After having dug out the spiritual flower from the disgusting slurry of mud, snow, and various spiritual beast fluids that the mountain top had degenerated into and put it in its own personal pouch, Yu Xiang decided to spend what little time he had left on this mountain trip properly harvesting the countless monsters that he and Su Rong had killed. Waste not, want not, and all that jazz.
He took a carving knife from his belt alongside a pair of leather gloves that he had learned to always keep with him over numerous similar expeditions.
[Golden Grasp]
A golden shine sprung from his hands and moved up to the knife in his grip, coating it in a shell of spiritual energy.
Once more the technique proved its worth as the now enchanted blade easily cut through the spiritual beast's supernaturally resistant hide. ‘Another point for techniques with broad applications.’ He thought to himself as he swiftly divested the carcasses of their beast cores, already fantasizing about the profit he would make by auctioning them off.
Yu Xiang himself held neither talent nor passion for either alchemy or smithing, which made the beast cores mostly useless to him as raw materials.
They could be converted into pills, which would be much more useful to him, but then he’d have to convince a pill maker friend of his to do it for him, which would neither be easy or cheap since he really didn't like doing it for some reason, which would cost a lot of money spent on appeasing gifts for a relatively minor boost to his cultivation. No, it was much more convenient to sell them off and use the money on more treasure mountain trips, which meant more spiritual herbs, which were apparently way easier and cheaper to convert into pills. Something about an inherent impurity in the spiritual energy of beast cores or something like that.
Once again, he was no expert on the matter, most of that knowledge being secondhand.
‘And besides.’ Yu Xiang mused to himself. ‘Even if I decided to seek out a more agreeable pill maker, I’d make Lin sad.’
And on that amusing line of thought, he finished his macabre work, putting the fruits of his labor in one of the numerous pouches hanging from his Expedition Belt™. Still, he lingered a few minutes more, picking the mutilated remains clean for any remaining valuable parts.
With practiced ease and expertise born from hundreds of similar instances, horns were broken, claws were cut, fangs were plucked from slacking jaws, and humors were collected in various vials.
Giving himself a metaphorical pat on the back for a job well done, Yu Xiang finally departed from the mountain top. Leaving what little remained for nature to reclaim.
<<<>>>
Yu Xiang moved swiftly through the underbrush, his naked feet gliding over dirt, rocks, and roots as if they weren’t there, all the while leaving gold streaks trailing in their wake.
While he had already demonstrated his skill with this particular technique in his bout against his fellow disciple, that was just a part of what the [Golden Path] technique could do.
The way it worked was rather simple in theory but much more difficult to execute properly. The complete technique required one to use their Chi to create three separate energy layers around your feet.
The first layer’s purpose, the one in direct contact with the legs, was to act as both a safety measure against friction and as an anchoring point for the rest of the layers.
The second layer acted as a buffer between the other two layers, keeping the movement as smooth as possible and preventing any tripping due to uneven grounds.
The third layer was much freer in its movements compared to the others, snaking over dirt and between rocks and roots like a tank's rollers, all while constantly pushing against the second layer to keep the user away from any obstacle.
During his fight, Yu Xiang had used the first layer alone to stick himself to the ground without slipping on the blood and ice covered mountain top.
While using the complete technique to zip around the trees found at the lower levels of the mountain Yu Xiang looked like an Olympic ice skater levitating a few centimeters off the ground.
With that ridiculous image stuck in his brain, the reincarnated youth made his way ever downward. The further down he went the lesser the concentration of spiritual energy in the air became, meaning that Yu could lower his guard a bit as most of the spirit beasts in the area would steer clear of a stronger predator.
Unfortunately, other cultivators tended not to be as wise.
With a mighty war cry a youth in green robes and with a red armband, which marked him as a mid rank Outer Disciple, flew in from one of the trees in front of Yu Xiang, an arm cocked back ready for a punch.
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Yu Xiang easily avoided the telegraphed attack and responded with a punch of his own, hitting the foolhardy cultivator in the stomach. The speed at which Yu was moving coupled with the idiot’s own momentum and added to Yu’s not inconsiderable strength resulted in the boy swiftly losing all the contents of his stomach in an almost mesmerizing arc of bile.
Yu Xing directed a quick jab with his other hand towards the back of the vomiting youth’s head who immediately went completely rigid before flopping down into unconsciousness.
‘Should I just drop him somewhere around here?’ The young reincarnator thought to himself as he kept going as if he hadn’t just been attacked by a fellow disciple, the exchange having barely slowed his stride.
With an effort of will, Yu deployed his aura, scanning his surroundings, immediately he sensed various beasts watching him from their hiding places, beasts that would just love to make a meal out of a defenseless and unconscious cultivator.
‘Ugh.’ Yu sighed inwardly, an annoyed glare pointed at the unconscious boy. ‘You have no idea how lucky you are that I was the one you tried to rob.’
The young man didn’t bother retracting his aura as he kept moving, this time switching his focus and searching for other cultivators.
Long minutes passed with nothing happening, the trees getting gradually smaller and further apart until Yu finally sensed people moving through the forest. With practiced ease, he masked his irritation behind a serene smile as the number of people in his range increased and he got closer and closer to the end of the forest.
