Half a Year, Crimson Cloud Sect

Six months flashed by in an instant.

Cangyun Island grew ever more bustling.

Not only had the recruitment for duty posts been completed, but all manner of miscellaneous work—preparing spirit meals, raising spirit silkworms, registration and record-keeping—was undergoing intensive training.

Another hundred Hibernation Academy Withered Dragons who had converted to the Golden Armor Jade Body had also entered the island, joined the Sea-Calming Bureau, and begun cultivating the specialized Golden Armor Strongman Method.

At this moment, upon the vast Cangyun River, more than a dozen Spirit Monsters of varying sizes were straining with all their might to stir up wind and waves.

These water-dwelling Spirit Monsters were mostly at the Qi Refining First Layer. Yet the demon qi they gathered was either mixed or murky, with few possessing Clear Qi.

Thus, even with over a dozen water Spirit Monsters joining forces, they could only barely whip up waves dozens of zhang high, sweeping across the great river in mighty torrents.

"What an awe-inspiring giant wave!"

"Good heavens, that would probably smash more than ten of me to death!"

Along both banks of the river, many little demons, including carp spirits and green turtle spirits, had gathered to watch. Seeing the towering waves rolling across the river, every one of them revealed frightened expressions. The little carp spirit, in particular, trembled with fear.

"Hmph, you must be newcomers at a glance!"

"This wave is only a few dozen zhang wide. It has not even swept across half the river's surface. How can that count as a giant wave? Just watch!"

Among the little demons watching, a snake demon covered in azure scales cast the two spirits a disdainful glance.

The carp spirit and green turtle spirit exchanged looks, both wearing expressions of shock.

The wave had swept across a river surface dozens of zhang wide out of thin air, as though it could slap the heavens—yet that was still not enough?

"Ha!"

"Boom!!"

Just then, a crab spirit gripping a steel fork gave a great shout, rousing his surging demon qi as he descended onto the river.

In an instant, the enormous waves surged anew, spreading across a full hundred zhang of the river's surface. As one wave crashed forward, the river for a hundred li darkened beneath it, like a canopy of sky, leaving the watching little demons aghast.

A hundred zhang of river water had been rolled up from nowhere.

"Mystic Master, is that still not enough?!"

The crab spirit's face flushed red as he shouted toward the distant stretch of river.

"Please wait a moment, General Crab. I shall go a little farther away. Though these waves have stirred a hundred zhang of river water, this is not seawater after all, so there may be some slight discrepancy in its might."

A clear laugh drifted over, followed by a streak of cloud-light skimming across the river.

Yet in the very instant the cloud-light came to a halt, a flash of golden light spanned the great river and plunged straight into the heart of the waves.

"—Hush!"

There was no thunderous sound, yet an immense suppressive force covered the river, forcibly sealing the spiritual currents of the water element.

It was as though a giant hand had pressed the churning river waves flat.

In but an instant, the enormous waves sweeping across a hundred zhang of river surface settled at once, as if nothing had ever happened.

The winds stilled, the waves calmed, and the sky was bright and clear.

"Ah, heavens!"

"It hurts like hell!"

Yet cries of pain rang out one after another.

The dozen or so little demons that had been stirring the wind and waves had been suppressed along with them. Their thick demon bodies seemed to have slammed into a water surface cast from molten iron, causing excruciating pain. For a moment, they all wailed miserably, unable even to condense their demon qi.

Only the crab spirit holding the steel fork fared somewhat better, but even he staggered back more than ten steps before steadying himself.

Golden cloud-light crossed the air from the river's surface. It crushed several pills and dissolved them into the water, causing a faint fragrance to rise through this stretch of river.

"Thank you for your efforts, fellow demon cultivators. Please accept these Yang-Origin Pills as a token of my gratitude."

The cloud-light dispersed, revealing Lu Xuan. He dipped his head slightly and bowed to the demons in the river.

"Not at all, not at all! Being able to help Mystic Master is our good fortune!"

"Exactly! Accompanying Mystic Master in refining his arts these past days, I feel like my cultivation has improved as well."

"Mystic Master's immortal arts are profound beyond measure. We are ashamed to compare!"

The little demons in the river modestly demurred all at once, but not a single one was willing to surface. All of them were doing their utmost to absorb the medicinal power within the river water.

These were superior pills from the Heaven-Gazing Sect, containing pure yang origin. For little demons like them, who gathered Turbid Qi and Mixed Qi, they could purge impurities from their qi and bring tremendous benefit.

