Chapter 98: Sister Jade Pearl, I am your little Jade!

Cao Chengyu could even guess that the Thousand-Eyed Demon Centipede believed itself to be strong, and that its cooperation with Chi Jiuxiao was a mutually beneficial arrangement, with both sides sharing common interests.

But the mutual benefit it imagined might have come from Chi Jiuxiao’s one-sided manipulation: perhaps the resurrection of some beloved person, or of some dead Nascent Soul ancestor.

For that, he would not mind sacrificing the entire Grand Yue Realm. After all, to a ruler, governing the living and governing the dead made little difference. If the realm were turned into a land of spirits, it might even develop better.

The existence of ghost immortal clans was no secret.

Cao Chengyu could guess so much not because he possessed the kind of capital that let him look down on ordinary wisdom, but because the more he saw, the more he thought. He had simply reached the level where skill had become second nature.

He still remembered the chills running down his scalp in his previous life when, after reading works such as Tomb of Gods, Pursuing the Demon, and Walking on the Abyss, he learned the truth.

He had also once marveled at the schemes of the characters within those books.

Strip away the surface, and the epic of human conflict was nothing more than a struggle for three things: power, strength, and profit.

Perhaps there were reckless fools like Lu Bu, who would kill even their fathers for the sake of beauty; or rare figures such as the King of Yue, who would abandon dignity in search of a chance to turn the tables!

Whatever the scheme, if one traced it back to its essence, even without omniscience and omnipotence, one could still more or less understand what the other party sought.

With that understanding, one could always stand a little higher, then think out the next move.

Cao Chengyu was trying to view things from a loftier vantage point so as to see through Chi Jiuxiao’s design, but regrettably, the information he had was incomplete.

Perhaps the key still lay with Xiao Yan. His instinct told him that the ritual offering Xiao Yan had stolen would be the key to another part of the truth.

He closed the coffin lid again.

He also restored the sealed jar to its original state, even the dust on it restored exactly as before.

Nothing happened. No corpse rose from the dead. Cao Chengyu was a little disappointed.

A corpse was still a corpse. Without outside force, where would all these bizarre happenings come from?

After returning to the surface, Cao Chengyu sat on a blue stone by the river and fished in silence.

The kind-hearted spirits from before should have been only an accident, a manifested reception in gratitude for his help, like the spirit of this land itself, recording scenes of the past and leading people’s senses astray, allowing them to experience the wondrous journey of a twisted time and space.

He sighed.

His mood had suddenly become sentimental, and this feeling did not end until he had hooked a series of river shrimp as long as his forearms.

Cao Chengyu’s hands moved so fast they became afterimages, removing the heads, shells, and veins before taking out the condiments he had painstakingly gathered from a storage pouch specially kept for seasonings.

He mixed a dipping sauce and began eating the fresh shrimp raw.

The tenderness was exquisite to the extreme, and it temporarily drove away the troubles of life, turning him happily into a true gourmet.

When the night receded, a line of golden light appeared at the edge of the sky.

The dawn, symbolizing hope, heralded the coming daybreak.

Cao Chengyu also stood with his hands behind his back atop the great blue rock, enjoying the rare peace.

In a daze, a gale of savage wind swept in, and a woman in white, with a proud figure and graceful curves, came from the far horizon.

Like a fairy descending from the flying apsaras of Dunhuang, she came down to the mortal world, her palm carrying a fishy reek as it swung straight toward Cao Chengyu’s face.

How could he possibly let that happen? Fairy or no fairy, one slap was one thing, but bringing poison with it was going too far.

What, was she planning to drug him and take him home to train him properly?

Cao Chengyu remained calm in the face of danger. He lowered his head and dodged the slender hand laden with unknown toxins.

Then he lunged forward at once, wrapped his arms around a smooth, full thigh, and spoke with grievance and confusion.

“Sister Yuzhu, it’s me, your little Chengyu!”

The woman in white was none other than Luo Yuzhu, who had come at his invitation. After so long apart, her aura had grown even deeper.

At that moment she wore a stern face, staring at Cao Chengyu without expression.

“Little Chengyu? You really have the nerve.”

“What, things didn’t go well for you in the Five Elements Sect, so now you want to run back under my skirts?”

“Do you really think I’m just a toy you can manipulate at will?”

Cao Chengyu hurriedly said, “Sister Yuzhu, you’ve misunderstood. The Five Elements Sect really was a good place, but I’ve also been thinking of you all this time.”

As he spoke, his palm flicked, and a jade slip appeared.

“Sister Yuzhu, this is a foundational cultivation art I obtained only after much hardship. I brought it especially for you.”

Luo Yuzhu sneered.

“You, a mere Dao-body cultivator, could obtain what kind of excellent foundational technique? Could it really be better than the methods bestowed by a Golden Core cultivator?”

Though she said this, her hand was very honest. This was still the first gift Cao Chengyu had ever given her, and no matter how valuable it was, she intended to accept it carefully.

It was obvious that although she had been annoyed by Cao Chengyu leaving the Heaven-Observing Tower and leaving her side, she was not truly angry.

Otherwise, when Cao Chengyu left back then, he would have been intercepted and surrounded by the Heaven-Observing Tower, and there would have been no chance of him leaving safely with his family.

Her mocking now was likely a way to vent the resentment of having failed to intercept him midway, and of not having seen him one last time.

Seeing that she had no intention of attacking further, Cao Chengyu simply handed over the poison-dissolving secret art as well.

“This is a treasure I obtained from an expedition to a ruin. It suits you perfectly, so I brought it for you. The sooner you switch techniques, the better.”

Seeing that Cao Chengyu did not seem to be joking, Luo Yuzhu gave him a suspicious glance. Her divine sense sank into the jade slip, and after only a cursory scan, her pupils quaked violently.

“A Nascent Soul cultivation art! A top-tier secret art of the highest grade!”

Cao Chengyu smiled and continued, “Sister Yuzhu, I swear, in Chengyu’s heart you will always come first. This inheritance was found not long ago in a ruin near the Phoenix Ancient City of the Martial Kingdom, and the first person I thought of was you.”

His black eyes, as deep as stars, slowly blossomed with a look of heartfelt affection.

His voice was gentle and warm.

“I missed you very much.”

Luo Yuzhu’s delicate body trembled slightly. For cultivators, love was important, but not indispensable.

A foundational method that pointed directly to the realm was the upper limit of how far a cultivator could go, and also the most important thing of all.

Moreover, she was innately gifted in the path of poison cultivation. Below the Golden Core realm, True Person Miao Dan might still be able to offer her broad guidance and point out the problems she encountered in cultivation.

But the higher her cultivation became, the less her master could help. Alchemy had gradually evolved from the art of medicine, and medicine and poison were inseparable; alchemy and poison also shared many common principles.

True Person Miao Dan could guide her, but he could hardly let her surpass him. Now that she had a Nascent Soul cultivation art, her future was limitless.

Cao Chengyu had taken the “great risk” of helping her obtain the inheritance of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, which was already proof of his feelings.

There could be no doubt.

At this moment, even the most iron-hearted person would soften under such an unusual assault of gifts.

Much less her, when there had already been a place for him in her heart.

At this thought, Luo Yuzhu’s expression eased, though it remained somewhat stiff; her pride still would not fully let go.

Cao Chengyu did not care about that. The age of the obedient little puppy was over.

The ruler of the new era was a “lone wolf” from the north.

So he rather dominantly drew her into his arms.

The masculine scent of his body surged forth, and after more than a year, he once again tasted that familiar fragrance.

No strings attached.