Chapter 309: Vermilion Fruit
Under the night sky, tiny feet, delicate as carved jade, swayed uncontrollably amidst the bumps, and soft whimpers rose and fell.
The style of the Dan Sect's daughter was distinctly different from that of Lingjian Mountain's Young Master Jian.
The Young Master Jian, with her cultivation, still had the ability to curse when attacked forcefully, and even used whistling Sword Qi to add to the excitement, just like her strong personality.
But the Dan Sect's daughter kept her mouth tightly shut, only uttering interjections, and only when she couldn't help it would she call out a broken and intermittent “Ji Gongzi.”
This was due to personality, resulting in completely different reactions to pressure.
If Ji You were to judge, he would find both reactions very interesting.
However, from this perspective alone, Yan Shu Yi indeed seemed more like an older sister, while Yuan Caiwei was more like a younger sister.
Amidst the wild wind and rain, the small flowers behind the house were splashed with water.
Until the last ray of twilight outside the window gradually disappeared, and night surged in, filling Dan Mountain.
In the quiet latter half of the night, the darkness was incredibly dense.
Ji You opened his eyes and looked down at the round and flat Yuan Caiwei in his arms.
The tender Dan Sect's daughter, unable to withstand the downpour, had already fallen asleep after the rain and mist cleared, her breathing even, her sleeping face serene, with only tears still clinging to her long, curled eyelashes.
This wasn't him bullying her; he was just employing an anti-breathing strategy against the outwardly dignified gluttonous girl.
Ji You let out a soft sound as he got up, covered her with the quilt, then dressed neatly, pushed open the bamboo door in the flickering darkness, and walked out of Yuan Caiwei's small courtyard. After killing Chu Hong last night, he met Qi Zhengyang and asked what the Immortal Sect truly wanted to refine. Qi Zhengyang did not respond directly, only agreeing to meet him at the foot of the mountain.
He had actually wanted to go down the mountain at noon today, but at that time, he still couldn't use Spiritual Qi.
The Immortal Sect returned empty-handed, suffering countless casualties, and might have set up an ambush at the foot of the mountain, so he could only go to see him after nightfall.
The delay in between was mainly because young men are full of vigor.
Mountain wind carrying moisture assailed him, bringing a chill to his skin.
At this moment, Dan Mountain had fallen into complete silence, with only scattered lights flickering in the distance, echoing the stars under the night sky.
Ji You closed the courtyard gate securely, then walked silently all the way to the front mountain.
After a day of cleaning, the bloodstains on the nine-layered steps had been washed clean, and the broken stone slabs had been removed, leaving only the original dirt path.
It looked as if no fierce battle had taken place.
He descended the nine-layered steps, then walked towards the mountain gate at the front of the mountain path.
The Dan Sect was already in a state of sealing the mountain; the great mountain-protecting array no longer extinguished, but Ji You had gone to treat his injuries after killing people and hadn't had time to return the array core, so he easily passed through the great array and headed down the mountain.
Below the Dan Sect was a small town called Huichun Town, just like Nanhua City below Lingjian Mountain, where most of the residents were descendants with distant blood ties to the Dan Sect's in-law Sect.
Therefore, many shops in this town bore words like 'Dan' and 'Medicinal Pill,' much like the countless sword pavilions in Nanhua City.
Ji You landed on the stone path of the small town, then traversed the empty, deserted alleys under the night, and after several turns, arrived at Yuelai Inn.
Although it was already late into the night, as it was a lodging business, the inn had not completely closed, but had left a young attendant at the counter.
However, the young attendant was currently propping his head with his arm, dozing off in the dim candlelight.
Ji You made no sound, turned and went up to the second floor, then arrived at a guest room, and then spoke softly in a low voice.
“Qi Elder.”
“Enter.”
With a soft creak, the door was gently pushed open.
Inside the room, Qi Zhengyang, the chief of Spiritual Sword Mountain Sword Dao, was sitting in meditation on the bed, his aura subtly emanating.
