After acknowledging the order with a bow, Stone Ancestor immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew back to the massive vessel.
The next instant, spatial fluctuations rippled beside Ling Feixian, and
The young woman started in surprise, but promptly stepped ahead and respectfully led the way.
In the blink of an eye, a flash of radiance crossed the stone wall, and all three of them vanished into it without a trace.
At the same time, in the cavern of a neighboring mountain peak, several human cultivators had gathered in a grand hall, their eyes fixed intently upon a luminous formation mirror that displayed everything happening outside.
"It really is Guo'er, that girl! She actually disembarked from that black vessel. If that's the case, the other person must be that legendary Mahayana existence." A middle-aged man dressed in scholarly robes withdrew his gaze from the formation mirror and let out a soft breath.
"Junior Sister Guo'er has been missing for ages. Who would have thought that upon her return, she'd be connected to a Mahayana cultivator. What should we do now — should we go and inform those seniors in the clan?" A young-looking man beside him hesitated before asking.
"Hmph, that vessel arrived with such a grand commotion. Do you really think those seniors wouldn't learn of this even if we said nothing? Forget it. If this Mahayana senior has some connection to Guo'er, that's a once-in-a-millennium opportunity for our clan. Let us stay here and observe a while longer before deciding." The scholarly man's expression shifted between light and shadow for a moment before he let out a cold snort.
Upon hearing this, the others all nodded in agreement.
A much similar scene was playing out in the nearby mountain peaks as well.
By now, the young woman had already led
Four corners of the hall each held a stone censer of ancient design, with a stick of unknown black-yellow incense burning in each one.
When
Immediately, a flash of white light emerged from a side door, and a snow-white squirrel roughly a foot tall walked in on its hind legs, balancing an enormous fruit platter atop its front paws.
The spirit beast's eyes were black and lively. Although its body swayed somewhat as it walked, its paws touched the ground without making the slightest sound. With a few deft hops it reached the table and deftly deposited the platter atop it.
Then the creature fixed its gaze on
"
"How interesting. This is a Snow Pine Beast, isn't it? They're exceedingly rare even in the Spirit World. Judging from its condition, it's only a single step away from fully awakening its spiritual intelligence. In that case, let me give it a hand."
Even as the words left his lips, a flick of his finger from within his sleeve sent a thumb-sized pill shooting outward, trailing a wisp of medicinal fragrance.
The Snow Pine Beast on the table caught a whiff of the aroma and its eyes flashed with excitement. Without a moment's hesitation it launched itself into the air, swallowed the pill in a single gulp, then flipped and landed beneath the table.
Moments later, the little beast let out a low growl. Every strand of its fur bristled upright, and its snow-white coat flushed a deep crimson. It rolled once on the ground, and muffled popping sounds erupted from within its body like firecrackers.
"Senior, what is—" The young woman blurted out in alarm.
"Mother, don't worry. Senior Han means no harm to
By now, the little beast's aura had suddenly consolidated, growing noticeably stronger than before. It let out another low growl and rose unsteadily to its feet, looked up at
"Thank you, Lord, for the pill that dissolved the bone crossbar in my throat. Without it, this lowly beast would have needed at least another thousand years to reach this stage."
"Heh heh, rise. Your spiritual intelligence was already mostly awakened to begin with. Otherwise, even with the help of a pill, achieving this would not have been so easy."
The young woman's face had flashed with shock, but she now bowed repeatedly to
The Snow Pine Beast bent its front legs and bowed deeply to