White grass, red leaves, yellow flowers

The night wind grew colder. The large pots in the village center had already been carried away, leaving only a few lingering embers flickering in the wind.

Zhou Wuji stood in the shadows beneath the doorway, silently surveying the village center.

Many households in the village kept dogs. If a stranger wandered between their courtyard walls, it would inevitably set the dogs barking.

Normally, anyone entering the village had to take this road.

With nothing else to do, Zhou Wuji had come over to keep watch for a while.

The door next door creaked softly, and Wuming stepped gracefully out in her apricot-yellow Daoist robe. After only two steps, she spotted Zhou Wuji standing at the entrance. Slightly startled, she immediately stopped.

She asked softly, "Senior brother, why are you still up so late?"

"Mm, I'm not sleepy yet, so I came out to have a look."

Zhou Wuji glanced at Wuming. Instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, this woman had come looking for him. Was she planning to offer herself to repay him for saving her life?

He knew that was unlikely, but Wuming really was beautiful.

In the deep night, her bright, dewy eyes were utterly bewitching, and the night breeze brushing her Daoist robe outlined a graceful figure that was even more captivating.

"Senior brother, you saved my life, and I have no way to repay you. I have a seventh-grade Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman here. Please take it to protect yourself."

Wuming had drunk a little rice wine, and her orchid-scented breath carried faint traces of its fragrance.

Zhou Wuji's six senses were keen enough to catch the subtle elements of that alluring fragrance with precision. He felt as though he had drunk mellow wine, already a little tipsy at heart.

He immediately realized something was wrong. I'm a man who's been around. I can't be this hopeless.

He politely declined. "You're too kind, junior sister. How could I accept this?"

Her cheeks slightly flushed, Wuming pressed the talisman into Zhou Wuji's hand, then turned and ran.

Zhou Wuji smiled faintly and cupped his hands toward Wuming’s retreating figure. "With such heartfelt kindness, junior sister, it would be disrespectful to refuse. Thank you..."

The talisman had been drawn on high-quality talisman paper, its bright cinnabar inscriptions faintly radiating crimson spiritual light.

Zhou Wuji recognized the inscriptions. This was a seventh-grade Northern Pole Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman.

Activating the divine talisman would produce northern pole heavenly gang, protecting body and mind inside and out from the erosion and damage of evil spirits and outside forces.

The Northern Pole Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman's greatest strength lay in converting primordial Qi into a shield. It could even withstand several full-force blows from a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist.

A divine talisman like this had to be drawn by a master talisman maker and blessed by the gods of the upper divisions. A single one would sell for at least fifty taels of gold.

More importantly, even money could hardly buy one.

Since Wuming could produce such a valuable protective talisman, she probably came from a good family.

Zhou Wuji knew so little about the lower academy that he could not guess Wuming’s family background.

Fortunately, that did not matter. He had no intention of living off a woman. Still, Wuming's fair hand had been soft and smooth, and touching it had felt quite pleasant.

The Northern Pole Sect did not forbid marriage, but one could only choose a single dao companion. There was absolutely no room for fooling around.

Zhou Wuji also knew perfectly well that his interest in Wuming came from her beauty. It was all male instinct and had nothing to do with love.

This relationship, neither close nor distant, was rather interesting. If they really became a couple, it might actually lose its appeal.

Zhou Wuji studied the Northern Pole Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman for a while before putting it into his left sleeve pocket.

With this divine talisman, he could stand his ground against a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist for a few blows...

He returned to his room, which a villager had vacated for him. It was a two-room dwelling built of brick and timber.

The roof beams were high, with gray tiles above them. There was a bedroom and a kitchen with a square table.

The rooms were simple, but at least the bed had a new sleeping mat and a freshly laundered thin quilt.

Without even taking off his Daoist robe, Zhou Wuji merely removed his square-toed shoes and lay down on the bed, placing the Seven Star Sword beside him.

