Quick Transmigration: Still Life Fairy

Chapter 419 Back to the Past

Have you ever tried to become a stone that, even with all its might, can only move its body slightly?

...This is absolutely a terrifying experience.

Since transforming into human form, with hands and feet, and able to assume any posture she desires, Yu Liu hasn't experienced back pain in a long time. Maintaining the same posture for extended periods causes extreme discomfort, yet she's completely unable to adjust her position, leaving her feeling utterly unwell.

This situation has lasted for many days. Yu Liu cannot transform into human form, cannot speak, and can only communicate with her mind. The only person she can communicate with is the giant willow tree in this valley that has been a spirit for countless years.

This is an unnamed valley with a warm, spring-like climate, covered with lush green grass and unidentified wildflowers. Because of the occasional rain, the grass grows very luxuriantly, and the stones hidden among the grass are completely invisible from a distance. The grass leaves obscure the grayish-white stones, and a rabbit walks past a stone without noticing it, accidentally tripping and falling.

"The sun is shining brightly today, doesn't it, Liu'er?"

The big willow tree swayed its branches, stretching out its leaves to its heart's content. The warm sunlight shone down, making it the perfect time to bask in the sun on such a bright morning.

Feeling unwell, Yu Liu pretended to be a real stone and couldn't understand what the other person was saying.

"Willow, what's wrong with you lately? Why are you ignoring me more and more? What did I do to offend you?" The big willow tree had no choice but to stretch out its branches and poke the stone lying in the grass.

"Say something!" The big willow tree shook a few times, and a plump worm fell from one of the leaves, landing right on the stone. "It's just the two of us here. If you don't talk to me, I'm really going to get bored."

"Such a strong voice, looks like you're alright. Hehehe, take it right away!"

"Ah, I'm suddenly a little sleepy. Never mind, you can stay silent for now. I'll rest for a while, and we can chat again when I wake up."

……

"Liu'er, why are you turning over? You're crushing the grass."

"It will grow back even if it gets crushed."

"Oh."

……

"Liu'er is getting more and more powerful. If she keeps working hard, she might be able to transform into human form."

"Ah."

……

"Liu'er, how was your cultivation today?"

"good."

……

"Liu'er, don't rush, take your time. Transformation is a major hurdle for demons, requiring them to undergo eighty-one heavenly tribulations. You don't need to rush..."

"Shut up."

……

There's a saying that goes, "Living in the mountains, one loses track of time; unaware that a thousand years have passed in the world." This probably describes Yu Liu's current situation. She has been with the great willow tree for countless years—a very, very long time. The great willow tree's voice has grown increasingly aged from its initial youthful tone, and Yu Liu can perform more and more movements, yet she still cannot transform into human form.

Although she didn't know how many years had passed, Yu Liu could vaguely sense the passage of time. An ordinary fairy who had cultivated for so long would have long been able to transform into human form.

It's probably because the body I'm occupying isn't qualified enough.

After getting used to these monotonous days, Yu Liu found that they weren't so hard to endure. She didn't know what would happen next or what she would experience. After the initial anxiety passed, all that remained was enjoyment. It seemed that such quiet days were rare these days.

The scene in the valley seemed somewhat familiar. Yu Liu wasn't sure where she had seen it before, but when she thought about how she had been sent to the past by Laozi, she felt relieved. She must have seen it before, but had forgotten.

"The weather is a bit bad today. Looking from here, the east is full of dark clouds." The tall willow tree's top branches have already reached over the cliff of the valley, allowing a view of far into the distance. "And these aren't normal clouds. They have a faint reddish tinge, like there's fire burning inside, making it look like people are fighting."

After the big willow tree finished speaking, it lazily spread out its branches, seemingly indifferent to the matter.

"Hopefully it won't spread."

But what you fear most is what happens; the red clouds gradually began to move, and the direction they were moving was clearly towards this valley.

The only tree that could see outside yawned again and gradually drifted off to sleep.