Upon hearing footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes, the golden light in them gradually receding, and his gaze fell upon Ji You.
“How are your injuries?”
“Fortunately, I was in the Dan Sect; after treatment, I recovered extremely quickly, otherwise, I'm afraid I would have been bedridden for a long time.”
“I didn't expect that all five Wujiang Realm experts would die by your hand.”
Qi Zhengyang murmured, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
Many years ago, Tianshu Academy had visited Lingjian Mountain to seek Dao; that was the first time he had seen Ji You. At that time, he merely thought he was a rare sword prodigy, never imagining that after a few years, he would have reached such a level.
However, he felt that only such a man could perhaps barely be worthy of their Lingjian Mountain's Young Master Jian.
Qi Zhengyang came back to his senses and got up from the bed: “Sit.”
Ji You responded and sat down at the square table: “What precious Material did the Immortal Sect want the Dan Sect to refine, and why, after hundreds of years of peace, did they suddenly launch an attack on the mountain yesterday?”
“This matter must be traced back to the New Year.”
“?”
Qi Zhengyang looked at Ji You: “You personally participated in the matter of the Dongping Mountain Range, so you must know about it. Young Master Jian spent the winter with you in Shengjing, so you must also be aware of the subsequent whereabouts of those Immortal Sect Elders, right?”
Ji You nodded: “They searched the world for clues about the Bu family, and it is said that they eventually returned to Qingzhou.”
“That's right, but what you don't know is that after they returned to Qingzhou, they opened a Legacy located in the Great Barren Forest.”
“?”
Hearing this, Ji You slowly raised his head, his eyes beginning to deepen.
In fact, he had long suspected whether this calamity for the Dan Sect was due to those Elders who had been investigating the Bu family finding something.
But he hadn't expected that after such a long period of peace since Qi Ridge, another Legacy would be opened.
He recalled how he had been dispatched by Tianshu Academy to Qi Ridge as cannon fodder, and had personally witnessed its brutality.
Qi Zhengyang glanced at him: “Are you thinking of Qi Ridge?”
“Yes.”
“This time is different from Qi Ridge.”
“?”
Qi Zhengyang looked at him and said: “After the rise of the Human Race, generations have tried to peek into the Legacy, but have always been unable to enter. But this time, the Great Barren Forest was entered very easily, and someone even brought something out of it.”
As his voice fell, a glow appeared in his palm, revealing a crimson fruit.
This fruit was the size of an egg, with a transparent, gelatinous surface, within which a fiery red color continuously surged, emitting a Mystic Light.
Ji You took the fruit from his hand, his eyes gradually widening.
“Vermilion Fruit?”
“That's right, the Vermilion Fruit. This is the same kind of fruit that caused contention in Qi Ridge back then. It was named Vermilion Fruit because of its crimson appearance, and those with exceptional talent can directly ascend a realm by consuming it.”
“Impossible, how could this thing be brought out?”
Ji You's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the night he escaped Qi Ridge with Yuan Caiwei and Yuan Chen through the Hongshan Mine tunnel.
At that time, they encountered a robbery on the way, and out of professional habit, he showed those few people what professionalism meant, and finally obtained a storage gourd.
The situation was urgent at the time, and he didn't have time to examine it carefully, so he could only lead the people away first.
As soon as they got out, that storage gourd exploded.
The other items in the gourd were intact, but the two Vermilion Fruits that those people had stolen were annihilated into ash.
At that time, they realized that things from Qi Ridge were connected to the Heavenly Dao and could not be brought out; even if forcibly brought out, they would be obliterated by the Heavenly Dao.
But at this moment, he was holding a real, existing red fruit in his hand.
Upon realizing this, Ji You instantly thought of a possibility, and his face became incredibly gloomy.
Qi Zhengyang suddenly waved his hand, suppressing his Qi: “Master Jian wants me to tell you not to harbor murderous intent. This fruit was brought out directly, and it's not in the way you're thinking.”
“If things from the Legacy are brought out directly, they will be annihilated.”
