Chapter 16: The Guardian's Trust
Han Feng took a slow breath.
The cave had finally returned to silence.
But it was a different kind of silence now.
The silence after blood had been spilled.
The Mist Wolf lay beside the mysterious chrysalis, its black fur stained with crimson. One of its forelegs trembled slightly whenever it tried to move.
The enemy cultivator had retreated.
For now.
Han Feng wasn't foolish enough to believe the danger had ended.
A cultivator at the fourth level of the Spiritual Foundation Realm had already discovered the cave. If he returned with reinforcements, Han Feng would have no way to confront them directly.
His gaze shifted toward the chrysalis.
It continued to pulse softly.
Gold.
Black.
Gold.
Black.
The strange rhythm reminded Han Feng of a heartbeat.
He had already learned that the Gu was incomplete.
He had also learned that it was connected to the Mist Wolf.
But there was still one question.
How could he complete the evolution without destroying the relationship between them?
Han Feng looked at the wounded beast.
First, he needed its trust.
He slowly reached inside his robes.
The Mist Wolf immediately raised its head.
Its amber eyes became sharp.
Han Feng stopped.
"Easy."
The wolf growled.
Han Feng couldn't blame it.
From the beast's perspective, a strange human had appeared in its territory, manipulated the Gu it had protected for years, and remained nearby while another cultivator attacked.
Trust wasn't something he could demand.
It had to be earned.
Han Feng carefully removed a small jade vial.
Moon Spirit Grass Dust.
A simple healing medicine.
Not enough to heal a spiritual beast of this level completely, but enough to accelerate the recovery of superficial wounds.
He placed the vial on the ground.
Then pushed it forward.
The wolf watched him.
Han Feng took three steps backward.
He sat down.
And waited.
Nothing happened.
The wolf continued staring.
Minutes passed.
Han Feng didn't move.
Eventually, curiosity overcame suspicion.
The Mist Wolf lowered its head.
It sniffed the medicine.
Its ears twitched.
Then it licked a small amount.
A faint spiritual glow appeared around the wound on its shoulder.
The bleeding slowed.
The wolf looked at Han Feng again.
This time, there was less hostility in its eyes.
Han Feng smiled faintly.
"See?"
He pointed at the medicine.
"I'm not trying to kill you."
The wolf obviously couldn't answer.
But it didn't growl.
For Han Feng, that was enough.
For the next hour, neither of them spoke.
Han Feng occasionally added a small amount of medicine.
The wolf accepted it.
Not eagerly.
Not trustingly.
But without aggression.
That alone was progress.
Eventually, the Mist Wolf lowered its head beside the chrysalis.
Han Feng watched carefully.
Something strange happened.
A thin stream of blue Qi flowed from the wolf into the chrysalis.
Then, instead of remaining inside the Gu, the energy returned to the wolf.
The cycle continued.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
Again.
The same phenomenon.
But now that the wolf was injured, the process had changed.
The Gu was absorbing more energy than before.
And the wolf was struggling to keep up.
Han Feng suddenly understood.
The wolf wasn't merely feeding the Gu.
It was sharing its own life force.
His expression became serious.
"You're slowly killing yourself."
The wolf opened one eye.
Han Feng stared at the chrysalis.
For years, perhaps decades, the beast had been maintaining this cycle.
The Gu needed the wolf.
And the wolf needed the Gu.
A symbiotic relationship.
But it wasn't perfect.
Something was missing.
A third element.
Han Feng's heart began beating faster.
The Celestial Diagram reacted.
A faint pulse passed through his consciousness.
He immediately closed his eyes.
The familiar hexagram appeared before him.
This time, something was different.
The golden and black energies within the diagram were moving toward each other.
They didn't merge.
They balanced.
Han Feng remembered the mysterious chrysalis.
The Dual Chaos Larva.
The wolf.
The formation.
Everything began connecting in his mind.
"The catalyst isn't simply blood."
His eyes opened.
"It's spiritual essence."
Blood was only the medium.
The Gu needed the wolf's unique spiritual essence to stabilize its evolution.
But taking too much would damage the wolf.
Han Feng looked at the beast.
There had to be another way.
He approached slowly.
The Mist Wolf immediately lifted its head.
Han Feng stopped.
"I need something from you."
The wolf stared at him.
Han Feng pointed toward the chrysalis.
Then toward its injured shoulder.
Then he shook his head.
"No."
He pointed at the wound.
Then made a small cutting motion with his finger.
The wolf's ears lowered.
Han Feng sighed.
"That sounded worse than I intended."
He thought for a moment.
Then he remembered the blood scattered across the floor from the earlier battle.
