"Moreover, after you finish my request, I will let you choose one of my three precious treasures. One of them is actually quite fitting with your fighting style. How about that?"

As she finished speaking, Moon Flower allowed the Spirit Flower, encased in its blue bubble, to spin around him, as if it were a moon orbiting a world.

His face remained calm, but his heart was actually thumping wildly. The rewards Moon Flower offered were incredibly generous. His Eye of Lightning technique was already very good. Aside from the three grades—Base, Earth, and Heaven—there were also additional layers within each grade. As far as he knew, there was no formal way to categorize these layers; some people referred to them as lesser and greater techniques, lower and higher techniques, and so on. However, he understood that techniques could not be easily categorized, as they existed more on a spectrum. Techniques within the Base Grade did not have a particularly wide gap between the weakest and strongest types, but starting from the Earth Grade, the difference could become a deciding factor in battle.

His Eye of Lightning was probably weaker compared to other Heaven Grade techniques, yet he didn't feel disappointed by it. He knew he could improve it using his gun, and the more mastery he gained over the technique, the more useful it would become. But Moon Flower, the spirit who hovered before him, staring with focused eyes, offered to upgrade the technique, and excitement began to surge through him. Even now, Eye of Lightning was not a fully realized technique. He had not yet experimented with it extensively, but if Moon Flower claimed she knew how to upgrade it, then perhaps it could become increasingly useful, even lethal.

"Do you accept my request, Liu Xing?" Moon Flower asked.

His mind screamed for him to accept this request. The potential upgrade to his Eye of Lightning was worth the trouble. Moreover, beyond this upgrade, she offered him a treasure after he completed the request. It was quite a generous offer, which, after a moment's consideration, made him slightly suspicious.

"Why do you want the flower to be delivered so badly?" Liu Xing asked. "That man died a year ago already, and since the Spirit Flower was intended to save his wife and son, there's a high chance that they both died during this past year."

Moon Flower lowered her head. Her bright blue eyes began to dim, and the world, as if trying to match its mood to her feelings, began to feel slightly darker. "I understand why you are suspicious. I have no connection to this man, yet I want the flower delivered to his wife and son, and I even offer generous rewards to whoever accepts this request." She smiled faintly. "Truth be told, he was indeed a stranger to me, and this request does not come from a practical or logical place. You see, he managed to touch my heart with his cries and his sincerity. I found him to be a good man, but that's only half the reason." She paused for a moment. "Liu Xing, did you ever fall in love?"

"Fall in love?" He considered nodding. After all, many women had attracted him in his two lives. Yet, he hesitated. Could mere attraction be compared to love?

He thought for a moment, and decided to shake his head.

The spirit smiled more brightly. "What a shame. You're a handsome guy. I bet many women would like to start a relationship with you. Though I don't recommend relationships if you don't want to commit to them. Anyway, in the past there was a man I loved wholeheartedly. I always wanted to make him smile, and in turn, I wanted him to make me smile. That feeling was so comfortable and made the world so colorful." She smiled brightly. "I can relate to this man's feelings. When I saw his eyes, full of joy and tender love as he muttered about his wife and son, it reminded me of my past and my failed love. Hence, why I want to make sure his last wish, which was to save his wife and son, is granted. Because I too wanted my wish granted before I died."

"Additionally," the spirit continued. "I am currently a spirit bound to this mountain. I've forgotten how long I've been bound here, and each day is boring. I want something to look forward to. . And if you accept my mission, I will look forward to your return."

"I see," Liu Xing replied simply.

In summary, the delivery of the Spirit Flower was not based on benefit—which was usually the main motivator for a cultivator—but on sympathy, love, and nostalgia. In a way, she wanted to make herself happy by making other people happy, and that reason was good enough for him. Still, he weighed the pros and cons of this request for a few more moments and concluded that since he would be going to the Wild Tide Region regardless of whether he accepted her mission or not, it would be better to maximize his rewards. As for the order of priority, the mission to retrieve the Heavens Severing Pill would be his priority, while finding the man's wife would be secondary.

"Do you have any time limit?" Liu Xing asked. If there was no time limit, he thought that perhaps he didn't need to work on both missions simultaneously. After his priority mission was completed and he returned to the sect, he could just come back to the Wild Tide Region.

"There is none," the spirit said. "But I want you to hurry. There's still a small chance his wife and son are alive and dealing with whatever made this man come to this mountain."

"Alright," Liu Xing nodded. "I will prioritize the pill retrieving mission first and the herb delivery second. If you're okay with this arrangement, I can accept your request."

"That's okay. As long as you do not deliberately intend to abandon my request, it's alright. Do we have a deal, then?"

"Yes, we have a deal," Liu Xing nodded.

As he said this, the mountaintop where he still sat began to tremble. The qi all around him began to swirl as if they were paper boats pulled by a swirling water current. His skin could feel something happening, but his instinct told him it was not directed at him. Then, as if a large boulder suddenly fell onto his shoulders, he felt his body become heavy, his bottom sinking deeper into the snow. For a moment, he thought he had offended the spirit and would be crushed to death. Then, the heaviness in his shoulders began to vanish, but not in a pleasant way. Instead, it felt as if the heaviness was trying to cocoon him and then entering his body, almost reminding him of the moss that had tried to take over his body, but less intense. When it was over, he felt nothing had changed, but he knew something had happened.

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"What was that?" Liu Xing asked Moon Flower. He knew that whatever had occurred was the spirit's doing.

