Chapter 19

    Xiao Gui quickly retracted its head into its shell after being slapped.

    "So, are you Yi Long?" Liu Yi You asked through gritted teeth.

    The worm shook its head vigorously. "I’m Master Khainui now."

    Liu Yi You's temple veins throbbed. It seemed like even in another lifetime, they wouldn't have a straightforward conversation.

    Qi Ling looked at Liu Yi You, his face full of question marks. Liu Yi You noticed but decided to cut the conversation short. Liu Yi You noticed it but didn’t think to answer, only cutting it off, "Let's go meet Feng Huang. Maybe the Fire Phoenix knows something."

    Qi Ling shook his head. "She's not there. I've already looked for her."

    "She's not there? Then where is she?"

    Qi Ling shook his head again. "I tracked her scent, but I couldn't find anything."

    After that, Qi Ling asked Liu Yi You to make a contract with him and let him into the Aquarium.

    When Mao Tong saw Qi Ling enter the Aquarium, it shouted, "Stinky kid, you let the new guy in, but I've been with you through thick and thin. How can you not let me in?"

    Liu Yi You's temple veins throbbed again. "You burned my herb garden."

    "I won't burn it anymore. Let me in now."

    The Aquarium wasn't like the plant box where one could enter and exit freely. The Aquarium required the owner's permission.

    "In one month," Liu Yi You said, glancing at the turtle and the worm with amusement.

    Now she had a path to grow stronger. But…where could she find the half-human, half-fish being?

    The little girl turned to Liu Tan. "Grandfather, where can we find a half-human, half-fish being?"

    Liu Tan shook his head like a bobblehead. How could he know? He didn't even know about the Qi Blossoms Technique until now. It was Qi Ling who answered in a faint voice from the Aquarium.

    "In the Celestial Land."

    How many times had the little girl heard about the Celestial Land? Perhaps it was time for her to actually go there.

    Liu Yi You thought that she needed to visit Feng Huang again. Not out of concern for anyone,

    but because she was worried about the treasures...

    Meanwhile, she took out a book she had gotten from the handsome young man and began to read.

    She had forgotten about it, but the previous discussion about the Celestial Land reminded her. To her surprise, this book was similar to the one Qi Ling had given her. The little girl frowned.

    "Grandfather, retreat, retreat." Liu Yi You tugged on Liu Tan's sleeve urgently.

    "What is it, little girl?" Liu Tan, who was about to pop a snack into his mouth, turned to her curiously.

    "Grandfather, the man those two turtles picked up!" The little girl was so excited she was almost incoherent.

    Liu Tan looked a bit confused. Seeing this, Liu Yi You handed him the other book. When Liu Tan opened it, his eyes widened.

    "What does that young man have to do with you?" Liu Tan asked Ta Gui, who was perched on his head.

    Ta Gui shook his head vigorously.

    There was something the little girl wondered about. Qi Ling could read the book, so he must be literate. But what about Ta Gui?

    "Ta Gui, can you read?"

    Ta Gui turned and nodded, still chewing herbs. Even though it wasn't in the Aquarium, it still had food, so it didn't mind.

    "And can all celestial beasts read?"

    Ta Gui nodded again.

    Then why couldn’t Mao Tong, who was Yi Long, read?

    Liu Yi You was almost certain that the little worm was Yi Long, but why couldn't it read? Unable to find an answer and knowing that further conversation would be futile, Liu Yi You decided to let the matter go.

    If she couldn't figure it out, there was no point in worrying. She felt more at ease.

    While debating whether to go back to find the handsome young man, whom Liu Yi You thought was a waste of good looks, or to continue their journey to the final continent, she weighed her options.

    However, if she didn't go back to find that young man now, who knows if he would still be there when she returned? So Liu Yi You had Tong Tian warp them back to the forest where they had previously searched for herbs.

    Upon arrival, they saw many shops and people, and even an altar.

    How did a dense forest turn into a bustling market in just half a month? The two exchanged bewildered glances.

    "Grandfather, did we warp to the wrong place?" Liu Yi You looked around in a panic. Turning back, she saw Liu Tan approaching a young woman.

    "Miss, can you tell me what happened here?" Liu Tan, now appearing as a young man, asked a woman slightly older than himself, causing her to blush deeply.

    Liu Yi You’s eyebrow twitched. Her grandfather was unknowingly charming.

    "Young man, don't you know? Recently, there were rumors that an immortal appeared here, bestowing gifts upon people. Even the Cloud Tiger was turned into a pet," the woman explained.

    Liu Yi You frowned and tilted her head in confusion. She thought there were no immortals in this world, only half-immortals.

    Liu Tan returned and shrugged at his granddaughter. "Where should we go to find that young man now?"

    Liu Yi You was at a loss. With the place changed so much, where would they even start looking? Just then, Qi Ling suddenly appeared and shouted,

    "I can sense Feng Huang's soul!"

    Although this was a world of cultivators, flying was still considered supernatural. Appearing out of thin air like that caused quite a stir among the people around.

    The sudden appearance of a young man looking like an immortal caused a commotion.

    "An immortal!"

    "An immortal has appeared!"

    Qi Ling was too focused on following the scent to notice the crowd gathering around him.

    Having experienced this kind of situation many times, Liu Tan and Liu Yi You blended into the crowd, leaving Qi Ling to fend for himself.

    By the time Qi Ling realized it, his master was already far away, leaving him surrounded by people who didn’t dare come too close. He quickly followed, leaving the crowd behind.

    "Master," Qi Ling said, his face darkened.

    "You dim-witted dog! Didn't you see the crowd? You just had to appear like that and scare everyone!" Mao Tong sneered at the qilin.