His eyes fell upon one of the stones.
A small pool of the wolf's blood remained there.
Han Feng's expression changed.
He crouched down.
The blood was still carrying spiritual energy.
He reached out with his perception.
The Celestial Diagram immediately reacted.
There it was.
The same energy.
The same frequency.
The same connection.
Han Feng's eyes widened.
"I don't need fresh blood."
He looked at the chrysalis.
"I need the spiritual essence already left behind."
That changed everything.
The blood spilled during the battle was already enough.
He carefully collected a small amount using a clean jade container.
The Mist Wolf watched him.
But it didn't attack.
Perhaps it understood.
Or perhaps it simply trusted him enough not to interfere.
Han Feng wasn't sure.
Either way, he didn't waste the opportunity.
He returned to the chrysalis.
The mysterious Gu reacted the moment the container came near.
Its glow intensified.
The golden energy accelerated.
The black energy followed.
Han Feng placed the container on the stone floor.
Then he activated the Celestial Diagram.
A thin strand of Qi emerged from his body.
It entered the blood.
The blood trembled.
Spiritual energy rose from it like mist.
Han Feng carefully guided the essence toward the chrysalis.
The moment they touched—
Boom!
The entire cave shook.
Han Feng's expression changed.
The chrysalis cracked.
A thin line appeared across its surface.
Then another.
The Mist Wolf immediately stood.
Its eyes widened.
Han Feng's heart raced.
"No..."
The shell began breaking apart.
But this wasn't destruction.
It was birth.
Light flooded the chamber.
Golden and black energy erupted from the cracks.
Han Feng instinctively raised his arm to shield his eyes.
The Celestial Diagram spun violently within his consciousness.
One of the six symbols suddenly changed.
For the first time, Han Feng saw a complete image.
A creature.
Small.
Elegant.
Its body was covered in translucent scales.
Two curved horns grew from its head.
Golden lines ran across one side of its body.
Black lines covered the other.
And at the center of its forehead...
Was the same spiral symbol he had seen on the chrysalis.
Han Feng's breathing stopped.
The Gu was evolving.
The shell shattered.
A small creature emerged from within.
It floated in the air for a moment.
Then slowly opened its eyes.
One was gold.
The other was black.
The Mist Wolf stared at it.
The creature looked back.
A strange warmth spread through the cave.
The wolf lowered its head.
The newborn Gu descended.
It landed gently between the wolf's paws.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then the Gu released a faint cry.
The wolf touched it with its nose.
Han Feng watched silently.
He had expected hostility.
Instead, he saw something else.
Recognition.
The creature had finally awakened.
And the wolf...
Was its guardian.
Perhaps even its parent.
Han Feng's expression softened.
He suddenly understood why the wolf had protected it so desperately.
It wasn't guarding a treasure.
It was protecting family.
Then the Celestial Diagram pulsed again.
Han Feng's expression changed.
A line of information appeared within his consciousness.
Not words.
An instinctive understanding.
Gu Name: Yin-Yang Spirit Moth.
Rank: Unknown.
State: Newly Awakened.
Core Attribute: Balance.
Han Feng stared.
Unknown rank?
That alone was strange.
But something else caught his attention.
The final line.
Compatibility: Extremely High.
His heart skipped.
The Gu slowly turned toward him.
Those mismatched eyes stared directly into his.
Han Feng didn't move.
The newborn creature flew closer.
The Mist Wolf didn't stop it.
The Gu landed on Han Feng's finger.
A faint warmth spread through his body.
The Celestial Diagram responded.
The connection was established.
Han Feng's eyes widened.
He had expected to refine the Gu.
Instead...
The Gu had chosen him.
He looked toward the Mist Wolf.
The beast remained still.
It didn't attack.
It simply watched.
Han Feng slowly lowered his hand.
"I understand."
His voice was quiet.
"I won't take it from you."
The wolf closed its eyes.
For the first time since Han Feng had entered the cave...
It seemed completely at ease around him.
But Han Feng knew that his problems had only become larger.
The Shadow Lord would return.
The mysterious cultivator would bring reinforcements.
And now he possessed something they desperately wanted.
A Gu whose rank he couldn't even determine.
Han Feng looked at the newborn Yin-Yang Spirit Moth.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Looks like I've gotten myself into trouble again."
The moth fluttered its wings.
The cave filled with golden and black light.
And somewhere deep beneath the ancient stone floor...
Something answered.
A second pulse.
Far stronger than the first.
Han Feng's smile disappeared.
The cave wasn't merely hiding a Gu.
It was hiding something much older.
Something that had just awakened.