Qi Refining Layer Five, Dawnlight Protection Token

Early March.

The last snow near Spirit Moon Lake finally melted away completely.

Su Bai brewed spirit tea with snow water. After taking a sip, he found it carried a distinctive flavor.

"Eighteen. This body is about to enter its twenties too..."

"Immortal Talent Reflection has already refreshed, but there isn't a suitable target to copy nearby right now..."

After nearly a year of living together, Su Bai naturally knew the spirit root talents of his two senior brothers.

Senior Brother Wang Jue only possessed Three Spirit Root talent, and there was nothing particularly special about his spell talent.

Senior Brother Zhao Shanhe, on the other hand, possessed the same Dual Spirit Root talent as Su Bai.

But Su Bai already had Dual Spirit Root talent, so copying Senior Brother Zhao Shanhe's Dual Spirit Root talent would be meaningless.

As for Senior Brother Zhao's spell talent—

Though it was somewhat disrespectful, Su Bai had to admit that he could not see any talent in Senior Brother Zhao.

Although Senior Brother Zhao had chosen the path of a sword cultivator, Su Bai honestly had not seen any particularly powerful sword cultivator talent in him.

Senior Brother Zhao had begun cultivating the Sword Control Technique at Qi Refining Layer Seven, and five years had already passed since then.

His cultivation, however, had successfully broken through to Qi Refining Layer Nine over the past year.

He was only one step away from Qi Refining Great Perfection, after which he could attempt Foundation Establishment.

Wang Jue guessed that Senior Brother Zhao would participate in this year's Inner Sect Grand Competition and fight for a place in the top three.

The top ten in the Inner Sect Grand Competition could receive Elite Titles and rewards, while the rewards for the top three even included the precious Foundation Establishment Pill.

Advancing into the Foundation Establishment Realm meant entering the ranks of the sect's middle-tier cultivators.

Senior Brother Zhao did not possess any exceptionally outstanding spell talent. He had likely chosen the path of a sword cultivator because he wanted to rely on a sword cultivator's combat power to stand out in the Inner Sect Grand Competition.

With that in mind, Su Bai decided to wait three months. When he returned to the sect to hand over his one-year assignment, he would seek an opportunity to copy the outstanding spell talents among the Outer Disciples and strengthen his combat power.

Quite a few Outer Disciples had displayed spell talent.

The nearest opportunity for Su Bai to copy one was Jiang Han's Fire Attribute Spell Talent.

By now, Jiang Han's spell talent had vaguely been hailed as Outer Court Number One.

Spell talent was a hidden talent. The Cultivation World currently had no method of testing it.

Only after stepping onto the Immortal Path could cultivators discover it themselves and display it.

Unfortunately, Jiang Han's Spirit Root Talent was truly somewhat lacking. Otherwise, with Jiang Han's spell talent, even Three Spirit Root talent would have given him a chance to catch an Inner Sect Elder's eye and be listed as a True Inheritance Disciple.

Su Bai quietly waited for the day he would return to the sect to hand over his assignment and, by the way, collect a year's supply of pills.

By late March, bolstered by his Dual Spirit Root talent, Su Bai naturally broke through to Qi Refining Layer Five.

His Cultivation Realm had caught up to Wang Jue's.

This left Wang Jue, who had only reached Qi Refining Layer Five after more than a decade in the sect, depressed for several days.

Time entered early May.

In another twenty-odd days, Su Bai would request leave and make a round trip to the sect.

Spirit Moon Lake was not far from the sect, making the journey there and back extremely convenient.

This day, the breeze was gentle and the sun was bright.

On the Qingshan Spirit Plain, within a dense forest near Spirit Moon Lake.

A female cultivator around twenty years old was darting through the dense forest.

Her dress was somewhat torn, her face pale, and worry filled the space between her brows.

"This area should already be close to the Jade Mist Sect."

"No matter how bold they are, they probably wouldn't dare pursue me this far..."

The instant that thought arose, she sensed two Spiritual Power Fluctuations rapidly closing in from behind.

"They still came after me!"

After gauging the pursuers' speed, the female cultivator gritted her teeth and swiftly darted toward Spirit Moon Lake.

