Chapter 269: The Little Loli Incarnation
Gu Mo's ideal incarnation form—while it didn't have to look exactly like his true body—at least couldn't be too far off. For example, if his true self was a handsome man, then the incarnation should at least be somewhat good-looking.
But what appeared before Gu Mo now wasn't just different—it was a completely different person. More precisely, it was a palm-sized, irresistibly cute little loli.
This wasn't just the difference between a handsome man and a slightly handsome one—this was a complete gender swap.
Gu Mo had been mentally prepared for accidents in the refining of his incarnation. After all, this whole process was full of uncertainty.
But to have his intended handsome incarnation turn into a cute little loli was just too outrageous. As a grown man, he had no desire to become a wide-eyed, adorable little girl. Yet it seemed the result was irreversible.
As for destroying this hard-won incarnation—absolutely not. Gu Mo had paid no small price to refine it.
"I wonder if disguise techniques would work on it." Gu Mo began considering how to make use of this little loli incarnation.
Using this little loli as the core, then layering an illusionary disguise of a handsome man on top—maybe that could work.
"Hmm?"
Just as Gu Mo was pondering how to use the incarnation, the little loli, who had been curled up with eyes closed, suddenly twitched her eyelids.
Gu Mo's heart jolted. The incarnation he refined had actually developed its own consciousness. An incarnation gaining independent awareness was extremely dangerous—it meant it might go out of control.
For an instant, Gu Mo thought about destroying her. But he quickly suppressed the thought.
If the incarnation had no mind, he could still treat it as an empty vessel. But once it awakened consciousness, it was no longer his incarnation. In some sense, it was more like his child.
To destroy a child of his own making—Gu Mo couldn't bring himself to do it. So he decided to observe further. Unless something truly uncontrollable happened, he wanted to see what kind of existence this little loli incarnation would become.
As her consciousness awoke, spiritual energy from heaven and earth poured toward her. Gu Mo hastily drew it in, guiding it to meet the little loli's needs.
With the influx of vast spiritual power, her palm-sized body began to grow. And the larger she grew, the more spiritual energy she devoured.
The ever-increasing demand put immense pressure on Gu Mo. Even with his Heaven and Earth Nascent Soul, which allowed him to draw energy directly from the void, he was nearly at his limit. Any other cultivator would have collapsed long ago.
But even Gu Mo couldn't hold out forever. When the little loli incarnation reached the form of a five- or six-year-old child, her hunger for energy completely exceeded his capacity.
He had no choice but to cut off the supply.
Deprived of spiritual energy, the little loli stopped growing. Then, opening eyes as bright as the stars, she looked around.
"Daddy!"
She blinked at her surroundings, then fixed her gaze on Gu Mo, leaping forward to hug him with a sweet cry.
"This is really…"
Although he had thought of the incarnation as a kind of child, now that she truly acted like a daughter, Gu Mo was still dumbfounded.
But it wasn't unacceptable. Looking at the adorable little loli, Gu Mo felt a deep, inseparable bond. With such a connection, at least this conscious incarnation wouldn't lose control.
"Hug!"
The little girl nuzzled against him affectionately, her eyes sparkling with expectation. Helplessly, Gu Mo picked her up. He had to admit, she was incredibly cute. Especially with the faintly ethereal aura around her—she seemed more like an otherworldly being than a mortal child.
That aura clearly came from the mysterious blood. Gu Mo was certain the owner of that blood must have been a supremely powerful female cultivator—perhaps even one of the legendary immortals.
Only an immortal bloodline could remain this strong through the endless years, strong enough that none of Gu Mo's methods could alter it, forcing his incarnation to become a little loli.
This was very likely the appearance of that immortal in her childhood.
Too bad the droplet of blood carried no spiritual imprint. Otherwise, that immortal might have been reborn directly. For a Body-Refinement Void cultivator, rebirth from a drop of blood was no longer difficult—let alone for a true immortal.
If an immortal could be revived, perhaps the zombie disaster plaguing the Tianyuan Realm could be solved. And Gu Mo himself would gain a mighty patron.
But he shook his head, dismissing such unrealistic thoughts. Whether an immortal's rebirth would be a blessing or calamity was unknowable. Who could say how immortals regarded mortals? Perhaps they wouldn't care at all. Perhaps that immortal would even scold him for desecrating her blood.
So, the current situation was actually the best outcome.
Holding the little loli in his arms, Gu Mo pinched her soft cheeks and said, "From now on, your name will be Ruan Ruan."
"Ruan Ruan!"
She tilted her head in confusion, not fully understanding.
Gu Mo didn't mind. With time, she would learn that Ruan Ruan was her name. Feeling a familiar presence outside, he carried her out of the chamber.
"Gu Mo, you…"
As the spiritual vortex in the sky faded, Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei hurried to his closed-door cultivation site, waiting for him to emerge. But when they saw Gu Mo appear cradling an adorable little loli, both women froze.
What was this?
"Daddy, hungry!"
Just as the two women stood stunned, the little one's next words left them speechless.
"Ahem, it's like this…"
Gu Mo briefly explained Ruan Ruan's origins. Upon learning that this little loli was Gu Mo's incarnation, Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei couldn't help but marvel. Soon, both women were fussing over the child, taking turns to hold her.
Ruan Ruan didn't resist. Instead, she pressed her little hand against Chu Feifei's chest and said in her soft, milky voice, "Ruan Ruan… hungry!"
"Hmph!"
Hearing that, the little girl Ruan, still nestled soft in his arms, gave a dissatisfied snort.
Several days later.
