Chapter 62: The Reborn
Seeing Gu Jin Fan disappear in the blink of an eye, Hua Changxi was stunned for a moment and quickly chased out of West Mountain, but unfortunately, she found no trace of Gu Jin Fan.
“Is it a teleportation-type spell?”
Hua Changxi frowned. She knew too few spells; all she knew were alchemy spells, and she was almost completely ignorant of attack and escape spells.
However, thinking that Gu Jin Fan couldn’t stop the burning of the Fire Lotus, Hua Changxi truly breathed a sigh of relief.
After stepping onto the path of cultivation, she had always worried that Gu Jin Fan would come looking for her.
Although the cultivation method in the red stone was obtained by her unintentionally, who knew if Gu Jin Fan would think she had stolen her opportunity?
Since Gu Jin Fan could be injured by the Fire Lotus, it meant her realm was likely below hers, or even if it was higher, not by much.
If her realm were much higher than hers, even if the Fén Jì Divine Ability was powerful, the Fire Lotus would not have been able to harm her.
The biggest potential enemy couldn’t do anything to her, so Hua Changxi’s heart settled. However, thinking that Yang Chuan had almost exposed her just now, her mood turned gloomy again.
Gu Jin Fan had the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion behind her, and she was also the disciple of the most powerful Pharmacist in the Medical Affairs Department. She had power and connections.
If she came to trouble her, she wouldn’t be able to focus on her cultivation.
Moreover, it could also bring danger to the Hua Family.
Thinking of these things, Hua Changxi, with a grim expression, went to the stone cave in West Mountain.
To obtain the Creation Pomegranate, Gu Jin Fan had held back her strength. Elder You and the other three were not seriously injured and could still move freely. Guo Yu, however, was not so lucky and had fallen into a coma.
Seeing Hua Changxi enter the stone cave, Elder You’s expression relaxed, and he anxiously called out, “Changxi, quickly check on Guo Yu. He’s badly injured.”
Hua Changxi stood still, looking at him expressionlessly.
Elder You was stunned by her gaze, then seemed to realize something. He moved his lips as if to say something, but then appeared unsure how to speak, his face full of discomfort.
Hua Changxi looked at Elder You for a while, then shifted her gaze to Zhuo Fan and the other two.
Zhuo Fan, Jiang Ye, and Yang Chuan avoided her gaze when they met it. Yang Chuan even lowered his head directly.
The atmosphere in the stone cave was somewhat oppressive.
Yang Chuan couldn’t stand it first, “Girl…”
“I have a name.”
Hua Changxi looked at him indifferently.
Yang Chuan: “…It was my fault just now, but in that situation, I had no choice. I couldn’t just watch Zhuo Fan and the others get beaten to death, could I?”
Hua Changxi found a seat and looked at him, “The four seniors have deep camaraderie. You couldn’t bear to see your friends in trouble, so you chose to betray me.”
“Senior Yang, have you considered my situation? What if I had been beaten to death?”
Seeing Yang Chuan purse his lips and remain silent, Elder You and the other two also stayed quiet. Hua Changxi let out a cold laugh, “The four seniors are experienced individuals. I’m very curious, when you cooperate with others, do you also betray your partners so readily at the first sign of danger?”
Hearing this, Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with a serious expression, “Changxi, we are not trying to defend ourselves. It’s just that it was our first time encountering cultivators, and we didn’t have the slightest power to resist. In our panic and fear, we… we had no choice but to want to reveal your identity.”
Listening to his words, Hua Changxi did not react.
In her previous personality, if she were betrayed, especially in a matter of life and death, she would definitely not associate with them anymore.
But now, she needed the manpower they had to help her secure the South Mountain Fire Spirit Mine. This matter could only be treated lightly.
Hua Changxi looked at Elder You and the other three, “Although I am young and have not traveled the jianghu like you seniors, I also know that in doing things, one must value trust.”
“To cooperate with you, I showed my sincerity. Logically speaking, I shouldn’t have given you the Creation Pill so early before the South Mountain Great Rift Valley was secured.”
“But I did. Why? It’s because I believed in the four seniors.”
“However, the four seniors have disappointed me.”
“Trust is a fragile thing; it requires everyone to maintain it together. What do you say?”
Hearing Hua Changxi say this, the discomfort on the faces of Elder You and the other three intensified.
Hua Changxi continued, “This incident… consider it a trial run for our cooperation. Only this once, and never again.”
As she spoke, her gaze suddenly turned sharp.
“That I am a cultivator is known only to the four seniors and Guo Yu. If this information spreads in the future, I will only hold you responsible.”
“In my interactions with people, I don’t look at what they say, but what they do. Moreover, I don’t have a broad mind. With me, there is no such thing as making amends afterward. If you cross my bottom line, I will never forgive you.”
The sharpness and undisguised threat in her tone made Elder You and the other three somewhat alarmed.
They had never expected a young girl of thirteen or fourteen to possess such an aura.
Thinking of the female cultivator who had suddenly attacked them today, who also appeared to be in her teens, Elder You and the other three felt uneasy.
As Grandmasters, they had witnessed the ups and downs of the Imperial Court and the changes in the jianghu. The four of them vaguely sensed that a new general trend was about to emerge.
