Chapter 60

When Guo Yu hurried back to the Xishan stone cliff, he found the stone cave quiet, so he walked in quickly.

Upon entering, he saw Old You and the other two Grandmasters sitting in silence, while the injured Grandmaster on the stone bed remained motionless, unsure if he had fallen into a coma or had already... passed away.

"Master, where is Changxi?"

Old You: "She went to the bottom of the cliff." As he spoke, he looked at his disciple, and upon seeing him, his expression turned to one of surprise: "You broke through to the eighth rank?"

Guo Yu hurriedly explained that Hua Changxi had given him a Earth-Essence Pill, and after taking it, he had broken through to the eighth rank in his sleep: "Master, Hua Changxi's medicine-refining level is definitely superior to the vast majority of pharmacists in the Medical Department."

Hearing this, Old You couldn't help but look at his two friends: "When I was injured before, it was that girl who treated me; I trust her medical skills. I believe she wasn't lying when she said she could save Yang Chuan."

Zhuo Fan and Jiang Ye exchanged glances.

Zhuo Fan stroked the box on the stone table and frowned: "That girl clearly has her eyes on this pomegranate we risked our lives to snatch. Are you really willing to give it to her?"

Old You and Jiang Ye were, of course, unwilling.

Jiang Ye sighed: "Yang Chuan ate one pomegranate seed and nearly exploded to death. If this pomegranate stays in our hands, we can only look at it and not eat it."

Old You also added: "What I worry about most is that keeping this pomegranate in our hands will bring disaster."

"We know nothing about cultivators. Hua Changxi is a cultivator; she can sense the pomegranate's existence, and other cultivators can too."

"The people hunting us before were all martial artists. If we attract cultivators, will we still have a chance to survive?"

Hearing this, the expressions of Zhuo Fan and Jiang Ye became heavy.

Zhuo Fan looked at Old You: "I didn't sense a shred of a powerhouse's aura on that girl. Are you sure she is a cultivator?"

Old You nodded: "I told you before, I nearly died under the beak of a fire-breathing red eagle, and it was she who saved me. Although I didn't see how she attacked, I know the red eagle was killed by her in one strike."

Zhuo Fan said nothing more.

Old You continued: "Also, what the girl said about the pomegranate turning into an ordinary fruit if not sealed—I believe that too. Many medicinal herbs at the bottom of the stone cliff wither quickly once they leave the ground; I have seen this with my own eyes."

Zhuo Fan was somewhat irritable: "In that case, we must give this pomegranate to that girl? Then what was the point of us risking our lives to snatch this fruit? It even left Yang Chuan half-dead."

Jiang Ye: "... At the very least, we have confirmed that there are cultivators above martial artists." As he spoke, he looked at Old You: "Go and call that girl over. Give her the pomegranate and let her heal Yang Chuan."

Zhuo Fan moved his lips, looking unwilling, but seeing his blood-covered friend on the stone bed, he ultimately said nothing.

Old You nodded and looked at Guo Yu: "Go to the bottom of the cliff and call Hua Changxi up."

Guo Yu nodded, walked quickly out of the stone cave, and leaped down the stone cliff.

At the bottom of the stone cliff, Hua Changxi had come down originally intending to pick some green fruit to use for healing the blood-covered man; she knew that the three men would eventually compromise.

There was no other way; they couldn't eat the Creation Pomegranate at all. If they did, they would end up just like the blood-covered man—exploding to death.

To save him, they had to trade with her.

When Hua Changxi reached the bottom of the cliff, however, she was greatly surprised.

For the past two months, she had been wandering around the Nanshan Rift Valley and hadn't come to the bottom of the cliff. She hadn't expected that in just two months, third-tier spiritual plants and fruits would have appeared at the bottom of the cliff, and there were many more second-tier spiritual plants and fruits than before.

"Is this growth rate a bit too fast?"

The "Commentary on the Hundred Herbs Classic" recorded in detail that the higher the grade of a spiritual plant or fruit, the longer it takes to grow; those that take hundreds or thousands of years to mature are still considered to have a short growth period.

Hua Changxi couldn't understand what was going on, so she could only quickly pick all the third-tier spiritual plants and fruits, not missing the second-tier ones either.

