Chapter 9
Two days later, a huge wave of spiritual Qi permeated the surroundings, expanding up to 200 meters from the cave. This made some of the beasts in the area inch closer, as they sensed that a human was trying to form their Golden Core. This was too tempting for any beast, as eating a human's golden core would immediately make their strength soar.
Inside the cave, Shin Jiao could see large beads of sweat forming on Cherry Lao's forehead, her body already covered in it. He averted his eyes as he noticed a vague view of her body's curves from her wet robe, which was now sticking to her skin. Shin Jiao wanted to help her, seeing her struggle, but he was afraid it might break her concentration and lead to disaster. So, he just waited on the side, ready to protect her.
"Hmm, there seem to be some movements outside…" he thought as his senses picked up something. "Best if I could get rid of some of these nuisances," Shin Jiao muttered as he felt auras coming toward the cave.
He quietly exited and stood guard outside. He had already found and killed some beasts before they could get too close. After some time, he suddenly felt a very strong pressure emanating from the cave.
"This… was she successful in forming her Golden Core? If so, that's a relief," Shin Jiao muttered, a smile creeping onto his face.
As he was looking toward the cave, a shadow suddenly jumped out from a bush and attacked him. Five long, sharp claws whistled through the air toward his neck. The beast was a long-clawed monkey the size of a regular person, but with a stronger physique than Shin Jiao. An evil and sinister smile appeared on its gruesome face as its claws passed through what it thought was Shin Jiao's flesh. But before it could feel truly happy about its successful sneak attack, it suddenly felt its consciousness fading. Then its body lifelessly slumped to the ground.
The Shin Jiao in front of it turned into a blur, an afterimage. And from the beast's right side stood the real Shin Jiao, with a bloody, refined stone machete in his hand.
"Hah, I didn't know that even my normal speed is this fast. Since I haven't used my body in a fight for some time, I guess I misjudged my strength. Maybe this is the reason why I can feel my body getting stronger even though the spheres in my dantian aren't increasing… Hmm… I'm guessing that with my bare strength alone, I can wrestle a 3rd-level beast. If I continue with this, I think I can increase my body's strength to that of a 5th-level beast in just two to three months."
A feeling of elation filled Shin Jiao's heart. He looked at the dead, sharp-clawed monkey and put it inside his ring. He then looked around at the carcasses and began to busy himself with the cleanup.
Suddenly, he noticed that the cave door quietly opened, and out came Cherry Lao with silent footsteps. She spotted Shin Jiao not far from the entrance, and a smile crept onto her red lips. But as her gaze stayed on him, she froze, and her smile turned into a frown.
"He… he isn't emitting any spiritual fluctuations… This… this is impossible, right?… It can't be," Cherry Lao said to herself, disbelief filling her eyes.
According to her analysis, Shin Jiao was a Core-Forming Realm cultivator or higher. The beasts she saw from his hunts were at least 2nd and 3rd level, and he had even gotten a 5th-level beast king's core. How could this be possible? Although he didn't say where he got them, as a mortal, how could he even have the strength to cut open a demon king's carcass? All these events, and the time she had spent with him, made her doubt what she was seeing.
Feeling the intense gaze behind him, Shin Jiao knew without using his senses that Cherry Lao was looking at him, so he turned around.
"Damn, this girl is truly beautiful. Now that she's broken through to the Golden Core Realm, her aura is like that of a Goddess," Shin Jiao thought as he observed the young woman.
"I guess you were successful in forming your Golden Core, right? Congratulations!" Shin Jiao said, feeling elated.
"Yes… But… Shin, your aura… I… I can't see any spiritual energy fluctuation from you. It's as if you don't have Qi in your body…" she said, with a hint of disbelief and reluctance in her tone. In her heart, she didn't want to know the truth, but her curiosity got the best of her.
"Oh, you can see spiritual auras now. Well, I won't hide it from you. The truth is, I don't have any spiritual roots, so I can't cultivate," Shin Jiao said as if it were a normal thing.
But upon hearing this, Cherry Lao's expression dropped, and her heart was in turmoil. His confirmation made her truly confused and, at the same time, hurt. She felt she had been lied to and betrayed. Although it wasn't her place to feel that way, as there was no relationship between them, she couldn't help it. As a cultivator, Cherry's mindset was influenced by the people around her and in her sect. This was also why she had almost given up when she found out about her core. Discovering that Shin Jiao was just a mortal was a heavy blow. She couldn't deny that she liked Shin Jiao, and her feelings for him were borderline love and friendship.
As a strong woman, her goal was to be an immortal, a powerful being. Her partner should also be the same, able to support her, and she would support him too. But Shin Jiao wasn't a cultivator; how could she accept this disappointing situation? She couldn't accept that she truly felt this way about a "trash" mortal, a term she herself had disdained. Also, as a cultivator, her lifespan was longer than his. She couldn't accept the pain of seeing the one she loved grow old and die before her.
"Are… are you sure? How could that be?… You're not lying to me, Shin, right? Tell me this is all a joke," Cherry Lao's emotional turmoil suddenly erupted.
"What's going on, Cherry? I mean, why are you so riled up? So what if I'm a mortal?" Shin Jiao replied in confusion as he saw tears slowly flowing down her face.
"You!… Do you not care about me? Do you not like me?" Cherry Lao shouted in agitation.
"Ha?! Umm… I… I won't say that I don't like you… but…" Shin Jiao was suddenly stumped. He was not prepared for this kind of question. Deep within himself, he couldn't lie that he had truly felt something for her. As a normal man, being alone with a beautiful young woman, how could he not? But the situation was confusing. They were in the middle of the forest, and their future was still not clear. There were still many things he needed to consider.
"But what?…" Cherry Lao asked.
But before Shin Jiao could answer, a loud crash suddenly interrupted their conversation.
...
A short distance away, three cultivators suddenly appeared, being chased by a giant lizard-like beast. The sound of magic weapons and clashing spells reverberated through the area. The giant lizard was a 4th-level beast, and the three cultivators were all at the peak of the Core-Forming Realm. Shin Jiao and Cherry Lao couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.
The three cultivators and the giant lizard suddenly noticed Shin Jiao and Cherry Lao, and the group froze. The giant lizard, with its sharp instincts, had an ominous feeling as it sensed the aura of the young woman standing in the distance. It knew that if she entered the battle, its life would be threatened. The three cultivators could also see Cherry Lao's aura, which was at the primary level of the Golden Core Realm, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
The only female in the group immediately rushed forward and greeted Cherry Lao.
"Senior sister, this junior greets you. I'm Mei Wan of the Thunder Sword Sect. My fellow disciples and I wanted to ask for your assistance. We would gladly compensate you for your troubles… We just want the gallbladder of this Fiery Lizard for my younger brother's illness, and some of its parts. If you are willing to help, the rest of its parts will be yours," she said courteously as she bowed with cupped hands toward Cherry Lao.
Cherry Lao furrowed her brows, noticing that the group seemed to ignore Shin Jiao, who was standing right in front of her. She wanted to scold the group but held herself back, as she had already confirmed that Shin Jiao was truly just a mortal, and her heart sank.
The Fiery Lizard sensed that something was wrong and decided to attack Cherry Lao first. Its instinct told it that she was the most dangerous one. It pounced forward and darted with its long tongue, which emitted heat like a sharp javelin, going straight toward Cherry Lao.
The sharp, fiery tongue was almost about to hit Cherry Lao, who was stunned and unable to react to the beast's sneak attack. But suddenly, before the tongue could reach her, a tall figure blocked her view and collided with the tongue. The impact from the collision between the tongue and Shin Jiao, who used his already enhanced stone machete to block the attack, caused him to be thrown like a cannonball toward a tree.
Boom!!!
Although Shin Jiao's body was sturdy, the impact still hurt him. He spewed a mouthful of blood and slumped against the broken tree trunk.
"Shin! Why did you…" Cherry Lao shouted as she ran toward him with worry-filled eyes.
"It's okay… I'm not… that hurt," Shin Jiao replied with a smile. But the blood trickling from the side of his lips made him look pitiful. Suddenly, a mocking tone interrupted the two.
"Humph! A trashy mortal trying to be a hero. That's what you get for overestimating yourself," a young girl's cold voice was heard from behind Cherry Lao.
