Baby

If the age condition is taken into account, then among their peers, those who surpass them in strength are indeed very few.

After chatting for a while, Li Miao was just about to inquire about the cultivation level of the Baicao Sect disciples when he suddenly saw Guo Yunyì wink at him.

Immediately afterward, footsteps echoed from the direction of the deep valley.

Xu Yong and Yan Chengxue had returned!

Without a word, Li Miao lay flat on the ground, feigning weakness and exhaustion.

The footsteps approached swiftly, and soon reached the mouth of the valley.

Guo Yunyì clasped his sword and saluted the hastily arriving Xu Yong, saying, “Uncle Xu, we are fortunate not to have failed you. The villain Li Miao has been apprehended.”

Guo Yunzhi, having finished regulating his breath, stood up with much of his color restored, and asked, “Uncle Xu, how is the Youquan?”

Xu Yong’s face was gloomy, his expression terribly sour, and he stood there in silence, his gaze toward Li Miao filled with resentment.

Yan Chengxue, however, was far more direct. She puffed up her cheeks and stormed forward, exclaiming, “Don’t even mention it! The spiritual vein of the Youquan was destroyed by this villain! Hmph, wicked scoundrel, you ruined my spiritual spring—I’ll beat you, beat you to death!”

The latter statement was a vent aimed at Li Miao. As she spoke, she kicked and pounded the prone Li Miao with considerable force—her blows landing hard and true. The Guo brothers’ mouths twitched watching, yet they dared not interrupt.

Li Miao suffered in silence.

To hasten his release, he cooperated fully, emitting muffled groans of agony, spitting blood twice more, his complexion turning even paler.

“Ah, so badly injured! I thought…”

This scene startled Yan Chengxue, and most of her fury dissipated instantly.

Guo Yunyì gave Li Miao a subtle look, as if to say “well played,” and added, “He just suffered our evil-slaying sword energy. Though he survived, his vitality is greatly damaged. If you kick him again, Yan junior sister, he might truly die.”

“Ah!”

Yan Chengxue quickly retreated, terrified of causing a death, waving her hands hurriedly, “It’s not my fault! If you die, scoundrel, don’t come back as a vengeful ghost to haunt me!”

Li Miao: “……”

At this moment, the Baicao Sect master Xu Yong finally spoke.

Looking at the miserable Li Miao, much of the anger on his face dissipated, and he spoke in a gruff tone, “Li Miao, since my two nephews have already taught you a lesson, I will not trouble you further. However, the Youquan is deeply important to my Baicao Sect. If I let you go just like this, it will be hard to appease the hearts of my sect’s disciples!”

“Then, Uncle Xu, what do you suggest?”

“Offer something of equal value to the Youquan as compensation, and the matter shall be settled.”

Xu Yong’s grand and righteous demeanor made Li Miao both angry and amused.

This fat old man is quite the businessman—always boasting, but when it matters, he tries to get something for nothing. What sort of cultivator is this? He’s clearly a shrewd tradesman!

If not for his uncertainty about Xu Yong’s true cultivation, Li Miao would have loved to leap up and swagger away, just to annoy the old fellow.

Guo Yunzhi, aware of the power balance, didn’t want to offend Li Miao too much, so he sought to smooth things over, saying, “But Uncle Xu, the Youquan is so precious—how could a mere itinerant cultivator afford such compensation?”

Xu Yong remained silent.

Li Miao wondered if the old man would “lower the price,” when suddenly a soft moan came from nearby.

Guo’er, who had been unconscious for most of the day, was waking up!

Her gentle whimper immediately drew the attention of all five at the mouth of the valley.

Under their ten scrutinizing eyes, the little girl rubbed at her reddened eyes and sat up, sobbing softly, “Master, master, wuwu…” Still immersed in the grief of losing her teacher.

But as she took in the scene before her, seeing Li Miao in utter misery, being trampled by strangers, her sobs abruptly ceased.

She stared in shock for a while.

Sorrow welled up in Guo’er’s heart, and suddenly she wailed even louder, her cries echoing through the tranquil valley.

The five adults were all stunned.

Guo’er had been in a deep sleep—so much so that everyone except Li Miao had forgotten her existence.

---

Now awake, seeing the only person she knew in this world being bullied and bloodied just like her master, Guo’er couldn’t hold back her grief and burst into tears.

