My Saliva Smells Good

Seven-colored golden core.

The Mystic Core Scripture did not record it, but according to the logic that more colors means more power, the seven-colored golden core should be very formidable.

However, there was one thing Chen Xia did not quite understand.

Among the seven colors, there was no gold.

A golden core without gold?

What's going on?

Chen Xia thought about it for a while and decided not to get hung up on it. As long as he knew it was a golden core, that was enough.

But this golden core kept spinning inside him, emanating rainbow light - it really was like a lightbulb, with a full atmosphere.

Luckily his body was opaque.

It took Chen Xia over half a month to form this golden core, but the result was satisfactory.

He could clearly feel his abilities strengthened. According to the Mystic Core Scripture,

Once the golden core is formed, one becomes a celestial being.

Only by succeeding in forming the golden core can one truly embark on the Great Dao, and begin to utilize all kinds of mystic arts and create their own.

And creating your own mystic arts was the most important.

The golden core was the embryonic form of the Great Dao you condensed, and while cultivators' embryonic Great Daos might resemble each other, they would never be identical.

Take the simplest fire elemental golden core for example. Perhaps two golden cores were both fire elemental, or even both cool fire, but the further along the cultivators went, the greater the differences would become.

This was the Great Dao derived from each person's experiences and opportunities, and even influenced by personality and soul.

There might be two people with identical experiences and opportunities in the myriad worlds,

But could two people with identical personalities and souls be found?

If so, they would not be two people, but one.

Chen Xia did not know what embryonic Great Dao his rainbow disco ball represented. He could not visualize its imagery or understand it.

But if he could create his own mystic arts, he had many ideas already prepared in his mind.

Take the elementary mastery over time he currently comprehended.

Chen Xia wanted to create a time suspension mystic art. He even had a name ready.

At first, influenced by the pop culture of the Eastern archipelago country, he decided to call it...

Time stops, then unleashes fury.

But he considered it too long and difficult to pronounce, so he simplified it to:

Time stop.

Chen Xia was still at the conceptual stage, considering how to actualize time stop - this relied on his own comprehension.

There was also something else Chen Xia was unsure about. When he was forming his golden core, why were there no prompts about the workings of fortune? Could it be he was not lucky enough to trigger it?

Thinking of this, he concentrated his divine sense, delving within his body to examine his seven-colored golden core again. Suddenly it occurred to him - could his seven-colored golden core be the result of the fortune aura's blessings?

After all, sometimes no lucky prompts appeared in his mind.

For example when he went out and found money on the ground, or had a huge fishing haul, the fortune aura gave no prompts.

Perhaps it didn't feel the need to prompt him?

Chen Xia did not understand, but he was not the nitpicking type. He quickly reconciled with himself, shook his sleeve and slowly walked out of the house.

Just as he stepped out the door, he saw Huang Qingyue wearing a goose-yellow skirt, standing seriously at the door with a sugar-coated haws skewer in her mouth, completely oblivious that Chen Xia had emerged.

"What are you thinking about?" Chen Xia had already walked behind her and asked curiously.

Only then did Huang Qingyue return to her senses. Delight swiftly shone in her eyes as she hurriedly turned to look at Chen Xia. Her words were indistinct because of the sugar-coated haws in her mouth.

"You've come out!"

"Mm." Chen Xia nodded, then jokingly asked, "Waiting for me?"

Huang Qingyue bobbed her little head in a nod. She wanted to speak but found it inconvenient with the candy in her mouth, so she took out the skewer and said solemnly and earnestly,

"You said you were going to form your golden core - this is a big deal. I've stood guard outside every day, keeping watch in case someone tried to sneak in and disturb your core formation. What would you do then?"

Chen Xia looked at the huge sugar-coated haws skewer in Huang Qingyue's hand. He silently thought this girl's abilities were as formidable as ever. He casually replied,

"It's not actually a big deal. And inside the imperial city, no one would dare disturb me anyway."

"Better safe than sorry." Huang Qingyue's expression was grave as she knitted her brows and asserted in a serious manner.

"You really went to a lot of trouble for me then." Chen Xia said with a smile.

"No trouble at all." Huang Qingyue's lips quirked up in a sweet smile. She loved acting like a young girl before Chen Xia.

As if recalling something, Huang Qingyue rummaged in her sleeve, then suddenly pulled out a sugar-coated haws skewer. Beaming an even sweeter smile than the candy, she said,

"I saved this for you."

