Under the Big Willow Tree
Jin Xu had been standing there for half an hour.
Little White had also been wandering around for the same amount of time.
It was extremely awkward.
The young Taoist discovered he couldn't wake his Guardian Spirit senior.
Neither shouting for the senior, knocking on the tree trunk asking if anyone was there, nor infusing the Big Willow Tree with golden spiritual power elicited any response.
Jin Xu's brows furrowed slightly; he surely couldn't zap the Guardian Spirit with a "Hand Palm Thunder," could he?
After racking his brain for a while, he struck his left palm with his right fist.
Eureka!
"Little Yu."
He called out with his back to the well.
A large gold and red carp leaped out from the well.
It transformed into a woman wearing a gold and red gauze dress, her skin as white and delicate as snow.
She spoke with a face showing exhaustion,
"Yawn~ Young master, why are you calling me so early? Little White kept me up last night, and I didn't get my beauty sleep."
Jin Xu thought to himself that it was her own fault for letting Little White eat random things. Besides, as a Nascent Soul Stage great demon, what did it matter whether she slept or not?
"Go make me a bowl of soup."
"Hm?"
Yu Yaoer, who hadn't fully woken up, instantly became alert.
"Young master, you want to drink the soup I make?"
"Young master, are you alright?"
Who among the family members would understand? The young master actually wanted to drink the soup she made!
"Stop fussing and hurry up and cook. Any soup will do, just remember to be quick," Jin Xu said, dismissing Little Fish Demon's shock and urging her to hurry.
Yu Yaoer, seeing her young master so insistent, didn't bother to ask why Jin Xu had suddenly changed his mind and rushed into the kitchen as if on fire.
In the time it took to brew a pot of tea,
she came out of the kitchen holding a white porcelain bowl.
Jin Xu went to the kitchen doorway, took the white porcelain bowl, and after taking a glance at the colorful "soup," he nodded.
"Hmm, I hope this works."
Then Yu Yaoer saw the young master holding the "soup?" she made, walking up to the Big Willow Tree.
"It's not for me to drink; it's for the Big Willow Tree senior to taste your culinary skills."
Little Fish Demon: "????"
Jin Xu flipped his wrist and poured the entire bowl of "soup" at the base of the Big Willow Tree, then handed the bowl back to Yu Yaoer who was still standing there, stunned.
The moment the soup was poured, the willow branches moved without any wind, and the whole tree began to shake.
Seeing the tree shake, the young Taoist's eyes brightened with delight.
It's awake!
"Blergh, what, blergh, did, blergh, you, do, to, blergh, old me!"
The distinctive staccato voice of the Guardian Spirit rang through Jin Xu's mind.
The young Taoist pretended not to hear and steadied his mind to ensure that no stray thoughts of his could be detected by the other party.
Only then did he speak respectfully to the Guardian Spirit senior, "Under a fortuitous coincidence yesterday, I obtained a bottle of Soul Nourishing Liquid. I previously learned that your Divine Soul was injured, so I specifically brought this to heal you, senior. I'm not sure if it will be of much help."
Then he saw the willow tree extend a branch, wrap it around Yu Yaoer, who was lost in her thoughts, and throw her out of the temple walls.
After doing all this, the Guardian Spirit finally responded to Jin Xu.
"In, the, future, don't, let, your, demon pet, cook," he said.
"..."
Jin Xu felt he might have guessed what Yu Yaoer had just been thinking.
"Ordinary, Soul, Nourishing, Liquids, are, of, no, use, to, me, they must, be, ten-thousand, years, or, older," stated the Guardian Spirit.
"But, it's, the, thought, that, counts," he added.
The young Taoist uncorked the jade bottle in his hand, and strands of blue light wafted out from it.
"Please take a look, senior. How old is this Soul Nourishing Liquid?" he asked.
"This, this, this, this," the Guardian Spirit stammered.
The Big Willow Tree's trunk had been trembling ever since Jin Xu pulled the cork out.
Is the senior stuck? Or besides humans, the essence of a big tree is also that of a repeater.
The Guardian Spirit was obviously too agitated, and having been talking all this while still hadn't managed to get to the point. Instead, a willow branch gently fell onto the top of the jade bottle held in the hands of the young Taoist.
