[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-borrowing-the-sword":3,"chapter-borrowing-the-sword-borrowing-the-sword-chapter-37":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Borrowing the Sword",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2214602,3888,"Chapter 37: Killing a Clam in the Forest","borrowing-the-sword-chapter-37",37,"\u003Cp>Killing a Clam in the Forest\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One must not go deep into the wild forest of Purple Essence Mountain, and there is no absolutely safe place once one leaves the formation where one's own cave abode is located. This is what Steward Feng told her several times on the way to send her. She is a steward of Spirit Valley Peak, and Spirit Valley Peak usually takes care of all outer sect disciples, so Steward Feng naturally had to make things clear. If Ruan Ci didn't listen, that would be her own business, and it would have nothing to do with her if she died. But for Ruan Ci, she had her own reasons for having to enter the forest—if she didn't enter the forest, where would she find a way to eat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is pitiful to say, Ruan Ci has never eaten a proper meal of mortal food in her life. When she was in Song Guo, she cooked jade-like rice, and after leaving Song Guo, she couldn't eat ordinary rice and meat. At first, she relied on Wang Panpan to hunt for her. Wang Panpan was a cat after all, managing the killing but not the cooking. If spiritual beast meat didn't have special methods, all the spiritual energy would dissipate within a few days. Wang Panpan didn't know how to make the beast meat into jerky either. Killing a monster beast every ten days or half a month, she and Ruan Ci would share it. Ruan Ci was really hungry, so Wang Panpan would go hunting again, and complain for half a day. Later, after refining the Donghua Sword, Ruan Ci's skills went up a level, so Wang Panpan let her hunt by herself, sometimes even leading her to the territory of Foundation Establishment stage monster beasts, letting her confront the monster beasts and circle around for a while, until she couldn't hold on, and then coming out to kill them. The two of them often quarreled because of this, because although Ruan Ci was hungry one meal and full the next, she was very willful. Whenever she saw cute and gentle monster beasts that didn't invade mortal villages, she couldn't bear to kill them, only killing those ugly and bloody wolf demons, wild boar demons, and tiger demons that were unpleasant to look at.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Monster beasts each divided their own territory and were not lined up waiting for them to challenge. On the way to Altar City, she only ate one or two meals in ten days. By the time she arrived at Altar City, it was even more pitiful. Where were there any wild monster beasts around Altar City? All beast meat was clearly priced, and you could buy it to enjoy if you had money. Ruan Ci was a little clerk, where would she have spiritual money? If it weren't for Wang Panpan often calling her over and giving her some jerky, Ruan Ci would have really starved to death in Altar City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she could go without food for a few days, she hadn't completely achieved Grain Grain Bigu after all. It was best to eat a full meal every five or six days. Now that she had entered the Qi Refining stage, her appetite had become even larger than before—Qi Refining stage cultivators didn't achieve Grain Grain Bigu, and they had to eat as much spiritual food as possible to nourish their body's origin. If their constitution was better, the consumption would be greater, and they would eat more. If they ate less, they would have to meditate more and nourish themselves by refining spiritual energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Ruan Ci's speed of refining spiritual energy did not depend on her aptitude, but on her connection with the Donghua Sword. That thread of connection became thicker and thicker, and the spiritual energy transmitted became faster. Now, the spiritual energy transmitted was not sufficient to the extent that she could achieve Grain Grain Bigu. Even if it weren't for her special situation, for ordinary disciples to advance their cultivation, the monthly stipend sent by the Profound Heaven Sect was not enough. How to make up for this difference depended on the disciples showing their own magical powers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Ruan Ci, she could ask for help from the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven. It was a matter of course for the Cave Heaven True Person to reward some spiritual food, and even a Nascent Soul True Person could afford to raise her. Ruan Ci had never gone hungry in the few years she was in Junping Mansion; she could take spiritual food as she pleased and eat until she was full, and she never saw Lin Ji feel distressed, but instead sent it to her in various ways. It was just that Lin Ji didn't give her any food reserves when she got off the boat. From getting off the Sky Boat and boarding the One Qi Cloud Sail, four or five days had passed, and no one had sent her spiritual food. There was only half a plate of jerky left, which was the last bit of food she brought that she hadn't finished on the Sky Boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once a cultivator enters the Dao path, their ears and eyes are sharp and their thinking is eloquent. Even if there were omissions, they should have thought of it in these few days. What's more, Wang Panpan was still being raised by Lin Ji, so she couldn't have forgotten. If she wanted to send it, she should have sent it by now. Not sending it meant that Junping Mansion didn't intend to send it. Ruan Ci didn't blame them either. She wasn't a disciple of Junping Mansion. As an outer sect disciple, she should have taken care of her own food. If Junping Mansion didn't send it, she would just go and catch it herself, wouldn't she?