137: Chapter 137 The Hermit God

Climbing for nearly half an hour, when everyone finally penetrated that thick, oppressive fog, their vision suddenly cleared up.

At the peak of the mountain, a flat white jade platform abruptly came into view. Right in the center of the jade platform lay a clear spring about a zhang in radius, resembling a flawless piece of jade under the sunlight.

"Is this that divine spring? Where is the divine Gu?"

You once again secretly used voice transmission to harass Liu Guanzhi.

Liu Guanzhi did not reply immediately. He quietly gazed at that pool of spring water, making it impossible for anyone to guess what he was thinking.

It was only after two or three breaths that he sent back a completely flat thought:

"Mhm."

Mhm? Just mhm?

After all that waiting for half a day, and this is it?

Are you messing with me?

Fine, fine, fine! Today's humiliation, along with yesterday's humiliation, and the day before's... I, Bai Youyou... Lin Qingyu, have noted them all down!

Just at that moment, the gray-robed cultivator sitting cross-legged on the high platform slowly opened his eyes. His gaze swept across the crowd, finally landing on the middle-aged man standing at the very front.

Eh?

A trace of doubt welled up in your heart. Although you were wearing a veil today, you could clearly feel that person's gaze pause on you for a split second. Yet, strangely enough, that line of sight swept past lightly as if sliding over a mass of air, as if he hadn't noticed your existence at all.

What you did not know was that just a moment ago, the "Pure Passerby" entry had precisely reached its trigger conditions.

After all, you didn't have any grand schemes coming here this time; you only intended to quietly act as a melon-eating spectator. Moreover, the cultivator on the white jade platform was merely at the early Foundation Establishment Stage, a vast difference from you, which allowed you to muddle through easily.

If you had known that this lousy entry's trigger conditions were so harsh, you would have spat at it twice no matter what.

"Are you ready?"

The gray-robed cultivator spoke with an indifferent expression and a calm tone.

"Replying to Your Excellency the Envoy, everything is ready."

The middle-aged man replied respectfully and looked behind him.

The crowd stirred slightly as ten figures stepped out from the ranks, standing on both sides. These ten people included both men and women, and their cultivation levels were all in the mid-Qi Condensation Stage, clearly chosen in advance.

Seeing this, a trace of satisfaction flashed across the depths of the gray-robed cultivator's eyes. After nodding slightly, his wide sleeves suddenly flicked.

"Then let us begin."

The ten of them looked at each other in dismay. After receiving a look and a hint from the middle-aged man, they no longer hesitated and walked toward the white jade platform together.

Until the very last person stepped onto the jade platform, a sudden change occurred!

The originally calm surface of the water suddenly roiled. Immediately following that, ten tentacles resembling woven flesh and blood shot out explosively, accurately and unfailingly piercing through the chests of those ten people and ferociously stabbing into their hearts!

What was bizarre was that those ten people did not show painful expressions; instead, they closed their eyes, appearing rather intoxicated by it.

Just as you were watching in utter confusion and even felt a bit creeped out, Liu Guanzhi seemed to have finally finished whatever he was busy with, and only then had the time to transmit his voice:

"Those tentacles belong to the Gu God. According to the rules, every tribe needs to tribute ten cultivators at the mid-Qi Condensation Stage or above as sacrifices every half year, feeding it with half of their own vital blood."

"Then why are they enjoying it so much?"

That's half their vital blood! Even for Qi Condensation cultivators whose origins aren't deep enough, wouldn't it still take a dozen or so years to recover?

"Because the Myriad Spirit Gu inside their bodies is a subsidiary Gu of the Gu God. While making the offering, they naturally receive feedback as well."

Liu Guanzhi's mood seemed quite good, and he didn't brush you off this time.

"Have their Golden Core stage cultivators left? How about we pull off this job and then run for it?"

Your voice carried enticement and a hint of excitement.

"Don't even think about it."

Liu Guanzhi's gaze swept over the gray-robed cultivator on the high platform, and finally gave you a deep look.

"There is a teleporation array leading directly to Chandu Palace here. The moment there is the slightest abnormality, what comes won't just be Golden Core stage cultivators."

You laughed dryly, forcibly pressing down the lingering palpitation in your heart that had refused to disperse ever since the flesh-and-blood tentacles appeared.

Forget it, you didn't like doing things without certainty either.

The ritual proceeded very smoothly. After that gray-robed cultivator bestowed another portion of the divine spring, the middle-aged man led all of you back the way you came.

Before leaving, you couldn't help turning back to glance at that pool of clear spring water that had returned to calm once more.

No rush, there's plenty of time in the future!

...

Three years flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Inside the basement of the mountaintop attic, your eyes were tightly closed as you sat upright on a futon. Floating right in front of you was a crimson-red crystal emitting a scorching high temperature.

Until the time quietly reached midnight, you abruptly opened your eyes. Spiritual power surged around your body, little by little guiding the violent fire-attribute energy within the crystal, transforming it into wisps of crimson spiritual power that merged into your body along your limbs and bones.

Within your inner world, the spiritual power that was originally as calm as water seemed to be ignited in an instant, turning into a rolling sea of fire.

The muscles all over your body suddenly tightened, and your skin instantly flushed crimson. The next instant, a wisp of red-gold light spread from the roots of your hair, turning all your strands into a red-gold color.

With the emergence of this phenomenon, that scorching burning sensation quickly receded, and the surging spiritual sea in your inner world gradually returned to calm. The crimson energy transformed into patches of crimson halos, slowly melting into your inner world.

Half an hour later, as the last wisp of crimson light inside your body completely vanished, you slowly opened your eyes, a fiery red color flashing across your pupils.

You raised your right hand, and a palm-sized fireball formed in a flash, and then... the scorching high temperature quickly ignited the magical instrument robe on your body...

A moment later, with an embarrassed look on your face, you dissipated the fireball and reactivated the huanhuang silk.

As for why you didn't wear the huanhuang silk directly, it was naturally because it could actually actively swallow fire-attribute energy. Watching it repeatedly intercept twice right before your eyes, you simply hardened your heart and concealed it.

Over the course of three years, you finally exhausted the fire-attribute spirit stones borrowed from Feng Qiange.

The result was gratifying. The power of your fire-attribute spells had at least tripled. Coupled with the bonuses of the Qinghuang Sacred Body, the fire-attribute true arts you cast nowadays definitely had power comparable to ultimate arts!

What was a pity was that currently, you only had a single fire-attribute spell of the Foundation Establishment Stage in your hands — Flaming Dragon Fall, which was originally given to you by Han Xuan.

In a mere three years of time, you had already cultivated it to the realm of Great Accomplishment. Under the heaven-defying bonuses of the Moonlight Divine Body, you had long shed the "ababa" state from when you first learned spells, becoming a well-deserved proud daughter of heaven.

You clenched your fists tightly, your gaze filled with resentment.

Liu Guanzhi, the humiliation of being a beast of burden for three years, today...

"Bai Youyou."

The voice suddenly ringing in your ear made your expression freeze. But within a split second, a well-behaved and sweet smile had already surfaced on your face.

"Coming~ Big Brother Guanzhi~"

...