Mo Yuhan's heart skipped a beat. He spoke without hesitation, his voice firm and sincere: "I want to see it too."
Ah Yin quietly watched him for a few seconds.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting delicate shadows on her long eyelashes.
The stream gurgled, birds chirped, and time seemed to slow down at this moment.
Finally, that smile, as if containing the vitality of the entire spring, fully bloomed on her face, dazzlingly bright.
"Good," she said softly, only one word, but her voice carried a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and genuine joy from the bottom of her heart.
Mo Yuhan felt as if a huge stone had landed in his heart with a thud, and immense joy, like a warm tide, instantly engulfed his limbs and bones.
It was done. He had finally succeeded in temporarily and firmly Binding this pure Blue Silver Emperor to his side.
Far away from that tragic vortex named Tang Hao.
"That's great!"
Mo Yuhan couldn't help but exclaim softly, his face beaming with a brilliant smile, showing the youthful exuberance of his true age.
He reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to express something, but then felt it was not quite appropriate, and scratched his head a little awkwardly, which made Ah Yin let out a very soft but melodious laugh like a silver bell.
The sun was bright, the stream sang, and white petals still drifted silently in the wind.
Two figures stood under the blossoming ancient tree, one in a blue dress with dark hair, serene like a forest elf.
The other with bright eyes, full of youthful vigor and determination.
The threads of fate, at this moment, quietly intertwined, deviating from their original path soaked in blood and tears.
A month's time, like sand slipping through fingers, quietly passed in the forest's morning mist and the faint glow of the campfire.
Mo Yuhan and Ah Yin, this peculiar pair, had long left the rebuilding village, like two free clouds, wandering along the winding edges of the Star Dou Great Forest towards the unknown distance.
The pace of the journey was relaxed and free.
There was no clear destination, only exploration at will.
They waded through clear streams, paved with colorful pebbles, the cool water reaching their ankles. Ah Yin would bend down, her fingertips gently touching the water, and a few startled small fish would, under her guidance, curiously swim around her fair ankles, playing.
They climbed hills with open views, overlooking the undulating forest canopy below, like a green ocean, watching flocks of birds sweep across the sky, leaving long chirps.
They occasionally stopped in valleys full of unknown wildflowers. Ah Yin would close her eyes, spread her arms, feeling the breeze caress her hair, carrying the fragrance of pollen and grass, as if resonating with the life breath of the entire valley.
Mo Yuhan often searched nearby for peculiar ores or herbs with special medicinal properties to introduce to Ah Yin, occasionally even clumsily picking a bouquet of brightly colored wildflowers to give her, which earned him a look of helpless amusement from her.
Ah Yin was like a dry sponge, greedily absorbing every detail about the human World.
She curiously observed the villagers they occasionally encountered, who ventured into the forest's edge to gather wild produce or herbs.
She watched how they used simple tools to dig up tubers buried deep underground, how they used special knots to bind their harvest, how they conversed in local dialects with strong accents, and even how they showed genuine, simple, contented smiles over a small harvest.
Whenever this happened, her emerald eyes would light up with curiosity, and she would pull Mo Yuhan to quietly observe from a distance for a long time, then softly ask about the meaning of the behaviors and languages she didn't understand.
Mo Yuhan became her most patient and "professional" guide and interpreter.
He not only explained those behaviors but also extended to the division of labor in human society, trade, and even some simple rules.
He spoke of the bustling markets, the differences in food flavors from different regions, the shrewd calculations of innkeepers, the mercenary life of licking blood from blades...
His stories were still captivating, but he no longer deliberately transmitted "negative news" about the Clear Sky Sect and Tang Hao, instead focusing more on describing the vastness of the Dou Qi Continent and the various aspects of human life.
"Ah Yin, look at the purple vines hanging from that cliff over there, don't they look like a waterfall?"
Mo Yuhan pointed to a distant rock face covered in small purple flowers, his tone intimate and natural.
