Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

'Still, the Jade Void Sect was destroyed only a few hundred years ago. Have so few people already heard of it?'

"Protective items are categorized as Tier One Magical Artifacts, Tier Two Magical Treasures, and Tier Three Innate Spiritual Artifacts. Sir, do you know what Tier Four is?"

"What?"

"Pure Yang Spiritual Treasures!"

The Shopkeeper's expression turned solemn.

"They say that within the vast cosmos exist the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, and each world can only give birth to a single Pure Yang Spiritual Treasure. However, the Jade Void Sect once traversed many of these worlds, seizing their very source to refine several Pure Yang Spiritual Treasures."

"Well..." Zhu Ju stroked his chin.

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"

"That's how the legend goes. Of course, people like us wouldn't know if it's true or not." The Shopkeeper snapped back to reality and continued,

"It's said the Jade Void Sect possessed a Pure Yang Spiritual Treasure called the Creation Gourd, which held the power of creation itself!"

"Fellow Daoist," Zhu Ju sighed in exasperation.

"What does this have to do with the item here?"

"I'm getting to it." The Shopkeeper waved his hand unhurriedly.

"The Creation Gourd couldn't have appeared from thin air. It grew on the Creation Vine. And this thing right here is that very Creation Immortal Vine!"

?

Beneath his magic robe were Zhu Ju's utterly emotionless eyes.

"You don't believe me, Fellow Daoist?"

The Shopkeeper said adamantly,

"This item is indestructible; not even a High Grade Magical Treasure could hope to scratch it. It also contains faint traces of Spirituality. However, even when irrigated with Innate Spiritual Milk, it only shows the slightest reaction, which proves its foundation is astonishingly profound."

"Add to that the fact that it's made of wood, and it's almost certain this is a piece of the Creation Immortal Vine!"

"Fine," Zhu Ju nodded.

"Even if it is the Creation Immortal Vine, why would it have fallen to such a state?"

'The Creation Gourd is a Pure Yang Spiritual Treasure. How could the thing that birthed it be a Mortal Grade item?'

"There's something you don't know, sir."

The Shopkeeper said,

"When the Creation Gourd was born, it absorbed all the Spiritual Mechanism for ten thousand miles around. It wouldn't have spared the Creation Immortal Vine, of course. That's why this treasure has lost all of its internal Spirituality, leaving only its indestructible resilience."

"Hmm..."

"A Golden Core Grandmaster once tried to refine it, but even their Pill Fire had no effect."

"And though it doesn't look large, it's as heavy as a mountain. An ordinary Golden Core would struggle just to hold it."

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes shot wide open.

He saw Zhu Ju grip the short staff with one hand, lift it effortlessly, and even swing it back and forth a few times.

The simple movements produced a low peal of thunder, causing the entire shop to tremble slightly.

"S-Senior."

The Shopkeeper's face turned pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Senior, please forgive me."

'A Golden Core!'

'Only a Golden Core Grandmaster could wield this item so easily.'

"Not bad."

Zhu Ju stopped and asked thoughtfully,

"What's it called?"

"The Winding Dragon Staff." The Shopkeeper, drenched in sweat, gave a strained laugh.

"What this junior said earlier was just what the previous owner told me. As for whether it's true... this junior doesn't know either."

"Hmph!" Zhu Ju snorted.

"The Creation Immortal Vine..."

"If it were really that legendary item, it wouldn't have ended up in this state. Still, this thing suits my tastes."

THUD!

With a wave of his hand, he dropped a heavy storage pouch onto the table.

"Appraise this!"

*

*

*

「Meanwhile.」

While his Outer Body Incarnation went to the marketplace to hunt for treasures, Zhu Ju's real body arrived at a quiet corner of the market.

This was a place for injured Righteous Cultivators to recuperate.

The air was filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

It was quiet and peaceful.

Secluded from the world.

CREAK...

Zhu Ju pushed open the courtyard gate and saw a graceful figure standing beneath a Spirit Vine, tending to the flowers and plants.

"Senior Sister Dong!"

He cupped his fist in his other hand.

"You were looking for me."

"Mm."

Dong Yuelan turned at the sound of his voice, a smile on her face.

"It's been a long time."

'Hm?'

Zhu Ju frowned slightly.

Her aura was calm, her face held a smile, and her eyes shimmered brightly. She showed no trace of sorrow over her sect's destruction.

'Strange.'

'Not only is her expression odd, but even her greeting seems off.'

As thoughts raced through his mind, Zhu Ju cupped his fists again, his face impassive.

"I heard that the Hundred Flowers Sect's garrison was betrayed and that your Sect Leader unfortunately perished. Senior Sister Dong, my condolences."

