59: Saint's follower, Chaos Dao Fruit

The journey that followed presented a peculiar sight.

Jiang Chen walked ahead at an unhurried pace, his expression indifferent.

Yu Meier trailed behind him, maintaining a distance of over ten steps, her pretty face constantly shifting between shades of anger and curiosity, sometimes gritting her teeth, other times showing interest in some of Jiang Chen's actions.

She discovered that in this strange space, Jiang Chen was as comfortable as if he were in his own home.

Those natural illusion formations, capable of making Soul Transformation Cultivators of the Seventh Realm lose their minds, he merely glanced at them before walking straight through.

A spatial trap hidden beneath a pile of rubble, capable of instantly tearing a person to shreds, he always managed to gracefully bypass it one step before it was triggered.

“Hey, how did you know there was danger there?”

Yu Meier finally couldn't hold back and asked.

“By looking,” Jiang Chen replied without turning his head.

Yu Meier was speechless with frustration.

What kind of answer was that?

She had also looked, but she hadn't seen anything!

This man always managed to say the most infuriating things in the most nonchalant tone.

She refused to believe it and activated a secret technique of her Sect, the Spiritual Fox Charm Eyes.

A faint pink glow appeared in her eyes, and everything in her line of sight instantly changed; the flow of energy between heaven and earth became clearly visible.

She mimicked Jiang Chen, carefully observing the path ahead.

After walking for a short while, she suddenly noticed an extremely subtle energy fluctuation beneath a seemingly ordinary black rock ahead.

“Something’s strange there!”

Yu Meier's heart filled with joy, and she rushed ahead of Jiang Chen, pointing at the rock as if to claim credit.

Jiang Chen paused, glanced at her, his eyes carrying a hint of… concern for an idiot.

“And then?”

“And then?”

Yu Meier was stunned. “Of course, we go around it!”

Jiang Chen shook his head, said nothing, and walked straight towards the black rock.

To Yu Meier’s astonishment, he reached out and gently pressed the center of the energy fluctuation.

Click.

The rock made a soft sound and slowly moved to one side, revealing a dark, black cave entrance. A pure and intense Medicinal Pill fragrance wafted out from the opening.

Yu Meier was dumbfounded.

That wasn't a trap? It was a mechanism for a treasure trove?

Jiang Chen entered the cave and emerged a moment later, holding a Spiritual Plant that was entirely blood-red and shaped like a Dragon's beard.

A faint Dragon's might even emanated from the Spiritual Plant.

“Ten-thousand-year Blood Dragon's Beard, not bad. It can be used to refine Medicinal Pills that enhance the Physical Body.”

Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction and casually put it away.

Yu Meier stood rooted to the spot, disheveled in the wind.

“You… how did you know that was a mechanism and not a trap?”

She asked in a low voice, her earlier arrogance gone from her tone.

“The energy fluctuation of a trap is chaotic and disordered, while the energy fluctuation of a mechanism has a stable circulating node at its core,” Jiang Chen explained indifferently.

Yu Meier listened, half understanding, half confused.

Her curiosity grew even stronger; just how many secrets did this Saint of Hongtian Holy Land still hide?

Along the way, similar treasure-hunting activities continued to unfold.

Jiang Chen was like a scavenging machine; anything of value in the places he passed through could not escape his eyes.

At the bottom of a dried blood pool, he dug out a fist-sized Blood Divine Crystal, brimming with vigorous Life Qi.

From the massive skeleton of a Vicious Beast, he retrieved an ancient Thunder Beast’s inner core, still shimmering with lightning.

Even in a seemingly unremarkable swamp, he used spiritual power to extract a Nine-Heart Lotus that was about to take human form.

Each time, Yu Meier could only watch enviously from the side.

She tried to search for things herself, but either came up empty-handed or nearly triggered some deadly Restriction, ultimately having to give up dejectedly.

However, Jiang Chen wasn't entirely heartless.