Chen Xia accepted the skewer and curiously asked, "When did you save this for me? It hasn't melted after so long."

Huang Qingyue raised her brows and proudly laughed, "I bring two skewers every day. If you came out, I'd give you one to eat too. If you still hadn't emerged by the next day, I'd eat them both."

Chen Xia unwrapped the paper around the candy, opened his mouth wide and bit into it. At the same time, he gave Huang Qingyue a thumbs up and praised,

"Awesome."

"Hehe." Huang Qingyue let out a chuckle. She also put the candy in her mouth. The two of them stood there, eyes meeting, looking rather amusing with their puffed out cheeks.

But neither spoke.

Because when eating candy coated haws, one had to concentrate, according to Huang Qingyue.

The huge candies did not last long against the assault of the two cultivators. Soon they were gone.

Huang Qingyue used a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then looked at Chen Xia again. Her charming face flushed red as the blush spread down her fair, delicate neck.

She shyly held out a hand, lowering her little head.

"Wipe your mouth too."

Chen Xia did not take the handkerchief. Instead, he cautiously asked,

"Do you have bad breath?"

Huang Qingyue's coy, flushed face froze. She placed both hands on her hips and said indignantly,

"I don't have bad breath at all! My mouth is fragrant, even my saliva is fragrant. If you don't believe me, smell for yourself! Ah~"

As she spoke, Huang Qingyue opened her mouth wide, indicating for Chen Xia to come over and smell.

Chen Xia understood etiquette. Since Huang Qingyue invited him to smell, he immediately went over to smell.

At the same time, he noticed something very strange. Huang Qingyue's mouth was very big when she was eating, but now it looked unexpectedly small.

If described as a cherry mouth, it would be a perfect fit.

Chen Xia goggled his eyes and sniffed with his nose.

It was a faint, delicate fragrance, not strong or heavy, like peach blossoms in March, rain in June, the apple wood scent of September, and snow in December.

The outstanding characteristic was its light elegance.

"How if if?" Huang Qingyue asked indistinctly with her mouth wide open.

It was apparent she took this matter very seriously.

Chen Xia nodded. "It really is."

He was about to withdraw his head.

"Wait a sec." Huang Qingyue stopped him, and proudly added, "My saliva is fragrant too."

"Uh..." Chen Xia hesitated, then asked, "How do I smell that?"

Huang Qingyue surely wouldn't spit it out for him.

Huang Qingyue tilted her head to one side, her cheek flushing crimson. The redness spread prettily down her fair neck.

She didn't dare look at Chen Xia. Her entire demeanor seemed rather guilty as her fingers anxiously pleated her skirt. She stammered,

"Then... um... you don't necessarily have to smell it right, you could also... taste it."

Chen Xia pondered briefly then nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea."

"Then... do you want to try?" Huang Qingyue turned to look at Chen Xia. Her entire charming face was flushed red, almost dripping blood. There were even teardrops shimmering in her eyes.

A blend of coyness and boldness.

Chen Xia discarded his usual lazy demeanor, his expression unusually solemn as he asked,

"Really?"

"Mm!" Huang Qingyue nodded heavily. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands before her chest, trying to slightly cover her shyness.

Chen Xia slipped his arm around her slender waist. Then he lowered his head.

Lip met lip, tongue met tongue.

The delicate fragrance passed over his taste buds, allowing him to clearly experience it.

It was like sweet ambrosia.

The process ended swiftly.

Chen Xia straightened up, savoring the taste in his mouth.

Huang Qingyue's shyness magnified. It was a long time before she softly asked,

"Was it fragrant?"

"Lingering aftertaste." Chen Xia gave high praise.

"Phew, that's good then." The corners of Huang Qingyue's mouth also curled up in a smile.

The two of them looked at each other again.

Suddenly, Chen Xia asked, "Are you really ready?"

The corners of Huang Qingyue's mouth held a sweet smile. She pondered briefly before nodding in response.

"I've been waiting decades."

"Good then." Chen Xia nodded. He exchanged another meaningful look with Huang Qingyue. The two understood one another.

"I want to practice swordplay," Huang Qingyue suddenly said, changing the subject.

Chen Xia curiously asked, "Why do you want to practice swordsmanship?"

Huang Qingyue explained with a smile, "Because I see those Jianghu knights all seem to practice swordsmanship. There's even a saying that the sword is the king of weapons with the greatest killing power."