“That's why I said this time is different from the Qi Ridge incident.”
Qi Zhengyang stroked his long beard and said: “After those Immortal Sect Elders whose Lifespans were nearing their end entered the Legacy, all the major Immortal Sects sent Disciples in. But because of the lesson from Qi Ridge, the Disciples sent in didn't dare to eat indiscriminately, but wrapped them in clothing and brought them out. Surprisingly, they were not obliterated by the Heavenly Dao.”
A hint of doubt flashed in Ji You's eyes: “Why would this happen?”
“I'm not sure either, but there have always been rumors in Qingyun World that the Heavenly Dao is abnormal, but there has never been any direct evidence. But now that things from the Legacy have been brought out, perhaps it really is because the heavens have changed.”
“In other words, the Six Great Immortal Sects came to Dan Mountain to forcefully borrow Alchemists to refine this item?”
“Not just this item; they also brought back other exotic flowers and fruits from the Legacy, each one like this, with Immortal Qi surging.”
Qi Zhengyang said solemnly: “No one can say for sure what the true efficacy of the Legacy items are, so Alchemists are naturally needed for Alchemy. But this is an immortal opportunity after all, and the Six Great Immortal Sects want to monopolize it, which is why they wanted to capture Alchemists and bring them back to their mountains.”
Hearing this, Ji You looked back at the Vermilion Fruit in his hand.
The fruit's Mystic Light was constant, and the crimson color within it continuously flowed. Looking at it for a long time would make one feel an impulse to swallow it whole.
“Just because of a small fruit, they want to kill and attack the mountain?”
“So what? You should know that the reason the Six Great Immortal Sects allowed Alchemists to return and rebuild Dan Mountain back then wasn't because they had a change of heart, but because the Alchemists were almost wiped out. Now that they have recuperated for hundreds of years, the number of Alchemists has continuously grown, and in the eyes of the major Immortal Sects, there are just enough.”
Ji You looked up: “Capture a group for Alchemy and then kill them, as long as it doesn't harm the Dan Sect's Foundation?”
Qi Zhengyang was silent for a moment, then nodded: “Understood that way, it is indeed possible.”
“Could it be that Alchemists truly cannot cultivate the Immortal Dao?”
“Of course they can; the Immortal Dao and the Alchemy Dao are originally of the same source. But one of the conditions for allowing the Dan Sect to rebuild back then was that the Dan Sect would never produce cultivators of the Immortal Dao.”
“The seven sages back then were sworn brothers. Is it really appropriate for their descendants to act like this?”
Qi Zhengyang sneered, “That’s an ancient matter from a long time ago. The Human Race’s Legacy is inherently about gradually forgetting its roots.”
After a long silence, Ji You’s thoughts returned to the ruins. “Besides the fruit, what else was found in the Great Barren Forest ruins?”
“There’s still a central area that hasn’t been accessed, but based on Qi Ridge’s experience, there must be something in it that could cause even greater trouble. They came to find the alchemists first, actually to prepare for that place.”
“But since the five great immortal sects didn’t get what they wanted this time, what will they do next?”
“They naturally won’t give up this immortal opportunity. Without alchemists, they’ll probably use people to test it. Besides, many immortal sects kept some Alchemy texts when they enslaved alchemists back then.”
Ji You then said, “Perhaps they’ve already tried.”
Qi Zhengyang heard this, turned to look at Ji You, his eyes flickering with confusion. “Already tried?”
“Back then, someone in Qi Ridge directly broke through their realm after consuming the Vermillion Fruit. With something like that in hand, I don’t believe they would wait until they captured an alchemist and brought them back to the mountain.”
“That’s true.”
Ji You placed his hands on the square table, and after a long period of thought, his heart suddenly stirred. “Qi Elder, do you know an Elder of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion named Lang Kun?”
