Completed the daily breathing exercise log. Received 20 Spirit Crystals as a creative incentive.
Completed the Spring Encounter Book cultivation log. Received 20 Spirit Crystals as a creative incentive.
At dawn, as the system's melodious notification rang out, Wu Ming slowly opened his eyes. Facing the golden-red light of daybreak filtering through the valley, he let out a long breath of spiritual energy.
The moment it left his mouth and nose, it transformed into countless sparkling white motes, drifting down like a spring mist. Before long, several wild grasses at his feet began to tremble and straighten, while the moss between the rocks spread outward... In the grass, a small pale-yellow flower bloomed without a sound.
As all things flourished, Wu Ming slowly rose and stretched, then nodded vigorously and said to himself, "Nice!"
With that, he had fully mastered the second layer of the Spring Encounter Book. After being refined, the mana within him had gained the power to bring life like spring rain. Even the spiritual breath he exhaled could gently nourish the plants around him. Moreover, as his cultivation advanced, he had unlocked no fewer than five new spells recorded in the Spring Encounter Book.
A month had passed since his senior sister Zhu Ying had used Immortal Palm Blessing to forcibly break through the entry barrier of the Spring Encounter Book for him.
His senior sister was still out on her travels, with no return date in sight, and she had even stopped sending letters for quite some time. Still, Wu Ming didn't think the eldest senior sister was likely to be in any danger. She was probably just trying to save data... With her abilities and temperament, her travels were sure to be full of excitement.
As for Wu Ming, his life over the past month had been as dull and regular as a script. Every day, he got up at four in the morning, practiced Root Stance, and climbed all the way to Dongqiao Peak, east of Yan Mountain. There was a lush forest there, cultivated and cared for by Senior Sister Ling Xi. He drew on the vitality of the plants to nurture his Inner Landscape with the Spring Encounter Book and refine Mystic Spirit Qi... and, while he was at it, kept an eye on the little Witch, who had all but forgotten herself without the eldest senior sister there to keep her in line.
By afternoon, the nature of the plants' vitality changed, and the Spring Encounter Book's daily cultivation limit was reached. Wu Ming would walk from Dongqiao Peak to the Rootless Path, squeeze out three daily bouts of extreme training, and drain himself dry. Finally, he would return to Xianyun Abode half spent, make a simple dinner, then eagerly start his evening study session.
A month of scripted cultivation had brought striking progress: he had reached the second layer of the Spring Encounter Book's tenth Qi Refining stage. His progress in refining mana was even more encouraging. Mystic Spirit Qi had taken root in his Inner Landscape, and from then on, his true spirit could generate itself even if he stopped absorbing spiritual breath from the outside world altogether.
His progress in studying spells had even caused a small stir in Gu Bai, who was in seclusion. He had learned every Spring Encounter spell recorded in the texts, one after another, showing a strong knack for mastering a hundred different arts. Gu Bai couldn't help but marvel at him.
As for training Root Stance, his progress wasn't as dazzling as his spellwork, since he lacked adequate nutritional supplements. After a month of grueling practice, Wu Ming could only manage three consecutive steps on the Rootless Path, still a long way from his senior sister's level of over seventy steps. His physical improvement was limited as well; he was nowhere near achieving martial arts miracles like Eight-Step Cicada Chase or Empty-Handed Stone Splitting.
Even so, in the eyes of ordinary people, Wu Ming had been reborn after a month of hard training. He had grown more than two centimeters taller and gained over ten pounds. His once thin, haggard frame had become noticeably fuller and firmer, with faint muscle definition.
Even his facial features had begun to show the transformation from boy to young man, no longer so unmistakably childish.
But if Wu Ming himself had to say, the past month had been, at best, passable...
The reason was simple: with a cultivation routine as dull as a script, his Spirit Crystal income came almost entirely from daily activity. After grinding through a whole month of scripted routines, he had barely added a little over two thousand crystals to his stash, counting the pittance from breakthroughs in his cultivation arts. Combined with what he'd saved before, it was just enough for two ten-pulls.
Then, just as expected, he got nothing. Nine blues and one purple, followed by another nine blues and one purple. All the effort he'd put into saving over the past month or so vanished in an instant.
That wasn't to say there had been no improvement. Eighteen blue lights had landed on his basic stats, and the resulting boost was better than nothing. The two purple lights had given him a little Spirit Root aptitude in the Metal and Fire elements. They were completely incompatible with the Spring Encounter Book, but they were quite helpful for studying a hundred different arts.
Still, compared to the refinement of his cultivation arts brought by golden light, these improvements were simply too minor.
Wu Ming took it all in stride. Even if he had to grind like this for another month, two months, or longer, he wouldn't mind.
A professional had to be able to endure loneliness above all else.
Besides, the Nine Provinces Continent had no Card Pool updates on a fixed schedule, pressuring him to spend as if his soul were being sucked out. He could simply develop steadily and keep polishing his daily cultivation routine... Even if the results were only passable, there was nothing wrong with that.
But Wu Ming also knew perfectly well that this peaceful life couldn't go on forever. The next major version update shouldn't be far off.
This wasn't some vague premonition. It was a reasonable conclusion based on logic, because...
Just then, an anxious call suddenly reached his ears on the wind.
"Junior Brother Wu Ming~ Junior Brother Wu Ming! This is bad!"
The voice was sweet and innocent, naturally carrying a hint of cloying charm. Even her anxiousness came across as rather adorably silly.
The next moment, Wu Ming saw a new shoot spring from a crack in the stone beneath his feet. It shot upward at an astonishing speed, growing into a small peach tree taller than a person.
