Chapter 233: Single Fire Immortal Root

He Pingsheng did not have a Grade One elixir, the Soul-Returning Pill.

Moreover, he had no materials to refine the 【Soul-Returning Pill】 in his storage bag.

He had originally planned to travel to Jixi City after some time to buy herbs for elixir refining.

But Qiao Huizhu happened to have the materials.

She took out her storage bag and said, "I have the materials to refine the Soul-Returning Pill—take them and refine them, Young Master."

"But be careful and cautious—don't let anyone catch you out!"

As she spoke, she opened her storage bag and casually picked out a few herbs to give He Pingsheng.

Although Qiao Huizhu had lost her cultivation and become an ordinary mortal, her powerful spiritual sense remained intact.

That was why she could easily open the storage bag.

After taking the storage bag, He Pingsheng immediately used a dantian furnace to refine a batch of elixirs.

The results were excellent—he succeeded, and all the elixirs were top-grade.

Under these circumstances, there was no need to further strengthen them.

He casually took one and gave it to the girl.

"Xiaohe, eat it!" He Pingsheng looked at the girl and said, "After eating it, your ears will hear!"

After speaking, he let out a bitter smile: What's the use of saying this when she can't hear?

But though the girl couldn't hear, she understood He Pingsheng's meaning—just as she had trusted him when he healed her legs before, she now took the elixir with full trust and swallowed it in one gulp.

The effects of the Soul-Returning Pill were not as fast as those of the Blood-Repairing Pill.

After eating it, the girl took two full days to fully replenish her congenital deficiency.

Her ears began to hear sounds from the outside world.

Cheng Laobai was overjoyed.

"Cheng Laobai!" He Pingsheng bowed to him and said, "Thank you for helping me escape disaster—we're leaving now!"

"When Xiaohe's illness is cured, teach her well—she can learn to speak!"

"The child is very clever!"

He Pingsheng reached out and rubbed the top of Xiaohe's head twice.

The little girl immediately blushed bright red.

Thump…

When the old man heard He Pingsheng was leaving, he suddenly dropped to his knees before him.

"Cheng Laobai, what are you doing?" He Pingsheng said. "Get up at once!"

Cheng Laobai wept bitterly and said, "I have less than two years left to live—what will become of my granddaughter after I die?"

"Immortal Master, please, let her follow you and cultivate!"

He Pingsheng smiled bitterly and said, "Old man, not everyone can cultivate—only those with an Immortal Root can cultivate."

"Only those with an Immortal Root can cultivate!"

"Among ordinary mortals, the chance of possessing an Immortal Root is one in ten thousand!"

The old man's face fell with disappointment.

Beside him, Qiao Huizhu sat on a massive green stone roller and waved to Xiaohe. "Xiaohe, come here…"

Xiaohe had just begun to hear sounds and did not understand the meaning of those words.

But she understood Qiao Huizhu's gestures.

So Xiaohe walked over to Qiao Huizhu.

Qiao Huizhu took her hand and sent a thread of spiritual sense into the girl's body, tracing along her blood vessels.

After three breaths, Qiao Huizhu's face lit up with sudden joy. "She has an Immortal Vein!"

The so-called Immortal Vein is born from the Immortal Root—it is the meridian for cultivation.

To have an Immortal Vein means to have an Immortal Root.

But what specific type of Root it is remains uncertain.

He Pingsheng immediately walked over, curious. "What element is it?"

Qiao Huizhu probed further, then exclaimed in delight: "It's a Fire Immortal Root—and a single Fire Immortal Root…"

"What?"

He Pingsheng couldn't help but be stunned.

A deaf-mute little girl raised in a mountain village was actually a peerless prodigy with a single Fire Immortal Root?

This was too shocking.

"Immortal Master…" Cheng Laobai asked, "My… my granddaughter… does she have an Immortal Root?"

He Pingsheng nodded. "Yes… she truly has an Immortal Root."

"Then…" the old man said joyfully, "Can you take my granddaughter away? Let her walk the path of cultivation?"

He Pingsheng slowly shook his head. "No."

"Cheng Laobai, we are fugitives—our enemies are hunting us!"

"If Xiaohe follows us, she will face grave danger!"

"But if we don't guide her onto the path of cultivation, this magnificent Root would be wasted!"

He Pingsheng thought for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do, Cheng Laobai—if I remember correctly, you can read and write."

Cheng Laobai said, "That's right—I can read and write."

He Pingsheng waved his hand and produced several items.

Ten mid-grade spirit stones.

Two bottles of elixirs!

And a book.

The book contained the 【Qi Refining Chapter】 of the 【True Law of Dispersing Fire】.

A collection of cultivation notes.

A small flying sword.

Although merely a magical treasure, it bore four layers of sealing arrays—an S-class magical treasure.

"Old man!" He Pingsheng instructed, "I leave these with you—study them thoroughly, then teach Xiaohe to cultivate."

"Once she completes the Qi Refining Chapter of the True Law of Dispersing Fire, she may leave to seek her own destiny."

"By the way, bury these ten spirit stones underground—only take them out when you cultivate."

"They will aid her growth!"

"When their spiritual energy is exhausted, she can consume these two bottles of elixirs."

"Old man, do you understand what I'm saying?"

The old man nodded frantically. "I understand… I understand…"

"Good!" He Pingsheng said. "Then I'm leaving!"

He waved his hand, and the Cloud-Piercing Boat suddenly expanded with a bang.

He Pingsheng and Qiao Huizhu stepped onto the flying boat.

The little girl suddenly ran over and clung desperately to the boat, large tears streaming down her face.

He Pingsheng frowned. "Xiaohe, be good—don't do this. We're leaving!"

But the girl suddenly spoke, calling out: "Dad…"

He Pingsheng's heart trembled, flooded with mixed emotions.

He took a deep breath, activated his spiritual sense, and the flying boat slowly drifted into the void, rising higher, circling three times above Cheng Laobai's home, then flying westward.

Long after they had gone, He Pingsheng remained deeply unsettled.

Qiao Huizhu said, "Good people receive good rewards—I hope that little girl becomes a true Immortal one day."

He Pingsheng said nothing. He piloted the flying boat steadily westward.

After half a day, they landed atop Lishan Mountain.

"Senior Sister…" He Pingsheng lifted Qiao Huizhu off the flying boat. "By rights, the border between Liang and Qi should now be empty—but for safety, I'll go ahead to check."

"Once I confirm no one is there, I'll return to fetch you."

"Alright," Qiao Huizhu nodded.

He Pingsheng took out materials and set up a Grade Two defensive array and a Grade Two illusion array atop the mountain, then flew away on his sword toward the west.

At the border between the two nations, he found no trace of the previous cultivators.

They had all withdrawn their defensive perimeter.

Still uneasy, He Pingsheng flew up and down for another half day—no one in sight.

Only then did he finally feel at ease.