In Ayu's room.
Ayu looked at Ye Ling, who had come to ask for the medicinal formula, with a serious expression and refused, shaking her head. "No! Mother specifically instructed me before she left that her medicinal formula could not be shown to anyone. I swore before Mother's grave, so even if you beg me, Little Ye Zi, I cannot give you the formula."
Ye Ling's mouth twitched. He pleaded with Ayu again, "Good Ayu, please lend me the formula. I really have something important!"
Ayu resolutely said, "No means no. This is a matter of principle! Besides, Little Ye Zi, what do you need the formula for? If you want to refine medicine, give me the materials, and I'll refine it for you. Although my medical skills are not as good as Mother's, I have learned some true abilities."
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire said gloatingly, "Kid, weren't you very confident just now? Didn't you say that with your relationship with Ayu, the formula would be easily obtained?"
Hearing the World-Destroying Spirit Fire's sarcastic taunts, Ye Ling's mouth twitched, but he had no time to deal with the World-Destroying Spirit Fire. He said to Ayu, "Ayu, your mother's medicinal formula concerns the safety of the Nine Heavens Realm. If there is even a slight mistake this time, the entire Nine Heavens Realm might be destroyed."
Ayu took two steps back, startled, "You, you don't scare me. How can a mere medicinal formula determine the survival of the Nine Heavens Realm?"
Ye Ling said seriously, "This is true! Currently, the Chaos Battlefield is encroaching upon the Nine Heavens Realm. The Nine Heavens have already fallen, and there is also a Creation God eyeing your medicinal formula. If you insist on holding onto the formula, you might bring endless disaster upon yourself in the future!"
"R-really?" Ayu asked with a trembling voice, fear growing in her eyes. "How is this possible?"
Seeing that Ayu was frightened by Ye Ling, the World-Destroying Spirit Fire couldn't help but retort, "Kid, have you no shame? She's just a little girl of eighteen or nineteen, and you, an old man, are threatening her like this?"
"Shut up if you don't know how to speak!" Ye Ling reprimanded the World-Destroying Spirit Fire. "What do you know? I'm just stating facts!"
Although Ye Ling's words were exaggerated, if he didn't get the actual medicinal formula, his subsequent plans couldn't be implemented smoothly.
Later, if Emperor Chu used other methods to seize the medicinal formula, Ye Ling would indeed be unable to guard against it.
Ye Ling taking the medicinal formula from Ayu was partly for the smooth execution of his plan, and partly out of consideration for Ayu's safety.
Ayu herself had not seen much of the world, nor did she know her mother's true identity or the importance of the medicinal formula she possessed...
After Ye Ling's string of words, he had indeed managed to scare her!
She simply couldn't believe that the medicinal formula left by her mother would be so important!
Ye Ling placed his hands on Ayu's shoulders, looked directly into her eyes, and said earnestly, "Ayu, believe me, I have no ill intentions towards you. Taking the formula is truly for a great cause!"
A conflict appeared in Ayu's eyes, "But I promised Mother..."
Although she really wanted to help Ye Ling, she had also sworn to her mother. If she handed over the formula now, wouldn't she be betraying her mother?
But if she didn't, and if things were truly as Ye Ling said... wouldn't she become a sinner?
Seeing Ayu's conflicted expression, Ye Ling didn't want to make things difficult for her. He said softly, "If you don't want to break your oath, how about you take me to your mother's grave? If she knew about this, she would definitely agree to me."
Ayu's mother was a doctor unparalleled in the Nine Heavens Realm, and her created medicinal formula was even coveted by the Creation God. Such a person would absolutely not die like ordinary mortals, of natural causes.
After ordinary people die, if their souls do not reincarnate, their reincarnation information will completely dissipate after a period of time, and they can no longer be resurrected.
But powerful individuals are different. As long as their reincarnation information is not erased, they can remain in the world.
If someone possesses sufficient reincarnation power and pays the corresponding price, they can resurrect the dead!
Ayu's mother was definitely not an ordinary person. If she had left behind reincarnation information, then it wouldn't be impossible for Ye Ling to resurrect Ayu's mother!
Since Ayu was unwilling to break her mother's oath, and Ye Ling didn't want to force her, he could only try to approach it from the perspective of resurrecting Ayu's mother.
Once Ayu's mother was resurrected, obtaining the medicinal formula from her would no longer be difficult.
Ayu blinked her eyes and asked Ye Ling, "You want to go to my mother's grave?"
Ye Ling replied, "This shouldn't break your oath, right?"
Ayu pursed her lips, "That's not it. Mother didn't instruct me not to bring people to visit her before she left. If you really want to see her, then I'll take you tomorrow morning. My mother's grave is in the Luoyun Mountain Range, not far from my home."
Ye Ling smiled, "Alright, you rest well tonight, and we'll set off tomorrow."
Ayu: "Okay!"
...
The next morning.
Ayu proactively knocked on Ye Ling's door, waking him from his meditation.
Ye Ling exhaled a breath of turbid air, got out of bed, and opened the door. He saw Ayu wearing a hunter's outfit made of white tiger fur, and Ding Dang standing excitedly beside Ayu.
Ye Ling looked at Ayu's attire in surprise, then at Ding Dang beside her, and asked doubtfully, "What is this..."
Ayu smiled, "This outfit was made by Mother from Ding Dang's shed fur when I was little. It's not tiger skin inside, but deerskin! Aren't we going to sweep the grave today? So I modified it to fit me."
"Oh." Ye Ling suddenly realized and nodded.
He had thought that Ayu was so ferocious that she not only tamed Ding Dang but also wanted to wear clothes made from the fur of its kind in front of Ding Dang!
Ayu rode on Ding Dang's back and asked Ye Ling, "Are you riding with me, or following behind?"
"I'll go with you," Ye Ling skillfully mounted the tiger's back. "Let's go."
"Okay! Ding Dang, let's go!"
"Roar—!" Ding Dang let out a roar, then turned into a white light and sped towards the Luoyun Mountain Range.
...
Deep within the Luoyun Mountain Range, in the Valley of Serenity, birds sang and flowers bloomed.
The valley was filled with colorful flowers, and a towering tree stood in the center of the valley, almost covering half of it.
The morning sun shone through the leaves, making the scenery in the valley exceptionally beautiful.
Ayu rode Ding Dang into the valley, dismounted, and pointed to the towering tree ahead, saying to Ye Ling, "My mother's grave is under the tree, where the flowers are most vibrant."
Ye Ling's divine soul swept over and found that there was indeed a very dense spiritual energy under the tree, but he didn't sense any soul aura.
Ayu said, "Let's go closer and take a look."
Ye Ling: "Okay."
Ye Ling followed Ayu to the tomb and saw a moss-covered stone tablet, with a few crooked large characters on it:
"Tomb of Bai Qing."
Ye Ling asked Ayu, "Did you carve these characters?"
Ayu nodded, "Yes... I carved this when I was six."
Ye Ling was surprised, "So, you were living alone in the Luoyun Mountain Range since you were six?"
"Yes!" Ayu nodded, "But Ding Dang accompanied me since I was little, so I wasn't lonely."
"Amazing."
Ye Ling gave Ayu a thumbs-up, sincerely praising her.
Ayu could live alone in the forest infested with demonic beasts at the age of six...
Ye Ling believed he couldn't do it himself!