Bright sunlight shone on this small world.
A mountain stream babbled as it flowed. Towering ancient trees cast green shade. Under the gentle breeze, the sunlight filtering through the leaves created dappled spots of light that swayed elegantly.
Feng Jinhuang lay directly on the green grass, her back against a large tree. As the clear wind blew, she took a deep breath; the fresh air carried a pleasant scent of grass.
A beautifully bound copy of "Ren Zu Zhuan" lay quietly in Feng Jinhuang's hands, already turned to the last few pages.
Feng Jinhuang's bright eyes were like water, staring at the pages without blinking.
Although she had heard the stories of Ren Zu since childhood, now, because of her wondrous dream experience, when she reread "Ren Zu Zhuan" with a mind to explore, Feng Jinhuang had many different new feelings.
The story of "Ren Zu Zhuan" concluded thus: Ren Zu's ten sons died one after another, and even Ren Zu himself was about to die of old age, nearing the end of his journey. Before his death, Ren Zu gathered the corpses of his ten sons and also sacrificed himself, together throwing themselves into the Evolution Gu, which ate them into its stomach.
A large number of dreams also followed the scent of food, closely trailing, and burrowed into the Evolution Gu's mouth.
The Evolution Gu's belly burst open, exploding. Countless rays of life-light fell onto the earth, forming the first generation of mortals.
"Because dreams participated in the evolution, the newborn mortals would all dream during their deep sleep at night. People often became immersed in dreams, like Bei Ming Bing Po, unable to extricate themselves." As she thought this, Feng Jinhuang extended her pale, tender hand and gently closed "Ren Zu Zhuan". Then she stood up.
"Mother, send me back to the small pavilion. I'm a bit tired," she called out softly.
"Alright." The next moment, Bai Qing Xianzi's gentle response came from Feng Jinhuang's ear.
Feng Jinhuang suddenly disappeared from where she was, and when she reappeared, she was already in her own room in the Splendid Small Pavilion.
In the room, Bai Qing Xianzi was already waiting.
Feng Jinhuang's eyes lit up, and she said happily, "Eh? Mother, how come you have free time today? Why aren't you harmonizing the earth qi?"
When a Gu Master reaches the sixth rank and becomes a Gu Immortal, their hollow aperture absorbs the three qi of heaven, earth, and man. When it sublimates into an immortal aperture, it becomes a small world.
Gu Immortals manage their immortal apertures to increase their cultivation. But the more things the immortal aperture world carries, gradually, the heaven-earth qi inside becomes insufficient.
It is like a carefully tended bonsai: as the tree in the pot grows taller and larger, the original pot becomes too small and the soil becomes poor.
At this time, the Gu Immortal must land their blessed land on the earth to absorb earth qi, or plant their grotto-heaven into the sky to absorb heaven qi.
By absorbing these two qi, the blessed land or grotto-heaven stabilizes and the immortal aperture's foundation increases. Once the cultivation stabilizes, one can continue training faster and more steadily.
Bai Qing Xianzi's current situation was similar: after managing her blessed land for a time, it had become unstable. She had planted her blessed land on the earth and resided inside it, absorbing and harmonizing the earth qi of Central Continent every day.
Bai Qing Xianzi looked at her cute daughter with loving eyes and praised, "Huang'er, it seems this dream encounter has greatly tempered your state of mind. In the past, you would have been yelling and clamoring for my company. But this time, I was harmonizing earth qi for three days and nights without keeping you company, yet you read quietly and refined Gu in silence. Your disposition has indeed matured compared to before, and I'm very relieved."
"Of course!" Feng Jinhuang broke into a smile, revealing white teeth. She lifted her head slightly, making the phoenix crown on her head tinkle. She said proudly, "Who am I? I'm the flesh and blood of my father and mother. How could I disgrace you two?"
Her smile infected Bai Qing Xianzi, who also laughed. "Since the first mortals were born, they could dream. Almost no one doesn't dream. For many years, countless geniuses, extraordinary talents, even Immortal Venerables and Demon Venerables, all have their own dreams. These dreams have congealed into one, forming an unprecedentedly vast secret realm. Huang'er, your Dream Wing Immortal Gu is precisely a mobile immortal Gu that allows you to freely enter dreams without being troubled by them! This is your immense fortune, and you must make good use of it."
"I know, Mother. These days, I've been trying to refine Gu. I found that my attainment in Refinement Dao has reached the level of quasi-master. The benefits of dreams are truly too great. I always lacked interest in Refinement Dao and usually didn't practice it. But after the dream journey, my attainment skyrocketed to this degree, leaving many people in the sect behind." Feng Jinhuang said with much feeling.
"You traveled in Kong Jue Old Immortal's dream and unintentionally acquired some of his true intent in Refinement Dao. But this is also because Kong Jue Old Immortal was originally a Grandmaster of Refinement Dao, so you got a lucky break. Dreams are numerous and disorderly; next time you may not be so lucky to encounter a dream of a figure like Kong Jue Old Immortal." Bai Qing Xianzi analyzed.
Feng Jinhuang was unconcerned and said playfully, "If not, then not. I originally had no interest in Refinement Dao. Next time I encounter the dream of an Immortal Venerable or a Demon Venerable, that will be fine. Ah, but it's a pity that I walk the Path of Gold, yet none of the ten venerables of history practiced this path."
Bai Qing Xianzi's heart skipped a beat, and she said solemnly, "Huang'er, never take it lightly. Your recent experience was thrilling but safe because you were lucky and the dream you encountered was not dangerous. If you truly encounter a Venerable's dream, you must retreat immediately. The power of a Venerable is beyond your imagination."
Feng Jinhuang stuck out her tongue and quickly said obediently, "Yes, Mother. I understand."
Bai Qing Xianzi's expression softened, and she took out a message Gu. "This is a letter from your father. He broke through the boundary wall and successfully entered the Northern Plains, then found a place to rest. He still doesn't know that you've awoken. But since he has sent a letter, we will use this message Gu to reply. You should also say a few words, so that your father can set aside his worries and fully focus on this mission deep into the Northern Plains."
"A letter from Father?" Feng Jinhuang's eyes suddenly lit up. She hopped over, snatched the message Gu from Bai Qing Xianzi's hand, and probed it with her mind to look.
As a result, she could not read it.