With a “whoosh,” a giant ape emerged within the light screen amidst a radiant glow, then took several steps forward before halting in front of the kneeling young girl.
The middle-aged cultivator and the others slightly changed their expressions, watching the puppet with a hint of concern. The young girl in the yellow shirt, however, opened her slightly reddened bright eyes and gazed somewhat bewildered at the giant ape before her.
“I don’t care whether what you said is false or truly pitiable, but I never act without benefit. I observe that you are still a virgin, and it so happens that I have reached a bottleneck in my cultivation. Perhaps with the aid of dual cultivation, I can break through once more. If you are willing to become my cauldron, the three Supreme Origin Pills in this small vial will be more than enough to cure your father. You can have your fellow disciples take the pills back while you enter the formation. I never force others nor bully the weak. If you are unwilling, you may leave now as if you had never met me.” The man’s icy words carried no emotion.
At that moment, the giant ape puppet raised a single hand, revealing a small, warm, and lustrous white jade vial, offering it to the kneeling girl.
Hearing this, the girl was momentarily stunned. Though young, she understood the meanings of dual cultivation and cauldron. Her originally pale, delicate cheeks flushed with an alluring blush, yet she agreed without hesitation: “Very well. If it can truly restore my father to health, this junior willingly offers herself as your cauldron.” As she spoke, she extended her slender, fair wrist, took the jade vial, and slowly rose to her feet.
“Xing’er! How can you do this? How will I explain this to your father?” The middle-aged cultivator, startled by her words, urgently cried out to stop her.
The other four men and women also turned pale and voiced their objections.
“Uncle-Master, please examine the pills in this vial. Will they truly be of use to my father?” Ignoring the middle-aged cultivator’s alarm, the girl calmly raised her delicate hand and tossed the vial to him, her expression serene.
“You… sigh!” The middle-aged cultivator caught the vial, gazed at the girl’s expressionless, youthful face, and sighed helplessly, knowing he could no longer change her mind. With a grim expression, he opened the vial and poured out a pale blue pill.
A peculiar, refreshing fragrance immediately filled the air. Everyone who caught its scent felt invigorated, experiencing extreme physical and mental comfort.
“This pill was refined from a demon core!” The middle-aged cultivator first grew suspicious upon smelling the fragrance, but after sniffing the pill twice, he exclaimed in astonished delight.
“Refined from a demon core? Can this Supreme Origin Pill truly cure my father?” The girl remained exceptionally calm, coolly pressing for an answer.
“Although I do not know the exact effects of this medicine, this pill is absolutely precious. It is likely not a deceitful claim.” The middle-aged cultivator’s expression was complex, but after hesitating, he spoke the truth.
“Thank you, Uncle-Master, for telling me. This puts Xing’er at ease. I must trouble you to take this medicine back. Tell my father to consider it as if he never had an unfilial child like me in this life.” The girl let out a sigh, her bright eyes reddening before she turned and rushed into the light screen without looking back.
Witnessing this, the middle-aged cultivator’s expression shifted several times. He opened his mouth but said nothing, instead tightening his grip on the jade vial.
The giant ape puppet then returned to the light screen, and the previously parted screen slowly closed.
“Uncle-Master, are we really going to let Junior Sister Gongsun become someone’s cauldron?” The stout young man, his face full of anxiety, finally blurted out loudly. The expressions of the other two women were equally troubled.
“Can’t you see? Your junior sister has made up her mind. There’s no way we can stop her. Besides, this senior’s pill might truly cure the sect leader. For the sake of the Qingling Sect, I cannot interfere.” The middle-aged cultivator’s expression darkened as he spoke in a low voice.
“But we can’t let junior sister become a cauldron! Isn’t that ruining her life?” The young man’s face flushed crimson as he argued, unwilling to give up.
“Junior Nephew Li, I know you and Xing’er grew up together, as close as siblings. But now, nothing can be changed.” The middle-aged cultivator’s lips twitched, his face a mask of conflict.
“Uncle-Master, Junior Sister Gongsun has been teleported away.” The woman in blue suddenly cried out in alarm.
