Chapter 117: You Have Grown Taller

"Old Demon Xu?"

Chu Xiaotong looked at the group of people running off in the distance and couldn't help but pause. Where had this "demon" suddenly popped up from?

"No way, did Uncle Xu come here too?" Qu Hongxiu looked completely stunned, finding it hard to believe.

Chu Xiaotong’s expression shifted instantly. "What do you mean? Is the 'Old Demon Xu' those people were talking about actually Xu Zhe?"

"Yes, Master. You’ve been in seclusion healing your wounds all this time, so you don't know the situation. Everyone on the Spirit Web has dubbed Uncle Xu 'Old Demon Xu'," Qu Hongxiu explained.

"Preposterous! Do those people have nothing better to do? Why are they making up such titles? Your Uncle Xu is such a decent, upright person—how could he possibly be associated with an 'old demon'?" Chu Xiaotong said, feeling somewhat irritated and instinctively snapping back.

Gu Jia'er’s eyelid twitched violently upon hearing this.

That guy, decent?

Decent, my foot!

Would a decent person pretend to take notes while constantly rubbing his elbows against people?

"..."

Qu Hongxiu also curled her lip. Uncle Xu did seem decent on the surface, but his homicidal nature and his methods were clearly a perfect match for the title of "Old Demon." Could it be that her master truly had some kind of misunderstanding about him?

"Master, everyone gave Uncle Xu this title after watching the recording of the Mo family’s annihilation. To be honest, the way Uncle Xu looked back then..." Qu Hongxiu stopped herself abruptly.

She could clearly feel her master’s warning glare sweeping over her.

"You don't understand. Deep down, your Uncle Xu is a very righteous person. It was just that those people went too far and forced him into that state..." Chu Xiaotong shook her head.

Yet, despite her words, she felt a flicker of hesitation in her heart.

She had also seen Xu Zhe’s expression at the Mo residence back then—that eerie, smiling face was something she still remembered vividly.

Was Xu Zhe still the same man he had been all those years ago?

For the first time, a seed of doubt sprouted in Chu Xiaotong's heart.

"Alright, enough with the title. What I’m curious about is how that guy Xu Zhe managed to get into the Divine Pill Cave Heaven," Gu Jia'er said, glancing around. However, she couldn't see any sign of him.

"I’m going to find him," Chu Xiaotong said, soaring into the sky and transforming into a streak of red light as she sped into the distance.

"Wait, Master..." Before Qu Hongxiu could finish her sentence, Chu Xiaotong had already vanished from sight.

Gu Jia'er opened her mouth, then helplessly curled her lip.

So annoying! She had been beaten to the punch.

"Ugh, Master actually left us behind," Qu Hongxiu said, stomping her feet in frustration.

"She really doesn't value her own life, does she? With just the two of us, it’s even more impossible to open these restrictions," Gu Jia'er sighed, looking at the barrier around the herb garden with a sense of helplessness.

"Sect Leader Gu, let’s follow her. Master said that this restriction cannot be opened any further; otherwise, the pill toxins will erupt, and this place will become very dangerous," Qu Hongxiu frowned.

"Then what about your master's injuries?" Gu Jia'er asked, stunned.

"Sigh, Master, she... oh, I can't say. Anyway, Master has her reasons. Let’s hurry and follow her." Qu Hongxiu looked troubled. After saying this, she flew into the air, chasing after the direction in which Chu Xiaotong had disappeared.

Are those two hiding some kind of secret from me?

Gu Jia'er stood there thoughtfully for a few moments before shaking her head slightly and setting off to follow them.

...

Meanwhile, Xu Zhe was squatting by a patch of herbs. He had already dug another hole outside the restriction and was modifying the formation patterns.

He noticed wisps of pungent odor rising from the ground, which seemed related to the turbulence he had caused while breaking the restriction.

"Why is there such a thick concentration of pill toxins here? Is it possible this place used to be an alchemy room? No, even an alchemy room wouldn't accumulate such a massive amount of pill toxins." Xu Zhe couldn't figure it out, but he continued to modify the formation to break through the barrier.

Although pill toxins were troublesome, they weren't exactly life-threatening.

After all, compared to the precious spiritual herbs in this garden, mere pill toxins were nothing.

*Whoosh!*

Just then, as the final formation pattern was carved, the light barrier fractured, creating a large gap. Xu Zhe immediately dashed inside and appeared in the herb garden.

Before him lay a vast sea of white flowers. Each flower was white as snow and the size of a palm, covering the entire field.

"Over a hundred thousand years of medicinal age—truly remarkable. If I hadn't looked closely, I would have almost failed to recognize these Snow-Flake Flowers."

Xu Zhe remarked with a click of his tongue.

Snow-Flake Flowers were notoriously difficult to cultivate and had extremely high requirements for the soil. He hadn't expected to find so many in this garden.

The key was that when a Snow-Flake Flower bloomed, each petal was usually only the size of a thumb, white as snow and fine as cotton, hence the name.

