Chapter 48: Purple Jade Branch

Fang Xunzuo harbored ill intentions, a fact well understood by the members of the Fenyu Sect, yet under the watchful eyes of the crowd, no one could find a reason to reject him.

The only one with the authority to decide was Fan Shuping, the senior brother spoken of by the Fenyu disciples and the sole practitioner at the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

He cast several cold, piercing glares at Fang Xunzuo. His movements were subtle, intended to avoid drawing attention, and after a moment of deliberation, he spoke: "Fellow Daoist, please proceed."

"Senior Brother!" The surrounding disciples did not dare to defy him, but the young girl in the yellow dress, who had previously attacked Zhao Chun, clung to Fan Shuping's side and said through gritted teeth with a resentful pout.

Even the onlookers could perceive that the two were closer to each other than to others, let alone Zhao Chun.

Looking closely at the features of Fan Shuping and the female disciple, there was a certain resemblance, suggesting a blood relation rather than romantic affection.

Zhao Chun's guess was correct; the girl in the yellow dress was indeed a blood relative of Fan Shuping, but not his sister. She was his niece, sharing the surname Zhao, and her given name was Zhanqian.

Both the Fan and Zhao families had a Foundation Establishment cultivator, granting them extraordinary status within the Fenyu Sect. Previously, they maintained friendly relations between families, and following the marriage of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, they had become even more closely aligned.

Zhao Zhanqian was the youngest daughter of her family and held a high seniority. Raised with the indulgence of her ancestors, she had grown up pampered. Upon discovering her spiritual roots, she naturally joined the Fenyu Sect as Fan Shuping's junior sister. Because she found the titles of "aunt" and "cousin" awkward, she simply addressed him as her senior brother.

"Do not be anxious..." Fan Shuping lightly steadied her. Though he felt uncertain himself, he whispered words of comfort to this "junior sister": "...let us see how he intends to proceed."

Fang Xunzuo kept his gaze straight ahead, acting as if he had not noticed their interaction. He took a long, slender jade box from his robes and opened the lid, revealing a floral spiritual object. Its bud was mostly closed, blooming only slightly at the tip, with an oval leaf on each side of the slender stem. The leaves and stem were a deep, translucent purple, shimmering like agate with a flowing radiance.

As the crowd leaned in to get a better look, Fang Xunzuo snapped the lid shut, causing the brilliance to vanish instantly, leaving only a faint, exotic fragrance in the air.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. The breathing of the cultivators surrounding Zhao Chun grew shallow, and their hearts hammered like thunder.

Some did not know what the object was, but seeing the divine light of the spiritual medicine, they sensed its extraordinary nature. Overcome by greed, their gazes grew dark and fixed intently on the jade box in Fang Xunzuo's hands.

While some were ignorant, there were those who were knowledgeable—such as the several sudden displays of power that appeared on the ship, and Zhao Chun herself...

The world of Hengyun was vast and bountiful, teeming with diverse flora. Various spiritual objects were distributed unevenly across the land. Great cultivators traveled the world, recording the properties of hundreds of spiritual items for their disciples to consult and expand their knowledge.

Zhao Chun had several such volumes in her residence. Whenever she rested after cultivation, she would pick one up and read it during her meditative breaks.

If her memory served her correctly, this item was called the Purple Luo Jade Branch. It was quite unique in the books, categorized as both a spiritual medicine and a spiritual mineral. It grew like a flower, its entire body resembling gold and jade. It typically grew by absorbing spiritual energy from the earth's veins and was considered quite precious.

Because it had absorbed sufficient spiritual energy before being harvested, it remained in a state similar to sleep, its life force undissipated. It was precisely this life force that allowed it to take in a wisp of spiritual energy and then exhale it from the flower's mouth, directing that energy toward an object sought by a cultivator.

However, the object being sought also had to bear the cultivator's own traces; thus, it could not be used on someone else's property.

This function perfectly addressed the matter of Fan Shuping's lost spiritual tool. If Fang Xunzuo lent out the Purple Luo Jade Branch, resolving the mystery would no longer be difficult.

Zhao Chun shifted her gaze, sizing him up. Since he possessed such a spiritual object and knew its function, it was impossible that he was unaware of its other properties.

If the Purple Luo Jade Branch only had the ability to find objects, why would it cause even late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators to hold their breath in concentration?

