"That effective?" Ren Baqian raised an eyebrow.

Even though its smell had given away the fact that it wasn't an ordinary peach, Ren Baqian didn't expect it to possess such power. Something like this could be considered as an artifact or a national treasure here on Earth. Even in the other world, these peaches would have considerable value.

Furthermore, it wasn't easy to enable the empress to significantly progress in her training. After all, she was one of the most powerful people in that world and capable of unleas.h.i.+ng immense power.

To think there could be something this precious on Earth. To think that Su Wen would even send four of them.

Ren Baqian would die before believing that Su Wen was unaware of anything.

The thing that made Ren Baqian uneasy was not knowing just how much Su Wen knew.

Could there really be a Buddha up in the heavens watching over all life?

Was Ren Baqian's ability to traverse between the two worlds related to them?

Theories flashed across his mind as he paid lip service to the empress and said, "Since they are beneficial to Your Majesty, Your Majesty can have them all."

"They might be beneficial, but only slightly so. These peaches would be of much greater use to you since their impressive nutritional value and medicinal effectiveness doesn't come with any potentially damaging energy. They won't hurt you in any way and will only serve to mend your body and improve your apt.i.tude for training. Your progress is too slow, so you'll need to eat the peaches to catch up."

Finished with what she had to say, the empress pushed the three peaches in front of Ren Baqian. Perhaps from remembering her agreement with Ren Baqian, the tips of her ears reddened a little.

Ren Baqian would be able to marry her after attaining the Earth Wheel level.

Her giving him these peaches sent signals that she might be getting tired of waiting.

These peaches were indeed extremely useful to Ren Baqian, able to increase his power and mend his body. A good amount of training injuries could be healed just by consuming them.

"These peaches… Are they considered precious to the temple?" Ren Baqian asked the little monk. He was getting some ideas about them.

"There is only one tree that yields the best peaches, only eight fruits are harvested every year, and four of those eight are here in front of you," the little monk explained.

Ren Baqian raised an eyebrow. Sending half of the year's harvest was a huge gift.

"Master even said that he was going to give four to you each year for the next five years. After that, you will no longer require them."

The empress was surprised by his generosity.

Ren Baqian fell silent after hearing the little monk's words.

He picked up a peach and gave it a bite. A fragrant and sweet flavor flooded his mouth and overloaded his taste buds. The peach's flesh was soft, yet exquisite, and he found himself quickly devouring the entire fruit. A warm gush flowed from his stomach to his four limbs, was.h.i.+ng over every body part it pa.s.sed. It was as though he was immersed in a hot tub, and his body felt as light as a feather.

His body quickly heated up as waves of heat surged through his blood. The intense feeling left Ren Baqian unable to move at all.

The empress lightly patted him on the back.

The heat waves momentarily dissipated and became easily absorbed by his body.

Ren Baqian felt an intense thirst once he regained his ability to move. At this point, the last two peaches on the table were practically calling out to him, begging to be eaten. Ren Baqian gobbled up one more and experienced the whole warming process again.

When the empress dispersed the heat waves within his body this time, Ren Baqian's muscles began to palpitate. He felt as high as a kite, as if he was floating up into the sky. After regaining consciousness, Ren Baqian found himself entering the [Visualization of Wood]. He saw the metal lock spinning on top of a tree branch.

A moment later, Ren Baqian roused from the [Visualization of Wood]. The bones in his body were creaking and cracking, making him feel utterly relaxed. It was as though he was finally released from his fetters.

He was much stronger now.

Ren Baqian knew that this wasn't an illusion. He had just broke through the [Visualization of Wood].

He was previously only able to climb halfway up the giant tree. At his pace, Ren Baqian would probably have required at least three more months to get to the top.

These two peaches right here had saved him three months of effort, allowing him to leapfrog to the next level in an instant.

Such effectiveness was truly unbelievable.

Even in the other world, there were few such objects. On Earth, this was practically a miracle.

Su Wen had become much more mysterious in Ren Baqian's eyes.