"I feel uncomfortable because there's no sun today. I'm going to rest for a bit."

By the time the big willow tree regained consciousness, the moving red cloud had disappeared, and the jade willow, hiding in the grass, had not found anything.

Neither of them took it seriously, but the next day, a phoenix covered in wounds fell into the valley.

The phoenix was covered in wounds, its colorful feathers stained red with blood, and it looked weak.

She had no time to investigate whether there were any other sentient beings in the valley; she collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. Soon, she began to convulse, and broken, painful sounds escaped her lips.

The jade willow and the big willow tree were both awakened.

The phoenix, a creature born in the primordial era, possesses immense magical power. Jade Willow and the Great Willow Tree dared not make any rash moves and could only watch silently.

The phoenix suffered for a long time, and finally she used all her strength to transform into human form. The human-shaped phoenix was also covered in wounds, but her protruding belly revealed that she was pregnant.

Yu Liu instantly understood why she was in so much pain; she was giving birth, and the phoenix egg in her belly was about to be born.

But in this situation, neither the jade willow nor the large willow tree could offer any help. The phoenix kept stroking her abdomen with her injured hand, seemingly finding some comfort in it. Before she was completely exhausted, a round egg rolled out from her bottom.

The egg was round and plump, looking like a ball. It rolled and rolled until it reached Yu Liu's side.

Yu Liu was a little confused; she hadn't seen how the egg appeared at all.

Before the phoenix could even rejoice at the birth of its son, a series of high-pitched cries echoed through the sky.

That was the cry of a phoenix.

The injured phoenix that landed in the valley changed its expression drastically. It hurriedly picked up the egg on the ground, trying to hide it, but the surrounding grass was green, and the eggshell of this egg was red, making it very conspicuous among the green grass.

Finally, the phoenix's gaze settled on the gray stone hidden among the green grass, which looked like it could completely cover the phoenix egg.

Yu Liu was thus forced to act as a shield for the phoenix egg, awkwardly riding on its back as she watched the phoenix, which had just given birth, spread its wings and fly away from the valley.

"That phoenix...is gone?"

Seemingly unable to believe that things had ended so easily, the big willow tree was somewhat surprised. "I've heard that phoenixes are very united fairies, I never thought they would have internal strife."

"Big Willow Tree, what should we do with this little guy?" Yu Liu shifted uncomfortably, and the red egg beneath her rolled with her movement.

"Let's raise him. He was born without a father, and his mother abandoned him. Let's raise him. He's a phoenix after all, and his future is bright."

The little phoenix egg was left in the valley, and Yu Liu was responsible for taking care of it. Yu Liu, who could only move her body at the moment, had to cover the phoenix egg under herself every day. After all, the egg was too conspicuous; what if a passerby saw it?

Incubating the eggs every day was as boring as before, and the big willow tree's personality had changed a lot. It seemed that the older it got, the more composed it became, and it was no longer the carefree and jovial tree it used to be.

"Big willow tree, wake up! Don't sleep! Come and help me take a look at this egg... has it changed color?"

One day, Yu Liu looked at the egg beneath her and asked with some confusion. She remembered that when the phoenix first laid the egg, it was fiery red and emitted a faint glow at night. But now… the fiery red color seemed to have dimmed?

"The color hasn't changed, it's just not as bright anymore," the big willow tree concluded after taking a look.

"It used to glow like fire, but it doesn't anymore."

The big willow tree's words made Yu Liu doubt whether her incubation skills were up to par, ultimately causing the once vibrant phoenix egg to weaken and stop glowing.

"Then... should we still keep this phoenix?"

"Uh……"

The two novices, who had never incubated an egg before, looked at each other in silence.

In the end, it was the big willow tree that made the decision. "...Keep it. Phoenixes aren't creatures that die easily."

However, after the phoenix egg, a creature that is not so easy to kill, stopped glowing, the patterns on the eggshell began to gradually dim.

It's like the color has faded.

In the end, it will only turn gray.

The two novices were at a loss.

