Versatile Mage: Choose one of three Hexes at the start

Chapter 130 Purpose
Below the Starry Sky Tree.

Chenying pulled her mother to sit on a rock covered with leaves from the Fire Cloud Tree. She seemed to have endless things to say, and her mouth hadn't stopped talking since the two recognized each other.

Although Jiang Feng rarely spoke, her gaze never left her daughter's face, her fiery red eyes filled with tenderness.

The strong wind carried the fiery red leaves from the Fire Cloud Forest into the sky. These special leaves, which had absorbed a lot of sunlight, were exceptionally soft, and the falling leaves flying all over the sky made everything on the scene look very beautiful.

However, the good times never last long. With a strange cry tinged with anger, the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere disappeared.

whisper!!

As the overlord of this area, Jiang Feng's strength is undeniable, not to mention that she is now in her home turf where she has lived for many years.

Through various means, she has sensed that a large number of human mages are heading towards the summit of Pingdingshan Mountain.

Jiang Feng knew without a doubt that these people were after the Fire Calamity Fruit, which was what annoyed her.

After all, she could never hand over the Fire Calamity Fruit. As the last pure bloodline of the Flame Princess clan, she would never allow outsiders to seize it.

"What happened?" Chen Ying was taken aback.

She was happily sharing her experiences over the years and some interesting things that had happened in the past with her mother when her mother, who had always had a gentle smile, suddenly changed her expression.

"Outsiders are coming."

Not far from the two, Su Chi, who had been lying on the warm carpet of leaves from the Fire Cloud Tree, sat up and answered Chen Ying's question.

"outsider?"

As a top student at a prestigious university in the capital, Chen Ying quickly realized: "Are they the hunters from the Hunter Alliance?"

Su Chi shook his head slightly. If it were just a team of mages from the Hunter Alliance, Jiang Feng's reaction wouldn't have been so strong.

"Not only that, the Magic Association, the Dunhuang Military Region, free mages, and some aristocratic families should all be here, and without exception, their goal should be the Fire Calamity Fruit."

Hearing this, Chenying looked at her mother beside her with some worry. She was concerned that her mother might get injured while protecting the Fire Calamity Fruit.
"Then what do we do?"

whisper!!

Jiang Feng reached out and gently ruffled Chen Ying's hair, signaling her not to worry.

"Don't worry, with your mother's current strength, protecting the Fire Calamity Fruit won't be a problem at all," Su Chi said casually.

the other side.

Zhao Yulin and his group also arrived at the outer edge of the Fire Cloud Forest.

"Is the Fire Calamity Fruit you mentioned in this forest?" Zhao Yulin, who was in the lead, looked at a figure behind him who was completely wrapped in white cloth.

However, the white-clothed ghost woman ignored Zhao Yulin at this moment, as all her attention was focused on the end of the Fire Cloud Forest.

It'll be here soon!!
The Fire Calamity Fruit is definitely mine!!
She already knew that Chen Ying, a crucial figure in her plan, had arrived in Zhuoyuan with her companions. In fact, even if Chen Ying hadn't come with her companions beforehand, the Ghost Woman would have brought Chen Ying herself, since Chen Ying was essential to successfully obtaining the Fire Calamity Fruit.

The ghost woman could hardly contain her excitement at the thought that her years-long plan was about to succeed.

hey~~
Seeing that his wife was ignoring him, Zhao Yulin, who had been waiting for a reply, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

However, he still managed to glean the information he wanted from the white-clothed man's eyes.

"set off!"

After relaying the orders to the rest of the team, Zhao Yulin once again took the lead and paved the way.

As a group of people charged straight into the Fire Cloud Forest, even though they were all well-informed mages, they couldn't help but marvel at the sight before them.

What a nice view!!
However, before the group could finish their exclamations, a terrifying scream jolted them awake.

Ahhh! ! !
Zhao Yulin, who was in the lead, quickly looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw a fire-patterned python creature, its body hidden on a fire cloud tree, retreating rapidly.

However, Zhao Yulin, being a high-level mage, was still able to see the appearance of the unknown creature.

It was clearly an unknown serpentine demon, over ten meters long, with three heads of different colors.

