Chapter 296 : Fortune-Origin Art

Chapter 296: Fortune-Origin Art

“Congratulations.”

Yu Zhaohua looked at Chen Beiwu with a slightly complex expression.

After witnessing Chen Beiwu's entire sequence of actions, she realized that what the Five Qi Vine valued most was neither treasure nor medicine, nor bloodline evolution, but unrestrained freedom.

Yet such freedom was a condition no cultivator of the Immortal Alliance would offer, including herself.

In the end, Chen Beiwu took an unconventional path and chose to hire the Five Qi Vine as a partner.

This clearly showed that she had truly lost fair and square this time.

Even if she had another chance and knew in advance the temperament of the Five Qi Vine, the result would likely be the same.

The reason was simple: Yu Zhaohua would never pay such a price to hire a Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast that dreamed of freedom and couldn’t cultivate through beast-borrowing.

“Thank you.”

Chen Beiwu smiled, looked at the Five Qi Vine, and extended his right hand. “Welcome aboard.”

Golden Egg lowered his three dragon heads and greeted the Five Qi Vine while giving a brief self-introduction.

Iron Egg, meanwhile, held a jade bottle in his mouth and gifted the Five Qi Vine a bottle of Five-Spice Pills as a gesture of goodwill.

Only the Seven-Tailed Violet Fox remained curled up in Chen Beiwu’s neck, holding its milk bottle with its front paws, half asleep.

“Na.”

The Five Qi Vine blinked, bashfully extended a thin vine to gently touch Chen Beiwu’s fingertip, and immediately retracted it.

Seeing this, Yu Zhaohua's gaze flickered slightly.

Without forming a Companion Contract, one could still harness the Five Qi Vine's power to refine and forge Five-Element Treasure Light?

Honestly, if anyone other than Chen Beiwu had said this, she would have scoffed.

What a joke—Yu Zhaohua had cultivated the Yuqing Nine Revolutions Yuanshi Pill Canon herself; she knew full well how difficult it was to forge Five-Element Treasure Light with this method.

But if Chen Beiwu truly succeeded in doing so and managed to forge the Yuanshi Golden Core, he might become a peak she could never surpass.

Thinking this, Yu Zhaohua didn’t feel discouraged; rather, her fighting spirit surged as she activated her Escape Light and left the Five-Elements Miasma Abyss.

The stronger the opponent, the more they could temper one’s will.

Since this generation’s Five Qi Vine was out of reach, she would venture deep into the Yuqing Mountains to seek out a Fifth-Tier Fortune-Origin Beast for a contract attempt.

Chen Beiwu paid no attention to the departing cultivators. He squatted down and carefully examined the Five Qi Vine.

The Earthfire Scorpion and Mystic Armored Beast exchanged a glance and left in satisfaction.

Although they couldn’t fully drive the Five Qi Vine away, a temporary departure was acceptable.

“Na?”

Noticing Chen Beiwu’s gaze, the Five Qi Vine tilted its head.

“May I examine your Law Meridians?” Chen Beiwu asked.

The Five Qi Vine fell silent.

This world was too dangerous. To fulfill its dream of planting a full Five Qi Grove, it usually operated outside using Puppet Clones for its grand acts of thievery, rarely revealing its true body.

“Don’t misunderstand. I just want to better understand your innate Mystic Powers to forge the Five-Element Treasure Light. Don’t worry, I won’t examine the other two meridians,” Chen Beiwu said.

Seeing Chen Beiwu so sincere, the Five Qi Vine hesitated but finally nodded reluctantly.

Fine, it was just viewing one Law Meridian—not all three—and not forming a contract. That much it could accept.

After all, if it wanted to cooperate and obtain that many treasure medicines, it had to show its capabilities.

Seeing this, Chen Beiwu smiled slightly, activated his Divine Sense for inspection, and recalled the records from ancient texts about the Five Qi Vine.

【Name】: Five Qi Vine

【Attribute】: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth (complete Five Elements, wood-leaning)

【Bloodline】: Fourth-Tier Supreme Grade (Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast)

【Mystic Powers】: Myriad Transformations, Five Qi Genesis, Five Qi Puppetization, Five Qi Origin Grove

Myriad Transformations: Fourth-Tier Supreme Mystic Power. Can suppress the Five Elements, freely altering its elemental attribute based on the Five Elements’ mutual restraint and concealing its own aura.

Five Qi Genesis: Fourth-Tier Supreme Mystic Power. Can absorb the essence of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth to return to origin, transform into innate Five-Element Treasure Light, nourish its source, and heal injuries.

