Martial Cultivator

In front of that cottage, there was a flowerbed. Within it, there were no other plants, only a single blade of grass.

It looked very ordinary.

Chen Chao took a glance and asked in disbelief, “That’s divine medicine?”

The Divine Daughter nodded. “That’s right. But it’s not yet ripe. It’ll likely take another hundred years, maybe more. It could even mature sooner, who knows? But either way, she can’t get it now.”

“And I wouldn’t give it to you anyway.”

The Divine Daughter looked at Autumn and said, “Little girl, the world doesn’t owe you anything. There are many things in this world, not everything you want will go your way.”

Autumn replied, “A hundred years later, I’ll come take it.”

The Divine Daughter brushed it off with a smile.

Chen Chao was a bit amazed by her temperament. If she had a worse temperament, Autumn would probably be dead already.

The Divine Daughter turned to Chen Chao and said, “If you want it, you can come see it in a hundred years.”

Chen Chao gave a bitter laugh. “With something this precious, how would I dare lay a hand on it?”

The Divine Daughter smiled. “You never know. By then, I might not need it anymore. If you do, you can take it.”

Chen Chao was startled.

This Divine Daughter seemed to be treating him unusually well.

“I have a question, Elder Sister. There are no traces left of these Divine Mountains, nor of the sects that once existed. Their remnants don’t even appear in the historical records. It’s incredibly hard to find even a shred of information about them now. Why is that?”

Chen Chao had always been puzzled by this. He really wanted an answer.

Chen Chao had long suspected that an invisible hand behind the scenes was manipulating something.

The Divine Daughter looked at him and shook her head.

Unwilling to accept it, Chen Chao asked again, “Why?”

The Divine Daughter hesitated for a moment, then after a long pause, she finally said, “If you advance another step one day, come back and ask me, I’ll tell you the answer then. But right now, for someone like you, knowing this would not be a good thing.”

Chen Chao wanted to say more, but the Divine Daughter shook her head once more. “Don’t ask. I won’t tell you.”

Chen Chao had no choice but to let it go, though he felt a sense of regret.

The Divine Daughter stood by the lake, smiling at him. “Sometimes, living muddle-headed for a lifetime might not be such a bad thing.”

Chen Chao replied, “I’d rather die clear-headed.”

“Don’t speak of death so lightly. In this world, living is the most meaningful thing. Once you die, everything loses its meaning.”

The Divine Daughter looked at Chen Chao and smiled. “You’re still very young. Why worry now about what comes later?”

Chen Chao was silent.

He instinctively wanted to frown again.

But was quickly tapped at the glabella by the Divine Daughter’s finger.

Chen Chao backed down and asked instead, “Then in Elder Sister’s era, how did martial artists cultivate?”

He had once heard about this from the immortal medicine at the ruins of Rongshan Sect, and later had it confirmed, martial artists in that era had indeed been able to cultivate magic spells.

The Divine Daughter replied softly, “Sword cultivators possess the most terrifying killing power in the world, but in our time, the most terrifying... were martial artists.”

Chen Chao felt a bit dazed.

If sword cultivators represented the deadliest killing prowess among cultivators, then martial artists were the most terrifying cultivators among them all. They possessed the strongest physiques, and their killing power was not far behind that of sword cultivators. At that time, whether it was cultivators of the Divine Mountains or other sects, all placed great importance on training martial artists. A high-realm martial artist was the foundation of an entire sect’s strength.

“From the way your qi circulates, I see no trace of daoist techniques. It seems your era has walked a different path.”

The Divine Daughter looked at Chen Chao. “If you want cultivation methods for martial artists, I can give you the Divine Mountain’s records.”

The Northern Realm Divine Mountain had once been one of the four great Divine Mountains. Its cultivation records were undoubtedly the most top-notch of their era.

But Chen Chao shook his head.

The Divine Daughter looked at him but did not press the matter. She merely smiled and said, “It seems your ambitions run quite deep.”

