CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: TOOL MAN

Ji Nanhong couldn’t help but scrutinize Chen Guan, trying to discern his appearance.

When she first saw Chen Guan, she didn’t have a particularly deep impression. She only felt that he was fairly decent in appearance, but compared to Qin Ziyu’s sharp-featured, handsome look with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, he seemed to lack that direct impact on the soul, not making one marvel at first glance.

But now, upon careful inspection, she realized that Chen Guan’s features were actually quite exceptional, even describable as exquisite. The reason people didn’t find him stunning at first glance was because his eyebrows drew the attention away from his eyes.

His eyebrows were black and thick, making one wonder if they were painted on. They were much wider than the average person’s eyebrows, but their lines were not as sharp, instead appearing softer.

Due to these eyebrows, Chen Guan appeared much more gentle and kind, not so striking, giving off the vibe of a friendly big brother next door.

If one were to ignore these thick eyebrows, Ji Nanhong felt that Chen Guan’s appearance could easily be described as handsome, not inferior even to Qin Ziyu.

With these eyebrows, while his appearance might be less aggressive, it wouldn’t provoke dislike either, still feeling above average.

Ji Nanhong placed her fingers horizontally a foot away from her eyes, masking Chen Guan’s eyebrows to look again, and her heart suddenly beat a bit faster.

The destructive power of those eyebrows was even greater than she had imagined.

Without those eyebrows, looking at Chen Guan made her heart race uncontrollably.

Inwardly, Ji Nanhong thought to herself that it might be quite delightful to have something happen with such a man; at the very least, it wouldn’t be unpleasant, and there was even a bit of anticipation.

However, once she removed her fingers masking the eyebrows, that feeling immediately faded significantly.

After repeatedly scrutinizing, Ji Nanhong discovered that the biggest difference between Chen Guan with and without those eyebrows was that his aura was completely different.

Chen Guan, without the concealment of those eyebrows, possessed a handsomeness tinged with a certain wickedness. In this context, wickedness wasn’t a derogatory term and shouldn’t be equated with bad.

It was like a feeling of knowing he was dangerous, yet unable to resist being drawn to that danger, much like the flame’s allure to the moth.

With the eyebrows concealing, that wickedness vanished entirely, making Chen Guan’s aura appear very gentle and kind, but it lacked that fatal allure for women.

It was the first time Ji Nanhong realized that a pair of eyebrows could have such a tremendous impact on a person’s appearance and aura.

"If Chen Guan were to trim his eyebrows, making them more angular and three-dimensional, he might be even more attractive than Qin Ziyu." Ji Nanhong thought to herself.

Upon this thought, Ji Nanhong couldn’t help but let out a light sigh. While Chen Guan’s appearance was quite good, in these times, a man’s looks weren’t the deciding factor.

Especially for someone like her, if she couldn’t find a man with great talent in cultivation, their future paths would inevitably drift apart, ultimately ending without a good result.

It wasn’t because of character nor due to lack of affection, but because their lives would hardly intersect, and over time even the strongest feelings could face challenges.

In Ji Nanhong’s view, Chen Guan’s talent in cultivation and his family background seemed fairly ordinary; otherwise, entering here on the same day, his strength gap with Qin Ziyu couldn’t have been so vast.

"Though we won’t be able to truly stay together in the future, at this moment, there’s no other choice. Having a memory with such a man is also a beautiful thing, right?" Ji Nanhong’s cheeks flushed slightly, she forced herself to suppress her emotions, then said to Chen Guan, "If my injuries were left to heal naturally, even with the aid of medicine, it would be hard to recover in less than ten or half a month. In a place like this, every extra minute is an added danger; we must find a way to escape quickly, so it’s best to heal my injuries as soon as possible."

"If such good medicine can’t heal it, what else could work?" Chen Guan said, though his mind couldn’t help but turn to a certain passage in a text.

Within the application skills of the Dual Cultivation Technique, there was a Dharma Gate called "All Things Grow." All things grow and restrain each other; yin and yang complement and assist each other, nourishing one another, able to achieve miraculous effects of reviving the dead. But he didn’t know if what was written was exaggerated or whether it would be effective.

"Could Ji Nanhong be thinking of taking advantage of me to practice this All Things Grow Dharma Gate through dual cultivation?" Chen Guan wondered inwardly.

"Chen Guan, did you remember the text just now?" Ji Nanhong, seeing no change in his expression, became somewhat anxious. After all, she was a woman, and even though she was willing at heart, she still hoped the man would take the initiative.

"There were too many words, and I was distracted by that shadow, so I haven’t had the chance to look closely." Of course, Chen Guan couldn’t say such a thing out loud.

Even though Ji Nanhong was a beauty, radiant and robust, at that moment he didn’t have such thoughts. In such a dangerous place, who could afford such idle pleasures? Chen Guan wasn’t a lust-driven fool.

Moreover, Chen Guan suspected this was not truly the Ah Fang Sutra created by Emperor Ancestor, and whether it was effective was still uncertain.

Seeing Chen Guan like this, Ji Nanhong had no choice but to appear calm, pretending nonchalantly, "Within that text, there’s a Dharma Gate called ’All Things Grow.’ Using this Dharma Gate, my foot injury might recover quickly; it’s the only method now."

"Then hurry and use it," Chen Guan said with an innocent look at Ji Nanhong.

Ji Nanhong, feeling resigned, continued, "All Things Grow requires the Dual Cultivation Technique as a foundation, so it takes two people to use. If you’re willing to help me, I can offer you compensation."

Chen Guan thought, "She thinks I’m just a tool; I’m not selling myself. What does she mean by compensation?"

While mocking himself inwardly, he saw Ji Nanhong take something out from her chest and place it in front of him, "This is a Secret Skill Core of the Unparalleled called ’Ghost God Step,’ a stepping technique secret skill. If you’re willing to help me this time, it’s yours."

"Is this the Ghost God Step from the Beimang Mountain Blessed Land?" Chen Guan’s refusal caught in his throat.

He had heard of the fame of the Ghost God Step. Among stepping technique secret skills, the Ghost God Step ranked in the top ten.

"One step startles ghosts, two steps startle gods, three steps are unpredictable to ghosts and gods" was how people described the Ghost God Step.

In terms of its unpredictable nature, Ghost God Step was truly unrivaled.

Unfortunately, only the Ghost Emperor of the Beimang Mountain Blessed Land could produce the Ghost God Step Secret Skill Core, and the quantity produced was very scarce. It’s said that there are less than ten cultivators in the world who know the Ghost God Step.

Of course, most Unparalleled Secret Skills are rarely produced.

The key is that this can be used right from the First Awakening; it doesn’t require waiting for the Second Awakening.

Chen Guan hadn’t expected Ji Nanhong to have such a thing on her. With such a good secret skill, why didn’t she use it herself, even offering it to buy Chen Guan as her dual cultivation tool?