One Must Watch the Chives Grow Strong and Healthy — An Unexpected Windfall, One Might Say
One Must Watch the Chives Grow Strong and Healthy — An Unexpected Windfall, One Might Say
“What exactly is going on? Why would they send us here out of nowhere, and then try to wipe us all out? Could all of this have been arranged by Xiao Ruoyin? But we have no grudge against her, so why would she do something like this...”
“No, this wasn’t arranged by Xiao Ruoyin. She’s innocent. There’s no way she could do something like this!”
“Then it must be that Young Master Gu... Damn it all, why would he do this? We have no enmity with him whatsoever!”
In another direction, Jiang Chen’s good brother Niu Tian was also fleeing for his life.
His face was pale, his back ran cold, and his limbs had gone soft. If not for the single breath of willpower holding him up, he would have collapsed to the ground already.
He simply could not believe it. Those creatures had suddenly turned on them out of nowhere, and so terrifyingly at that, intent on exterminating them all.
First they had brought them into this desolate primeval forest, and only then struck to slaughter them, destroying the corpses to erase all evidence.
This was simply leaving them no path to survival at all.
Even if they escaped the pursuit of those creatures, they likely still could not escape this peril-ridden ancient forest, and would die here in the end.
“That Young Master Gu really is exactly what Ah Chen said — nothing good at all. And back then I actually thought kindly of him, believing he might be some great benefactor!”
Niu Tian gnashed his teeth. This was the first time in his life he had ever hated someone so much.
Thinking back now on what Jiang Chen had said, it seemed the Test Stone really had been tampered with, and the goal had been to drive them away and then kill them.
That way, even if Xiao Ruoyin achieved success in her cultivation one day and wanted to search for their whereabouts, she likely would never find them!
“What a vicious, venomous mind! Xiao Ruoyin staying by that Young Master Gu’s side is simply far too dangerous... Who knows what designs he has on her...”
Niu Tian gritted his teeth and kept pushing deeper into the ancient forest.
But very soon, he heard a scream from behind him — one of his companions — and his expression changed drastically once again.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen’s reaction had been even faster than his own. For some unknown reason, those creatures were in no hurry to hunt them down. Like cats toying with mice, they let them flee first.
If they were caught, it shouldn’t have happened that quickly.
“If I can escape this place, I will definitely take revenge!”
Niu Tian’s face was filled with hatred.
After that, the deeper he fled, the thicker the fog became.
Ancient trees towered into the sky, and in the distance grey miasma even appeared, carrying a powerful corrosive quality.
Niu Tian felt his skin stinging, as if it were about to split open, blood seeping through. But his blood was somewhat strange — not a normal red, but tinged with a faint gold.
He did not notice this detail at the moment, still burying his head and fleeing forward.
Boom!!!
Suddenly, he sensed a terrifying aura appear in the sky above. Black mist churned, scales gleamed, as if an incomparably dreadful colossal beast was circling up there. Its aura alone was enough to press down on a person until they could not breathe.
“Not good, they’ve caught up...”
Niu Tian’s expression changed drastically. With no time to react, he hurriedly dove into the swamp ahead, not daring to move an inch, his whole body wrapped in rotting dead leaves and sludge.
He held his breath, quietly waiting for the terrifying fierce beast high above to leave.
“I’ve noticed you. Still thinking of running?”
However, that terrifying fierce beast seemed to have noticed where he was, its gaze carrying icy mockery.
Then, crimson lightning spewed from its mouth, streaking across the sky above the swamp, and with a boom it landed on Niu Tian. Several terrifying cracks and ravines instantly split open in the surrounding area.
“Pfft!”
Facing such a horrifying strike, despair instantly filled Niu Tian’s face. He already foresaw this blow blasting his entire body to ash, just like his companions before him — body and soul annihilated on the spot.
But what he never expected was that in the next moment, a strange power seemed to emerge from within his body, flowing along his limbs and bones, bursting forth from every single cell, transforming into a faint golden mist that enveloped him.
The crimson lightning fell, and the entire wilderness shook. The mountains rumbled as if about to explode!
Yet he merely let out a muffled grunt, spat out a mouthful of blood, broke several bones, and ruptured some of his internal organs — but was otherwise largely unharmed.
“What just happened?”
Though shocked, Niu Tian quickly came to his senses and hurriedly scrambled up from the swamp, staggering forward as he fled.
When that strange energy surged out just now, he had been completely dumbfounded. He had never imagined such a change could occur.
Could there be some secret hidden within his body?
“Eh?”
“What’s going on? Could this be the strange change the Young Master said to report?”
“Then... let’s give him another chance to run for his life.”
The terrifying creature high in the sky was also startled for a moment. Its eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a look of keen interest.
