Chapter 512 - An Old Friend I’ve Never Met

Profound Pill Camp’s Alchemist No. 1, Mo Huaiyuan. Even though more than ten years had passed, the events of the Profound Pill Camp remained vivid in Gu Han’s memory. Aside from Yang Ying, the people who had left the deepest impression on Gu Han were the alchemists of the Profound Pill Camp and the matters of the Profound Realm.

Now, hearing that human-faced flower claim its surname was Mo, the first person who came to mind was the master of the Pill Tower.

After a moment of silence, Gu Han asked the human-faced flower again, “You’re surnamed Mo? Do you know Mo Huaiyuan?”

The human-faced flower’s eyes flickered with excitement, and its mouth continued to open and close. “That is... my ancestor.”

Gu Han’s heart shook violently. He was the only one who knew of the Profound Realm, along with the past matters of the alchemists within the Pill Tower. What this human-faced flower said matched his memories, and its identity was practically shouting itself out. The Profound Realm, Mo Shan, a descendant of Mo Huaiyuan.

Chongming asked, “Who is Mo Huaiyuan?”

Past memories surfaced in his mind, and a trace of complexity flickered through Gu Han’s eyes. He sighed softly. “He is a friend I’ve never met.”

With a flicker, he appeared before the human-faced flower, and he discovered even more unusual things. There was a corpse beneath it, seemingly not dead for very long. Gu Han could still make out its clothing and figure. Clad in a black robe, it was thin and gaunt, appearing to be of considerable age.

Suddenly, he noticed a storage ring beside the corpse. Next to the storage ring, there were more than ten scattered pills, but most of them had already turned ash-black. Only one still retained a faint trace of silver, emanating a faint wisp of life force. Piercing through that pill was a root as fine as a strand of hair, which came from this unique human-faced flower.

Gu Han fell into thought. Life force?

He had witnessed Yun Tu’s death from beginning to end. Those vines could absorb everything from a cultivator, from flesh and blood to even soul. And Yun Tu was no ordinary Feather Transformation realm cultivator. Although Gu Han and Chongming had interfered, the man still died beneath those vines, which showed just how formidable the thing was.

Thankfully, there was Chongming. Without the rooster’s divine light, even with the peculiarities of his meridians, things definitely wouldn’t be as smooth as they were now.

“This pill is no simple thing. You relied on these things to maintain your spirit intelligence?”

Mo Shan’s attainments in the dao of alchemy were extraordinary.

The human-faced flower swayed slightly. Seemingly aware it wouldn’t stay lucid for much longer, it reminded Gu Han again, “The storage ring.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Gu Han took the storage ring. The matter of the Profound Pill Camp had always been a mystery. Whether that god had truly died, whether those alchemists had truly mistaken their identities, what had become of the people of the Profound Realm—he wanted to know the answers to all of these. Now that he had finally encountered a descendant of the Profound Realm, he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Inside the storage, there were some pills, a few scattered jade talismans, and a black circular token forged from some unknown material. The front of the token was carved with a single word: Profound. A towering pagoda was etched on the back of the token.

Gu Han blurted out, “The Pill Tower!”

The shape of this pagoda was very similar to the Pill Tower he had seen inside the Profound Pill Camp. He no longer doubted this person’s identity. This person was truly a descendant from the Profound Realm!

The human-faced flower grew visibly agitated, its mouth opening and closing rapidly. “Token... for you...”

Gu Han was a bit puzzled. “For me?”

His divine sense swept over them and landed among the jade talismans. There were all kinds of pill formulas, and among them was the Wu Fire Profound Divine Pill. The content of the pill formula was identical to the one Divine Physician Xue had shown him the other day. It was exactly the one that had been improved by the Ghost Physician.

Gu Han abruptly turned to the human-faced flower. “C-could you be the Ghost Physician?”

The flower swayed slightly, as if acknowledging its identity. Gu Han understood then. Divine Physician Xue had said that the Ghost Physician had disappeared for decades and never reappeared. So he had actually come here!

Many thoughts raced through his mind. Setting aside the Ghost Physician’s identity, the appearance of both the Profound Pill Camp and a descendant of the Profound Realm on this continent at the same time was definitely no coincidence!

The human-faced flower now held a hint of gratitude. “Be... ne... factor...”

Gu Han was stunned for a moment. Benefactor?

In the Profound Pill Camp, the alchemists’ obsessions led them to mistake him for their benefactor, which could be explained by their faulty memories. However, the Ghost Physician was also addressing him that way. Clearly, there was another hidden story behind this.

“You know me?”

“I have seen... you before... A corner of the face in a portrait... identity top secret...”

Gu Han grew even more confused, muttering to himself, “Portrait... then did that person from back then look exactly like me? You are a descendant from the Profound Realm, so why did you come to this continent? Also, in that battle back then, did they win or lose? What has become of the Profound Realm now?”

He fired off a string of questions, and the human-faced flower trembled incessantly. “I came... to find... my ancestor—”

Then, seemingly sensing something, it trembled violently with terror and urgency. “Go... Leave quickly... Get out... of here!”

Soon, every single human-faced flower was trembling violently.

Chongming seemed to sense something as well. His pupils split in two once more, and he abruptly looked downward, his eyes filled with gravity. "Damn it! There’s a big one coming!”

Gu Han’s heart dropped. “Senior, I’ll take you back!”

Putting aside the descendant of the Profound Realm, Divine Physician Xue had shown him kindness. He couldn’t just let the Ghost Physician die here?!

The human-faced flower swayed gently, its expression filled with gratitude. “Can’t... go back. To see my benefactor... I have no regrets in this life.... This kindness... the Profound Realm will never forget...”

The valley shook violently. Wide, enormous cracks appeared beneath Gu Han’s feet. He felt a tremendous sense of crisis, as if something colossal was hidden within those fissures. Amid the quaking earth and rumbling mountains, a black vine burst forth from the ground, lashing onto Gu Han.

Gu Han’s heart dropped even further. Fuck!

This vine was far more terrifying than those that had bound Yun Tu. Without hesitation, a sword aura that was compressed to its limit shot out from his sword, slashing upward at the vine. The sword aura only cut halfway through, and a large amount of pink liquid flowed out. It vaporized before it could fall, transforming into a cloud of pink mist spanning dozens of zhang that immediately enveloped Gu Han.

The fragrance in the valley grew a hundred times more potent than before.