Six months have passed. I spent my time cultivating in the Earth Corridor and learning everything in the first floor of the Lower Peak Library. My cultivation had stagnated overtime, and I was forced to spend most of my time in the library this past month.
I am stuck at the peak of 5th Stage Qi Condensation Realm for the past month. I knew I am close, I could feel it. Though no matter what I did, I couldn't force it as there were more tiny pathways within my meridians that couldn't be filled as fast or else I damage them.
Even with all the complete knowledge I got from the Second Superior Cultivation, it didn't help me breakthrough as fast. I couldn't make tinier threads of Qi to weaved them with ease due to how small my pathways were. They said it would get numerous and smaller as I ascended to higher stages.
I don't have to worry so much about it. They said average cultivators who had started would take at least five years before they could reach the peak of Qi Condensation. I should be happy I got this far within less than a year even with my inferior tiny roots.
Regardless of how much time it would take, I will reach the top of this world. I swear upon my family name!
Other than that, my pilgrimage in the library became cumbersome. I learned everything and combined them, though there were a lot that I couldn't be bothered to look anymore. My Status was cluttered with spiritual texts that doesn't make sense in my eyes.
I knew what each of them entailed. They were skills and techniques that got shoved within my brain, though it made me dizzy seeing so much in my screen. I wanted to combine them all into something so I won't have to see such clutter in my eyes.
Even with such bothersome features from the mysterious Fuse System, I persevered and learned everything I could on the library.
[You learned Iron Palm!]
"Finally!"
I stood up and stretched my numbed limbs before I looked around. I have read every book within the first floor of the library. In my next visit, I will learn everything on the second floor!
For now, I have to take care of these new techniques and stuff I learned from the first floor and combine them.
An idea came to me to deal with this bothersome problem. If I couldn't handle high tier techniques by myself, I should simply fuse them with other objects. The mysterious Fuse System did say it's allowed. I could combine everything so long as I owned it.
So I think it is time to go down from the mountain and visit the city near this sect!
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As I left the tower, I saw Elder Chong standing guard on his usual spot. I greeted him loudly.
"Greetings, Elder Chong!"
I made sure to speak loudly. He had trouble hearing me most of the time. I'm used to it. Some elderly villagers from my home also had the same problem, so I'm used to it.
"For Heaven's sake, stop yelling! This is the library!"
Angering an Elder was supposed to be scary, but I knew he wasn't that serious. Most elderly were simply irritable like this, so I wasn't concerned.
"I apologize, but you might not hear me if I speak normally."
Is it my imagination or did he just coughed up blood?
"Gah, this youngster will be the death of me!"
"Elder Chong, are you alright? Do you want me to get some Recovery Pills?"
"Shut up, just leave already..." He waved his hand at me, while his other hand clutched his head with a dark expression.
Well, that seemed to be it. I left him alone and walked back to my room so I could get a change of robe.
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Chong Yun nursed his forehead after Zhi Wanyi left. He took a breath and then exhaled, calming his heart disturbed by the young cultivator's disrespect.
"Ah... I forgot to tell her about the auction in the Red Lantern City."
He lamented the missed opportunity, and his shortening temper as of late. He suspected Wanyi to have a talent of provoking others. He hoped that wasn't the case as that girl, even if she was a genius, had inferior roots. She wouldn't last long in this bloody world if she kept that up.
He still hoped Zhi Wanyi accepted at least one of his offers. She was a once-in-a-century genius from this Cerulean Sky Region. It would be a waste if she doesn't grasp these opportunities. That was squandering her chance at immortality.
He tried for the past six months to urged the girl to the right direction, though the young cultivator always refused. If she wasn't busy with her studies, she would excuse herself with another thing like how she was close to a breakthrough.
He still doesn't know how she reached the peak of 5th Stage Qi Condensation Realm, but it doesn't matter. It displayed her genius talent at cultivation even with her disadvantages. Such a thing was enough for him to support her.
'... Am I doing something wrong?'
His confidence to himself took a hit as the girl kept refusing him. This was the first time he supported one of the outer sect disciples. He wondered if this was the kind of hardships Elders got when they supported geniuses.
He shuddered at the thought of many people that was like Zhi Wanyi.
'There might be truth with the saying that geniuses were eccentric and weird...'
He sighed, depressed at that thought.
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Early in the morning, Zhi Wanyi left her room refreshed and with a new set of robes. Before she goes to the Foot Entrance, she goes to the Quest Hall to get a mission.