When Guo Yu found her, Hua Changxi was picking third-tier fire dates from a fire date tree.

"Changxi."

Guo Yu didn't dare approach the fire date tree; the fire spiritual energy around it was too dense. Once near it, it felt like being in a sea of fire.

Hua Changxi glanced at Guo Yu and continued picking fire dates: "Wait for me a moment."

After picking all the third-tier fire dates, she jumped down from the tree and walked toward Guo Yu while eating them.

By the time she reached Guo Yu, she had confirmed that eating one third-tier fire date could increase her spiritual energy by 1,000 points.

Having witnessed Hua Changxi's strength, Guo Yu was much more solemn toward her than before: "My master and the others are looking for you; they say they have something to discuss with you. Let's go up quickly."

Hua Changxi smiled and didn't follow Guo Yu up the stone cliff, instead turning to pick green fruit.

It wasn't that she wanted to put on airs, but that she needed to maintain the initiative in her trade with the three men.

It was the three of them who needed her help, yet they only sent Guo Yu to call her, acting as if she should be at their beck and call. If she appeared too easy to talk to, it would be equivalent to handing the initiative over to them.

Guo Yu watched Hua Changxi picking green fruit unhurriedly and felt somewhat anxious, but he couldn't urge her.

Hua Changxi asked while picking green fruit: "Master Guo, do you know the three people Old You brought back? What do they do?"

Guo Yu: "They are all my master's friends. The injured one is Senior Yang Chuan, an elder of the Beggar Sect; the elegant and upright one is Senior Jiang Ye, the leader of the Cao Gang; and the hot-tempered one is Senior Zhuo Fan, the chief escort of the Weiyuan Escort Agency."

Hua Changxi looked surprised; she hadn't expected Old You's three friends to have such backgrounds: "In that case, among the four, Old You is the one who has fared the worst."

Guo Yu's mouth twitched: "My master used to be the Chief Constable of the Six Fan School, but after some things happened, he volunteered to guard the Medicine Valley."

Hua Changxi was surprised: "The Chief Constable of the Six Fan School..."

Her father was a member of the Six Fan School, so she knew a fair bit about it.

The Six Fan School was responsible for cases in the martial arts world and had frequent dealings with martial arts sects.

As Chief Constable, Old You must have accumulated many connections; if he encountered trouble, he should be able to call people in.

Knowing that the four of them had such manpower at their disposal, Hua Changxi's mind suddenly became active: "What kind of friendship do Old You and the other three have?"

Guo Yu's expression was solemn: "A friendship of life and death."

Hua Changxi thought of the scene where the three men risked their lives to save the blood-covered man and acknowledged this.

Looking at the spiritual plants and fruits at the bottom of the cliff and thinking of the fire spiritual mine in the Nanshan Rift Valley, the thought in Hua Changxi's heart of wanting to claim the fire spiritual mine for herself became hard to suppress.

If she hadn't discovered the fire spiritual mine, that would be one thing, but having discovered it, watching it be occupied by others really felt like having her flesh cut away.

"Let's go up."

Originally, she had only intended to trade with the three men to save the man, but now that it was heading toward cooperation, Hua Changxi didn't delay any longer. After picking the third-tier green fruit, she didn't linger and quickly went up the stone cliff.

In the stone cave, Zhuo Fan was waiting impatiently: "It's been half an hour; why hasn't she come up yet? Is that little girl putting on airs with us?"

Before the words had even faded, Hua Changxi and Guo Yu, who was a step behind, walked in.

Seeing the two, Zhuo Fan "snorted" and turned his head away.

Hua Changxi sized him up, guessing that this must be the hot-tempered chief escort of the Weiyuan Escort Agency that Guo Yu had mentioned.

Jiang Ye stroked the box containing the pomegranate with some reluctance, and after hearing Old You's light cough, he handed the box to him.

Old You took the box, also feeling reluctant, but still handed it to Hua Changxi: "This fruit is yours now; we only ask that you heal Yang Chuan."

Hua Changxi took the box, and in front of everyone, she gathered spiritual energy in her right hand, performed a sealing technique, and cast several streaks of spiritual energy to seal the box.

