Chapter 834: Dragon Woman Is About to Transform

As Ji Yuan had expected, Zuo Wuji and the others were currently in a breakthrough phase and were not yet able to fully control their bodily transformations. Their strong qi and blood, and abundant fortune, naturally did not escape the notice of various high-level cultivators in Tianyu Continent.

Other immortal cultivators did not understand the so-called Martial Dao path. What they clearly saw was the extraordinary talent of these martial artists, and naturally wanted to take them as disciples, thereby bringing this fortune into their sects.

They just hadn't expected these people truly didn't want to become immortals. Surprised, they could only sigh with regret.

A few days later, Ji Yuan flew alone over the vast ocean. Upon spotting an island, Ji Yuan descended from the sky, landing on a rocky outcrop by the shore.

All around, the scene was calm, with tranquil winds and waves. Ji Yuan flicked his sleeve, and Niu Batian, Lu Wu, Wang Youhong, and Shi Jiu all flew out from within his sleeve.

"Finally out! Old Niu here was worried, Mr. Ji, that you might have forgotten us!"

Niu Batian chuckled as he spoke, showing no sign of nervousness. Lu Wu, meanwhile, smiled and bowed to Ji Yuan beside him, his posture respectful and meticulous. He calmly added,

"Thank you, Mr. Ji, for sparing my life. I am Lu Wu. Brother Niu and the others are all my friends, and I spared no effort in helping this time."

Wang Youhong and Shi Jiu also quickly bowed with them, but while Niu Batian and Lu Wu, these two demons, could remain composed in such a situation, the other two could not. Especially Lu Wu—despite seeing Mr. Ji for the first time and having witnessed such terrifying events earlier, he still managed to appear unfazed.

Ji Yuan nodded towards Lu Wu, then spoke.

"There is no need for such formalities, gentlemen. Your contributions to this successful outcome are indispensable. This can also be considered as atonement for some of your past misdeeds. Do any of you have anything to say?"

Shi Jiu opened his mouth, intending to remind Ji Yuan not to forget to speak on his behalf to his master and grandmaster. But then he thought Mr. Ji surely wouldn't forget, and a reminder from him might be unseemly, so he remained silent.

"Hahaha, Mr. Ji not killing this Old Niu is the greatest blessing! Old Niu has already turned over a new leaf!"

Niu Batian said this with a loud laugh, but Wang Youhong and Shi Jiu dared not fully believe Old Niu's words. Lu Wu, on the other hand, smiled and bowed again.

"Mr. Ji is a profound and eminent figure. It is fortunate just to admire your demeanor!"

Observing the behavior of Niu Batian and Lu Wu, Ji Yuan said nothing. After glancing at Shi Jiu, his gaze finally settled on Wang Youhong.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Wang Youhong hesitated, then carefully asked,

"Mr. Ji, could you please return the peach branch to me? I have refined it for a very long time, and it is closely connected to me, like a severed form of my body. It was precisely because of this that I was able to deceive you once..."

Ji Yuan smiled, directly taking out the peach branch from his sleeve. The peach blossoms on the branch were still vibrant and fresh.

*Hum...*

The Azure Vine Sword let out a soft hum, and its pervasive sword intent caused a chill to run through those nearby, especially Wang Youhong, who felt his entire body go numb and his hairs stand on end. He could even sense the immortal sword hovering right beside him.

The next moment, however, all sword intent vanished as if it had all been an illusion.

Ji Yuan carefully examined the peach branch, then handed it to Wang Youhong.

"Tell me clearly, where did this peach branch come from, and what is its connection to you?"

Wang Youhong first rejoiced and carefully took the peach branch, then, with a slight sigh of relief, began to explain his story.

"To answer you, Sir, Wang Youhong was originally a peach tree in a desolate city, growing beside withered, blood-red old peach trees. I don't know when it started, but my perception of the outside world became increasingly clear. It was only when I coalesced into a spirit that I discovered those withered old peach trees had begun to sprout new branches. For some reason, they were incredibly tempting to me, so I naturally absorbed their essence to cultivate. This peach branch was refined and grown by me from the original peach tree using artifact-crafting techniques..."

Old Niu and Lu Wu understood: so Wang Youhong was a peach tree spirit who later cultivated his true form. No wonder they couldn't discern what his true form was; one could say that his usual state was his true form, and that desolate city peach tree was also his true form.

Ji Yuan frowned slightly.

"Blood-red old peach trees, could you take me to see them?"

Wang Youhong's face showed a hint of tension as he cautiously replied,

"Um... the essence of those old peach trees has already been completely absorbed by me. They have long since turned to rotten wood. Otherwise, I, Wang, wouldn't have attained this level of cultivation as a plant spirit in just a few hundred years. It is precisely for this reason that I named myself Youhong... If you wish to see them, Sir, I can return and bring a few of the old peach trees for you."

"Absorbed?"

It was understandable that Wang Youhong did not want to reveal the location of his true body, but Ji Yuan's brows furrowed tightly upon hearing about the old peach trees. After a long pause, he finally asked,

"What do you think?"

