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

"Cough cough"

Gu Heting found a tree hollow and lit a fire beside it. He then hid the seriously injured girl inside the tree hollow.

Just now, the girl coughed up crimson blood.

Her blood was no longer purplish-red.

Clearly, the elixir had already had an effect on her.

"Where...where am I?" The girl's voice was weak as she opened her eyes and looked around. It was dark all around, and the texture of the decaying wood resembled a tree hollow.

No, it shouldn't be said that they look very similar.

This is a tree hole.

A small waterbird sat outside the tree hollow, the shadow of the flames shining in and making it appear much larger.

This is a water bird.

No matter how tall the shadow is, it's no more than the girl's knee.

"Who are you? Who are you?"

The girl spoke haltingly. There were no men in black chasing her around, and she grew increasingly panicked. She hurriedly checked the knife wounds on her body.

There was a scar on her shoulder that extended all the way down her back.

One thread after another stitched up her wounds.

She lifted her head slightly, her face contorted with anxious pain.

"You're awake."

The little waterbird in front of me spoke human language.

The girl was startled. She rubbed her eyes, unable to believe whether the person in front of her was human or demon. But the blinking blue eyes told her that this little water bird was undoubtedly a demon.

A magical beast that can speak and fight.

This completely shattered the girl's worldview. Could it be a powerful being in human form, trying to tease her?

My mother told me that there are evil cultivators in this world who capture people to be used as furnaces.

Heretical practitioners possess methods for transforming into human form.

If you encounter something that can speak and transform into a small beast, it must be the work of an evil cultivator.

"My meridians are naturally blocked, and my spiritual energy is thin, so I am not suitable to be a furnace. Moreover, I am born with a cold and yin constitution, which is taboo inside a furnace. If you humiliate me, I will die in front of you." After the girl finished speaking, she took a few steps back.

He closed his eyes and made a gesture of unyielding defiance.

He raised his hand and held the knife to his own neck.

What is all this?

Sister, don't you want to look at what you're saying?

"A furnace/cauldron? Isn't there reproductive isolation?"

"What quarantine?" the girl asked.

Gu Heting blushed for a moment, then shook his head. He knew he couldn't waste time on this, and with that thought, he sighed.

"Hey, I fought 11 Corpse Immortals for you. You don't even thank me, fine, but why are you so hostile towards me?"

"I almost exhausted my spiritual power for you, and you wake up and talk to me about this."

The waterbird spoke with an air of righteousness.

But the young girl simply wouldn't believe her. She coughed softly, looking at the stitched-up wound. Finally, she tentatively asked, "You're not a heretical cultivator in human form, are you here to test my intentions?"

Is this a heretical cultivation practice taking human form?

Gu Heting suddenly thought of that day, the demon from the Blood Demon Sect. That demon was called Blood Impermanence, and he had already reached the Core Formation stage.

The trick they used was to transform into a demonic form.

His body transformed into a blood-red bat, but Tang Jingxuan, the second young master of the Tang family, saw through his disguise. It was fate, destiny. The evil cultivator had fallen here; he had no one to blame but himself.

"Oh."

Gu Heting looked at the little girl and snorted coldly. He stood up and turned around in front of her.

"See? I'm just a waterbird. I'm not a heretical cultivator, I'm just a bird. If you don't believe me, fine."

"Ah..." the little girl sighed, but didn't answer for a long time.

Seeing how cautious she was, Gu Heting didn't want to beat around the bush anymore. Looking into her eyes, Gu Heting went straight to the point.

"What happened?"

Seeing that he had asked, the little girl abandoned her usual worldly concerns and started yelling at Gu Heting, "My name is Shang Rui. I was born in Yushu Prefecture of Dongyu Prefecture. Do you know Yushu Prefecture? My mother is..."

They kept chattering away.

Gu Heting only knew her name was Shang Rui. This little girl named Shang Rui first brought up her maternal family, then her paternal family, and even the names of her seven aunts and eight cousins.

