Ning Buwei was very puzzled by Chu Jun’s agreement to help, after all, Chu Jun wasn’t known for his helpful nature.
Oddly enough, that Jimo Hongcai kept trying to get close to Chu Jun.
“Fellow Cultivator Chu, where are you from?” Jimo Hongcai asked with a smile.
“Zhen Prefecture.”
“My uncle is also in Zhen Prefecture. He’s now an elder of the Wushi Sect,” Jimo Hongcai said. “Years ago, he originally accompanied my mother to participate in the sect’s grand selection. Unexpectedly, my mother wasn’t chosen, but he caught the eye of the Wushi Sect. Later, my mother joined the Qingdan Sect, and over the years, they’ve only kept in touch through letters…”
Ning Buwei thought to himself, “Who wants to hear about your family affairs?” As he strode forward, Jimo Hongcai’s delicate little junior sister approached him to strike up a conversation. “Fellow Cultivators Li and Chu, are you here to seek treasure?”
“Mm,” Ning Buwei responded coolly.
“Oh my!” Bu Qing, walking beside him, suddenly fell towards him. Ning Buwei nimbly dodged to the side, and Bu Qing fell to the ground.
Bu Qing, her face pale, clutched her ankle. The brothers Zong Liu and Zong Sheng hurriedly came forward. “Junior sister, what happened?”
Bu Qing, in considerable pain, said, “I accidentally twisted my foot.”
Jimo Hongcai also came forward. “Junior sister, you’re too careless.”
Bu Qing retorted angrily, “I just didn’t see where I was stepping.”
She then glared at Ning Buwei resentfully, upset that he didn’t even offer a hand to help her up, but instead dodged away.
Ning Buwei remained expressionless. He knew alchemists were weak, but he didn’t expect them to be this fragile, twisting an ankle while walking on flat ground.
While the others were busy helping their junior sister, Ning Buwei unhurriedly walked to Chu Jun’s side.
Chu Jun handed him a freshly picked fruit. “Try this.”
Ning Buwei took the fruit and weighed it in his hand. “Where did you pick it from?”
“From that purple jade tree just now,” Chu Jun said.
Ning Buwei took a bite. It was sweet and refreshing, somewhat similar to the taste of nine-petal lotus petals. He leaned against the tree and finished the fruit in a few bites.
“Why did you decide to help them?” Ning Buwei asked him.
“That small cauldron at his waist is called the Five Mountains Cauldron. It can refine celestial-grade soul-stabilizing pills,” Chu Jun said. “It would be beneficial for Ning Xiu.”
Ning Buwei instantly found that colorful rooster much more appealing. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Why don’t I kill him and take the cauldron so we can refine it ourselves?”
Chu Jun put his hand on Ning Buwei’s shoulder to prevent him from acting rashly. “This cauldron only recognizes members of the Jimo clan as its master. Taking it would be useless.”
Ning Buwei raised an eyebrow. “I thought you weren’t letting me kill innocents indiscriminately.”
“There’s no need,” Chu Jun said, casually helping him adjust his poorly covered front collar before withdrawing his hand.
Ning Buwei smiled and said, “You’re quite an interesting person.”
Chu Jun glanced at him. “Why didn’t you help that girl earlier?”
Ning Buwei stretched lazily and casually plucked a flower from the tree. “What if I helped her and she took a liking to me, insisting on dragging me back to the Qingdan Sect? Then my son would be left without a father.”
Chu Jun: “……”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot you’re a father too.” Ning Buwei flexed his wrist, then tucked the flower he was holding into Chu Jun’s collar before walking over to Jimo Hongcai and the others.
Chu Jun lowered his gaze to look at the small pink flower, then reached up to remove it.
The group used spiritual power and pills to heal Bu Qing’s ankle, then resumed their journey.
Jimo Hongcai walked up to Chu Jun to continue their conversation, only to see the intimidating man in black approach and forcefully separate them.
Ning Buwei stared at Jimo Hongcai with an unfriendly gaze for a while before slowly opening his mouth, “Are there many people in your Jimo family?”
Chu Jun’s brow twitched upon hearing this.
Jimo Hongcai replied amiably, “The Jimo clan is very large, with numerous members.”
Ning Buwei curled his lips, “Not bad.”
Jimo Hongcai was confused, “‘Not bad’… what?”
Ning Buwei’s hand itched, and he thought to himself, of course it’s not bad that if I kill one of you, there are still many more who can use this cauldron.
Seeing Ning Buwei staring at him with a fake smile, Jimo Hongcai instinctively sensed danger and laughed nervously, “I-I’ll go check on my junior sister.”
Ning Buwei snorted coldly.
Chu Jun said, “He just talks a bit too much.”
Ning Buwei said expressionlessly, “He also has too many eyes.”
Chu Jun: “?”
Behind the two of them, Jimo Hongcai came over to ask Bu Qing, “Is your foot still hurting?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Bu Qing glanced at the two men in front. “Why aren’t you talking to them anymore?”
Jimo Hongcai naturally couldn’t say that the man in black was too intimidating, so he cleared his throat and said, “I was just making conversation with Fellow Cultivator Chu to thank him for his help.”