He was much shorter than Ah Yin, but he called her "Ah Yin" without any psychological burden.
Ah Yin looked in the direction he pointed, her lips curving into a gentle arc: "Hmm, it's very beautiful. Yu Han, your eyes are really sharp."
That afternoon, they passed through a dense, primeval forest area where sunlight could barely penetrate.
The air was filled with the heavy scent of humus and a faint miasma. The ground beneath their feet was slippery and soft, covered with thick moss and fallen leaves.
It was exceptionally quiet all around, with only the occasional chirping of unknown insects, which only added to the oppressive atmosphere.
However, peaceful days are ultimately interludes.
Moonlight, like water, quietly flowed over a towering broken cliff on the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The night wind, carrying the forest's unique dampness and the fresh scent of plants, swept over the clifftop, stirring their clothes and hair.
Below the cliff was an endless expanse of forest canopy, undulating like a dark ocean under the moonlight, stretching to the distant horizon, where it met the star-studded night sky.
Above, the boundless deep blue sky, the Milky Way like a ribbon, spanning the heavens, billions of stars scattered within like Broken diamonds, shimmering with cool and eternal light.
Mo Yuhan and Ah Yin sat side by side on a flat and large rock.
A tranquil and subtle atmosphere permeated the air, carrying a hint of faint sorrow.
Mo Yuhan's gaze fell on Ah Yin's profile.
Moonlight, like silver gauze, cascaded down, outlining her delicate jawline, her elegant nose, and her long, thick eyelashes.
She was slightly tilted her head back, gazing at the vast starry river, her emerald eyes reflecting the brilliant starlight, as profound as the universe itself, flowing with a distant and serene glow.
The night wind stirred a few strands of dark hair by her temples, gently brushing her fair cheek.
"So beautiful..."
Ah Yin murmured softly, her voice like a dream, carrying an almost devout longing, "No matter how many times I see it, this vast starry river makes one feel their own insignificance."
She slightly turned her head to look at Mo Yuhan, starlight falling into her eyes, breathtakingly beautiful, "Xiao Han, look at that brightest star, doesn't it look like that glowing little flower we saw by the stream?"
Following the direction of her slender finger, Mo Yuhan saw the brilliant Sirius in the night sky.
He smiled and nodded: "Yes, it does."
But a pang of sadness arose in his heart; such a peaceful and beautiful moment was about to be broken.
He was silent for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously caressing the cold rock beneath him.
Finally, he took a deep breath, as if having made some kind of decision, his voice rising in the silent night sky, with a hint of deliberately suppressed calm.
"Ah Yin."
"Hmm?" Ah Yin still looked up at the starry sky, only softly responding, her voice slightly rising at the end, with a hint of inquiry.
"I..." Mo Yuhan paused, organizing his words, trying to make his voice sound less heavy, "I need to leave for a while."
Ah Yin's posture, looking up at the starry sky, seemed to freeze for a moment.
The night wind was still blowing, but the tranquil aura around her seemed like a lake into which a stone had been thrown, rippling imperceptibly.
Under the moonlight, her flawless profile turned towards Mo Yuhan, her emerald eyes no longer reflecting the starry river, but clearly reflecting Mo Yuhan's young and serious face.
"Leave?" Her voice was very soft, like a falling feather, yet it clearly penetrated the night wind, "Go where?"
There was no questioning, no pleading, only the most direct inquiry, so calm that Mo Yuhan's heart suddenly tightened.
"A... very distant place."
Mo Yuhan avoided specific names; he couldn't explain the existence of the Dou Qi Continent.
"I still have some things I must do."
He met Ah Yin's gaze, trying to make his eyes appear sincere and frank, "Very important things, concerning another important relative of mine."
Ah Yin listened quietly, starlight falling on her long eyelashes, casting small fan-shaped shadows.
Silence spread between the two. This silence was heavier than any words, pressing down on Mo Yuhan almost to the point of suffocation.
Ah Yin's gaze returned to the vast starry river.