"Damn beast!!"

Zhao Yulin's anger erupted instantly. He knew that he was the one who had built this team, and apart from the white-clothed man, all the other members were his subordinates, and most of them were members of his own Zhao clan.

For example, the one who was just ambushed and killed by this demon was a member of Zhao Yulin's clan.

"Alright, stop chasing, we need to focus on the important business."

Seeing that Zhao Yulin wanted to chase after the snake-like demon, the man in white cloth immediately stopped him.

"What are you saying?!" Zhao Yulin already had little affection for the 'Jiang Feng' in front of him, otherwise he wouldn't have left her alone in a courtyard for so many years after she returned to the family.

If it weren't for the life-saving grace he received back then and a little bit of affection between husband and wife, he would never have accompanied this woman to Zhuoyuan to take this risk.

How could he possibly remain indifferent now that his own disciple had lost his life because of this?!
“That’s the Three-Headed Evil Python, a demon at the top of the food chain in this Fire Cloud Forest. Don’t blame me for not warning you, that evil python’s strength has reached the commander level.”

"Moreover, the three heads of the evil python represent the three attributes of fire, earth, and poison respectively. Even if you can catch up with the three-headed evil python, in my opinion, with your strength, you will be courting death."

The man in white glanced at Zhao Yulin, his eyes completely unmoved.

She was too lazy to explain this matter at first. If it weren't for Zhao Yulin's burning anger and the fact that she would need his help to obtain the Fire Calamity Fruit, she would have already crossed the forest alone, leaving this idiot here to die.

After all, the Fire Cloud Forest was like a huge maze. Zhao Yulin and the others got lost not long after entering, and the ghost woman basically guided them along the way.

"you!!"

Zhao Yulin was speechless at the words of the man in white.

Ok.

She was telling the truth. If that evil python was truly a commander-level creature, he really couldn't defeat it.

"Jiang Feng, you used to be such a kind person. Why did you become like this after experiencing the fire calamity? You're so unfamiliar to me now. And ultimately, if it weren't for helping you find the Fire Calamity Fruit in Zhuoyuan, Xiao Feng wouldn't have lost his life just now. You..."

Whether to ease his conscience or to maintain morale, Zhao Yulin abruptly changed the subject, directing his anger at his 'wife.' "You, Zhao, shut up!!!"

As a seasoned spiritual mage who managed to evade the Dunhuang Military Region's long-standing manhunt, the Ghost Woman's ability to disguise herself is beyond doubt.

He immediately reacted in a manner perfectly in line with his character, launching a barrage of attacks at Zhao Yulin:
"If it weren't for saving you, would I have been consumed by the flames of the fire calamity?!"

"I've become this inhuman, ghost-like state all because of you!!"

"And what about you?! What did you do?! You abandoned me! You only cared about saving your own life!!"

"If I hadn't been lucky enough to escape with my life, you wouldn't even have the chance to speak to me right now!!"

"Zhao Yulin, this is all you owe me!!!"

The ghost woman seemed to be venting all the grievances and anger that had accumulated in her heart for many years. Her hoarse voice seemed to cause a slight vibration in the air around everyone.

As the ghost woman shouted her angry declaration, everyone present fell silent, including Zhao Yulin, who had just been shirking responsibility.

The ghost woman, who had taken in everyone's reactions, failed to notice the glint in her eyes.

really! !
The Zhao family are all idiots!!

Especially Zhao Yulin, who was simply the most foolish person she had ever met in all her years.

And he's a foolish man who doesn't even realize it, and an extremely hypocritical one at that!
However, it was all thanks to Zhao Yulin's stupidity that she was able to impersonate Jiang Fenglai and escape unscathed.

Thinking of this, the ghost woman couldn't help but feel a little grateful to the fool in front of her.

"It was indeed my fault back then. I will help you get what you want." After a long silence, Zhao Yulin spoke again, but his tone was no longer as aggressive as before; instead, it was very calm.

Actually, seeing Jiang Feng in this state made Zhao Yulin feel a little better.

After all, if Jiang Feng were still as gentle and understanding as before, Zhao Yulin would feel ashamed and would even want to discard his hypocritical facade.