Elder You exchanged glances with his three friends and said, “The female cultivator today came for the pomegranate you gave us. What if more cultivators come looking for us?”
Hua Changxi: “Where did you find that pomegranate?”
Elder You: “Qingzhou Five Finger Mountain.”
Hua Changxi’s eyes flickered, “Five Finger Mountain?”
The martial arts manual ‘Five Finger Mountain’ that she had copied from her home was said to have been comprehended by a Grandmaster who passed by a mountain peak shaped like five fingers and observed its form.
She had thought the story was fabricated before, but she didn’t expect there to actually be a Five Finger Mountain.
A Grandmaster merely looked at the mountain and comprehended a martial arts combat technique; Elder You and the others found the Creation Pomegranate in the mountain.
This Five Finger Mountain seemed very unusual!
Hua Changxi looked at Elder You and the other three, “Are there any special features about that Five Finger Mountain?”
Jiang Ye, the most well-informed among the four, spoke up, “That mountain is particularly strange. You can’t go deep into it. According to the surrounding villagers, no one who has entered the mountain has ever come out alive.”
“Of course, that’s an exaggeration by the villagers.”
“Actually, some people have gone in and come out alive. However, that was a Grandmaster who stayed in the mountain for ten full years.”
“Some say that Grandmaster was trapped in the mountain for ten years, while others say that Grandmaster deliberately went into seclusion in the mountain because he comprehended a palm technique in the mountain, which was very powerful and named Five Finger Mountain.”
Hua Changxi listened silently, “Since you can’t enter Five Finger Mountain, how did you get the pomegranate?”
Jiang Ye: “We entered the mountain. Since we knew that a Grandmaster could come out safely after entering, we four Grandmasters entering together should be fine.”
Hua Changxi asked again, “How did you find the pomegranate?”
Jiang Ye shook his head, “No need to search. The pomegranate grows at the highest point of Five Finger Mountain. It’s colorful and radiant, and you can see it as soon as you enter the mountain.”
Hua Changxi: “How many people were competing with you for the pomegranate?”
Jiang Ye: “About ten factions.”
Hua Changxi: “Did you expose your identities?”
Hearing this, Jiang Ye and the other three exchanged glances.
Elder You frowned, “Logically, we shouldn’t have exposed ourselves.”
Zhuo Fan nodded, “That pomegranate looked extraordinary. Of course, we knew that if we got the fruit, we would be targeted by others. We even disguised ourselves before appearing.”
Hua Changxi: “But you were approached. Did someone discover your identities inadvertently?”
Elder You and the other three exchanged glances again, then shook their heads.
Jiang Ye: “When we snatched the pomegranate, we didn’t even use our most skilled techniques. I really can’t figure out what went wrong?”
Hua Changxi pondered after hearing this.
From the first time she met Gu Jin Fan, she felt something strange.
For example, she seemed to have known in advance that the red-robed Demonic Daoist was going to sacrifice young boys and girls, and she deliberately disguised herself and infiltrated the group, with the goal of obtaining the red stone.
Elder You and the other three were experienced jianghu travelers and were unlikely to leak their whereabouts, yet Gu Jin Fan still found out.
Moreover, she found Yang Chuan’s reaction very strange; she seemed to think Yang Chuan should be dead.
Why should Yang Chuan die?
Of course, it was because he ate the Creation Pomegranate. Without her, he would surely die.
However, Yang Chuan must have eaten the pomegranate seeds after snatching the pomegranate and reaching a safe place. This matter should have been even more secretive than Elder You and the others snatching the pomegranate.
Gu Jin Fan shouldn’t have known.
This Gu Jin Fan holds a great secret!
Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with concern, “The female cultivator who appeared today mentioned the Asura Gate. If people from the Asura Gate come to the Medicine Valley…”
Hua Changxi looked at the four with furrowed brows, “Are you very wary of the Asura Gate?”
Zhuo Fan: “Aren’t you from the Medical Affairs Department? The Medical Affairs Department is under the Heavenly Department, and below the Heavenly Department is the Demon Suppressing Division. The Demon Suppressing Division’s biggest opponent is the Asura Gate. Even the Imperial Court can’t deal with the Asura Gate, so do you think we wouldn’t be wary?”
Hua Changxi was silent for a moment, “It’s been almost a month since you returned. There should be cultivators from the Asura Gate. If they knew the pomegranate was in your hands, they should have come looking for it long ago.”
Zhuo Fan disagreed, “Didn’t that female cultivator only come today?”
Hua Changxi looked at him, “I said, if the pomegranate is not sealed with Spiritual Power, it will turn into a common fruit in a few days. That female cultivator… probably doesn’t know this, right?”
Zhuo Fan’s tone was a bit aggressive, “What if the people from the Asura Gate don’t know either?”
Hua Changxi said with a half-smile, “Senior Zhuo, do you think I should be responsible for your safety?”
Zhuo Fan choked, was glared at by his three old friends, and turned away to remain silent.
Elder You: “Changxi, we are just worried.”
Hua Changxi looked at them, “If you are truly worried, then hurry up and start cultivating.”