“Ambition? Not exactly. I just want to prove myself.”

Chen Chao’s gaze was resolute. The path of the martial artist was looked down upon by the world. Countless people scorned martial artists with cold indifference.

The Divine Daughter nodded. “What is good isn’t necessarily right. What suits you is what’s right. You must come to understand this clearly.”

Chen Chao nodded and exhaled a turbid breath.

To reject the Divine Daughter, this actually required no small amount of courage.

The Divine Daughter said calmly, “You still have some time. Don’t be in such a rush.”

Though the words sounded casual, Chen Chao could sense a deeper meaning in them.

Autumn, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly asked, “How are we supposed to leave?”

Since she could not obtain the divine medicine, Autumn had no intention of lingering. She would leave this place and return when the medicine ripened.

The Divine Daughter ignored her and looked at Chen Chao. “Don’t you want to keep me company a little longer?”

Chen Chao said, “I’m not in a hurry to leave. After all, the moment we walk out of here, this little girl will be back to wanting to kill me.”

Autumn frowned slightly at the words “little girl.”

The Divine Daughter smiled. “You two can fight, but don’t go catching feelings while you’re at it.”

Chen Chao said with a laugh, “I’m not into tigresses.”

Autumn narrowed her eyes, killing intent seeping out.

Even the Divine Daughter showed a bit of disapproval. “That’s no way to talk about a young lady. You’re being naughty.”

Chen Chao did not speak.

......

......

“Forget it. I’ve been alone for so many years, I’m used to it. It won’t hurt to have some company for a few more days.”

The Divine Daughter quickly changed her mind. Then she looked toward Autumn and said, “Little girl, once you leave, don’t speak to anyone about what happened here.”

Autumn gave no response.

The Divine Daughter silently looked at her for a moment, then said with a faint smile, “Little girl, sometimes there’s no need to be so stubborn. Have you ever heard the saying,’listen to people, eat your fill’?”

Autumn still said nothing.

In the end, the Divine Daughter sighed. “If you don’t agree, then I’ll just have to kill you.”

Her tone was light, almost casual, but the weight behind her words was clear. Autumn could feel it without doubt. From the beginning, the Divine Daughter had always appeared gentle. But now, though her voice carried no killing intent, it pressed down like a mountain.

Autumn’s face instantly turned pale.

Chen Chao was enjoying the show. This tigress who used to shout and scream at him was finally getting put in her place.

How delightful.

After several minutes, the Divine Daughter smiled. “Looks like you’ve agreed. Little Chen, come here, your elder sister has a few more things to tell you.”

With that, she no longer paid attention to Autumn and walked toward the cottage.

Chen Chao followed without hesitation. Autumn remained where she was, her expression distant.

The two arrived at the cottage, where a small flowerbed lay. Within it, the lone divine medicine grew.

The Divine Daughter flicked her fingers, and a few drops of water fell onto the plant, watering it once.

Chen Chao looked at the divine medicine, which did not appear much different from common wild grass, and could not help clicking his tongue in wonder. This divine medicine truly embodied the phrase “returning to simplicity.”

There was not anything particularly extraordinary about its appearance.

The Divine Daughter said, “It’s just not ripe yet. When the time comes, its brilliance will shine through. In the past, when it matured, the Divine Mountain’s experts had to join forces to conceal its aura, otherwise too many would sense it.”

The Divine Daughter looked at Chen Chao and smiled. “The girl you like, is she a sword cultivator?”

Chen Chao was a bit surprised. He did not know how she could tell.

“There’s a particular aura about you. It’s very familiar. She must be a decent sword cultivator, but her cultivation realm is a little low.”

The Divine Daughter chuckled to herself. “Right now, she probably can’t beat you. But in the future, who knows?”

Chen Chao felt awkward, as if he had been completely seen through. This woman seemed to understand everything about him.

“A gift for the younger sister I haven’t met.”

The Divine Daughter extended her palm. A small sword formed in her hand, its surface rippling like flowing water.

