Chapter 180 - 179: Key

Sitting in his room, a single thought sent his mind hundreds of miles away. This was Peach Blossom Valley.

The peaches are young and tender, their blossoms vibrant and bright.

Chen Qingyang hadn't focused his attention here for a long time. The last time, he had used his Conscious Fish to poke a small hole in Master Water Moon's array, stealing a tiny bit of Wood Spirit Qi and an Immortal Seedling from Master Water Moon. Now that his Conscious Fish was much stronger, he wondered if he could see through the Master's secret technique.

Employing his technique, he first observed the Seven Immortals of Peach Valley. Some were meditating in thatched huts, while others were practicing their skills under the trees. Ignoring the ones in the huts, Chen Qingyang went straight for the tree.

This white-haired old man was none other than Long Sheng. He was standing under a peach tree, and the object in his hand was the Wood Element Mystic Core.

Long Sheng was activating the array, drawing a bit of Wood Spirit Qi from it. Wherever the aura passed, Long Sheng's meridians and Qi mechanism began to strengthen, his whole body nourished and repaired.

'So that's why his injuries are healing so quickly. It must be because of this thing.'

Chen Qingyang guessed that the array Master Water Moon had laid to trap the Peach Demon must have "Wood Element" in its name. He had once spent considerable effort searching through the Cloud Scripture Jade Pavilion, but had found nothing.

He wanted to imitate his last attempt and invade the array with his Conscious Fish, but he found that the array had become particularly tight, enveloping the entire peach tree. Chen Qingyang could find no way in.

Long Sheng was completely immersed, as if he couldn't pull himself away. Remembering how Long Sheng had schemed against him, Chen Qingyang had his Conscious Fish strike, viciously stabbing into his mind.

Small golden characters floated by. Immortal Seedlings stolen this time: 111.

This was the first time he had stolen an Immortal Seedling since returning from Nine True Mountain.

Long Sheng opened his eyes, a look of confusion on his face. He stared at the peach tree for a long while, then studied the Talisman in his hand. After a moment, he let out a long sigh of relief, seeming to dismiss his worries. After all, Chen Qingyang hadn't taken much.

He then stopped his cultivation and respectfully placed three sticks of incense for the Peach Demon in the incense burner before him. Chen Qingyang figured he must think the Peach Blossom was acting up.

Long Sheng left the peach tree, and Chen Qingyang could no longer find an opportunity to enter the array. His Profound Wood Incense Burner was thus unable to absorb the Wood Spirit Qi here. Seeing that the seven brothers were all busy with their own tasks, he decided to withdraw.

But just then, an extremely loud sound of something tearing through the air rang out. Chen Qingyang looked up to see a silver cloud with a man standing on it, his hands clasped behind his back. It was Xu Wuji, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

At first glance, the man seemed approachable, but he possessed an immense aura of power. Having sensed the commotion, Long Sheng and his six brothers had already come out to greet him.

The seven men formed a semicircle and bowed, not even daring to raise their heads. A gust of wind blew, and Xu Wuji landed in front of them.

"Give it to me!"

Despite the soft tone, Long Sheng immediately raised both hands high, holding up the Command Talisman.

Xu Wuji didn't even look at him. He took the Command Talisman and walked toward the peach tree, muttering something under his breath. With his Conscious Fish, Chen Qingyang keenly sensed a strand of Qi mechanism drift down and enter Xu Wuji's body.

A faint luster emanated from his body, and he continued to speak intermittently. It seemed... he could communicate with the Peach Demon!

After observing for a good while longer, he became certain of this idea. Unfortunately, Chen Qingyang neither knew how to read lips nor understood this particular Dharma Gate, so he had no idea what was being said.

After about a quarter of an hour, Xu Wuji activated the Command Talisman again. The glow in his hand dissipated, and the conversation ended.

Then, holding the Talisman, he circled the peach tree. This time, Chen Qingyang clearly felt the entire array being activated. 'So he's inspecting it!'

When he landed again, he finally addressed the Seven Immortals. "Listen up. The Jade Peach Profound Wood is getting closer and closer to maturing. This is no small matter. You must keep a close watch on this Peach Demon, and don't let any complications arise in the meantime!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all seven agreed.

Only then did Long Sheng dare to take a small step forward. He spoke cautiously, "Senior Brother Wuji, if I may ask, what did you speak about with the Peach Spirit today?"

Xu Wuji said disdainfully, "What else could it be? This Demon Fiend has the mind of a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old at most. She's incredibly easy to trick. Master himself said that this is the only way to get the best effect from the Jade Peach Profound Wood. Otherwise, who would be willing to deal with her month after month!"

Chen Qingyang had staked this place out many times before, but he had rarely seen Xu Wuji come here in person. He was the one truly in charge of this Peach Demon; the seven men below him were just laborers.

After hearing this, Long Sheng led the other six in an immediate chorus of praise. "Senior Brother Xu is truly brilliant..."

For a moment, they all spoke at once, each one heaping on the flattery. This alone revealed much about Xu Wuji's character.

As they were speaking, he seemed to recall something unpleasant. His face soured, and he raised a hand to cut them off.

"That Chen Qingyang is too damn lucky. I thought that with my scheme, he'd be completely under my control after entering Fulu Workshop, making him easy to handle. Unfortunately, Ji Rang had to interfere and ruin my plan. But..."