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether there would be any dangerous situations in the back mountain, she was not worried about this. The Profound Heaven Sect wouldn't care about the life or death of ordinary disciples, and Ruan Ci was not ordinary. She knew this, benefited from it, and suffered from it, and now she was even more prepared to rely on this point to be willful. In any case, she was only in her teens, and those old monsters who were thousands or tens of thousands of years old, she thought, would be too embarrassed to care about her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps because she had been in the Song Guo formation since she was a child and had been restrained for a long time, Ruan Ci hated being restrained the most in her life. She had been really bored for the few years in Junping Mansion. From getting off the Sky Boat, there were continuous feasts, but Ruan Ci was not intoxicated at all—if she were a person watching the fun, she would definitely be fascinated, but she was the one being watched, so she only felt that her whole body was wrapped in spider silk, and the more she moved, the tighter it bound her. She understood the sentence Liu Jizi said at that time, and it was not wrong at all. After obtaining the Donghua Sword, she could do many things she couldn't do before, but there were also many things she didn't want to do, but had to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human nature is like this, not cherishing blessings and often harboring resentment. Xie Yanhuan, who lent her the sword, had already gone beyond the heavens, and she didn't need to be grateful to others. Naturally, she felt that everyone's probing, tapping, and desires were entangled in the Donghua Sword, making people feel annoyed. Ruan Ci's manic-depressive feelings reached their limit in the Seven Star Small Abode, even more unhappy than when the old man trapped her in a chess game. At this moment, walking in the mountain forest, her emotions had calmed down. In all fairness, the spiritual energy of Purple Essence Mountain was rich, the wind and smoke were clean, the sky and mountains were the same color, and the scenery was strange and beautiful everywhere, which was also the most beautiful scenery she had never seen in her life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruan Ci hummed a song, not in a hurry to hunt, enjoying the mountain scenery to her heart's content, feeling her heart and chest open, and her playfulness arose. She took off her boots, jumped into a small stream, chased the stream fish, and stepped on the water with a splash, splashing like broken jade and crystal, wrapped in laughter and splashing everywhere. After making such a fuss, she sighed to herself, \"If only Panpan were by my side, it would definitely scold me. This cat is very good at ruining the fun, but I feel like something is missing without it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Jun wanted to keep Wang Panpan, probably out of concern for Wang True Person's attitude. Wang True Person would naturally not kill Ruan Ci, but might take action against Xie Yanhuan's former beloved pet. Ruan Ci understood this point, but she didn't know when she would be able to pick Wang Panpan back up under the Cave Heaven True Person. With Wang Panpan not by her side, it was convenient for her to cultivate the \"Yin Lord Song Annotation\", but she also felt very lonely. Even with Wang Panpan by her side, she knew very well that she was just one person, but this was two kinds of loneliness after all, and now this loneliness was even lonelier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After making enough fuss, she threw the little fish that kept flicking between her fingers back into the stream—any fish that was easy to catch was not a spiritual beast. This little fish was dull, and she could catch one with one grab, but it was just an ordinary fish. At most, because it had been in Purple Essence Mountain for many years, the fish meat was more delicate than that in the mortal world. Mortals could prolong their lives by eating it, but Ruan Ci couldn't eat it. This kind of meat tasted bitter and astringent in her mouth, and she had to spit it out immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was still in the shallow part of the back mountain, not far from Ruan Ci's cave abode, and according to common sense, there wouldn't be any high-level monster beasts. Ruan Ci used her spiritual energy to evaporate the water vapor on her feet, put on her shoes and socks, and first thought, \"I should learn some talisman methods, and I don't know if I can learn them now, otherwise it's still very inconvenient. When I was in Song Guo, everyone used the Dust-Avoiding Talisman, which can keep the whole body clean and unblemished, and it would be very useful now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking that the first time she seriously used spiritual power after cultivating the Dao was to steam her feet, she felt it was very funny, and couldn't help but giggle, talking to herself, \"Fortunately, Panpan is not by my side, otherwise, it wouldn't let this go for a hundred years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she was saying this, she heard a light cry from afar, like the sound of a little kitten meowing. Ruan Ci wondered, \"Panpan?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking towards the source of the sound, she only saw the grass leaves moving lightly and running away into the distance. Ruan Ci chased after it, calling out constantly, \"Panpan, stop, wait for me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw a cat shadow in the forest, running very fast, running upstream along the stream. Ruan Ci chased directly behind. The end of this stream was a small pool, with a short waterfall pouring into it, splashing water, and scattering a seven-colored small rainbow in the air, which was quite cute. Ruan Ci chased the cat all the way here and smiled, \"Caught you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little cat in the grass pounced forward and drilled into the waterfall. Ruan Ci followed and grabbed forward. When she jumped into the air, she turned her wrist, but stabbed out with a long sword, and jumped back herself, smiling, \"Interesting, it turned out to be a big river clam.