Gu Heting was getting a little annoyed.

She wouldn't say how they met their demise, or even how they got there; she didn't mention it at all.

"Stop, stop, stop..."

"I'll ask you three questions now: Who are you? Who did you come here with? How did you fall on hard times? I don't want to hear the names of your extended family. I'm not interested in the immortal sects behind you."

Shang Rui chattered on and on, and in her excitement, she even tore open the wound on her back. She cried out in pain and stopped talking.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Gu Heting finally managed to interject.

"I, I..." Shang Rui was truly distressed and couldn't finish her sentence.

She has a lively personality.

But now it's time to make a decision.

"Sigh," Shang Rui sighed, mimicking Gu Heting. She stopped talking and couldn't hide the worry on her face.

"Only my mother and I came to this place. My benefactor, have you ever heard of the Four Great Sects?"

He once explained the four major sects to Zheng.

There are four major sects in the Eastern Region.

The Azure Wood Immortal Sect primarily focuses on alchemy.

The Taiyi Yiyan Immortal Sect primarily focuses on Daoist practices.

The Golden Spirit Sword Sect primarily focuses on the way of the sword.

And the Wanqing Beast Sect, which specializes in beast taming.

The four major sects, each with three Nascent Soul cultivators in charge, have stood firm in this world for tens of thousands of years.

The sect's foundation is self-evident.

They are respectively in charge of beast taming, alchemy, swordsmanship, and Taoist magic.

They are among the world's top combat forces.

"I know," Gu Heting nodded.

"I was born into a family that relies on the Myriad Green Beast Sect. Actually, the Myriad Green Beast Sect treats those who attach themselves to them quite well. We are a family that relies on them."

"If the clan leader discovers a spiritual vein and collaborates with the Beast Sect to develop it, we can also obtain 50% of the spirit stones."

Gu Heting sighed inwardly.

This girl talks too much.

But it's better now than before; she's not dragging her extended family into this.

"A while ago, the Li family unearthed a spirit mine, which contained some of the rarest fire spirit stones. The moment the stones were mined, the Li family hosted a grand banquet for everyone."

"My mother and I are among them."

"Mother wanted to use spirit stones to make a deal, so we bought a small mine for 20 spirit stones."

"The contract was signed for approximately 15 years."

"But something unexpected happened to me and my mother."

It wasn't easy; you finally hit the nail on the head. This made Gu Heting quite relieved.

"There's something wrong with that vein."

Is there something wrong with the mineral vein? Could this mother and daughter have been scammed?

The girl looked worried as she took off her storage ring and retrieved her lotus-scented sachet from it.

Shang Rui sounded preoccupied.

"Strictly speaking, my mother and I both got lucky. We discovered an underground mineral vein there. It was a small blessed land."

"And I discovered this."

Shang Rui poured out square crystals from the sachet.

The moment Gu Heting saw the crystallization...

The system automatically popped up at the corner of my eye.

The Phoenix Carrying the Book was opened at this moment.

[The earth's spiritual fire veins forge ultimate techniques, amidst a myriad of fragrant flowers and verdant forests.]

Lava fire is a rare and precious sight.

[Found item: Myriad Flower Red Stone.]

A rare and precious item in the world: the Myriad Flower Red Stone.

[Completely square in shape. It contains a rich inner fire element, a masterpiece of nature in the cultivation world. It feels consistently warm to the touch, neither harsh nor harmful. Made from flawless natural spiritual mineral.]

It is a top-tier existence within lava veins, growing on stalactites. A single stalactite, thousands of years old, requires 30 years to crystallize by absorbing the essence of the earth's veins.

There are no regional restrictions; you can apply as long as you meet the requirements.

Truly rare and precious.

[Rarity: Extremely Rare]

[Evaluation: A masterpiece of nature in the cultivation world. A spiritual elixir coveted by fire cultivators. It often keeps fire cultivators awake at night.]

Gu Heting was stunned. He finally understood why.

This is an attempt to silence witnesses.