating.

"Mmm…"

Lin Jue savored it, then cupped another handful, slurping deeply.

"Sweet! Full of spiritual energy! Delicious! Besides granting eternal youth, it seems to have no other effect. You should try some too."

"Then I'll have a sip too!"

The junior sister bent down, unhesitating, letting her hair fall as she cupped water and brought it to her lips.

To taste the immortal spring from legends, to experience the taste of eternal youth—it felt as if she had stepped into an immortal tale herself.

The color-patterned lynx crept cautiously to the spring's edge and stretched its neck.

As Lin Jue turned to his fox, he saw it had already reached the spring ahead of the lynx, stepped down one pace, stretched its neck, and stuck out its tongue.

"Slurp! Slurp!"

"Good Fuyao, don't drink!"

Lin Jue shouted urgently.

"Huh?" The fox tilted its head, a drop of water falling from its mouth, puzzled. "Why can't the fox drink? Everyone else is drinking!"

"You're still young."

"Why can't the young drink?"

"You might stop growing!"

"Fox grew up!"

The fox, defiant, lowered its head and slurped twice more.

Then it lifted its head, pretending:

"Full!"

"You…"

"I…"

"What about Third Third Shixiong?" Lin Jue smiled, turning to him. "Won't you try a sip?"

"No need. Eternal youth may be charming, but suddenly becoming twenty again feels strange—my disciples would be bewildered."

Third Third Shixiong shook his head.

He clearly understood himself well; his face showed no hesitation, yet he asked:

"Can this spring water be taken away?"

"Probably. But its unique spiritual resonance dissipates quickly—you must use the bottle Master Two originally used. If you merely store it with basic collection methods, you must return it quickly for the disciples to drink." Lin Jue said.

"Then I'll take some."

Third Third Shixiong pulled out the gourd at his waist.

"I'll take some too."

As both poured the gourds into the spring, bubbles gurgled up—when suddenly, the fox and lynx turned their heads toward the mountain behind them.

The three also felt a tremor.

"Boom… boom… boom…"

The tremor seemed to come from beyond the mountain.

In an instant—the fox became a white blur and shot away!

The lynx followed, transforming into a sparrow and flying off.

"Gurgle… gurgle…"

Lin Jue turned his gaze back and continued filling the gourd.

He filled one entire gourd, sealed its spiritual energy with the collection method's sealing technique—somewhat effective—then tucked it away and stood upright, gazing toward the mountain peak.

The white blur returned swiftly.

The fox lifted its head, solemn:

"The mountain stood up!"

One sentence captured the mountain's wonder.

Soon, the three, the fox, and the lynx stood atop the peak, gazing outward.

That was the mountain's backside.

Behind it was clearly not the mortal world—the villages, fields, and official roads that should have lain beyond "Feilai Dashan" had vanished; in their place stood thousands upon thousands of mountains like the one beneath their feet—some rounded yet towering, some sharp as spears and halberds, others jagged with exposed rock, each small, densely packed, forming a forest of peaks stretching beyond sight.

The bright moon hung overhead; mountain shadows reached the horizon; herds of literary horses galloped through the air, giant luann birds flapped their wings above, and feathered serpents soared toward the Moon Palace.

One mountain, the tallest, slowly rose from the ground.

It stood at least two to three hundred zhang tall; beside it, the Ji Ling Husheng Zhenjun who had wielded the Great Little Ruyi looked like an infant.

A mountain had truly stood up!

The junior sister and senior brother were utterly awestruck.

The fox and lynx were stunned too.

Especially the junior sister—

She was the one who had mastered the Fajishi Art to perfection, the one who, while guarding the city beyond Modu Dashan in Qinzhou, had caused even the most ferocious Stone Giants to sense their own demise and flee without hesitation—but now, faced with a Stone Giant as vast as a mountain, she stood frozen in shock.

Only the lone Immortal among them remained calm, even pointing toward the distance.

There stood a colossal tree, nearly level with the bright moon, its trunk straight and bare of branches save for a tuft of foliage at the top, resembling a bird's nest.

At that moment, a deep, muffled sound echoed from afar:

"Yao Hua has returned here… is she seeking revenge against Lord Tianweng… or hoping for a chance to rise again…"

Each utterance sounded like a mountain cracking or a meteor crashing to earth.

So loud was the voice that it became impossible to discern its words.

"Your Excellency misunderstands!" Lin Jue bowed from the mountain peak. "This is not Jun Niangniang Yao Hua—only her descendant, a nine-tailed fox I raised since childhood, named Fu Yao. We came here merely to beg for a few phoenix feathers."

"Yao Hua… has no descendant…"

"There was none once, but that doesn't mean there isn't one now. Hundreds of years have passed in the outside world—even the former Lord Tianweng has been replaced."

"Replaced again…?"

"Precisely."

Clearly, this being was not the Lord Tianweng himself, but the spirit of his former cultivation grounds.

That is, the mountain spirit of Immortal Yuanqiu Dashan.

The legend that "one attains Dao, even chickens and dogs ascend" was indeed true—no wonder Lord Tianweng's cultivation grounds had gained sentience and birthed such a being.

Lin Jue bowed again, respectfully:

"It was only a few years ago—the current ruler of the Nine Heavens is the former Northern Emperor Zi Xu."

"Zi Xu…"

The colossal mountain giant paused, as if lost in memory, but its mind seemed dull and limited. When it turned its gaze back upon the group below, its eyes blazed like golden stars, and it spoke again in a deep voice:

"Yao Hua came… for what purpose… is it because Lord Tianweng has stepped down… that she comes to provoke and seek revenge…"

"Your Excellency misunderstands."

Lin Jue was about to explain again when, beneath the moon, a human-faced crow flew past, crying loudly:

"Stolen fruit! Stolen fruit!"

At once, the mountain giant erupted in fury.

Its golden eyes blazed brighter than ever, so intensely that even from afar, they rivaled Lin Jue's "Blinding Jin Guang."

The group bent low, raising their sleeves to shield their eyes.

…