Chapter 27: Spring Breeze in Beihuzhou

Spring Breeze in Beihuzhou

"Senior Brother?"

Ruan Ci rubbed her eyes, rolled over to sit up, and pulled her collar tight, her brows knitting slightly. She was wearing a strange garment; the collar felt soft and fluffy to the touch, like animal fur. The climate in South Zhuzhou was mild and humid, and summers were scorching; Ruan Ci had never worn such clothing.

"Senior Brother, why are you so sleepy today?"

A sweet, delicate voice startled her awake. A young woman with a refined appearance smiled as she brought over a cup of water. "Drink it while it's hot. We can't afford to delay the hunt; otherwise, Master will scold us again."

The girl was wearing a fur-lined coat and a fur cloak, with a hood pulled over her head and thick gloves on her hands. Ruan Ci looked around and realized they were sleeping on a vast expanse of white. She gradually remembered: this was ice. Beihuzhou was a land of eternal ice and snow, with no spring to be found. The inhabitants built houses out of ice, and low-level cultivators like her and her Junior Sister, who possessed only a sliver more supernatural ability than mortals, were no exception.

Ruan Ci felt as if she were in a lucid dream. On one hand, she was deeply aware of her own identity and origins, but on the other, she knew this "he" was named Chang Chunfeng. Along with his Junior Sister, he was a third-generation disciple of a loose cultivator sect. Currently at the fourth level of Qi Refining, he had little hope of reaching Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, but in the Yuefeng Territory of the Baitang Kingdom in Beihuzhou, he was considered somewhat of a figure. His sect, the Blazing Sun Sect, was one of the four managing sects of the territory and oversaw a vast forest tract. This hunt was crucial for the winter food supply of the people under their jurisdiction, so the sect took it very seriously. Chang Chunfeng and his Third Junior Sister, Zhang Xiuzhi, had arrived a day early to survey the forest. They had taken turns keeping watch, but Chang Chunfeng had overslept.

For cultivators at the early stages of Qi Refining, if they were in South Zhuzhou, the difference between them and ordinary people wasn't that great. If they didn't train their bodies diligently, they might even lose in a fight against a martial arts master. But in Beihuzhou, the status of the two was worlds apart. Chang Chunfeng knew the Fireball Technique and could draw Wind-Avoiding Talismans. The former was nothing special, but the Wind-Avoiding Talisman was incredibly useful in the wild. Wearing one allowed them to withstand the cold winds, enabling them to travel to places far beyond the reach of mortals and walk paths others couldn't. Beihuzhou was plagued by strong winds year-round. It looked like a vast, frozen plain of white snow and solid ice where one could go anywhere, but the plains were filled with wind pockets. If one accidentally wandered into one, they would be blown far away. Some winds even blew from beneath the ground and were extremely cold; staying in them for too long would lead to freezing to death. One could only travel along paths where the wind was weaker, commonly known as "wind channels."

Cultivators could draw talismans on the spot. When local herdsmen migrated, they often had to hire Qi Refining cultivators like Chang Chunfeng to guard the way. Today, with various villages gathering for the hunt to prepare for the winter, Chang Chunfeng was an indispensable figure. He hurriedly drank the water, used a Fireball Technique to melt the snow, and after a quick wash, he donned his heavy cloak. He traveled through the wind channel toward the nearby mountain pass. Zhang Xiuzhi hadn't been idle either; she had used colored bone sticks to mark a path that the herdsmen could follow.

Ruan Ci, inside Chang Chunfeng's body, felt it was all very novel yet quite confusing. The dream was incredibly realistic; she could even sense the Qi Sea and Consciousness Sea within Chang Chunfeng. These were things only cultivators possessed. She had often heard people around her mention them, but she never knew what they felt like. Now, inside Chang Chunfeng, she finally understood. The so-called Qi Sea was a place in the body where spiritual energy would settle once it entered. Chang Chunfeng's Qi Sea was in his chest. After spiritual energy entered his body and traveled through his meridians, it would linger in his dantian before slowly leaking out through the various gaps and flaws in his body. Chang Chunfeng certainly couldn't cultivate the Flawless Golden Body; he had too many leaks in his body, and even if he started mending them now, it would be difficult to fully repair them by the peak of Qi Refining.

But he could sense the Dao rhythm—meaning he possessed spiritual roots. The feeling of absorbing spiritual energy was different from Ruan Ci's. Ruan Ci, like all mortals, inhaled and exhaled spiritual energy because it was omnipresent. But without spiritual roots, the spiritual energy always felt separated from her body by a membrane; it couldn't be absorbed. It would circulate through her meridians and eventually be exhaled just as it was. But when Chang Chunfeng inhaled a breath of spiritual energy, he could feel it nourishing his limbs and bones. Although much of it would eventually leak out, a portion would settle in his body and transform into his own power.

