Free Web NovelChapter 309: Chapter 38: Ruan Chunzi
「Above the clouds over Qianmu Mountain’s peak.」
Endless flames clashed with surging waves, and the intense heat they generated tried to break through the clouds below. However, it was blocked by a layer of Wood Spirit Qi covering the clouds’ surface.
"You damn lizard, let’s see how much Spiritual Qi your Qi Sea has to spare!"
A bulge appeared on Yu Lian’s massive abdomen. A trace of draconic might unexpectedly emerged from within her, and the surrounding Water Spirit Qi surged once more—this was the effect of the Water-Control Pearl that Wang Ping had bought for her.
At the same time, two golden longswords materialized from a pair of golden runes on her tail. These were spoils of war Wang Ping had obtained while investigating the case of the missing Corpse Soldiers in Mozhou. Yu Lian adored their glittering golden appearance and, after refining them, had sealed them into her tail.
"I’ve always heard that Fellow Daoist is the wealthiest person in the Nanlin Road Cultivation World. I had my doubts, but now I see it’s true. To think you’d give your Spirit Snake such a fine Magical Artifact," Ruan Chunzi joked.
"Just some trinkets worth a few hundred thousand taels."
Wang Ping looked at Ruan Chunzi and smiled. "On the contrary, Fellow Daoist, your Spirit Pet has at least two Fire Veins inside it. Now that’s a real display of wealth. My Yu Lian would probably lose a contest of Qi Sea Spiritual Qi against it."
Ruan Chunzi smiled smugly. "They are the darlings of heaven and earth. Their bodies are natural Spiritual Energy Arrays, perfect for cultivating Spirit Veins. The generated Spirit Veins can also be extracted, and it even saves several decades of time."
"It’s just a little disgusting!" Wang Ping added.
Ruan Chunzi froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "HAHA! You’re right, it is a little disgusting. Some of my disciples take a long time to recover after learning that the Spirit Veins they used to break through were born inside Fire Swift!"
Wang Ping felt a slight chill at his words and quickly changed the subject. "His name is Fire Swift?"
"Yes. He was born in my cave residence when I was in the Qi Cultivation stage. He used to watch me cultivate every day, and after absorbing enough Fire Spirit Qi, he gained sentience. Thinking back, that was nearly a thousand years ago. He’s been unable to find a way to advance to the Third Realm, and I’m at a loss as well."
There was a touch of sadness in Ruan Chunzi’s voice, suggesting the Spirit Beast was nearing the end of its life.
CLANG CLANG CLANG
The sound of metal striking came from Yu Lian, who was controlling the two golden swords. Imitating the ’Killing Array’ that Wang Ping often used, she pressed Fire Swift so hard he couldn’t even cast his flames. He was forced to summon a golden orb, which formed a Protective Shield to block the swords’ assault.
"Shall we stop here?"
Ruan Chunzi suggested.
Wang Ping agreed, saying, "Alright." The spar had gone on long enough. After all, both sides had already gone all out. Continuing would mean fighting to the death, which was unnecessary.
With that, the two flew over to comfort their respective companions.
Sensing Yu Lian’s emotions in his Spirit Sea, Wang Ping finally understood the meaning of ’fire and water are incompatible.’ They had never met before; they simply detested each other’s auras. And since they were both Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, they subconsciously felt the need to determine a winner. If not for Ruan Chunzi and Wang Ping’s presence, the fight might have ended in death.
Perhaps this was a rule set by nature itself to balance the spiritual essence of the world.
"Are you here to help?"
Yu Lian asked subconsciously as she saw Wang Ping put away her golden longswords.
Wang Ping landed on Yu Lian’s head and chuckled. "Did you forget what we came to the mountain gate for?"
Yu Lian’s emotions seemed to pause for a moment. Seeing the Fire Salamander opposite them shrink down at Ruan Chunzi’s urging, she too reluctantly shrank, then coiled up on Wang Ping’s shoulder without answering his question.