Bu Qing didn’t believe his nonsense and rolled her eyes.
“Senior brother, the Sect Leader and others should have gone to the Dao Discussion Conference by now. When we get out, shall we go directly to the Canghai Tower?” Zong Liu asked.
“Let’s first get out and contact the Sect Leader before deciding,” Jimo Hongcai said. “We’re fortunate to catch this Dao Discussion Conference, we absolutely can’t miss it.”
“I heard that Sang Xuanqing from the Canghai Tower and the Wang family’s ancestor Wang Bin will both come to lecture, as well as Zen Master Ming Sang… I wonder if Dean Hao Zheng from the Wanxuan Academy will come,” Zong Sheng said with a look of longing. “At the last Dao Discussion Conference, a Golden Core stage cultivator had an epiphany after listening, and after passing his tribulation, he became a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator.”
Bu Qing said resentfully, “Master had just said he could only bring three disciples in, and then we got separated and lost our way. If someone didn’t meddle in this, even ghosts wouldn’t believe it.”
Jimo Hongcai persuaded, “What’s done is done. We should focus on getting out as soon as possible.”
They were in a hurry to get out, but Ning Buwei was in no rush.
He had originally planned to take these couple of days to build up his resources, and coincidentally stumbled upon this barely explored Purple Mansion Secret Realm. Naturally, he wouldn’t let go of this excellent opportunity.
The group hadn’t walked far when the treasure-seeking talisman in Ning Buwei’s sleeve flickered.
Chu Jun saw his eager expression and asked, “What is it?”
“There’s something good nearby.” Ning Buwei took out the talisman from his sleeve and followed it into the adjacent forest.
Chu Jun turned to Jimo Hongcai and the others, saying, “You can wait here.”
Jimo Hongcai and his group had no choice but to agree.
Ning Buwei quickly traversed the forest following the treasure-seeking talisman. Soon, he heard the roar of water, followed by a fine mist of moisture hitting his face.
He saw a waterfall dozens of zhang high, thundering down from a steep cliff. It was like a vast sea suspended in midair, its sound like thunder splitting mountains, roaring and surging with an imposing and breathtaking momentum.
In the misty spray, Ning Buwei looked up behind the waterfall. A flickering black object with flowing gold was barely visible behind the water curtain, extending all the way to the top of the waterfall, exuding intense spiritual energy.
Chu Jun arrived a step later, walking to Ning Buwei’s side, and asked, “You want this knife?”
Ning Buwei hadn’t realized it was a knife, but regardless of what it was, putting good things in his own pocket was never a mistake. He summoned the Heavenly Wave Ruler, preparing to retrieve the object from the waterfall. “Of course I want it.”
“Who goes there!” A powerful voice suddenly rang out above the waterfall, followed by the overwhelming pressure of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator bearing down on them.
Chu Jun immediately waved his sleeve. Before Ning Buwei could react, he forcefully countered the pressure with his own Mahayana cultivator’s aura, instantly silencing the other party.
Ning Buwei, who had been ready for a fight to snatch the treasure: “……”
This was really bullying.
But he had to admit, successfully intimidating the other party felt quite satisfying.
The Nascent Soul cultivator, whether from the Wang family or the Sang family of the Canghai Tower, left at lightning speed. It wasn’t clear if they truly fled or went to seek reinforcements. Ning Buwei turned to Chu Jun and said, “Thanks.”
“Let’s act quickly,” Chu Jun told him.
Ning Buwei nodded. Just as he was about to infuse spiritual power into the Heavenly Wave Ruler, he saw Chu Jun fly directly to the waterfall. Chu Jun manipulated the water flow to form a giant hand, concentrated spiritual power to grasp the inconspicuous black object behind the waterfall, and pulled hard.
Instantly, the earth shook and the mountains trembled. The waterfall rang out with a metallic sound.
The black knife was clearly pulled out a bit, but it wasn’t enough. Ning Buwei flew to his side, standing on the Suzaku Narrow Blade. His Heavenly Wave Ruler suddenly enlarged, sucking the dozens of zhang high waterfall into it. Finally, the true form of the black knife was revealed.
It was a fish-bone shaped long knife, one side a sharp edge, the other side long spikes, as tall as the waterfall. The blade was deeply embedded in the rock beneath the waterfall. On the blade body, the characters “Purple Flame” were inscribed in small seal script, emitting a cold, dark light.
“The Purple Flame Knife.” Ning Buwei’s gaze was glued to the blade, his eyes revealing a determined look. He had always felt that the Suzaku Knife wasn’t very attractive. This Purple Flame Knife looked imposing and perfectly matched his aesthetic for knives.
The Suzaku Narrow Blade under his feet: ……
Chu Jun was taken aback by the knife’s unusual appearance and asked Ning Buwei, “Are you sure you want this?”
Although it seemed to be a good knife, it was indeed rather ugly.
Ning Buwei reached out to touch the blade. “Of course. Who wouldn’t want such a beautiful knife?”