    "You foul-mouthed worm," Qi Ling shouted back.

    "I. Am. Not. A. Worm..." Mao Tong emphasized each word. But as it was about to continue, a small hand grabbed it and said,

    "If the hair on my head falls out again, you won't even get to eat herbs."

    Mao Tong immediately shut up and obediently lay down on Xiao Gui's back.

    "Qi Ling, what did you say earlier?" Seeing that Mao Tong had quieted down, Liu Yi You continued her conversation with Qi Ling.

    "I can sense Feng Huang's soul," the young man, now transformed back into a qilin, replied.

    Liu Yi You raised her eyebrows.

    "Then lead the way," she said simply. Any complaints or grumbles she had were swallowed back down.

    Qi Ling led the group, both humans and spirit beasts, to a small house. As they got closer, the aura of the Fire Phoenix grew stronger.

    "Feng Huang," Qi Ling called out, but there was no response. Only a large Cloud Tiger lay weakly in front of the house.

    "Little Seventeen, does that creature look familiar to you?" Liu Tan asked, tilting his head and munching on a snack.

    The girl glanced over. "It's the one that tried to attack us about half a month ago," Liu Yi You replied.

    "Oh," Liu Tan acknowledged, continuing to enjoy his snack.

    Liu Yi You had noticed that ever since Liu Tan had regained his youth, he seemed to care a lot more about eating snacks and much less about everything else.

    "You're here! You're here!"

    The cheerful voice of a young man sounded. He hurried over to Liu Tan and Liu Yi You, saying, "The pill you gave me was great, but I don't know why my little bird hasn't woken up yet."

    Liu Yi You turned to Qi Ling and nodded, indicating for him to lead the way. "Can you show me your little bird?" she asked the young man.

    He nodded easily and led them inside to a bed where a bird about the same size as Liu Yi You lay.

    Little bird? Little bird, my foot, Liu Yi You cursed inwardly. At that moment, she heard a voice interrupting her thoughts.

    "Little bird, my foot," Mao Tong muttered. Liu Yi You wanted to cover its mouth, but didn't.

    "It's not my foot's little bird; it's the little bird I found," the young man corrected.

    Liu Tan chuckled, while Liu Yi You sighed. With people and spirit beasts around her acting like this, she didn't want to concern herself with these trivialities anymore. She quickly scanned the bird's body and found that while it wasn't physically injured, its soul was severely damaged.

    Mao Tong, overhearing, naturally wouldn't let it go. "Little bird, my foot. Little bird, my foot," it repeated.

    "I said it's not my foot's little bird; it's my little bird," the young man insisted.

    Mao Tong continued, "Little bird, my foot. Little bird, my foot."

    Liu Yi You felt the veins in her brain throb. She took out a blue persimmon and stuffed it into Mao Tong's mouth.

    Seeing this, Mao Tong's eyes widened. "Stinky kid, you got these persimmons back?"

    The original blue persimmon tree in the herb garden had been destroyed by Mao Tong, but Liu Yi You had a significant stock stored in her cosmic bracelet. She had also acquired more from Liu Fuzhen, so the herbs were replenished.

    Liu Yi You nodded and said nothing further, while Mao Tong didn't ask any more questions.

    In the herb garden, there were only a few things it truly cherished, besides the Sacred Lotus; one of them was the blue persimmon.

    The young man looked like he was about to cry. "My little bird..."

    Mao Tong no longer paid attention, focusing instead on eating the blue persimmon. It knew that if it continued to cause trouble, it might be banned from good herbs for a long time.

    Liu Yi You took out some Soul Restoration pills and lotus seeds, gently feeding them to the large peacock. Afterward, it was just a matter of waiting for the big bird to recover.

    The girl turned to her spirit beasts and asked, "Ta Gui, Qi Ling, is this Feng Huang?"

    They both nodded in unison.

    So, they waited. Liu Yi You and Liu Tan took turns keeping watch. Sometimes Liu Yi You had Tong Tian warp her back to the Liu family to report to her fifth uncle and parents about her safety.

    After spending several days together, Liu Yi You learned that the handsome young man's name was Hua, but she still knew little about his origins.

    After ten days, they discovered that Hua was a half-sage. However, for some reason, his mental state had reverted to that of a child.

    After spending fifteen days together, Feng Huang finally awakened. Qi Ling and Ta Gui, who had been keeping watch almost the entire time, quickly rushed over when they saw the fiery red peacock stir.

    "Feng Huang, how are you?" Qi Ling asked, his concern evident.

    "Qi Ling?" Feng Huang responded weakly.

    "And me too," Ta Gui chimed in eagerly, pushing forward.

    "Ta Gui."

    "What happened to you?" Ta Gui asked anxiously.

    "I was bound by Yao Lin, who trapped my soul. After struggling for a long time, I managed to split part of my soul to inform you, but my soul is still gravely injured," Feng Huang explained.

    Liu Yi You and Liu Tan listened quietly.

    "In that case, we need to find Yi Long. Without Yi Long, it will be very difficult," Qi Ling said.

    The fiery red peacock shook its head sadly. "Yi Long is dead. There are only two options: one is to find the Soul-Resurrection Orb, and the other is to meet the Great Deity. Both methods require going to the Celestial Land," Feng Huang explained.

    "But none of us can go to the Celestial Land," Qi Ling said helplessly.

    Liu Yi You's ears perked up at the mention of the Great Deity. She remembered that according to the Celestial Land' texts, the Great Deity could break the Qi Blossoms Technique, that bizarre technique.

    Feng Huang, who was feeling sorrowful, suddenly froze. It turned to look at the lazy worm lying on Liu Yi You's head and screamed, "How did you turn into a worm?"