Fragmented Nabo

The mountain path was carpeted with red leaves, and the sound of deer calls echoed in my ears.

It was strange, really. Despite it being the height of summer, Huayin Mountain felt exceptionally cool!

In a secluded spot where birds sang amidst the misty mountains, there was a slope where maple leaves were perpetually crimson and withered. Thus, it was also known as:

Yellow Maple Slope.

As dawn broke, Huang Buyu, who had been pondering all night, set off.

The sun blazed, and all beasts fled.

This was the perfect time for its journey. As for the more terrifying hunter – humans?

Coincidentally, it possessed Illusionary Arts, more than enough to avoid them.

The mountains were distant, and the roads perilous.

Huang Buyu walked and rested, traveling for half a day before finally reaching Yellow Maple Slope.

The thick fallen leaves were as soft as a carpet.

Huang Buyu had already shed its cumbersome robes and cloaks, its slender, yellowish-brown body now bare. Moving through the leaves, it was incredibly stealthy.

It circled around for half the day, finally finding the shrub where it had picked fruit under a large tree.

At this time, only two or three unripe fruits remained on the shrub.

There were also a few ripe red fruits, hidden deep within the shrub, protected by thorns.

Unfortunately, while it could evade beasts, it couldn't guard against birds. They had already pecked the fruits, leaving them pockmarked and oozing rotten juice.

Huang Buyu took out the fruit pit gnawed by the immortal from its fur and compared it carefully. Once it confirmed it was the correct fruit tree, it immediately became energized.

It wandered back and forth but couldn't discern anything unusual about the fruit tree.

Looking up at the sky, the large tree towered, its canopy providing shade like a vast umbrella.

"Beneath a great tree, nothing grows! Although this fruit tree is shorter, it's incredibly lush and bears red fruit. There's clearly a secret here!"

Huang Buyu became interested.

"Since the source isn't the sunlight, it's highly likely underground."

As a spirit monster that had transformed from a yellow weasel, digging was an innate talent. Huang Buyu moved instantly and burrowed beneath the thick maple leaves, digging towards the roots of the fruit tree.

To its surprise, upon reaching the roots, it found no abnormalities.

Certain that this fruit tree was extraordinary, Huang Buyu was not discouraged and continued to dig. Occasionally, it unearthed earthworms and insects, casually stuffing them into its mouth as a wild delicacy.

"Huh!"

Suddenly, Huang Buyu let out a soft exclamation, its movements becoming even more rapid.

Before long, it emerged from the thick maple leaves, its mouth holding a Nabo that was raised in the center like a straw hat!

"Immortal Mo is truly worthy of being a being who traverses the netherworld. Just by tasting a fruit, he could discover such an opportunity!"

Huang Buyu extended its paw, grabbed the Nabo, and examined the intricate and dense runes on it. It was shocked, and a hint of greed flashed in its eyes.

Through the interaction of energies, it could sense that this Nabo was a legendary Spiritual Artifact.

The ceaselessly swirling spiritual energy was undeniable. Within it, golden malevolent energy flowed faintly. Even with just a mental connection, it felt as though its soul would shatter and its flesh would rot.

If it could be activated, its power would undoubtedly be considerable!

"Logically, Nabo comes in a pair. Why is there only one piece here? If I present this treasure to Immortal Mo, and he suspects I've embezzled it, how would I explain?"

A thought struck Huang Buyu. It carefully hid the Nabo and burrowed back into the hole to search again.

To its dismay, no matter how much it searched, it couldn't find the other half of the Nabo.

It tried to expand its search area, scouring every possible spot on Yellow Maple Slope, but found nothing.

"This is truly bizarre. Could this be a test from Immortal Mo?"

"But this test is too crude!"

"Let me think, how could such a spiritual item appear in this desolate wilderness? Perhaps it was lost unintentionally during a battle between immortals. As for the other half, it might have been destroyed in the battle or fallen elsewhere. If that's the case, with my abilities, it would indeed be difficult to find it again."

Huang Buyu muttered to itself. Seeing that the sky was about to darken, it decided not to linger. It picked up the Nabo and headed back.