Seeing red light appear at Hua Changxi's fingertips, followed by the red light flying out in gestures they couldn't understand and quickly disappearing into the box, the four men were all struck with shock.

After sealing the Creation Pomegranate, Hua Changxi looked at the three men: "Are you sure you want to use this pomegranate to save Senior Yang Chuan's life?"

The three men exchanged glances and nodded.

Hua Changxi smiled: "I admire the deep friendship between the four seniors, but I must say this: you give me the pomegranate, and I save the man—this is a fair trade."

Hearing this, Zhuo Fan immediately became indignant; he truly felt that this little girl was taking advantage of their plight, but before he could say anything, Jiang Ye stopped him.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi smiled: "I know the three seniors must feel that this pomegranate is of immense value."

Zhuo Fan couldn't help himself: "Isn't it?"

They had risked their lives in a chaotic battle involving over a dozen different factions to snatch this fruit.

Hua Changxi: "I don't deny that this pomegranate is indeed of extraordinary value, but with Senior Yang Chuan's injuries, can you find a second person to save him?"

"Also, even if this pomegranate is a treasure, if you don't know how to use it and can't eat it, then in your hands, it is just a useless fruit."

Zhuo Fan was still unconvinced: "How is it useless? We can trade it with others."

Hua Changxi smiled: "The four seniors are all people of extraordinary insight. If the pomegranate is useless in your hands, it likely won't be of much use in others' hands either."

"Furthermore, I said that if this pomegranate isn't sealed, it will soon turn into an ordinary fruit."

"In that case, even if you seniors wanted to trade it, you likely wouldn't be able to exchange it for any significant benefits."

Zhuo Fan snorted: "Ordinary people might not know the use of this pomegranate, but the people from the Sanqing Palace and Tai Su Palace would surely know."

"If that fails, we can hand the fruit to the Zhang Tianshi Mansion and earn a huge favor from them. If that still doesn't work, we could give it to the Medical Department."

"Little girl, don't think you have us cornered. If it weren't for saving Yang Chuan, you wouldn't even be qualified to stand here and talk to us."

Old You and Jiang Ye didn't stop Zhuo Fan; they also wanted to dampen Hua Changxi's spirit. The four of them were over two hundred years old combined, and being manipulated by a teenage girl was truly embarrassing.

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered as she listened to Zhuo Fan.

Sanqing Palace, Tai Su Palace, Zhang Tianshi Mansion...

Very good, she now knew of three more places where cultivators might exist.

Speaking of Tai Su Palace, Hua Changxi couldn't help but think of her twin sister, Hua Shiniang. She wondered how she was doing now? Could she be a cultivator?

Without dwelling on it, Hua Changxi looked at Zhuo Fan: "Then why didn't you seniors take Senior Yang Chuan directly to those places you just mentioned to seek help?"

Zhuo Fan choked and looked at Old You and Jiang Ye.

Old You, while despising his old friend for being unable to out-argue even a little girl, sighed at Hua Changxi's quick wit and had to step forward: "Yang Chuan's condition is critical; we really didn't have time to seek help elsewhere."

Hearing this, Zhuo Fan nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, that is the reason."

Hua Changxi said "Oh" with a smile that wasn't quite a smile: "So that's how it is~"

Seeing her like this, the three men looked somewhat sheepish.

Yang Chuan's severe injuries were indeed one reason, but the main reason they didn't go to the Sanqing Palace and other places was that they were unwilling to give up and were harboring a fluke mentality.

Going to the Sanqing Palace and other places would leave them no room to bargain; they would have to accept whatever terms were offered. Coming back to find Hua Changxi was also because they felt they could always secure some bargaining power in front of a little girl.

Hua Changxi didn't dwell on it and began to state her purpose: "I truly admire the few seniors, and I say these things because I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us."

"A mutually willing trade means no one is taking advantage of anyone. Reaching such a consensus will allow us to get along more harmoniously in the future, don't you agree?"

The three men exchanged glances again.

Get along more harmoniously in the future?

What did that mean?

Was this little girl trying to befriend them?

Old You exchanged glances with Zhuo Fan and Jiang Ye and spoke up: "Of course, we gave you the pomegranate voluntarily; it is a fair trade."

Hua Changxi smiled: "Since we've cleared the air, I will go and refine the medicine to treat Senior Yang Chuan now."