If anything happened, he could immediately grab his sword and respond.

He silently circulated the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture, guiding his Qi through seventy-two circuits to complete the day's practice.

Judging by his cultivation experience over the past few days, completing his practice on schedule reliably increased his Qi by one point each day.

A hundred points of Qi could open one acupoint, so he would only need a year to open the remaining three and advance to the seventh grade.

A twenty-two-year-old Seventh-Rank Register Reception Daoist would already qualify as a genius in the lower academy!

Zhou Wuji felt that his cultivation progressed so steadily because of the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment's blessing.

With the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment converting essence, Qi, and spirit, however, he would not need that much time!

Zhou Wuji's gaze fell on the page. Through the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, even the eighth-grade pig demon could be converted into a Yin Spirit.

But this was his first time slaying a demon, and he wanted to try the effects of Origin Mystic Essence.

The pig demon was converted into two taels and five mace of Origin Mystic Essence, which became a wisp of pale azure light that descended upon him.

The azure light merged into his blood, circulated once through his body, and soon fused completely with it.

Zhou Wuji felt a slight warmth throughout his body, which was very comfortable. Beyond that, he noticed no other specific changes.

He got out of bed and performed a set of Tianshu Palm.

This was also an external training method of the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture, emphasizing the Seven Star Gang Steps while guiding primordial Qi with fists and palms.

Tianshu Palm was not intended for combat. Its movements were expansive and open, focusing on bodily coordination.

After practicing Tianshu Palm once, Zhou Wuji felt brimming with vigor. His palms actually stirred the air with audible gusts throughout the set.

Looking at the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment again, he saw that his body stat had risen from 121 to 155, an increase of roughly a quarter.

To Daoists, the body was the foundation of essence. Blood, bones, internal organs, sinews, and flesh were all essence.

His strength, reactions, speed, stamina, and every other physical aspect had improved greatly.

This was a very complex concept that could not be represented through simple figures such as strength and speed.

For instance, all his internal organs had been strengthened: his heart beat more powerfully, his digestion had improved, his resistance to disease had increased, and so on...

Zhou Wuji abandoned the idea of more detailed quantification. These were all composite measurements with strong correlations to one another, so there was little point in quantifying each separately.

The figure that truly reflected his physical improvement was his lifespan. It had increased by three years, bringing the total to eighty-eight.

Zhou Wuji was quite satisfied with this. Only by living was there a future; only by living did every possibility remain open.

As for the Five Yin Pouch, there would be plenty of opportunities later.

He practiced Xiaoxiang Sword once more and clearly felt that wielding his sword had become easier. His advances and retreats were faster, and his explosive power was greater.

The improvement was not especially pronounced, but it had increased his control over his sword.

With his physical advantages, he should be able to kill yesterday's self within twenty sword strikes.

This was a tremendous improvement!

Directly converting the pig demon into Origin Mystic Essence without setting up an altar to make offerings to the Northern Emperor was also an act of grave disrespect.

By law, his soul should have been annihilated. Fortunately, he was an Extraterrestrial Otherworldly Spirit and was exempt from all punishments.

The more Zhou Wuji looked at the exemption note, the more he liked it. This was so much more satisfying.

Otherwise, having to set up an altar, offer worship, and observe the precepts every single time would have been an absolute nuisance...

Brimming with vigor and not at all sleepy, he practiced his several spells a few times, then began pondering other uses for Origin Mystic Essence.

Origin Mystic Essence could directly improve his body, with immediate results.

If he saved it instead of using it, could it heal his injuries instantly when he was hurt?

Unfortunately, he had too little Origin Mystic Essence to experiment with. That would have to wait until next time.

Zhou Wuji kept himself busy until dawn before feeling a little sleepy and taking a short nap.

After breakfast, the convoy set off.

The village head led a large group of villagers more than ten li to see them off. In the end, the villagers prostrated themselves, only rising after watching the convoy disappear into the distance.