But Mo Yuhan keenly noticed that the starlight in her eyes seemed to have dimmed considerably.
She hugged her knees, her body slightly curled up, her chin gently resting on her knees. That posture revealed a silent vulnerability and loneliness.
The night wind stirred her blue-green skirt and long dark hair, and moonlight flowed over her, yet it seemed unable to bring a trace of warmth.
Time passed in silence, each second as long as a century. On the clifftop, there was only the sound of the wind, and the faint hooting of a night owl from deep within the distant forest.
After an unknown period, so long that Mo Yuhan almost thought time had frozen.
Ah Yin finally moved.
She very slowly released her hands from around her knees.
She didn't look at Mo Yuhan, but just lowered her head, her gaze falling on her hands clasped on her knees.
Those hands, with long, slender fingers, fair as jade, seemed to emit a soft glow under the moonlight.
She raised her right hand, reaching for a strand of silver hair that fell across her chest, her fingertips gently twisting at the ends of the hair a few times. Mo Yuhan held his breath, seeing a few extremely tiny, yet intensely vibrant, blue-green light spots, like living fireflies, flowing from her fingertips, gently Binding around those strands of hair.
Immediately after, a shocking scene occurred.
Those few strands of hair, entwined with blue-green light spots, actually began to grow and intertwine slowly and spontaneously, as if they had a life of their own.
They were not woven, but like living vines, under the guidance of Ah Yin's incomparably pure original life energy from her fingertips, they spontaneously and exquisitely interwove and gathered.
This process was silent, yet filled with an indescribable magical rhythm.
Mo Yuhan watched intently; he recognized that energy—it was the Blue Silver Emperor's most core original life force. She was actually using her original power to weave him a... farewell gift
The slender strands of hair in Ah Yin's fingertips were like the most docile silk threads, flexibly weaving and knotting, and gradually, the rudimentary form of an ancient yet unique bracelet appeared.
The main body of the bracelet was composed of her silver hair, and at the core nodes where the hair was Binding, three small Blue Silver Grass leaves, as if carved from jadeite, were cleverly incorporated.
Those leaves were not solid objects, but rather solidified from highly condensed Blue Silver Emperor's original life energy, crystal clear, with a green halo seemingly flowing slowly within, exuding a soft yet tenacious life aura.
When the last trace of original energy was withdrawn into her fingertips, the bracelet was completely finished.
It lay quietly in Ah Yin's fair palm, shimmering with the intertwined luster of dark jade and jadeite under the moonlight, simple yet containing immeasurable life energy and... a deeper connection.
Only then did Ah Yin raise her head and look at Mo Yuhan again.
She stretched out her hand, holding the Blue Silver Grass bracelet, which had condensed her original power, in her palm, and offered it to Mo Yuhan.
"Take it," her voice was very soft, yet it carried an undeniable firmness.
Mo Yuhan looked at the bracelet before him, then at Ah Yin's eyes, which held so many emotions, and his throat felt as if something was tightly choked, aching with soreness.
Without the slightest hesitation, he extended a slightly trembling hand and, with utmost solemnity, took the bracelet, which still carried her body temperature and original aura, from Ah Yin's palm.
It was cool to the touch, and the texture was pliable.
The three jadeite-like leaves, pressed against his skin, transmitted a gentle yet tenacious life rhythm, as if a strange resonance was generated with his own heartbeat.
He could clearly feel Ah Yin's aura contained within it, pure and vast, full of vitality, as if a part of her life had been entrusted into his hands.
"Sister Ah Yin..." Mo Yuhan's voice was a little hoarse, thousands of words stuck in his chest, but he didn't know where to begin.
"Wear it."
Ah Yin interrupted him, her gaze fixed on his eyes, as if to deeply imprint his current appearance into the depths of her soul, "It will guide you, and it will... protect you."
Her gaze was piercing, carrying a power that could penetrate hearts: "No matter how long you go, no matter how far you walk... Half a year. Every six months, come back here."