Furthermore, there was the Consciousness Sea. Ruan Ci could contemplate sword intent diagrams, so she also had a Consciousness Sea, but a mortal's Consciousness Sea was very small and could not manifest as a tangible object; she could only vaguely sense its existence. Chang Chunfeng, however, could clearly feel his Consciousness Sea and could even manifest a pool of clear water—this was the inner landscape of his Consciousness Sea. Perhaps if he were lucky enough to cultivate to the Nascent Soul realm, he could, like Liu Yin, form a vast inner world.

As a mortal, Ruan Ci had come into contact with many great cultivators. Although she couldn't cultivate, she had a strong interest in true cultivation. This dream satisfied her curiosity, and she was naturally delighted. She also saw some of the scenery of Beihuzhou, though it all felt surreal. Ruan Ci couldn't even be sure if Beihuzhou truly existed in the Langhuan Universe. There were dozens of continents in the Langhuan Universe, each protected by a barrier, and many continents had no contact with each other, as if they were in two different great heavens. The scenery of Beihuzhou was completely different from that of South Zhuzhou; perhaps it was just a continent created by her dream.

Aside from broadening her horizons, the dream was very mundane and seemed to have no meaning. Usually, dreams were filled with tension, one wave after another, and the transitions were often bizarre, with blurry details that made one vaguely realize they were dreaming. But Chang Chunfeng's life was stable and peaceful, with such rich details that Ruan Ci could even clearly feel his sensations when he urinated, even though she had never seen a man urinate in her life and, by all accounts, should not have had such images.

The East Flag hunt would last for more than ten days. Every day, Chang Chunfeng guided the herdsmen into the camp through the wind channel and worked with Zhang Xiuzhi to survey the wind fields and mark out hunting zones. The two worked from dawn till dusk, and at night, they had to organize the herdsmen to take turns keeping watch and monitoring the wind. There was no way for him to say much to Zhang Xiuzhi, but Chang Chunfeng felt peaceful and happy. He and Zhang Xiuzhi had been working together for eight years. Zhang Xiuzhi had a higher cultivation base, at the fifth level of Qi Refining, but after this hunt, Chang Chunfeng would have accumulated enough merit to go to the Blazing Sun Sect's mountain gate and cultivate at a spiritual spring for three days. By then, his cultivation should be able to rise another level. Chang Chunfeng planned to propose to the Zhang family once his cultivation reached the fifth level.

He was the fifth disciple of Elder Wang of the Blazing Sun Sect, and Zhang Xiuzhi was the seventh. The two had grown up together, spending every day together for over a decade. Chang Chunfeng was steady and reliable, highly valued by his Master. Zhang Xiuzhi's parents had also met this "Fifth Senior Brother" many times, and both families were well aware of the potential match. When Zhang Xiuzhi's cultivation was progressing rapidly, the Zhang family hadn't been very enthusiastic, though they hadn't burned bridges. But two years ago, her cultivation hit a snag and hadn't made any progress for years, while Chang Chunfeng had been steadily advancing, which changed the Zhang family's attitude. Chang Chunfeng was only afraid that his cultivation wouldn't compare to Zhang Xiuzhi's, making the proposal look bad, which was why he had set the date for a few months later.

His intentions, though not explicitly stated, were understood by Zhang Xiuzhi. She didn't say anything either, but she would always show concern, bring him tea and water, and look out for him. The two had a tacit understanding. Sometimes, when they met on the road, they would smile at each other, and Chang Chunfeng would feel a sweet, indescribable joy, as if he had eaten snow honey.

After eight or nine days of work, the herdsmen had finally all arrived and set up their formations. That day, Chang Chunfeng got up early, put on his snowboards, and traveled for six hours in the dark to return to the flag and invite Elder Wang and the others to come out of the mountains. Elder Wang said, "The timing is perfect. We have already gone to check. The snow deer population has grown too much, but the wolf packs haven't increased. We must kill more this year, or they will eat all the grass, which would be a serious matter."

Despite the harsh climate of Beihuzhou, it was home to many living creatures. The livestock mainly fed on the white-root grass that grew under the snow. Ordinary people couldn't find this grass, but many spirit beasts in Beihuzhou could forage for it. However, the white-root grass grew slowly, so Beihuzhou strictly controlled the number of livestock the herdsmen could raise and regularly hunted wild animals without letting them go extinct. Every year, the hunt was carried out by cultivators who drove the nearby wild beasts together. The species and numbers were all agreed upon in advance and could not deviate too much; otherwise, while this year might be fine, many herdsmen would starve the following year.