Zhuo Fan spoke again, humming, “We’d like to cultivate immediately, but you haven’t given us any cultivation methods.”
Hua Changxi’s expression suddenly turned grim, “Senior Zhuo, have you misunderstood our relationship? We are in a cooperative relationship, not your nanny.”
Being reprimanded so harshly by a young girl, Zhuo Fan’s expression was somewhat strained. He wanted to retort, but Yang Chuan grabbed him.
“I suddenly feel a bit chest tightness. Accompany me for a walk.”
After speaking, Yang Chuan, without further ado, pulled Zhuo Fan out of the stone cave.
As soon as they were out of the stone cave, Zhuo Fan shook off Yang Chuan, “What’s wrong with you?”
Yang Chuan showed a helpless expression. Zhuo Fan’s temper was truly troublesome. He often offended people when he was young, and after becoming a Grandmaster, he became accustomed to everyone’s flattery. Even a little disobedience could make him fly into a rage.
“It’s my turn to ask you, what’s wrong with you?”
“Do you really think that Hua Changxi is just an ordinary little girl?”
“The female cultivator who fought us so helplessly today was driven away by her. Don’t you know that?”
“In the Medicine Valley, even if people from the Asura Gate come, will she really abandon us to our fate? What’s the point of what you just said?”
Zhuo Fan could listen to his old friends’ words, but he was still somewhat unconvinced, “That girl relies on us to secure the Fire Spirit Mine. What’s wrong with me complaining a bit? Does she really dare to turn against us?”
“Alright, stop looking so distressed. I won’t offend that girl to death. I just want to use my complaints to see if I can squeeze some more benefits out of her.”
Yang Chuan showed disapproval, “You should do less of this in the future.”
Zhuo Fan shook his head, “How many years has it been since you managed the affairs of the Beggar’s Gang? Let me tell you, when dealing with people, it’s a back-and-forth. You can’t just accept whatever others say.”
“I dare say, the value of the pomegranate we gave is beyond our imagination. What’s wrong with squeezing some benefits from that girl?”
Yang Chuan agreed with this. Knowing that he couldn’t convince his old friend in a short time, he stopped talking.
In the stone cave, Hua Changxi went to check on the unconscious Guo Yu.
Thinking that Guo Yu had gotten along well with her for the past two months, she didn’t vent her dissatisfaction with Elder You and the other three onto him. She helped to expel the wood Spiritual Power that was rampaging within him.
As for the injuries of Elder You and the other three, she did not attend to them.
As long as they consumed the Creation Pill and formed Spiritual Meridians, they could go to the bottom of the Stone Cliff and pick a first-tier Green Fruit to eat, and their injuries would improve.
For the next month or so, Hua Changxi stayed in the Medicine Valley to cultivate.
She was still worried about whether the Asura Gate would find the Medicine Valley.
She knew that in a life-and-death crisis, Elder You and the other three would definitely not keep her secret.
She wanted to confirm whether the Asura Gate knew that the Creation Pomegranate had been snatched by Elder You and the other three.
Fortunately, until September, no one from the Asura Gate came.
Not only did Hua Changxi breathe a sigh of relief, but the hearts of Elder You and the other three, which had been hanging in suspense, also settled.
In the Medical Affairs Department, on the second floor of the apothecary shop at No. 1 Second Street, in the leftmost room, Gu Jin Fan applied ointment to her feet and lower legs with a grim expression.
She hadn’t expected the Fire Lotus’s burning power to be so strong. It had been a month, and her injuries were still not fully healed.
“Who is that cultivator hidden in the Three Forked Medicine Valley?”
There was no such person in her previous life!
After You Lin, Jiang Ye, Zhuo Fan, and Yang Chuan snatched the Creation Pomegranate, Yang Chuan, due to consuming the pomegranate seeds, couldn’t withstand the Spiritual Power and exploded and died.
Not long after You Lin, Jiang Ye, and Zhuo Fan returned to the Three Forked Medicine Valley with the Creation Pomegranate, people from the Asura Gate tracked the aura of the Creation Pomegranate and found them, killing all three of them and everyone in the Medicine Valley, and snatching the Creation Pomegranate.
Although the Asura Gate people ultimately failed to refine a Creation Pill that could shape Spiritual Roots, the news of the Creation Pill did spread through their mouths, causing many mortals who could not cultivate to harbor vain hopes.
Later, they often heard that Creation Fruits appeared here and there, causing competition from all sides, but it was eventually proven to be false news.
Creation Fruit…
This heaven-defying spiritual fruit, the Heavenly Dao would not allow its existence.
She was even a little surprised why You Lin and the other three could snatch the Creation Pomegranate. Shouldn’t it have been directly destroyed by heavenly lightning as soon as the Creation Pomegranate appeared?
Was the Creation Fruit snatched by You Lin and the other three in the hands of that mysterious cultivator?
Gu Jin Fan’s expression was somewhat solemn. The appearance of people and events different from her previous life made her wonder if it was good or bad.
Thinking of the Four Spirit Realm being invaded and occupied by outer realm cultivators in her previous life, she looked forward to the general trend of this life being able to change.
