Stranger Danger-Chapter 1784: Peach Garden

“What are you doing?”

It was at this moment Elder Furnace snapped out of his excitement and noticed Feng Qingyou’s actions. “Are you taking away the Five Phases Celestial Vine? That’s not right! It belongs to the ancient Divine Court!”

“Have you forgotten, Elder Furnace? The ancient Divine Court is long gone.”

Feng Qingyou said indifferently, “Right now, the Five Phases Celestial Vine belongs to no one. Naturally, it goes to whoever is fated with it.”

As she spoke, the Five Phases Celestial Vine was uprooted by the palm the Supreme Primal Origin Celebratory Cloud had transformed into.

Elder Furnace did not argue with her. As she said, the Divine Court was long gone.

“Huh...”

As soon as Feng Qingyou put away the Five Phases Celestial Vine, Ye Qing could sense the ambient energies of this place fading away rapidly. The grass and trees began withering, the flowers began wilting, and the birds and beasts became lifeless. Even the ground was losing its previously fantastical luster. It was as if its soul had been sucked out, and the shell could do nothing but wane without end.

“Looks like the Five Phases Celestial Vine is the true roots of these plants,” Feng Qingyou said calmly and indifferently[1].

“As expected of a natural spirit root and one of the twelve divine herbs of the Divine Court,” Ye Qing echoed in agreement. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

They both underestimated just how important the Five Phases Celestial Vine—or more accurately, the twelve divine herbs—was for the land; perhaps even the Heaven itself.

“Speaking of which, do you know where the rest of the divine herbs are, Elder Furnace?”

For obvious reasons, Ye Qing’s interest in divine herbs had grown even greater than before.

Elder Furnace looked at Ye Qing incredulously. “What, one divine herb isn’t enough for you?”

“We’re already here, so we might as well grab them for ourselves. Besides, it’s not like these divine herbs belong to anyone. It would be a waste to leave them behind.”

Ye Qing smiled. “Also, if we grow stronger, then it would be easier for us to hunt down the rest of the treasures, and we could restore the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s power quicker, don’t you agree?”

“You make perfect sense.”

Elder Furnace instantly forgot himself the moment the Earthly Sovereign Bell was brought up. “I remember that five hundred kilometers to the east of the Five Phases Celestial Vine is where the Peach Garden is located.”

Ye Qing’s interest was immediately piqued. “Peach Garden? Is it the legendary garden where the life-extending immortal peaches are grown?”

Elder Furnace nodded. “That is correct.”

Ye Qing continued, “They say that there are 360 peach trees in the Peach Garden. The 120 peach trees at the forefront only bear small flowers and small fruits. The fruit matures once every three thousand years. If someone eats it, they would gain their Dao and become a celestial. Their bodies would be strong, light and healthy.”

“The 120 peach trees at the center of the garden have layered flowers and sweet fruits. The fruit matures once every six thousand years. If someone eats it, they will ascend to the heavens and become immortal.”

The last 120 peach trees at the back of the garden have purple patterns and light yellow cores. The fruit matures once every nine thousand years. If someone eats it, they will live as long as the sky and the earth, and become as powerful as the sun and the moon. Is it true?”

“Where on earth did you hear this from?” Elder Furnace looked at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing rubbed his nose and deflected the question. “That’s not important. Just tell me if it’s true or not.”

Elder Furnace did not press him. “There aren’t 360 peach trees. In fact, there are only three. Each tree only bears one fruit.”

“That said, the effects of the fruits are more or less the same as what you described. One tree bears a fruit that matures once every three thousand years. If you eat it, you will immediately become a Sage and gain three thousand years of lifespan.”

“Another tree bears a fruit that matures once every six thousand years. If you eat it, you will know the Great Way and gain six thousand years of lifespan.”

“Finally, the last tree bears a fruit that matures once every nine thousand years. If you eat it, three flowers will bloom above your crown, your Dao fruit will be proven, and you will gain nine thousand years of lifespan.”

“Become a Sage? Know the Great Way? Prove my Dao fruit?” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up with every sentence Elder Furnace spoke. Although the reality was much different from the exaggerated rumors he heard, the effects of the peaches still could not be understated.

The fact that the peaches granted thousands of years of lifespan was insane enough, but what really caught Ye Qing’s attention was the promotion to one’s cultivation.