Chang Chunfeng and the others were busy preparing the hunting grounds, and Elder Wang wasn't idle either. Standing on a snow sled, he said to Chang Chunfeng, "You should find someone to lead this group to the hunting grounds. I'm going to the mountain pass now. Tomorrow, around this time, I will shake the Concentric Bell before I make my move. You will know what to do then."

As he spoke, the snow sled moved without wind, speeding across the snow. Although he was already at the Foundation Establishment stage and could fly by controlling Qi, very few cultivators in Beihuzhou did such a foolish thing.

Chang Chunfeng introduced himself to the group Elder Wang had left behind and learned they were all from the main sect, out for a tour, and had heard the Great Hunt was a spectacular sight, so they wanted to come along to gain some experience. He was about to go to the mountain gate to cultivate, so he was naturally eager to host them. After pondering for a moment, he smiled and said, "The hunt begins tomorrow, and Master has strictly ordered no delays. Fellow Senior Brothers and Sisters, we are all practitioners, so why don't we endure a little hardship and rush back to the hunting grounds overnight? The most spectacular part of the Great Hunt is the beginning; it would be a pity to miss it."

It was already past noon. He could travel alone quickly because he was familiar with the road, but taking this group of strangers would take at least eight hours, meaning they wouldn't arrive at the hunting grounds until midnight. Traveling at night was actually very dangerous, especially for strangers; it was dark and windy, and if they lost the person in front and strayed from the path, it would be extremely difficult to find their way back. If these people weren't cultivators, Chang Chunfeng wouldn't have dared to make such a suggestion.

The group of young people was delighted to hear this. One young girl smiled and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for looking after us. We were afraid of missing the excitement. Traveling at night is fine; I have a Night-Illuminating Lamp made of bright pearls, which is enough to light the way at night."

The Night-Illuminating Lamp was a quite valuable magic treasure in Beihuzhou. Chang Chunfeng was startled. He looked closely at the girl and saw that she was dressed in luxurious clothing and had a beautiful appearance. He knew in his heart that she must have a very noble background, perhaps a descendant of an Elder of the Blazing Sun Sect. He became extra careful and went to find seven high-quality snowboards. The group of eight sped across the snowfield toward the hunting grounds.

Chang Chunfeng led the way at first. When night fell, the girl caught up from behind and slid alongside him, smiling enchantingly, "Senior Brother, if I hang the Night-Illuminating Lamp and you are in front of me, you won't be able to see the road clearly. If I am in front of you, I won't know the direction. Let's go together."

Chang Chunfeng thought that it would actually be best to hang the lamp on his board so that it would be convenient for everyone. But for some reason, looking at the girl's smiling face, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. He nodded and said, "I'll trouble you, Junior Sister."

All the cultivators wore Wind-Avoiding Talismans, so although they were moving very fast, the strong wind was weakened before it could hit their faces, and talking was not a problem. The girl slid side-by-side with Chang Chunfeng, sometimes gathering, sometimes scattering. Occasionally, she would slide in front of Chang Chunfeng, tease him, and then slow down to wait for him to catch up. She was as lively and cute as a little deer in the snow, and she found many things to talk to Chang Chunfeng about. Chang Chunfeng felt very strange inside. On one hand, he thought: I am just a small outer sect disciple, and I already have Xiuzhi; why am I letting my mind wander?

On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel that this Junior Sister Luan really did look at him differently. His heart... he actually felt some affection for this Junior Sister. Although he knew he shouldn't, his mind was indeed wavering.

Just as he was feeling guilty and sorry for Xiuzhi, Junior Sister Luan let out an "eh" and said, "What is that? What a bright star."

Chang Chunfeng looked up and indeed saw a large star rising on the horizon. Its light grew brighter and brighter, piercing his eyes like a sharp sword stirring incessantly. He let out a loud cry, feeling immense pain in his eyes. He reached out to cover them, but he could no longer find his own hands. He felt as if he were drifting away, sucked into the large star, and lost consciousness.

#

In the Junping Mansion near the Altar City of South Zhuzhou, Ruan Ci opened her eyes, still feeling somewhat dazed. She touched her eyes, blinked, and carefully examined the scene in the room. Only after confirming that her eyes were unharmed did she heave a sigh of relief. The dream she had just experienced felt so incredibly real that she was now entirely preoccupied with thoughts of how deep the night was, and how, if that group of Qi Refining cultivators had lost their way in the dark and all perished in the wind, Chang Chunfeng’s master would explain it to the sect, and whether Zhang Xiuzhi would be made a scapegoat by the sect elders.

"It's a good thing they weren't engaged, just a Senior Brother and Junior Sister relationship..."

She muttered a few words, then gradually came to her senses and laughed to herself, "Why am I taking things from a dream so seriously?"

