Chapter 194 – Elder Xiaohua
Once the darkness swallowed the ancient tree, the memory ended. As for what happened afterward, Gu Mo had no way of knowing. However, the little flower that grew on that tree in the memory was most likely Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua.
But there were still far too many questions. For instance, what was the origin of that massive ancient tree? What was its connection to Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua? And what exactly was the darkness that devoured the tree?
Shaking his head, Gu Mo decided to set those questions aside for now. The vision from the memory had clearly taken place a very long time ago. Pondering it now served no practical purpose.
Even if the mature version of Xiaohua had given him this memory to hint that he should save the tree consumed by darkness, Gu Mo would still need to carefully weigh the risks.
If he was going to take on that mission for Xiaohua in the future, it would be something for far down the road.
While Gu Mo stood stunned by the sudden memory, deep within the Tribulation Valley, a giant flower bloomed.
It looked exactly like the one Gu Mo had seen in his memory. In the center of the blossom, he spotted a delicate, pink-haired little girl.
After successfully withstanding the tribulation of transformation, Xiaohua had stepped into the rank 4 Demon King realm. At the same time, she underwent a rebirth through this breakthrough.
Her new form didn't look much different from before, except for one noticeable change—her size. From a petite little girl, she had now shrunk to palm-sized.
Though her size had diminished, her aura was unmistakably that of a rank 4 Demon King.
"Master, what just happened?"
Xiaohua blinked open her sleepy eyes and, upon seeing Hou Chunyu's smiling face, asked in confusion.
Her question left Hou Chunyu speechless. Going through tribulation was supposed to be a major ordeal, and this girl didn't remember a thing?
He recalled how tense and anxious he had been during his own tribulation—it had been anything but relaxing.
"Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua, why are you so tiny now?" Gu Mo poked his head over curiously, looking at the palm-sized Xiaohua.
"This is a rebirth through tribulation—a unique trait of spirit plants. It's only temporary. Over time, her size will gradually increase and even surpass what it used to be," Hou Chunyu explained.
This was indeed a special ability of spirit plants: shedding their old body during tribulation to preserve their core essence and achieve rebirth—just like vegetation sprouting anew after surviving the winter, growing even more branches and leaves.
Of course, this regrowth would take time—at least a century or so.
"Oh!"
Upon hearing Hou Chunyu's explanation, Gu Mo suddenly grew excited. So, in the future, Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua could eventually return to the mature form he'd seen before—the one wearing the laurel crown.
"Xiao Mo, I'm sleepy."
As soon as Xiaohua saw Gu Mo, she blinked over to perch on top of his head, curled up his hair like a blanket, and instantly fell asleep with soft snores.
Having just completed her tribulation, she now needed to sleep in order to attune herself to the new power she'd gained.
"Take your Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua home," Hou Chunyu said sourly. After raising her like a daughter for so many years, in the end, some outsider kid got to take her away.
…Oh wait, that kid was his own grand-disciple. Never mind. It was all in the family.
Gu Mo left with Xiaohua, while Hou Chunyu went off to boast to the other elders. After all, his lineage had just produced a rank 4 spirit plant Demon King—something that would significantly boost their standing.
Soon after, news of Xiaohua's breakthrough spread like wildfire.
The birth of a rank 4 spirit plant Demon King was a major event in Shennong Valley. Even the Valley Master personally summoned Xiaohua and bestowed upon her a full package of benefits.
These included a promotion to Elder status—within Shennong Valley, reaching the Nascent Soul realm or becoming a rank 4 Demon King would automatically qualify one to become an elder.
She also received a rank 4 cave residence and a rank 4 spirit field—standard perks for elders.
Beyond that, as a rank 4 Demon King, Xiaohua now had the right to establish her own lineage, though she clearly had no such intention.
"Xiaohua, where's your residence? I'll personally upgrade the spiritual energy there to rank 4," the Valley Master asked with a broad smile, looking at the tiny Xiaohua.
