Basking in Bright Sunshine, a Fine Day for Farewell

"Old Bull, sequence 478 is in the bag! Five hundred contribution points—in two days, we earned more than we would in two years!"

Chen Xun lay on Black Bull's back, inspecting the yellow talisman in his hand. Once the tournament was over, he could go to the Sect Main Hall and exchange it for contribution points.

"Moo~" Black Bull turned its head and looked at Chen Xun with heartache in its eyes.

"Old Bull, what's this? Back when we were in Panning City, who had it easy? Weren't we all surviving in the cracks?"

Chen Xun spoke carelessly, then smiled. "A few injuries in exchange for so many contribution points—we made a profit. We should also thank the sect for giving us this opportunity."

"Moo moo~" Black Bull nodded, thinking that if only it could take Chen Xun's injuries for him. Its hide was thick and tough.

After returning to Medicine Valley, Chen Xun perked himself up and smeared medicinal paste all over his body. Black Bull stayed by his side, doing nothing else.

"As for these Grain-Avoidance Pills, they can only be used in emergencies. We aren't short on the little time it takes to eat."

Chen Xun took out an earthy yellow pill. He had refined pills once last year as well. After eating one, he truly did not feel hungry, but neither did he feel full. It was utterly flavorless.

"Moo moo!" Black Bull felt the same way. How could Grain-Avoidance Pills compare to wild game from the mountains? They felt like a heap of dry grass stuffed into its stomach.

"Old Bull, get to work. Go tend the Medicine Valley."

Chen Xun had already covered himself in medicinal paste. Smiling, he said, "How could they have truly hurt me? I deliberately didn't dodge those attacks."

"Moo moo~"

Black Bull looked back every few steps. The herb garden truly had gone untended for two days, so it needed to take a look.

Once Black Bull had vanished from sight, Chen Xun hissed and bared his teeth in pain. He had not suffered any internal injuries, but these external wounds genuinely hurt.

A few days later, the Sect Tournament ended. Chen Xun and Black Bull raced toward the Sect Main Hall. The sect had not collected the yellow talismans, saying they were to be kept by disciples as mementos.

"Junior Brother Chen!"

A familiar voice rang out behind Chen Xun. His face lit up. "I didn't expect it to really be you."

"Senior Brother Ji!" Chen Xun was delighted as well. Looking at Ji Kun, he saw that his features had grown somewhat more resolute, though he still looked like a skinny monkey.

Chen Xun could not help sighing inwardly. Even within the same sect, it had taken a full two years for them to meet by chance.

"Junior Brother Chen, didn't you go serve as an outer sect deacon?"

"I went to manage an herb garden. My family used to do this kind of work."

They walked beneath a secluded tree and began reminiscing. Black Bull followed behind them, then lay down when it saw them stop.

"Junior Brother Chen, the herb garden is not a good place. They call it the Land of Lost Ideals."

Ji Kun looked as though he hated iron for not becoming steel and tried to persuade him. "The people there are all old hands of the sect, those who believe they will never achieve Foundation Establishment in this life."

"We still have our best years ahead of us. We cannot slack off, Junior Brother Chen!"

"Senior Brother Ji, I appreciate your kindness, but I truly do not like fighting and killing."

Chen Xun also looked troubled. He understood Ji Kun's meaning. The outer sect deacons had many opportunities, and it was undoubtedly good for increasing one's strength.

"Alas, Junior Brother Chen, you do not know this. Do you know how the sect's disciples view us Rogue Cultivator disciples?"

Ji Kun looked indignant, one hand behind his back and the other clenched tightly into a fist.

"I truly do not know." Chen Xun shook his head. He felt that these senior brothers and sisters were quite nice. He had never suffered any discrimination.

"They say that we are... stepping stones. Even the Foundation Establishment elders do not think highly of us."

Ji Kun had spent the past two years among the outer sect deacons. There were many factions there, with endless schemes and intrigues. Sometimes, even contribution points were embezzled.

"Senior Brother Ji, what do you mean?" Chen Xun asked calmly. If this had been before, he would have pulled out three Mountain-Splitting Axes and gone straight to make trouble.

"In three years, the Nandou Mountain Secret Realm will open. But most of those who go are Rogue Cultivators."

