Chapter 142: Mountain-Guarding Divine Beast

After selecting a small flower lizard, Shi Xianyu bid farewell to Ye Liuyun, leaving her a stack of supplies along the way. Ye Liuyun did not stand on ceremony and gladly accepted them all.

Before leaving, Shi Xianyu went to look at Lu Li's flower tree. She did nothing, merely leaning against the trunk to rest and let her mind go blank.

The small flower lizard in her arms was restless, constantly trying to climb the tree to eat Lu Li's leaves.

Although Lu Li's tree was fairly sturdy, it had not been planted for long and was not very tall. The little lizard tore off quite a few leaves, so Shi Xianyu pulled it over and smacked its bottom a couple of times. It immediately bared its tiny fangs and bit her hand with a fierce, babyish tenacity. Unlike its mother, who knew how to read the room, it was a complete handful, wanting to bite everything in sight.

Fortunately, it had not yet grown teeth, so the pain was well within her tolerance. Once bitten, Shi Xianyu reached straight into its mouth and grabbed its tongue, forcing it to release her grip obediently. It let out soft whimpering sounds, though whether it was acting fierce or playing pitiful was impossible to tell.

Shi Xianyu patted its head and fished a bunch of cherry tomatoes from her pocket to feed it.

With food in its belly, the chubby little lizard instantly forgot its recent grievance and began to munch away with relish.

As she watched it eat the tomatoes, the corners of Shi Xianyu's lips curled up involuntarily, and the vague, indescribable melancholy in her heart dissipated significantly.

She gently stroked the small lizard's head and muttered to herself, "The elders were right. As long as you're alive and have enough to eat, there's no hurdle you can't overcome. These are just minor matters... just minor matters..."

…………

Upon returning to the Immortal Palace, the small flower lizard became extremely agitated.

Shi Xianyu could distinctly feel the difference compared to entering and exiting alone in the past. It felt as if an invisible resistance had materialized before her, and the connection between space and time had grown fragile—much like a suspension bridge that could safely allow one person to pass, but began to sway dangerously now that a lizard was added to the weight.

It seemed that carrying a living organism from another world back to the Immortal Palace required greater spiritual power to sustain.

As for her mustard seed space, apart from herself and the bound deity attendant, no other living creatures could be stored inside.

Holding the small flower lizard, Shi Xianyu returned to the Immortal Palace, thinking she should mention this to the deity attendant so he could make the passage more secure next time.

At that moment, the deity attendant was setting up a formation. The entire Immortal Palace was enveloped in golden light, within which strange runes flowed. The light was expanding, gradually spreading outward like ripples of golden water, covering an area of at least a ten-mile radius around the Palace.

Carrying the lizard, Shi Xianyu walked up to a high vantage point on the peak and gazed into the distance.

Despite the vast distance, she found her vision remarkably sharp. She could clearly see four faint, shimmering nodes interwoven within the golden light, positioned respectively in the east, south, west, and north directions.

Presumably, these four points were the eyes of the formation.

She had originally thought the mountain-guarding array would act like a giant dome coming down directly over them; now, it looked more like a giant net, with the deity attendant acting as the weaver.

Having properly established the mountain-guarding array, he returned from the foot of the mountain leading a fierce-looking white-browed tiger. Though robust and formidable, the beast followed obediently behind him like a giant cat, possessing great spiritual awareness.

Shi Xianyu surmised that spiritual energy must have been infused into it, awakening its sentience.

The deity attendant appeared to be in a pleasant mood. Seeing Shi Xianyu return, he bowed slightly in mid-air and said, "When this humble deity descended the mountain to set up the formation, I chanced upon this fierce tiger. It is exceptionally well-suited to guard the eastern direction."

He knew Shi Xianyu liked furry creatures.

"Might the Primordial Sovereign bestow a name upon the guardian beast of the east?" The deity attendant anticipated seeing a smile on her face.

Yet Shi Xianyu remained expressionless.