But the flowers before him, nourished by over a hundred thousand years, hadn't withered; instead, they had grown to the size of a human palm.

"I wonder if their medicinal properties have changed drastically, but with these Snow-Flake Flowers, I finally have all the ingredients for the Infant Transformation Pill."

Muttering to himself, Xu Zhe began to move.

In less than a moment, the massive field of Snow-Flake Flowers was picked clean, leaving only bare stems and leaves behind.

Xu Zhe tucked away his storage ring and walked out of the restriction, feeling satisfied.

However, as soon as he stepped out, he felt that the pill toxins rising from the ground were slightly more concentrated than before.

"This isn't good. If I keep harvesting, these pill toxins might just erupt."

Xu Zhe frowned.

Before he could dwell on it, his gaze flashed toward the sky.

A streak of red light was tearing through the horizon, rapidly approaching from the distance.

The terrifying aura it emitted actually made him feel a sense of pressure.

"Above the Combination Stage?"

Xu Zhe’s expression tightened, and he immediately turned to flee.

Although he had plenty of ways to save his life, it was clearly unnecessary and unwise to clash with someone above the Combination Stage in a place like this.

"Xu Zhe!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

It was a telepathic message.

"Chu Xiaotong?"

Xu Zhe stopped immediately and turned back. He had been wandering around for so long without finding her, yet now she had found him first.

*Swish!*

With a gust of wind, the red light landed on the ground, transforming into a tall, graceful figure who stepped forward elegantly.

With her tall, fiery, and explosive physique, paired with a fair face that carried a sharp, stern air, it was indeed Chu Xiaotong.

Xu Zhe’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Little Zhe, why are you running? Are you that cowardly?"

Chu Xiaotong laughed playfully as she walked over, noticing Xu Zhe’s expression. "What? Can't recognize me anymore?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Quite a change. You've grown... wait, no, you've grown taller!" Xu Zhe regained his composure and exclaimed in wonder.

His impression of Chu Xiaotong was still stuck in their university days.

Although he had seen photos of her on the Spirit Web later on, photos were just photos. She looked slightly different, but it wasn't as obvious as seeing her in person.

He vaguely remembered that Chu Xiaotong used to be at most 1.7 meters tall, but now she was only half a head shorter than him—she had to be at least 1.8 meters now!

As for the places where she had "grown," it was better left unsaid; they seemed quite substantial back then, too!

"Can't help it, puberty, you know. You, on the other hand, haven't changed much. Be careful, in a few years, I'll be taller than you," Chu Xiaotong said with typical shamelessness.

"Me? I feel like my aura has changed," Xu Zhe replied seriously, touching his face.

After waking up in the Heavenly Pride Valley and entering Sky River City, Xu Zhe had noticed this while looking in the mirror.

Perhaps it was because he had spent ten thousand years in the Immortal Emperor's family in his previous life, and that aura had carried over to this original body. He did look different from his university days.

"You don't say? Your aura really does seem a bit different, but that shameless narcissism of yours hasn't changed one bit," Chu Xiaotong said bluntly.

"I'm narcissistic?" Xu Zhe asked, surprised.

"Never mind, pretend I didn't say anything," Chu Xiaotong said, shaking her head.

She had grown up with Xu Zhe and knew his personality very well. She didn't know which nerve of his was misfiring—he usually seemed like a perfectly normal person, except for the fact that he was narcissistic without realizing it.

But thinking about it carefully, everything he said was actually true, which made it impossible for people to refute him.

"Why are you here?" Chu Xiaotong asked.

"I have three things to do. One, pick some herbs. Two, I heard you were injured, so I came to save you. Three... wait, where is Gu Jia'er?" Xu Zhe finally realized why Gu Jia'er wasn't with Chu Xiaotong.

"She’s behind with little Hongxiu; they should be here soon. As for saving me, never mind that. My injury isn't a small problem," Chu Xiaotong laughed, as if she didn't take her own condition seriously at all.

"I can save you. Give me your hand, let me check." Xu Zhe didn't want to argue and immediately reached out to take her pulse.

Chu Xiaotong didn't ask further and didn't resist; she instinctively reached out her hand.

But then, as if remembering something, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly hid her hand behind her back, glaring at Xu Zhe. "What are you looking at? Are you trying to take advantage of me?"

Xu Zhe: "???"

No, this isn't right.

Since when was my "Brother Tong" so coy, acting like a maiden?

"Who are you? Why are you impersonating Chu Xiaotong?" Xu Zhe immediately stepped back, looking at her with vigilance.

Chu Xiaotong was instantly dumbfounded, full of question marks.

I'm impersonating Chu Xiaotong?

Brother, did you get water in your brain?

"Master!"

At that moment, a clear shout came from the sky.

Qu Hongxiu and Gu Jia'er arrived. Seeing Xu Zhe, Qu Hongxiu waved excitedly. "Uncle Old Demon Xu!"