Although that strike just now had not contained even one percent of its strength, killing a mortal should have been effortless — no harder than blowing away dust.
It seemed this Niu Tian was somewhat extraordinary after all.
Then, riding black clouds, it leisurely chased after Niu Tian ahead.
But it showed no urgency, utterly playful, letting him keep running.
A mere mortal — catching him would take but a single thought. Letting them flee like this was nothing more than Gu Changge’s instruction.
As for the reason, it could not guess. The Young Master’s thoughts were not something it could presume to fathom.
“Damn it, there’s a cliff ahead...”
However, Niu Tian did not get far before despair quickly set in.
Amid the churning clouds and mist ahead, a dreadful astral wind blew toward him, seemingly capable of scattering a person’s very bones and soul.
Three zhang away from him was a bottomless abyss.
If he fell, with his current physical condition, he would instantly be smashed into a pulp. There was no second possibility.
A cliff ahead, pursuers behind!
This left Niu Tian in utter despair, his face deathly pale, hesitating between waiting for death where he stood or jumping down — perhaps there might be a sliver of survival.
“Why have you stopped running?”
In the sky above, black mist slowly drifted over, blotting out the heavens. The terrifying fierce beast that had struck earlier transformed into human form, revealing a look of keen interest, carrying the playfulness of a cat toying with a mouse.
“Why are you hunting me? We have no grievance between us.”
Niu Tian gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down at this moment, and could not help shouting loudly, filled with deep unwillingness and fury.
“To kill an ant, what excuse is needed?”
“I gave you so much time to run, let you live, and yet I still caught up with you. Tell me, how would you like to die?”
The creature laughed once, said no more, and then reached its great hand directly forward. Black mist surged, divine light rolled like a tide, about to slap Niu Tian to death.
“I’d rather jump down than die at your hands...”
“Tell the master behind you — if I survive this calamity, sooner or later I will repay everything he has done, in full!”
Seeing this, Niu Tian gritted his teeth and roared angrily, quite resolute indeed.
The next moment, he turned and ran toward the cliff ahead, not caring in the slightest that beyond it lay a ten-thousand-zhang abyss that would very likely smash his entire body into pulp.
“He actually jumped just like that. This will be hard to explain to the Young Master.”
“Forget it. The Young Master did say to give them a chance to live. If they can’t grasp it themselves, no one else is to blame.”
Seeing this, the creature frowned, its expression somewhat displeased. It had not expected that a perfectly good game of cat and mouse would end in such a result.
But in its view, although this Niu Tian was somewhat special, falling into this ten-thousand-zhang abyss meant certain death all the same.
Thinking of this, its figure flashed, riding the mist as it rose into the air, planning to return and report.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, Jiang Chen was still unaware of what had happened to his good brother Niu Tian, because he could barely protect himself now.
Although he fled with all his might, he was ultimately just a mortal. After his remaining companions let out screams one after another, Jiang Chen knew things had gone wrong.
Now, a full three incomparably terrifying creatures, sweeping black mist along with them, appeared before him — scales gleaming coldly, demonic wings blotting out the sky — surrounding him completely.
The nearby mountains and ancient trees had all collapsed, razed flat to the ground. He had nowhere to hide, cut off by them.
These three creatures were incomparably terrifying, their gazes carrying keen interest and mockery. They seemed in no hurry to strike, wanting to see how he would respond.
“What do I do? Am I going to die here today? I’m not willing to accept this...”
Jiang Chen’s face was pale as he screamed madly in his heart, communicating with the Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation, feeling extreme terror.
If there was no other way out today, he really would die here.
The creatures before him were simply too powerful.
Just the aura emanating from them made his legs go weak, nearly forcing him to his knees, not daring to move.
At this moment, the Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation in his mind was also incomparably frightened.
It had only just awakened not long ago, possessed hardly any strength, and could be of no help at all.
And although Jiang Chen himself was the vessel of the Celestial Boat of Creation, after passing through reincarnation, he was now merely a mortal of flesh and blood.
Facing these creatures, each at least at the Enlightenment Realm, there was no path to survival whatsoever.
Could it be that the two of them would truly perish here today?
The Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation also fell into despair.
If it were given a bit more time, it was confident it could turn Jiang Chen into a powerhouse of a region. Although he would be unable to contend with the figures before them, escaping with his life should have been no problem.
“Little fellow, still thinking of running at a time like this? Wouldn’t it be better to just obediently wait for death?”
“We let you run for so long, and yet we still caught up with you. Tell me, don’t you deserve to die?”
The three creatures appeared in the sky above, black mist churning, wearing mocking smiles. Their expressions were like those looking at an ant — one they could slap dead with a raise of the hand.