"Yes, I know that. Otherwise, how would we have had the chance to enter the sect?"

"Junior Brother Chen, do you know how many people can go every twenty years, and how many can return alive?"

Ji Kun drew a deep breath and said heavily, "Seven hundred people. Fewer than a hundred return. If they fail to gather Foundation Establishment spirit herbs, they receive nothing."

"That corrupt?!"

Chen Xun exclaimed. Although he had long known that they were being sent as hired hands and cannon fodder, he had not known things had become this rotten.

"Of course. We are Rogue Cultivators left over after being screened by the Ten Great Immortal Sects. On the surface, everyone is treated equally, but which elder truly thinks highly of us?"

Ji Kun's gaze dimmed. Over the past two years, many of his illusions had been shattered, and he had become far more gloomy.

Those Rogue Cultivators with the potential for Foundation Establishment had long since been taken away by the Ten Great Immortal Sects. If they wanted to achieve Foundation Establishment, they could only walk that road paved in blood.

"Senior Brother Ji, do you intend to enter the Nandou Mountain Secret Realm?" Chen Xun examined him twice. He was still at the Qi Refining Eighth Level; his strength might be somewhat lacking.

"That's right!" Ji Kun nodded heavily. "I have enough contribution points now, and I am preparing to enter seclusion for bitter cultivation. If I can break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Level, my chances of surviving will be greater."

"Senior Brother Ji, you can wait for the next twenty years. You are still so young. You can build up your strength first."

"Junior Brother Chen, in twenty-three years, my vitality and blood will decline and my strength will plummet. What will I have left to compete with?"

Ji Kun's clenched fist tightened further. His eyes were filled with unwillingness. He truly was unwilling to accept it.

These words shook Chen Xun to the core. That was right—one only had a century in the Qi Refining Realm, and it passed in the blink of an eye. How many twenty-year spans did cultivators have?

"Junior Brother Chen, the bright sun shines today. It is a fine day for farewell."

Ji Kun smiled peacefully. He liked Chen Xun very much, feeling that he seemed never to harbor any ill intent. Being around him had always been easy.

After working in the Outer Sect Deacon Hall for two years, he had realized how much rarer a friend like Chen Xun was. Perhaps Chen Xun had made the right choice in going to the herb garden.

"Senior Brother Ji, wait a moment."

Chen Xun hurriedly took out his storage pouch and removed two Heavy Feather Pills and a bottle of Grain-Avoidance Pills. "Senior Brother Ji, I bought these Heavy Feather Pills in Nine-Star Valley. There are two left, and their medicinal potency has not faded."

He now understood that a great kindness could become as great an enmity, so he did not dare take out too much and ruin the bond between them.

"They are actually Heavy Feather Pills."

Ji Kun said in surprise. These were precious pills of the Qi Refining Realm and were extremely expensive. "Junior Brother Chen, I have no ulterior motive. Please take them back. You need them too."

"Senior Brother Ji, take them. You need them more than I do. Our herb garden is being managed very well now, and we earn quite a few contribution points every year."

Chen Xun smiled sincerely and hurriedly placed them in Ji Kun's hands.

"Your generous kindness is hard to refuse, but I will only accept one Heavy Feather Pill. Take the rest back." Ji Kun accepted it solemnly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Ah, all right." Chen Xun let out a faint sigh and put the remaining items back into his storage pouch.

"Junior Brother Chen, Junior Brother Bull, I'll be leaving first. Take good care of yourselves."

Ji Kun cupped his hands, then looked toward Black Bull. The latter hurriedly rose onto all four hooves and let out a mooing cry.

Beneath the tree, Ji Kun departed. Chen Xun and Black Bull watched his receding figure, so lonely yet so resolute.

"Senior Brother Ji will definitely achieve Foundation Establishment, Old Bull. Don't you think?" Chen Xun murmured.

"Moo~~"

Black Bull nodded as well. Within this sect, only Ji Kun treated it as a junior brother. The Merit upon its body would bless him.

"Come on, Old Bull. Let's head back too. The straw hats still haven't been woven."

"Moo~~"

Man and bull also headed toward Medicine Valley. A gentle breeze swept past, and countless fallen leaves drifted beneath the tree, a beautiful sight indeed.