But the dream was indeed very real. Even the sensations of the Qi Sea and Consciousness Sea, the experience of circulating magic power, and the essentials of drawing talismans were still firmly remembered by Ruan Ci. If someone gave her a talisman paper now, she could even draw the Wind-Avoiding Talisman from the dream. After all, Chang Chunfeng hadn't gone a single day without drawing that talisman since he started cultivating; it was etched into his bones, and he would never forget it even if he were burned to ashes.

Having endured the skin-cutting cold in the dream, she felt a bit uncomfortable returning to the warm, spring-like cave dwelling. Ruan Ci rolled over to sit up and get a drink of water, but as she moved, her expression changed slightly.

Ever since she obtained the Donghua Sword, she had never let it leave her side for a moment. Ruan Ci was most familiar with every tiny detail of the Donghua Sword. A few years ago, after she successfully refined the Donghua Sword, it could change size at will, and carrying it on her back was no longer a burden. But this didn't mean the Donghua Sword had no weight; it was just that Ruan Ci could bear it and had grown accustomed to its heft.

But now, the weight of the Donghua Sword had changed ever so slightly, as if it had lost a single hair—even though it was so small, she could still feel it. It was indeed minuscule, but it was lighter by a fraction.

According to Wang Panpan, the Donghua Sword had already been refined, and she was actually on the path of an artifact cultivator, just without a cultivation method to enter the door. Communicating with the Donghua Sword every day, although it wouldn't make any difference now, would be helpful for future cultivation. For Ruan Ci, the point of this statement was that "the Donghua Sword wouldn't make any difference now." Indeed, without a cultivation method, just by contemplating the sword intent diagram, why would it lose even a fraction of its weight?

Her expression changed several times as she thought of several possibilities. She almost blurted out to call Wang Panpan to discuss it, but she held back. She got out of bed, poured a glass of water, drank a few sips, and lay back on the pillow, her thoughts surging. Thinking deeply, she couldn't help but feel a chill run through her entire body. After letting her mind wander for a long time, she forced herself to fall asleep. The next morning, she finally managed to bury the matter deep in her heart. She ate her spiritual food as usual and went to the Pine Pavilion to find Lin Ji to open the door. "I won't read miscellaneous cultivation classics today. Panpan told me yesterday to read more of 'Heavenly Boat Crossing'; it might be more useful."

As long as she didn't go out and cause trouble, Lin Ji let her read whatever she wanted. Idle books like "Heavenly Boat Crossing" were even less of a taboo. Lin Ji found it and brought it to Ruan Ci's side, poured her a pot of spiritual tea, and served a plate of cold cakes, smiling, "This is the spiritual food the Master ordered the maid to buy this morning. The Master has long been practicing Grain Grain Bigu, so this was bought specifically for you, Miss. If you like it, the maid will go buy more."

Ruan Ci's opinion of Chen Jun also changed a bit, thinking that he was actually quite generous. She then became alert, thinking, "Ruan Ci, you usually laugh at Panpan for being easy to buy, remembering a few kind words forever, so why are you moved by a few cold cakes?"

She ate a few cold cakes casually, and they were indeed fragrant and full of spiritual power. She praised them vaguely, opened "Heavenly Boat Crossing," and found the Geography section in the table of contents. When she turned to the eight northern continents and took a look, her hand shook, and she almost dropped the book.

The eight northern continents: North You Continent, North Ming Continent, North Hu Continent—

It was clearly listed third. So, there really was a North Hu Continent in the world!

In that case... Chang Chunfeng, and the Blazing Sun Heart Method he practiced, Zhang Xiuzhi, Junior Sister Luan... could they all be real?

Ruan Ci's heart was in a mess. She flipped through the pages, but she didn't actually read a single word. After a long time, she finally sorted out her thoughts, but a very bold idea slowly floated up.

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Updated! Sorry for the wait, everyone. I'm eating salted pork trotters for lunch today! After thawing and cleaning the German-style salted pork trotters, put them in a pressure cooker for 40 minutes, then in an air fryer at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush oil on both the trotters and the rack so they won't stick. Flip them every 10 minutes. It's delicious! Salty, fragrant, and dry!

I'm sending out red envelopes for this chapter!

What do you think is the speculation that made Ruan Ci feel a chill through her body?

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-07-16 18:11:56 and 2020-07-17 12:00:53~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Li Heping (4); Tomato Sauce who loves potatoes, Lychee who had their account stolen, truedfy, Cheng Bi, Time's Delusion (1 each);

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Amy Si You (17 bottles); 19428424 (8 bottles); Sundance (5 bottles); Dog Big Face (4 bottles); Wind-blown Spinning Top, Egg, aria (1 bottle each);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ===== CHAPTER 30 =====