Jiang Chen’s face was pale, utterly despairing. As a mortal who had yet to step onto the path of cultivation, he naturally could not be their match. Even if he fled, they would catch up to him.
However, just at that moment, a terrifying divine sense swept across from the sky above.
Like a vast sea of stars crashing down upon the mortal world, surging and majestic, it made one’s very soul tremble.
“Who goes there?”
The expressions of the creatures changed drastically. Staring fixedly at the sky above, their gazes filled with deep wariness, they could not help shouting loudly.
“Hmph, mere Enlightenment Realm ants dare act so insolently before this old man?”
Accompanying a cold snort, the figure of an Elderly Man in Black Robes emerged from high above.
He did not look tall, with a hooked nose and a sinister, cold countenance that gave people a bone-chilling feeling.
“Pfft!”
Shaken by the Elderly Man in Black Robes’ words, the blood and qi of these creatures roiled, and they spat out mouthfuls of blood, their expressions instantly turning incomparably horrified, hardly able to believe it.
However, they showed no fear at all, as if quickly recovering. Their gazes filled with coldness and killing intent, showing no regard whatsoever for the fact that the other party was a Sacred Realm existence.
“Do you know who the master behind us is?” they shouted angrily. “The person our master wants dead — you dare save him? You court death!”
“This old man doesn’t care who the master behind you is. Scram! This old man has taken a liking to this boy. If you don’t want to die, get the hell out of my sight!”
“Three Enlightenment Realm cultivators hunting down a single mortal — aren’t you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?”
The Elderly Man in Black Robes seemed to have quite a fiery temper. Wasting no words, he gave a cold laugh.
The next moment, he directly waved his sleeve, and terrifying power came roaring forth like billions of jun of fury.
Instantly, the creatures before him coughed up blood as they were sent flying backward, flung far into the distance in an instant, their fates unknown.
This sudden turn of events left Jiang Chen completely dumbfounded, his eyes wide, unable to react for a long while. Could this Elderly Man in Black Robes be his savior?
Only, he felt that this Elderly Man in Black Robes did not seem like a good person either. Whether in features or aura, everything about him exuded a sinister coldness.
Could it be that he had just escaped the wolf’s den only to fall into the tiger’s lair?
But then again, how accurate could judging by appearances be? When he first saw Gu Changge, who could have known he was such a venomous person?
“Thank you, Senior, for saving my life...”
Soon, Jiang Chen came back to his senses and moved to express his gratitude to the Elderly Man in Black Robes before him.
“Boy, from this day forth, I am your Dao Protector. I will help you ascend to the peak, to contend with the various prodigies of the Beyond! To make your name renowned across the Beyond!”
“Even taking your revenge and wiping out your hatred will be as easy as lifting a finger!”
But along with these words, an incomparably ice-cold hand suddenly rested on his shoulder, seemingly sizing up his physique.
Without anyone knowing when, the Elderly Man in Black Robes had vanished from where he stood and appeared beside Jiang Chen, and was even saying such things.
“Dao Protector?”
For a moment, Jiang Chen was somewhat dazed, unable to react.
This Elderly Man in Black Robes had appeared out of nowhere, saved his life, and now actually wanted to become his Dao Protector?
Did such good fortune truly exist in this world?
“Jiang Chen, be careful. This old thing seems to harbor ill intentions toward you... Don’t believe his words.”
Seeing this scene, the Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation in Jiang Chen’s mind spoke with an incomparably heavy voice.
Although it did not know this Elderly Man in Black Robes’ intentions, it could sense his malice.
And just as it was speaking.
In the palm of the Elderly Man in Black Robes, a black light suddenly appeared, like a seed, wreathed in black radiance, looking incomparably eerie.
The instant this black light emerged, it spread along Jiang Chen’s shoulder toward every corner of his body.
Then it passed through skin, flesh, and bone, finally descending toward the location of his Dantian — the very place of the Spiritual Sea at the beginning of cultivation!
This black seed was incomparably mysterious, as if composed of countless black runes, yet also pitch-black beyond measure, containing countless mysterious vortices.
“What is this?”
Jiang Chen’s eyes widened in shock. He felt his every movement, even his breathing, seemingly merge into one with this black seed.
From within his flesh and blood, a mysterious and profound power emerged, as if it could devour everything.
This black seed seemed to contain a supreme scripture, profound and intricate, every part of it unfathomably deep!
And the instant this black seed settled into place, Jiang Chen felt a miraculous power surge within his Dantian, and terrifying spiritual energy of heaven and earth rushed toward him all at once!
He felt a mighty power!
This power even made him feel that, facing those powerful enemies, he now had the confidence to fight.
