"My daughter, did you remember everything I taught you just now? Serving a man is a skill, don't be impatient..."
Xiao Qing's face turned crimson.
Xie Mei was lecturing her.
Lin Fan went downwards and discovered something unusual among the vines.
Thick, arm-sized vines intertwined, completely blocking the throat of Ling Mountain.
He used the light from the broken pot to peer inside.
In the middle of the crisscrossing vines, a stick was inserted.
"A stick?!"
Lin Fan raised his palm, and purple spiritual energy transformed into sharp blades, severing all the surrounding vines, and then he pulled out the stick.
There was no change or sensation.
It was just a plain, ordinary stick.
It felt cold to the touch, not made of wood, nor of steel.
Lin Fan had never seen it before and didn't know its material.
"That's it?"
He was bewildered. The broken stick was covered in moss.
After wiping it clean, its original appearance was revealed.
It was black, without any other color.
"The treasure that so many people risked their lives to fight for is just a broken stick?"
Lin Fan barely suppressed his urge to complain and closed his eyes to sense carefully.
He injected a stream of spiritual energy into it.
The dark stick finally reacted, emitting a faint black light.
A strange, complex pattern appeared on its surface, radiating a powerful aura.
"Holy crap! An ancient relic!!!"
Suddenly, someone shrieked,
startling everyone.
Lin Fan turned to look and saw a small boy rushing over, snatching the stick.
The boy was chubby, looking about five or six years old.
His belly was round, and he had two small horns on his head.
Lin Fan thought he hadn't seen him before and didn't recognize him.
However, this cheeky demeanor, annoying voice, and the two small horns on his head...
Why did it feel so familiar?
"Ah! Little one, you've run out too!"
Shen Yuqing exclaimed in surprise.
"Sister Yuqing!"
The boy responded with a smile but cautiously backed away, clutching the broken stick.
From his posture, it seemed the broken stick belonged to him, and he was afraid it would be snatched away.
"Whose brat is this?"
Lin Fan unceremoniously picked him up and examined him.
"Xiao Fan, it! It's me!"
The boy gesticulated wildly. Seeing Lin Fan's bewildered look, he puffed out his cheeks and touched the horns on his head, looking very cute.
Lin Fan's mouth twitched.
The boy wriggled out of his grasp and burrowed into the ground.
He split the hard rock directly and moved swiftly underground.
"So, do you remember now?"
"Mmm."
Lin Fan's eye twitched.
The boy jumped onto his shoulder, "I am, the Golden Silkworm Gu!"
Shen Yuqing finally understood that this greedy little boy was not human at all.
"So it's a disgusting bug... Ugh!"
She almost threw up her last meal.
"What's going on with you?"
Lin Fan had a bad premonition.
The Golden Silkworm Gu wore a smug smile and said cheekily, "What else? It's just that your planted Crimson Blood Lingzhi... I ate it all!"
"And then I ate half a tree of Dragon Fruit, and a large patch of Silver Heart Grass."
"I ate too much and choked, so I drank a lot of stream water, and then I could transform into human form!"
Lin Fan's heart bled. These were all treasures he cherished!
He was reluctant to even eat them himself during his cultivation, but this fellow had ruined them all!
"I'm going to spank your bottom until it's as red as a flower!"
He was furious.
"Spare me, good sir! I know the origin of this broken stick!" the Golden Silkworm Gu pleaded.
"Speak!"
"I don't know the specifics."
Seeing Lin Fan about to make a move, the Golden Silkworm Gu quickly said, "I sensed an ancient aura!"
"What do you mean?"
Lin Fan was surprised. That was too distant!
The Golden Silkworm Gu continued, "The patterns on this are not ordinary runes, but the inheritance of the Jin Wu clan."
"However, the stick is broken, and the runes are incomplete. The witch power contained within is very limited."
Lin Fan activated his Purple Eye and indeed detected the aura of the Witch Gate within.
"Kill!!!"
Suddenly, the stick emitted the sounds of battle.
"What's going on?" Lin Fan frowned in confusion.
The Golden Silkworm Gu propped his chin with one hand, "Perhaps it's the former owner of the stick, who fought on the battlefield with it, and it was eventually broken."
Lin Fan immediately thought of the owner of the broken pot.
He placed the two treasures together. Without the need to activate them with spiritual energy, the broken pot glowed brightly, and the runes on the broken stick automatically appeared.
The two treasures were closely connected, undoubtedly because of their mysterious owner.
The Golden Silkworm Gu sighed, "To break an ancient magical treasure, you're amazing!"
"Lin Fan, you must keep this broken stick safe. It will be of great use to your cultivation!"
"These runes are the most powerful techniques of the Witch Gate. You must study them diligently."
Lin Fan scoffed dismissively, "The most powerful, but only in relation to the Witch Gate. Is the Witch Gate the strongest in the world?"
The Golden Silkworm Gu nodded solemnly, "Throughout history, there have been countless sects, but only the Witch Gate has been completely passed down. Its strength is by no means ordinary."
"This broken stick should be a supreme treasure of the Witch Gate. It's a pity it's broken, otherwise, it would definitely be a divine weapon!"
Lin Fan shook his head, "Without me, you'd still be in that old bald monk Long Pu's body, drinking dirty blood. What great insight could you possibly have?"
"Tch, look at you, acting so capable, not knowing the immensity of the heavens and the earth!" the Golden Silkworm Gu retorted.
"Little brat, don't steal my lines!"
Lin Fan refused to be outdone. It was too embarrassing to be looked down upon by a worm.
"Lin Fan, I have to go back," Liu Muxi said as she walked over.
"Alright, bye-bye," Lin Fan waved goodbye with a smile.
After Liu Muxi left, Shen Yuqing and Xiao Yue followed Lin Fan back to the mountaintop.
"Alas~"
Xie Mei sighed, "The Black and White Witch Gate had a great war, and my daughter and I did not participate."
"Now the White Witch Gate considers us traitors and is hunting us."
Lin Fan asked curiously, "Why didn't you participate?"
"Our strength was too weak, and we didn't want to bring our daughter to be cannon fodder and die," Xie Mei replied truthfully.
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow, "No way? Your strength is already very high."
Xie Mei gave a bitter smile, "This war was actually a battle between the sect leaders of both sides."
"They were both super powerhouses. Only when they decided the victor could the battle end."
"For us mid-level pawns, the more that die, the less the burden."
Lin Fan nodded, that made sense.
Xie Mei frowned, "The Black Witch Gate's sect leader has already died, and only some remnants are still hiding everywhere."
"The White Witch Gate has won a great victory. After dealing with these Black Witch Gate remnants, they will come after us."
Lin Fan smacked his forehead, "I understand now. You mother and daughter didn't come here for the treasure."
Xie Mei nodded, "That's right. I brought my daughter to Ling Mountain to find a powerful figure to rely on."
"As for treasures, not to mention whether we could get them, even if we did, with the strength of my daughter and I, we wouldn't be able to protect them."
Lin Fan stared at the blue sky and white clouds, pondered for a few minutes, and then handed the broken stick over, "Take this stick to Xiao Fan Medical Clinic in Luofeng Village, Shimen Town, Yunqing City, Tianjiang Province, and give it to Chu Zi."
"She is the Saintess of the Black Witch Gate, her witch power has fully awakened, and her strength is not inferior to mine. With this magical treasure, she will surely be able to revitalize the Black Witch Gate."
"Don't worry, her nature is kind, and she will definitely bring the Witch Gate war to an end through peaceful means."