Five Qi Puppetization: Fourth-Tier Supreme Mystic Power. Can split the Five Qi, sever vines to parasitize objects and form puppets, or cultivate origin-compatible puppets through planting, nourishing, and bonding.

(Note: The Five Qi Vine can transfer 80% of damage to its puppets, bearing only 20% itself.)

Five Qi Origin Grove: Fifth-Tier Fortune-Origin Art. Can cultivate a Five Qi Grove behind itself, nourish grand medicines with its Five-Element Dao Rhythm, infuse its mana with two parts of grand medicine effect, and even backfeed its own origin bloodline.

(If the Five Qi Facing the Origin phenomenon is successfully triggered, the bloodline may evolve and ascend to a Fortune-Origin Beast: Facing-Origin Vine.)

【Description】: The Five Qi Vine is a branch of the Primordial Five-Elements Ancestral Tree. Its talent lies not in direct combat, but in stealth, ambush, support, and healing—or even becoming an entire army of vines, overwhelming foes with thousands of puppets. It is a highly elusive and dangerously versatile Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beast.

“This is a Fifth-Tier Fortune-Origin Art!!!”

Chen Beiwu’s heartbeat quickened slightly, but he immediately calmed himself with the Guarding-the-One Mirror, cleansing thoughts and desires.

“No wonder this generation's Five Qi Vine is so eccentric—it started sneaking around just to get its hands on treasure medicines!” Chen Beiwu thought inwardly.

If he possessed such a Fortune-Origin Art, he wouldn’t want to serve others either. He’d seek out grand medicines by any means and quickly grow into a Fifth-Tier Fortune-Origin Beast.

“Na?” (Done looking?)

The Five Qi Vine looked up slightly.

Being peered at by Divine Sense made it very uncomfortable.

“All done.”

Chen Beiwu withdrew his Divine Sense and took out his phone, sending a few messages to Senior Brother Jiang.

Every Immortal Sect cultivator carrying a Yuqing Token into the Yuqing Mountains came to contract a Companion Beast. His decision to hire the Five Qi Vine without a contract had undoubtedly set a precedent for the Yuqing Immortal Sect.

Without forming a contract, taking the Five Qi Vine out of the Yuqing Mountains would require permission from the sect’s higher-ups—just getting past the Yuqing Mountain Spirit would be impossible otherwise.

This meant Chen Beiwu needed to persuade the sect to bend the rules for him.

“Buzz.”

His phone vibrated, and the image of Senior Brother Jiang Chuan slowly appeared.

Senior Brother Jiang Chuan glanced casually at the Five Qi Vine beside Chen Beiwu, a faint smile on his lips. “Junior Brother Chen, was the contracting process smooth?”

“Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother,” Chen Beiwu shook his head slightly. “There were some complications with contracting the Five Qi Vine, so I chose to cooperate instead.”

Hearing this, the Five Qi Vine felt relieved.

Cooperation was good.

As long as Chen Beiwu had no thoughts of forming a Companion Contract, they might indeed become excellent partners—even close friends.

“Cooperation?” True Monarch Jiang Chuan feigned ignorance, still smiling. “Cooperation in what?”

“Cooperating to form a core.” At this, Chen Beiwu paused slightly. “So I have a request to ask of you, Senior Brother.”

“What is it?” True Monarch Jiang Chuan raised a brow with interest.

He wouldn’t refuse to help—but he couldn't offer first. It depended on how Junior Brother Chen phrased his request.

After all, he had to uphold the sect’s rules on the surface.

“I want to take the Five Qi Vine out of the Yuqing Mountains and go into seclusion to form a core,” Chen Beiwu stated bluntly.

“The Yuqing Immortal Sect's rules are strict. One of them is ‘Heavenly-Gang Mystic Beasts must not be taken out of the mountains privately.’”

True Monarch Jiang Chuan shook his head. “It’s not that I’m being unreasonable, Junior Brother—it’s just that rules are rules. In principle, it’s not allowed. There’s nothing I can do.”

Chen Beiwu understood the subtext clearly: “In principle not allowed” meant it could be done—as long as he had enough bargaining chips to convince the sect’s higher-ups.

Rules were always meant to bind ordinary cultivators, not elite scions of Immortal clans.

“If I can get the Five Qi Vine’s help, I’m seventy percent confident I can forge the Yuanshi Golden Core. I hope Senior Brother can assist me,” Chen Beiwu said through gritted teeth.

“Seventy percent? Junior Brother, are you sure?”

True Monarch Jiang Chuan frowned slightly, cautioning him: “Boasting is taboo in cultivation.”

