In truth, Su Qing had indeed considered digging her up and bringing her along.
However, the thought had only flashed through her mind. After all, Gongsun Zhixue was in seclusion, and it wouldn't be right to disturb her so abruptly. Furthermore, bringing along a tree that did nothing but sit there served little purpose, so Su Qing naturally decided against it.
Upon hearing this, 'Wu Gang' nodded and said, "Seclusion? She must have hit a bottleneck she can't overcome. Take this. It should be able to help her a bit..."
Su Qing was somewhat surprised and asked, "Why the sudden interest in Gongsun Zhixue? And why give me this?"
It was a tree branch, still bearing green leaves and osmanthus flowers, looking as fresh as if it had just been plucked. Though confused, Su Qing still reached out and took it.
"No particular reason," 'Wu Gang' replied.
Su Qing toyed with the branch, feeling perplexed. "You didn't seek me out just for this one thing, did you?"
'Wu Gang' looked at Su Qing and nodded. "Indeed, it's not just this. I have something I'd like to ask of you."
"So, is this my payment?"
"No, this is just a little extra." 'Wu Gang' shook his head; such a thing was hardly enough to be considered payment.
"I see... Then here's the question: what do you need help with?" Su Qing nodded and inquired.
Whether she would help or not was a separate matter. She would ask what it was first and then decide. If it wasn't too troublesome, she could help, especially if it was something she could do in passing—that would be the easiest. As for anything too troublesome or difficult to accomplish, she would refuse without hesitation. After all, Su Qing had plenty of her own matters to attend to; she couldn't waste a huge chunk of time specifically for the Osmanthus Tree, let alone dedicate a clone to the task—unless the reward was sufficiently generous.
Facing Su Qing's question, 'Wu Gang' remained silent for a moment before saying, "I hope you can bring the Ginkgo tree to me..."
"...?"
Su Qing froze, her mind failing to process the request immediately. She had been mentally preparing for how troublesome or difficult the task might be, only to find that the Osmanthus Tree wanted her to bring Gongsun Zhixue here. With that, everything made sense—why this person had suddenly asked about Gongsun Zhixue and why they had offered a treasure to help her.
This favor wasn't hard to do; for Su Qing, it was merely a matter of passing along a message. The only issue was whether Gongsun Zhixue was willing to come. However, that had nothing to do with Su Qing; the decision rested with Gongsun Zhixue herself.
Still, Su Qing didn't rush to agree. She wanted to know what the Osmanthus Tree's intentions were before making a decision. Although Gongsun Zhixue was a bit of a tsundere, she had been with Su Qing for a long time. Su Qing couldn't just push her into a fire pit; she had to ask everything clearly.
"Helping with such a thing isn't difficult. But what is your purpose in having me bring Gongsun Zhixue here? I can't go harming my own sister."
Su Qing looked at the phantom of 'Wu Gang' and added, "Also, can't you meet me in your own form? Do you have to borrow this 'Wu Gang' appearance? That would show a bit more sincerity, wouldn't it?"
The phantom of 'Wu Gang' merely looked at Su Qing upon hearing her words. A moment later, the phantom vanished, replaced by a mature woman in a green dress.
She looked to be in her thirties, possessing a mature charm and a broad, generous figure that could rival the Lunar Deity's. The woman was naturally beautiful; among the immortals who had cultivated to such a realm, none were unsightly. Even if one were, a slight application of magic could make them exceptionally fair.
Su Qing looked at the woman in the green dress and said, "So this is your true form?"
The woman didn't speak, only giving a faint nod.
Seeing this, Su Qing said with a smile, "Then, how should I address you?"
"Just call me Guihua. A name is nothing more than a label," Guihua said calmly. "Is this enough sincerity?"
"This is certainly enough sincerity."
"Mhm. You really are as the Lunar Deity described... a lover of good women."
Su Qing: "..."