"Valley Master, my residence is right here." Xiaohua pointed at a leaf-shaped courtyard on the map of the tree branches—Gu Mo's courtyard.
She had been living in Gu Mo's courtyard for some time and had already come to view it as her own.
Leaf-Courtyard.
Gu Mo looked helplessly at the little fish head pouting at him, then sighed and took out a portion of rank 4 Sun Essence.
The moment Little Carp received it, she let out a cheer and swallowed it whole—then immediately flopped over like a dead fish.
The Sun Essence was a bit too potent for her. It would take some time for her to fully digest it.
"Hm? What's going on?"
Spreading out his divine sense, Gu Mo noticed the spiritual energy within his courtyard was rapidly rising. After an hour or so, the aura density had reached rank 4.
Shennong Valley did allow for controlled adjustments to a cave's spiritual energy, but why would his humble courtyard suddenly be upgraded?
He hadn't become a Nascent Soul cultivator yet, and rank 4 cave residences were normally reserved for Nascent Soul elders.
"Could it be…"
Suddenly, a thought struck Gu Mo.
"Xiao Mo! Xiao Mo!"
Just as the thought formed, Xiaohua appeared. Seeing her, Gu Mo instantly understood the reason behind the sudden rise in spiritual energy.
"Senior Martial Aunt received a spirit field, right? Can we grow Sunlit Glazed Flowers there again?" Xiaohua asked excitedly.
"Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua's spirit field…"
At that, Gu Mo's heart stirred. Now that Xiaohua had become a rank 4 Demon King, she held elder status within Shennong Valley. Naturally, the spirit field she received would be of rank 4.
"Ahem, Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua, how about leasing that field to your junior nephew in exchange for some of those super tasty treats?" Gu Mo offered with a cough.
"Okay, okay!"
Xiaohua clapped her hands in glee. Clearly, the allure of rank 4 Sun Essence far outweighed that of a spirit field. Gu Mo hadn't expected to gain access to a genuine rank 4 spirit field like this.
Even though Xiaohua had only received the minimum one mu of rank 4 land, expanding the area—even for elders—would still require contribution points.
But for Gu Mo, that single mu, combined with his existing three-tenths, gave him just over one mu and three-tenths—more than enough.
With a rank 4 spirit field secured, his next priority was to cultivate rank 4 Solar Flowers with full effort. However, he still needed to address the situation with his avatar.
"Senior Martial Aunt Xiaohua, could you do me a favor? There's a tasty reward in it for you." Gu Mo eyed Xiaohua as she blinked in and out of view.
Now that Xiaohua had become a Demon King, she had awakened a new innate divine ability—Wood Escape.
This was the Wood Escape from the Five Elemental Escape Arts. Xiaohua's natural talent for it had already reached a level comparable to mastery.
At the perfected stage, Wood Escape allowed her to vanish into vegetation. Even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't be able to catch her.
It also let her travel rapidly through plant matter. While it wasn't the fastest of the elemental escapes, it was still much quicker than most other escape techniques.
Gu Mo figured Xiaohua would be the perfect candidate to deliver something to his avatar—someone completely trustworthy.
"Okay, okay!"
At the mention of tasty food, Xiaohua nodded eagerly.
Seeing her agree, Gu Mo handed over a storage pouch containing Sunburst Pills he had recently refined, along with several portions of rank 4 Sun Essence. These were meant to help his avatar replenish Immortal Force, which had been significantly depleted earlier.
"Come right back, and don't wander off, understand?" Gu Mo instructed seriously.
"Don't worry!"
Xiaohua replied confidently. With that, she hugged the storage pouch and vanished.
Grand Yan Sword Sect.
"So fast!"
Gu Mo's avatar sensed the protective array of the sect being triggered and raised an eyebrow. The grand formation of Grand Yan Sword Sect hadn't been able to stop Xiaohua, even in its dormant state—proof of the terrifying might of a mastered divine art.
He got up, went to a large tree, and retrieved the storage pouch from a hollow.