"Hmph! Enough with the nonsense! Zhao Yulin, as long as you help me obtain the Fire Calamity Fruit, our grudges will be wiped clean. From now on, you go your sunny path, and I'll cross my narrow bridge."

The ghost woman waved her hand impatiently. She didn't want to dwell on these pointless things anymore; she just wanted to get her hands on the Fire Calamity Fruit as soon as possible so she could be reborn.

Zhao Yulin didn't say anything more after hearing this.

After bowing his head and remaining silent for a moment, the middle-aged man with his hair in a braid raised his head again, his face becoming very calm, without revealing any other emotions.

Zhao Yulin then turned around and headed in the direction the ghost woman had indicated.

However, after the Three-Headed Serpent's ambush, the group no longer traveled as carefree as before. Instead, they kept an eye on their surroundings as they walked to prevent any further accidents from happening.

the other side.

Under the Starry Sky Tree, Su Chi and Chen Ying, mother and daughter, put away their initial lazy and relaxed demeanor.

The group had all prepared for the upcoming battle, but Jiang Feng asked Su Chi not to interfere and instead hoped that he would protect Chen Ying.

Su Chi naturally had no objection to this.

However, for the safety of the Fire Calamity Fruit, Su Chi suggested that he keep it for safekeeping, so that if a major battle were to break out, someone could take advantage of the chaos.

Once everything was ready, Jiang Feng, in her Flame Witch form, went directly to the top of a branch of the Starry Sky Tree and sat down, while Su Chi pulled Chen Ying to a secluded spot several hundred meters away from the Starry Sky Tree.

"Do you think your fake mother will come this time?" After chatting with Chen Ying for a few minutes, Su Chi asked casually.

"You mean...?" Chen Ying frowned.

"You said before that your fake mother has been talking to you about the Fire Calamity Fruit ever since she returned to the family?" Su Chi pressed on.

“Yes, she’s said it many times. Every time I come home, she basically steers the conversation toward this topic.” Chen Ying nodded slightly at first, then seemed to suddenly think of something, and her eyes widened instantly.

Su Chi tilted his head slightly, looking directly into Chen Ying's eyes, and said earnestly, "I know that you don't completely believe that the Flame Witch is your mother, but based on the current situation, it's more likely that she is your mother, and you actually think so too."

"However, what I want to say is that the Fire Calamity Fruit is a special fruit that can only be produced after the Heavenly Calamity Fire has passed. Putting aside everything else, the fact that she always mentions the Fire Calamity Fruit in front of you is very suspicious."

"Even if the Fire Calamity Fruit can really heal her injuries, why does she keep bringing it up in front of you? Judging from the timeline, you were just starting magic high school back then."

At this point, Su Chi paused slightly before speaking again: "There is only one answer, and that is that after your fake mother found out that your mother Jiang Feng had transformed into the Flame Witch, because your father had fled alone, the person your mother cared about the most was you, and you were also her only weakness."

Chen Ying remained silent.

"Thank you, but you're not saying this without thinking, are you?"

"of course."

Su Chi did not deny his intentions, but explained directly: "I think your fake mother is definitely on her way, so if she really arrives here, I want you to do something."

“Okay, go ahead, what is it?” Chen Ying agreed without hesitation.

"When you see your fake mother, the first thing you do is reveal my previous guess about her identity to her face and test her reaction," Su Chi said.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

After a moment of silence, Chen Ying nodded, then changed the subject: "There's something I want to apologize to you for. I'm sorry, when I first came to Zhuoyuan, I saw you with your girlfriend like you were on vacation, and I had some complaints about you. I didn't expect you to be so strong and to have helped me so much. I'm really very grateful to you."

"It's okay." Su Chi waved his hand.

Chen Ying smiled and then asked again, "These past few days, I've noticed that you don't seem to care much about magical resources or the Fire Calamity Fruit, except for that nearly withered Fire Tree. Is that thing very important to you?"

Su Chi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the girl beside him with some surprise.

"well enough."

He naturally wouldn't reveal his true thoughts, nor did he want to discuss the topic further.

However, he didn't notice the glint in Chen Ying's eyes at that moment, and he wondered what she was thinking.

(End of this chapter)