Hearing this, the middle-aged cultivator and the stout young man hurriedly looked. They saw the light screen glowing brilliantly, the girl’s figure gradually blurring within the radiance. Moments later, the light faded, and the girl vanished, leaving only scattered, lonely fallen leaves in her wake.
At this sight, the stout young man deflated like a balloon, squatting with his head in his hands, stunned into silence.
The middle-aged cultivator wordlessly patted the young man’s shoulder, offering some comfort. Half an hour later, the group activated their artifacts and left the island, flying out of the misty sea.
Wrapped in the radiant light, the girl in the yellow shirt felt dizzy and disoriented as she was teleported away by the restriction. By the time she regained her senses, she found herself standing in an unfamiliar small valley. Steep stone cliffs rose on both sides, and ahead stood a massive green stone door several zhang tall.
The girl glanced around, feeling uncertain and not knowing what to do, when a flash of light appeared, and the giant ape puppet emerged behind her.
Ignoring the girl, the giant ape strode toward the stone door, pushing it open stiffly with both hands. The green stone door swung inward easily.
“You are Gongsun Xing, correct? Follow this puppet into the cave dwelling. Wait two days, and I will emerge from seclusion.” The man’s voice appeared mysteriously before fading away.
Biting her red lip, the girl in the yellow shirt stepped through the green stone door. Following the giant ape puppet as it turned left and right, she was soon led to a stone room several zhang in size.
The room contained nothing but a stone bed draped with an unknown fur, a stone table, and two stone chairs.
After leading her there, the giant ape left the room on its own, leaving the somewhat bewildered girl standing dazed in place.
After briefly surveying the room, the girl looked outside. The stone door remained open, seemingly allowing free passage. However, after a moment’s thought, she slowly sat on the edge of the bed, cupping her cheeks in her hands as she lost herself in thought.
Though she had long prepared herself for this sacrifice, the thought of the impending dual cultivation and the rumored life of a cauldron naturally filled her with fear. Moreover, now alone in an unfamiliar environment, she felt profoundly desolate.
Over an hour later, the girl stopped her restless thoughts and glanced at the passage outside the room, hesitating.
After a moment, she stood up and quietly stepped out of the room. Leaving the stone chamber, she followed a small path for a short distance before turning into a large hall with several arched doorways intersecting each other. One of them was the passage she had entered from.
What caught the girl’s attention was that beside each arched doorway stood a motionless giant ape puppet, as still as inanimate objects.
Blinking her long eyelashes, the girl cautiously approached the nearest arched doorway. But before she could get close, the nearby giant ape silently shifted, expressionlessly blocking her path.
The girl fearfully took a step back, and the giant ape coldly returned to its original position. Her dark eyes shifting thoughtfully, she tentatively moved forward again, and the puppet similarly blocked her way.
This time, Gongsun Xing understood that the path ahead was not for her to take, so she turned toward another arched doorway.
This time, the nearby giant ape puppet remained motionless, putting the girl at ease as she passed through the door. Beyond lay a rather unique small garden, and ahead stood another stone house with its door tightly shut.
The girl walked up to the door and curiously pushed it with her delicate hand. The stone door opened easily. This time, Xing’er swept her clear gaze across the room—everything was visible at a glance.
A stone platform piled with jade slips of various colors stood in the center of the room. Beside it was a short, round stone stool and a few pots of unusually quiet, pale green plants, giving the place an exceptionally serene atmosphere.
Pursing her adorable little lips, the girl walked in without further thought.
She approached the stone platform, casually picked up a red jade slip, and immersed her spiritual sense into it.
It was a text introducing knowledge of formations, which didn’t interest the girl. After a quick glance, she withdrew her spiritual sense and returned the jade slip to its place.
She then picked up a white jade slip and again used her spiritual sense to examine it. This time, it was a text on artifact refining. Naturally, the girl had no intention of studying it in detail and similarly withdrew her spiritual sense.
However, the contents of the two jade slips being different piqued her curiosity. She picked up three or four more in succession, examining them one by one.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage