“Are…are you a Flower Demon?”
Yang Che stared at the seven-leaf flower and asked, emboldened.
“You could say that. I see you’re quite hungry. Go to that stone shelf and find a yellow jade bottle. You can eat one of the Medicinal Pills inside.”
The ethereal voice spoke again.
Upon hearing this, Yang Che’s heavy legs, which had been about to flee the Stone Cave, involuntarily stopped.
The temptation of food was simply too great.
He struggled to walk to the stone shelf, found the yellow jade bottle the Flower Demon mentioned, and opened it. Immediately, a wave of medicinal fragrance assailed his nostrils. Just by smelling it, he felt his hunger lessen.
Originally still half-believing, he quickly poured out a light yellow Medicinal Pill and ate it in one bite.
The Medicinal Pill smelled fragrant but had no taste when eaten. However, after swallowing it, a warm current quickly flowed into his internal organs. Not only did his hunger vanish, but Yang Che could clearly feel his spirit recover significantly.
“What kind of Spirit Pill is this? It’s so miraculous.”
Yang Che had never heard of such a miraculous thing and felt deeply puzzled.
“This is a ‘Grain Abstinence Pill.’ Eat one, and you won’t feel hungry for ten days without food.”
The Flower Demon explained.
Yang Che was overjoyed. He firmly remembered the name of the Medicinal Pill, ‘Grain Abstinence Pill,’ and quietly tucked the entire yellow jade bottle into his Arms.
“What about the contents of these other bottles?” Yang Che asked, pointing to the remaining three bottles and jars.
“There are Medicinal Pills for strengthening the foundation and cultivating the essence, as well as Medicinal Pills specifically for external and internal injuries. However, there isn’t much left.” The Flower Demon said.
“Which one is for external injuries?” Yang Che immediately asked eagerly when he heard there were Medicinal Pills for external injuries.
“The one in the green jade bottle.”
Yang Che quickly found the green jade bottle, poured out a dark green Medicinal Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Not long after, he felt a warmth in his waist, and his injury was greatly alleviated.
“It’s too miraculous.”
Yang Che’s dark, thin face was full of excitement. He then stared at all the items on the stone shelf, his eyes burning with fervor.
“Since you are fated to enter this Immortal Cave, all these things will be yours from now on. Of the three ancient books on the stone shelf, two are Cultivation Techniques, and the black scroll is a treasure map. If you are interested, you can Cultivate the Purple Origin Art among them.”
“Cultivation Technique, Purple Origin Art?”
Yang Che was a bit confused, but he vaguely understood the words ‘Cultivate Immortal.’
He vaguely remembered hearing his grandfather say when he was a child that there were Immortals in this world, and Immortals could fly to the heavens and burrow into the earth, capable of anything.
Although Yang Che was illiterate, he was naturally quick-witted. He immediately turned and pointed at the skeleton, saying, “Is this person an Immortal?”
“She wasn’t quite an Immortal, just a Cultivator. However, all these Medicinal Pills were refined by her. If you can become a Cultivator, you can also refine these Medicinal Pills like her. Do…do you want to become a Cultivator?”
The Flower Demon suddenly became somewhat coaxing.
Upon hearing this, Yang Che was incredibly excited, feeling his heart beat much faster than usual.
Could his luck be changing?
If he could become a Cultivator, wouldn’t his grandfather’s great revenge be avenged? He himself wouldn’t have to go hungry anymore, nor would he be bullied by Yang Hu’s family, right?
Thinking of this, Yang Che asked with great longing, “Then what do I need to do to become a Cultivator?”
“I’ll teach you. Just do as I say.”
A hint of hidden excitement also permeated the Flower Demon’s voice. “Oh, what’s your name?”
“My name is Yang Che.”
“Good, Yang Che, find the Purple Origin Art and bring it over. I’ll teach you how to Cultivate.”
“I…I’m illiterate.”
Yang Che scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
“Illiterate? That’s a bit troublesome, but it’s not a big deal. Bring all three ancient books over.”
The Flower Demon urged.
Yang Che walked to the stone shelf, took down the three ancient books, returned to the front of the nursery, and then laid the three ancient books on the ground one by one.
The Flower Demon said, “The first one on your right is the Purple Origin Art. There are diagrams in it. I will explain the text and teach you. You follow what I say and Cultivate according to the diagrams.”
Yang Che was bewildered. He sat cross-legged. Following the Flower Demon’s instructions, it took him a full two days just to identify the Meridians and Acupoints on his body.
Next, Yang Che was even more flustered by the complex and profound Cultivation method of the Purple Origin Art described by the Flower Demon.
