Chapter 62: The Reborn One

Watching Gu Jinfan vanish in the blink of an eye, Hua Changxi froze for a moment before swiftly chasing out of Xishan, but unfortunately, she found no trace of Gu Jinfan.

"Is it a teleportation-type spell?"

Hua Changxi frowned; the spells she knew were too few, limited entirely to alchemy, while she knew almost nothing about offensive or escape spells.

However, thinking that Gu Jinfan had actually been unable to block the burning of the Fire Lotus, Hua Changxi felt a genuine sense of relief.

Ever since stepping onto the path of cultivation, she had constantly worried that Gu Jinfan would come after her.

Although the cultivation technique inside the red stone was obtained by her accidentally, who knew whether Gu Jinfan might think she had stolen her opportunity?

Since Gu Jinfan could be injured by the Fire Lotus, it indicated that her realm was very likely below hers, or even if it was higher, it was not by much.

If her realm had been far above hers, no matter how powerful the Fenji Divine Ability was, the Fire Lotus would have been unable to injure her.

With her greatest potential enemy unable to do anything to her, Hua Changxi's heart finally settled, but recalling how Yang Chuan had nearly exposed her just now, her mood darkened again.

Behind Gu Jinfan stood the Duke Prefecture, and she was also the disciple of the most formidable alchemist in the Medicine Bureau; she possessed both power and connections.

If she came to cause trouble, Hua Changxi would never be able to focus on her cultivation.

Moreover, it was very likely to bring danger to the Hua family.

Thinking of these things, Hua Changxi went to the stone cave in Xishan with a grim face.

In order to obtain the Creation Pomegranate, Gu Jinfan had held back her strength, so the injuries of You Lao and the other three were not severe, and they could still move freely, but Guo Yu was different; he had already fallen unconscious.

Seeing Hua Changxi enter the stone cave, You Lao relaxed slightly and called out anxiously, "Changxi, quickly look at Guo Yu; his injuries are serious."

Hua Changxi stood still, looking at him with an expressionless face.

Stunned by her gaze, You Lao seemed to realize something; he moved his lips as if wanting to speak, yet appeared unsure how to begin, his face full of discomfort.

Hua Changxi looked at You Lao for a while, then shifted her gaze to Zhuo Fan and the other two.

Upon meeting her gaze, Zhuo Fan, Jiang Ye, and Yang Chuan all averted their eyes somewhat, with Yang Chuan lowering his head directly.

The atmosphere inside the stone cave was somewhat oppressive.

Yang Chuan was the first unable to bear it: "Girl..."

"I have a name."

Hua Changxi looked at him indifferently.

Yang Chuan: "...It was wrong of this old man just now, but given the situation, this old man had no choice; could I just stand by and watch Zhuo Fan and the others be beaten to death?"

Hua Changxi found a seat and looked at him: "The four seniors share deep friendship; unable to bear seeing your friends in trouble, you chose to betray me."

"Senior Yang, did you ever consider my predicament? What would have happened if I had been beaten to death?"

Seeing Yang Chuan press his lips into silence while You Lao and the other two also remained silent, Hua Changxi forced a cold smile: "The four seniors are seasoned veterans of the Jianghu; I am very curious, when cooperating with others, do you also betray your partners so decisively whenever danger arises?"

Hearing this, You Lao looked at Hua Changxi with a serious expression: "Changxi, we are not making excuses for ourselves; it is simply that this is the first time we have encountered a cultivator, and we possessed not even a shred of power to resist; in our panic and fear, we... we were forced to consider revealing your identity."

Hearing these words, Hua Changxi made no reaction.

According to her former nature, being betrayed, especially in matters involving life and death, would have meant she would never associate with them again.

But now, she needed the manpower under their command to help her secure the Nanshan Fire Spirit Mine, so this incident could only be treated lightly.

Hua Changxi looked at You Lao and the other four: "Although I am young and have not traveled the Jianghu like you seniors, I also know that in conducting oneself, one must value trust."