Somewhat moved, Wuming said to Zhou Wuji, "The villagers are so simple and honest. They saw us off all this way and even gave us a cartload of bamboo charcoal."

After their private exchange last night, Wuming felt much closer to Zhou Wuji. She naturally rode her donkey alongside his, seeing nothing wrong with it at all.

Zhou Wuji did not think the villagers were particularly simple or honest. At the very least, the village head was a crafty old man.

But he understood one thing: Wuming was looking to chat with him, not debate the reasoning behind things.

"They're all good people."

Zhou Wuji casually agreed, reaching back to take down his bamboo hat and place it on Wuming's head.

He said gently, "The autumn sun is fierce. It'll darken your skin."

Wuming had not expected such an intimate gesture from Zhou Wuji. Her jade-like cheeks warmed slightly, but she did not refuse his kindness. Instead, sweetness welled up in her heart.

Plenty of men tried to curry favor with her, but their eyes always darted furtively, with nowhere proper to rest. None were like Senior Brother Wuji, so open and natural in his kindness, his bright black eyes filled with unconcealed tenderness.

"Thank you, senior brother..." Wuming thanked him softly, blushing, then found herself at a loss for what else to say.

In all her life, this really was the first time she had been so close to an unfamiliar man.

She was a little nervous and a little happy, as though a little rabbit were tucked inside her heart, leaping wildly about.

Seeing Wuming's shy expression, Zhou Wuji could not help feeling tender affection. What a lovely flower...

A group of Daoists seated in the wagons all saw Wuming and Zhou Wuji's intimate behavior.

It could not be helped. Wuming was a fairy maiden in many people's hearts, and whenever they had the chance, they had to steal a few extra looks.

Zhou Wuji chatted and laughed with Wuming without trying to hide it from anyone.

The young Daoists watched until their eyes reddened a little. Quite a few even wanted to cut down that frivolous brat Zhou Wuji with a single sword strike!

But they only entertained the thought. Last night, they had watched the battle from behind the ritual altar and seen Zhou Wuji slice off the pig demon's head with one stroke.

That fierce swordsmanship was truly terrifying.

They all knew their own limits. Even together, they were not enough for Zhou Wuji to slaughter.

No matter how jealous or resentful they felt, they could only swallow it.

Meanwhile, Wuming found more and more common ground with Zhou Wuji as they talked, laughing softly from time to time.

After a full day's travel, Wuming felt no fatigue. Instead, she found the autumn air crisp and refreshing, the autumn scenery radiant, just like her mood.

"Old Cang Village is just ahead," Zhou Wuji said, pointing toward the hollow in the mountains ahead.

Following his gesture, Wuming saw a dozen or so households in the hollow. An old locust tree stood at the village entrance, with several crows circling above it, unwilling to leave.

The setting sun hung low over the mountain, and fiery red clouds filled the western sky. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from several houses, while a small river murmured past beside them. It was a scene of peace and tranquility.

Zhou Wuji said, "This scene suddenly brought a short verse to mind."

Wuming looked at him with wide, bright eyes and asked with keen interest, "What verse?"

"A lonely village, setting sun, lingering crimson clouds; faint smoke, an old tree, crows in the chill; a lone wild goose's shadow descending.

"Green mountains, verdant waters; white grass, red leaves, yellow flowers."

"Oh, senior brother, you have such literary talent!"

"It was written by someone long ago. I read it in an ancient book."

Zhou Wuji said leisurely, "There's nothing much to the rest of it, but that line about white grass, red leaves, and yellow flowers fits this scene perfectly."

Wuming was still a little puzzled. Only when Zhou Wuji's gaze settled on her did she suddenly realize that the yellow flower meant her!

Smiling, Zhou Wuji said, "The yellow flower is in its full beauty, surpassing all the colors of autumn..."

Light rippled through Wuming's bright eyes, half shy and half delighted, making her look all the more radiant and lovely...