Chapter 844: Embers Nourish the Spiritual Root, Character Spirit Breeds the Sword Array

It seemed the object before them was truly sinister. Not only did Ji Yuan find it unbearable, but even Xiezhi finally found it hard to stomach.

To Ji Yuan, the peach tree, as seen through his Dharma Eye, was no longer a tree at all. Instead, it resembled a mass of foul, decaying mud, which was truly unbearable. He understood that the peach tree contained no trace of life. Although he knew the tree must have been extraordinary when it was alive, he now wished to see it gone immediately.

After a moment's thought, Ji Yuan asked Wang Youhong, "Do you have any further use for this peach tree?"

Wang Youhong quickly waved her hand and replied, "It has no use now. You may dispose of it however you wish, sir."

"Hmm, it's best if you don't find any other use for it either."

It wouldn't be accurate to say this peach tree had no use at all, but any potential use for it would certainly not be for good. Even if he wanted to fight evil with evil, Ji Yuan had no shortage of such resources. Without further ado, as soon as his words fell, Ji Yuan opened his mouth, and a cluster of Samadhi True Fire erupted.

The terrifying, reddish-gray flames, upon contact with the decaying peach tree, instantly ignited it, and a roaring fire shot up three feet high. Yet the ambient temperature around them wasn't very high. Wang Youhong instinctively retreated several steps, knowing this was no ordinary wildfire; even a speck could have severe consequences.

But such a peach tree, which was nothing more than an object of disgust and held no desired purpose for Ji Yuan, persisted under the Samadhi True Fire for a duration that exceeded Ji Yuan and the others' imagination.

Previously, Samadhi True Fire had always been irresistible, and in most cases, it could incinerate anything Ji Yuan wished to burn in an instant. Yet this peach tree, already withered and decayed, with no spirit energy remaining, endured the Samadhi True Fire for a long time. It took roughly fifteen minutes for it to finally turn into ash.

After it was completely burned, a pile of distinctly tree-shaped ash remained in the courtyard, which did not crumble and disappear with the wind as ashes usually would.

Mid-way through the Samadhi True Fire's burning, Ji Yuan and Xiezhi had already stood up. Now they walked closer to the tree-shaped powder. Ji Yuan frowned, while Xiezhi's expression was quite amused.

"Hehehehe, now this is interesting," Xiezhi chuckled. "It's more unusual than I thought. It's the first time I've seen something lifeless last this long under your Samadhi True Fire, Ji Yuan."

Ji Yuan turned and glanced at Xiezhi, who then slapped his head and added, "Hmm, actually, I haven't seen any living thing last this long either. But this tree, when it was alive, must have been close to a spiritual root. Ah, what a pity..."

"How is it that you, venerable Xiezhi, don't know what kind of peach this is?"

Xiezhi seemed somewhat puzzled. "Back then, the world was vastly wider than it is now, by how much, I don't know," Xiezhi replied. "Uncountable unknown things existed. How could I possibly know everything? Do you?"

Ji Yuan deliberately chuckled, mimicking Xiezhi's tone from earlier. "Perhaps it was a Flat Peach of Immortality."

Zaoniang, from the side, also walked to the pile of ashes. After glancing at Wang Youhong, who was cautiously watching her, she knelt down and gently picked up some of the ash with her fingers.

"Sir, may I have this ash?"

Ji Yuan walked closer to Zaoniang and also knelt down, taking a small handful of ash. After being burned by the Samadhi True Fire, the foul smell was gone, and instead, there was a faint hint of charcoal fragrance.

"What will you use it for?"

Hearing Ji Yuan's words, Zaoniang revealed a bright smile. "As the saying goes, 'ashes from fire promote new life'," she replied. "I want to scatter it under the date trees."

Ji Yuan's heart stirred, and he nodded in reply. "I have no objections."

As he spoke, Ji Yuan looked at Wang Youhong, and Zaoniang then looked towards her. "Is your surname Wang, miss?"

Being directly looked at by Zaoniang, Wang Youhong's face inexplicably turned red. She stared at Zaoniang, slightly stunned, and stammered her reply while nodding. "Yes, yes, it is."

"I see you're also a plant spirit," Zaoniang continued, "and your cultivation is much higher than mine. This ash..."

Wang Youhong immediately spoke up. "If elder sister wants it, please take all of it. Besides this one, there are many more elsewhere. I'll bring them all here for Mr. Ji to burn for elder sister when I have a chance..."

"Thank you very much."

Well, Ji Yuan hadn't expected Zaoniang to be so formidable; she had instantly charmed Wang Youhong, making her completely compliant. In comparison, his potential role as a "fire-stoker" was inconsequential.

After receiving consent from Ji Yuan and Wang Youhong, Zaoniang no longer needed to ask anyone else. With a backhand sweep through the air, she conjured a gentle breeze, blowing the tree-shaped pile of ash on the ground towards the large date tree nearby. Soon, it evenly covered the ground around the base of the date tree in a circle.