"Senior Sister, you don't have to waste your time with him. Although he was hit, he said that he's okay. Our kind should not mingle with those lower beings," Mei Wan said, trying to convince Cherry Lao with her own twisted logic, which was very common in this world.
"Go, help them. I'm okay. It would be more troublesome if that Fiery Lizard isn't dealt with," Shin Jiao said as he patted Cherry Lao's hand with a smile.
Although a little hesitant, Cherry Lao knew the situation was bad. So she nodded in confirmation and stood up, taking out her sword from her spatial tool to help the other cultivators face the 4th-level beast.
Seeing this, Mei Wan frowned. She couldn't accept something like this. She was born into an aristocratic family that believed all mortals were just slaves and had no right to talk to cultivators. Seeing Cherry Lao obey a mere mortal's words, she felt her pride as a cultivator was tarnished, and a killing intent glinted in her eyes as she looked at Shin Jiao.
"A mere trashy mortal trying to command a cultivator. If I don't teach you a lesson and claim your life later, then I'm not a noble cultivator," she said to herself as she ran and followed Cherry Lao. Because of her clouded views and extreme racism, she didn't realize that although she was looking at a mortal, how could a mere mortal survive that attack? And although there was a Golden Core Realm cultivator next to him, this part of the forest was where 3rd- to 5th-level beasts existed; how could a mortal survive here?
Shin Jiao just shook his head, stood up, and decided to watch the fight. He didn't care what others thought. If they didn't offend him, he would just let them be. But if they caused trouble, they shouldn't blame him for being impolite.
A long and hard battle followed, which made Shin Jiao a little disappointed. The cultivators had them outnumbered but were not able to overpower the Fiery Lizard quickly. Instead, they used some flowery techniques with weird names. Every time they executed their skills, they would say the name out loud, like in the kids' shows he used to watch on TV back on Earth. This made Shin Jiao almost laugh out loud.
"This is too funny. I guess it truly is as Gubu said in his records. Mortals are disdained and oppressed on this continent. But it doesn't matter; with that level of skill, I won't be afraid of facing any cultivators below the Golden Core Realm. Cherry's skills are good, and she can execute a lot of techniques, but there are some useless movements in them that consume more of her energy than needed," Shin Jiao muttered as he watched the fight. As a former spy, he was well-versed in many different fighting techniques. With Gubu's records, he was also able to learn some profound techniques from this continent, so he could see their flaws.
At last, on the battlefield, Cherry Lao suddenly imbued her spiritual energy into her sword, which emitted a bluish light. She then shouted the skill name, which made Shin Jiao cringe. But the skill was truly strong; with one slash, she was able to decapitate the lizard's head.
"Wow! Senior Sister, you are really strong. Golden Core Realm cultivators are truly powerful," Mei Wan shouted in excitement as she saw the Fiery Lizard's body slump to the ground with a loud thud. The group began dissecting the large corpse right after.
This time, Shin Jiao noticed something and realized that not all of them had spatial tools. When Cherry Lao stored her share of the loot, the group of three cultivators looked amazed, especially the haughty young woman, Mei Wan.
"Wow, Senior Sister, you have a storage ring! That is truly awesome. I wish I can be your friend… Hihi…" she shamelessly said, as if it would be an honor for Cherry Lao to be her friend. A hint of envy could be seen in her eyes as she looked at the storage ring on Cherry's dainty hand.
Seeing his younger sister behaving so blatantly, the handsome and sturdy young man who resembled Mei Wan stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Senior, please don't be offended by my little sister's behavior. She is just too young and excited to see a powerful person like yourself," he said, bowing in respect, but Shin Jiao saw a glint of craftiness in his eyes. Though he tried to hide it, it didn't escape Shin Jiao, who was observing the group.
Seeing that the battle was done and that exhaustion could be seen in Cherry Lao's eyes, he walked toward them and interrupted their awkward conversation.
"Ahem… We should be going…" he said.
When the others heard this, they looked displeased. But Shin Jiao didn't mind them. However, he also didn't want Cherry to think he was uncultured, so he offered, "If you guys want to rest, you can come with us," he added with a smile.