Chapter 84: Jiang Taigong Fishing

Jiang Taigong Fishing

Ruan Ci had never calculated how many words she had to say in a day. If she was cultivating most of the day, sometimes she could even say nothing. But Qin Fengyu was very pained by this thousand-sentence agreement, often unable to help chatting with Ruan Ci. When the two started chatting, she felt heartache for saying too much. Ruan Ci asked her, "Then what do you do when you come from the sect?"

Qin Fengyu said, "That was easy to handle. Usually, I was on the road. I came alone, no one to talk to on the road. Every day I found an hour to finish these thousand sentences with myself. Don't say, I'm used to telling myself my cultivation insights. Because I can only say a thousand sentences, I have to think carefully, and I always feel that I have gained more than usual."

She spoke very fast, finishing a whole sentence without a pause. Ruan Ci wanted to ask if Qin Fengyu just kept speaking in one breath, would an hour of speaking only count as one sentence, but soon held back. Foundation Establishment cultivators had already transcended the category of mortals. As long as the spiritual energy supply was sufficient, it didn't matter if she didn't breathe. Qin Fengyu could speak forever, and it would only count as one sentence. The one who suffered was Ruan Ci's own ears.

"I was thinking, if this place is always mostly an illusion to us, then it poses no danger to us," she changed the subject. "Look, we are walking on the road now, and only this road is real. The fierce beasts in the mountains and fields won't come to bother us. In the Hengze Heaven, we only need to guard against attacks from others. In that case, with Feather Lady by my side, wouldn't this trip to the Hengze Heaven be very safe for me?"

Qin Fengyu laughed. "If this place is always biased toward illusion for you, then how should you collect the Hengze Jade Dew? However, what you said isn't entirely wrong. As long as we don't reveal our identities and don't try to seize the Hengze Jade Dew, then this trip will indeed not be dangerous. But for us, it's equivalent to wasting several years of time, as well as the precious opportunity given by the sect. If we don't make a contribution and go back, aside from the monthly allowance, there will be no extra rewards from the sect. If you want to cultivate, you can only rely on the Grand Ancestor to support you."

Ruan Ci imagined it and frowned. "It seems I can only rely on myself."

Qin Fengyu laughed secretly. "Junior Uncle, this is inside a Grotto-Heaven. Even if you speak ill of the Grand Ancestor, he can't sense it."

The two talked and talked, and soon left the city gate. The Hengze Heaven occupied a vast area, with cities everywhere, mountains and fields connected in the middle, and many exotic beasts and spirits living there. The geography was vast and rich, almost no different from the outside. However, Ruan Ci and Qin Fengyu still hadn't integrated into the environment at this moment. The exotic beasts in the mountains and fields turned a blind eye to them. The two soon found many blue stones on the mountainside—these blue stones did not contain spiritual power, and were clearly stones that could be picked up at will by the roadside. If it weren't for those shadow residents wanting to trade, such stones would definitely not be able to buy any goods.

"You say, why are they so good to us?"

Although they had found the blue stones, neither of them could pick them up. Qin Fengyu was not in a hurry, found an open space on the mountainside, pulled Ruan Ci to sit down, and said thoughtfully, "Is it really because we guessed their origin, so we can take more things away from the Hengze Heaven?"

Ruan Ci said, "If I were them, I would also want to try my best to pass on what I have, leaving more traces of myself in this world. After all, what is left here is only an imprint of me. The real me no longer exists. The current me is just evidence of past existence. To me, what is more important than spreading the traces of my existence? Even if I can have an impact on one more cultivator in the present world, for me, there is one more person in this world who remembers me."

Qin Fengyu nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, if I can pass on the Dao lineage, maybe one day, my Dao lineage will produce a Dao Ancestor, and I might be able to condense and recreate myself from the imaginary number..."

Although this hope was extremely slim, if the refiner had such a thought when passing on his skills, then Qin Fengyu, who had learned everything, would have to bear such a trace of karma. She was just watching the excitement, rubbing a little bit, and as for karma, she didn't want to be stained with even a trace, let alone, no one knew why the Hengze True Person died here. If he died in the struggle of the Great Dao, and this Dao lineage had a grudge with some lineage among the seventy-two Dao Ancestors of today, could Qin Fengyu bear such karma?

These considerations, even if not explained, both of them could think clearly. Speaking of this, Qin Fengyu also smiled at herself and said, "In the end, it was reckless. Sigh, walking out, every move is a thousand kinds of karma. If you really want to care, you can't care. It's just that this place is of great importance, and what kind of karma can span two universes is really scary. I was a bit timid for a while. Now thinking about it, I'm eager to try, really want to take over this Dao lineage, I think it must be very fun."

She sometimes said her thoughts without reservation, just like talking to her inner monologue. After saying it, she refuted herself again. "Qin Fengyu, Qin Fengyu, the teacher's Dao path is cut off, you bear the burden of his Grotto-Heaven, how can you do such a useless thing just because it's fun."