Seeing this, Jin Xu pushed the jade bottle upward, and the willow branch slipped into the opening. The bursts of green light, along with the trembling of the willow branch, were all sucked away by the senior Guardian Spirit.
The entire tree shook.
"This is actually Ten-thousand-year-old Soul Nourishing Liquid!"
A fluent voice echoed in the mind of the young Taoist.
"The effect is too fast!" Jin Xu thought in his mind.
"Hehe, after all, it's Ten-thousand-year-old Soul Nourishing Liquid. I haven't felt this clear-headed in a long time."
The thoughts of the young Taoist were immediately perceived by the Guardian Spirit.
This is too invasive of privacy... Uh, it was already too late for Jin Xu to hold back his thoughts.
"This spell is my Innate Divine Ability, as my Divine Soul has not healed, I can't control this spell as I wish."
Sensing the young Taoist's thoughts, the Big Willow Tree offered an explanation.
Jin Xu was quite surprised that even the Ten-thousand-year-old Soul Nourishing Liquid hadn't healed the senior completely.
"The damage to my Divine Soul is beyond your imagination. Despite this Ten-thousand-year-old Soul Nourishing Liquid, my clear-headed state won't last long. Should you have any urgent matters, ask quickly, otherwise, before long, I fear I will again..."
The fully awakened senior Guardian Spirit seemed much more serious.
Thinking that soon he might revert to a "one word at a time" state, Jin Xu rapidly conveyed his doubts to the Big Willow Tree.
"Does the senior know this ink jade fishing rod?"
As he spoke, Jin Xu returned to his room, fetched the long-cold pitch-black fishing rod from under the bed, and returned to the courtyard.
"I recognize this item; Tianxing, that lad, fought a number of battles for it. However, this treasure seems to be damaged, and you must be cautious when using it. Your master had several accidents while handling this treasure, which even alarmed me in my slumber."
The Big Willow Tree paused, then added, "Speaking of which, you have quite the fate with this treasure."
"Hm?"
Jin Xu was puzzled.
"That lad Tianxing used to prattle on in front of me about finding a talented disciple to inherit the Xuanxu Temple so that he might go to resolve his own obsessions. Regrettably, the Nine Provinces Realm is full of mediocrity. To accept a disciple, Tianxing demanded an unrivaled, peerless genius, ideally the legendary Innate Taoist Body, which alone warranted inheriting his mantle. To this end, he even collected Cultivation Techniques that only someone with an Innate Taoist Body could practice, but sadly he never found the genius with the Innate Taoist Body."
Jin Xu was still puzzled; how did this relate to his fate with the ink jade rod?
The Guardian Spirit continued, "Then I saw Tianxing getting ready for a few days, saying he was going to fish out a disciple with the Innate Taoist Body."
"Afterward, you were fished up from that ancient well by Tianxing!"
???
He was fished up!
Fished up!
Fished up!
Hadn't his master initially said that he was "just right" soaring above the Ninth Heaven and had simply saved him as he fell at high speed?
Sensing Jin Xu's thoughts, the willow branches of the Big Willow Tree paused for a split second without wind and then resumed swaying.
"Tianxing didn't tell you?"
Jin Xu shook his head expressionlessly, finding the news somewhat hard to digest.
"The time seems to be, almost up. Next time, you find, Ten-thousand-year, Soul Nourishing, Liquid, I will, speak, to you, again."
Reeling from the revelation that he had been fished up, the stunned young Taoist realized, as the Guardian Spirit was about to fall asleep once more, that he urgently needed to react.
He had so many questions left unasked!
Could he still return after being fished up by his master?
What was his master's unfulfilled wish?
Where exactly had his master gone?
Could the senior teach him the Flying Escape Skill and some moves?
Jin Xu rapidly reviewed these thoughts in his mind, knowing the Guardian Spirit could sense them.
"Man, demon, the Spells of both races, are not interchangeable, will, explode, body. No way, I, must, sleep now."
"Oh yes, and do not let your demon pet, cook, again!"
He couldn't tell if it was his imagination.
Jin Xu always felt that the last sentence spoken by the senior Big Willow Tree was quite smooth.
ps: Because it's the start of a new week, and we need to reorganize the rankings, I'm releasing two chapters together.
I'm shamelessly asking for monthly tickets, recommendations, and rewards. If I can get into the top ten for new authors, I'll provide bonus chapters!