Su Luo did not sleep all night, carving more than ten Talismans before the sun went down, and then sat on a treetop, cultivating intently.
In her previous life, she had relied on a secret manual to cultivate to the early stage of the Golden Core, and she still remembered its techniques and incantations. Because of this, her cultivation in this life went even more smoothly, yielding twice the results with half the effort. Su Luo could faintly sense that her cultivation level would be able to advance to the next tier before long.
In the early morning, the quiet stone house finally made some movement. Someone gently pushed open the door and walked out.
Su Luo snapped her eyes open with a rustle; she had been waiting for a long time.
Under the pitch-black sky, Chunhe was walking out on tiptoes. Holding a torch, she looked around as she walked, heading straight for Fanjing Mountain ahead.
Su Luo waited until she had walked a good distance before jumping down from the tree.
Glancing back at the quiet stone house, Su Luo blinked, took a Talisman from her Storage Bag, and tossed it forward. The Talisman accurately stuck to the side of the stone house, and instantly, a pale radiance enveloped the dwelling.
The Talisman she applied was the advanced Protection Talisman she had drawn last night. This kind of Talisman could ensure that the people inside the house would not suffer any physical harm for a month, unless broken by a cultivator at the Golden Core level or above.
Chunhe's Grandpa was old and in frail health, and Chunhe had said that he basically never went out, so using the Protection Talisman to guard the old man was enough. Besides, she had plenty of Talismans, and giving one to Chunhe's household for safeguarding was no big deal, just to be on the safe side...
Confirming that everything was properly set, Su Luo turned around and silently followed close behind Chunhe.
Before long, Su Luo and Chunhe arrived one after the other at the entrance of Fanjing Mountain, where the little girl was carrying a basket and waiting anxiously.
At this moment, it was not yet the Hour of Yin; she had arrived far too early.
Su Luo sighed, stepped out from behind a tree, and deliberately made a noise while walking. Sure enough, the little girl looked up.
"Sister! You're here!"
Unwittingly, Chunhe's form of address for Su Luo had shifted from "you" [polite] to "you" [familiar]. It seemed the two of them had indeed grown much closer.
This time, Su Luo was not wearing a veil, and she flashed a kind smile at the girl who came running over.
"Mm, I'm here. Why did you come so early? It isn't even the Hour of Yin yet."
Chunhe smiled sheepishly, biting her lip. Illuminated by the torchlight, her eyes were filled with sparkling starlight.
"Chunhe fell asleep early and woke up early too, and I was afraid Sister wouldn't be able to find this place!"
"Oh right, Sister! You haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you?" As she spoke, Chunhe reached her hand into the basket, pulled out two oval-shaped green-shelled things that looked like eggs, and handed them to Su Luo.
"Sister, I boiled two eggs for you to eat. These are laid by the cuckoo-birds unique to Fanjing Mountain, and the eggs contain a lot of Spiritual Energy. They sell really well in Bishui Town, and a lot of immortals love eating them."
Su Luo had actually eaten some spirit fruits while up in the tree, but when she noticed the anticipation in Chunhe's eyes, she still took the two eggs and gently expressed her thanks.
"Thank you, Chunhe. I was just getting hungry. Have you eaten?"
"Mm, there were too many leftovers from last night, and since I couldn't finish them, I just heated some up and ate them. And Sister, you don't need to thank me! You're my benefactor—not only do you support my business, but you even treated me to a meal and bought medicine for Grandpa! Oh right, the medicine Sister bought worked wonders; Grandpa is noticeably much better after taking it!"
Seeing that Chunhe was full of energy and didn't look like someone who was going hungry, Su Luo accepted the cuckoo-bird eggs. Chatting along the way, the two prepared to enter Fanjing Mountain.
Before leading Su Luo into Fanjing Mountain, Chunhe remembered to ask, "Right, what kind of Spirit Plant is Sister looking for?"
"Well, I'm looking for a lotus flower. That lotus flower is very special; its petals glow with a rosy, sunset-like radiance, and it has a charming fragrance."
Chunhe furrowed her brows in thought. "A lotus flower... sunset-like radiance, and a fragrance..."
Su Luo stepped lightly on the fallen leaves, patiently waiting for Chunhe.
The novel had not detailed where the male protagonist found the Seven-Rosy Lotus; it only mentioned that he inadvertently strayed into the territory of a Rakshasa Crocodile and accidentally discovered the Seven-Rosy Lotus. Moreover, the reason he was able to successfully pluck the Seven-Rosy Lotus was because the Rakshasa Crocodile happened to be in estrus and had run off to find a female Rakshasa Crocodile, lowering its guard just enough for someone to ransack its home.