"My thanks as well to General Crab for your help these past days."

Seeing this, Lu Xuan smiled faintly, bowed again to the crab spirit beside him, and handed over three Spirit Stones.

"What are you saying, Mystic Master? We little river demons are blessed beyond measure to assist you in refining your arts. How could we possibly seek recompense... Then I shall accept them!"

The crab spirit had wanted to exchange a few more pleasantries, but in the end, he could not resist the temptation of the Spirit Stones. Before he had even finished speaking, he hastily accepted them.

Lu Xuan did not look down on him in the slightest, merely smiling warmly.

Over the past half year, he had remained almost entirely on Cangyun Island without leaving, painstakingly studying three arts and cultivating the true scripture.

The true scripture could still be cultivated alone, but these three arts could not be developed by shutting oneself behind closed doors and building a cart from scratch.

Fortunately, Cangyun Island lacked everything except Spirit Monsters and little demons.

Lu Xuan had found several little demons and had them manipulate great waves and stir up fierce winds, using them to practice the three arts.

That was why the scene above had taken place.

And only today had the hardest of the three arts to cultivate, the Abyss-Sealing Sea-Calming Art, finally reached major accomplishment.

After tomorrow's assessment, I can earn a Grade A evaluation. Once the character "A" manifests, that will count as more than halfway complete...

As Lu Xuan chatted amiably with the many little demons, he quietly calculated within his heart.

Over the past half year, he had cultivated painstakingly. The manifestation of the two characters had been somewhat slow, but now that the art had been mastered, many matters could be moved onto the agenda.

As he pondered, a stream of icy blue Cloud Qi descended from the horizon and landed upon the river.

"Senior Brother Lu, I knew you would be here refining your art!"

"How was it? Has it reached major accomplishment?"

Zhang Xuange stepped out from the Cloud Qi and asked Lu Xuan with a smile.

He cultivated the Four Seasons Qi. It was now winter, and as the nature of his qi shifted, even the luster of his Cloud Qi had changed.

Hearing this, Lu Xuan replied with a smile, "It has achieved something, at least."

Zhang Xuange immediately revealed an envious expression. "I knew it. Senior Brother possesses Dawn Radiance True Qi and can receive a spark of spiritual illumination at daybreak. Your speed in cultivating arts must far surpass mine."

Lu Xuan shook his head. "Why belittle yourself, Junior Brother? It is winter now, and your qi nature is in flux. This is precisely the time for refining arts."

"Besides, if we are speaking honestly, Senior Brother Wei is the fastest."

Zhang Xuange did not refute him, merely chuckling.

He had been waiting for his winter qi nature to shift, so he had not worked especially hard in recent days, instead focusing on cultivation. If they were comparing the magical power within their Qi Seas now, he might even hold the advantage.

But he had come today on important business. He immediately set those thoughts aside and said with a smile, "Senior Brother, there is finally news of the Bright-Jade Grass you asked me to inquire about."

Lu Xuan also smiled upon hearing this. "There is finally news? Tell me quickly."

Though he had cultivated tirelessly over the past half year, he had not forgotten the agreement between Senior Brother Lin and the Red Fox Clan.

He had already asked someone to purchase the Moonlight Spirit Fungus required by the Moon-Watching Spirit Rabbits, releasing Senior Brother Lin from his wager.

Yet there had been no news of either Bright-Jade Grass or Cold Crystal Lunar Essence.

The Cold Crystal Lunar Essence was not yet urgent.

But the Bright-Jade Grass could not be delayed any longer.

After all, Senior Brother Lin had become a mortal. Without this grass, he could not marry. Lu Xuan knew of his background—how could he dare delay his time?

He could only do everything possible to ask others to search for it, while also visiting the markets himself from time to time.

Yet this grass was a restricted spirit material of the Crimson Cloud Sect and rarely circulated outside. Even with Lu Xuan's status as an inner sect disciple, he had searched for a long time without finding any leads.

Fortunately, there was finally news today.

"Just the day before yesterday, a Foundation Establishment delegation from the Crimson Cloud Sect came to the Immortal Cult's Alchemy Office to exchange views on alchemy theory. Several accompanying disciples were at the Qi Refining realm."

"I had a junior sister from the Alchemy Office secretly make contact. The other party possesses Bright-Jade Grass and is willing to sell it."

"But she will not accept Spirit Stones. She hopes to exchange it for a stalk of Star-Augury Grass, or have someone help her refine a furnace of pills."