Chapter 046

Chapter 46: I Bet With You

[Did he hear it wrong?]

The girl wore a veil. She was slim, a little taller than the person he knew, and her eyes were colder. Even when she looked at people, there was a chill in her gaze, distant and without feeling. [No. This is not Seventh junior sister.] Seventh junior sister had always been gentle and sweet, with a soft smile in her eyes. She was the most understanding disciple on Azure Cloud Peak and the best at caring for others. How could she say something so sharp, rude, and full of challenge?

Still, Ji Chang Huai could not move his eyes away from the girl. [She looks too much like her.]

Fang He An and Li Wan Zhi looked toward Ji Chang Huai, then one of the men declared loudly to the crowd: “Of course we can open this door. Young Master Ji is the Azure Cloud Peak master’s personal disciple, best at breaking restrictions and array arts. We invited him here to undo the seals on this door.”

Someone snorted from the nose and said with scorn: “What is so great about that.”

Everyone knew Azure Cloud Peak’s Dao Sovereign Yan Ding had two supreme skills: one was Array Dao, and the other was sword arts, with Sword Formation at the peak. With only a Divine Transformation Stage base, he had challenged Void Refinement Stage experts and never fell behind. So of course his disciples also inherited Array Dao and knew restriction arts. Li Yun had picked the right helper.

Among Yan Ding’s seven disciples, Ji Chang Huai was the one most skilled in array arts, except for Ye Wan Wan.

Ye Wan Wan looked at Ji Chang Huai with a half smile and asked: “So the Supreme Sect also wants the treasure in this Cloud Mountain Cave?”

Ji Chang Huai felt her words prick like a needle and said with a frown: “There is a Woodfire Spirit inside. I want to take it for my junior sister.” He turned to Li Yun and added: “This is what I agreed with you.”

Li Yun answered fast: “Of course. Whatever Young Master Ji wants, we will not get in the way.”

Ye Wan Wan let out a cold laugh and asked: “If I remember right, your junior sister has a Water Spiritual Root. Why do you want a Woodfire Spirit?”

Ji Chang Huai’s face sank. He stepped forward and released his pressure all at once, forcing Ye Wan Wan to step back, as he said: “I want it, so I will take it. What does that have to do with you? Do I need to explain anything to you?”

Ye Wan Wan did not reply. At once Bai Jian moved in front of her and met his pressure head on.

Ji Chang Huai did not give an inch. His eyes pressed down like a weight, his aura soaring, and everyone felt a sudden, terrible throb in their hearts.

Someone gasped and said: “Golden Core Stage Great Perfection.”

Another whispered: “He is only one step from Nascent Soul.”

A third guessed: “No, maybe Ji Chang Huai has already touched Nascent Soul Stage. He must be suppressing his realm to hunt treasure for Ye Qian.”

Sensing his strength, Li Yun and his people were both shocked and pleased. Shocked, because Ji Chang Huai might be the strongest one in this secret realm group. Pleased, because they had not offended such a powerful cultivator. As for Ye Wan Wan’s side, they were doomed.

Someone muttered: “I saw their teacher last night. They seem to be from Heavenly One Sect.”

Another said: “Heavenly One Sect? The one that has skipped sect tournaments for over a hundred years and got removed from the top three?”

A third confirmed: “That is them.”

A fourth added in a low voice: “Some say their sect closed long ago. These few were only taken in recently and do not have much skill.”

No one dared answer that last line. After all, Bai Jian was Late Golden Core, only slightly weaker than Ji Chang Huai.

Bai Jian frowned. Her palm twitched, ready to summon her sword, but a hand pressed on her shoulder. Ye Wan Wan spoke softly: “Senior sister, I am fine.”

Ye Wan Wan raised her eyes and met Ji Chang Huai’s gaze without fear as she said: “Since both of us want the Woodfire Spirit, then let us each rely on our own skill.”

Ji Chang Huai gave a small, mocking smile and asked: “You want to fight me?”