Great, even someone she just met thought so. She pressed a hand to her forehead and said, "Don't... that's a complete misunderstanding. Anyway, putting that aside, tell me why you want me to bring Gongsun Zhixue here."
"It's nothing much. I just want to pass on a legacy."
"Pass on a legacy?"
"Mhm."
"You want to take her as a disciple?"
"Mhm."
"And if she doesn't accept?"
"Then so be it."
"You're quite open-minded about it."
"I'm old; I don't like to force things."
"..."
Su Qing looked at her thirty-something appearance and wanted to say she was actually quite young, but then she remembered that this osmanthus tree was likely old enough to be her great-great-grandmother and still look young, so she didn't argue.
Su Qing shrugged and said casually, "Alright then! I understand. I'll help you with this, but it'll have to wait until that girl finishes her seclusion. Furthermore, I can't guarantee she'll be your disciple."
"It doesn't matter... as long as you're willing to help. Whether it succeeds or not isn't for you to decide," Guihua said in a detached tone. It seemed she truly was open-minded about everything.
Su Qing nodded and said, "Fine. Now, let's talk about the payment!"
Even though she was a beautiful woman, Su Qing couldn't help for free since she had agreed to the task; the proper payment still had to be collected. Otherwise, it would look like she had been mesmerized by this open-minded, beautiful woman. Su Qing didn't want the rumors about her to get any more ridiculous, nor did she want to work for nothing.
Upon hearing this, Guihua didn't say much. She simply reached out and handed over a piece of wood. The wood looked emerald green, possessing a luster like jade. At the same time, it emitted a dense fragrance of osmanthus and a vibrant power of vitality.
Feeling this life force, Su Qing couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and look at her in confusion.
"This is?"
"My Wood Heart."
"Wood Heart? Your heart?"
"I am wood; I don't have that concept. This is just a piece of wood from the very center of my trunk."
"..." Su Qing twitched her lips and said, "I see. But this thing shouldn't be simple, right?"
"Mhm. Because it's the piece from the very center, it contains an extremely dense vitality. Just a bit of its powder can make flesh grow on a mortal's bones. If the entire piece were buried in a desert, it could turn that desert into an oasis."
"?" Su Qing was quite surprised to hear such an exaggerated effect. How should she put it? This thing was a bit over-the-top, wasn't it?
"Is this the payment you're giving me?"
"Mhm. Is it not enough?"
"It's enough, more than enough. I'm just a bit surprised." Su Qing wasn't greedy; this thing was indeed precious enough.
"That's good," Guihua said. "Do you have any other questions?"
"Yes... does losing this have any effect on you?"
"You really... mhm, a little, but not much." Guihua shook her head and looked at Su Qing with a complex gaze, saying, "In truth, I give a piece of Wood Heart to the Heavenly Court every hundred years, so I've long since grown used to it..."
"Is that so? That must be quite hard on you." Su Qing spoke casually as she tucked the Wood Heart away. This reward was generous enough... and she hadn't been forced to make Gongsun Zhixue become the other's disciple. Thus, Su Qing had no reason to refuse.
As for what use this thing would be to her? The uses were actually many. Whether it was keeping it to save someone in the future or using it to refine her clone, it would be extremely useful. Especially for refining a clone... with a material possessing such vitality, Su Qing was curious what kind of special clone would be produced. Taishang Laojun had once told her that the strength of a clone was largely influenced by the materials used to refine it. The quality of this Wood Heart could definitely bring a qualitative change to her new clone.
"So, you agree?" Guihua asked when she saw Su Qing put the item away.
Su Qing nodded and said, "Of course! I will help you with this."
"Then I thank you in advance." Guihua remained relatively calm as she spoke. "Alright, I'm a bit tired. When you bring the Ginkgo tree next time, come find me again."
With that, Guihua didn't wait for Su Qing to say goodbye before vanishing.
Su Qing wasn't at all surprised to see her disappear. She stretched her arms and then turned to leave without the slightest lingering attachment.
