"Thud!"
Zhao Yi could hold on no longer. His vision went black, and he collapsed onto the boat.
Through the haze, Zhao Yi saw the Sect Jade Register in his dantian.
[Sect: Linghua] [Fortune: 0] [Registered in the Jade Register: 1] [Spendable fortune: 4]
The first page,
[Name: Zhao Yi] [Fortune: 8] [Spiritual root: Low-grade earth spiritual root] [Realm: Great completion of meridian opening]
One last look at my cheat before I die isn't bad, either. Ah, what a pity. You followed me, but I haven't even made your name known before you have to fall dormant again. I hope there's another life. I hope you can come find me sooner next time, my cheat!
Looking at his fortune, Zhao Yi added his spendable fortune to his own fortune as though possessed. [Fortune: 8] became [Fortune: 10], and then his vision went black as he sank into darkness.
An unknown amount of time passed before Zhao Yi dimly heard people talking.
"Wang Qing, how is Eldest Senior Brother today?"
"Second Senior Brother, he's still unconscious! His external injuries have mostly healed, and the wounds on his back have closed, too, but the meridians inside his body are still ruptured. He'll have to wake up and circulate his energy himself to recover from that."
"Ah, Second Senior Brother, have your injuries all healed?"
"Yes, more or less!"
"Ah, Eldest Senior Brother won't stay unconscious forever, will he?"
Oh, that's Wang Qing's voice. No wonder it sounded so familiar, Zhao Yi thought.
"Wang Qing, who are you saying will stay unconscious forever?" Zhao Yi opened his eyes and spoke feebly, his gaze dull.
"Ah, Eldest Senior Brother, you're awake! Wonderful! Eldest Senior Brother, you're finally awake!"
Beside him, Liu Yu also looked at Zhao Yi with delighted surprise.
Zhao Yi turned his head slightly. "So we're back on Linghua Island!"
"Help me sit up!"
Wang Qing hurriedly helped Zhao Yi sit up and lean against the headboard.
"Liu Yu, how many days was I unconscious? How did we escape that day?"
"Senior Brother, you were unconscious for seven days."
"That night, after the enemy saw you collapse, he laughed three times. A Spirit Attraction Stage cultivator from the Zhao Family heard him and sent a streak of sword qi down from the air, seriously injuring him outright. Seeing he was injured, I immediately used the Boiling Blood Art and finally killed him."
Zhao Yi stared at Liu Yu, dumbstruck. "You're not lying to me, are you?"
Liu Yu nodded. "That's exactly what happened. The Zhao Family's help arrived just in time!"
Zhao Yi gave a bitter laugh. "To think the enemy died just like that. What good fortune for Linghua Island! Still, wasn't the Zhao Family cultivator's arrival a little too well-timed? Forget it, my head hurts. Why think so much? I should just focus on recovering."
No, no, why do I remember doing something before I passed out?
Zhao Yi closed his eyes and began recalling the battle that night. Hmm? I remember now. I added another two points of fortune to myself!
Zhao Yi was about to enter meditation and examine the Sect Jade Register, but a dull pain rose in his chest. His external wounds had healed, but his internal injuries had not.
I'll wait until I've recovered!
"Liu Yu, what happened afterward? What else happened?"
Time flew, and another seven days passed. Zhao Yi could finally attempt to cultivate. Sitting upright on his bed, he began to meditate.
Before long, he entered a state of inward vision. Most of Zhao Yi's meridians throughout his body were ruptured. What had once been smooth, broad roads had now become winding and riddled with potholes again.
Next, he turned his attention to his dantian. The Sect Jade Register still hovered above it, and Zhao Yi focused his mind on it.
[Sect: Linghua] [Fortune: 0] [Registered in the Jade Register: 1] [Spendable fortune: 0]
The first page,
[Name: Zhao Yi] [Fortune: 10] [Spiritual root: Low-grade earth spiritual root] [Realm: Great completion of meridian opening]
Sure enough, my fortune increased. To think fortune could be so miraculous. I'd only just added it when the enemy was seriously injured by the help that arrived. It really was like planting a pole and seeing its shadow at once!
Since fortune is so miraculous, it seems I absolutely mustn't spend fortune points lightly in the future.
