6. Pollution

“Master!”
Guo’er cried out in anguish, her small body collapsing in a heap.
Li Miao caught the little girl with one arm. Turning, he saw that from the split in Wang Lang’s body, seventy or eighty more people were rushing toward him.
These maniacs…
After a brief silence, Li Miao sighed softly, gathered his strength beneath his feet, and leapt from the cliff, carrying Guo’er in his arms.
If he were alone, he wouldn’t fear even twice as many enemies. But with Guo’er to consider, he dared not take the risk.
The steep cliff became a barrier to the wild cultivators pursuing them. Once on the ground, Li Miao bounded away, leaping from treetop to treetop, fleeing down Mount Zhongyun.
Guo’er had already lost consciousness. Blood from Xuan Zhenzi streaked down her cheek, two tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, her small brow furrowed in a heartrending frown.
Li Miao let out a deep sigh of regret.
If not for him, the master and disciple who lived in seclusion on the mountain would never have clashed with the people below. Even if there had been past grievances, with time they would have faded away so long as no one spoke of them.
His arrival had brought nothing good to the pair—only calamity.
Now, with Xuan Zhenzi dead, young Guo’er was left alone in the world, without even a home to return to on Mount Zhongyun. Where could she possibly go from here?
Suddenly, a thought arose within him that he could not suppress.
He wanted to stay.
Among the million-strong expeditionary force of superhuman warriors, he was just one inconspicuous soldier, his disappearance or death of no consequence.
But here, he was the only one Guo’er could rely on.
Yet his identity as a soldier reminded him: if he chose this path, he would become a deserter—a disgrace to the expeditionary army.
Loyalty and righteousness—he could choose only one. His mind was a tangled web of conflict.
Only after a long while did he finally make up his mind.
“Then a deserter I’ll be.”
He took the communicator from his microcosmic cosmos ring; the device displayed “No Signal.”
Li Miao chuckled self-mockingly. “Fled to the unknown universe on the other side of the wormhole—well, I suppose I’m a pioneer.”
Snap—
The small communicator was crushed to dust in his hand.
From now on, he was no longer a superhuman warrior—just a simple primordial energy martial artist.
Materially and spiritually, he had no more sanctuary. Even if the whole world turned against him, he could only rely on himself.
He scattered the communicator’s powder into the river, feeling both a sense of loss and, strangely, a newfound lightness.
Pangshan Prefecture was named for its mountains—six thousand miles of terrain, almost all rivers and peaks, with little open plain.
After leaving Mount Zhongyun, Li Miao wandered aimlessly with the unconscious Guo’er, crossing mountain and river, traveling far without realizing it.
By noon, he reached the foot of a steep peak.
Beneath the crag lay a shadowed gorge, dense with vegetation and shrouded in mist.
Near the valley floor was a small pool, clear as crystal, encircled by trees—a perfect natural bath.
His body was caked with dried blood from the earlier battle, making him stiff and uncomfortable. Delighted at the sight of such a place, he set Guo’er down beneath an old tree, shed his clothes, and leapt into the water.
Splash—
Water flew everywhere. The icy pool sent a jolt through Li Miao, instantly clearing his mind.
“This water feels incredible.”
The coolness washed over his nerves and swept away the gloom in his heart.
He scrubbed the clots of blood from his body, quickly dyeing the pool a faint red. But he didn’t care—after cleaning himself, he lingered, soaking in the bracing water to relax his mind.
The tranquil forest, the secluded gorge, the chilling pool—this was paradise itself.
But bliss never lasts for long.
A light, lively footstep broke the valley’s stillness, approaching the pool.
Li Miao tensed.
Who would come to such a remote valley? he wondered.

In the valley at that moment, a young girl in a pale yellow dress carried a wooden bucket toward the bottom.
Grumbling as she walked, she muttered, “Master’s really something—always sending me this far to fetch water. What’s the difference between the mountain spring and this valley water anyway? So particular for no reason.”
Despite her complaints, she dared not disobey, nor secretly use spring water in place of the valley’s hidden spring.
Otherwise, if the elixirs failed again, it would all be her fault.
“Ten li of mountain roads and a full bucket of water… That muddle-headed old master doesn’t treat me like a girl at all.” Still griping, the girl drew near her destination.
Suddenly, a mischievous idea occurred to her.
“That old man’s always refining pills and won’t teach me any spells. Hmph, today I’ll let him make pills with my bathwater—let’s see if he dares order me around again!”
With her mind made up, the girl quickened her pace, untying her waistband as she walked.
Just then, she noticed a small girl, seven or eight years old, lying beneath an old tree.
The child’s clothes were tattered, her face streaked with blood, and even in sleep her brows were furrowed as if lost in a nightmare.
“Eh? Where did this child come from?” Frowning, the girl set down the bucket and went closer.
Then she noticed a man in the pool behind the old tree—not just anyone, but a naked man!
“Aaah!”
Startled to find a stranger at the end of the secluded valley, the yellow-clad girl’s surprise quickly turned to anger.
This was the territory of the Hundred Herbs Sect—how dare someone trespass uninvited, and bathe in the sacred spring reserved for alchemy!
“You—who are you? How dare you trespass in Hidden Spring Valley! Name yourself at once, or I’ll— I’ll show you no mercy!” she stammered, pointing at Li Miao in the water, both embarrassed and furious.
She tried to look fierce and imposing, but one glance at Li Miao’s muscled torso made her cheeks flush red and she hastily looked away.
Li Miao was mortified.
Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s a misunderstanding. I’m Li Miao, just a passerby. I didn’t know this place belonged to anyone. I saw no one when I arrived, so I…”
He was cut off by another shriek.
“What is it?” Li Miao asked, puzzled.
The girl in yellow had seen his bloodstained clothes tossed aside, and now realized that the formerly transparent pool was tinged with red.
Her embarrassment was instantly overtaken by rage. With a flick of her wrist, a yellow silk sash lashed out at Li Miao with enough force to shatter stone.
“You villain, you’ve polluted our hidden spring! I’ll never forgive you!” she shouted in fury.
Caught off guard and unable to move freely in the water, Li Miao could only raise his arms to shield himself.
Bang!
The sash struck his forearms with tremendous force, sending him staggering back until he collided with a rock at the water’s edge.
Such power! Li Miao thought with alarm.
The girl’s aura was about the same as Wang Lang’s—an early-stage cultivator. But her attack was far more destructive, rivaling even Zhao Shuji of the Condensation Realm!
The sash recoiled to the girl’s hand. When she saw Li Miao unharmed, she was surprised, and demanded, “Are you a cultivator?”
“Something like that. Um… could you let me put on my clothes first?” Li Miao said, his face darkening.
Fighting naked was humiliating enough without an audience.
But the girl was having none of it, her cheeks bright red as she snapped, “I’m not falling for that! If you put on your clothes, you’ll run! Hmph, villain—I’ll capture you and hand you over to my old foo—my master for punishment!”
With that, she lashed out again.
Bang!
This time, Li Miao was ready and only staggered half a step.
But even that brought most of his body out of the water, leaving him even more exposed—a mortifying situation.
The girl’s blush crept all the way to her ears. “Scoundrel! Rogue! I’ll beat you to death!” she yelled, attacking relentlessly.
Li Miao could only smile wryly.