He knew from his collaboration with the country that there was nothing supernatural on Earth. There was no way the country would have treated him like this if they had prior contact with celestials or other beings. Working together with Messier 87 allowed him to confirm this.

Su Wen's actions and words shook his firm belief in this. There was something fishy about this "Su Wen" character.

Ren Baqian guessed he would just have to go and meet him.

Ren Baqian gave it some thought. He looked at Xing Ruo, the little monk, and felt that there was no reason he should reject bringing him into the other world to preach in exchange for those peaches. He had already eaten most of them anyway.

The little monk crossing over wouldn't affect him either.

Xing Ruo's age and ident.i.ty meant that he knew little outside of Buddhism. He was effectively unable to cause much disruption in that world, and even if he did, Ren Baqian was in a position where he didn't need to worry.

To play it safe, Ren Baqian conversed with the little monk for a while to confirm his impression.

The little monk was brought up in a monastery and knew practically nothing about the world beyond those walls. This was actually the first time he had left the mountain.

"You won't be able to see your master anymore if you follow me," Ren Baqian said.

"My destiny lies with you. Master told me to follow you wherever you go."

"You aren't afraid that I'll sell or kill you?"

The little monk was clearly frightened by what Ren Baqian said, but clenched his teeth and replied, "Even if I'm killed or sold, it's my destiny."

Ren Baqian had nothing more to say.

Looking at the last lone peach, Ren Baqian no longer felt a strong urge to eat it. He understood that this wasn't meant for him—two was more than sufficient.

"Your Majesty, please eat this last one. The two I ate were enough," Ren Baqian said to the empress without noticing the little monk's eager expression.

The empress promptly finished the peach in three bites. A powerful blast emitted from her body, sending Ren Baqian, the little monk, the tea set, and the nearby sofas flying. Only the empress and the sofa she sat on remained in place.

"Not bad. It looks like I have finally fully recovered." The empress smiled. Even though she had a high tolerance for pain, the frequent and seemingly random bouts of pain were of great annoyance to her. Now that her injuries were healed, she was happy and back in top form.

…

Wu City. A seemingly blind old man strolled through the city center, lightly tapping the ground with his bamboo cane as he walked.

The old man was wearing a long, black gown and had a cloth sash covering his eyes. His hair was neatly combed to the back of his head.

His gait was rather odd. If one observed carefully, one would find that each and every one of the old man's steps were equidistant. Even the way the bamboo cane touched the floor was always the same. The precision and complete lack of hesitation gave his movements a mechanical feeling.

The old man walked to the empress's Wu City residence and stopped short of where the guards were barking commands. He sensed the presences within the residence and mumbled, "She's not here?."

He continued, "Where did Qi Zixiao go?"

"Preposterous! Who are you to address the empress by name?" The two door guards drew their swords and charged at him in anger.

Barely a few steps into their attack, and about 10 meters away from their target, the blind old man raised his cane and tapped the air in front of him twice. The two guards stopped in their tracks, collapsing onto the ground like two ragdolls.

Fresh blood was flowing out from the small hole in each of their torsos.

The residence fell into a state of chaos.

Brooding figures brandis.h.i.+ng sparkling, sharp blades sprang out from within the residence and slashed away at the blind man.

With each prod into the s.p.a.ce in front of him, the blind old man sent his opponents dropping one by one.

They all died from the same cause, a cleanly bored hole right through the center of their hearts.

A dozen bodies littered the ground after a short span of time. Upon getting wind of what was happening, the winged cavalry burst forth from all sides. They pressed on with sabers in hand despite seeing the fallen guards.

Xi Wanya rushed out of the residence to see the commotion, but all he saw was the movement of the bamboo cane and the bodies of the winged cavalry warriors cras.h.i.+ng to the ground.

Xi Wanya shouted in anger, "Identify yourself, you treacherous sc.u.m. How dare you!"

"Where is Qi Zixiao?" the blind man asked flatly, his cane tapping the air unceasingly as it claimed life after life.

The blind old man was mowing the fearsome winged cavalry down like gra.s.s!