400: Chapter 21 She Deceived Him_2 400: Chapter 21 She Deceived Him_2 Though he had become an Immortal, facing Qingcang still required caution, as the Devil Ancestor Jianmu had taught.
He and the Devil Ancestor were on different paths to the same destination, unlike Qingcang who sought truth through force.
They relied on the Laws of Jianmu, while he relied on the old Heavenly Court.
Perhaps the Heavenly Court was somewhat stronger, but it could never surpass Qingcang.
“Can you make Qinghua Cake?”
“That junior once made it for me; it’s not difficult to replicate, but is that really all you ask for?”
“Go and make one for me.
If it’s as wonderful as she said, our karma shall thus be resolved.”
Gu Wen’s voice was calm, plain and unremarkable, betraying no emotion.
However, Xuan Yue detected something extraordinary.
He frowned slightly, vaguely displeased by this calmness.
An extremely subtle and natural condescension.
Much like Jianmu, and like Qingcang.
Xuan Yue, considering himself aloof, grinned and said, “This Immortal refuses.
Propose another until I am satisfied.”
As his words fell, oppressive silence spread.
Gu Wen clasped Chi Yu Zi’s right hand; she, not understanding, offered no resistance.
She was pulled behind him and could only see Gu Wen’s back, barely reaching the top of his head even on tiptoe.
Then a voice, indifferent to the extreme as if declaring the immortal Laws, reached her ears.
“Then kneel.”
Boom!
The ground trembled, and in front of them, Xuan Yue knelt, the ground around him cracking and spreading rapidly, turning hundreds of acres into fissures in an instant.
A morsel of indifferent light fell, heavy as a primeval Divine Mountain on his shoulders.
Xuan Yue’s eyes split, disbelief etched all over his normally composed face.
He had achieved Immortality, he had transcended, how could he be so weak, how could he!
Rise!
Rise!
Get up!
The Pill Furnace in his chest erupted in rolling flames, squeezing essence and spirit as Xuan Yue slowly stood up a bit, half-crouching, about to fully stand.
Crack!
His shin bone broke, piercing through flesh and skin, exposing a ghastly white.
By now, Xuan Yue was drenched in sweat, his clothing soaked and eyes only showing dullness.
He slowly raised his head, no longer seeing Gu Wen, no longer a person, but…
Dao!
Dao!
Dao!
Everything he had seen before was illusory, mere residual warmth of someone; he could have been eternal but still lingered in the world.
“Ah!!!!!”
A piercing scream tore through the earth; Xuan Yue, crazed, kept kowtowing.
Chi Yu Zi sensed nothing amiss but was frightened by the scene before her; clutching his broad palm, she anxiously said, “Gu Wen, what happened?”
The next moment, Xuan Yue ceased his self-harming and kowtowing; blood filled his mouth as he lay on the ground like a dead dog, gasping for breath.
Gu Wen turned around and reassured with a smile, “It’s nothing, just a lesson to let this old fool know that even a Little Saint is a saint.”
“But he looks terrifying like this.
Next time, choose a more normal way.”
Chi Yu Zi looked disdainfully at Xuan Yue on the ground.
Her image of an Immortal shattered once more; it turned out Immortals are like mortals.
‘Just now, this fellow was all talk, it seems he was all bark and no bite.’
Gu Wen responded, “I’ll be mindful next time.”
From behind, Xuan Yue with a side glance watched the scene, his extreme fear solidifying, for he was beginning to understand Gu Wen’s existence.
Understanding Gu Wen was holding his mentor’s sister, understanding the attitude from their closeness, understanding his concession.
Thus, he didn’t feel excessive fear.
At that moment, Gu Wen turned back, his expression tranquil.
“Qinghua Cake, can you make it?”
“I can…
naturally.”
Xuan Yue nodded repeatedly, and Chi Yu Zi mocked mercilessly, “Had you done this earlier, you wouldn’t have needed to suffer.
Just had to show off.
A characterless guy like you should be severely punished.”
Hearing the mockery, Xuan Yue felt his fear halve yet again.
With a thought, his bones and flesh mended in a single breath, and he stood up anew.
Chi Yu Zi, astounded, watched.
Gu Wen rarely showed his skills in front of her, and when he did, she couldn’t understand them, only realizing that she had been played.
Xuan Yue’s methods were hard to understand to her; such a resurrection speed did not even require the ingestion of any Pills.
