From waterfowl, it began to transform into the Great Sun Golden Crow.

At the foot of Mount Wu, a young girl does her hair by the water.

Her eyes were one blue and one black, with a heterochromatic pupil in her left eye. There was no other reason for her visit today; the path of cultivation was too exhausting, and the young woman simply wanted to get away for a while.

She restyled her hair into a high bun.

She put on a headdress unique to ethnic minorities. The silver ornaments on her forehead glittered with gold, giving her a lively appearance.

"Another day of just getting by, how boring."

Perhaps it was because he was exposed to cultivation too early. Knowing that the path of cultivation was not easy, he still joked around every day.

After all, daily meditation and breathing exercises are really boring.

"Didn't they say there were spiritual herbs around here? How come all we've found are withered vines and swamps?" The little girl looked up into the distance.

Ahead, shrouded in miasma, lay a desolate swamp.

Legend has it that this vast mangrove swamp holds a hidden paradise. The old immortals often say that a secret realm lies within.

But rumors are just rumors and shouldn't be taken seriously.

The water flowed gently through the mangrove swamp. A strange creature floated on the surface. The little girl looked closely and found it rather odd.

"What is this?"

Upon closer inspection, a small waterbird was floating on the surface of the water. Its left wing was bleeding, and its feathers were completely soaked by the water.

"Water rises!" The little girl chanted an incantation, and instantly a torrent swept the little water bird ashore. He poked the little water bird's nostrils. Its breathing was rapid, and it was still alive.

"Didn't Father often say that besides venomous snakes and saltwater crocodiles, there are no other creatures in this area? How come there's a little bird here?"

She crushed a few herbs and applied them to the little waterbird's wound with her hand.

The moment it was touched, the bewildered little waterbird opened its eyes. It seemed very angry at that moment, and kept yelling and screaming.

"Qin Wuxie".

"what!"

Upon closer listening, it turned out not to be a chirping sound, but a human voice, faint and weak, like a mosquito's buzz. Yet the little girl heard it very clearly.

Suddenly, she rubbed her ears, thinking it was just a hallucination.

"That's not right, is it? My father said that demons who cultivate can't speak. Could I have misheard?"

She leaned closer and touched the little water bird's head, which triggered its stress response.

The little waterbird took flight, flapping its wings. Flames even seemed to rise around it. The waterbird looked pale and weak. It stared intently at the little girl and asked, "Who are you?"

The little girl didn't mishear those three words.

His expression was somewhat strange, yet his eyes were wide open, blinking as he looked at Gu Heting. After a long while, she spoke.

"My name is Xiang Wanqing, what's yours?"

Gu Heting uttered the three words, "Towards the late Qing Dynasty." He looked up and surveyed his surroundings, realizing he was no longer in that blessed land.

There is a small river all around.

Ahead lay a vast red palm forest. Within the forest, a purple mist drifted—a poisonous venom that severed the path of life.

The River-Swallowing Fish said that the blessed land of Dongting is deep in the mountains. In other words, this place is surrounded by miasma, and very few people can enter the blessed land of Dongting.

Thinking of the whale-like creature that swallowed the river, Gu Heting couldn't help but lower his head.

Are you still alive, Senior Whale Li?

The little girl before him was adorned with silver ornaments. She had large, bright eyes and loose hair that cascaded down her shoulders. His blue clothes were embroidered with witchcraft script.

The style of the clothing reminded him of the Miao girls from his previous life.

"Where is this?" Gu Heting asked.

The little girl had bright eyes and white teeth, and her smile was radiant. Her clear eyes seemed to reflect a pool of spring water. The silver ornaments on her head swayed constantly.

"This is Xiaokang Mountain."

Where is Xiaokang Mountain? Never mind, Gu Heting was too lazy to ask.

Gu Heting raised his hand and walked towards the mangrove forest. But he had only taken a few steps when Xiang Wanqing pulled out a few silver threads from her sleeve.

The silver threads were wrapped around Gu Heting's calves.

Xiang Wanting gently pulled his calf, and he was hoisted upside down.

"Where are you going? This purple mist and miasma is not something you can withstand."

"The number of dead is more than you think."

Gu Heting frowned. He exerted a little force with his feet, trying to use his spiritual energy to break free from the silver threads. But the silver threads, though thin, were firmly bound to his legs.

The more it struggles, the tighter it is locked up.

Gu Heting was a cultivator, at least a Qi Refining Realm cultivator. How could he not even be able to break free from a single silver thread?

But a moment later, he was shocked.

The man before them, Xiang Wanqing, with his distinctive attire, was actually a cultivator. The silver thread was a magical artifact.

"You, you are a monk."

Gu Heting was surprised, and Xiang Wanqing in front of him was even more surprised.

This silver thread was considered Xiang Wanqing's natal magic weapon. The thread itself could be sensed, reflecting the flow of spiritual energy from the cultivator.

This spiritual power is not violent.

Yet it flows like water, gently trickling in. Its spiritual power is ethereal and ever-changing.

This is actually a cultivator with a water elemental root.

To be precise, it is a strange beast with a water elemental root.

For Xiang Wanqing, the spiritual power of the metal spiritual root was more restrained, the earth spiritual root was more stable, and the fire and wind spiritual roots were extremely violent. However, the water spiritual root was ever-changing.

"You little sparrow, you've got some skills, and you can even speak human language. How did you do that?"

"I am a waterbird, not a sparrow. And I have a name, I am Gu Heting." Gu Heting corrected the little girl's pronunciation.

Has this little girl never seen a turtle or duck before?

Treat it like a sparrow.

As for why he could speak human language, he was tired and didn't want to explain anymore.

"I saved you, and you didn't even say thank you. Now you're going to your death? What do you mean by that? Let me tell you, the snakes there are powerful. There might be Qi Refining Demons and Core Formation Demons there. Do you really want to go?"

He had already encountered two demons who had reached the Core Formation stage.

One of them was a friend of Gu Heting.

He's not inexperienced. What's there to say?

The fate of the river-swallowing fish is now unknown.

Gu Heting was determined to find him, even if it cost him his life.

The little girl chattered on and on, and the customers were getting a little impatient. However, Xiang Wanqing seemed oblivious to this.

He reached out and touched Gu Heting's forehead. He really treated Gu Heting like the village's big yellow dog.

"Do you believe I'll bite you?"

After Gu Heting finished speaking, he opened his beak and bit down on Xiang Wanqing's hand.

Xiang Wanqing reached out his hand, startling the Miao ethnic ornaments on his head, which swayed wildly.

The silverware glittered in the sunlight.

The little girl pouted, looking somewhat displeased: "You beast, how rude of you! If it weren't for me today, you might be feeding the fish."

Gu Heting ignored him.

Using the water manipulation techniques taught by the River Swallowing Fish, Gu Heting easily untied the silver thread. He slipped off the line like an eel.

He turned around and looked back without even glancing at her.

Gu Heting turned around and walked towards the miasma-shrouded red forest.

"Where are you going, little sparrow? I've already told you, the Purple Mist and Miasma are a natural barrier. Besides, the forest there is so dense it blocks out the sun. You don't have a sense of direction, it's easy to get lost."

Upon hearing the word "lost,"

Gu Heting stopped in his tracks.

"You're injured, why don't you come to my sect for a checkup?" The voice was clear and bright, full of youthful energy.

Gu Heting sighed, his face somewhat bewildered.

"My father is also a cultivator. To cross this red forest shrouded in purple mist and miasma, we need miasma-avoiding pills," the little girl said loudly in Gu Heting's direction.