Chapter Fifty-Four: A Gift of Medicine

Within Cold Creek Valley, the bonfires blazed brightly. Hundreds of massive beasts, cleaned and prepared, were roasting over the flames, their yellow fat sizzling and crackling as a rich aroma drifted far on the wind. In the southern wilds, the tribes—save for a rare few—were famed for their warmth and hospitality. Visitors from distant lands were always treated to their most generous feasts.

Large vats of cassava wine, brewed by the Fire Raven tribe, were brought forth. The cloudy liquor gave off a pungent scent as earthen bowls were raised high. The exuberant warriors laughed and shouted, urging A’Bao to drink with them.

A’Bao, towering and burly, possessed a hearty, straightforward nature. Never one to refuse a toast, he drank every bowl offered by the Fire Raven warriors without hesitation.

Men of the southern wilds most admired bold and generous souls, and so A’Bao quickly won the affections of all present. Especially the young men—Qing Ying, Ji Ying, Ji Bao, and Ji Lang—who delighted in noise and excitement, surrounded A’Bao, endlessly asking him about lands beyond the southern wilds.

Ji Hao sat beside Ji Zhuo, smiling as he watched A’Bao, whose chest and collar were drenched with spilled wine. Now and then, he would raise his own bowl and clink it against those of Old Stone and Old Tree Demon, who crouched behind him like two small mountains.

“Over two hundred years ago, in the Land of the Central Plains, I found myself at the end of my journey in the realm of the Great Shaman. Unable to find any further path to strength, I traveled as well to the legendary Central Plains,” Ji Zhuo boomed, his face flushed red in the firelight as he recounted his story, drinking deeply as he spoke.

“I traveled with a merchant caravan, journeying for nearly two years before reaching the Central Plains.” Ji Zhuo cast a deep look at A’Bao and murmured, “Among the caravan, there were dozens of Great Shaman-level masters, yet many perished along the way. For our guest to have crossed from the Central Plains to the southern wilds alone—Hao, you’ve brought us a truly remarkable visitor.”

Ji Hao squinted, grinning at A’Bao.

From their first encounter, Ji Hao had sensed the vast difference between himself and A’Bao. With the Nine-Word Mantra Pill Scripture, Ji Hao had already formed his Violet Palace Core. He was but one step from a breakthrough, able to forge the Golden Core of the Violet Palace, surpassing his previous life and reaching a new peak. If the mana within Ji Hao was like a river stretching a thousand miles, then the power within A’Bao was an endless ocean—vast and unfathomable.

Indeed, a wandering ascetic who had traveled the world—his strength was truly inscrutable.

“Hao, I have a task for you!” Ji Zhuo slapped Ji Hao’s shoulder, lowering his voice mysteriously. “A warrior of such caliber—if he could leave us a few descendants, it would be perfect. Later, I’ll have Jinwu Ridge select a few young women. Ask A’Bao if he’d be willing to give our Fire Raven tribe a few children?”

Ji Hao nearly choked on his wine, almost coughing up blood.

A’Bao, in the midst of rolling up his sleeves for an arm-wrestling drinking contest with Qing Ying, suddenly turned pale, glancing over in shock, his face flushed as if smeared with blood. Clearly, A’Bao’s senses were exceptionally keen; not a word of Ji Zhuo’s had escaped him.

Good wine, fine meat, and unbridled merriment.

At some point, a group of Fire Raven maidens appeared, dressed in tight-fitting garments, their pale legs bare. They brandished long spears and shields, dancing exuberantly around the bonfire, unleashing the vigor of their youth and displaying their robust, agile forms for A’Bao.

Several times, bold maidens pressed close to A’Bao, their hands unabashedly caressing his honest, simple face.

A’Bao’s expression grew increasingly peculiar. As if his seat had caught fire, he squirmed desperately. Not long after, he let out a few muffled sounds, dropped his bowl, sprawled out, and, reeking of liquor, collapsed into a thunderous slumber.