As Wang Ping gestured for Ruan Chunzi to descend to the Mountain Peak Dojo, Yu Lian slithered into Wang Ping’s sleeve, wrapped around his arm, and fell asleep. Fire Swift also burrowed into a special soft leather pouch on Ruan Chunzi’s waist. They had both tacitly agreed: out of sight, out of mind.
"This Dao Field of yours is quite impressive. And this Nine Extremes Array—you learned it at Yongming Port last time, didn’t you? It just goes to show, with all things under heaven, right and wrong are just like this array. When you use it, it’s the Mystic Gate Righteous Dao, but when it was used back in Yongming Port, it was the Taiyin Evil Dao."
Like any ordinary guest visiting the Dao Field for the first time, Ruan Chunzi began by praising Wang Ping’s domain.
Wang Ping smiled without speaking and invited Ruan Chunzi to sit on a stone bench beneath a Spirit Wood tree. "Fellow Daoist," he asked, "will you have tea or wine?"
"Wine, of course!"
Ruan Chunzi answered without a second thought.
Wang Ping immediately sent a telepathic message to the attendants outside, telling them to bring out the aged wine from his cellar, along with some tasty fruits.
Before long, several attendants filed in, serving fine wine and fruits to Wang Ping and Ruan Chunzi.
Ruan Chunzi’s eyes lit up at the sight of the wine jug. He cut their idle chatter short and grumbled, "Everyone envies True Yang Mountain, but there’s nothing on it. You can’t even store a jug of wine—the high temperature makes it lose its flavor in less than two days. And don’t even get me started on fruit."
"If you like it, Fellow Daoist, you’re always welcome to visit," Wang Ping said politely.
"Then it’s settled!"
Ruan Chunzi immediately pressed his advantage. "Give me a Pass Token. That way, when I fly to Nanlin Road, I can use your token to fly directly here. A round trip would take less than a day."
"..."
North of Nanlin Road is Houjiang Road, and further north is Qianjiang Road. The True Yang Mountain Range lies to the east of these two regions, completely cutting off the south from the central part of Zhongzhou and the Shangjing Region.
Rumor has it that before the founding of the Xia Dynasty, Houjiang Road and Qianjiang Road also belonged to the Southern Daoist Scripture Hall. After the dynasty was established, they were designated as the Southeast District and became the private domain of the True Yang Sect.
"That’s a small matter."
Wang Ping had many Pass Tokens on hand. He took one out but didn’t rush to hand it over. Instead, he looked at Ruan Chunzi and said, "This item can be seen as both a small matter and a large one. Fellow Daoist mustn’t be joking."
"Rest assured, this poor Daoist has only ever cared for fun and games. I never fight or snatch. How about this: you give me a Nanlin Road Pass Token, and I’ll give you Pass Tokens for Houjiang Road and Qianjiang Road. You’d be getting the better end of the deal!"
As he spoke, Ruan Chunzi took out a token.
But Wang Ping remained unmoved. "Fellow Daoist, it would be best not to be so casual. How about this: we both set a boundary for this token, shall we?"
"You’re certainly cautious. So how could you have been so bold with the matter in Mozhou Road?"
Ruan Chunzi changed the topic rather abruptly.
Wang Ping was taken aback. Growing secretly vigilant, he asked, "Fellow Daoist, why do you say that?"
Ruan Chunzi picked up a bowl of wine and stared at Wang Ping. "Headquarters sent a letter asking me to inquire about Nanlin Road’s recent search for ’Day One’."
"Oh? That was just a routine investigation. A file was created for every person we looked into."
"Haha, don’t be so tense. I’m just here to take a look. It’s a standard procedure within the Daoist Scripture Hall. This way, what you did becomes legitimate. If they were going to get serious, they wouldn’t have sent me."
Ruan Chunzi let out a chuckle, his serious expression vanishing. He looked at the fine wine on the table and said, "After we finish this jug, you’ll accompany me on a trip to Mozhou Road. Then, I’ll escort you to the Shangjing Region."