She stretched out her finger, pointing to the cliff beneath their feet, "Right here, let me... see that you are safe."
"Half a year as the term, reunite here."
These eight words, she spoke slowly and clearly, each word as if using all her strength, heavily striking Mo Yuhan's heart.
It was not a command, not a demand, but an invisible thread tied by a lonely soul in the vast world for the person she cared about most, carrying earnest expectations.
It was a return date she had anchored for herself in the vast sea of humanity.
Mo Yuhan tightly clenched the cool bracelet in his hand, his fingertips slightly white from the effort.
He looked at the reluctance and anticipation in Ah Yin's eyes that almost drowned him, feeling as if his heart was fiercely gripped by an invisible hand, hurting so much that he could barely breathe.
He nodded vigorously, as if to use all his strength to make this promise, his voice carrying an undeniable decisiveness:
"Okay! Sister, I promise you! Every six months, Star Dou Cliff, we'll meet there!"
Hearing his firm promise, the calm icy shell Ah Yin had painstakingly maintained on her face finally showed a crack.
The corners of her lips curved slightly upwards, but before the smile could fully blossom, her eyes welled up with an uncontrollable, heartbreaking redness.
Crystal tears quickly gathered and swirled in her beautiful jade-like eyes, like morning dew rolling on lotus leaves, trembling precariously, stubbornly refusing to fall.
She quickly lowered her head, her silver hair falling like a waterfall, covering most of her face and concealing the vulnerability that was about to burst forth.
Only her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed the surging emotional storm within her.
Mo Yuhan looked at her lowered head and slightly trembling shoulders, feeling his heart tighten fiercely, aching beyond measure.
He instinctively reached out, as he usually would, to pat her shoulder, or clumsily offer a few words of comfort.
He tightly gripped the cool bracelet in his palm, as if it were the only link connecting the two of them, the token supporting him to fulfill his promise.
The night wind whimpered as it swept across the cliff, picking up a few withered leaves that swirled and disappeared into the deep night.
The vast galaxy silently revolved overhead, indifferently watching the two companions on the cliff top who were about to part.
"I..." Mo Yuhan took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady, yet it still carried a faint, almost imperceptible hoarseness, "It's time for me to go, Ah Yin, you... take care, take care of yourself."
He forced himself to turn around, with his back to Ah Yin; he dared not look at her current appearance again, fearing that if he looked one more time, he would never be able to move his feet to leave.
His steps were as heavy as if filled with lead, and he walked step by step towards the path that led from the cliff to the forest below, the moonlight stretching his lonely shadow long on the rocks.
Just as he was about to step onto that winding path—
"Xiao Han!"
Ah Yin's voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
Mo Yuhan's footsteps were as if nailed, suddenly stopping, his heart almost stopped beating at that moment, and he turned around abruptly.
He saw that Ah Yin had raised her head at some point, and tears finally broke through the last line of defense, rolling down in large drops like broken pearls, leaving two glistening trails on her fair, jade-like cheeks.
It was her first time being human, and she couldn't fully comprehend the emotion of separation.
However, her body reacted in the most genuine way.
Under the moonlight, those tear stains shimmered with broken light, breathtakingly beautiful, yet also suffocatingly painful.
Mo Yuhan felt a huge pang of sorrow rush to his nose, his eyes instantly burning, and he took one last deep look at Ah Yin, as if to engrave her tearful appearance into the depths of his soul.
Then, he turned sharply, no longer hesitating in the slightest, almost fleeing, rushing into the moonlit path, his figure quickly swallowed by the dense shadows of the trees below.
The moment his figure disappeared at the end of the path—
Whoosh—
A strange wind, without warning, swirled up from above the cliff.
This wind did not come from the sky, but originated from the cliff top itself, from where Ah Yin stood.
Centered around Ah Yin, all the Blue Silver Grass on the entire cliff, and even in the vast, boundless forest below as far as the eye could see, at this moment, seemed to receive a supreme summons.