"Today... really is a great day for picking up bargains!" Su Qing thought happily as she walked back. "But I really didn't expect that osmanthus tree to be so good-looking... why didn't she use that form before? She doesn't look like someone with social anxiety."
Su Qing's mind was filled with a thousand thoughts, and before long, she had returned to her quarters. Leng Xiang hadn't gone to sleep yet, sitting by the bed waiting for Su Qing.
Seeing this, Su Qing asked with a smile, "What's wrong? You look so worried."
Leng Xiang shook her head and said, "It's nothing... I just haven't killed enemies with Master in a long time. I miss the feeling of being held in Master's hand."
"I see... Changbai Mountain is indeed quite peaceful lately, and now that my strength has increased, there are fewer times I need to take action myself."
Su Qing stroked her chin and thought, "If we're idle later, let's find Su Yudie to practice with!"
"?" Leng Xiang froze for a moment and said, "Is Master planning to bully Su Yudie for fun?"
"Don't put it so harshly. Just consider it training for her."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Leng Xiang merely nodded and didn't say anything more. In any case, her master knew what she was doing.
Once Su Qing lay in bed, she also began planning for the future and the usage of her new clone... Although the future was hard to foresee, thinking and preparing a bit more wouldn't hurt.
The next day, Su Qing and her group left the Moon Palace. Little Bai also returned to Li Shan with the Old Mother.
After seeing everyone home, Su Qing also sent the Queen of Women's Kingdom back and stayed in the Women's Kingdom to play for a good while.
"Speaking of which... Sister, is your luck with women a bit too good?" Bai Yuhe asked as Su Qing was about to leave.
Su Qing shrugged and said, "I'm a girl. What's so strange about having good luck with women?"
"Is that so? Whatever, Sister, you should head back quickly! I still have to handle official documents." Bai Yuhe gave Su Qing a suspicious look, then waved her hand and didn't pursue the matter further, instead bidding Su Qing farewell.
Su Qing didn't know what Bai Yuhe was thinking; she simply gave her a kiss before leaving and returning to Changbai Mountain.
Back on Changbai Mountain, Su Qing ignored Chen Nianxin's resentful expression and walked beneath the Ginkgo tree. She hadn't forgotten about Gongsun Zhixue. She took out the branch, performed an incantation, and transformed the branch into droplets of water, which she sprinkled over Gongsun Zhixue.
When the emerald droplets fell onto the trunk, they vanished in an instant. The Ginkgo tree flashed with a faint light, and its aura suddenly surged, taking a good while to settle down.
"Mhm, it looks like this thing is indeed useful." Su Qing nodded after seeing the changes in the Ginkgo tree. "I just don't know how long it'll take for Gongsun Zhixue to finish her seclusion, but with the help of this branch, it shouldn't be much longer, right?"
The branch's function was only to help her overcome the bottleneck; it didn't have the effect of accelerating her cultivation. So, how long it would take to finish her seclusion still depended on Gongsun Zhixue herself.
Having done this, Su Qing went to attend to other matters. She wasn't entirely idle after returning today; she still had things to do! She needed to practice the mind-splitting technique and prepare for refining her clone.
In short, there was plenty to do.
And so, the days passed one by one. In the blink of an eye, the days of falling snow returned.
During this time, Su Qing had already mastered the Mind-Splitting Method, becoming quite proficient in it. However, relying solely on the mind-splitting technique to control a clone was still somewhat difficult; it required Su Qing's own consciousness to participate to achieve the desired level of control sensitivity. Nevertheless, even so, it greatly reduced the mental burden on Su Qing in this regard.
Even if Su Qing was fully focused on something on her end, the clone wouldn't fall into dormancy or a low-performance mode as a result. So, although it wasn't perfect, it had reached a level that satisfied Su Qing.
"Whew... now that I've practiced this spell enough, the next step is refining the clone."
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