“It’s a sword embryo. I don’t know if sword cultivators in your era still have these.”

She pressed her fingers to his glabella. The sword embryo entered his forehead, and she nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll leave it with you for now. When you see her, be sure to give it to her for me.”

Chen Chao gave a bitter smile. “Why are you so nice to me, Elder Sister?”

This was their first meeting, yet the Divine Daughter’s attitude had already surprised him.

Now she was even giving something to Xie Nandu, whom she had never seen.

The Divine Daughter smiled. “Just fate. I don’t like that little tigress, but I do like you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have acknowledged you as a little brother.”

Chen Chao thought about it and figured it probably had something to do with Cloud Mud.

After all, the one she had loved was the former owner of that saber.

“Yes... I don’t know what sort of connection you and he might have had, but the fact that you hold his saber means there must be some fate between us. Don’t you think so?”

The Divine Daughter smiled as she looked at Chen Chao.

Chen Chao did not know what to say.

The Divine Daughter looked into his eyes and suddenly said, “Actually, by now, I even feel like he might still be alive. Maybe one day, I can still meet him again.”

Chen Chao nodded. “I hope Elder Sister really will see that senior again someday.”

“If Heaven has feelings, it would never let lovers be parted.”

A line from a book Chen Chao had once read suddenly came to his mind, and he blurted it out without thinking.

The Divine Daughter repeated it softly, “If Heaven has feelings... how lovely.”

“For that one line, Elder Sister will give you something too?”

Chen Chao did not respond, but instead asked, “Elder Sister, are you also a sword immortal?”

Though he had not sensed any aura from her, he could not help feeling that the woman before him must be one.

”Guess?”

The Divine Daughter smiled at him, clearly not planning to give him the answer.

Chen Chao sighed. “If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean the girl I like can’t become the greatest sword immortal in the world?”

The Divine Daughter was amused and chuckled. “You’re all still young, full of endless potential. I’m already old.”

Chen Chao looked at her and shook his head. “With a face like Elder Sister’s, who dares to call Elder Sister old? I’ll be the first to give them a tight slap.”

“Hoh oh, so I take it the girl you like was won over by that glib tongue of yours?”

“Don’t you think I’m rather good-looking too, Elder Sister?”

“You? Compared to him... far too lacking.”

“Elder Sister, how could you say something so cold?”

Chen Chao feigned hurt. In that moment, it felt like he had returned to the days in Tianqing County, feeling easy and relaxed.

Mostly because this Divine Daughter was simply too kind.

“You smooth-tongued little rascal.”

She reached out and tapped Chen Chao’s glabella again. “If you like someone, say the sweet things you should say. Do the things you should do. Otherwise, how would she know?”

Before Chen Chao could respond, she went on. “You two aren’t transparent to each other. You think everything you feel is obvious, that she understands it all, but that’s rarely the case.”

Chen Chao lamented, “It’s like you understand everything, Elder Sister.”

“Just remember, don’t be too full of yourself.”

The Divine Daughter glanced at Chen Chao and said, “I’ve loved someone for hundreds of years already.”

Chen Chao nodded. “Hundreds of years, that’s a long time.”

“But as long as I’m alive, I’ll keep loving him. Maybe for a thousand years. Maybe for two thousand. All the way until the day I die.”

The Divine Daughter’s eyes were unwavering.

“Isn’t that a bit too painful?”

A lifetime alone, it sounded unbearably lonely.

“People live because of certain thoughts. Without those thoughts, they can’t go on. But whenever I think that if I died today, I’d never get to see him again, I just don’t want to die.”

Chen Chao did not know what to say. He simply felt a deep admiration for the Divine Daughter before him.

The Divine Daughter suddenly reached out her hand. A pure white flower appeared in her palm. She gazed at it, her expression complex. After a long while, she looked up, eyes glistening with tears.

“I can’t leave the Divine Mountain. So take this flower with you.”