The Yuanshi Golden Core was extremely difficult to form.

Even with the many prodigies in the Yuqing Immortal Sect, some of whom had cultivated the Yuqing Nine Revolutions Yuanshi Pill Canon to perfection, no one had formed a Yuanshi Golden Core in ten thousand years. They had all switched to other titled cores instead.

To True Monarch Jiang Chuan, Junior Brother Chen’s talent was indeed exceptional—he had simplified core formation arts, cultivated the Yuanshi Pill Canon to near perfection, and was a rare genius in the sect. Yet his chances of success were still only twenty to thirty percent.

Even with the Supreme Sutra of Boundless Salvation of Taiyuan and the Tribulation-Breaking Golden Core, the odds wouldn’t exceed forty percent—far from the seventy Chen Beiwu claimed.

Because forming the Yuanshi Golden Core also depended on fate.

Those lacking in fate and luck could never gain the recognition of the sect’s founding ancestor, the Dao Venerable Yuanshi—let alone receive the baptism of the Yuanshi Ancestral Qi.

For Chen Beiwu to claim seventy percent was nothing short of astonishing.

Even True Monarch Jiang Chuan’s own Nascent Soul and the Yuqing Mountain Spirit beside him found it hard to believe.

Upon hearing this, Chen Beiwu smiled calmly, his tone brimming with confidence: “Naturally certain.”

At the same time, atop the Sea of Clouds.

True Monarch Jiang Chuan shook his head and sent a voice transmission via divine sense: “This junior of mine is young and ignorant. He only happened to nearly master the Yuqing Nine Revolutions Yuanshi Pill Canon by luck, and now dares to spout boastful words. I hope all of you won’t take offense.”

The present True Monarchs exchanged glances, yet none spoke.

All were old foxes of a thousand years—who was pretending to be some naive protagonist from a ghost tale?

True Monarch Jiang Chuan’s words sounded like criticism, but were in fact veiled praise, seemingly belittling Chen Beiwu while actually elevating his status.

It showed that Chen Beiwu was a peerless prodigy who could comprehend the Yuanshi Pill Canon to near-perfection within just a few years.

The fact that he dared to claim a seventy percent certainty in forging a Yuanshi Golden Core was something that even the present True Monarchs had to seriously consider. None of them were willing to use rules to suppress him and unwittingly become an enemy who blocked his path.

What if Chen Beiwu really succeeded?

“There are exceptions to every rule. This matter, I approve. If the Immortal Sect holds anyone accountable, I will take full responsibility.” The tiny old turtle spoke after a moment’s thought.

While the sect’s rules were certainly important, they paled in comparison to the significance of a Yuanshi Golden Core's emergence.

True Monarch Jiang Chuan was visibly moved and bowed respectfully to the Yuqing Mountain Spirit to thank him on behalf of his junior.

With the Mountain Spirit’s words, Chen Shidi could rightfully take the Five Qi Vine.

The tiny old turtle said no more. With a flicker, its figure vanished.

Though it had made the decision, it still needed to report to the sect’s higher-ups—otherwise, it would be dereliction of duty.

On the other side, seeing Senior Brother Jiang remain silent, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

Everything was ready—only the east wind was lacking.

He didn’t want to stumble at the final step.

“This is not a matter I can decide. Thanks to the Yuqing Mountain Spirit’s mercy, he is willing to make an exception for you.” True Monarch Jiang Chuan did not claim credit. He spoke solemnly: “Remember, only this once. There will be no next time.”

Hearing this, Chen Beiwu finally felt relieved. He quickly bowed in gratitude to both the Mountain Spirit and his senior brother.

“Before forming your core, come by the Admissions Department to collect some items. They might be useful for your Core Formation.”

With that reminder, True Monarch Jiang Chuan’s projection vanished.

Chen Beiwu put away his phone and turned to look at the Five Qi Vine, handing over the Earth-Net Five-Elements Ginseng.

“Take it. This is your first year’s down payment.”

“Nng.”

The Five Qi Vine nodded, indicating that before departure, it needed time to pack its belongings and arrange its puppet. It would take about a week.

“All right. One week later, we’ll meet at the Five-Elements Miasma Abyss. I have some matters to deal with there too.” Chen Beiwu agreed.

“Nng?”

Seeing how readily Chen Beiwu agreed, the Five Qi Vine suddenly found his personality to be rather simple and honest.

He left no backup plan. Wasn’t he afraid it would just take the Earth-Net Five-Elements Ginseng and run?

“I trust you.”