He was illiterate to begin with, and in his twelve years of life, he had never encountered anything about extraordinary Meridians, sensing Spiritual Qi, or Dantian refining. This made him feel not only novelty and excitement but also a sense of profundity, obscurity, and extreme difficulty.
Thus, another seven days passed. After Yang Che took another ‘Grain Abstinence Pill’.
“Yang Che, how is it? Do you feel the presence of that Qi flow within your Dantian?” The Flower Demon asked somewhat impatiently.
Yang Che shook his head and said helplessly, “Still no. Flower Demon, is it because I’m too stupid?”
Yang Che felt somewhat ashamed at this moment. He felt that he had somewhat failed the Flower Demon’s hard work in teaching him for the past few days, and deep down, there was a hint of panic, fearing that he simply could not become a Cultivator.
The Flower Demon also sighed helplessly, then suddenly asked, “How many Grain Abstinence Pills are left?”
Yang Che poured out all the Grain Abstinence Pills from the yellow jade bottle, counted them, and found there were six left.
“Six pills, plus the one you just took, means you have at most about seventy days left to stay here.
It seems with your Aptitude, it’s somewhat impossible to Cultivate the first layer of the Purple Origin Art and enter the first layer of the Qi Refinement Stage in seventy days.”
The Flower Demon seemed to have detected that Yang Che’s Aptitude was not very good, and her tone subtly revealed a hint of impatience and annoyance.
Yang Che also did not speak. For some reason, at this moment, he suddenly lost all worry. All he felt was indifference and numbness towards his own fate.
A never-before-felt surge of resentment, a hatred for the unfairness of heaven, also arose in his heart.
The Stone Cave fell silent, and Yang Che also did not speak again.
After a long time, the Flower Demon finally said, “Yang Che, pick the topmost fruit on my body and eat it.
Remember, you can only pick one. Otherwise, with your Aptitude, taking a second one will lead to your body exploding and dying.”
The Flower Demon’s voice was filled with extreme reluctance and pain, mixed with helplessness.
Yang Che had already deeply believed the Flower Demon’s words. Upon hearing this, he picked a fruit as black as ink from the top of the flower and swallowed it in one bite.
It tasted pretty good; this was Yang Che’s initial feeling when he swallowed the black fruit. However, immediately after, Yang Che felt an unbearable sharp pain in his body.
Pain, bone-deep pain!
It was like thousands of ants clinging to his bones, burrowing into his bone marrow, gnawing little by little.
Yang Che screamed, unable to sit steadily, and directly fell to the ground, beginning to convulse.
He felt as if something had suddenly been stuffed into each of his Meridians, swelling them to the point of bursting.
His vision blurred repeatedly, and he almost fainted several times, but the six years of beatings still had an effect.
Yang Che, relying on the stubbornness he had developed over the years, gritted his teeth until they shattered, swallowing the blood, forcing himself to maintain a sliver of consciousness.
An hour later, the pain finally slowly receded, and Yang Che gradually transitioned from weakness to becoming energetic.
Only when an incomparable feeling of comfort came from within his body did he sit up, feeling refreshed, and found that a layer of dark, sticky grime had appeared on the surface of his body.
“Yang Che, keep walking inward. There’s an underground dark river there. Go wash yourself.”
Seeing that Yang Che had endured, the Flower Demon was somewhat comforted by his rather good willpower.
Yang Che walked towards the sound of water. At this moment, his mind was clear, and he felt very miraculous.
Finding a suitable section of the dark river, Yang Che jumped in and washed thoroughly, discovering that many of the old injuries left by Yang Hu’s previous beatings had healed considerably.
His heart was undoubtedly filled with gratitude towards the Flower Demon.
After cleaning himself, Yang Che even specifically washed his old clothes. Then, dressed in his still-damp clothes, he returned to the strange flower.
“Continue to Cultivate. You should find it much easier to Cultivate now than before.”
The Flower Demon said confidently.
Indeed, when Yang Che continued to Cultivate the Purple Origin Art, he truly felt it was much easier.
After two months of arduous Cultivation, when only the last Grain Abstinence Pill remained, Yang Che finally successfully Cultivated the first layer of the Purple Origin Art.
With an excited heart, he was about to report the good news to the Flower Demon, but upon opening his eyes, he suddenly saw a faint green light sphere suddenly fly out from the flower. His eyes blurred, and before he could speak, the green light sphere drilled into his glabella.
With a ‘buzz,’ Yang Che only felt a sharp pain in his glabella, and then he knew nothing more.