Chapter 44

A vast Bamboo Grove lay behind Golden Guard Peak. After absorbing the Azure Tide Sect's spiritual energy year after year, the bamboo there had developed a trace of spirituality and could be considered half-spiritual plants. Its stalks towered into the clouds and were far tougher than ordinary bamboo; even a Qi Refining Stage cultivator might not find it easy to chop one in two.

At the very center of that Bamboo Grove, a boy of about ten was swinging a black iron heavy sword, hacking hard at the bamboo.

He called out a number with every stroke.

"Three hundred and fifty-six."

"Three hundred and fifty-seven."

"Three hundred and fifty-eight."

A middle-aged man carrying an enormous heavy sword on his back approached from behind the boy. His face was solemn, his bearing upright and uncompromising. As he watched the boy ahead of him, his brows relaxed, revealing a measure of satisfaction.

Seemingly hearing the footsteps behind him, the boy immediately turned and bowed with his hands clasped. "Master!"

The middle-aged man waved a hand. "Don't mind me. Carry on."

The boy turned to resume, only to hear the man add, "Jin Chen, when you have a chance, you can go to the Outer Gate and spar with a girl named Su Jiu."

The boy frowned slightly, looking puzzled. He had heard that name far too many times from that wild girl Su Mianmian, but this was the first time he had heard it from his master.

"Is there anything remarkable about her?"

"She's around seven, but she's already reached the sixth Qi Refining layer. Her Cultivation Level should make her an excellent sparring partner for you."

Jin Chen pursed his lips slightly, looking rather unconvinced.

Still, he answered respectfully, "Understood, Master."

A while ago, his senior brother had told him that a female cultivator in the Outer Gate had brought a great many Spirit-Gathering Pills this year. Everyone around her had relied on those pills to forcibly raise their Cultivation Level. When the boy heard that Su Jiu had reached the sixth Qi Refining layer in just over a year, he instinctively assumed she was one of them.

Cultivators who relied on pills to advance had an unstable Cultivation Level. So what if she was at the sixth Qi Refining layer? He could still beat her until she had no strength to fight back.

Seeing the boy's dismissive expression, the middle-aged man raised an eyebrow. He had been his master for over a year, after all. How could he not know what the brat was thinking? He gave him a meaningful look, but let him continue misunderstanding Su Jiu.

With his talent and rapid progress, the boy had begun to grow conceited, fueled by an undercurrent of arrogance that he rarely showed. It was time someone dealt him a little blow.

Yes, that little girl two years younger than him would be an excellent choice.

Not far away, Su Jiu suddenly felt a chill for no apparent reason, but noticed nothing unusual around her. She had no idea that the peak master of Golden Guard Peak had already set his sights on her.

For the past two days, they had been patrolling the front slopes of Golden Guard Peak. The peak was enormous; walking from its southern end to its northern end took two or three days. Fortunately, Qi Refining disciples could already regulate themselves with the spiritual energy in their bodies, so simply walking no longer tired them out.

To relieve their boredom, they sometimes exchanged gossip and amusing stories.

"With our current Cultivation Level, if we push ourselves, we might be able to make the Outer Gate Grand Competition in three years."

Hearing Zhou Xing mention the Outer Gate Grand Competition, Su Jiu remembered that the book had indeed mentioned it, devoting quite a few pages to the contest.

Naturally, Bai Su had ultimately taken first place. But she had relied not on her own strength, but on magical treasures and talismans that caught her opponents off guard. It was also after that competition that limits had been imposed on the number of magical treasures and talismans contestants could bring.

Lie Changfeng shook his head. "I probably won't make it. I've only just broken through to the seventh Qi Refining layer. We say three years, but there are really only two years and nine months left, and registration opens another two months before that. I'm not very confident I can break through to the late Qi Refining stage."

In truth, never mind Lie Changfeng-even Zhou Xing himself was not particularly confident.

The first rule of the Outer Gate Grand Competition was that only cultivators at the late Qi Refining stage could enter.

Mo Yan patted Lie Changfeng on the shoulder.

Anyone who performed well in this competition had a good chance of being selected for the Inner Gate early, without having to wait until Foundation Establishment. If Lie Changfeng could not break through to the late Qi Refining stage, he would undoubtedly miss an opportunity.

Remembering the rewards for the Outer Gate Grand Competition mentioned in the book, Su Jiu asked tentatively, "Do you know what the prizes are this time?"

Shu Bai replied, "They should be the same as in previous years. Each of the top ten gets a Foundation Establishment Pill, each of the top three gets a magical artifact, and first place gets an additional bottle of Spirit-Washing Pills."

Su Jiu's thoughts shifted. Sure enough, Spirit-Washing Pills.

In the book, Bai Su had relied on one of those Spirit-Washing Pills to turn her three spirit roots into two spirit roots.

But this time, Su Jiu would not let Bai Su obtain the Spirit-Washing Pills again.

Spirit-Washing Pills had both benefits and drawbacks for cultivators with multiple spirit roots. The benefit was that washing away a useless spirit root would speed up their Cultivation Level; the drawback was that the spirit root removed was random.

Before taking one, no one knew which spirit root would disappear. This was also one of the reasons Hong Ling refused to let Su Mianmian take a Spirit-Washing Pill. With only a fifty percent chance, she dared not gamble with Su Mianmian's future.

For those with fourfold spirit roots or five spirit roots of low purity, however, these pills were a rare treasure. As long as their luck was not too poor, the cleansing would yield a decent result.

Spirit-Washing Pills were fifth-tier pills. To refine fifth-tier pills, one needed not only a Cultivation Level at least at the golden core stage or above, but, more importantly, talent.

If Su Jiu remembered correctly, the peak master of Woodshadow Peak was one of the sect's few master alchemists.

At the mention of Spirit-Washing Pills, her companions' expressions grew somewhat complicated.

"We won't even make the top ten this time, let alone the top three." Shu Bai shook his head. After all, by the later rounds, nearly everyone left would be at the great perfection of Qi Refining. Reaching the great perfection of Qi Refining within three years was clearly a pipe dream.

Su Jiu looked at them. "If you had a Spirit-Washing Pill, would you take it?"

She was very curious about what these four cultivators with two spirit roots would choose.

Zhou Xing was the first to shake his head, looking a little frightened. "No, no. My fire root is seventy percent and my wood root is thirty percent. I definitely wouldn't take that gamble."

Lie Changfeng shook his head as well. "I wouldn't take it. My two spirit roots are sixty percent and forty percent respectively. If it washed away the sixty-percent one, I'd be finished."

Mo Yan simply said, "I would."

Remembering Mo Yan's situation, Zhou Xing said, "Ah Yan's roots are seventy percent and sixty percent. Even if the seventy-percent one gets washed away, it wouldn't be too bad. Of course, if it removes the sixty-percent one, he'd hit the jackpot."

Shu Bai's situation was actually the same as Mo Yan's, so he nodded too.

Then Shu Bai smiled. "Even a single Spirit-Washing Pill is hard to come by. I probably won't get one in this competition, but I'd like to give it a shot at the next one in ten years."

Su Jiu paused. "Are you planning to suppress your Cultivation Level?"

Shu Bai chuckled. "Not everyone is like you. I'd be doing well to reach the great perfection of Qi Refining in ten years. Suppress my Cultivation Level? Not a chance."

Mo Yan's gaze dimmed slightly. Su Jiu wondered if he was harboring the same thought.