Chu Jun: “……”
Venerable Jinghe fell silent for a moment, then continued to help him pull out the knife.
Ning Buwei struck the rock where the blade was embedded with his ruler. Instantly, there was a clang of metal, and a purple light arose from the blade, faintly resonating with the Heavenly Wave Ruler. Then, a tangible knife shadow shot directly towards Ning Buwei.
Ning Buwei flipped to the side, nimbly dodging it. He thought to himself that it indeed wasn’t so simple. Looking up, he saw the knife shadow heading straight for Chu Jun, who was still standing motionless. Gritting his teeth, Ning Buwei lunged forward, grabbing Chu Jun around the waist to dodge, angrily shouting, “What are you thinking!?”
Chu Jun was startled by his shout.
Ning Buwei turned his head and found himself face to face with Chu Jun’s excessively beautiful phoenix eyes. His breath caught embarrassingly, and he softened his tone, “I’m not angry at you.”
Chu Jun came to his senses and looked towards the Purple Flame Knife. “That knife shadow just now was an illusion.”
Meaning it couldn’t actually harm anyone.
Ning Buwei abruptly released his hand from Chu Jun’s waist and said stiffly, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“My fault,” Chu Jun said, a fleeting smile passing through his eyes. When Ning Buwei turned to glare at him, he immediately sobered and said, “The blade won’t budge. There must be a mechanism. Let’s go down and take a look.”
So the two of them dove beneath the waterfall. After exploring, they indeed found a hidden door with a formation array at the bottom of the water. Chu Jun pointed it out, and Ning Buwei nodded. They simultaneously activated their spiritual power to break through the formation, and were instantly sucked into the hidden door.
****
Ning Buwei opened his eyes to see a person dressed as a servant cautiously approaching him, saying, “Young Master, the Madam has arrived.”
He was puzzled, but then saw Chu Jun enter the room wearing pink clothes. He almost laughed out loud, “Madam?”
The servant tremblingly said, “The eight concubines you kept outside were all executed by the Madam in a fit of anger.”
Ning Buwei: “……”
What a cruel Madam.
Seeing no reaction from Ning Buwei, the servant’s face showed a hint of confusion. Noticing this, Ning Buwei said, “If they were executed, so be it.”
The confusion in the servant’s eyes grew stronger.
Ning Buwei’s mind turned, and he slapped the armchair, “You jealous woman!”
The servant finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing him angry, they all retreated, leaving only Ning Buwei and Chu Jun in the room.
Chu Jun casually set up a barrier around them and said. “This should be a phantasm of obsession left by the previous owner of the Purple Flame Knife.”
Ning Buwei nodded, but his gaze couldn’t help but glance at Chu Jun’s delicate pink clothes. Holding back his laughter, he said, “First, we need to find the owner and the obsession.”
Some magic treasure owners, whether they ascended or perished, would leave their unresolved obsessions in the magic treasure, forming illusions as a test for the next owner to obtain the magic treasure. Cultivators who did this usually had deep feelings for their magic treasures. Even if they were gone, they hoped the magic treasure could find a good home.
The key to breaking the phantasm of obsession was to find the magic treasure’s owner and change the thing they couldn’t let go of most.
Chu Jun said, “The owner of this Purple Flame Knife was a cultivator from ten thousand years ago. He was once a prodigy, but now he’s disabled and can no longer use the knife.”
Only when Ning Buwei heard Chu Jun say this did he realize that he couldn’t feel his legs, and he was sitting in a wheelchair.
“Being disabled yet still keeping so many concubines, tsk.” Ning Buwei guessed. “Could his obsession be the eight concubines killed by his wife?”
Chu Jun shook his head, “It probably isn’t.”
“That’s true, those concubines were killed as soon as we arrived.” Ning Buwei leaned back lazily in his wheelchair, “Now that his legs are useless, could it be that he wants to stand again? Or perhaps he wants to reconcile with his wife?”
“Both are possible,” Chu Jun said. “Let’s split up and gather some information first.”
Ning Buwei nodded, then his gaze caught sight of a corner of clothing slowly retracting under the nearby bed. “Who’s there? Come out!”
A child of about three or four years old crawled out from under the bed, looking at them timidly, “Greetings, Father, Mother.”
Ning Buwei and Chu Jun were both stunned for a moment.
There was actually a child.
The young child’s face was smeared with dust, and his sleeves were worn. He knelt on the ground and bowed to them properly.
“Come here,” Ning Buwei frowned, seeing how small the child was.
Unexpectedly, the child shuddered at his words, but still forced himself to walk towards him.
The three or four-year-old toddler couldn’t walk very steadily. As he approached Ning Buwei, his legs gave out and he nearly fell to the ground, but Chu Jun caught him.
The child fearfully struggled free from his grasp and said tearfully. “Mother… Huanhuan was wrong…”
Ning Buwei and Chu Jun exchanged a glance, then Chu Jun continued. “Where are you wrong?”
Huanhuan wiped his tears vigorously and looked at them, sobbing. “Huanhuan is willing…willing to be sacrificed for Father’s knife.”
Ning Buwei’s heart instantly sank.