In this predicament, if he defended himself, he had no chance to dress; if he ignored the attacks, who knew if the girl’s sash might strangle him?
He had no choice but to block each blow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“You’re still dodging!”
“Try this!”
“Take that!”
The soft yellow sash struck again and again, each time met by Li Miao’s defenses.
The force made his arms ache, but he noticed that as the attacks continued, their power lessened—no longer as overwhelming as at first.
After a while, when Li Miao sensed the attacks had weakened enough to withstand them, he was about to retrieve clean clothes from his microcosmic ring when the girl abruptly stopped.
Face flushed, she forced a fierce scowl and declared, “Just you wait! I’ll fetch someone to deal with you—don’t you dare run!”
Stomping her foot, she turned and fled, nearly tripping over her loose skirt in her haste.
She departed in disarray, leaving Li Miao alone and bewildered.
“What a mess…”
He rolled his eyes, left the water, used primordial energy to evaporate the droplets from his body, and put on clean clothes.
He’d thought he’d found a good spot, but it turned out to be someone else’s territory—and his actions had clearly angered the rightful owner.
It was understandable: the girl had come with a bucket, obviously to fetch water for drinking or cooking, and he’d bathed in the pool, leaving it murky and bloodstained. Anyone would be upset.
It was too late for regrets now. Who knew what kind of reinforcements the girl would bring? If a mere slip of a girl could make his arms ache, what would happen if her master or elders arrived? He’d be in real trouble.
“I’ll wait and see. If things go badly, I’ll make a run for it,” Li Miao thought.
He still had a micro-flyer in his ring—though cramped, it could just about fit him and the petite Guo’er. At Mach 12, no one would be able to catch them.
What puzzled him was why the yellow-clad girl cared so much about the pool, attacking in anger the moment he dirtied it.
Was there something special about the water?
He used his primordial sense to examine it; the pool did have some unique qualities, its energy denser than ordinary rivers or streams, but not by much—certainly not enough to warrant such outrage.
“Maybe it’s not that serious,” he consoled himself.
He washed the blood from Guo’er’s face and prepared to leave the valley.
As expected, just as he reached the valley mouth with Guo’er on his back, several figures appeared, blocking his way.
There were four of them. At their head was a short, stout man in his sixties, flanked by two white-robed youths who looked very much alike—likely twin brothers, both exuding powerful auras.
Behind them was the yellow-clad girl, trailing behind, panting as she ran to catch up. The moment she saw Li Miao, she pointed and shouted, “Master, that’s him! That’s the scoundrel I told you about!”
Her face was full of indignation. Because of this shameless villain, she’d been scolded by her master and forced to run from the valley to the mountaintop and back again—dozens of li!
The old man’s expression was grim, his clouded eyes fixed on Li Miao. In a heavy voice, he said, “Xu Yong, twenty-third head of the Hundred Herbs Sect, greets you. Tell me—what sect do you belong to, and what grudge do you bear against my Hundred Herbs Sect, to so silently destroy our alchemical spring?”
“Uh…”
Confronted so sternly, Li Miao’s head began to ache.
This old man was the sect master!
Clearly, the pool was far more important than he’d thought.
He hurried to explain, “It’s really a misunderstanding. I’m Li Miao, an unaffiliated cultivator, just passing through. I didn’t know this valley belonged to your sect, so…”
“A likely story! You think you can just say ‘misunderstanding’ and walk away after ruining our sect’s spiritual spring?” Xu Yong cut him off, his face dark with intent to pursue the matter.
The moment they heard he was a rogue cultivator, all four faces grew even more hostile.
Yan Chengxue, the yellow-clad girl, clenched her fists and said fiercely, “Master, don’t waste words—let’s just beat him up first!”
Clearly, she had a violent streak. Her face was still flushed—perhaps from all the running, or perhaps for another reason.