“This seems to be some kind of inheritance...”
The Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation also said in shock, “And it feels incomparably profound and powerful, though it looks somewhat sinister — not like something from any righteous, prestigious path...”
Hearing this, Jiang Chen did not care about such things. “Sinister it is, then. I don’t care.”
“Hehe, boy, from this day forth, you are the one hundred and eighth Successor of the Everchanging Demonic Arts!”
“Remember that, will you?”
At this moment, the Elderly Man in Black Robes seemed quite satisfied with Jiang Chen’s shocked reaction and patted his shoulder.
On his sinister, cold face appeared a trace of a smile, looking somewhat ferocious, enough to send chills down one’s spine.
“The Everchanging Demonic Arts? The one hundred and eighth Successor?” Jiang Chen was stunned. Judging by the name, this was probably nothing good.
But at this moment, he felt an unexpected sense of peace.
Although this Black-Robed Senior looked fierce and hardly resembled a good person, he had not only saved his life.
And now, upon their very first meeting, he had even directly passed down an inheritance to him.
Such immense kindness was simply beyond repayment.
After all, how could the ways of this world be judged by appearances alone?
“Thank you, Senior, for the kindness of saving my life and imparting this inheritance!”
Jiang Chen quickly calmed his surging emotions and spoke with gratitude.
“Hehe, don’t be in such a hurry to thank this old man. This old man is no good person. And once you learn what the Everchanging Demonic Arts truly are, you won’t feel this way anymore. You might even come to resent this old man!”
Hearing this, the Elderly Man in Black Robes could not help but give a cold laugh, rather dismissive of Jiang Chen’s gratitude.
Hearing the Elderly Man in Black Robes’ words, Jiang Chen paid them little mind. Although the Elderly Man in Black Robes claimed he was no good person, compared to those who pretended to be good while being incomparably vicious behind one’s back, he was who-knew-how-many times better.
From the name alone, Jiang Chen could tell this inherited art was probably nothing of the righteous path.
But he did not care.
“I don’t care about any of that. Whether Senior is a good person or a bad one, the fact remains that Senior saved my life. That cannot be changed.”
Then, Jiang Chen let out a long breath, calmed down, and spoke thus.
“Hmph...”
The Elderly Man in Black Robes gave a cold snort, though his expression seemed to hold a trace of approval.
“This old man has been watching you being hunted for quite some time. Those creatures did not seem intent on killing you right away, but rather on letting you despair first... Just who exactly have you offended?”
Then, as if curious, or perhaps as if explaining himself, he asked aloud.
“Someone surnamed Gu!”
Hearing this, hatred surfaced in Jiang Chen’s gaze. He actually knew it too — otherwise, how could a mere mortal like him have fled for so long?
Gu Changge not only wanted to kill him, but wanted him to feel despair first, to have all hope turn to ash!
Such viciousness — this hatred was absolutely irreconcilable!
...
“Young Master, everything was done according to your instructions. We first gave them a chance to live. In the end, apart from that rather burly man who threw himself off the cliff, and that man named Jiang Chen who was suddenly rescued by an Elderly Man in Black Robes...”
“Everyone else has been dealt with, without any mishaps — body and soul annihilated on the spot.”
Within the pavilion, Gu Changge unhurriedly blew on his teacup, listening to the reports of the creatures before him, and nodded slightly.
“Understood. You may withdraw.”
With that, he took a light sip, his gaze leisurely.
Since Jiang Chen was the incarnation of the Celestial Boat of Creation, before obtaining the complete Celestial Boat of Creation, he could not move against him too early.
Gu Changge simply found him a Dao Protector. His chives, naturally, had to be watched as they grew strong and healthy.
As for that Niu Tian, he was somewhat beyond Gu Changge’s expectations, though not by much — after all, he was the brother of a Fortuitous One.
His original plan had been to see whether these companions of the Fortuitous One could, at a critical moment, encounter some fortuitous opportunity and thereby reverse a life-and-death situation.
After all, so-called Fortuity was illusory and intangible. No one could say what might happen at a critical moment.
That was why Gu Changge had not ordered the creatures he sent to kill them outright. Unfortunately, apart from Niu Tian, the others had nothing special about them.
Those who deserved to die still had to die.
“By the looks of it, this Niu Tian shouldn’t die after jumping off that cliff. I just wonder what kind of fortuitous encounter he’ll come across.”
“Surviving a great calamity brings future blessings. I hope the next time I see him, he’ll give me a pleasant surprise.”
Gu Changge smiled. He had been preparing for this step of the plan for some time now — that Fruit of Knowledge was not so easily eaten.
Unexpectedly gaining an extra chive to harvest could, one might say, be counted as an unexpected windfall.