Yu Anlong perked up when he saw the mysterious young cultivator arrived, standing at the back of the line of other outer disciples. He quickly processed the other insignificant outer disciples who were here for their job so he could welcome the girl.
"You are here. Are you here to exchange other stuff you found on the ground with sect points?"
He got used to the flimsy excuse this young disciple spouted whenever she submitted ancient treasures to him. He decided not to ask as it benefitted them more to simply let her. He already told the other Elders about this girl, so if she ever decided to, she would be welcomed on the halls of the inner disciples.
Whatever fortuitous encounters she got would benefit the sect itself. Might as well let her instead of grill her for info. Such heaven-defying luck shouldn't be constrained by a small sect like them.
The sect leader was already aware of her presence, and had ordered him to simply play along with her cluelessness.
He expected the girl to be here to exchange sect points. That was the only thing she did whenever she came here, even though the Quest Hall's purpose was to give missions to outer sect disciples.
"Sorry, I don't have anything in hand right now, Elder Yu." She said with a shake of her head, much to his surprise. "I'm actually here to get a mission to the Red Lantern City."
Those words surprised him. It's the first time she came for a mission after this six months. He thought she would be staying cooped up in their sect for the foreseeable future, stumbling upon treasures from unknown origins other than within the sect. He still felt curious just where she got her supply of those heavenly gems.
His surprise didn't last long as he masked it with a calm smile.
"I see. Then here are the available sect missions for that city. Choose whichever you want. Though I have to remind you that there is a time limit for this."
He showed missions written in parchments that could be done by outer disciples. These ranges from a simple herb gathering quest up to hunting demonic beasts that inhabited Lusheng Forest.
After accepting a mission, a disciple had to finish it within the allotted time. If they failed to do so, the sect would consider the mission failed and wouldn't expect the disciple to come back. The logic behind it was that they met an unfortunate fate while they attempt the mission, and should be treated seriously if it kept repeating.
The allotted time for each mission were reasonable. It lasted between one week into months. It depends, but all of these were possible for average outer disciples who were all from the middle to higher stages of Qi Condensation.
He wondered what kind of mission this girl would pick. The aura she exuded told him she was at the peak of the 5th Stage Qi Condensation. At that level, she could start hunting 1st Grade Demonic Beasts so long as she was careful about it.
Almost everyone who were at the middle stages of Qi Condensation picked these kind of missions so they could acquire combat experience. Combat was needed if they wanted to acquire insights and possibly ascend to the next stage of their realm.
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"I'd like to do this."
She showed him the parchment, and his smile twitched as he saw the contents of the mission.
"... Herb gathering mission?"
"Yes. I always heard from those at the cafeteria that herb gathering quest is safer than the other ones. So I want to do that as my first sect mission."
He thought about it, and then realized that this would be the first mission she would do outside from the sect. He recalled she only does quest within the sect like helping out with the cafeteria at the Foot Entrance, taking care of the mortal livestocks, and then cleaning the halls of the outer disciples. He nodded in acceptance, approving of her humbleness and her trait not rush things up.
"Good. Traits like yours are rare for a cultivator. Continue with this path and I'm sure you will steadily grow into a powerhouse." He nodded sagely.
"... Okay?"
She sounded confused which made him chuckle. After processing the quest she picked, she was allowed to leave now with the allotted time of one week. It's just a herb gathering quest, and the city was pretty close. As cultivators, they could reach the city before the sun sets, so that time was more than enough.
"Oh right..." Before she left, Zhi Wanyi seemed to have realized something as she put her wooden plaque on the counter. "I'd like to exchange half of my points for spirit stones."
He tensed up when he heard her request. His smile turned crook as he gazed at the plaque. When he saw the numbers imprinted on it, he almost froze.
"... 3,000,000 points..."
The girl have that much points within her plaque. Half of it meant he had to give the equivalent of spiritual stones to those points. His stand only had low grade spirit stones. Each low grade spirit stones costs 100 sect points.
He could barely afford that. This sect wasn't that rich that they could give those amount of spirit stones to a single outer disciple. He would need to request for more at the Higher Peaks if he wanted more spirit stones.
"... Unfortunately, we don't have enough spiritual stones for that amount of points. How about this, why don't you exchange your points with something else?"
With quick thinking, he suggested as he showed some pouches that contained some cultivation resources.
"Uh... I want to buy something in the city, so I really need money right now." A lightbulb lit up on top of Wanyi's head. "Wait, what if I exchange the remaining points for mortal currencies?"