It mused that it would find time to come back and search again.

As for mobilizing its subordinates to search?

After a moment's thought, it abandoned the idea!

While there weren't many spirit monsters on Huayin Mountain, there weren't few either.

Mobilizing its subordinates would create too much of a commotion, easily attracting the attention of those who were paying attention.

If it were spied upon, losing the Nabo would be a minor issue, but losing the immortal opportunity would be a major one.

It would rather do the work itself and maintain the secret.

Upon returning to its residence, it carefully hid the Nabo and then fled towards Qingshui County.

It planned to investigate Chong Shizi's background and handle the matter perfectly before reporting to Immortal Mo.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story.

After meeting Huang Buyu, Mo Chuan returned and buried himself in cultivation.

Having witnessed the brilliance of Daoist magic and having the opportunity to embark on the path to immortality, he was naturally unwilling to remain ordinary.

For several days, he was immersed in the Three Scenery Daoist Magic. However, as he practiced, he began to feel something was amiss.

The Three Scenery Daoist Magic refines the soul, nourishes the spirit, and forges the body through the Three Lights of Sun, Moon, and Stars.

Its ultimate goal is to extract Qi, also known as Primordial Qi.

It is also called Mana.

They say there are three thousand types of Daoist magic, but no matter which path one takes or what fortune one seizes, it all ultimately leads to refining Qi.

It's like how humans consume grains, taking only their most essential nutrients.

The incense offerings intercepted by the Sacrificial Dao Furnace are also ultimately converted into Primordial Qi.

For this reason, Mo Chuan was surprised to discover that the cultivation speed of the Three Scenery Daoist Magic was far inferior to the conversion of incense offerings by the Sacrificial Dao Furnace.

"Is this because it gathers the strength of many people?"

Mo Chuan pondered in his mind:

"No! If the path of incense offerings is so dominant, why would the Daoist and Buddhist schools let it go? From my observations, although the Daoist and Buddhist schools also compete for incense offerings, they mostly contend for a kind of devotion detached from production."

"Looking at it this way, the root cause should be my Sacrificial Dao Furnace!"

With a thought, the Sacrificial Dao Furnace quietly appeared before him, with a few sticks of incense burning in it. Through the curling smoke, he could faintly see the continuous incense offerings from Fu Luan Temple, Tianbao Temple, and Yunji Temple.

After carefully sensing it, Mo Chuan finally discovered the secret.

Since the Sacrificial Dao Furnace could intercept ownerless incense offerings, it naturally had to cleanse the impurities within the incense, leaving only a wisp of pure essence.

With the accumulation of small amounts, this resulted in the current cultivation speed, which far surpassed the Three Scenery Daoist Magic.

"I was so focused on finding cultivation methods that I didn't realize the best method was right beside me. This is practically an external, automatic cultivation organ."

"However, cultivation methods also have their benefits. For example, the Three Scenery Daoist Magic, before converting Primordial Qi, also tempers the soul, spirit, and body, which is a benefit the Sacrificial Dao Furnace lacks."

"In this regard, I can rely on the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, but I absolutely cannot give up my own cultivation because of it."

Having figured everything out, Mo Chuan let out a long sigh of relief.

His determination to cultivate the Three Scenery Daoist Magic diligently also quietly faded.

The instructor once said: When doing things, learn to grasp the main contradiction while also considering the secondary contradictions.

The Sacrificial Dao Furnace can convert Primordial Qi. To ignore such a powerful weapon and instead toil away at the Three Scenery Daoist Magic would be a failure to distinguish between the primary and secondary.

Refining the soul, nourishing the spirit, and forging the body cannot be neglected, and more Primordial Qi is always better.

"Hmm, speaking of which, why haven't there been any new incense offerings these past few days?"

At this thought, Mo Chuan suddenly hesitated.

Based on the interception range of the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, there should not be a shortage of ownerless incense offerings.

"If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain. It's time to shift from passive to active and thoroughly explore the mysteries of the Sacrificial Dao Furnace."

Mo Chuan's heart stirred, and his figure disappeared from the living room.