Ruan Ci was amused by her and rested in turns with Qin Fengyu, refining spiritual power. Qin Fengyu heard that she was already at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment in the blink of an eye, and was very envious, laughing, "This is having great fortune, crossing three or four layers in just a few months. Even I didn't have this creation back then."

She was perfect at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, but it took only eight hundred years, naturally she had some encounters, but in front of Ruan Ci, it didn't seem enough. Qin Fengyu let Ruan Ci cultivate more. "You are a tool-cultivator, the green sword will refine spiritual energy for you, unlike us, here to absorb spiritual energy, half the effort for twice the result, far more strenuous than in the outside world."

After Ruan Ci entered the Hengze Heaven, she already felt that the spiritual energy here had no Dao rhyme, but it had a vague and obscure taste. She could absorb it directly, but the speed was not fast. Only the Donghua Sword was like a fish in water here, and the speed of transporting spiritual energy did not slow down at all. She touched the bracelet secretly and thought, "Even the Dao rhyme is gone. It seems that although the Dongyang Dao Ancestor shrouded the Langhuan Great Heaven, he did not fully control it. The Langhuan Heaven is after all a Great Heaven brought from the old universe by the Five Elements Dao Ancestor. These Grotto-Heavens and treasures left over from the old universe, except for cultivators who also have the roots of the old universe, no one can control them."

She couldn't help but slowly let out a breath, feeling a bit more relaxed than just now. She secretly thought about the many thoughts she had gradually cultivated since the destruction of her sect and with her increasing knowledge. It was just that her strength was low at this time, and thinking was useless. Knowing some things was enough. After a moment, she immersed herself in the inner landscape, forgetting both things and herself, wholeheartedly refining the drops of spiritual beads rolling down from the high platform.

Refining spiritual energy was indeed repetitive and very boring, but spiritual energy entering the pool was like drinking fine wine. Ruan Ci followed the secret method taught in the "Qinghua Secret Record", introduced sword Qi, and washed and refined it in the Jade Pool. Only in this way could the sword Qi and her own spiritual energy be integrated into one, and after Golden Core, she could refine restrictions with Qi. This process of introducing sword Qi was also a stimulation to her spiritual sense, and those drops of spiritual dew could nourish the sea of consciousness. Her spiritual sense was tempered, and then met with sweet dew. After such a cycle, she felt refreshed, but looking at the fourth layer high platform, it was only built up by a tiny bit.

Cultivating the Dao is difficult, not only difficult in fighting, life and death on the line, no one can fully grasp their destiny, but also difficult in the loneliness and hardship of this cultivation. Especially for Ruan Ci, refining Donghua again and getting feedback from the divine sword was undoubtedly faster than her own closed-door hard cultivation. The insights in life-and-death fighting were also precious, but she was not willing to relax her practice. After all, the remaining Donghua Sword was ethereal and hard to find, while her own cultivation, although slower, was solid. As long as she was willing to spend effort, she could see progress.

She didn't know how long she had been practicing, but suddenly felt someone disturbing in the energy field. It was Qin Fengyu's aura. Ruan Ci temporarily put away her practice, released her spiritual sense, and said, "Someone is coming?"

"Yes, two people are coming up the mountain," Qin Fengyu said. "They should be En Sect disciples. Let's go and meet them."

With her, a great expert at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment, as long as they weren't besieged by hundreds of people, there was no dangerous place in the Hengze Heaven. Ruan Ci followed Qin Fengyu to the foot of the mountain and indeed saw two cultivators, wearing right-lapel clothes, chatting and laughing as they came into the mountain. Both of their spiritual senses should be very limited. Ruan Ci and the two arrived close before they noticed, hurriedly putting on a defensive posture, but in Ruan Ci's eyes, the defense was full of loopholes, not her enemy for one move.

However, they had been waiting here for two days, not to intercept such innocent passersby. Qin Fengyu had a thousand-sentence agreement and didn't want to waste words on such things, standing on the side coldly. Ruan Ci said, "Two fellow Daoists, I wonder if you can do us a favor, we have spiritual jade to reward."

The gap in cultivation between the two sides was too obvious. The two cultivators were trembling with fear, not daring to resist. Following them back to the mountainside, they collected the blue stones. Ruan Ci took them to the spiritual tool shop in the city again, signaling the person to use the blue stones to buy the mask.

The clerk received the blue stones and handed the mask to the little cultivator. The little cultivator passed it to Ruan Ci. This time she could grasp the mask, but when she tried to touch other spiritual tools with her fingertips, they still passed through, and she couldn't hear their voices.

Qin Fengyu ordered one person to take the remaining blue stones and go find the refiner, trying to buy the refining method with the blue stones. In this way, the silver and goods were cleared, and there was no need to bear karma—she was a character who liked to handle things well. Ruan Ci didn't stop her, signaling the little cultivator to follow her, walking to other shops, looking for things that caught her eye. Although the treasure materials here, if they could all be bought with blue stones, would be like a gift to the two women, and they only needed to send the middleman a few spiritual jades, in her view, this kind of thing couldn't be done too much, otherwise it might cause unexpected changes. After all, this kind of good thing where one side takes advantage of the other often hides some traps behind it.