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw a puff of colorful smoke emerging from the mouth of the pool, and the small pool, mountain wall, and short waterfall all disappeared in the smoke. There was only a giant clam, opening its shell, as big as a mountain wall, spanning above the small stream. The small pool was its clam meat. This river clam could stand more than a dozen people side by side inside. At this time, the clam shell wanted to close, but was stuck by a long sword, and the tip of the sword also nailed the clam's axe foot. This axe foot was very long and thin, twisting and turning on the grass, and it was likely the 'Panpan' just now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Full of spirituality.\" Ruan Ci smiled, \"You heard me missing the little cat I raised, so you could transform into a cat shadow and lead me to chase for two miles. I think you are almost at Foundation Establishment, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She used to infer cultivation mainly based on her own intuition. Those she could beat were Qi Refining stage, and those she couldn't beat were probably already Foundation Establishment. But at this time, she felt it was wrong again. At that time, she hadn't opened her meridians, only relying on her skills. Now that she had spiritual power, her cultivation should be able to go a step further. Even if it was a Foundation Establishment stage monster beast, if it lacked attack means, she thought she could probably beat it. After all, this ability to fight was not completely equal to the cultivation realm. If it was useful just to have a realm, cultivators wouldn't have to work hard to open up the Jade Pool and cultivate spiritual thoughts in order to build a high Dao foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yanhuan once told Ruan Ci that the eye consciousness should not be opened indiscriminately. If she peeped at seniors with higher cultivation, her spiritual consciousness would suffer irreversible damage. Ruan Ci kept her instructions in mind and rarely opened her eyes to look blindly. At this time, stabbing the river clam, it was fine to take a look, so she opened her eye consciousness to look, and saw that the air on top of the clam shell was like a high platform, divided into five layers, the bottom was solid like truth, but the top two layers were a bit illusory, so she couldn't help but smile, \"It really is Foundation Establishment? The platform is five layers high, three solid and two illusory, not much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This knowledge of qi-gazing and grading was also taught on the \"Sky Boat Crossing\". Ruan Ci saw that the giant clam's axe foot was still moving wildly, obviously full of vitality, and she was also drooling, muttering, \"So spiritual, it must be delicious. How should I cook you? Well, I really should have asked Sister Feng for a cook who knows how to cook.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rubbed her hands, looking like she had seen a hunt and was happy. The river clam contracted sharply, obviously extremely terrified. However, Ruan Ci did not sympathize with it. If she didn't have the Donghua Sword on her, calming her mind, and all external thoughts couldn't invade her sea of consciousness, she would probably really have thrown herself into the giant clam's mouth, and the clam shell would have closed, making her a meal in its belly. She was thinking about how to transport this giant clam back. Although the sect would also distribute Qiankun bags and some magic tools, she had to go to Spirit Valley Peak to register with the steward after opening her meridians to receive them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Junping Mansion, although Lin Ji treated her well, she didn't send any magic tools. Ruan Ci only had a few swords she got from the Righteousness Merchant Firm, and the material was quite good. One of the swords could usually turn into a short flute, and the blade would pop out immediately when the mechanism was pressed. This was a rare sharp weapon in the mortal world, and Ruan Ci also felt it was fun, so she kept it in her hand. She also had a sword, which was given to her by the blacksmith of the Righteousness Merchant Firm. She pulled it out and cut off the river clam's axe foot, making it unable to walk, and then squatted down, pondering how to tie up such a big river clam and bring it back to cook soup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before hunting monster beasts, Wang Panpan was always on the side, pointing out how to deal with them. This was the first time Ruan Ci was looking for food by herself. The river clam was different from swimming fish and wild beasts, a large piece of soft meat, as big as several people, and she didn't know where the vital point was for a while, how to kill it. Although she cut off the axe foot, the clam meat couldn't contract, obviously not dead yet. Ruan Ci felt very tricky, stood there with her hands on her hips, just pondering, her fingers tapping on the hilt of the sword. After a while, she finally made up her mind, pulled out the sword and raised her hand, her energy machine locked on the clam meat in front of her, and she swung the sword down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although this clam's axe foot was cut off and the clam shell was nailed, it seemed extremely pitiful, but it was a Foundation Establishment monster beast after all. It was not strange that Ruan Ci treated it so cautiously. With her