On his journey, a family named Guo kindly offered Gu Wen a place to stay for the night.
The family had a young daughter, aged twenty, who was being forced into marriage by a butcher.
The wedding was just a few days away.
Gu Wen knew from the start that the family sought his help, and he was reminded of the tale of Lu Zhishen fighting Zhenguanxi to save a girl.
For those with great strength, their spirit must also be strong.
Gu Wen went to the butcher's home and learned that the butcher had paid the bride price multiple times.
The girl's father was a gambling addict, and the daughter had previously eloped with a scholar, only to be abandoned.
Despite this, the butcher sincerely sought to marry her without holding grudges.
Gu Wen, upon learning the full story, felt as if he had accepted a mission from an online game.
He returned to the Guo household, where the father mumbled and the daughter wept as if only she had suffered.
Gu Wen wasn't a saint, and he couldn't marry the girl himself like He Huan.
Teaching a man to fish is better than giving him a fish, so he decided not to help.
The next day, Gu Wen left the family, heading into the mountains after hearing about a tiger guarding a treasure.
He killed the tiger and obtained a ginseng root, equivalent to five years' worth of celestial marrow.
[Celestial Marrow: 26 Years]
When Gu Wen returned from the mountains, the butcher had already married the girl.
The butcher's household was thriving.
Gu Wen visited only to find that the girl had poisoned the butcher and was being taken to the authorities by neighbors.
The next day, the county magistrate held a trial.
Gu Wen, disguised as a tiger-slaying hero, was invited to attend.
A change in hairstyle and a fake beard made him hard to recognize from any government portraits.
Besides, in these chaotic times, population movement was rampant, and even refugees and bandits could set up stalls in the city, leaving the authorities overwhelmed.
The girl confessed her crime, revealing that the butcher had not been abusive.
She simply felt that a butcher was unworthy of her.
Gu Wen heard the crowd's fervent cries for punishment.
The girl was flogged until her skin was torn.
Her father, Old Man Guo, had been beaten to death the previous day over gambling debts, and the butcher's sixty-year-old mother wailed incessantly.
A day later, the butcher's mother hanged herself.
Gu Wen watched all of this, longing to be a hero but unsure whom to save.
He had great strength but no way to use it effectively.
It wasn't that he hadn't seen human suffering before, but this was the first time he realized that even with the ability to act, he was still powerless.
It seemed that each person was beyond salvation.
The seemingly affectionate but truly malicious Guo girl, the gambling-addicted Old Man Guo, the deceased butcher, and the childless, suicidal butcher's mother.
Were they worth saving? Could he save them for a lifetime? Could they even be saved?
"The world is like a purgatory, human hearts like boiling oil. All beings suffer, all creatures are evil."
"I am still weak in this world. I am neither as strong as Emperor Daojun nor as powerful as other True Lords. As long as I cannot overturn heaven and earth, I must submit to this chaotic world. It makes me uncomfortable, yet I must avoid it and protect myself."
"Those truly strong should contend with heaven and earth."
"The greatest hero wields his sword against the heavens."
Gu Wen awakened as if from a dream.
His Dao heart became clearer, and his spirit grew stronger.
Observing his Yellow Dragon Spirit, he understood that the element of Earth, being central, bears the weight of heaven and earth.
By comprehending this, he could naturally advance further.
[Fifty Years to Achieve: Yellow Dragon Spirit - 25 Years Required]
[Twenty-five years of celestial marrow to merge with the Yellow Dragon, the Yellow Dragon in place, the Five Spirits become one, lacking four spirits]
He left the crowd with large strides, departing the small town that was unworthy of his stay.
On a muddy path at dusk, a figure in plain white sat in a roadside pavilion.
She seemed to have been waiting for a long time, though she was actually just exhausted from running.
Nearby, the old donkey scrutinized Gu Wen, who appeared to be a simple, dust-covered man in black, carrying a large box.
He walked step by step, neither ostentatious nor subtle.
Yu Hua's voice was soft as she asked, "How have you been lately? You seem to have changed a lot in just a few days."
"Rising high and soaring nine thousand miles, a single man can match a million soldiers," Gu Wen replied with a radiant smile.
His eyes sparkled with spiritual brilliance, signifying the completion of his third foundational stage.