The two looked around, and neither had any intention. The little cultivator was gradually able to talk to the shadows. He said to Ruan Ci, "Disciple just heard this group of people talking, still vomiting and dumb, without any meaning. At this time, I can understand a few words. The other party seems to be able to understand some of my... my meaning."

Perhaps it was difficult to convert between the two languages. When he spoke to Ruan Ci, there were more pauses than just now. Ruan Ci looked at him and nodded slightly, saying, "If I were you, I wouldn't say too much."

The mask had been exchanged, and the acquaintance was not deep. Ruan Ci took out ten spiritual jades from her arms as a reward for his half-day running errands, and turned to look for Qin Fengyu. Qin Fengyu was still watching the refiner's techniques. She still couldn't hear the sound and couldn't communicate directly with the refiner. The refiner only cared about doing things. She watched from the side. If she had any questions, she needed the middleman to convey them. The middleman was already able to talk to the refiner fluently. On the contrary, the communication with Qin Fengyu was much more strenuous. Ruan Ci saw this and couldn't help but frown. After Qin Fengyu finished learning, she also took out a hundred spiritual jades to send the little cultivator away. The two walked out of the city together, and then asked, "If they continue like this, will they not be able to return to the present world?"

Qin Fengyu shook her head and didn't answer, squeezing a sentence from her teeth, "Nine hundred and ninety-seven sentences..."

Ruan Ci didn't tease her to speak anymore. She had been cultivating these few days, and Qin Fengyu used her daily quota on talking to herself. Thinking about it, she spent most of it on learning refining today.

The two found a place in the teahouse on the street to sit down and adjust their breath. Seeing that the time was about to pass midnight, Qin Fengyu suddenly gasped and said loudly, "This is the step of integrating into this place. After they take the medicine, they will integrate faster and more violently than us. Sometimes it is even difficult to extricate themselves. Later, they will completely treat themselves as shadow residents in the Hengze Heaven. If the desire to go to the shore cannot overcome the impulse to stay here, then he will indeed never be able to return."

"Just now it was like this. The medicine has begun to take effect. Their conversation with us will gradually become difficult. When they completely treat themselves as shadow residents, we won't be able to hear them when they talk to us. By then, I'm afraid we can only distinguish their identities from left-lapel and right-lapel."

Qin Fengyu said two sentences in a row, then patted her thigh with pleasure and shouted, "Ha! Just right, those two sentences were for yesterday! —We absorb more spiritual energy, and we will gradually be stained with the spiritual rhyme of this place. However, because the process is slower, we won't lose ourselves. The real danger only begins then."

Ruan Ci also understood what she meant. Now the two are walking in the city, the energy field is empty except for themselves. If a cultivator approaches, it is like those two little cultivators, they can find them in the blink of an eye. The so-called ambush and sneak attack is naturally out of the question. But once they integrate into this place, being in the city is equivalent to being among hundreds of cultivators, and it is difficult to guard against the approach of those with intentions. This place is not like the Dao city market in Zhou Tian, most of which are under the jurisdiction of the Dao Palace, and are also shrouded in the spiritual sense of Nascent Soul cultivators. Unless the cultivation base also reaches the Nascent Soul realm, they dare not start a dispute in the city at will.

"The meat of the play is still to come." She also nodded in agreement, and put on the mask at will. With a thought, she instantly turned into a handsome young man. "But there will be no lack of disputes at this time, Feather Lady, be careful."

In the energy field, except for the two women, there were only the auras of the six attackers in the city. The auras of the two little cultivators had disappeared. They had just integrated into this place and were about to talk about business with the shadow residents. Reasonably, they shouldn't have gone far, but suddenly disappeared. Soon after, others came. The connection can be said to be obvious.

Ruan Ci said indifferently, "Jiang Taigong fishing, this is not bad."

Within the field of influence, besides the two women, there were only the auras of the six attackers within the city. The auras of those two minor cultivators had already vanished. They had just merged into this place and were at the point of negotiating a deal with the shadow residents; logically, they should not have gone far, yet they suddenly disappeared. Not long after, others arrived; the connection between these events was glaringly obvious.

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Updated, sorry for the wait, everyone. I'm sending red packets for this chapter. I'm really letting myself go in writing this article, writing wherever I think of. The feeling of stepping on watermelon skin is really happy! But because of the chapter division, the foreshadowing period may indeed feel a bit slow, please forgive me, everyone, take more red packets...

Speaking of the article, to be honest, I haven't read the article for a few days, and I have entered a new round of book shortage. Do you have any articles you can recommend to me...

I watched "Fairy Eatery" yesterday, a daily food article, the plot is a bit flat, it feels like a management game, that is, once you are distracted, you don't have the urgency to continue reading.

Having braised fish for lunch!

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