"To cooperate with you, I showed my sincerity. Logically, before the Nanshan Rift Valley was secured, I should not have given you the Creation Pill so early."

"But I gave it; why did I give it? Was it not because I trusted the four seniors?"

"However, the four seniors have disappointed me somewhat."

"Trust is a fragile thing that requires everyone's joint maintenance; don't you agree?"

Hearing Hua Changxi speak this way, the discomfort on the faces of You Lao and the other four grew even stronger.

Hua Changxi continued: "Let us treat this incident as a period of adjustment in our cooperation; this happens only once, and there will be no next time."

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly became sharp.

"The fact that I am a cultivator is known only to the four seniors and Guo Yu; if this leaks out in the future, I will come looking only for you."

"In my dealings with people, I do not look at what they say but only at what they do; furthermore, my heart is not broad, and there is no such thing as making amends after the fact with me; if you cross my bottom line, I will never forgive."

The sharpness in her tone and the undisguised threat made You Lao and the other four feel somewhat alarmed.

They had never expected a little girl of thirteen or fourteen to possess such an imposing manner.

Recalling the female cultivator who had suddenly attacked today, who also appeared to be in her teens, the hearts of You Lao and the other four were far from calm.

As Grandmasters, they had witnessed the ups and downs of the imperial court and the old giving way to the new in the Jianghu; the four vaguely sensed that a new struggle for dominance was about to begin.

Exchanging glances with his three friends, You Lao spoke: "That female cultivator today came for the pomegranate we gave you; what should we do if more cultivators come knocking?"

Hua Changxi: "Where did you find that pomegranate?"

You Lao: "Mount Wuzhi in Qingzhou."

Hua Changxi's eyes flashed: "Mount Wuzhi?"

The martial arts manual titled 'Mount Wuzhi' that she had copied from home was said to have been realized by a Grandmaster who passed by a peak shaped like five fingers and comprehended the mountain's terrain.

Previously, she had thought the story was fabricated, never expecting that Mount Wuzhi actually existed.

A Grandmaster merely looked at the mountain and comprehended a martial combat technique; You Lao and the other four found the Creation Pomegranate within the mountains.

This Mount Wuzhi felt far from simple!

Hua Changxi looked at You Lao and the other four: "Does Mount Wuzhi have any special characteristics?"

Jiang Ye, the most well-informed among the four, spoke: "That mountain is particularly eerie; one cannot go deep inside. According to the surrounding commoners, anyone who enters the mountain has never come out alive."

"Of course, this is an exaggeration by the commoners."

"In reality, someone did enter and eventually came out alive and well. However, that person was a Grandmaster who stayed in the mountain for a full ten years."

"Some say that Grandmaster was trapped in the mountain for ten years, while others say that Grandmaster intentionally entered the mountain for secluded cultivation, because that Grandmaster comprehended a palm technique within the mountain that was extremely powerful, named 'Mount Wuzhi'."

Hua Changxi listened silently: "Since one cannot enter Mount Wuzhi, how did you obtain the pomegranate?"

Jiang Ye: "We did enter the mountain; since we knew a Grandmaster had entered and emerged safely, we four Grandmasters entering together probably would not encounter any problems."

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 peak of Mount Wuzhi, multicolored and radiant with rosy clouds, visible as soon as one enters the mountain."

Hua Changxi asked, "How many forces competed with you for the pomegranate?"

Jiang Ye replied, "More than ten factions."

Hua Changxi asked, "Did you expose your identities?"

Hearing this, the four of them—Jiang Ye and his companions—exchanged glances.

Elder You frowned, "Logically speaking, we should not have been exposed."

Zhuo Fan nodded, "That pomegranate obviously was no ordinary fruit; we knew full well that if we seized it, others would surely target us, so we specially disguised ourselves before revealing our presence."

Hua Changxi said, "Yet someone tracked you down; could it be that your identities were inadvertently discovered?"

The four of them—Elder You and his companions—exchanged glances once more, then shook their heads again.