Having protected this egg for so long, Yu Liu had developed a certain affection for it. She didn't want the little phoenix inside to lose its life, and she had been extremely anxious these past few days. However, the more anxious she became, the less she could help, and she could only watch helplessly as the phoenix egg completely lost its color, turning as gray as herself.

She couldn't accept the result and was quite devastated, remaining in a daze for several days. Then, for some unknown reason, she inexplicably fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, the valley was still the same valley, and the big willow tree stretching its branches and basking in the sun was still the same big willow tree, but I always felt that something was wrong.

It wasn't until Yu Liu sensed something was wrong and discovered that the egg she had been pressing down on had disappeared that she finally realized what was amiss.

"Big Willow Tree!! Tell me quickly, did you take the egg?" A terrible suspicion arose in Yu Liu's heart. "Is there something wrong with the egg? Did you secretly take it because you were afraid I would be sad?"

"What's all this nonsense?" The big willow tree carefully flicked Jade Willow with its branch. "How could I have nothing better to do? Besides, this valley is my home. I don't want to leave, so why would I take him with me?"

"You don't need to look anymore." Seeing the stone anxiously jumping around, the big willow tree kindly told Yu Liu the truth. "The family of the phoenix egg has come looking for you. The two of them have a lot of the same aura, so they must be relatives. I don't know how they found this place, but they didn't realize you were a stone that had become a spirit, so they took the egg and took it away."

"Is that so?"

"...Does that mean I'll never see him again?"

The big willow tree did not answer Yu Liu's question. Yu Liu had been in a coma for several days and missed the time to say goodbye, which he was quite regretful about.

Even without the phoenix eggs, life goes on.

Yu Liu found these days increasingly dull and meaningless. She could hardly believe that this was the life she used to lead.

Lao Tzu said he had sent her back to the past. Here, she will relive the events from her past memories in place of her former self.

Yu Liu agreed without a second thought, but now she regrets it. If she had known it would turn out this way, she would never have agreed. She doesn't even know how much time has passed; the whole thing has been in this little valley. What is there to remember?

The memories came quickly.

Yu Liu transformed into human form. Now that she could take human shape, Yu Liu planned to go out and explore. She was very curious about what the world of many years ago was like.

But in the instant she transformed, as if guided by some unseen force, she knew that she had to find that egg.

Find him, stay with him, because he is your playmate, your best friend.

Yu Liu tapped her head in confusion, realizing that this was probably something she had experienced before.

My past self went to find the phoenix egg.

If she doesn't go looking for the phoenix egg now, then the things that happened in her memory may never happen again.

This means that the memories Yu Liu will experience will definitely be fragmented. Obtaining a jumbled mess of memories is not Yu Liu's goal. Her purpose is to uncover the truth of what happened back then and to know what truly happened between her and Aning. She doesn't want to have any relationship with Aning without knowing anything about it.

She wanted to remember; in her heart, it must have been a beautiful story. Ah Ning's memories would occasionally return, and she should remember too.

"I'm leaving, big willow tree."

Yu Liu bid farewell to the big willow tree, and empty-handed, she trudged through the waist-high grass, slowly making her way out of the valley.

"Remember to come back and visit this old man. I've been with you for so long, so remember to think of me when you have time."

"I know, I know, I'll definitely miss you."

……

There was no way out of the valley, so Yu Liu had to carve a path out of it. By the time she emerged from the valley, a whole day had passed.

That evening, she casually found a tree to lean against and rested for a while. She didn't know where her lost phoenix egg was, so she had to ask around along the way.

Fortunately, phoenixes are not very prolific, and phoenix chicks born in recent years are extremely rare. The fact that a phoenix chick successfully hatched from a grayish phoenix egg is quite newsworthy.

Therefore, Yu Liu easily found out where the little phoenix was located—Zhang'e Mountain.

This is a very strange mountain, entirely made of jade, barren of all vegetation. Yet, monsters dwell on this mountain.

The little phoenix she's looking for is very likely there.