He winced at her suggestion. He did have sacks of mortal currencies behind him. Those contained gold, silver, and bronze coins respectively. Though they were dirt cheap compared to a spirit grade stone.
"... How about this. Do you want to exchange a million points for a spatial ring? I'm sure you can't lug such an amount with your arms alone, right? With this spatial ring, you can contain any objects the size of a small pavilion!"
Zhi Wanyi's lit up as she looked at the ring presented in front of her. Not just her, other disciples who had been waiting behind her also exclaimed, surprised at seeing such a treasure.
Most disciples taken by the Green Lotus Sect came from the poor background. The very few who acted like rich young masters were simply sons or daughters of merchant families. No real young masters would join such a desolate sect. At most, only fallen clans or nobles would even entertain such ideas as most of these young ladies and young masters would choose a better sect.
So it wasn't a surprise they would be amazed at the sight of such a treasure. Only Core Disciples and some of their Inner Disciples have spatial rings.
"Hoh! I would like that, please!" The girl clapped her hands, excitement evident in her face as she jumped in joy.
This was the first time Zhi Wanyi saw a spatial ring. She only heard it once or twice when she worked at the cafeteria. She wasn't aware she could exchange points for a Spatial Ring.
"I'd like to exchange my points for two of that please!" She added, much to his surprise and bafflement.
In the end, she got two spatial rings and five thousand spirit stones exchanged with 2,500,000 sect points. The remaining points she had were spared so she could use it on the Green Spring Passage.
As she left, the other disciples gazed at her with envy and amazement. Just like Yu Anlong, most disciples had learned of her. A girl who stumbled upon shiny rocks that could be exchanged for lots of sect points. It became popular between outer disciples from the Western Hall to look around the Lower Peak for anything so they could also exchange it for lots of points instead of working tirelessly for a meager fifty points all day.
As for those who attempted to scam the girl. No one dared. They heard what happened to Ling Shun, and knew the Tower Guard of the Lower Peak Library has been protecting the young female cultivator. The girl hasn't even offended them, and most of them were at the early to middle stages of Qi Condensation. So even if they tried to fight her, they knew it would be hard as the girl had the same cultivation base as them.
A few even feared her as they thought there was some sort of giant figure backing her. They don't want to offend her as much as possible, so they could only watch her with envy and some with adoration.
Elder Anlong shook his head before he barked at them to move the line. They don't have all day to freeze the line just because of one mysterious and amazing disciple.
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After that, Zhi Wanyi took a small detour on the Foot Entrance to the Cafeteria and ate something before she left the large wooden doors of the sect. In front of the entrance was a long flight of stairs that directly led to the foot of the Lower Peak Mountain.
Mortals would balked at the sheer length of the stairs. Thousands of steps above was needed before they could reach the gates of the Green Lotus Sect. Zhi Wanyi recalled how amazed she was when she first got here. The Elder and Inner Sect Disciples who recruited them from their village used a leaf artifact that expanded greatly, which took them straight to the entrance of the sect.
This would be the first time she would personally walk the steps of the stairs. She took her first step, and another, before she walked down with fleeting steps. It looked as if she was gliding down the flight of stairs as she looked around.
Just besides the large mountain where the entrance of the sect was located was another larger mountain than it. Her progress slowed as she gazed up, eyes bright in intrigued as she saw half of the neighboring mountain obscured by the clouds above.
Such thing was common for sects. Mountain peaks, mostly those that pierced the skies were the best spots for cultivation. Most elements gathered above, and they were higher in quality compared to those from below which cultivators needed to process within their meridians first before they even have to let it stream peacefully within their roots. An unprocessed qi would simply dispersed from their pores or in unfortunate cases, clog their spiritual nerves in ways that would prolong their progress in their cultivation. It might even result in a blockage that would obstruct them from ever ascending for a long time.
Disciples of this sect wanted to be part of the Higher Peak Mountains as most precious resources and techniques were stored above there. Only the sect leader and important elders stayed there, and just below this large mountain were Core Disciples that have their own cave abodes.
This girl was different. She simply admired the mystical sight of a mountain that pierced the skies as she slowly walked down the stairs of this sect. She wondered if she could own such a mountain if she rose to the top.
"I'll have to do my best to get to that point."
Encouraged by that vision, another kindle had been added to fuel the flames of desire for her dream. The promise she made from her parents and the image of herself standing atop a mountain like a goddess pushes her to work harder for her cultivation.