"Nothing too serious. Just a little binding contract. It will assure me that you will try as hard as you can to finish your mission." The girl smiled, but there was no mirth in her glowing eyes, as if she tried to remind him once again that this mission was not to be trivialized.

"Senior Moon Flower, I think something like this needs to be mentioned upfront."

"What? Do you want to take back your words?"

"No," he said instantly. "I understand your reasons, and the rewards are tempting enough for me to work hard on the mission. But it feels like you were kind of deceiving me. I would still have accepted your mission even if I had known there would be a binding contract."

He stared at the spirit before him. In that moment, he sensed that Moon Flower was not a cultivator who would be offended by the slightest thing, and in their short conversation, he felt comfortable enough to express his feelings a bit more transparently. His assumption proved correct when Moon Flower merely stared back and smiled, as if she hadn't heard his words.

"What if I break our agreement?" Liu Xing continued.

"Either you will die, be crippled, or your cultivation will regress. Not that you intend to break our agreement, right?"

"I have no intention of breaking our agreement."

"Then it's good," she nodded, her mirthless smile replaced by a genuine smile. "I know you're a good person. It was the right choice to talk to you. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind and get rid of unnecessary thoughts. Although he felt a bit cheated by the binding contract, he had to remember that Moon Flower was not someone he could trivialize, and since the binding contract had settled on his body, there was nothing he could do but complete this request as diligently as possible.

To distract his mind, he thought about the two rewards that awaited him. One of them he could receive right here and now, and the thought brought a bright smile to his face.

"Here's my technique."

He stood up, stretched his right hand, palm up, and activated his newest technique. A moment later, a small orb of lightning materialized atop his palm. He directed it to zip around them, as if it were a curious little lightning scout exploring the area.

"The original technique was not meant to create a ball of lightning, but a wasp. I have modified this technique to suit me better. But, since you said it's shabby and imperfect, I want to ask for my first reward."

Moon Flower nodded. "You modified this technique, huh? Kind of impressive, and that explains some of the technique's imbalance. Alright, since you accepted my request, I will honor our agreement by granting you the first reward. What is the name of this technique?"

"Eye of Lightning," Liu Xing replied instantly.

"A good name," Moon Flower smiled, "but after we're done, that name won't quite fit anymore. Trust me, you will understand why I said this technique was shabby."

From there, Moon Flower instructed Liu Xing to create a second and third Eye of Lightning. He did so and felt a slight headache. After all, his brain suddenly needed to manage not two or three eyes, but five at the same time. It felt as if he were a man behind a desk with five monitors, his eyes registering everything happening on each monitor simultaneously. He knew he would get used to it, but for now, it felt quite uncomfortable. Then, she asked him to explain how he activated the technique and what visualizations he used in his mind, which he readily answered.

"Alright, I think I fully grasp your technique. Come here."

He took two steps closer to Moon Flower. She placed her index fingers on his forehead. When she did, her finger felt so cold that it felt like his brain would freeze, but before he could fully process the cold sensation, a flood of information suddenly rushed into his mind.

It felt as if he were suddenly submerged in a cold, dark lake with his brain exposed to the elements. He felt his mouth wanting to scream, but he endured, grinding his teeth and focusing his mind on the information flooding his brain. When he felt her finger lift from his forehead, Liu Xing decided to sit down, close his eyes, and begin to sift through all this information. The information that came to him was not in words or images alone, but also feelings and even things that felt like instincts. He went through the information piece by piece, trying to decipher its meaning and how it could be used to upgrade his technique.

***

While Liu Xing was meditating, Moon Flower hovered around him like a master guarding his disciple during a breakthrough. When she thought of this, nostalgia suddenly flooded her entire being. After all, Moon Flower had once been an elder and had disciples. Three of them had probably become great cultivators and were probably elders themselves now, perhaps even among the Twelve Elders, assuming that the structure still existed in the present and that they were still alive.

She glanced at Liu Xing, still meditating, and felt slightly bad about what she had done. In the past, many people had told her that she was sometimes selfish, imposing her feelings and judgments on others and often not considering their feelings—a habit she had actually tried to eradicate for her friends and disciples. But it seemed that after she died and became some kind of spirit bound to this little mountain, her habit had returned. To think that she had forgotten to consider Liu Xing's feelings about the binding contract. She felt too ashamed to admit it and just pretended not to hear him.

Luckily, there was a way to amend her mistakes. After all, it seemed the young disciple with a unique fate currently sitting behind her had made some troublesome enemies.

Moon Flower lowered her ethereal body until both of her feet hovered above the snow. She spoke to Liu Xing as if he were her peer, but the truth was far from it. Even if she was a mere pitiful fragment bound to a small mountain, burdened by the emotions she had felt before death, she was not someone to be trivialized. Her combat prowess was so limited that many people, even elders from her former sect, had underestimated her, and it seemed a youngster had decided to disregard her entirely, attacking Liu Xing directly.

As Moon Flower lowered her stance, her right fist cocked and her left hand extended forward, a circle of purple fire began to encircle her and Liu Xing.

Moon Flower gazed up, her eyes catching a sight that would make a mortal die of a heart attack.

"A mere mountain cannot crush me," she said.

Because indeed, falling like a giant meteor from the sky was an entire mountain. Its top was snowy, its base jagged, as if the mountain had been forcefully plucked from the ground by giant hands, and trees, boulders, and countless other trees began raining down on her mountain.

The view was surreal. It was as if a giant mirror stretched across the sky, reflecting the mountain below, so there appeared to be two mountains with peaks pointing towards each other. But it wasn't a mirror image.

No, it was truly a falling mountain.

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