The old donkey's eyes widened.
To him, Gu Wen had always seemed unremarkable, but now he overlapped with the image of a peerless prodigy who once dominated an entire era.
Achieving the completion of the third foundational stage was understandable, as the first three stages were not excessively difficult.
However, possessing the Five Elements Spirit Aspect was something only one person, Daozi Sanqing, had achieved thus far.
The old donkey vaguely understood Yu Hua's obsession with Gu Wen—comparable to the peerless prodigy Daozi Sanqing.
Who wouldn't be captivated by such a person? If it were me, I would fight for him too!
Gu Wen took out a plain grey jade pendant, showing it to Yu Hua, and said, "From now on, no one in this world can stop me."
This was his biggest difference from before.
Although wanted by the Daqian Empire, he was now truly free.
A breeze lifted Yu Hua's veil, revealing her smiling face.
She asked, "When will you become the first among heroes, at the top of the Earth Rankings?"
"Starting today," Gu Wen replied, for the first time giving Yu Hua a clear and unwavering answer.
"I need to go to Luoshui. Would you like to accompany me?" he asked.
"Since you invite me, I would be happy to," Yu Hua replied.
As night fell, although their keen senses could navigate the darkness, they sought refuge in a mountain god temple.
Ancient temples dedicated to mountain gods were numerous, with a great variety of deities.
The temple they found worshipped a hedgehog, also known as a white fairy.
Upon entering the temple, they sensed the hedgehog hiding in a corner.
It was quite spiritual, practically a spiritual beast.
Yu Hua gave it a pill as payment for their stay.
The hedgehog bowed repeatedly and then tried to recognize Yu Hua as its master, but was rejected.
It then turned to Gu Wen, but before he could consider it, Yu Hua said, "You're not worthy of him," causing the little hedgehog to shed tiny tears.
Unable to bear the blow, the white fairy disappeared into the night.
Gu Wen thought about his future travels, realizing it would be impractical to take the little creature along.
In the temple, a fire was lit, and Gu Wen and Yu Hua sat down, chatting about everything.
Gu Wen, having endured five years of pent-up emotions after avenging his great grudge, needed someone to talk to.
Yu Hua, though not saying much herself, clearly enjoyed listening.
She could sense that Gu Wen's once dead and dry heart was slowly coming to life.
Although his emotions still didn't fluctuate much, at least he no longer put up a high wall when facing her.
People have seven emotions and six desires; he couldn't have been born liking to suppress himself.
Even ascetics aren't born with a bitter face.
If Gu Wen had been born in the Sanqing Dao Sect, he might not have had such a dry heart at such a young age, being more composed than many cultivators several times his age.
The old donkey felt like an outsider, drooping its ears and lying on the ground to rest.
Eventually, the two began discussing something that piqued the old donkey's interest.
"There is a Tianquan Mountain in Luoshui, with a spiritual spring that belongs to Zhejian Mountain. It can help you refine your jade pendant," Yu Hua mentioned.
Gu Wen was intrigued.
His true intention was indeed to seek the Empyrean Elixir, though he hadn't mentioned it.
"Does it really have such an effect?" he asked.
"Spiritual medicines build the Dao, and earth springs nurture treasures. The so-called treasure is your Dao weapon," Yu Hua explained, always forthcoming with information. "This is also one of the two paths to immortality: building the Dao or forging treasures. Some sects believe that instead of nurturing a strong individual, it's better to create a peerless treasure that can be passed down for millennia," she said, scoffing at the idea with the disdain of the Qi School tradition of the Yuqing Sect. "Relying on external objects is a minor path."
Suddenly, sensing a disturbance in the jade pendant, Gu Wen found Yu Hua's blunt honesty sometimes quite biting, often dealing real damage.
"Would you mind accompanying me on this trip?" he asked.
"It's no trouble at all. I was planning to go there anyway," Yu Hua replied, shaking her head.
The Immortal Medicine would naturally gather the five elements, and the Sword Washing Pool was the epitome of gold.
Perhaps it had lingered there, and if they could find some roots, it would be even better.
"One more thing about your guardian. The jade is a token. If you refine it, you will be bound by karma. You should consider this carefully."