With that, her unhurried steps turned fast once more. Her feet looked as if she was sliding on ice instead of stepping on stone flight stairs. It was a technique she learned from her fusing, and she used it to glide down the long stairs until she reached the foot of the mountain.
From there, she walked forward and then immediately stopped when she noticed something just in front of her. She poked it and the air itself rippled like water. Her knowledge bank made her realized what it was.
"A barrier array..."
It was a barrier array, and if her wide array knowledge could be believed, it was a region-wide barrier array that covered the entirety of the mountain ranges which this sect owned. She wasn't sure what the exact effect was due to having seen one single part of the entire array, but she knew it wouldn't hurt her. There was a certain imprint there that let those who possessed certain items to come and go as they pleased.
She moved past the invisible curtain of the barrier and felt as if she stepped over a wall of still water. Her wooden plaque shone for a bit before it became inert once more. She nodded at that, before she resumed in her journey.
Beyond the stairs was a long path. Stone steps stops halfway through the path and became flattened dirt from beyond. Around the path were large straight trees with branches filled with bushy leaves. Darkness filled the clump of trees on the surroundings, and the morning light only lit this long pathway.
Lusheng Forest. The forest where these mountain ranges was located. It was a vast forest filled with mystery and danger. It was said high-ranked demonic beasts lurked at the heart of the forest, and no one dared to venture that deep.
As for the pathway in front of her, it led to the nearest city from this sect. From this sect to that city, it would take a whole single day if they travelled from a horse carriage.
As a cultivator though, their speed was so fast that mortal horses couldn't contend against early stage Qi Condensation disciples. As someone from the peak of 5th Stage Qi Condensation who had many movement techniques from her repertoire, Zhi Wanyi vanished from her spot as she zoomed forward.
She was like a soaring blade as she moved in a straight line. Her movement left a sharp sound that cut air itself as she used a movement technique to move at speeds that equals sound, and her sharp aura cut through wind which made her sprint undisturbed.
What would take an entire day only took her three hours before she saw the red painted walls that signified civilization.
Beyond the path where she is going to take, bandits surrounded a carriage filled with farm produce. They licked their lips as they got closer to the carriage with their swords drawn and glinting dangerously. The mortal guards were wounded as they huddled closer to each other, protecting their harvest with swords and axes on their hands.
These were simply farmers who came from a small remote village within the safer parts of Lusheng Forest so they could sold their produce here. These group of scums were a bandit group that used this spot as their ambush spot. Taking advantage of poor mortals so they could gather money, women, and food. Their leader was a rogue cultivator who had reached the 2nd Stage Qi Condensation.
In a mortal's perspective, cultivators were like gods. They could destroy mountains, split the oceans, and push the skies down. With a cultivator leading them, they could only resist in futility.
"Hehehe, surrender and I will spare your lives!" This person who had the most typical look for a vagrant was their leader. He licked the blunt side of his sabre as he laughed maniacally in front of them.
The others were cowed by such a crazy display. He was releasing his aura that affected their mortal minds easily. There was a pressure on their shoulders that made their body turned into lead. It was hard to even breathe for them.
The villagers felt all hope was lost when they heard a sharp sound passed through them.
"What?"
"Gwaaah!?"
"What's happening!?"
In a single instant, the situation got reversed as every bandits suddenly lost their clothing. Million lines formed on their drabs before their clothes got disintegrated into nothingness. Even the leader froze as he saw both his sword, his clothes, and even his hair ceased to exist. Only dust remained which got dragged by the strong breeze that followed along after a few seconds.
"W-what.... what happened?"
One of the bandits asked, dumbfounded and still trying to process what just happened. They turned to their leader only for their concern to turn into worry as they saw him sweat a lot in his naked body.
".... Run..."
"... What?"
"I SAID RUN!"
After that shout, the leader bolted out of the sight. Jumping into the covers of the bushes and then vanishing from their sight. The other bandits stared at that sudden event, before they scrambled amongst themselves. Leaving the farmers unharmed.
The group of villagers doesn't know what just happened, but they were grateful by the Heavens for the timely support.
All of that, and Zhi Wanyi, the one who passed them by, have one comment in her mind as she dashed towards the city.
'I didn't think rats can stand with their legs? Thankfully I got past them!'
She shuddered at the thought of being touched by human-sized rats. She was really glad she used the Phantasmal Dream Blade so she could move safely even with her mad dash.