Chen Beiwu’s simple reply brought a trace of warmth to the Five Qi Vine’s heart.

All the Treasure Beasts and Mystic Beasts of the Yuqing Mountain Range regarded the Five Qi Vine as a Great Thief. No beast was willing to befriend it. Yet, Chen Beiwu trusted it so openly.

Not wanting to betray that trust, it decided not to slow down its progress on forging the Five-Elements Radiant Light tenfold, but only fivefold—and to pluck fewer Treasure Herbs.

After all, working slower on the Five-Elements Radiant Light had its merits—higher quality! It definitely wasn’t about harvesting more Treasure Herbs…

Watching the disappearing figure of the Five Qi Vine, Chen Beiwu looked down at the Seven-Tailed Violet Fox sucking milk from a jade bottle.

“Ying?”

The Seven-Tailed Violet Fox tilted its head and handed over the little bottle.

Don’t be fooled by its small and delicate appearance—the bottle was filled with Beast Sovereign milk, enough to last it several years.

Seeing the hopeful look in the young fox’s eyes, Chen Beiwu hesitated. Feeling a bit guilty, he didn’t refuse and parted his lips slightly.

The Seven-Tailed Violet Fox immediately tilted the jade bottle, pouring out five or six drops of Beast Sovereign milk.

Its mother produced ample milk. It only poured a few drops not because it was stingy, but because the spiritual power contained within the milk was too immense.

A single drop could temper the bones, reshape the flesh, and its nourishing effect far surpassed that of Third-Tier Treasure Herbs. That’s why it only dared to drink one drop at a time.

Too much, and it feared Chen Beiwu’s body might not withstand it—he could explode!

“Boom!”

The moment the Beast Sovereign milk entered his throat, Chen Beiwu let out a muffled groan and quickly sat cross-legged. His blood surged like a raging tide, and a faint jade-like glow surfaced on his skin.

Seeing this, the Golden Egg immediately closed his eyes and operated the All Laws Converge, Heaven Book of the Divine Tree to aid Chen Beiwu in refining the vast spiritual essence of the milk.

Taking advantage of the moment, the Seven-Tailed Violet Fox also closed its eyes, carefully sensing the changes in the Dao Rhythm surrounding Chen Beiwu to stimulate the latent power in its own bloodline.

Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, five days had gone by.

‘A body like jade, blood like a dragon!’

Chen Beiwu opened his eyes and slowly clenched his fists, a trace of shock flashing across his gaze.

Just five drops of Beast Sovereign milk had allowed his Hundred Rivers Dharma Body to break past its limits, making it comparable to a Third-Tier Golden Core Body Cultivator specializing in physique.

If he combined it with the Taiyi True Qi within his body, even Third-Tier low-grade magical treasures might struggle to break his defense.

This favor he owed was no small matter!

“Ying.”

The Seven-Tailed Violet Fox opened its eyes in satisfaction.

The innate Five-Elements Dao Rhythm stirred by Chen Beiwu’s breakthrough had refined its bloodline by a trace.

If they could form a Companion Contract, its cultivation and bloodline evolution would surely skyrocket severalfold.

“Apologies. The Yuqing Token has limited slots. I can only take one, and the Five Qi Vine is crucial for my Core Formation.”

Chen Beiwu placed a hand on the fox’s head, gently stroking the soft fur with his fingertips.

“Ying.”

The Seven-Tailed Violet Fox lifted its head, blinking its intelligent fox eyes, then gave a slight shake.

It expressed understanding. In truth, it wasn’t ready to leave its mother’s side either.

“Well then, I was overthinking it.”

Chen Beiwu chuckled and used his fingertip to scratch the fox’s chin lightly.

“Ying.” (Not now doesn’t mean never.)

The Seven-Tailed Violet Fox squinted its eyes, letting out a contented purr from its throat. Its seven radiant tails wrapped around Chen Beiwu’s wrist.

It wasn’t simple.

It liked following Chen Beiwu—but it also hoped he would take the Five Qi Vine.

If Chen Beiwu succeeded in forging a Yuanshi Golden Core, then once it formed a Companion Contract with him, it too would gain immense fortune.

At this thought, its tails coiled even tighter.

“Once my core is formed, I’ll return to Yuqing Mountain.”

Chen Beiwu looked toward the distant evening glow, making a solemn promise.

He knew the Seven-Tailed Violet Fox harbored many little thoughts, but so what—who didn’t?

The Golden Egg had its share of little schemes too!

What made the Seven-Tailed Violet Fox precious was its open trust and utter lack of deceit—that alone was enough.