Chapter 58: A Dark History Better Left Forgotten

Looking at that relatively new copy of "Secret Records of the Golden Vase," Qi Yuan's expression gradually turned strange as a dark history he'd rather not recall surfaced in his mind.

Because the author of this book, [Laughing Scholar], was actually his own pen name!

Back then, he had just transmigrated and was in a penniless, miserable state. To earn a living, he simply became a plagiarist. To ensure he’d be an instant hit, he specifically chose a world-renowned masterpiece from his past life… A classic is indeed a classic; "Secret Records of the Golden Vase" became a massive hit as soon as it was published, allowing him to earn a huge sum of Spirit Stones and save enough for the travel expenses to Taixuan Holy Land to seek the Dao.

He never expected to see his own "masterpiece" again today in the hands of a grass spirit. What the hell!

The more Qi Yuan looked at it, the more ashamed he felt. He immediately swept the books into his Storage Pouch and scolded,

"Children shouldn't read this kind of book. I'm confiscating it for now. Ask me for it once you're an adult."

The Little Grass Spirit's expression froze, and it muttered with its head hanging low,

"Big brother, I'm already ten thousand years old. Besides, I'm only looking at the illustrations…"

"You shouldn't be looking at the illustrations even more!"

After saying that, Qi Yuan couldn't be bothered to deal with this bratty child anymore. He pointed at the Formation Spirit, who was still eating dirt on the side, and said seriously, "Restore my friend first, and then you can leave."

"Okay, big brother, I'll listen to you."

The Little Grass Spirit nodded and casually withdrew the illusion.

The Formation Spirit soon regained consciousness, only to find its mouth stuffed with dirt for some reason. Every hiccup tasted like soil, so it quickly covered its mouth and coughed violently.

"Cough, cough, cough… Blegh!"

Remembering what had just happened, the Formation Spirit instantly flew into a rage.

"You Little Thief grass, this old man cannot coexist with you!"

The next moment, it lunged at the Little Grass Spirit without a care. However, halfway through, it mysteriously reverted to its previous state, turned around, and excitedly ran to another pile of dirt to start eating… The Little Grass Spirit smiled at Qi Yuan somewhat sheepishly. "Big brother, since it's your friend, I won't go to its home to pick things up anymore. As for the things it lost before, I'll return them once I've earned enough Spirit Stones."

Then, enduring the pain, it forcibly plucked three illusion star fruits from its head and held them out to Qi Yuan.

Grandpa Shen said that a good Spiritual Plant must know how to repay kindness. As a reward, I'm giving these three illusion star fruits to you."

"When you encounter danger, just crush one, and it will force everyone around you into an illusion. You can then take the opportunity to escape."

Hearing the effects of the illusion star fruit, Qi Yuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately reached out to take them.

Good stuff!

These three illusion star fruits came from a Ten Thousand Year Phantom Star Grass. If used properly, even Cultivators below the Mahayana Realm would likely fall for it instantly. The effect was no less than three one-time-use top-tier talisman treasures.

"Your head seems to be bleeding. Are you okay?"

Looking at the Little Grass Spirit whose head was still spurting purple blood, Qi Yuan couldn't help but show some concern.

"It's fine," the Little Grass Spirit said through gritted teeth, touching its head without changing its expression. "It'll heal soon."

"Your friend will wake up soon. Goodbye, big brother."

With that, the Little Grass Spirit gave Qi Yuan a proper bow, then flickered and vanished into the ground.

“Ding! The Host chose to release a ten-thousand-year Spirit Medicine, successfully gaining a wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi. This reward will be automatically stored in the System reward space and can be extracted by the Host at any time.”

Hearing the System's cold notification, Qi Yuan looked delighted and impatiently opened the System reward space.

A wisp of pale gold mist floated quietly within the System space, ethereal and agile like a lotus. Faintly, various grand and wondrous phenomena swirled around it, exuding an indescribable sense of ancient majesty.

A wisp of Heavenly Dao Karma Qi!

Although this dog system's tasks are all sorts of treacherous, the items it gives are indeed genuine and of high quality!

With this wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi, I'll have the chance to form the legendary Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul… "I'm so furious!"

Just as he was in a great mood, the Formation Spirit crawled out from a pile of dirt looking somewhat disheveled. Finding the Little Grass Spirit gone, it entered a state of furious roaring. "Kid Qi, go back on your own using the map. This old man must catch that thief grass and give it a good thrashing!"

As it spoke, it pulled out a map marked with the locations of the earth veins, threw it to Qi Yuan, and then angrily chased after it along the earth veins… The Little Grass Spirit was extremely fast, humming a little tune, and reached a thousand miles away in an instant.

"Big brother is such a good person. Now I can finally go out and search for Grandpa Shen's whereabouts."

Suddenly, it thought of something and froze on the spot.

"Oh no! The illusion star fruits I gave big brother still have phantom star grass Juice on them!"

"The hallucinogenic effect of phantom star grass Juice far exceeds that of the illusion star fruit. If it evaporates into the air, won't big brother be pulled into an illusion very soon?"

Thinking of this, the Little Grass Spirit looked panicked, and its speed slowed down.

"Should I go back and wake big brother up…"

Just as the Little Grass Spirit was about to turn back, another thought crossed its mind. "Since big brother could rescue me, he must have defeated that evil woman. That place is deserted; even if he's pulled into an illusion, there won't be any danger."

"Anyway, the effect of the phantom star grass Juice will dissipate after a while. Big brother will be fine."

After a round of "rigorous" analysis, the Little Grass Spirit successfully convinced itself, immediately felt relieved, and continued on its way… Meanwhile.

Qi Yuan felt a bout of dizziness. When he came to, he found himself standing at the gate of a county town.

The town was bustling with people and traffic. The gate tower had the words "Qinghe County" written on it.

"Where is this?"

He tried to recall carefully, but his head felt heavy and his memories were extremely blurred. He couldn't remember how he had suddenly appeared here.

Just then, a greeting suddenly came from ahead:

"Lord Ximen, why are you so leisurely today? Why not come with your brothers to Wanxiang Pavilion for some wine? Miss Yu Chuan'er has been constantly talking about you lately."