Ye Wan Wan kept a calm face and said: “No need to fight. Let us break the restrictions on this door. Whoever opens it in the shortest time will own the Woodfire Spirit.”

Ji Chang Huai found it even funnier and asked: “You want to compete in arrays with me?”

Ye Wan Wan bowed her head a little and said: “I am not worthy, but I want to ask Senior Brother Ji for some guidance. Do you dare to accept?”

Ji Chang Huai frowned. In truth, he had been looking for Ye Qian and Dou Ming when Li Yun invited him midway. He came because the Woodfire Spirit was special and might help Seventh junior sister. Ye Wan Wan’s Golden Core had been taken; her path to cultivate later would be hard. But with a Woodfire Spirit, she could still become an alchemist. [I do not want to admit Ye Wan Wan is dead. In my mind, she did not jump to her death from despair. If I pave the road for her, junior sister will come back. She will.]

He lifted his chin and said: “Fine, I will bet with you.”

Ye Wan Wan answered at once: “All right.”

Li Yun suddenly had a bright idea and said: “Only this bet feels too light. The Woodfire Spirit was already something Senior Brother Ji could take. Whether you are here or not, it would still be his. Now he has to waste time because of you. Should you not show some sincerity and put up a stake?”

As he said this, he changed “Young Master Ji” to “Senior Brother Ji,” pulling them closer on purpose.

Ji Chang Huai did not object. He also wanted to see what this girl could bring out.

There were many things in Ye Wan Wan’s Violet Cloud Ring, but nothing she could show that would truly move Ji Chang Huai. If she did, they would guess she had already been to Sheep’s Head Valley.

Then she remembered something and turned her hand over to take it out.

People glanced at the item in her palm and started to sneer as someone said: “You think a third grade herb can trade for a Woodfire Spirit that every alchemist dreams of?”

In Ye Wan Wan’s hand lay a Jade Dew Flower. It nourished and tempered a Golden Core, helpful to cultivators whose Golden Core Stage was unstable. For someone like Ji Chang Huai, already Late Golden Core, it was not much use. But it would help Ye Qian.

Ye Qian used Ye Wan Wan’s Golden Core through a forced spirit transfer. Even though the Ye Clan and Azure Cloud Peak used rare treasures to stabilize it, she would still feel some stiffness in cultivation. Jade Dew Flower could be refined into Jade Dew Pill. If taken often, it would temper and stabilize the Golden Core. It was the exact medicine she needed.

So while Li Yun’s group mocked, Ji Chang Huai’s eyes locked on the Jade Dew Flower with surprise and a clear need to have it.

Ye Wan Wan’s eyes showed a trace of ridicule as she thought: [I knew it. When it comes to Ye Qian, Ji Chang Huai turns foolish.]

She raised her chin and asked: “How is it? Are you satisfied with this Jade Dew Flower, Senior Brother Ji?”

Ji Chang Huai answered in a low voice: “Yes.”

Ye Wan Wan put the item away and asked: “Then who goes first?”

Ji Chang Huai said evenly: “You just arrived. You go first.”

Ye Wan Wan lifted her eyes and smiled as she asked: “Senior Brother Ji, if I go first and open the door first, how do we count that?”

The people nearby burst into laughter at her words as one of them jeered: “Do you know we have been stuck here for three days? We could not shake the restriction on this Cloud Mountain Cave. You are only a Qi Refining Stage girl, and you dare brag like this.”

Another mocked: “First time out to see the world. She still thinks it is that tiny, broken Heavenly One Sect.”

Ye Wan Wan ignored the laughter and looked only at Ji Chang Huai.

Ji Chang Huai said coolly: “There are three layers of restriction here. You open the first. I will open the second. Whoever uses less time will open the third first. When the door opens, the winner picks any item. No one else gets to object.”

Ye Wan Wan nodded once and said: “Deal.”

She walked straight toward the Cloud Mountain Cave.

Li Yun’s group watched with sneers as one of them said: “How shameful. If I were her senior brother, I would drag her away instead of letting her show off that tiny bit of skill.”