Chapter 260 Meaty Pork Crackling Noodle (o)

Translated by Gumihou

Edited by Gumihou

 

Warning: AutoGumi at work, so is SnarkyGumi

 

Shiyu clutched at the jade talisman, deciding that it’s probably best to show this to Fat Cat and Old Gu. The talisman was probably something that was made during their era. Moreover, both had reached the peak of their powers in their time, therefore, they could probably tell her what this talisman is.

When Shiyu reached the public square [1], she was just in time to see Lin Fan being supported down from the stage. A glance at his opponent was enough for Shiyu to know that Tan-Tai Chu had not fared well in the fight either. The girl was covered in blood and looked even more miserable due to the lack of supporters around her.

“How is Lin Fan?” Shiyu asked as she came over.

“It just looks bad, he should be alright after some rest,” said Feng Luo. “After all, as Cultivators, we have nothing better to do aside from fighting and recovering from our fight.”

“… …” it sounds oddly accurate.

“Still, Lin Fan is really amazing. He won this round too. I’m just worried that girl would come back and make trouble after a rest,” Feng Luo muttered.

Shiyu could only smile at this.

They supported Lin Fan back to the Villa where Feng Luo helped Lin Fan apply medicine. Shiyu came forward to help but found herself pretty much superfluous to the task. Therefore, after leaving the medicines on the side for Feng Luo, she left in search of Old Gu.

Ever since the whole Divine Tea debacle, there had been too many powerful people within the Imperial Capital. With the added complication of the increasingly volatile political climate, Old Gu had taken to secluding himself away from public eyes. In the end, no matter how powerful he was, Old Gu was a spirit without a body. If this was discovered by certain individuals… well, while they were not exactly afraid, it was better to avoid problems if they could.

When she managed to track down Old Gu, Shiyu did not bother with superfluous speeches and showed him the jade talisman. “Old Gu, could you take a look at this for me? Do you know this jade talisman?”

Old Gu took the jade talisman and studied it curiously. “Let’s see, the materials used to make this is similar to soul jade, but the soul energy within is gone. Do you know what it’s been used for?”

“It’s used to temporarily block the influence of the Dao of Suppression for a short time,” said Shiyu.

“Temporarily?” Old Gu frowned. He looked over the jade talisman and again. After a while, his brows cleared and he said, “I know that this is. To think that this kind of artefact still exists in this day and age…” he sounded a little emotional as he traced the surface of the jade with his fingers.

“Old Gu, this thing…”

“It is made from a material that’s similar to the Primordial Stone that could obstruct Heaven’s Laws. A person with the Primordial Stone could traverse the Nine Realms and not be subjected to its laws. However, the Primordial Stone is too rare. This must be Soul Jade imbued with the Qi of Origin. By borrowing the power of the Qi of Origin, it mimics the Primordial stone and obscures Heaven’s Laws.”

Shiyu went slacked jawed. She said, “This is the first time I hear about Primordial Stones and Qi of Origin. Old Gu could you explain a bit more…”

“Ahem, ahem,” Old Gu smacked his forehead and said. “Ah, I forgot that none of you has ever been the outside of Ninth Realm. The Primordial Stone is the solidified form of the Qi of Origin. I’ve traversed the whole Nine Realms and the largest piece of Primordial Stone I’d ever seen was only the size of a thumb. From the heavens all the way down to the earth, less than 10 people have ever seen a Primordial Stone.

Legend has it that this stone is the key to becoming an Immortal. However, no one has the opportunity to test this theory out, so no one knows whether it’s true or not. However, the fact that this stone could shield you against the effects of Heaven’s Law is true. As for other uses, there were many according to the rumours. Nevertheless, I have never personally verified any of them.

Compare to the Primordial Stone, the Qi of Origin is more abundant. It could be found from three different sources. First, mineral veins where the highest quality Spirit Jade is mined; second, trace amounts of it could be found in 10,000-year-old precious herbs and plants; third, is in the boundless sky, however, great luck is needed for that fortunate encounter.

Qi of Origin has many uses. Its best capability is prolonging one’s life. If you happen to come across some, make sure to not let go of it.”