Qi Zhengyang came back to his senses. “I know him. Lang Kun’s Lifespan is similar to mine. When I was young, I even met him at the Tiandao Conference. However, I heard a while ago that he had already returned to the Heavenly Dao—”
Qi Zhengyang suddenly paused here. “You mean, Lang Kun ate this thing?”
“I happened to be passing through Qingzhou at the time, and I heard rumors that Lang Kun showed abnormalities after his death. I didn’t think much of it then, but now I feel the timing is a bit coincidental, though there’s no evidence.”
“I will report this matter to Master Jian and send people to investigate.”
After Qi Zhengyang finished speaking, he looked back at the Vermillion Fruit in Ji You’s hand. “Master Jian said you have a good relationship with the Dan Sect’s daughter and asked you to secretly give her the fruit, to first see what exactly this fruit contains.”
When Ji You heard this, he began to understand why the world said that Lingjian Mountain’s young Master Jian, though a wielder of the spirit mirror, did not support Lingjian Mountain solely because of the spirit mirror.
From beginning to end, she arranged for him to find an opportunity to guard the mountain, and arranged for Qi Zhengyang to be a backup for the worst-case scenario.
At the same time, she also wanted to use Qi Zhengyang to give the Vermillion Fruit to him, to bring to Yuan Caiwei.
However, ‘good relationship’?
More than just a good relationship, Ji You’s mind recalled the torrential downpour that lasted half the night just now, thinking to himself that it should be “knowing each other inside and out.”
Just then, Qi Zhengyang’s voice sounded in his ear again.
“Master Jian also wants you to leave the Dan Sect quickly after resolving the matter.”
“Sourpuss.”
She kept saying she would cut off emotions and love, but she was still secretly afraid that her good sister would steal her good things.
Ji You reached out and put the Vermillion Fruit into his storage gourd, then glanced at the brightening window outside, deciding to go up the mountain to deal with this fruit.
However, as soon as he stood up and walked towards the door, he had not even taken a few steps when Qi Zhengyang called out to him again.
“There’s one more thing. You kept asking questions just now, and I forgot to mention it.”
Ji You turned around. “What is it?”
Qi Zhengyang stood up and looked at him. “It’s not just the Great Barren Forest that can be opened.”
“?”
“After the Qi Ridge incident, all the major immortal sects strictly guarded the nearby ruins as private property. And after the Great Barren Forest incident, many immortal sects secretly investigated the ruins they controlled, and several have already been entered. So, this is just the beginning.”
In the early morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
On the streets of Huichun Town, vendors were already open for business, and steaming hot air continuously spread towards the sky.
Ji You walked through the town, entered the mountain from the direction of the back mountain, pondering everything Qi Zhengyang had told him along the way, and eventually arrived at Yuan Caiwei’s bamboo house courtyard.
Upon entering, he saw that Yuan Chen and Yuan Bingqing were also there, sitting in the courtyard with Yuan Caiwei, drinking tea.
Seeing Ji You return, Yuan Chen immediately spoke, “Brother-in-law, how are your injuries?”
“They’ve recovered very well.”
“Come quickly and have some tea.”
Ji You looked at Yuan Caiwei at this moment, only to see her looking very proper, with a serene expression, acting as a mature and dignified older sister in front of Yuan Chen.
She certainly wasn’t like this last night when she was kicking her feet in his arms.
Ji You stepped forward and sat at the tea table, sniffing lightly. “What kind of tea is this? Why does it smell like medicine?”
“It has honeysuckle, which can soothe the throat. For some reason, my sister’s voice suddenly became hoarse.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Caiwei’s eyelashes trembled slightly, her mind filled with the images of crying and being entered and exited.
She actually woke up quite early. When she woke up and found Ji You wasn’t there, she felt a little flustered. Her heart only settled down slightly when she saw him return.
It’s just that there were no vows of eternal love, no exchange of affections, and then it happened again.
The key was that she lost herself when she was being impacted, and she also forgot to naturally change her address to ‘husband’ or something.
Missing the step of solidifying their relationship, Yuan Caiwei still felt that he was more like her sister’s man, maintaining a prim and proper demeanor.