That night, before I passed out, three enemies had been killed: two at great completion of meridian opening and one at perfection of meridian opening. Then my fortune points increased by four. Are these fortune points related to the cultivation of the cultivators killed?
Killing Daoist Mu last time gave me two fortune points. This time, killing two at great completion of meridian opening and one at perfection of meridian opening gave me four.
By that reckoning, killing someone at great completion of meridian opening gives one fortune point, and someone at perfection of meridian opening gives two.
Hmm, next time I'll find a chance to kill a few more and test it. Pushing those thoughts down, Zhao Yi began circulating his energy to cultivate. True qi flowed through his meridians. Ah, it hurts! Like being cut with knives!
He barely managed to complete one greater and lesser celestial circuit, taking several times longer than usual. Once he finished meditating, Zhao Yi left his room and went to the kitchen. Only Liu Yu and Li Hai were on the island now.
As for Wang Qing, Zhao Yi had sent him off to Jade Pearl Island the day after waking up, to watch over the precious spirit fish.
He pulled out a chair and sat down. Before long, Liu Yu and Li Hai brought out a few simple dishes, and the three began eating.
They did not speak while eating. After the meal, Li Hai cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, and Zhao Yi asked Liu Yu, "Did you search the cultivators killed that night? Did you recognize them?"
"I searched them. I didn't recognize any of the four, and there were no obvious symbols or markings on them."
"From the four of them, I found one piece of low-grade spirit jade, twenty-four spirit stones, one bottle and six additional Essence Qi Pills, one bottle and two additional Essence Origin Pills, and a bottle of Spring Splendor Pills for healing. There were four in total, and I gave them all to you while you were unconscious, Senior Brother."
"Besides the pills, we also obtained four Dharma Weapons, three Golden Light Talismans, two Fireball Talismans, two Ice Arrow talismans, and one Waterspout Talisman, which is a mid-grade spirit talisman. Oh, right, there's also a Single-Masted Ship."
"Mm, you take the Essence Qi Pills. I'll keep the Essence Origin Pills. Give that Dharma Weapon longsword to Li Hai, and put everything else away."
Liu Yu nodded, understanding what he meant.
"Liu Yu, which island do you think those cultivators came from?"
"I don't know. That black-robed cultivator knew our master's name, so he must have been a cultivator from the Yunsha Sea Region. But our master had something of a reputation in the Yunsha Sea Region, and plenty of people knew him."
"Mm, has anyone come to the island since we returned?"
"Senior Brother, after we returned, Wang Qing looked after you while I stayed at the Daoist temple, constantly watching for visitors. I noticed nothing during that time. There are two possibilities: either no one came, or someone came without me noticing!"
Zhao Yi shook his head. "Probably no one came. Anyone who could come without you noticing could easily kill everyone on our mountain!"
"Liu Yu, you and Wang Qing should strive to reach great completion of meridian opening soon! With the pills we bought and this latest haul, we have more than four bottles of Essence Qi Pills. Take three bottles and leave the rest for Wang Qing."
"Oh, right, bring me that piece of low-grade spirit jade in a bit. I'm going to make something!"
With that, Zhao Yi returned to his room.
Before long, Liu Yu brought over the piece of spirit jade.
Zhao Yi turned the spirit jade over in his hands. It was an irregular oval, about the size of his palm.
It was a deep aqua blue throughout, its surface smooth and delicate, its quality pure and flawless.
He hefted it. It weighed about two jin.
I'll use this. There's no other choice anyway. Zhao Yi focused his thoughts and slowly manifested the Sect Jade Register in his left hand. Holding the spirit jade in his right, he slowly brought the two together.
The moment they touched, the Jade Tablet turned into a stream of shimmering light and merged directly into the spirit jade.
Before long, the spirit jade began flowing and changing shape like liquid jade, gradually taking the form of a book. Finally, with a flash of golden light, it became a Jade Register and landed in Zhao Yi's hand.
Zhao Yi opened the Jade Register. The first page displayed,
[Name: Zhao Yi] [Spiritual root: Low-grade earth spiritual root] [Realm: Great completion of meridian opening]
With a thought, two more pages appeared before Zhao Yi's: Chen Changdao and Chen Yihua.
Before you continue