They no longer quietly swayed with the wind, but rather, in unison, with an almost devout posture, stretched their slender grass stems towards the direction Mo Yuhan had left—the end of that deep, winding path.
Thousands, millions of Blue Silver Grass, were saying goodbye to Mo Yuhan
The clamor of Wutan City was shut out by the thick stone door once Mo Yuhan stepped into his exclusive Alchemist's chamber at the Mittel Auction House.
The air was filled with a perennial scent of herbs, mixed with the aroma of metal and fire.
A massive, dark, heavy medicinal cauldron stood in the center of the room, ancient runes on its body faintly visible in the dim light, like a sleeping giant beast.
Mo Yuhan stood before the cauldron, his figure still slender, but the tranquility in his dark eyes was deeper than the night in Wutan City.
He extended his right hand, palm facing upwards.
"Puff!"
With a soft sound, it wasn't a raging flame that surged, but a cluster of pale yellow flame that quietly leaped out.
This flame had a peculiar color, dark and heavy, like solidified Xuan Huang Flame ignited, yet its edges flowed with a metallic, cold, hard luster.
At the center of the flame, the temperature was so high it distorted the air, yet, strangely, not a single trace of heat spilled out; all its ferocity was perfectly contained within its small confines.
Grandmaster Gu Ni stood to the side, this Second-Rank Alchemist, highly respected in Wutan City, his face now devoid of the initial shock he felt when his disciple told him this was an unusual flame, leaving only an almost numb admiration and a hint of imperceptible melancholy.
He watched the pale yellow flame obediently leaping in Mo Yuhan's palm; every subtle fluctuation drew the sparse fire-attribute energy in the air, emitting a low hum.
Mo Yuhan's alchemy was nearing its end.
Gu Ni's gaze now carried a final test.
The cluster of pale yellow Xuan Huang Flame in his palm seemed to come alive, suddenly surging and transforming into a condensed stream of fire, instantly pouring into the bottom of the medicinal cauldron.
"Chh—!"
The moment the medicinal ingredients touched the high temperature inside the cauldron, a strange, soft sound, as if metal was being melted, was emitted.
In Gu Ni's gaze, the medicinal liquid was extracted with extreme dominance and unparalleled precision, while impurities turned to nothingness under the flame's licking, the entire process was as fast as lightning, yet flowed like clouds and water, his control over the heat had reached perfection.
Mo Yuhan's eyes were focused like solidified stars.
His spirit power was highly concentrated, transforming into countless invisible tentacles, reaching deep into the cauldron, precisely sensing every subtle change in medicinal properties, every fusion point, and every minute difference in heat.
His fingers seemingly casually tapped on the surface of the medicinal cauldron; each tap was accompanied by a subtle transformation in the flame's shape inside the cauldron—sometimes like an enraged lion roaring, flames churning, forcefully refining the most stubborn essence.
Sometimes like a spiritual snake Binding, strand by strand, gently combing the meridians of the medicinal liquid.
And sometimes, it was as silent as the earth, heavily nurturing the nascent pill that was about to form.
Time flowed by amidst the pervasive scent of medicine.
Gu Ni held his breath, his eyes unblinking.
Under the miraculous control of the pale yellow flame, a jade-white liquid, radiating vibrant vitality and a soft luster, finally formed.
Pill Condensation!
This was the most critical and dangerous step; the violent energy needed to be compressed to its extreme in an instant, and even a slight mistake would result in the destruction of the pill and the collapse of the cauldron!
Mo Yuhan's gaze sharpened, and he suddenly pressed his right hand virtually onto the medicinal cauldron.
"Om—!"
The medicinal cauldron emitted a dull tremor, and the pale yellow flame inside it suddenly contracted, transforming into a rapidly spinning fiery vortex.
A terrifying suction forcefully pulled all the jade-white medicinal liquid into the center of the vortex, and astonishing high temperature and pressure instantly erupted.