Then the peach tree began to tremble. Its branches twisted into bones, its bark peeled away as tender wood turned to flesh, and its petals fluttered down, transforming into a beautiful pink dress... In the blink of an eye, the little tree had become a sixteen-year-old beauty with delicate features and alluring curves: Second Senior Sister Zheng Lingxi.
Wu Ming was just about to praise her newly comprehended Wood Substitution, which she was using with ever greater ease. Once the eldest senior sister returned, it ought to help her deflect a few outbursts of anger... when he felt his hand tighten, then sink into a soft, warm embrace.
The moment Zheng Lingxi appeared, she clasped Wu Ming's hand tightly, pressing it against her chest like a lifeline as she pleaded frantically, "This is bad, this is bad! This time, it's really bad!"
Wu Ming felt as though his right hand had sailed into a new world aboard the Golden Merry, rubbing and rolling through stormy seas... He wanted to pull it back, but Senior Sister Ling Xi had put real strength into her grip in her desperation.
A Foundation Establishment Realm Witch was at least twenty times stronger than him, so he didn't bother humiliating himself. Seeing that she was as frantic as a headless fly, he gave a quiet sigh, looked past Zheng Lingxi, then cried out in surprise, "Eldest Senior Sister, you're back!?"
"!!!!"
Caught completely off guard, Zheng Lingxi was horrified. Her little face, flushed red with anxious tension, instantly turned pale as paper, and her tightly clasped hands loosened without her realizing it.
Wu Ming took the chance to pull his hand back and smiled faintly. "Don't panic, Senior Sister Ling Xi. I was teasing you."
"?" Zheng Lingxi froze for a moment. When she realized she'd been fooled, she knitted her brows and scrunched her nose, her ears twitching as she put on an adorably indignant expression. "You tricked me again!"
Wu Ming asked, "So what happened? Don't panic. Take your time and tell me. I'll help you."
Zheng Lingxi said nervously, "Someone saw Da Huang and the others..."
Wu Ming couldn't help being startled.
Da Huang was the name of a group of wild Dog Demons that Senior Sister Ling Xi had recently befriended.
Yan Mountain lay in a remote part of Qiongzhou, where demons and monsters were hardly uncommon. Most of them were no real threat and could be driven far away with a few spells... Yet even these insignificant little demons were extremely sensitive matters in Qiongzhou.
Five hundred years ago, the Demon Race had been the main force in the savage war. Among them, the Tiger King, who had proclaimed himself the Western Saint Emperor, had been notorious for his brutality, leaving cultivators across the Nine Provinces with deep psychological scars.
Of course, after the century-long war, the Demon Race's main force had been all but wiped out. Those who survived had either fled beyond the Eastern Pole Territory or been skinned and dismembered by various immortals, then turned into pills and magical treasures. Only a tiny handful of exceptional demons had been fortunate enough to be captured and kept as spirit pets to guard people's homes.
By now, many of the demons on the Nine Provinces Continent could hardly be called a "race" at all. Even in Qiongzhou, where the environment naturally favored the Outer Dao, most of those still around were Loose Demons who had chanced upon the essence of heaven and earth and attained enlightenment. Even if some possessed extraordinary abilities, they were no real threat.
But in Qiongzhou, the Demon Race had never been a practical problem so much as a political one. Although the demons had long since ceased to pose any real threat, the people of Qiongzhou still had to stay on their guard... Especially Desolate People who had inherited the savage bloodline had to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Even if they weren't killed on the spot, they should at least be driven away immediately.
But these complicated considerations clearly didn't apply to the innocent, guileless Zheng Lingxi.
Three days ago, a few wild Dog Demons had wandered near Yan Mountain. They happened to run into Zheng Lingxi, who had been left unsupervised without her senior sister and spent her days roaming all over. They hit it off at first sight, exchanged a few woofs, and became friends.
By the time Wu Ming found out, Zheng Lingxi's skirt was already covered in dog hair... The girl hadn't even noticed, and was still enthusiastically sharing all sorts of amusing stories about her new friends with Wu Ming.
According to the rules set by their master and senior sisters, Wu Ming should have acted decisively then, cut ties on Zheng Lingxi's behalf, and driven the Dog Demons as far away as possible.
But Wu Ming was neither Gu Bai nor Zhu Ying. The moment he heard that a pack of Dog Demons had arrived from beyond the mountain, his first thought was of Big Brother... and whether there might be a side quest in all this.
And when Zheng Lingxi took out two Youyou Fruit Cakes from her private stash to bribe him, Wu Ming promptly became her accomplice.
It seemed the Dog Demons really did have a side quest attached to them, though it had triggered in a rather troublesome way.
It wasn't a problem that someone had spotted little demons wandering around Yan Mountain. The problem was that traces of feeding were scattered throughout the little demons' habitat.
In Qiongzhou, as a Desolate Person, that was undoubtedly taboo.
Wu Ming was certainly responsible too, so he immediately sobered up and asked,
"Who saw them?"
Zheng Lingxi said, "Three people in all. Two were very old, and one was very tall."
As she spoke, the girl gestured wildly. Flecks of light appeared at her fingertips, like ink dabbed from a brush, and sketched three simple figures in midair.
Two old Daoists wearing Azure Daoist Robes, and a tall, slender girl.
The latter was one thing, but the moment he saw those familiar Azure Daoist Robes, Wu Ming's heart sank.
They were here after all!
Thanks to Kanon2023, Muke Mu, and Sanqi Sanshiyi for the donations!
Book club: 1046475706
Everyone's welcome to join the group. I'll occasionally pop in to show off my pulls.
By the way, what do you think of the current update time? Should I change it?
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