cultivation base not yet full in the Qi Refining stage, it was actually very difficult to completely kill this clam. If she didn't know where the vital point was, she had to shatter the Dao foundation to kill its vitality. At this time, the energy machine locked tightly on the river clam, which was looking for the weakest point in the Dao foundation. No matter the breeze blowing or the tree leaves swaying, none of it was in her heart. With her Qi Refining stage spiritual consciousness, she could only strike a few swords with all her strength, so she was naturally focused and could not afford to fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sword was just about to start, and a person in the forest knew that the opportunity had come. He was ordered in a hurry and rushed over in a hurry. The magic tool he was most comfortable with on weekdays happened not to be by his side, so he had to use a magic sword. Although this little Ci was only in the Qi Refining cultivation base, and it was said that she had only just opened her meridians last night, she was not his match in one move. But when a cultivator looks at an enemy, they don't just look at the cultivation base. The momentum around this little Ci made this person vaguely afraid to underestimate her, and even more afraid that she was a descendant of a powerful family from a different continent, and had caught the eye of the Cave Heaven True Person, fearing that she had exotic treasures to protect her. Even if she was at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage, vaguely able to surpass the cultivation base of many Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Peace Sect, he still used all his strength like a lion fighting a rabbit. Taking advantage of the moment when little Ci was fully focused on locking the river clam, his murderous intent rose, the water in the Jade Pool surged, and he mobilized all his magic power, turning it into a forward-moving sword, stabbing at little Ci's back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was too late, and it was fast. Little Ci was indeed unprepared, and her empty door was wide open. This sword stabbed her back in an instant. The person hadn't had time to be happy, but only felt that the touch of the sword tip was like stubborn stone and silt, and the sword intent was stagnant and difficult to move in it, let alone scratching the skin, but it was even tougher than the \"No-Leak Golden Body\" of many Foundation Establishment cultivators. He just called out \"not good\" in his heart, and in a panic, he only saw little Ci turn her head and smile. Her waist was struck by lightning, and a huge force came, kicking him into the forest. He wanted to take advantage of the situation to escape, but the pain in his waist was severe, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mist as soon as he moved his energy. It was just one kick, and his lungs were shattered, and he had no strength to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that little Ci didn't chase after him, but still pulled out her sword to make a defensive posture. The man thought in his heart, \"This girl's cultivation is extraordinary, but she has no experience, and she is a bit too careful. I'm already like this, and she still won't come over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still had some means of perishing together before he died, just waiting for little Ci to get closer to release them. But little Ci didn't even look at him, holding the treasure sword, looking around, and said in a deep voice, \"Your Excellency, since you have already leaked your energy machine, why not show yourself and meet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This person only then knew that the mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind. There was another cultivator behind him, whose cultivation was even better. It was likely that he had just leaked a trace of murderous intent, which was discovered by little Ci. And if he hadn't been called out by little Ci, he would probably have died without knowing that he had been used as a stone to ask for directions!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was angry and anxious for a while, ashamed and regretful, and screamed, spitting out blood all over the sky. It was the Jade Pool drying up, his breath gradually cut off, and he was kicked to death on the spot by Ruan Ci's kick!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Updated, sorry for the long wait, everyone. I'm having beef brisket rice noodles for lunch today. Sigh, I still didn't write any stock yesterday, because when I was cutting things, my little finger was pinched by the scissors handle and bruised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That scissor design is also outrageous... crying...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I will send everyone the red envelopes from the day before yesterday in a while~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-07-27 12:05:26 and 2020-07-28 12:00:59~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the little angel who cast a grenade: Yu Wanyao (1);\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Li Heping, Time's Delusion, Tao Ze Ying Nai Sakurana, Long Qian (1);\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Shen Nie (20 bottles); Bu Yu (19 bottles); Long Qian, Jie Yin, Flag (10 bottles); Cheng (7 bottles); Cat chasing a ball of yarn, Second-year girl with a bun face (5 bottles); Wa Wangwang (3 bottles); Maidragon, Fan Zhou (2 bottles); Laughing to Death, akilayue (1 bottle);\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ===== CHAPTER 42 =====\u003C\u002Fp>",3902,"2026-06-17T08:48:53.797Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","aed4872581a8b4168d5835c054097c5b57859d82de89f83bde5f861c228a36d6","borrowing-the-sword-chapter-38","borrowing-the-sword-chapter-36",286,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fborrowing-the-sword-cover.jpg"]