Although with Chunhe around, the probability of the Rakshasa Crocodile attacking her was low, since she had to pluck the Seven-Rosy Lotus after all, she figured she could make use of this point just in case.
"Could it be?!"
Chunhe frowned and pondered for a moment. Suddenly, she thought of something, but her face quickly turned miserable.
"Sister, I know where that lotus flower is. But... the pond where that lotus flower grows has a terrifying magical beast..."
Su Luo patted her shoulder. "It's fine, just lead me there. I have confidence I can pick it."
With that, the two entered Fanjing Mountain without looking back.
Meanwhile, the Cloud-Winged Bird trailing far behind circled round and round outside the outer perimeter of Fanjing Mountain, but no matter what, it didn't dare to enter. In the end, it could only land helplessly on a tree closest to the entrance and let out a few chirps.
Its intuition told it that this place was far too dangerous and couldn't be entered! If it went in, not even its bones would remain! Was that woman crazy?! To actually dare bring a little girl into the mountain! And go in to look for a Rakshasa Crocodile, no less!
She was done for! There was absolutely no way she was coming out!
The Cloud-Winged Bird tilted its head, pondered with its not-so-large brain, and finally decided to go back and report to its master.
At last, the Cloud-Winged Bird flapped its wings and flew away from the spot in the blink of an eye.
The pre-dawn Fanjing Mountain was so quiet it felt like a giant monster standing there. The light from the half-moon in the sky was faint and could not shroud the entire mountain. The whole mountain forest was dead silent; apart from the chirping of birds, there wasn't even a hint of wind.
Truth be told, it had quite the horror movie atmosphere.
Su Luo felt goosebumps rising all over her skin and hurriedly slapped a Breath-Masking Talisman onto herself and Chunhe.
This Talisman could only conceal most of a person's scent. Of course, magical beasts with sharp senses could still find people through their scents, but now, coupled with Chunhe's "affinity buff," even if ordinary magical beasts discovered them, they wouldn't come over to cause trouble.
After finishing applying the Talismans, Su Luo glanced at Chunhe's calm expression, and a sense of profound respect for her began to well up in her heart.
Even she, a cultivator with cultivation to back her up, felt somewhat scared walking this night path, yet Chunhe, as a mortal little girl, dared to enter and exit Fanjing Mountain multiple times. This kind of grit was truly admirable!
Chunhe withdrew her gaze from the Talisman and, noticing Su Luo's look, didn't ask any questions. She just smiled gratefully at her, thinking to herself:
"Sister is so nice. Even though she knows I won't be attacked by magical beasts or Spirit Plants, she still used a precious Talisman on me to protect me! What a truly kind-hearted person!"
The two of them were completely caught up in their own thoughts, entirely unrelated to one another.
Of course, Su Luo didn't know what Chunhe was thinking, and even if she had known, she wouldn't have cared. She only felt that since she had asked Chunhe to bring her to this perilous Fanjing Mountain to find a Spirit Plant, she had to ensure the other person's safety.
Fanjing Mountain was huge, filled with towering trees everywhere. The further inward the two walked, the more countless Spirit Plants and spiritual herbs they could see. If Su Luo hadn't been in a rush for the Seven-Rosy Lotus, she definitely would have stopped to harvest them.
This was all money!
Because they were afraid of disturbing the magical beasts, the two walked in complete silence the entire way. Chunhe held the luminescent stone provided by Su Luo for lighting, while Su Luo seized the opportunity to wolf down those two cuckoo-bird eggs in two shakes of a lamb's tail.
To be fair, the taste was actually quite good—somewhat resembling braised eggs, except the color of the shells was a bit too green...
Under Chunhe's guidance, the two walked deeper into Fanjing Mountain. Along the way, all was dead silence; even the breathing of magical beasts could barely be heard. Su Luo had to raise her vigilance to the highest level to observe her surroundings, holding her sword in her right hand while pinching an offensive Explosion Talisman in her left.
There was no help for it; her swordsmanship talent was low, and she had practically no offensive power in a fight. Offensive Talismans like the Explosion Talisman could at least boost her offensive capability.
Along the way, Chunhe had also mentioned that when that lotus flower bloomed, its scent was far too overpowering. Magical beasts were frequently lured over by the fragrance, only to be ambushed and eaten by the Rakshasa Crocodile lurking by the pond.
Even humans would grow trance-like after smelling it, walking toward it unconsciously.
She had once accidentally strayed in here, and after smelling the fragrance, she had approached the lotus in a daze. By the time she came to her senses, half of her foot had already stepped into the pond. Fortunately, the Rakshasa Crocodile was still dormant in the pond's silt at the time, and the Peace Talisman on her body performed steadily; otherwise, her little life would have been forfeit.