When Qi Yan went to the Internal Affairs Hall to collect his supplies, he discovered that all his earlier plans about doing missions to buy flowers and herbs had been overthinking things.
Mu Xunzhen did not want to pull up seedlings to help them grow, so she would not give him resources beyond his level ahead of time. But his status as a direct disciple of the main peak was there, and naturally entitled him to various basic resources.
Basic spiritual herb seeds, basic pill furnaces, artifact-refining furnaces, and so on could all be collected directly...
There was even a monthly allowance: three low-grade spirit stones and some standard medicines such as qi-restoring powder, to meet inner disciples' everyday cultivation needs. It was not all that much, but for the scion of a small-town clan, it was practically a fortune. And he could collect it every month.
Poor for eighteen years, Qi Yan stood there with a pile of supplies, at a loss.
No wonder everyone had looked so strangely at him when he did missions to exchange for things. Even Yun Ranyi had wanted to laugh when he asked for his "pay."
I came from a sidelined branch of the family. I really never received any of this stuff. But why didn't Jiang Jinyue tell me before?
The Internal Affairs Hall steward handed over the final packet of seeds ingratiatingly, smiling obsequiously. "The sect leader truly values you, junior martial uncle."
Qi Yan blinked. "Didn't you say this was the standard monthly allowance? What does that have to do with valuing me?"
The steward glanced around and lowered his voice. "The sect leader previously gave secret instructions that you weren't to receive resources for the time being, junior martial uncle. She feared that your sudden rise in status might make you complacent and neglect your advancement."
Qi Yan's cheek twitched. No wonder Jiang Jinyue had not said anything either.
So it wasn't just that you wouldn't give me artifacts beyond my level. You really didn't even want to give me my monthly allowance...
Then the steward continued, "Now she has changed her mind after just a few days. Clearly, she trusts your character and has great expectations for you."
Qi Yan stood stunned for a good while before finally nodding. Thinking it through, he had to admit that his master's reasoning made sense. A sudden rise in status, followed by a heap of resources falling into his lap, really might have left him floating so high he could not tell north from south.
Now that he thought about it, that female elder's seemingly casual guidance toward taking missions must also have been arranged by his master, to cultivate a grounded, enterprising attitude in him.
As it turned out, his performance in this incident had exceeded his master's expectations. She had therefore begun to feel that there was really no need to hold back a clearheaded adult so tightly, and that opening up access to resources would free him from trivial concerns. Just as the steward had said, she thought more highly of him than before.
His master really had considered a great deal and taken great pains, but it was still a little hard to keep a straight face... You spoiled Jiang Jinyue too much and raised a glutton who acts cute, then reflected on that painful lesson and decided to use all your tiger-parent methods on me instead, huh...
The sad thing is, Jiang Jinyue doesn't even think you spoil her. She says she feels so pressured around you that she barely dares to breathe.
Honestly, receiving these basic monthly supplies now was not all that useful. The benefit was that he no longer needed to run around for a few spirit stones. The materials he actually needed to forge his bonded artifact were not something he could simply collect; he still had to strive for them himself.
With all this tiger parenting, anyone who didn't know better would think Heavenly Evolution Peak was broke.
Actually, looking at it another way, does Master still feel a little distant from me deep down? Are we still a little short on affection for her to support me unconditionally?
Understandable. We've spent so little time together-what affection is there to speak of... Even games make you grind affection points. Things are already pretty good. One step at a time.
Qi Yan pondered all the way back to his cave abode. Before he could decide what to do first, his ring began vibrating.
He thought it was Little Crybaby, but a touch told him otherwise. Little Crybaby's jade pendant had not moved. What was vibrating was... his sect life token?
Qi Yan picked it up curiously and connected. Jiang Jinyue's voice came from the other end, dripping with sarcasm. "Qi Yan, quite the ladies' man, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Qi Yan was baffled. "What?"
"Quit playing dead!" Jiang Jinyue flew into a rage. "What did you do with Yun Ranyi this time?"
How does even she know? Qi Yan broke into a sweat. "Nothing..."
"Nothing? She said you stared at her in a daze."
"And you believe her?" Qi Yan declared righteously. "It's not like you haven't seen my dealings with her. I'm keeping my guard up."
"No, I haven't. All I've seen is you holding her and rolling around together."
Qi Yan: "..."
Despite what she said, hearing Qi Yan deny it inexplicably improved Jiang Jinyue's mood somewhat. She continued with a huff, "You're a youngster who's only just left the thatched cottage. Pretty women can easily fool you, so watch yourself. Focus on cultivating. Wait until you're as worldly and experienced as your senior sister before thinking about that."
Qi Yan really wanted her to find a mirror and take a look.
"But Qi Yan, since you saw her this time, did you notice anything wrong? Tell your senior sister."
Qi Yan said, "So this mission you said you were going on was to investigate her?"
"To be precise, the entire Yun Clan. Master thinks they might be connected to the Extreme Dao Sect, and I also thought something was off about that demonic dragon at sea. Anyway, did you notice any problems? Don't cover for her, or I'll beat you."
"The Extreme Dao Sect..." Qi Yan did indeed feel that Yun Ranyi was shrouded in secrets. He had put on a stern face earlier precisely because he felt that interacting with her that way could easily get him sold out. But Yun Ranyi had shared information of great importance to the Heavenly Evolution Sect, so naturally, he had let the matter pass.
There was no evidence to determine whether her secrets had anything to do with the Extreme Dao Sect. What he could determine was that Yun Ranyi probably bore the Heavenly Evolution Sect no ill will, or she would not have said those things.
"Senior Sister, I have a few thoughts. See what you think."
"Mm-hmm, go ahead."