Just as Spirit Moon Lake came into view.

A scorching spell aura struck from behind.

Tier 1 High-grade Spell—Flame Art!

Several-meter-long crimson tongues of fire lunged to swallow the female cultivator's figure.

The female cultivator had no choice but to draw the Magic Sword at her waist and slash backward.

It was clearly an ordinary slash, yet it swiftly transformed into several-meter-long Sword Qi that whistled forth.

It cleaved the Flame Art viciously in two.

However, the Spiritual Power within the female cultivator's body was already nearly exhausted, and this Sword Qi lacked the strength to continue.

The remaining blast wave of the Flame Art still forced her to fly backward in disarray for dozens of meters.

After crashing through a patch of shrubs and passing the boundary array around Spirit Moon Lake, she fell onto the shore.

Her Spiritual Power was exhausted, and her body had suffered heavy blows. When the female cultivator tried to rise, she immediately collapsed back to the ground.

"Third Uncle, the area ahead seems to be a Jade Mist Sect Resource Point." Three figures landed outside the Warning Array.

One was a middle-aged man in Late Qi Refining, while the two youths appeared to be in the Mid Qi Refining Stage.

The middle-aged man called Third Uncle frowned slightly. With his cultivation, he naturally saw that the female cultivator had already triggered the Warning Array established by the Jade Mist Sect.

The Jade Mist Sect was the foremost of Qingzhou's three great sects, with Foundation Establishment Cultivators numbering in the hundreds.

The Su Family, meanwhile, was merely a small cultivation lineage, and even its Foundation Establishment inheritance was on the verge of being cut off.

Thus, he was exceedingly cautious and did not dare rashly step into the Jade Mist Sect's Resource Point.

"The Warning Array has already been triggered. Once the Jade Mist Sect Disciples arrive and we explain the reason, they should hand Duanqiu over to us," Third Uncle said.

Though the two young Su Family Disciples did not understand Third Uncle's caution, they did not ask further.

"Su Duanqiu, get out here and come with us obediently!"

"If you anger the Jade Mist Sect, not only will you have no road back, but you'll drag our Su Family down with you as well!" one youth said.

The female cultivator, who had been lying on the ground unable to move, heard those words and forcibly struggled to her feet, dragging herself another half meter toward the lakeshore.

"You truly don't know the difference between life and death!" The Su Family youth furiously moved to step forward.

At that moment, two figures leaped out from beneath the lake.

The three of them focused their eyes and saw that they were two Jade Mist Sect Disciples.

One had handsome features and an air of innate nobility, fitting the image of a Great Sect Disciple.

The other had a round face and a faint smile that seemed present yet absent, making him look like a smiling tiger. He too fit the image of a Great Sect Disciple.

Setting aside the thoughts of the three Su Family members.

The moment Su Bai saw the complicated scene before him, he immediately used his Jade Talisman to Transmit Message to Senior Brother Zhao. Only then did he relax slightly and step forward to ask, "This is a Resource Point belonging to the Jade Mist Sect. Why have you trespassed here?"

Among the three people opposite him, the leading middle-aged man raised a hand and was just about to speak.

Yet the female cultivator on the ground used the faint thread of Spiritual Power she had just managed to gather to take something from her Storage Bag.

She raised the object high and spoke in a weak but resolute voice. "Senior Brothers, do you recognize this?"

It was a jade pendant.

Su Bai had not been in the sect for long. Seeing it, he only felt that the pattern upon it somewhat resembled the Jade Talisman in his own hand.

But Wang Jue, who had entered the sect more than a decade ago, recognized it at once.

He stepped forward and picked up the jade pendant.

"It is indeed a 'Dawnlight Protection Token' issued by the Jade Mist Sect." Wang Jue spoke in a slightly grave tone.

Dawnlight Protection Token? Su Bai pondered slightly and confirmed that he had never heard of such a thing since entering the sect. However, this was not the time to ask questions.

Seeing that Wang Jue had recognized the jade pendant, the female cultivator on the ground let out a breath of relief. "I ask the Jade Mist Sect Senior Brothers to protect me."