The deity attendant paused slightly, "……Our Sovereign?"

Shi Xianyu pressed her lips together and said, "Let's call it Big Tiger."

The deity attendant: "…………"

Shi Xianyu handed the small lizard in her arms toward him, "This is a giant lizard I brought back from the desert world, named Chubby White. Though it's still small now, it grows fast. It will guard the southern direction of the array in the future."

Owing to its size, the small lizard mistook the little figure before it for food and immediately struggled to open its wide mouth!

*Clack*—

It bit into thin air.

The deity attendant flew a little higher, looking at the lizard with a complex expression. This creature... once it latched onto someone, even immortals would be helpless. Was it really suitable to serve as a mountain-guarding beast?

"You should infuse it with spiritual energy," Shi Xianyu said.

The deity attendant could only nod. With a gentle flick of his wide sleeve, a breath of pure spiritual energy rose from within him and poured into the crown of the lizard's head.

Shi Xianyu placed it on the ground. It stood stunned for a moment, then crawled in a circle around Shi Xianyu, bit off a few nearby blades of grass, chewed them thoughtfully, and finally looked toward the direction of the spiritual herb garden, its red eyes gleaming with eagerness.

Yet, having attained sentience, it vaguely understood that the spiritual herb garden belonged to the master of the Immortal Palace and was not to be raided casually. Therefore, it stayed by Shi Xianyu's side, gazing up at her with big, watery eyes.

Shi Xianyu frowned, "Why does it look like nothing has changed?"

It still possessed the exact same gluttonous appearance.

The deity attendant gave a soft cough, "Once it grows a bit larger, perhaps it will become more composed."

Thinking of the small lizard's mother, the giant lizard, who also seemed to have very little connection to composure, Shi Xianyu shook her head and abandoned all expectations.

The deity attendant bowed, "This humble deity will first lead them to their respective array eyes. As for the western and northern guardian beasts, we shall activate those directions whenever suitable ones are found."

Shi Xianyu nodded slightly, "Go ahead, take them to familiarize themselves with the environment."

Observing her expression, the deity attendant sensed she seemed somewhat listless, as though troubled by something.

Without paying him any further mind, Shi Xianyu turned and walked slowly toward the Alchemy Pavilion. She still had a box of alchemy recipes and intended to take them there for study.

The deity attendant watched her retreating figure for a long time before withdrawing his gaze, and silently led the two "divine beasts" down the mountain...

…………

True Man Changfeng had not given her many alchemy recipes—only six in total—but every single one had been passed down from the founder, making them exceptionally precious.

Upon careful examination, Shi Xianyu realized that the biggest obstacle to practicing alchemy was the ambiguity of the ingredients. For instance, one recipe required the use of "Wind-Floating Grass," but what kind of plant was Wind-Floating Grass? What were its properties? Could it be substituted with similar herbs?

Furthermore, in a different world, would the name of Wind-Floating Grass change? Even a simple dish like wonton went by many names depending on the region—shuijiao, chaoshou, yuntun—let alone medicinal herbs.

It appeared she would have to make another trip and research each medicinal herb thoroughly before she could begin alchemy.

Thinking of her own spiritual herb garden, she realized she had planted so many things blindly without knowing what plants they actually were. Previously, they had been hard to identify as mere seeds, but now that they had grown and blossomed, she could simply take photos with her phone and consult Shen Xiao.

There were simply too many things that needed to be done...

Feeling somewhat fatigued, Shi Xianyu put down the alchemy recipes, walked leisurely out of the pagoda, and strolled slowly along the hundred-brick pathway of the Immortal Palace, eventually finding herself at the Wishing Pool.

The goldfish inside were jostling one another, opening and closing their mouths. If she concentrated slightly, the unending stream of wishes would pour directly into her ears.

Shi Xianyu sighed and turned to leave, only to see the deity attendant watching her from not far away.

"Our Sovereign... is something troubling you?" the deity attendant asked.