This statement was indeed well-founded. In the Jianghu world, there were many chivalrous swordsmen, among whom were some with extremely formidable skills, a cut above other weapons.

When people talked about Jianghu knights, they generally felt swordsmanship was a given, like wandering the world with a sword.

So it was not strange for Huang Qingyue to want to learn swordsmanship.

In the days that followed, Huang Qingyue did start practicing swordsmanship. She used a slender, narrow sword of average quality.

The sword techniques she learned were nothing too profound either, just common Jianghu swordsmanship.

But Huang Qingyue was only a beginner for now, unable to learn anything too advanced yet.

When Huang Qingyue practiced her swordwork, Chen Xia would sit on a small stool to one side, watching the alluring figure in the goose-yellow skirt swaying.

Huang Qingyue had asked Chen Xia a question before, "Brother Chen, do you like goose-yellow skirts?"

Chen Xia did not answer. He only curiously asked back, "Do you like them?"

Huang Qingyue knitted her delicate brows, thinking hard for a good while, but still could not find an answer. She said in frustration,

"I don't know."

Chen Xia smiled and said, "I think the goose-yellow skirt suits you quite well."

Huang Qingyue then stopped frowning and fretting. The corners of her mouth turned up as she nodded with a smile.

"Then I guess I like goose yellow now."

In the 80th year of Song Wei's reign.

The long-lived Song Wei passed away, and the Crown Prince Song Nan succeeded to the throne.

Before his death, Song Wei had specially summoned Chen Xia for a meeting. By then, he was already so frail that he could only lie in bed, carried over by his sons to see Chen Xia.

The first thing he said was to ask Chen Xia to protect the Great Song dynasty.

Chen Xia only smiled and replied, "I can block natural disasters, but as for man-made calamities, I'd rather not get involved."

The "man-made calamities" he referred to, Song Wei knew very well what those were.

Things like princely struggles for the throne, imperial sons raising troops, ministers plotting rebellions, and so on.

The weak Song Wei nodded. "If such things really happen, of course you needn't get involved. It can only mean my Great Song is destined to fall."

Having lived nearly a hundred years, the dying Song Wei now saw things philosophically. If those things really came to pass, it must be the mandate of heaven decreeing the end of the Great Song.

Mainly because he himself was about to die and could no longer be the Son of Heaven.

Having reached this understanding, Chen Xia would only concern himself with natural disasters and some manmade ones, such as immortals causing troubles in the mortal realm. Everything else he would not interfere with.

There was no such thing as an everlasting dynasty. It wasn't possible to let your Great Song last ten thousand, million years, right?

Song Wei understood Chen Xia's stance as his final wish. Lying in bed, he soon passed away. The entire nation mourned, and Crown Prince Song Nan succeeded his father, treating Chen Xia with even greater reverence. Even for some major decisions, he would specially consult Chen Xia.

After being asked once or twice, Chen Xia told him to decide on his own without needing to ask.

Song Nan was naturally overjoyed and quickly agreed.

And so Chen Xia's closed door cultivation began. He could sense he was close to an enlightenment. The golden core in his body spun slower and slower, and he was just about to see the scene within.

He needed to calm his mind and concentrate, to get the spinning golden core to completely slow down.

This was no simple matter. There were too many distractions from the outside world, whereas enlightening the golden core required extremely long periods of tranquil meditation, useless to rush in a short time.

And so in the 10th year of Song Nan's reign,

Chen Xia made the decision to go into seclusion.

He had Song Nan open up a secret chamber a hundred meters below the imperial palace, and he entered it to cultivate in isolation.

Huang Qingyue was somewhat reluctant to part, but she fully supported Chen Xia's decision and vowed to stand guard for him until he emerged.

After bidding Huang Qingyue farewell, Chen Xia entered the hundred-meter chamber alone.

Huang Qingyue held her sword in her bosom, her eyes filled with reluctance, watching the figure in blue robes get smaller and smaller until fading away completely.

She sniffled and hugged the sword in her arms even tighter.

She would definitely guard Chen Xia well!

In the 40th year of Song Nan's reign.

A shocking event took place in the realm.

The immortal world shook, and the earth collapsed for thirty li all around.

A figure floated above the immortal gate, slowly descending as if walking down steps, landing on the ground. He spoke shocking words that resonated throughout the world.

"After cultivating my golden core for one hundred and thirty years, today it is complete. Peerless in the world, unrivaled below the heavens!"

And so everyone under heaven knew.

The old immortal had emerged from seclusion!