As soon as she delivered the pouch, Xiaohua rushed back—eager for her treat. Though this errand only earned her regular food and not the really good stuff, she was still quite satisfied.
With the supplies from his original self, the avatar first absorbed several portions of Sun Essence, restoring more Immortal Force.
Then Gu Mo began summoning the core members of Grand Yan Sword Sect. Soon, five Golden Core elders and ten core disciples gathered—this was the heart of the sect.
Originally, there had been seven Golden Core elders, but two of them had been turned into puppets by the demonic sect—and they had been the strongest two.
Apart from the sect master Xuan Tianhen, who had reached Nascent Soul, the elders were all early-stage Golden Core cultivators. The only two mid-stage elders were the ones recently slain in the incident.
Controlled by demonic methods, they hadn't even been able to use their full strength before Gu Mo killed them using Immortal Force.
As for late-stage Golden Core cultivators, anyone who reached that level tended to suffer sudden and mysterious deaths—obviously, the demonic sect wanted to prevent Grand Yan Sword Sect from rising.
Previously, the cutoff had been peak Golden Core, but when Xuan Tianhen broke through, he'd masked his progress, holding back his cultivation. Once he had enough foundation, he surged straight from late-stage Golden Core to Nascent Soul.
The sudden leap caught the demonic sect off guard, and their spies were powerless against him once he became a Nascent Soul Sword Sovereign.
After that, the demonic sect lowered their threshold from peak Golden Core to late-stage Golden Core, even though it cost them more effort. Xuan Tianhen's rise had clearly rattled them.
The Grand Yan Sword Sect bore deep enmity toward the demonic sect. If they were to rise again, it would be a major problem for their enemies.
Apart from elders, the sect had some false core and outer core stewards, but they didn't count as core members.
Even inner disciples were higher priority, as they at least had a shot at reaching the Golden Core stage.
Still, there were quite a few inner disciples, and Gu Mo didn't have enough Sunburst Pills to go around—he had to prioritize the most critical members.
So long as the core remained intact, the sect could stay stable. This entire disaster had started because of a single traitorous elder. If not for internal sabotage, the demonic sect wouldn't have stood a chance—even with outside interference—against a sect with a Nascent Soul Sword Sovereign guarding it.
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
The elders and disciples saluted Gu Mo. Although he appeared to be at the Foundation Establishment stage, no one dared treat him as such.
After all, he had killed a demonized Golden Core elder with a single sword strike.
"You're all aware of the situation. Right now, no one can guarantee that there aren't still demonic puppets among us." Gu Mo's gaze swept over them.
His words caused everyone's expressions to darken. No one wanted to be labeled a traitor, but none of them could be sure they hadn't been unknowingly affected by demonic methods.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that morale had been severely damaged. After this incident, no one knew if the close friends they trusted might suddenly turn on them.
"However, I've found a solution," Gu Mo said without further suspense, taking out a seemingly ordinary pill.
It was a premium Sunburst Pill, but he had disguised its appearance to avoid drawing attention. As a skilled alchemist, disguising a pill's outer look was a trivial task.
With no other alchemists present, no one could tell what the pill actually was.
"Sect Master, can this really work?" a skeptical elder asked, eyeing the plain-looking pill.
The Grand Yan Sword Sect had poured immense effort into resisting demonic methods, with little success.
"Just try it and see."
Gu Mo tossed the pill to the elder who had spoken.
"This…"
The elder stared at the pill in his hand with hesitation. Its unknown origin made him uneasy. For all he knew, this could be a trick—the sect master's protégé might have already been controlled by the demonic sect and was now trying to turn them, too.
"Swallow it!"
Gu Mo knew that with everyone so paranoid, words alone wouldn't help. Only by taking the pill would they see its effects for themselves.
Refined from Sun Essence, the Sunburst Pill could dispel demonic energy. Even without demonic energy present, it still helped with cultivation. Gu Mo himself had experienced the benefits firsthand.
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