Bai Ying severed the connection with Su Shiyan. They lowered their head, and the reflection in the water revealed blood-red eyes. As they fell into thought, their pitch-black vertical pupils narrowed into slits, exuding an unusual coldness.
They looked at their reflection and used their claws to groom the snow-white fur around their mouth, trying to make their dragon face look more friendly, to avoid scaring Li Lanxiu again.
After several attempts, they gave up.
They changed their approach and slightly raised their head, letting out a low, deep dragon roar. Sound waves rippled through the forest like ripples in a pond.
Wherever the dragon's roar reached, birds' feathers trembled simultaneously and they flew towards the river where Bai Ying was. Countless birds, black as a blanket covering the sun, circled around the white dragon.
Bai Ying’s gaze swept across the flock of birds, and they tapped their claws together in the air, selecting an inconspicuous little skylark—a common bird in Conundrum Sect that wouldn't attract attention.
The skylark obediently flew onto their claw, and Bai Ying breathed on it. Dragon qi wrapped around the skylark like a thread, instantly transforming it. The skylark's small, beady eyes twinkled with a lively light as it became a small yao.
Bai Ying gave a low command, and the skylark spread its wings and flew away into the sky.
In the outer sect disciples' quarters:
Chu Yue sat cross-legged on the bed, surrounded by spiritual energy. He closed his eyes and focused, his hands forming seals. The spiritual energy within his body flowed endlessly like a river, circulating through his meridians.
After several days of intense cultivation, the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea Dan Tian reached a critical point. With just a little opportunity, he could break through the ninth level of Qi Refinement and enter the Foundation Establishment stage.
He concentrated on controlling the flow of spiritual energy. As the spiritual energy continued to gather, Chu Yue's body heated up, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. The thin shirt clung to his young, well-proportioned body, revealing the lines of his thin muscles.
He felt a burning sensation in the sea of qi in his dantian. He took a deep breath, and condensed the spiritual energy into a ball, suddenly throwing it towards his dantian.
A slight fluctuation of spiritual energy rippled through the room with a boom. Chu Yue had broken through the final barrier, surpassing the ninth level of Qi Refinement and entering the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Chu-shidi, you've reached Foundation Establishment!"
Gu Yunzi exclaimed in surprise. Just a few days ago, Chu Yue was still at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. To reach Foundation Establishment in such a short time was unprecedented in the history of Conundrum Sect.
Chu Yue opened his eyes and felt the surging spiritual energy within him. This power was strong, but it wasn't strong enough.
Gu Yunzi, seeing that he was neither overjoyed nor upset, asked curiously, "Shidi, you've reached Foundation Establishment and you're not happy?"
Chu Yue shook his head without answering. Foundation Establishment was just the beginning. It would still take some time to perfect this stage.
Li Lanxiu wanted to kill him but was unwilling to give him a quick death. Like a cat playing with a mouse, he gave Chu Yue hope and then took it away, wanting to wear him down.
Now Li Lanxiu's hopes had been dashed.
He was very much looking forward to their next meeting, to seeing Li Lanxiu's surprised and disappointed expression. That moment would be very amusing.
Chu Yue pushed open the door and went out. It was the middle of the night. Gu Yunzi asked, "Shidi, where are you going?"
"I'm going to the waterfall to temper my body." He turned to Gu Yunzi. The other two shixiongs in the room were still asleep, and all the surrounding disciples' quarters were dark; only this one was lit.
Gu Yunzi was surprised. Not only was tempering one's body at the waterfall extremely difficult, but also who, having just reached Foundation Establishment, without even taking time to celebrate, would immediately rush to the next stage without a moment's rest?
He admired this kind of unwavering determination. "We're going to the cultivation market to buy some pills tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?"
Chu Yue hadn’t seen any pills since he began his cultivation. He nodded. "I'll go with you."
The cultivation market was Conundrum Sect's internal trading market, with a complete range of celestial herbs, spiritual medicines, magic weapons and pills.
Compared to the sect's Treasure Pavilion, the cultivation market was more freely operated. Disciples who had been cultivating for several years could only save up a few hundred low-grade spirit stones, making it impossible for them to afford the high-quality pills and treasures in the Treasure Pavilion.
The streets of the cultivation market were wide, lined with restaurants and towers, and shops stood side by side, selling celestial tea, celestial fruits and other goods, creating a bustling atmosphere.
Chu Yue and Gu Yunzi, along with the others, entered the cultivation market. Gu Yunzi had inquired beforehand and knew which stall had the cheapest pills, so he led the group through the winding streets to a small stall in a corner.
"A discerning eye, sirs. Everything here is top-notch pills and cultivation techniques," the stall owner said, his gaze sweeping over the outer sect disciples' robes, his smile strained.
Chu Yue looked at the pills on the stall, picked up a bottle and opened it to smell it. The pungent smell of low-quality herbs was overwhelming.
Seeing that Chu Yue's demeanor and bearing were not like those of an outer sect disciple, the stall owner sized him up and said with a smile, "You must be at the Foundation Establishment stage, sir? I have just the right vitality-cultivating pill for you. It gathers qi and solidifies the spirit, refining the essence and giving you the power of pure yang.”
“And here are spirit-defining pills and meridian-clearing pills that are perfect for you as well..."
Chu Yue followed his hand and looked at the pills one by one. Indeed, they were exactly what he needed now.
The stall owner, noticing his gaze, continued, "This bottle of low-grade vitality-cultivating pills is three hundred low-grade spirit stones, and these spirit-defining pills..."
Hearing the price, Chu Yue's expression darkened slightly. He hadn't expected that ordinary low-grade pills would be so expensive.