Wang Youhong instinctively looked at the others. Niu Batian and Lu Wu exchanged glances, feeling that Ji Yuan wasn't asking them, and Shi Jiu felt the same. So, none of them spoke.

At that moment, a slightly hoarse voice emerged from Ji Yuan's sleeve.

"Let him give me a drop of blood."

"Who is speaking?"

Wang Youhong asked cautiously, appearing somewhat nervous. Ji Yuan, meanwhile, had already taken out the Xiezhi scroll from his sleeve and looked at Wang Youhong.

"Force out a drop of blood and let it fall onto the painting. No need for essence blood, any drop will do."

Currently, Wang Youhong dared not disobey anything Ji Yuan said, as long as it wasn't a life-threatening demand. So he directly extended his index finger, forced out a drop of blood, and let it drip onto the scroll in mid-air. At this point, the strange beast in the painting moved, directly opening its mouth to catch the blood, and even smacking its lips to taste it.

"Hmm, the taste is alright. Nothing serious."

The Xiezhi's voice was flat. Ji Yuan nodded and put away the scroll.

"You may go and retrieve one of those old peach trees and bring it to me. If there are no other matters today, we shall part ways here. We will meet again if fate allows."

"Yes, Sir!" "Farewell, Mr. Ji!"

Regardless of their individual states, the four of them spontaneously bowed in unison to see him off. After Ji Yuan returned their bow, mist appeared under his feet, and he then stepped onto the clouds and departed.

After a long time, when they could no longer perceive Ji Yuan's light of escape, Wang Youhong and Shi Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Didn't expect you, Old Wang, to truly be a plant spirit. Uh, so, are you male or female?"

Old Niu asked this without prompting, causing Wang Youhong to suddenly feel a chill down his spine and his scalp tingle.

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, I didn't mean anything by it. Old Niu here was just asking casually..."

Niu Batian scratched his head. Was there something wrong with what he said? He had heard that plant spirits initially had no gender distinction when they coalesced into spirits. They developed a gender based on their own will, and Old Niu was still quite curious about it.

However, Wang Youhong avoided Old Niu as if he were a viper.

"Of course I'm male! What part of me, inside or out, looks female?"

Old Niu grinned, sizing up Wang Youhong. But at that moment, he didn't want to provoke the other party and chose to keep silent.

Because of this exchange, the atmosphere became somewhat lighter. Shi Jiu looked at Lu Wu with a smile and said,

"Lu Wu, it's truly remarkable that you could remain so calm during your first encounter with Mr. Ji."

Lu Wu's eyes held a subtle hint of malice, yet he replied with a smile,

"Mr. Ji didn't place any restrictive spells on me, and he truly spared my life. Compared to you all, I am naturally much more at ease."

These words made everyone's expressions stiffen. They then quickly conferred with each other and decided to act together for now, and soon left the island.

Ji Yuan flew high alone on the clouds. His gaze swept over the vast ocean where it met the sky. At this moment, Ji Yuan suddenly asked another question.

"Xiezhi, what exactly is the situation with Wang Youhong?"

Earlier, Xiezhi had likely held back some information. Now that Ji Yuan asked again, the answer was indeed different.

"Hehe, Ji Yuan, the withered blood peach this person mentioned should be one of the celestial peach trees from ancient times. While alive, it should have brought vitality, but after death, it was full of death qi. This person surnamed Wang can be considered a continuation of this old peach tree—to put it bluntly, it's what the old peach tree desperately gave birth to, only he himself doesn't know it yet."

Ji Yuan understood what Xiezhi was referring to. However, Xiezhi then added,

"First that boy from the Li family, and now this peach tree spirit surnamed Wang... it can only be said that the time is truly ripe. Hmm, speaking of which, Ji Yuan, this is somewhat similar to some of the ideas you've been working on in the underworld."

"Reincarnation, then?"

Ji Yuan said calmly, seemingly asking a question, but his tone was more like an affirmation. Then he murmured,

"Wouldn't that be a massive gamble?"

After Ji Yuan's words fell, Xiezhi gave no reply. It was only after a good while that his voice quietly emerged from Ji Yuan's sleeve once more.

"They are all pitiful beings, they just don't want to miss out..."

Ji Yuan lowered his head and looked at his sleeve, then suddenly asked,

"What if I fed them all to you?"

"Hahaha, that would naturally be best! But would you?"

Ji Yuan twitched his mouth and calmly replied,

"No."

"You damn..."

Only three words of Xiezhi's speech came out before he was completely sealed within the sleeve, unable to emit any further sound.

It was also at this moment that Ji Yuan's mind stirred and his spiritual sense perceived something. He immediately performed a quick divination with his fingers and understood the source of the sensation. In the southern reaches of Yunzhou in the Eastern Lands, Ying Ruoli was about to transform into a dragon. She seemed to have been hoping for his return at this time, which also caused Ji Yuan to feel this spiritual connection.