A disciple-acceptance ceremony was held in Qinglu Sect. A True Disciple of Shennong Valley had discovered a girl of outstanding natural talent and spiritual roots in the mortal world and was preparing to take her in. That girl, of course, was little Ruanruan.
"Ruanruan, from now on don't call me Daddy, call me Master, understand?" Gu Mo reminded the little loli before him. Although the incarnation he had imagined never came to be, gaining such a formidable disciple was not a bad outcome either.
Having inherited an immortal's bloodline, Ruanruan was already showing all sorts of extraordinary traits. Most notable was a light, ethereal aura hidden within her body. Gu Mo suspected it might even be the legendary Immortal Qi.
Whether it truly was Immortal Qi or not, this airy current within her would greatly benefit Ruanruan's future growth.
Her cultivation talent itself was terrifyingly high as well, but considering her immortal bloodline, that was hardly surprising.
During cultivation, the ethereal aura in her body would often grow active, releasing a special Dao resonance.
This resonance was of immense help for breaking through realms.
Because of this, the original cultivation group of Gu Mo, Chu Feifei, and Yuan Niya now gained little Ruanruan. Chu Feifei's fragrance accelerated cultivation, while Ruanruan's Dao resonance aided breakthroughs; combined, this allowed Yuan Niya's progress to skyrocket.
Just as Chu Feifei prepared to charge into the Nascent Soul realm, Yuan Niya, too, smoothly stepped into the perfection stage of Golden Core.
Gu Mo took Chu Feifei's breakthrough especially seriously. After all, she was unlike ordinary cultivators—her special physique was the Hundred Flowers Sacred Body.
It was easy for such a physique to attract a special tribulation. A normal Nascent Soul tribulation, with Chu Feifei's foundation, she could endure with ease. But a special tribulation—no one could guarantee she would survive. The power of such tribulations had no upper limit.
Thus all Gu Mo could do was prepare as many contingency plans as possible for Chu Feifei.
Thousands of li away from Qinglu Sect lay a 4th-rank spirit vein, the domain of a demon king. When that demon king learned Gu Mo required a 4th-rank spirit vein, he willingly ceded his territory.
Such was Gu Mo's current standing in the Qinghe Cultivation Realm. Anyone who had witnessed his battle slaying that intelligent zombie would know exactly who now upheld the heavens of this realm.
Had Gu Mo not acted, none of the Nascent Soul True Lords or demon kings who joined that battle would likely have returned alive.
Rumble!
Dark clouds rolled above that 4th-rank spirit vein as the Nascent Soul tribulation, drawn by Chu Feifei's breakthrough, descended.
Boom!
The first bolt of heavenly lightning fell, but was intercepted by a pink rabbit-shaped smoke beast.
Though each strike shrank the smoke beast, it continued to firmly shield Chu Feifei. Even as the final bolt came, the smoke beast had not yet vanished.
No other means were needed—Chu Feifei alone, with her smoke beast, bore the entire Nascent Soul tribulation. The smoke beast itself was her foundation, proof of how deep it ran. Of course, such depth was also thanks to the vast resources the Hundred Flowers Sect had poured into her.
As their hope for future rise, the sect had invested unimaginable amounts in Chu Feifei. And now those efforts bore fruit.
With the final bolt struck down, the smoke beast grew faint and ethereal, yet it still endured, shielding Chu Feifei.
"Of course there's more."
Gu Mo sighed as he looked at the clouds that refused to scatter. With the Hundred Flowers Sacred Body, there was always a chance of attracting a special tribulation, and that chance only grew as her foundation deepened.
With Chu Feifei's level of foundation, a special tribulation was practically inevitable. But there were many types—what kind would she face?
"So foul!"
As Gu Mo pondered, a soul-piercing stench wafted down from the sky. At some point the dark tribulation clouds had turned a ghastly green, the stench rolling forth from them.
The green clouds funneled downward toward Chu Feifei.
Clearly her special tribulation was not a direct-damage thunder trial, but a biochemical ordeal. Chu Feifei's response was simple—fully unleash the Hundred Flowers Sacred Body, using her fragrance to dispel the stench.
If she succeeded, her Sacred Body would ascend to a higher level. If she failed, unable to purge the foulness, the Sacred Body would be tainted and ultimately destroyed.
Chu Feifei had prepared. Long ago, the founding ancestor of Hundred Flowers Sect, also a bearer of this body, endured such a tribulation. Though no two tribulations were the same, that precedent provided crucial guidance.
Thus among the items provided for her tribulation crossing was a supply of specially made fragrant dew.
This dew released clouds of fragrance, forming a wall to block the descending stench.
But that alone could never be enough. Were special tribulations so easily overcome, they would not inspire such dread.
The fragrant dew was only a supplement. In the end, success depended on Chu Feifei's own foundation.
So fragrance and stench clashed in battle, raging on for three full days. It tormented all nearby living beings' noses—not only noses, for the scents struck directly at the soul. Pinching one's nose was no escape; only distance could spare them.
Yet the pull of a special tribulation kept people from leaving. And when some discovered that enduring this constant assault of fragrance and stench could actually temper their souls, fewer still wished to depart.
Even vomiting froth from mouth and nose, they clenched their teeth and persisted. Everyone knew how hard it was to strengthen the soul. To miss this chance for mere discomfort would be lifelong regret.
"Looks like she's through!"
As the stench in the sky gradually faded, Gu Mo knew Chu Feifei had weathered the trial. After so much preparation, anything else would have been unreasonable.
"Go!"
With the last traces of foulness gone, Gu Mo took Yuan Niya and little Ruanruan by the hand, hurrying toward Chu Feifei. For the breakthrough would now release a heavenly fortune.
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