“You… you wicked people… you harmed my master, and now you’re hurting my uncle. Wuwu~”

Guo’er cried with heart-wrenching sorrow, as if abandoned by the whole world, her tears falling like broken pearls, stirring pity in everyone.

Li Miao couldn’t bother with his act any longer. He quickly rolled over, got up, and hurried to Guo’er’s side, wiping blood from himself and saying, “Guo’er, don’t cry, don’t cry. I’m fine, I’m not hurt—it was just a game with these friends. See, not a scratch on me—I can still jump.”

As he spoke, he used his primal energy to regulate his blood, his complexion returning to normal, and he hopped in place—leaping three meters high, showing no sign of injury.

At this explanation, Guo’er’s crying stopped. She stared, pouting, furrowing her small brow, her bright eyes fixed on him, full of doubt.

Not only Guo’er, but Yan Chengxue and Xu Yong were also bewildered.

“What is going on?” Yan Chengxue muttered, “Wasn’t the scoundrel…”

Moments ago, he was half dead on the ground, now he was lively as ever. Yan Chengxue, who had just been wracked with guilt over her kicks, was utterly dumbfounded.

Xu Yong couldn’t understand either—looking back and forth between Li Miao and the Guo brothers, his fat face stiff.

“Uncle… are you really all right?” Guo’er asked hesitantly.

Li Miao nodded, wiped away her tears, rubbed her small head, and said, “Truly, I’m fine. These are my new friends—how could they hurt me? Isn’t that right?” The last was directed at the Guo brothers.

Guo Yunyì smiled awkwardly and nodded to Guo’er, “Yes, little one, it was just a game. Brother Li Miao is very skilled—even if we wanted to bully him, we couldn’t.”

“Brother Yunyì?” Yan Chengxue was even more confused.

They were just fighting moments ago—how did a child’s tears turn them into “brothers”?

As if sensing her confusion, Guo Yunzhi explained, “Brother Li is frank and bold—we hit it off right away, as kindred spirits. There were some misunderstandings earlier, and we worried Uncle Xu would be angry, so…”

Xu Yong cared about his reputation, so Guo Yunzhi wouldn’t state the real reason outright. His explanation made things understandable for both sides.

Li Miao gave a secret thumbs up, picked up Guo’er and said, “See, Guo’er? Now, let uncle introduce you to some new friends.”

“This kindly old gentleman is Xu Yong, master of the Baicao Sect.” He introduced the elder first.

“Uncle Xu,” Guo’er called softly. Having met few strangers, she was timid, her bright eyes reflecting the squat, fat figure.

But Xu Yong showed no warmth, his fat face gloomy from being played for a fool—only restraining his anger because he didn’t want to lose face in front of disciples and juniors.

Li Miao saw through the old man, so after the introduction, he lowered his voice and added, “Regarding the Youquan, I will give you a satisfactory account, senior.”

Xu Yong’s expression eased slightly, and he nodded.

Li Miao then introduced the Guo brothers, and Guo’er timidly called them “uncle.”

Guo Yunyì, cheerful and generous, happily said, “What a sweet little girl—here, this is for you.” He handed her a delicate gemstone bracelet.

The gems on the bracelet sparkled beautifully, emitting a faint aura—it was a magical artifact.

Guo’er’s eyes lit up with delight, but she didn’t take it, hesitating, “Master said not to accept things from others casually, or one will incur karma.”

Her words surprised even Li Miao.

Guo Yunyì explained, “This is a gift from Uncle Guo—there’s no karma involved.”

But Guo’er stubbornly shook her head, insisting, “Master said, all exchanges bring cause, and so must bear fruit. Unless necessary, don’t touch lightly. For all things arise from cause, and blind confusion is fruit. Guo’er wants to be a clear-minded Guo’er, not tangled in causes.”

Such words from one so young—even knowing it was taught by her master—moved everyone.

With things at this point, Guo Yunyì couldn’t force the gift, so he withdrew the bracelet, feeling ashamed, “Guo’er’s master is remarkable—I was blinded by worldly ways.”

As the sparkling bracelet disappeared, Guo’er’s eyes showed a hint of disappointment. Mentioning her master brought a fresh wave of sorrow.

Li Miao noticed, and remembered it in his heart.