If he wasn’t mistaken, what Elder Furnace said—becoming a Sage, knowing the Great Way, and proving one’s Dao fruit—was a reflection of three different levels of the Martial Way.

Becoming a Sage was exactly what it sounded like. One would shed their mortal shell and become a Sage.

Knowing the Great Way most likely referred to the third level of the Sage-stage, Know The Way.

And finally, proving one’s Dao fruit meant surpassing the Sage-stage and reaching the level beyond the Sage-stage. It was most likely the mythical level where one attained immortality, proved their Dao fruit, became living celestials as more.

Every named celestial or god of the Divine Court was probably at this level.

Therefore, if he could obtain even one of these fruits, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he would skyrocket to the next level in one step.

He’s not a greedy man, really. He did not need to have the nine-thousand-year-old immortal peach. He would be satisfied with just the six-thousand-year-old one.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!”

Overflowing with motivation, Ye Qing immediately took off toward the direction Elder Furnace had pointed at.

On the way, the surrounding flora and fauna suddenly attacked them like they had gone crazy. For whatever reason, they were all brimming with murderous hostility.

More accurately, this corner of the Heaven was brimming with murderous hostility toward them.

It was most likely because they had taken away the Five Phases Celestial Vine.

This level of attack could not impede them in the slightest though. So, it didn’t take them long to arrive at the peach garden Elder Furnace had spoken of.

The tree was slightly taller than a normal person. Its tree trunk was bluish green like a jade, its branches and leaves were colorful like an auspicious cloud, and rays of clear light shone between its canopy and conjured all sorts of enigmatic and strange images. There were images of dragons and phoenixes, sun, moon and star, celestials riding the wind, gods and demons drinking and feasting at a table...

At the center of the fantastical mirage was a delicious-looking immortal peach.

“Is that the peach?” Ye Qing asked.

“Yes, it is.”

Elder Furnace looked puzzled. “But why is there only one tree? Where are the other two?”

Ye Qing did not care about that. He only cared if the immortal peach before his eyes was nine thousand years old, six-thousand years old, or just three thousand years old. If it was the last one, then he wasn’t going to risk whatever danger lurked in this land to harvest it. After all, both he and Feng Qingyou were already Sages. What could it possibly do for them?

Although he hadn’t sensed any danger from the peach tree, nor had he found any danger in the vicinity of the peach tree, it did not take a genius to figure out that a divine herb would have some ways to protect itself. Otherwise, its precious immortal peach would have been eaten by some random bird or animal a long, long time ago.

Therefore, he wasn’t going to brave the dangers if the immortal peach wasn’t worth his time.

Just because he wasn’t afraid of danger didn’t mean he enjoyed risking his own hide.

“The tree trunk is bluish green, the leaves are colorful like auspicious clouds, and mirages appear between its canopy. So, it’s probably the nine-thousand-year-old one.”

Elder Furnace explained, “That said, we need to move closer to be sure. If you are nine thousand steps away from the peach tree, and you catch a faint but fragrant scent that is unlike anything you have ever smelled; if the fragrance instantly improves your spirit by a hundred times, eliminates all of your hidden illnesses and damages, and increases your lifespan by nine years, then it must be the nine-thousand-year-old immortal peach.”

Ye Qing followed his advice and stopped nine thousand steps away from the peach tree. As Elder Furnace claimed, he immediately caught a fragrant scent that refreshed his whole body and improved his spirit by a hundred times over. His lifespan also increased by exactly nine years.

Ye Qing took a couple more sniffs, but nothing else happened. Unfortunately, extra sniffs did not seem to improve his condition in any way.

“It’s definitely the nine-thousand-year-old immortal peach,” Feng Qingyou declared.

“We—” Ye QIng was just about to say something when suddenly, he waved his hand and surrounded himself and Feng Qingyou in Yin Yang Qi.

Not a moment too soon, a silhouette appeared from the horizon and came to a stop in the sky.

The newcomer was a monk. He was wearing a large, loose kasaya that exposed his chest and belly. His face was very fat, and he was wearing a Buddhist necklace made out of infant skulls. Buddhist light enveloped him, and Buddhist chants filled the air. He looked both good and evil.

1. Just a reminder that even though waifu has mellowed out, that doesn’t mean she isn’t one hella scary woman. ☜