His trailing off left the others too afraid to ask more, and the scene fell silent for a moment.

"...a mere Qi Refining Realm cultivator isn't worth wasting too much thought on. There will always be opportunities in the future. You all shouldn't focus your energy on this either. Remember that Master's orders are what's most important."

'From the sound of it, the Jade Peach Profound Wood is about to mature. Connecting this to the upcoming Essence Splitting Assembly, Chen Qingyang was even more certain that Master Water Moon intended to use it to break through to a higher level of cultivation.'

The Seven Immortals of Peach Valley once again agreed profusely.

Although Chen Qingyang was mentioned, it was only in passing. Afterward, Xu Wuji soared into the sky and departed, leaving the seven men behind.

Intimidated by his powerful presence, Long Sheng didn't even have a chance to mention what had just happened, and could only keep his doubts to himself.

"Senior Brother Long, it seems even Senior Brother Wuji can't deal with him. I guess we'll just have to let go of this grudge." The one speaking so passive-aggressively was Lu Sheng.

Long Sheng, however, didn't rise to the bait. "You should know what's more important. We won't go looking for him, and he won't come looking for us. It's not a mortal feud, so why can't we let it go? Instead of sowing discord, you should be thinking about the future!"

With that, he left alone.

'It sounds like Long Sheng doesn't want to be my enemy anymore.' Thinking about how he had just messed with him again, Chen Qingyang felt a little bad.

The others also returned to their own huts, leaving no one under the peach tree.

Just now, Xu Wuji had come and done only two things: communicate with the Peach Demon and inspect the array. Both tasks required the Command Talisman, which was the key to this array.

Chen Qingyang saw clearly that Xu Wuji had left the item with Long Sheng when he departed. Long Sheng had tucked it into his robes. 'If only I could snatch it and use it for a bit while Long Sheng isn't paying attention,' he mused.

Otherwise, if Master Water Moon were to take away the Jade Peach Profound Wood, it would be much harder to get any Wood Spirit Qi in the future.

Chen Qingyang cast aside the thought of retreating and had his Conscious Fish follow closely behind Long Sheng.

Long Sheng held the Command Talisman in high regard. He didn't carry it with him at all times, but usually placed it as a sacrificial offering on a long table, with three sticks of fragrant incense burning before it.

However, it would be nearly impossible for Chen Qingyang to steal it for a quick use, because Long Sheng was cultivating and meditating right in front of the Command Talisman. He couldn't perceive the Conscious Fish itself, but he could feel any disturbance it made.

After circling the Command Talisman three times, an idea flashed through Chen Qingyang's mind. ℯ

Yu'Er then shifted its form, dissolving into fine strands that all entered the Command Talisman.

The Command Talisman was like a piece of fine jade, its Qi mechanism akin to that of a Magical Treasure. Since the Conscious Fish was an intangible thing, it could enter and observe any place that could store a Qi mechanism.

Fortunately, no array had been set up inside the Command Talisman, making it extremely easy to enter and exit.

The space inside was quite large. Though it was far from being as vast as the Separation Fire Dragon Pearl, it could still be called a Grotto Heaven of its own. It moved toward a golden glow up ahead, and only upon getting closer did it realize that beneath the ball of golden light was the blurry figure of a young girl.

'This...'

'Could this girlish figure be the Peach Demon's Divine Sense? Is that why holding this item allows one to call forth the Wood Spirit Qi from the Peach Demon's body through the array?'

'As for the golden layer on the outside, that must be the seal placed by Master Water Moon, right?'

'Who could have guessed? The key isn't just a key; it hides a Divine Soul. And the tree trunk isn't just a tree trunk; it's cultivating the Jade Peach Profound Wood.'

'No wonder when I entered the Peach Demon's body last time, I sensed it was drowsy and muddled. Even though a consciousness was trying to awaken, it couldn't form a complete thought. Its Divine Soul wasn't there.'

'And what I saw Xu Wuji do just now... he wasn't awakening the Peach Demon from the peach tree, but from within this Command Talisman. The key was right in front of me the whole time, and I never would have thought of it.'

Using the Conscious Fish, he executed the Nine Yang Separation Fire Technique. Flames lanced toward the layer of golden light, cutting into it as easily as a knife through tofu.

Perhaps because the Peach Demon's Divine Sense needed to be awakened frequently, the Restriction wasn't very strong. With the power of the Li Yang Earth Fire, he quickly broke a hole in it.

Long Sheng, who was meditating, suddenly saw a flash of golden light from the item in front of him. He held the Command Talisman in his hands for a long moment, but seeing nothing amiss, he placed it back down.

At that moment, Chen Qingyang could hear a young, tender voice calling in his ear, like that of a teenage girl.

"Who... are... you..."

She sounded ignorant and dazed, as if just waking from a long dream.

Chen Qingyang didn't answer her. The voice spoke again. "You're different from the last person. He just told me... in a few more months... the Jade Peach Profound Wood will be complete. Then I'll be able to form a Yin Spirit Body and instantly advance my cultivation to Foundation Establishment..."

"Also... Water Moon will be my master..."

She chattered on, not caring who Chen Qingyang was, and laid out the whole story.