“Hey, scoundrel, who is Guo’er’s master? She seems amazing—must be a great senior!” Yan Chengxue asked curiously.

Li Miao rolled his eyes in annoyance. This girl always says the most untimely thing…

Guo’er sniffed, tears falling again at the mention of her master.

Li Miao quickly said, “Let’s not talk about that now. We were just discussing the Youquan…” He changed the subject.

---

“Hmph, so what do you propose?” Xu Yong’s face remained tense. He cared nothing for others’ masters—only for compensation for his precious spring.

Guo Yunzhi spoke up at the right time, “The Baicao Sect’s Youquan is powerful and valuable. But since Brother Li’s offense was unintentional, I hope Uncle Xu can be lenient. How about this: if Brother Li offers two mid-grade magical artifacts or items of equivalent value as compensation, let this matter rest. What do you both think?”

Li Miao wasn’t sure what a mid-grade magical artifact was worth, but he trusted Guo Yunzhi not to cheat him and nodded.

Xu Yong’s fat face still looked unhappy, but a barely detectable gleam of joy had appeared in his eyes.

For the Baicao Sect, whose strongest cultivator was only at the early Guiyuan stage, two mid-grade magical artifacts were significant treasures.

Though Xu Yong’s cultivation was not low, his years spent absorbed in alchemy left him lacking in enchantments, forging, and array techniques. The entire Baicao Sect possessed only a single high-grade artifact, and just three mid-grade ones.

With both sides in agreement, Li Miao wasted no time.

He willed it, and from his microcosmic ring produced a piece of cosmic crystal, now only thumb-sized, saying, “I specialize in body cultivation and carry no magical artifacts—only this, which may be of some value. How much is it worth?”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the intense primordial energy emanating from the cosmic crystal drew the attention of all four adults, except Guo’er.

The crystal-clear sky-blue gem refracted hundreds of rays in the midday sun, beautiful as a dream.

A collective gasp sounded at the valley entrance as the four stared, dumbfounded.

Li Miao sensed something amiss.

“Everyone, what’s the matter?”

Xu Yong, squat and fat, was now completely devoid of anger, his face flushed red with excitement and disbelief.

He gasped twice, his voice trembling, “Immortal… Immortal Jade! I never expected to see this legendary item in my lifetime, I, I…”

Immortal Jade? What’s that?

Li Miao felt a wave of unease.

He had thought people in this world wouldn’t recognize cosmic crystal, since it’s usually found only in quasars or ancient galaxy remnants—places cultivators shouldn’t be able to reach.

But reality proved otherwise—not only did they recognize it, but in their eyes, cosmic crystal was an exceedingly rare treasure!

“This is Immortal Jade!”

Xu Yong cried out, seeming to lose his mind, lunging forward to snatch the thumb-sized crystal.

Li Miao dodged and frowned, “Is this… a treasure?”

“A treasure? It’s a peerless rarity!” Even the composed Guo Yunzhi was breathing hard.

In Mount Pang County, throughout Xinzhou, and even all of East Xuan Ancient Kingdom, Immortal Jade is an extremely rare treasure!

He explained, “Immortal Jade is a primordial crystal left from the dawn of the universe, containing the most original power. Though cultivators cannot absorb its energy directly, it can be fused into magical artifacts, pills, or puppets, imparting primordial power.”

“Usually, just a small piece of Immortal Jade boosts the rank of a magical artifact or pill by at least one grade. If used in puppet crafting, it may even grant the puppet a degree of intelligence!”

“Moreover, Immortal Jade can be used in arrays. Add a piece to a spirit-gathering array, and its speed doubles; add it to a demon-suppressing array, and its power increases by seventy percent; add it to a maze array, and the confusion effect is greatly amplified.”

Li Miao was stunned.

He had thought the people of this world had never seen cosmic crystal, or if they had, didn’t know its uses.

But these cultivators were so resourceful—their uses for cosmic crystal rivaled, even surpassed, primal energy technology in some ways!

What to do now?

He’d already brought it out—he couldn’t just take it back and pretend nothing happened.

Xu Yong was desperate, his eyes shining, “Li Miao—no, Fellow Daoist Li, Brother Li! Give me this Immortal Jade, and the matter of the Youquan is immediately settled. Not only that, once I refine Tongxuan Pills, I’ll give you two as a gift!”