Chapter 85: Fine Silk, Fine Silk

Blue columns of water erupted beneath her feet, propelling her upward like a catapult, allowing her to leap out of the fire dragons' encirclement. The headlights dazzled the eyes, their bounce almost cartoonish. Such an ingenious and imaginative move was truly breathtaking.

Cao Chengyu immediately manipulated the blue fire dragons to continue blocking her path, while Wanyi and his companions began their assault.

“Stop her! Don’t let that woman escape!”

As Wan Linghe landed, a white radiance flared behind her; a zither-shaped shield artifact appeared and, fueled by a surge of spiritual power, instantly expanded to fill the entire street.

Meanwhile, a flaming divine sigil glimmered between Cao Chengyu’s brows. The Fire God of the Five Viscera stepped forward and merged into the five blue fire dragons.

In an instant, the two-meter-long fire dragons swelled to six or seven meters with a thunderous boom. The zither-shaped shield was shattered in less than half a second, utterly unable to withstand the enhanced fire dragons, now empowered by the Fire God’s might.

As the shield broke, Wan Linghe suffered the backlash of her destroyed artifact, spitting a mouthful of blood and collapsing on the spot.

Cao Chengyu hurried over, directing the remaining four fire dragons to encircle her, enclosing even the space above her head. There was no chance of further escape.

Wanyi and his group rushed up. Seeing Wan Linghe trapped, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for your assistance, friend. This woman is guilty of heinous crimes—we hope you’ll hand her over to us.”

“Hmph!”

Wan Linghe snorted coldly, struggling to her feet, her furious gaze fixed on Cao Chengyu and Wanyi’s group.

“You’re all the same—cutthroats and opportunists. Kill me if you wish, but I won’t hand over the Longevity Apricot to you.”

“Wan Linghe, you ingrate! When we entered the ruins, the family’s rules were clear: All longevity treasures are to be handed over to the patriarch.”

“Exactly! Now you’re going back on your word, betraying your family. You know how vital the patriarch is—have you no sense? The family raised you. If you won’t be grateful, must you bite the hand that feeds you and still dare to argue?”

“To my mind, the second young master should have demoted you to a servant long ago.”

Their bickering erupted at once, making Cao Chengyu frown. The immortal clan’s system was one of cultivation and support—resources distributed by talent. The gifted were free to stay within the clan, focusing solely on cultivation, only giving back to the family once they achieved success.

Those of average aptitude balanced cultivation with missions, supplying the clan with resources, for their limited potential was clear from the outset.

Such individuals became the lower stratum of cultivators supporting the family. Throughout the cultivation world, talent was the measuring stick.

This method had its limitations, for even those of lesser talent occasionally broke through to great heights, though such cases were rare. In terms of efficiently developing talent and preserving family heritage, concentrating resources on the highly gifted remained the best choice.

Clearly, the enmity among the Wan clan’s immortals ran deeper than it appeared.

Cao Chengyu had originally hoped to gain some benefit from Wan Linghe, but now, if he got further involved, he might end up with trouble—a risk incompatible with his goal of cultivating quietly.

Besides, in recent years, his focus had been on Dayue’s “Transcendence Project.” Getting entangled with the local Jindan forces of Wuguo would be unwise.

Yet, having captured this woman, he couldn’t simply ignore the situation.

After a moment’s thought, Cao Chengyu spoke up.

“Brother Wan, whatever grudges lie between you, it’s clear that Wan Linghe violated your agreement to share the spoils of your exploration.”

“If she surrenders what does not rightfully belong to her, why not spare her life?”

Wanyi, though somewhat impatient, could not ignore Cao Chengyu’s display of power—shattering a low-grade artifact with a single strike. After all, four blue fire dragons still hovered in the air; who knew how many more he could unleash?

In terms of might, a single blue fire dragon could match the full-strength blow of a peak Dao Body cultivator. If a real fight broke out, their group of six would be no match.

Strength, status, and the fact that Cao Chengyu appeared so young—Wanyi decided to give him some face.

“Very well, for Brother Cao’s sake, as long as she hands over the Longevity Apricot, she can keep the rest of her spoils.”

“Then I thank you, friend.”

Cao Chengyu clasped his hands in thanks, then turned to Wan Linghe, his meaning clear.

“You!” Wan Linghe glared, lowering her head in stubborn silence, clearly unwilling to surrender it—even at the cost of her life.

He was meddling in affairs best left alone. Ah well.

Cao Chengyu shook his head. With a flick of his right hand, an invisible wave of wind swept out, drawing the storage pouch from her waist.

Wan Linghe panicked instantly.

“No! Please, don’t give it to them!”

It was a white storage pouch embroidered with butterflies. Cao Chengyu sent his spiritual sense into it, easily dispersing the minor ownership restriction.

Diving into its contents, Cao Chengyu’s cheeks flushed for a moment—inside, all manner of colorful stockings, rather stimulating... Hmm...

The Longevity Apricot itself was a silvery-white almond. Plucking it out, he tossed it straight to Wanyi.

At best, this was a third-grade item: for a Purple Mansion cultivator, it could extend life by about ten years; for a Jindan, at most a year, and even then only when refined with other spirit medicines.

Cao Chengyu had harvested over a hundred third-grade spirit herbs, several of which were better for longevity than the Apricot.

Upon receiving the treasure, Wanyi’s heart eased. The Wan clan had paid a steep price seeking longevity medicines for their patriarch; every exploration party was expected to give their all.

Casualties were high, and reliable longevity medicines rare—this silver apricot was a prize indeed.

“Many thanks, friend. You are always welcome at the Phoenix Wan clan as our honored guest.”

Cao Chengyu nodded, watching them leave.

Only after they vanished around the corner did he turn to Wan Linghe.

“There are a few items in your storage pouch that may be useful to me. I’ll take them. In exchange, here is a third-grade longevity peach. Let’s call it even, shall we?”

Wan Linghe blinked in surprise; she hadn’t expected this. Losing a silver apricot but gaining a far better longevity peach—the hope for her grandfather’s survival was restored.

She quickly said, “I misunderstood you, benefactor. The longevity medicine is crucial to me. Please forgive my earlier offense.”

Seeing her agree, Cao Chengyu at once withdrew the items that had caught his eye:

“Silk Refinement Techniques,” “Ice Silk Weaving,” “Arts of Enchantment,” and “Soul Nurturing Method.”

He took four jade slips. The third-grade longevity peach was of little value to him; exchanging it for four useful arts was worthwhile.

Dispelling the fire dragons with a wave, Cao Chengyu tossed the storage pouch back to her and handed her the longevity peach.

“Until we meet again.”

As he prepared to leave, perhaps sensing his good nature, Wan Linghe hesitated, then spoke.

“Benefactor, might you spare a moment to hear the story behind these grievances?”

Cao Chengyu paused, considered, and decided to listen. After all, as a lover of the mysterious, he was already intrigued, and lately he’d been yearning to try out the arts from the Azure Dragon Yin-Yang Dao Canon.