"Everyone has to die eventually." Dong Yuelan clapped her hands lightly, set down the medicine shovel she was holding, and walked over slowly.

"Even the legendary Immortals are not truly undying. Since that's the case, why care so much?"

"Sit."

She gestured with her hand and picked up the teapot to pour some tea.

"You have a very philosophical view, Senior Sister."

Zhu Ju nodded, his gaze lingering on her as a dazed look appeared in his eyes.

"What is it?" Dong Yuelan gently stroked her hair.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You feel..." Zhu Ju said slowly.

"Familiar."

Dong Yuelan had delicate features and a comely appearance, but her sharp brow gave her an aggressive, piercing air.

But now...

She was the same person, with the same face.

But the slight lowering of her brow, the softness in her gaze, the subtle change in the flesh of her cheeks—all of it was different from before.

It was as if she had become a different person.

Become...

"Yuann Tong!"

Zhu Ju's expression was complicated.

"Is it you?"

"..." Dong Yuelan—or rather, Zhou Yuantong—pressed her lips together slightly and slowly sat down across from him.

"We were husband and wife, together day and night for so many years. I never thought I'd be unable to fool you even like this."

"Husband, we finally meet again."

She slowly raised her head, her beautiful eyes filled with affection, but looking out from another person's face, it was an extremely bizarre sight.

"What did you do to her?" Zhu Ju frowned.

"A Puppet?"

'Zhou Yuantong was actually able to occupy Dong Yuelan's physical body, and without any outward signs of abnormality.'

After all...

Dong Yuelan was a Mid-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator!

Even a Fake Pill Cultivator, or even a Golden Core Grandmaster, would find it incredibly difficult to control someone so perfectly.

"She's fine."

Zhou Yuantong shook her head gently.

"I used a Secret Technique to plant a Heart Demon Seed in her Primordial Spirit. At critical moments, I can control her physical body or create some false memories. It won't have any real effect on her."

"Husband, you should know very well that this is the Joyful Sect's specialty."

Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes.

'The Joyful Sect did have similar Methods, but to achieve this level of control was by no means simple.'

"It's all thanks to you, Husband."

Zhou Yuantong smiled, her lips pursed.

"It was because of you that I comprehended the Supreme Forget Love Method. I can now bewitch people's minds without even having formed a Golden Core."

"But you're not so bad yourself, Husband."

Her beautiful eyes crinkled with a smile as she said,

"You're only at the Mid-Stage Dao Foundation, yet you've already comprehended a Divine Technique like Sword Qi Thunder Sound. And based on what I know of you, I'm sure you have other tricks up your sleeve, some likely even more powerful. That's why I didn't dare reveal myself to you."

"After all..."

"I really did want to kill you back then."

"..." Zhu Ju's eyes flickered.

"Let the past be the past. We were both forced into a helpless situation back then."

"Hee hee..." Zhou Yuantong giggled charmingly.

"I just knew you wouldn't mind, Husband."

"The Seven Emotions and Six Desires Cross Method... You were able to teach me such a skill, so how could you be bound by something like love?"

"But I can't!"

She looked up at the sky and murmured,

"This physical body was originally supposed to become a Furnace Tripod for some Fake Pill Cultivator. After all, a Mid-Stage Dao Foundation Cultivator who still has a Pure Yin Body is extremely rare. But I had to let her go, simply because she knows you."

Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes.

'He and Zhou Yuantong had once been truly in love.'

'But they had been apart for decades, nearly a century. Her personality had probably changed long ago.'

'And Zhou Yuantong's reason for making Dong Yuelan return wasn't so simple, either. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of using a Secret Technique to plant a Demon Seed?'

"Oh, right."

Looking down, Zhou Yuantong smiled with pursed lips.

"The Joyful Sect has a certain line of business: we select suitable Furnace Tripods for the right people from various sects."

"They provide the Spirit Stones, we take care of the kidnapping. Right now, I'm the second-in-command of this business."

"Oh!" Zhu Ju nodded.

"Congratulations..."

Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed.

"Someone has their eyes on people from the Bright Void Sect?"

"That's right." Zhou Yuantong nodded.

"The Sect Leader of the Bright Void Sect, Pei Jingque, took a Life-Taking Pill and is no longer a virgin, so no one is interested in her."

"Liuu Huang'er is already pregnant. Unless someone wants to use her to refine a Mother and Child Demon, she's not worth much either."

"But Shui Qianning and Xi Chen... they are both quite valuable."

WHOOSH!

Before she finished speaking, Zhu Ju had already shot into the sky, heading straight for the Bright Void Sect's residence in the marketplace.

Shui Qianning!