The fifth stage cultivator whom Zhan Chen had subdued while dual cultivating was a middle aged woman. Her beauty was average but she got a face which was pleasant to look at.
Currently, she had a troubled appearance on her face as she scanned the inner area of Redwood forest with her soul consciousness. Zhan Chen observed her for some time.
He could tell that she was looking for some thing after seeing her anxious expression.
The fifth stage cultivator had yet to find out that someone had placed a seal on her soul.
Zhan Chen only made her feel confused and influenced her to choose another path towards the Redwood forest. Besides that, he didn't do anything to her. So, the fifth stage cultivator had no way to find out that he was controlling her.
Zhan Chen decided to leave her alone for the time being. His priority now was cultivation. But before entering cultivation, he had to take care of Li Yan and the Shadow panther first.
Li Yan was sleeping peacefully on a big stone. That stone was the place she chose to cultivate but Zhan Chen made her asleep before starting his dual cultivation with Li Shu and Kai Min.
She woke up lazily after few moments. "What is going on? How can I fall asleep while cultivating?", she thought to herself.
Zhan Chen looked at the shadow panther after taking care of Li Yan. A smile nappeared on his face after seeing what it was doing.
The shadow panther was lying peacefully on the top of a tree while waving it's tail from time to time. Zhan Chen didn't have to recall it as it immediately knew when Zhan Chen looked towards her.
The shadow panther climbed down the tree and came towards Zhan Chen. But unlike the previous times, it didn't rub it's head on Zhan Chen's chest on her own.
Zhan Chen had a soul connection with her. So, he immediately find out what it was thinking.
"I was not scolding you. It is just that I am doing an important work. It is me, who is wrong, alright", Zhan Chen looked towards the shadow panther helplessly. Despite it's cultivation, it had yet to become completely mature.
Everything turned normal after Zhan Chen spoke some coaxing words to the shadow panther. Zhan Chen stopped distracting himself further as he sat crosslegged to cultivate.
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'',
"You seem troubled", a voice appeared in the mind of the fifth stage cultivator.
"Who is it?", the fifth stage cultivator felt alaramed after hearing the words which came out from nowhere.
"Why do you need a Purewood hibiscus? Don't you know how rare it is!", Zhan Chen's voice ringed once again inside the mind of the fifth stage cultivator.
"How do you know about Purewood hibiscus? Who are you?", the middle aged fifth stage expert took out her sword and looked around to find out the source of the voice.
"Relax, I mean no harm.
If I want to harm you then I would have done so long ago", Zhan Chen spoke.
"What do you want?", the middle aged fifth stage expert asked with a cautious tone in her voice.
"I know why are you looking for the Purewood hibiscus. But I can guarantee that you will not find the Purewood hibiscus even if you turn the entire Redwood forest upside down", Zhan Chen spoke.
"Even though it is impossible I still have to look", the fifth stage expert spoke with a determined expression on her face.
"Why don't you meet me? I have a proposal that may suit your need", Zhan Chen spoke.
The fifth stage expert thought for a while but still decided to look for Zhan Chen.
Kai Min, Li Shu, Li Yan were cultivating. So, Zhan Chen managed to sneak away easily without alerting them.
The fifth stage expert was waiting for Zhan Chen in a distance. A surprised expression appeared on her face after she noticed Zhan Chen.
"A young man!", she murmured to herself in surprise. Initially she took Zhan Chen to be an old monster with unfathomable abilities. But all her assumptions went wrong after seeing his young and dashing appearance.
"Young madam, it is my pleasure to meet you", Zhan Chen did a courtesy bow towards the fifth stage expert.
"Are you the one talking with me?", the fifth stage expert asked with a stunned expression on her face.
"That is indeed me. I am Zhan Chen. It will be my pleasure to know the name of young madam", Zhan Chen spoke.
'.',
"Lin Xintong", the fifth stage expert replied while looking towards Zhan Chen with curiousity.
"So, madam Lin. Will you explain your trouble to me? It will be impossible to think about solution without hearing your problem in details", Zhan Chen looked towards Lin Xintong.
"I will explain. But before that I want to know how are you doing it? I mean how can you communicate with me with such a great distance between us", Lin Xintong looked towards Zhan Chen.
Zhan Chen smiled but didn't give an answer immediately. Instead he used the soul seal and ordered her to move three steps back. Lin Xintong didn't know why but she moved three steps back.
"What have you done to me?", Lin Xintong looked towards Zhan Chen with a wary expression. By now, she was aware that Zhan Chen could somehow control her mind.
"Relax, I have no planning to harm you. Otherwise, we will not be talking here", Zhan Chen replied.
After few more assurances from Zhan Chen, Lin Xintong finally became ready to talk. But she still remain wary of Zhan Chen's goal.
p Zhan Chen was capable of reading the thoughts of his controlled objects. But still he chose to hear about her problems from her own mouth.
Lin Xintong was from the Serpent moon sect and she was an outer court elder. Her husband was also from the Serpent moon sect and an elder.
Their daughter had fractured her core due to rushing her cultivation. She went to see her husband but she didn't heed to her request. He was busy with his other women and was neglecting both Lin Xintong and her daughter lately.
Lin Xintong was doing her best to get a pill which could mend her daughter's core. But the herbs required were very rare and she was not able to get her hand on the main ingredient despite several attempts.
"Who said you that Purewood hibiscus is needed for a Core rebirth pill?", Zhan Chen looked towards Lin Xintong after hearing her explanation.
"Grandmaster Xenyang told me", Lin Xintong replied. She felt confused after seeing the pity in Zhan Chen's eyes.
"Don't you get it yet. They are fooling you because they don't want your daughter to be healed", Zhan Chen spoke.
"How can you tell?", Lin Xintong asked.
"Bring the ingredients you have collected to any capable alchemist and tell them to concoct a Core Rebirth pill. See, their reaction after it", Zhan Chen spoke and shook his head.
He couldn't believe that the woman infront him would be so naive despite her cultivation. Lin Xintong was not convinced at first but Zhan Chen spoke her about the real ingredients of Core rebirth pill.
His confident voice and in-depth knowledge about herbs managed to convince Lin Xintong. "I will believe you this time", she spoke to Zhan Chen.