“… …” Shiyu seemed to have picked up some kind of hint from Old Gu’s words…

“If I could collect Origin of Qi, does that mean I could make talismans like this?” asked Shiyu.

“Of course,” said Old Gu. “However, the components to make this talisman are too rare. I fear that people with this in their possession would have unimaginable backgrounds. You must take care.”

“En,” Shiyu nodded. “I will be careful.”

After getting a vague understanding of how this talisman works, Shiyu made her way to the Saint’s Dwelling. Out of habit, she looked around but did not see even a shadow of Fat Cat. Since the cat was not around, Shiyu made her way towards the precious herb field.

Of the total space available to her, she had dedicated two-thirds of the space to precious medicinal plants. The rest of the third was dedicated to vegetables, fruits as well as a pond for lotus plants.

The medicinal plants within the field were all robust. Some were even starting to emit light. Just now Old Gu said that Origin of Qi could be found in 10,000-year-old plants. Looking at her abundant field, Shiyu wondered if it’s possible to find some Origin of Qi in her own backyard.

After some thought, she called Ocean Heart Flame out. “Have a look at this medicine field. Is there any that would help you grow once you eat them? If there’s any, leave a mark for me to see.”

There was enough consciousness for Ocean Heart Flame to understand her order as it shot forward and began to dart through the medicine field. A short time later, it flew back to Shiyu. When she looked at her field again, she found that some medicinal plants have small flames floating next to them.

“All these?” Shiyu picked one up to examine. “Will you go to sleep like San Pang if I feed you?”

The little flame rolled and tumbled over her arm making tiny squeaking sounds.

Ever since Ocean Heart Flame recognised her as the master, they could establish some rudimentary communication with each other.

“No? In that case, you can eat whatever catches your eye. By the way, try and see if you can find anything like that Origin of Qi that Old Gu talked about. I have no idea how to even recognise it, but please keep an eye out when you’re eating.”

At this, Ocean Heart Flame rolled off her arm and bounded over to the medicinal field and began to nibble on a precious Fire Attribute medicinal plant.

Seeing the little flame eating so happily, Shiyu wondered if this obedient little flame would one day gain a human form.

As she laughed to herself, her eyes fell upon something else. The golden Divine Tea was about as high as her palm. This fellow’s body shone a brilliant gold all over. Their aggressive light showed that they were the boss among the plants in this Saint’s Dwelling.

Not far from the golden Divine Tea, the Demon Vine squirmed lazily nearby. It has neither eyes nor nose but Shiyu still has the impression that it was aiming for the Spring of Life.

Floating in the middle of the Spring of Life were the usual Jade Petal Immortal Lotus. The three pieces of Divine Tea leaves [2] given to her by Elder Feng had also turned a brilliant golden colour.

As Shiyu studied her treasures, she felt as though she was currently standing on top of a mountain of gold with no idea how to make use of it.

After a while, she wandered over to her lotus pond and vegetable garden side. She spent a little time trimming the plants and tidy up here and there until Ocean Heart Flame flew back to her. Shiyu glanced over at the medicine field and her heart contracted. A large portion of her most expansive and precious herbs was missing.

She patted Ocean Heart Flame and said dejectedly, “You didn’t find even a trace of the Origin of Qi?”

Ocean Heart Flame rolled over her hands, did a backflip and zipped off.

Startled, Shiyu hurried after it.

When she finally caught up with Ocean Heart Flame, she found it tangled up into a bundle with Demon Vine…

 

[Gumihou: Erm, what are you doing with the Demon Vine?]

 

We now have Glossaries for Character, Cultivation Terms, Clan Names, Restaurants & Places

 

[1] Logistics issue: Public square vs Arena

It is unclear whether the public square and arena are the same space. Technically, it should be the same since Wen Heng formed the Heaven Switching Array in the spot where Tan-Tai Chu had trashed the ground. A ‘public square’ where students could battle against each other was formed over the damaged grounds.

However.

In Chapter 258, Lin Fan ‘took the lead and jumped towards the fighting arena 300 meters away’

“… …”

And now Shiyu is at the ‘Public square’ and not ‘the fighting arena’.

[2] A reminder that Shiyu has more than 1 Divine Tea in her Saint’s Dwelling. Also, add a little detail to subtly remind everyone where they came from.

 

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