Watching Hua Changxi enter the stone room for medicine refining, Old You, Jiang Ye, and Zhuo Fan walked out of the stone cave.

After moving some distance away from the cave, Jiang Ye looked at Old You and asked: "That girl's words had hidden meanings; what do you think she is planning?"

Old You shook his head: "That girl came to the Medicine Valley in March, and I don't know much about her."

Guo Yu, who had been acting as background, spoke up: "Master, I think Hua Changxi might have her eyes on the influence the seniors have." As he spoke, he recounted how Hua Changxi had inquired at the bottom of the cliff about what Yang Chuan and the others did.

Zhuo Fan stammered: "This little girl has quite a large ambition; could it be she wants to meddle in the affairs of the martial arts world?"

Jiang Ye shook his head: "I don't think it's that; she might want to use our hands to obtain information."

If they hadn't been well-informed, they wouldn't have had a share in the struggle for the exotic fruit this time.

Old You agreed with Jiang Ye, feeling that this must be what Hua Changxi was planning: "If she really has this intention, then it will be our turn to trade with her later."

Jiang Ye: "A very clever girl; let's just wait for her to speak up."

Yang Chuan's injuries were indeed very serious. Hua Changxi carefully controlled the dosage of the green fruit, using the gentle life force and restorative properties within it to slowly nourish his body.

After the cracks on Yang Chuan's body slowly healed, she brewed a medicinal soup to replenish his blood and energy for him to take.

Seeing Yang Chuan's complexion gradually improve, and although he was still unconscious, his breathing was steady, the hearts of the three men finally settled.

The three of them had also been injured in the struggle for the pomegranate, and seeing Yang Chuan's condition stabilize, they finally calmed down to treat their own injuries.

Half a month later, Yang Chuan woke up.

Although he survived, his lifelong cultivation was completely gone, and Yang Chuan's mood was not high.

Regarding this, the three men were helpless and could only constantly comfort him.

On the twentieth of July, in the fire spiritual mine under the rift valley in the heart of Nanshan, a whirlwind storm several meters in diameter blew up. In the center of the storm, Hua Changxi sat cross-legged.

Half an hour later, the storm gradually disappeared.

【Realm: Golden Core Stage 1.01 million/10 million】

Hua Changxi successfully broke through the Qi Sea Stage and advanced to the Golden Core Stage.

Above the red Qi Sea, which was like a heavy cloud, floated a tiny, brilliantly red core bead.

At this very moment, Hua Changxi felt that she was that core bead.

During the Qi Sea Stage, she had viewed her dantian Qi Sea from a god's-eye perspective; upon reaching the Golden Core Stage, she discovered that "she" had entered the dantian and become that core bead.

"Looking" at the boundless, vast, and surging dantian Qi Sea, Hua Changxi felt like a speck of dust within it.

She wanted to fly, and the core bead sped across the sky above the Qi Sea, but no matter how she accelerated or how long she flew, she could not find the edge of the Qi Sea, instead becoming dizzy and losing her way.

Hua Changxi withdrew her gaze, and "she" immediately flew out of the Qi Sea and returned to her physical body.

Advancing to the Golden Core Stage, Hua Changxi could clearly feel that she had become stronger, yet there was an indescribable feeling of floating in her heart.

Could it be that she was influenced by her transformation into the core bead above the Qi Sea?

The core bead hovered above the Qi Sea, neither touching the sky nor the ground; it was indeed a state of floating.

Hua Changxi frowned slightly; would the state of the core bead directly affect her state of mind?

A new problem had appeared in her cultivation, leaving her somewhat at a loss, but thinking that she had also fumbled her way through the Qi Refining and Qi Sea stages, she relaxed slightly.

However, looking at the data for the Golden Core Stage, she had a headache again.

Cultivating to perfection in the Golden Core Stage required 10 million spiritual energy points. According to the pattern of the previous three breakthroughs, advancing to the next realm would likely require tens of millions of spiritual energy points.

Hua Changxi looked around the fire spiritual mine, her eyes flashing with determination.

She could already foresee that the further she went, the more cultivation resources she would need. She must facilitate cooperation with Old You and the others and claim this fire spiritual mine for herself!