He looked at an introductory cultivation technique on the side, and the stall owner said, "Eight hundred low-grade spirit stones. This is the only copy, and you won't find it this cheap anywhere else in the cultivation market."
Gu Yunzi couldn't help but say, "That's so expensive?"
The stall owner became impatient and said sarcastically, "These are all top-notch pills and precious cultivation techniques. I doubt you outer sect disciples can afford them."
A few inner sect disciples passing by heard the stall owner's words and laughed loudly, saying, "You can't even afford pills and cultivation techniques, and you still want to wander around the cultivation market?"
"These things are commonly used by us inner sect disciples. You should just save your money!"
The group felt embarrassed and their faces turned red, but knowing their status, they didn't dare to retort.
Chu Yue remained calm and said to the stall owner, "Excuse us."
The group left the stall and sat down at a teahouse on the side of the street, ordering a few cups of tea.
Gu Yunzi's expression was still a little embarrassed, and he said in a low voice, "Chu-shidi, those inner sect disciples were too much."
Chu Yue poured a cup of tea and said calmly, "It doesn't matter. They're right. We can't afford these things right now."
Meanwhile, on Thousandchance Peak...
A high-pitched crane's cry rang out from the teleportation platform, accompanied by the sweet chirping of orioles. A magnificent flying boat, surrounded and supported by a hundred birds, descended from the sky.
A man in embroidered robes stood on the boat. Handsome and full of vigor, the upward curve at the corners of his eyes revealed an arrogant air, giving people the sense that he was aloof and difficult to approach.
"Jiang-shixiong is back!"
Someone exclaimed from the teleportation platform below, causing a commotion. Disciples looked up at the man on the deck.
The flying boat descended slowly and a staircase descended from the sky. Two rows of beautiful maidservants, carrying pipas and jade qins, slowly walked down from above. Each of them was as beautiful as a fairy, taking graceful steps.
In the mortal world, they could marry a prince or noble with their appearance, but in the Jiang family, they could only be musicians playing instruments.
Jiang Jiusi was the last to come down the stairs. The mountain breeze blew, and his embroidered robes fluttered.
He walked calmly, and countless admiring gazes fell on him, but he ignored them and walked straight ahead.
The new disciples who had just joined Thousandchance Peak had never seen Jiang Jiusi before and were intimidated by the scene. "Jiang-shixiong? Who is he?"
"He’s from the Jiang family of the Four Seas Commerce Guild."
Someone whispered.
The new disciple looked surprised. "Jiang-shixiong is from the Jiang family of the Four Seas Commerce Guild?"
No cultivator was unaware of the reputation of the Four Seas Commerce Guild. If you wanted to buy anything with spirit stones, outside of the sect's cultivation market, the cultivation shops of the Four Seas Commerce Guild were everywhere in the Nine Continents.
The Four Seas Commerce Guild possessed countless natural treasures, divine weapons and magical artifacts. As long as you could afford the spirit stones, there was nothing you couldn't buy from the Four Seas Commerce Guild.
They were truly as wealthy as a nation.
A big fat sheep like that, yet no one dared to fleece them for all these years, because the Four Seas Commerce Guild belonged to the Jiang family.
The Jiang family was a renowned cultivation clan with a deep-rooted history of several hundred years. They had produced countless heroes and had both immense wealth and powerful martial arts, making them undoubtedly the most influential clan among the immortal cultivation families.
"Jiang-shixiong is the nephew of the Jiang family head, not some distant relative," the questioned disciple said with a hint of pride. "He’s even spoken to me before!"
The news of Jiang Jiusi's return quickly spread throughout Thousandchance Peak.
As Xue Zhenren's favored disciple, he came from a distinguished background and also had a rare, top-grade spiritual root. At such a young age, he had already reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage, making him unrivaled among the younger generation of disciples in Conundrum Sect.
Several disciples who were familiar with him were discussing something, their faces flushed and excited. Upon seeing Jiang Jiusi, they surrounded him as if they had found a savior.
"Jiang-shixiong, you're finally back! If you hadn't returned, our Su-shimei would have been bullied to death!"
Jiang Jiusi stopped and frowned, asking, displeased, "What happened to A-Yan?"
Su Shiyan was the most talented disciple of Thousandchance Peak. Countless disciples admired her, but no one dared to cross the line, because Jiang Jiusi was there to protect her.
It was well known that Jiang Jiusi cherished Su Shiyan like a treasure and was a dedicated protector, never allowing anyone to disrespect her.
Privately, everyone thought that Jiang Jiusi and Su Shiyan were a perfect match, a golden boy and a jade girl. If it weren't for Li Lanxiu's interference, they would have been a divine couple.
"It's Li Lanxiu!" the disciple clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "He dared to break off his engagement with Su-shimei! Is our Su-shimei not good enough for him?"
The others added fuel to the fire, "That ugly bastard, how dare he break off the engagement with Su-shimei?"
"He's ungrateful!"
"We just saw his Coldiron Fan flying towards the cultivation market. We were about to go and teach him a lesson. Jiang-shixiong, come with us!"
Jiang Jiusi's expression was calm. After a moment's thought, he said, "No need. I'll go see Su-shimei."
The disciples looked disappointed. Without Jiang Jiusi to back them up, they felt less confident about confronting Li Lanxiu.
Jiang Jiusi smiled lightly, "With Li Lanxiu's abilities, a few of you should be more than enough to handle him. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
Encouraged by his words, the disciples perked up and replied in unison, "Yes, Jiang-shixiong!"
***
Thank you for the new chapter 🌞
ReplyDeleteim having so much fun reading this, thank you for the translation! im looking foward to what happens next 😁
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