Jiang Ye said, "During the scramble for the pomegranate, we did not even employ our most skilled techniques; I truly cannot fathom where things went wrong."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi fell into thoughtful silence.

Ever since her first encounter with Gu Jinfan, she had felt something amiss.

For instance, she seemed to know in advance that the red-robed demonic Daoist intended to sacrifice young boys and girls; she deliberately disguised herself and infiltrated the group, all for the sake of obtaining the red stone.

Elder You and his three companions were seasoned veterans; it was highly unlikely they would leak their whereabouts, yet Gu Jinfan still knew.

Moreover, her reaction upon seeing Yang Chuan was equally strange; it was as though she believed Yang Chuan ought to be dead.

Why should Yang Chuan be dead?

Naturally, because he had consumed the seeds of the Creation Pomegranate; without her intervention, he would certainly have perished.

Yet Yang Chuan's consumption of the pomegranate seeds must have occurred only after they secured the fruit and reached a safe location; logically, this matter should have been even more concealed than Elder You and his companions' acquisition of the pomegranate itself.

Gu Jinfan ought not to have known.

This Gu Jinfan harbors a tremendous secret!

Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with deep worry, "The female cultivator who appeared today mentioned the Asura Gate; if people from the Asura Gate come to Medicine Valley..."

Hua Changxi glanced at the four men, their brows tightly knitted, and asked, "Are you so fearful of the Asura Gate?"

Zhuo Fan retorted, "Aren't you from the Medicine Bureau? The Medicine Bureau falls under the Heaven Division, which oversees the Demon-Suppression Bureau, whose greatest adversary is the Asura Gate. If even the imperial court cannot deal with the Asura Gate, do you think we can afford not to fear them?"

Hua Changxi remained silent for a moment, then said, "You have been back for nearly a month now; the Asura Gate certainly has cultivators among its ranks. If they knew the pomegranate was in your possession, they should have come looking long ago."

Zhuo Fan disagreed, "Didn't that female cultivator just arrive today?"

Hua Changxi looked at him and said, "As I stated before, unless the pomegranate is sealed with spiritual energy, it will turn into an ordinary fruit within a few days; that female cultivator... probably does not know this fact."

Zhuo Fan's tone grew somewhat sharp, "What if the people of the Asura Gate don't know either?"

Hua Changxi smiled faintly, neither amused nor displeased, "Senior Zhuo Fan, do you perhaps think I ought to be responsible for your safety?"

Zhuo Fan was left speechless; after receiving stern glares from his three old friends, he turned his head away and said nothing more.

Elder You said, "Changxi, we are simply worried."

Hua Changxi looked at them and said, "If you are truly worried, then hasten your cultivation immediately."

Zhuo Fan spoke up again, snorting, "We would gladly begin cultivating at once, but you have not provided us with any cultivation manuals."

Hua Changxi's expression suddenly darkened, "Senior Zhuo Fan, have you not yet understood the nature of our relationship? We are partners in cooperation; I am not your nanny."

Scolded so harshly by a young girl, Zhuo Fan found his face burning with shame; he wished to retort, but Yang Chuan grabbed him by the arm.

"I suddenly feel chest tightness; accompany me for a walk outside."

With that, Yang Chuan dragged Zhuo Fan out of the stone cave without further argument.

As soon as they exited the cave, Zhuo Fan shook off Yang Chuan's grip, "What is wrong with you?"

Yang Chuan wore an expression of helplessness; Zhuo Fan's temper was truly headache-inducing. Even in his youth, he frequently offended people; after becoming a Grandmaster, he grew accustomed to everyone's flattery, so even the slightest defiance could provoke his fury.

"I should be the one asking you: what is wrong with you?"

"Do you truly regard that Hua Changxi as an ordinary young girl?"

"That female cultivator who beat us today, leaving us utterly unable to resist—she was driven away by Hua Changxi; did you not know this?"