And not long after this layer of black ash settled on the ground beneath the tree, its color became similar to the original soil, and it no longer created dust when the wind blew.

Although no special changes were visible, Xiezhi's eyes had narrowed. He turned to look at Ji Yuan, who seemed to have no particular expression, and had simply returned to the table, examining the Sword Scripture he had just finished writing.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Hu Yun and the little characters began to get excited again.

"What? This person named Wang is actually a woman?" "No way," another piped up. "If it's a 'he', how can it be a woman? Must be a man."

"I think so too." "Yeah, yeah," another chimed in, "how could he hide his gender from that brute?"

"Good point! Hey, you, Mr. Wang, are you a man or a woman?"

"Mr. Wang, speak up!"

The little characters flew over and surrounded Wang Youhong. She dared not get angry at these word-spirits, appearing very awkward. It was Zaoniang who came over, shooed the little characters away, pulled Wang Youhong closer to the stone table, and gave her a handful of dates.

Holding the dates in her hand, Wang Youhong appeared extremely excited. Although these dates possessed spiritual energy and were delicious to others, for her, they held greater meaning and utility. She carefully took one, nibbling a small bit to savor it. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw the red fox lying under the tree casually tossing a whole date into its mouth. It crunched loudly, spit out a pit, then tossed in another, as if eating candy.

"If you're not in a hurry to leave, have a seat," Ji Yuan said. "Zaoniang, brew another pot of fresh tea, and pour a cup for her and Hu Yun."

"Understood."

Zaoniang acknowledged, picked up the tea set from the table, and headed towards the kitchen. Wang Youhong quickly followed to help.

Originally, Wang Youhong had hoped to leave as soon as she delivered the withered peach tree, not wanting to stay a moment longer near Ji Yuan. But after seeing Zaoniang, things changed. She was actually worried Ji Yuan might ask her to leave, so since she could stay a little longer, she put aside all other concerns and wished to get closer to Zaoniang.

In the courtyard outside, Ji Yuan's gaze swept from the newly written "Sword Scripture" to Hu Yun, who was comfortably lying down, chatting with the little characters.

"Hu Yun, who gave Zaoniang that book, 'The Shamed White Deer'?"

"Gulp... Cough, cough, cough..."

Hu Yun instantly swallowed the date pit he was sucking on, then quickly stood up and waved his hands. "Mr. Ji, that has nothing to do with me!" Hu Yun quickly explained. "Last New Year, Sun Yaya returned to Ning'an County to celebrate with her family. She also went to the temple fair with Zaoniang. When they came back, she brought a box of books, and it seems there was a similar book inside."

Hu Yun, having studied with Yin Qing, understood exactly what kind of book Mr. Ji was referring to. He certainly dared not take the blame for that. "Sir, I even reminded Zaoniang," Hu Yun continued, "told her that book was indecent. But Zaoniang just said she knew. As for this 'White Deer' one, I'm not sure when she got it..."

*So, this wasn't the first one?* Ji Yuan thought.

Ji Yuan felt somewhat helpless, but after a careful thought, he felt there was nothing much to say. He recalled that in his previous life, he had also read some "spicy" books. Compared to those, what Zaoniang was reading, by his previous life's standards, was at most rather explicit romance.

Perhaps it was also due to the influence of current societal etiquette. After considering it, Ji Yuan said no more. Apart from his unwavering stance on good and evil, he had little else to preach about. Moreover, Zaoniang had listened to the teachings of sages in the Ju'an Pavilion courtyard for many years...

"Never mind, it's just reading for entertainment."

Ji Yuan picked up the white paper with the "Sword Scripture" written on it from the table. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a branch from the large date tree. With a gentle touch, it transformed into two smooth wooden rods. Placing them at both ends of the paper, he rolled it slightly, and the paper's ends then tightly bound to the wooden rods. The "Sword Scripture" was thus simply mounted.

He hung the Sword Scripture on the tree. Although there was a breeze in the courtyard, the scroll remained motionless, like a piece of heavy iron. Gradually, the small characters from the "Sword Intent Scroll" gathered around, examining the Sword Scripture closely.

Even the Azure Vine Sword behind Ji Yuan flew to stand silently suspended before the Sword Scripture.

"You've been comprehending the path of formations long enough," Ji Yuan announced. "From today onwards, use your playful energy to comprehend a set of sword formations. See if you can incorporate my swordsmanship into them. Whoever does well, I, your master, will praise!"

Ji Yuan coaxed them like children, and the little characters became incredibly excited, vying to declare that they would be the first to receive praise.

Then, with a gesture from Ji Yuan, the Azure Vine Sword flew into his hand. Gently stroking the sword's blade and the azure vine entwined around it, he spoke softly, "You, too, join them. In the future, if you act as the core of the formation, you will surely make the sword formation shine brilliantly!"

The Azure Vine Sword vibrated slightly, its sword intent surged, and a faint, ethereal silhouette seemed to appear.