With their last hope dashed, the ghosts could only glare fiercely at the nine-headed fire phoenix, their eyes filled with intense hatred, attempting to send it back to its homeland with their gaze.
Shen Xun set up a table and chairs on the side, leisurely drinking tea and eating pastries, paying little attention to anything around him. He looked out at the boundless Black Sea, admiring the beautiful scenery alone.
The gaze swept across the mountains and rivers, gradually shifting to Qinghe.
Looking at the blue figure teasing the demon ghost, he felt a mix of emotions.
No matter what goes wrong, no matter how the story unfolds, she will eventually come to Mount Futu; no one can stop the wheels of fate from turning.
He sighed inwardly, his gaze toward Qinghe becoming complex, filled with regret, sadness, pity, and grief, which were difficult to describe for a moment.
It was only then that he realized he had long regarded Qinghe as a close friend and confidant, rather than a pitiful person born to sacrifice himself for the common people.
He ran his fingertips over the red thread and copper coin on his wrist and murmured, "I hope she survives in the end."
The journey was long, so Qinghe, having nothing else to do, started reading the medical books that Zhuge Hongming had left her.
The book contained many effective prescriptions and secret medicines, as well as spiritual herbs and stones. Although Qinghe did not understand pharmacology, he read it with great interest and even began to gather heavenly fire in his hands and circulate spiritual power according to the methods recorded in the book.
"It's a pity there are no herbs for me to try..."
Shen Xun, holding a foxtail grass he had picked from who-knows-where, was teasing the Nine-Headed Fiery Phoenix. Hearing this, he turned to look at her and said, "With your current level of Heavenly Fire, you're not good enough to make a pill."
Qinghe pouted: "Can you not be so discouraging?"
Shen Xun smirked: "There's something even more shocking to you. Want to hear it?"
Qinghe nodded. She was still very open to learning.
Shen Xun put down the foxtail grass and began to teach in a serious tone: "The spiritual power required for alchemy is strong and pure. The heavenly fire gathered in this way is the purest and most benevolent, without any blemishes. To heal the sick and save lives, having a kind heart is the foundation of medicine. Becoming a qualified alchemist is not so easy."
He walked over to Qinghe, looked at the faint heavenly fire in her palm, and said to her, "Your heavenly fire has too many impurities; you still need to practice more."
Qinghe listened to his words and carefully observed the milky white flame in his hand. However, no matter how he looked at it, he could only see a white color and did not find the impurities that Shen Xun had mentioned.
"The reason why the Heavenly Fire is impure is because you have too many distracting thoughts in your mind and cannot fully concentrate. As the saying goes, 'One who is near vermilion gets stained red and one who is near ink gets stained black.' Usually, one cannot recognize one's own shortcomings, but even others need to reach a certain level of cultivation to see them."
Shen Xun glanced at her, raised his head slightly, and said with a hint of smugness, "I haven't lived these years for nothing. My cultivation is much stronger than yours, so I can tell at a glance."
Qinghe was annoyed by his arrogant tone and rolled her eyes at him, saying, "No matter how good you are, you're still just a little kid!"
His previously smug expression immediately fell. Shen Xun looked at his small body with disdain, turned his head and walked to a corner, sulking to himself, planning to change his body once he arrived at Mount Futu.
Xiao Hong continued to torment those poor demon ghosts relentlessly. Their initial spirit of never giving up and never surrendering had long been worn away, leaving only an impatient desire to die.
Finally, unable to endure the torment any longer, he could only raise the white flag and surrender, looking pitifully at Qinghe with one eye.
Qinghe strolled over leisurely. "What, surrendering?"
One of the ghosts nodded vigorously, making muffled sounds. It took Qing a while to realize that it was talking to her.
Unfortunately, she couldn't understand it.
Looking at the Nine-Headed Fiery Phoenix, I saw its crimson eyes darting around. The ghost said a sentence, and it translated it beside me.
Unfortunately, she still couldn't understand.
Please, you two are both beasts!
"It is saying that their appearance in the Qingshan Forest was a sneak out from the wilderness, not at the behest of the Demon Lord."
As he spoke, he looked at Qinghe, only to see her staring at him with a look of horror, as if she were looking at a monster.
"What's wrong?"
Qing said admiringly, "I didn't expect you to understand even animal language. You're practically an all-around genius!"
Upon hearing the long-forgotten English words, Shen Xun was momentarily stunned, but the moment was quickly forgotten, and he waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing.
Qing was focused on listening to the demonic language and blurted out English, naturally not noticing Shen Xun's reaction.
The ghost continued speaking in a language no one could understand, and Shen Xun translated, "It said they secretly followed a woman to the Central Plains."
Qinghe asked, "What woman?"
After listening for a while, Shen Xun said, "She is the young lady of the Demon Clan."
After saying that, he began to ponder to himself. Had the young lady of the Demon Clan come to the Central Plains? He hadn't noticed. He sighed inwardly; since his injury, many things had become unpredictable.
Qinghe, however, remained calm. She already knew that Ji Lingyin had arrived in the Central Plains and was currently searching for the Divine Pearl with the main characters.
Before she left, she had warned Li Jiang to be careful of his junior sister. As the senior brother, Li Jiang was calm, collected, and suspicious, so she wasn't too worried.
However, when she looked at the few demon ghosts, she originally thought they were the vanguard sent by Ji Chen to disturb the Central Plains. Who knew they were just a few mischievous children who had run away from home and were too weak to be captured by cultivators. It was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.
Qinghe immediately lost interest and walked to the side, watching Xiaohong devour the ghosts as if they were food. He then listlessly turned his gaze away.
Shen Xun picked up the foxtail grass again to tease Xiao Hong, but Xiao Hong, having eaten and drunk her fill, paid him no attention and lay down to rest.
Shen Xun shrugged and sat back down, but when he turned around, he found that Qing He had disappeared.
The space within the jade pendant was serene. Starlight shone over the bright moon, and between the horizon and the sea, Qi Rong, dressed in a red brocade robe, floated on the surface of the sea, smiling and gazing at Qing He from afar.
Qinghe sat on the stone table, propping his head up, staring at Qi Rong's figure in a daze.
The jade pendant space is indeed mysterious; it is born from the heart and dies from the heart, and the state of mind is illuminated by the space without any concealment.
This is Qinghe's state of mind at this moment.
The sea and sky blend into one color, rippling with waves, and the reflection in the water reflects the master's unparalleled elegance.
The surroundings were quiet and peaceful, and no one disturbed their momentary reunion.
Qinghe looked languid, his smile malicious, and waved to Qirong on the sea.
Qi Rong, who was far away, flashed to Qing He's side, her robes fluttering, and a lingering fragrance of ink filled the air.
Qinghe stared intently at Qirong's face, and after a long while, he waved his sleeve to dispel the illusion.
It is beautiful, but it lacks vitality, so it doesn't quite feel like him.
The moonlight enveloped her, making her appear inexplicably lonely and desolate.
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