"With her residing in Medicine Valley, even if people from the Asura Gate arrive, do you really believe she would stand idly by and let us die? What purpose did your earlier words serve?"

Zhuo Fan could still heed the words of his old friends, yet he remained somewhat unconvinced, "That girl relies on us to secure the Fire Spirit Mine; what harm is there in my complaining? Would she truly dare to break relations with us over this?"

"Enough; do not wear such an expression of deep-seated grievance. I have no intention of provoking that girl to the point of no return; I merely used complaints as a pretext to see if I could squeeze some additional benefits from her."

Yang Chuan showed clear disapproval, "In the future, you ought to refrain from such actions."

Zhuo Fan shook his head, "How many years has it been since you managed the Beggar Sect's affairs? Let me tell you: when dealing with people, one must engage in this sort of give-and-take; one cannot simply accept whatever others say as final."

"I dare say the value of that pomegranate we handed over far exceeds our imagination; what is wrong with tapping that girl for a little extra?"

On this point, Yang Chuan did agree; knowing he could not convince his old friend anytime soon, he saw no point in continuing the argument.

Inside the stone cave, Hua Changxi went to check on the unconscious Guo Yu.

Recalling that Guo Yu had treated her quite well over the past two months, she chose not to vent her dissatisfaction with Elder You and his three companions upon him; instead, she helped expel the rampaging Wood Spiritual Energy coursing through his body.

As for the injuries of Elder You and his three companions, she did not bother attending to them.

Once they consumed the Creation Pill and formed their spiritual meridians, they need only gather a first-tier green fruit from the base of the stone cliff, and their injuries would improve.

For the following month and more, Hua Changxi remained in Medicine Valley to cultivate.

Whether the Asura Gate would locate Medicine Valley still weighed on her mind with worry.

She knew that in a life-or-death crisis, Elder You and his three companions would certainly not keep her secrets.

She needed to ascertain whether the Asura Gate truly knew that Elder You and his companions had seized the Creation Pomegranate.

To her relief, not a single person from the Asura Gate appeared until the ninth month.

At this, not only did Hua Changxi breathe a sigh of relief, but the heavy burdens in the hearts of Elder You and his three companions also settled back into place.

In the Medicine Bureau, within the leftmost room on the second floor of the herbal shop at No. 1 Second Street, Gu Jinfan, with a grim expression, applied medicinal ointment to her feet and lower legs.

She had not expected the Fire Lotus's burning power to be so fierce; even after a month, her injuries had not yet fully healed.

"Who exactly is that cultivator hiding in San Cha Medicine Valley?"

In her previous life, this person simply did not exist!

After You Lin, Jiang Ye, Zhuo Fan, and Yang Chuan seized the Creation Pomegranate, Yang Chuan consumed its seeds, could not withstand the spiritual energy, and exploded to death on the spot.

Not long after You Lin, Jiang Ye, and Zhuo Fan returned to San Cha Medicine Valley with the Creation Pomegranate, members of the Asura Gate tracked its aura there, slaughtered the three along with everyone else in the valley, and seized the Creation Pomegranate.

Although the Asura Gate members ultimately failed to refine the Creation Pill capable of shaping spiritual roots, news of the pill nevertheless spread through their lips, giving rise to delusions among many mortals unable to cultivate.

Afterwards, rumors frequently surfaced about Creation Fruits appearing in various places, sparking contests among all factions, only to be proven false in the end.

Creation Fruit...

Such a heaven-defying spiritual fruit is not permitted by the Heavenly Dao to exist.

She found it somewhat strange that You Lin and the other four managed to seize the Creation Pomegranate; should it not have been instantly obliterated by heavenly thunder the moment it appeared?

Was that Creation Fruit seized by You Lin and the other four now in the hands of that mysterious cultivator?

Gu Jinfan's expression grew grave; with people and events differing from her previous life, she could not tell whether this was for the better or the worse.

Recalling how the Four Spirit Realm was invaded and occupied by external cultivators in her previous life, she also hoped that the trend of this era might undergo some change.