The books stated that this was a natural spiritual object, colloquially known as having a "Kinship with the Earth Veins." It was a treasure for Metal and Wood attribute cultivators to achieve Foundation Establishment, but even for a Spiritual Foundation, it was considered underutilized. There was a crucial stage in the Condensation Yuan period called "Splitting the Primordial Spirit." After breaking through, one could enter the Divided Profundity stage. While ordinary cultivators gained a protective spiritual light upon breaking through, there were three superior lights that reigned above them: the Returning Life Treasure Light, the Great Heaven-and-Earth Profound Light, and the Creation Divine Law Light—attainable only by the fated.

If a Condensation Yuan cultivator obtained the assistance of the Purple Luo Jade Branch, they could obtain the Returning Life Profound Light, achieving a superior Divided Profundity. This was the true purpose of the "Kinship with the Earth Veins," a function even Condensation Yuan cultivators would covet!

The fact that Fang Xunzuo dared to bring it out meant he must have had a contingency plan...

Zhao Chun paused, remembering his status as a rogue cultivator, and a sudden realization dawned on her. She thought to herself: *So, he calculated everything in advance and came here with a specific purpose.*

Fang Xunzuo did not reveal the name of the Purple Luo Jade Branch. He simply explained its function of locating objects to Fan Shuping, taking responsibility under the name "The Four Travelers of Fuqing," and then looked toward Zhao Chun.

Her eyes were cunning; Fang Xunzuo knew at a glance that this young girl had sensed something. Feeling that her identity was even more extraordinary, he smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you have been unexpectedly involved in this matter. Why not act as a witness? It will also serve to clear both our names, what do you say?"

Zhao Chun was also quite interested, wondering what trick he was about to play. She stepped forward and said, "Agreed."

She then cupped her hands toward the Fenyu disciples: "I am Zhao Chun, a disciple of the Ghost Valley Spiritual Truth Sect. I can vouch with my name that this object indeed possesses the effect described by Fellow Daoist Fang."

The Spiritual Truth Sect had a Divided Profundity cultivator in residence and was considered a major sect that had once been renowned in the Southern Region. On the great ship, about seventy to eighty percent of the people knew of this sect, which included the Fenyu disciples. Seeing her declare her sect with such certainty, they lowered their guard slightly.

Zhao Chun sighed inwardly. These disciples had clear gazes; though they were sincere, they were also the most prone to being swayed by emotion. They had been quite hostile toward her earlier, but now that they knew she was a fellow sect disciple, even if they weren't certain of its truth, their anger had subsided significantly.

The path of cultivation was treacherous and ever-changing; she would need to temper her temperament more in the future, otherwise, her journey ahead...

Might not be long.

Fang Xunzuo did not dwell on such thoughts. He looked at the young disciples and gave a small, mocking laugh at their foolishness. He said, "The owner of the treasure bottle may infuse a wisp of spiritual energy into this object. After a short moment, this wisp of energy will drift toward the location of the treasure bottle."

Half-believing and half-doubting, Fan Shuping hovered his hand over the jade box. Once Fang Xunzuo opened the lid, Fan Shuping drew a wisp of spiritual energy from his dantian and infused it into the Purple Luo Jade Branch.

In less than a moment, a wisp of pale purple mist drifted out from the tip of the flower. It circled Fan Shuping's waist for a moment before floating upward, slowly drifting out of the great ship and into the sea of clouds.

"It is evident, then, that the treasure bottle is indeed not with my brothers or me," Fang Xunzuo said, shaking his head as he closed the jade box.

The anger of the Fenyu disciples flared up again. They first looked at Zhao Chun, and seeing her nod in agreement with this conclusion, Zhao Zhanqian stepped forward indignantly and shouted, "The treasure is yours, and the function is what you described! The outcome is for you to decide! How can this be considered proof?"

As she spoke, she moved to snatch the jade box, declaring, "I think this is a fake! A trick used by you little thieves to fool us!"

Fang Xunzuo had not expected her to be so willful. He moved to retract the jade box, but suddenly, the entire area fell silent as a voice drifted down from the heavens.

"Ignorant child, unable to recognize a treasure. This farce should come to an end. Come up and speak with me!"

The voice was deep and magnanimous, carrying immense pressure. Even Li Shu was not quite equal to it; only Qiu Jianying could come close. Zhao Chun knit her brows; a great cultivator of the late Condensation Yuan stage had made their move.