Gu Ni's heart was in his throat; he could feel the extremely violent energy fluctuation inside the cauldron! This was definitely not the movement expected for a normal Second-Rank pill's condensation.
However, just at the critical point where the energy was about to lose control and explode—
"Condense!"
A low shout, as if carrying some will that made words manifest.
The spinning fiery vortex suddenly paused, and the violent energy at its center was as if firmly gripped by an invisible large hand, instantly compressed and shaped.
Hiss!
White vapor steamed.
A jade-white pill, about the size of a longan, emitting a soft, emerald green luster, quietly floated above the flame at the bottom of the cauldron.
On the surface of the pill, a clear and smooth silver pill pattern, like a naturally formed rune, was wrapped around it.
The Second-Rank pill, Care Vessel Pill, was successfully refined.
Not only was it successful, but it also had a pill pattern.
The medicinal fragrance instantly intensified tenfold, a fresh and vital aura permeated the entire Alchemist's chamber, taking a breath of it invigorated one's spirit.
Gu Ni let out a long sigh of relief; although he wasn't the one refining the pill, his back was now soaked with cold sweat.
He looked at the jade-white pill with the silver pill pattern quietly floating in the medicinal cauldron, then at Mo Yuhan, whose expression was calm, as if he had just done something insignificant, and a complex smile appeared on his face.
In this smile, there was relief, shock, and even a sense of "no regrets in this life" liberation.
"Good! Good! Excellent!"
Gu Ni said "good" three times, his voice filled with uncontrollable excitement, "Pill pattern! Yu Han, you succeeded! And it's only your third time refining the Care Vessel Pill, and it formed with a pattern. This exquisite control of fire, this keenness of spirit perception, this understanding of medicinal property fusion… you have completely surpassed this old man!"
He stepped forward and carefully used a jade bottle to collect the still-warm Care Vessel Pill, as if holding a rare treasure.
He heavily patted Mo Yuhan's slender shoulder, with such force that Mo Yuhan swayed: "From today onwards, you can be considered a Second-Rank Alchemist."
Mo Yuhan smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Teacher's nurturing. I still have much to learn and ask Teacher about."
The matter of Mo Yuhan becoming a Second-Rank Alchemist was, for now, unknown to anyone except Gu Ni.
And at this moment.
The Jia Lie Family's mansion was filled with a suffocating atmosphere, like the dead calm before a storm.
Jia Lie Bi's body was slumped in a large rosewood chair, his face ashen, a report on the booming sales of the new pills from Mittel and Xiao Family clutched in his hand, creaking as he squeezed it. The glaring numbers on the report cut into his heart like knives: sales plummeted by seventy percent, inventory piled up like mountains, and the family's cash flow was nearly depleted.
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
He slammed the report onto the ground, his roar echoing through the hall, "That little bastard, Mittel and Xiao Family… they are trying to force my Jia Lie family to its death!"
The few stewards standing below were silent as cicadas, not daring to breathe.
Galeo lay on a soft couch nearby, his severed arm wrapped in thick bandages, his face sallow and swollen from prolonged bed rest.
His eyes burned with a venomous flame even stronger than his father's, and he hoarsely growled, "Father! Let's make our move, if we wait any longer, once that little bastard's wings are full, I'm afraid things will turn out badly!"
Jia Lie Bi's eyes gleamed with a ferocious light, like a hungry wolf choosing its prey. He took a few deep breaths, forcefully suppressing the boiling killing intent, his voice as sinister as a venomous snake's hiss:
"Don't worry, Ao'er, that little beast won't be jumping around for much longer. My Wind Scroll Technique has reached minor accomplishment, and my strength has greatly improved. In this Wutan City, we cannot threaten him. Once he leaves here, then we just need to wait for a foolproof opportunity."
"At that time, I will make that little beast, as well as the Xiao Family, Mittel… pay a hundredfold price!"
His fingers unconsciously caressed the outline of a bulging scroll at his waist; that was the Profound-tier High-grade cultivation technique he had exchanged for at a great cost, his reliance for revenge