"I don't think watching the Yun Clan directly will accomplish anything... Suppose they really are from the Extreme Dao Sect. Having only just arrived, they'd definitely furl their banners and silence their drums for a long time. At most, they'd do some ordinary trading to establish themselves. How could they immediately engage in demonic activities? No matter how closely you watch them, you won't find anything wrong."
Jiang Jinyue rubbed her chin thoughtfully and found that reasonable. "Then what do you think I should do?"
"A Spirit Transformation power suddenly setting foot on Heavenly Prefecture Continent is bound to put the surrounding powers on alert, even if the territory they occupy has few resources. You should watch their overt trade and see whether they get involved in sensitive businesses like minerals, whether that provokes local conflicts, and then how they respond to those conflicts... Whether they're demonic cultivators-you might glimpse the whole leopard from a single spot that way. Their approach, the style of their techniques, things like that will leave clues."
Jiang Jinyue sounded suspicious. "Why does this sound a little like you're trying to say that, if I can't find any signs of demonic cultivation, I should help them out while I'm at it?"
"Huh? Absolutely not, absolutely not. This is entirely for your mission, Senior Sister!"
"Hmph. I can't trust what you say anymore."
"What I did want to say is, if some major sect, like the Azure Cloud Sect or something, deliberately starts a conflict with the Yun Clan, you must report it to Master. You'll definitely be rewarded."
Jiang Jinyue became highly alert. "That ox-nosed Daoqing is making trouble for Master again?"
Qi Yan was astonished. This girl was no fool.
Of course, it would be best to let Jiang Jinyue speak to their master herself. It would not be appropriate for him to pass messages carelessly between them, so he said, "You can ask Master. She might have some additional instructions, such as other sects to target."
"Okay." Jiang Jinyue's mood improved considerably. She had spent the last few days wasting time above the Yun Clan like a headless fly. Had she known that asking her junior brother would give her a course of action, she should have asked long ago. Those white-bearded old men beside her were utterly useless. Sure enough, good-looking people did things beautifully too.
She was just about to disconnect when Qi Yan said, "Hey, Senior Sister, wait."
"Hmm?"
"If I want to add an effect that amplifies the power of Dao Arts to a sword, what material should I use?"
"For your current cultivation? Artifact refining?"
"...Master told me to."
"For an overall amplification of Dao Arts, Cinnabar Yang Geng Metal? But that requires Golden Core cultivation. It's far too early for you to consider that. Even if you had the materials, you couldn't refine them, and even if you could, you couldn't bring out their effects. Choosing a single direction would work, though, such as amplifying lightning arts alone or shortening incantations. The refining requirements are much simpler."
A thought stirred in Qi Yan's mind. "Then is there anything that shortens Witchcraft incantations?"
"I don't know about that. I don't practice Witchcraft. I've only learned a few basics. I might not even know as much as you now."
"All right. I hope your mission goes smoothly and you come back soon, Senior Sister. I'll make you something to eat when you do."
Qi Yan disconnected and instinctively reached to switch to the jade pendant and activate his Crybaby cheat, to ask whether there were materials that shortened Witchcraft incantations.
His hand was already on the pendant when he reconsidered. He never contacted her without a reason, and whenever he did, it was to ask questions. Wasn't that a little inconsiderate... He really was treating Crybaby like a handy little bun. She needed to cultivate too.
Qi Yan hesitated briefly, then simply headed out, straight for the sect's scripture library.
I can clearly look things up myself... Master didn't tell me directly what to use, probably because she expected me to read widely, understand and master that knowledge, and choose a suitable approach from it. When did she tell me to use AI?
While Qi Yan plunged headfirst into the sea of books, ten thousand miles away, at the Azure Cloud Sect.
The disciples were attending their evening lessons.
The sun sank in the west, bathing the horizon in radiance, quiet and serene.
A fierce wind suddenly rose, shattering the tranquility of the immortal sanctuary. Even the gentle sunset turned bloodred, spilling across the green mountains.
An icy voice rang out. "Mu Xunzhen has come to pay a visit. Perfected Daoqing, come out for a chat."
"Perfected Daoqing, come out for a chat..." The mountains echoed, the sound lingering endlessly.
The Azure Cloud Sect stirred at once, and everyone looked up.
Mu Xunzhen stood motionless high in the sky, clad in blue-and-white vestments, her white hair dancing lightly. In the light of the dying sun, her eyes seemed tinged with blood, eerily striking beyond compare.
Silence held over the mountains for a moment before an aged voice finally answered. "Perfected Mu, you've traveled ten thousand miles to come here. Why not enter the mountains for a cup of humble wine?"
Mu Xunzhen said coolly, "I came precisely to offer you all a cup."
As she spoke, Ye Jingshan's body was flung out, hurtling straight toward the main hall on the Azure Cloud Sect's main peak.
A horsetail whisk swept out, attempting to catch him.
The instant the whisk touched Ye Jingshan, his body suddenly exploded, turning into myriad threads of rain that showered across the mountains.
"If you won't come out, Perfected One, and instead cower within your mountains, how can you protect this disciple who betrayed his master?" Mu Xunzhen said leisurely. "A cup of blood wine-a paltry token of my respect."
With that, she made to leave.
If she truly left just like that, it would be an unmitigated show of force and humiliation.
"Mu Xunzhen, you've gone too far!" The horsetail whisk swelled enormously and swept toward her.
Mu Xunzhen had been turning to leave when she suddenly looked back.
Bang! Some unknown attack struck the whisk, blasting it to pieces.
A faint sound of someone coughing up blood came from within the mountains. Clearly, her opponent had suffered a considerable injury.
A faint, mocking smile appeared on Mu Xunzhen's face. Only then did she truly drift away into the sunset clouds.
Her final words came on the wind. "Keep testing our sect, and today's azure clouds will be tomorrow's fading sunset clouds. Do not say you were not warned."