Then, Yuan Bingqing took out two storage gourds from her embrace.
Yesterday, the Dan Sect had been busy treating the injured, and she had been busy with her Senior Brother and Disciple, only now having time to deliver them.
Besides these two storage gourds, she also took out some Medicinal Pills for strengthening the Foundation and cultivating vitality.
After a few casual words, Yuan Bingqing left the small courtyard.
As for Yuan Chen, he wanted to stay in a big-hearted manner, but he was taken away by Yuan Bingqing. He was going to check on the injuries of those Old Ancestor of the Sect today. And so, only Ji You and Yuan Caiwei were left in the courtyard.
“Ji—Young Master Ji, where did you go this morning?”
“My rest last night was good. When I woke up, I felt refreshed, so I took a stroll in the mountains.”
When Yuan Caiwei heard the words “rested last night,” she couldn’t help but raise her teacup to cover her face.
Ji You looked around at this time, and seeing no one, he reached out and took Yuan Caiwei’s small hand, walking into the small building, then turned and closed the door.
Seeing that they were going back into the room again, the Dan Sect’s daughter’s eyes flashed with a hint of fear, but her steps obediently followed.
However, as Ji You took out the Vermillion Fruit from his storage gourd, Yuan Caiwei’s expression instantly froze, then gradually became solemn.
Ji You had gone deep into Qi Ridge to save her, so she naturally recognized this item.
“Isn’t this the fruit from the ruins?”
“Indeed, and this is what the immortal sects want to capture alchemists to refine.”
Yuan Caiwei looked at him somewhat bewildered. “When we came out of Qi Ridge, didn’t we already confirm that this thing couldn’t be taken out?”
Ji You nodded. “Precisely because of that, it feels quite strange. So, Yan Shuyi entrusted someone to give it to me, wanting you to see what exactly it contains, but this matter must not be known to others.”
“I need to refine it.”
“I don’t know if this thing has any toxicity. I’ll be with you.”
Yuan Caiwei nodded gently, then left the small courtyard with Ji You, bypassed the medicinal pool where they had healed a few days ago, and entered a small room.
This was her Alchemy room. The room was very tidy and smelled of medicine.
After the two entered and closed the door, Yuan Caiwei set up the Pill Furnace, lit the charcoal fire, and began to raise the furnace temperature.
As the furnace temperature gradually approached the predetermined height, she waved her hand and threw the vermillion-colored fruit into it, then slowly sat on a futon.
But as soon as she sat down, Yuan Caiwei couldn’t help but let out a soft groan, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Seeing this, Ji You silently picked up another futon nearby, and saw the Dan Sect’s daughter gently stand up and place it next to hers.
Then, her hands turned jade-colored, and the Pill Qi in her palms began to surge towards the Pill Furnace.
Ji You stood behind her to protect her Dao, while his eyes were fixed on the Pill Furnace.
The Dan Sect’s Alchemy is complex and profound, but in terms of principle, it is essentially refining the elements contained within the Materials, then removing the useless substances and fusing the useful ones together to form the desired medicinal properties.
However, this time it wasn’t so complicated, because the later steps weren’t needed; only the elements within that fruit needed to be refined.
So, from early morning until noon, the two remained in the room, silently waiting.
As time flowed, three hours later, a continuous rumbling sound began to spread from within the furnace.
This indicated that the Vermillion Fruit had been refined, and its substances were beginning to break apart. What remained was to consolidate these dispersed substances according to their homogeneity, refining them into their most primitive form.
Yuan Caiwei continued to infuse the Pill Furnace with Pill Qi, her Mystic Light hands constantly forming hand seals that merged into the Pill Furnace.
Another hour later, the furnace lid suddenly opened with a muffled thud, and as steam billowed, immortal light radiated from within the furnace chamber.
Ji You reached out and wiped away the fine sweat from her delicate nose, then looked up at the light within the Pill Furnace.
“What is this?”
“The purest Heavenly Dao power.”
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