After each scavenging, he would throw some scraps he didn't care for to Yu Meier.

For example, that Blood Divine Crystal.

After he took the core crystal marrow, he threw the remaining impure outer shell to her.

From the ancient Thunder Beast’s inner core, after absorbing the purest Thunder Origin, he threw the now dull and lusterless pearl to her.

From the Nine-Heart Lotus, he broke off the most essential part and threw the rest to her.

Yu Meier's mood was like a rollercoaster.

Every time she saw Jiang Chen find a treasure, she felt envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Every time Jiang Chen threw trash at her, she was so angry she wanted to curse.

But when she carefully examined the trash, she discovered that even these scraps were priceless treasures that were hard to find in the outside world!

Any single item, if taken out, would be enough to make Mahayana Realm Cultivators fight over it.

So, she could only curse “Jiang the Skinner” and “Iron Rooster” in her heart.

While also happily stashing the “trash” into her bag.

“Hey, I say… can't you be a little more generous?”

After once again receiving a half-eaten piece of Star Iron Mother from Jiang Chen, Yu Meier finally couldn't help but protest.

“Too little?”

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. “You can give it back to me.”

“…No, that’s not necessary.”

Yu Meier immediately hid the item behind her back, looking at him warily.

Jiang Chen chuckled and ignored her.

Yu Meier looked at his back and suddenly felt that this feeling of being led to pick up treasures, and occasionally being half-angered to death, seemed… quite novel.

Throughout this journey, she seemed to be bickering and getting angry, but she had never stopped using her charm techniques on Jiang Chen in secret.

From the most basic body fragrance allure to eye contact that could stir Heart Demons, and then to Divine Soul hints in her words, she had almost used every technique she knew.

However, Jiang Chen’s eyes remained clear and calm from beginning to end.

This made Yu Meier feel an unprecedented sense of frustration.

She began to wonder, had her charm diminished? Or was it… that this man wasn't a man at all?

She quietly moved closer, lowered her voice, and asked in a seductive tone, “Holy Son Jiang, you're so cold to me, is it… because you have some unspeakable physical problem?”

“It’s okay, our Joyful Union Sect is best at solving these kinds of problems, we guarantee to help you regain your former glory…”

Jiang Chen’s footsteps suddenly halted.

He slowly turned around, and for the first time, a half-smile appeared on his face as he looked at her.

Yu Meier’s heart sank, and she suddenly had a bad premonition.

Jiang Chen walked step by step towards her, looking down at her.

“Do you want to try?”

Jiang Chen’s voice was very soft.

“Try… try what?”

Yu Meier felt flustered under his gaze and instinctively took a step back.

“Try whether I have an unspeakable problem or not.”

Jiang Chen looked at Yu Meier and smiled.

Just then, not far ahead, a earth-shattering beast roar suddenly erupted, along with the violent sound of spiritual energy colliding.

Boom!

Terrifying energy aftershocks swept over, even lifting a layer of the ground.

Jiang Chen and Yu Meier simultaneously looked in the direction of the sound.

They saw on a half-collapsed magnificent altar, a figure dressed in a golden python robe was locked in a fierce battle with a massive Yao Beast, shaped like a Qilin but covered in bone spurs, fighting to a standstill.

That figure was Yuan Haotian, the Crown Prince of the Tianyuan Divine Dynasty.

And in the center of the altar, guarded by the Yao Beast, was a plant entirely enveloped in Chaos Qi, bearing three fruits the size of a baby’s fist.

“chaos dao fruit!”

Yu Meier exclaimed in surprise.

According to legend, this was a supreme divine item that could help Cultivators comprehend the Origin of the Great Dao, and even had a chance to directly condense the embryonic form of Dao principles!

Jiang Chen’s eyes also lit up.

He looked at Yuan Haotian, who was fighting fiercely with the Yao Beast, causing the heavens and earth to collapse, and then looked at the easily attainable chaos dao fruit. The smile on his face became even more pronounced.

“What a good person.”