Even with Pills, it would likely be hard to achieve such an effect.
Xuan Yue carefully glanced at Gu Wen, and at that moment, he picked up a Qinghua flower and smelled it gently, the indescribable aroma fully dissipating.
Facing the girl behind him and this Qinghua flower, he was still a person.
He said, “I need half a day to prepare.”
“Okay.”
Having gotten Gu Wen’s nod of approval, Xuan Yue mixed Spirit Stones with soil to create tools, improvised on the spot to pluck Spirit Grass, and made flour from Qinghua and extracted its essence.
From nothing to something, effortlessly.
He had once merely glanced, taken a bite, and then remembered it for three hundred years.
It wasn’t that Qinghua cakes were miraculous, but rather, it was simple for those with great power to remember things.
Meanwhile, Chi Yu Zi dug through a mound of earth, not leaving even bone scraps behind.
She could only give up and said, “Without any physical evidence, we can only use a witness.
Having a Demi Immortal testify should be persuasive enough, but I don’t know if he’d be willing to cooperate.”
Gu Wen said, “He seems quite enthusiastic, he will agree.”
Four hours later, Xuan Yue set up a stove, prepared the flour and Qinghua, and then steamed them in a cage woven from Spirit Grass leaves.
He could have made them without adhering to these forms, but Xuan Yue couldn’t guarantee that this was what Gu Wen wanted.
It had to be an exact restoration.
Two more hours passed.
Xuan Yue brought the green steaming basket over to Gu Wen, opened the lid, and a streak of dazzling light appeared, revealing the snowy white cakes emitting steam, adorned with a petal.
In an instant, the rich fragrance spread far and wide.
Gu Wen picked up a piece and placed it in his mouth, feeling the fragrance explode on his tongue, as if a fleeting illusion tenderly pecked.
The Qinghua cake was fragrant, yet couldn’t compare to even a ten-millionth of her.
Chi Yu Zi asked with concern, “How was it, did you gain any insight into the path of sentiment?”
Gu Wen gently touched his lips with his index finger, his smile as fresh as the morning sun.
“I’ve been tricked by her again.”
—————–
The roof was covered with new straw, the sunlight no longer took shortcuts and could only enter through doors and windows.
The woman in the Daoist robe sat in a chair, she did not allow him to practice Daoism nor did she speak, simply watching him quietly.
The two stared at each other in silence for a long time until she suddenly spoke:
“You’ve changed.”
The Daoist showed a puzzled expression, and the woman in the Daoist robe pinched his cheek, tugging slightly and said,
“Your skin has grown thicker than before, at Dragon Bridge you couldn’t even look me in the eye.
Even when we were in the same room, your gaze was always careful.”
“At that time, we had known each other for less than a year, I didn’t know your name, you didn’t know my intentions.
Now, sixty years have passed, naturally, our interaction is different from before.”
“Being cautious comes from caring, letting go leads to tranquility, would you say that counts as change?”
The Daoist pondered and then nodded calmly and placidly.
“Everything changes, I can’t possibly remain unchanged.
But this does not mean I no longer care about your existence, only that the form has changed.”
“You still don’t understand, it’s good that you can look at me frankly, but you no longer hold me in regard.”
The woman in the Daoist robe shook her head and spoke openly, “You’ve become inhuman, your eyes lacking desire.”
“This is the ruthlessness of time.”
The Daoist closed his eyes, yet the woman in the Daoist robe did not get angry as he had expected, but instead, she stepped closer, a delicate fragrance wafting over.
This scent was already familiar to him, for him it was like air.
Both immensely important and utterly ordinary.
“You talk of ruthlessness, so I must discuss sentiment.
In Huajian State there is Qinghua cake, shared by two people, and the Chen Girl will bless the lovers to be united.”
“You’ve already said that, the same words, the same tricks, they are useless on me.
If this thing truly has such miraculous effects, why not bring it?”
The Daoist closed his eyes, not looking, then lips were lightly pressed down, a cold touch, a familiar scent.
He opened his eyes, saw the stunning beauty close at hand, and the smile brimming in her beautiful eyes.
It was just the slender fingers pressing on his lips.
The woman in the Daoist robe stepped back two paces, her finger lightly printing on her crimson lips, smiling and saying, “Because I want us to go see it together.”
…
The Daoist closed his eyes again, and then she repeated her old tricks, yet he would not be fooled again.