Yu Xiang saw the growing crowd of outer disciples even before he broke through the treeline, slowly converging around an old man in fine red robes decorated with golden threads depicting clouds and numerous birds in flight. Standing at his sides were two inner disciples, one of them standing perfectly straight with a stony scowl while the other looked almost slouched. They wore matching blue robes, far less decorated than the Elder's.
With an exaggerated leap that put him above the tops of the nearest trees, Yu Xiang exited the forest, silently announcing his presence, showing off his still abundant reserves of spiritual energy to a glowering Su Rong, who had made his way back first after their short fight, and simply taking the chance to flex a bit.
His arrival didn't go unnoticed by the other disciples and the greying man, his eyes crinkling in amusement at the youth’s bombastic entrance, especially once he noticed the limp form of the unconscious boy held in Yu Xiang’s arms.
Mocking laughs were directed at the knocked out cultivator as he was carried through the crowd by Yu Xiang, the mass of bodies parting easily for him as he made his way to the smiling man.
Chao Xi, the Elder who was tasked to watch over the outer disciples.
Or Grandpa Chao, as many of the sect born outer disciples called him in private.
With amusement clear in his voice, he called out to one of his assistants, an instinctual wave of his hand following the practiced command. "Disciples Xiang and disciple Bai have returned, mark them down.” The overly relaxed disciple proceeded to take out a rolled up scroll and a brush from a bag at his side. He scanned the contents of the scroll with half lidded eyes, before crossing out their names with two brush strokes.
"Elder Chao, it seems that a couple of disciples still haven’t returned, should we go find them? It’s almost time for us to head back.” Questioned the severe looking inner disciple.
Elder Chao stroked his bearded chin for a few moments in contemplation before giving a nod to the young man.
The two Inner Disciples hopped over the crowd, stopping in mid air as they realized they had no idea where to start looking. An enormous aura passed harmlessly through the crowd, spreading farther than Yu could sense. The Inner Disciples turned around, their embarrassment plain for all to see, not that any outer disciple would dare to laugh.
Elder Chao simply pointed towards the leftmost part of the mountain and the two quickly moved away, vanishing from sight in an instant.
Yu Xiang turned towards the older man as the Elder hummed to himself, eyeing Yu from head to toe before commenting in a curious tone. “It seems that you’ve had a lucky find today, Disciple Xiang.”
The green eyed teen’s serene facade broke as a smug smile settled on his face.
It was time.
The best part of these expeditions. Better than the constant adrenaline high from the many fights, better than the money gained from the auction house by selling Beast Cores, and better even than the cultivation advancements gained from the powerful spiritual herbs.
Rubbing his success in everyone’s faces.
With a deliberately slow movement, Yu Xiang unlatched the pouch containing the spiritual flower from his belt, handling it reverently as he felt the eyes of the crowd burn a hole on his back.
Elder Chao waited patiently as Yu messed around with the mass of disciples, carefully handling the pure white flower once the young cultivator had enough of his game and handed it over.
With an expert eye Elder Chao looked over the plant, checking every part of it from its roots to its petals.
With a satisfied huff, the Elder finished his examination and handed the herb back to the waiting youth who stood patiently waiting for the man’s judgment.
With an absentminded hum and an unfocused gaze Elder Chao finally spoke.
“Winter Jade Orchid, at least fifty years old I believe, at the second step of the Constitutional Realm.”
With every word, Yu felt the heat on his back from the glares of his fellow disciples increase, and as the Elder’s sentence ended an idyllic chorus of strangled cries and stifled groans reached Yu’s ears. He could almost feel Su Rong gritting his teeth from the other side of the clearing and he even saw someone spit blood out of the corner of his eye!
Yu Xiang’s sadistic indulgence was unfortunately cut short by the Elder as he addressed the young cultivator with a quieter voice, shutting the rest of the people present out of their conversation.
“Tell me, Disciple Xiang...” began Elder Chao, a considering look on his face, “You must have deliberately sought out some danger to have found something this precious, are you perhaps planning to participate in this year’s Trial of Ascendance to become an Inner Disciple?”
Yu Xiang gave the Elder a genuine grin, his confidence shining through. “You are correct, Elder.” He then gave the older man a small bow, his right fist meeting his left palm in a cultivator’s salute. “Please do cheer for me.”
Chao Xi chuckled warmly as he stroked his beard, a fond smile settling on his aged face. “Don’t worry my boy, I’ll be sure to encourage you properly.”
As their conversation naturally came to an end Elder Chao turned his head to look behind the crowd, towards the tree line, and a few moments later the two Inner Disciples arrived alongside the handful of missing Outer Disciples.
The two Inner Disciples swiftly made their way to the Elder’s side, handing him a parchment and exchanging some words too quietly for Yu Xiang to hear.
The Elder nodded at the disciple then turned to address the crowd of still grouching youngsters. “Everyone, it is time to go.”
And after that short declaration, he turned around and started walking toward an enormous decorated boat, followed closely by a mass of sullen young cultivators and one completely satisfied Yu Xiang.