Ji Hao burst into hearty laughter, pointing at A’Bao. “A’Bao is drunk! Drunk! Don’t try to pour any more into him!”

Amid the laughter, Ji Hao hefted A’Bao onto his shoulder and darted toward a row of wooden houses deep within the valley.

Ji Zhuo stroked his neck in disappointment, then suddenly called out after Ji Hao’s retreating figure, “Hey, little A’Bao! If you don’t fancy our robust Fire Raven daughters, the tribes of the southern wilds have delicate girls as well! Whatever you like, just tell me—your grandpa can find them for you!”

Ji Hao chuckled, while A’Bao, slung across his shoulder, went rigid in waves, muttering faintly, “Scared me half to death! Good thing I’ve run into this sort of thing plenty of times in the Eastern, Northern, and Western wilds—already have plenty of experience!”

Hearing A’Bao’s muttered words, Ji Hao laughed all the harder.

As the bonfires in Cold Creek Valley gradually died down, the warriors, bellies full of meat and wine, drifted off, and peace returned to the valley. Only the distant clang of mining slaves at work echoed through the stillness.

The sun slid past its zenith, inching westward. Ji Hao and A’Bao sat shoulder to shoulder atop the highest cliff beyond Cold Creek Valley, gazing out over the endless expanse of primeval forest, feeling the wind brush past, attuning themselves to the subtlest fluctuations of the world’s vital energy.

Around A’Bao shimmered a strange, gentle radiance. A mighty, vast, and immeasurable force of primordial spirit poured forth from within him, spreading warmly in all directions, enveloping forests and mountains, embracing every creature—great or small—within a thousand miles.

Ji Hao’s own spiritual power merged into that boundless tide, for, on his own, his spirit could reach but a dozen miles at best, with details growing fainter the farther he stretched. Yet, bolstered by the power emanating from A’Bao, Ji Hao’s feeble spirit moved like a fish through the void, darting freely across a thousand-mile radius, sensing the wind and rain, the blooming and withering of flowers, the shifting clouds, and the flowing streams.

Boundless mysteries of the world’s laws surged into his heart like a mighty river. Ji Hao suddenly gained a profound understanding of the workings of this corner of the world. A’Bao’s spiritual power was like a key, opening the door to a new realm of comprehension.

“The gap in strength is too vast,” Ji Hao mused, quietly marveling as he sensed every subtle change in the world around him.

His own spiritual force—his primordial spirit, his divine sense—could reach only a dozen miles at most, enveloping but a few square miles fully. Yet A’Bao, with ease, extended his divine sense to cover a thousand miles of forest and mountain.

The strength of A’Bao’s primordial spirit surpassed Ji Hao’s by more than ten thousandfold. And from the looks of it, A’Bao was exerting perhaps only a tenth, or even a hundredth—or less—of his true power.

As Ji Hao’s mind wandered, A’Bao suddenly laughed.

“Hao, I never imagined I’d meet such an interesting young friend on this journey. Since you can sense the great principles of heaven and earth, your future will not be confined to this remote corner of the southern wilds.

“When my current journey of ascetic cultivation ends, would you be willing to leave the southern wilds with me? My master, Daoist Yu Yu, if you are willing, I can introduce you to him, and you may enter his tutelage, to comprehend the boundless mysteries of heaven and earth, to enjoy unending freedom and immortality.”

Before Ji Hao could reply, A’Bao had already pressed a fist-sized jade bottle into his hand.

“I can see that both your father and mother bear hidden injuries, their bloodline and totemic acupoints harmed by sorcery. This is most detrimental to them.

“I feel a kinship with you at first meeting. Here are six life-saving pills, personally refined by my master’s elder brother—my grandmaster-uncle, Daoist Yu Yu’s own brother. They seize the fortune of heaven and earth, reverse life and death, and should restore your father and mother to health.”

Ji Hao’s heart pounded as he instinctively gripped the jade bottle tight.

“Brother A’Bao, thank you! Thank you!”