Chapter 11: Minor Achievement
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Stop! You bunch of stinking ghost lanterns! If you have the guts, come and gang up on me! See if you can beat me!"
Outside Yin Wind Gorge, on a ten LI slope.
The girl in the grey clothes held a wood-cutting knife and moved like the wind. She suddenly stepped on the grass and flew up, swinging her knife to strike down at the fleeing ghost lanterns in front of her.
A golden light burst forth, and the phosphorescent fire cracked.
The power accumulated by the thirty-three Edge Sharpness Formula suddenly exploded, and the vast group of ghost lanterns disappeared in an instant under the golden light. A few of them, terrified and no longer shaped like lanterns, fled for their lives.
[You used Chasing Star Steps to drive away the group of ghost lanterns. After some practice, your understanding of the footwork becomes clear, and your Chasing Star Steps proficiency increases by +5.]
[Congratulations! Your Chasing Star Steps has reached the Minor Achievement realm.]
[You used the Chopping Wood Sword Technique to slay the group of ghost lanterns. After some practice, your understanding of the knife technique becomes enlightened, and your Chopping Wood Sword Technique proficiency increases by +5.]
[Congratulations! Your Chopping Wood Sword Technique has reached the Minor Achievement realm.]
Jiang Yuebai stood straight, relieved, and said, "Finally, I made a breakthrough. It wasn't all for nothing. It's faster to break through in actual combat."
[Combat Techniques]
Chasing Star Steps (Minor Achievement: 1/1000)
Chopping Wood Sword Technique (Minor Achievement: 1/1000)
Grandfather said that with Minor Achievement in martial techniques, as long as she didn't encounter someone in the later stages of Qi Cultivation or confront cultivator spells and talismans head-on, she could hold her own for a few moves and escape.
Until the later stages of Qi Cultivation, they mainly focused on cultivating their meridians and accumulating spiritual energy to refine their bodies. Apart from mastering some minor spells and the use of talismans, there wasn't much difference between them and ordinary martial artists.
Only in the later stages of Qi Cultivation, with a strong physique and initial development of divine consciousness, could they control powerful artifacts, making them truly formidable and difficult to deal with.
Jiang Yuebai rubbed her nose and looked into the distance.
The surroundings were clear, without a trace of the phosphorescent fire.
"A bunch of timid cowards!"
She secretly cursed and carried her wood-cutting knife, walking away from the ten-mile slope.
Tomorrow would be the last day of the one-month deadline, and she had to report her cultivation progress to the sect's menial tasks hall. She decided to spare this group of ghost lanterns for now and come back another time.
Ghost lanterns were faster when they encountered stronger opponents, and although their attack power was weak, they were still the best choice for practicing martial techniques and spells.
After she left, the dim green lights gradually emerged from various places on the ten-mile slope, resembling startled birds.
They could never have imagined that in just ten days, the situation would change so drastically.
The little girl who had been surrounded and cried by them was now aggressively chasing and attacking them all over the mountain.
* * *
In early autumn drizzle, the mist enveloped the pond.
Jiang Yuebai rowed the boat out of the mountain, rushing home while the sky was still dark.
"Xiaobai, where did you go?"
Hearing the voice, Jiang Yuebai turned her head and saw Lu Ying standing vivaciously at the gate of her own yard, carrying a wooden bucket, preparing to fetch water from the creek.
"Practicing martial arts." Jiang Yuebai casually replied.
Lu Ying raised her eyebrows and carefully looked at Jiang Yuebai, finding her full of spiritual aura. Her eyes brightened, "You broke through?!"
Jiang Yuebai nodded, having already removed the talisman that concealed her aura. From today on, she no longer needed to hide her cultivation level.
"Thank goodness! You finally caught up with the deadline. I thought I would have to send you off today. But you are falling behind in progress. I have already reached the entry level of Qingmu Gong. If you have any questions in your future cultivation, remember to come and ask me."
Jiang Yuebai smiled and nodded, then hurried back home.
After washing up, she began meditating and cultivating as the golden sun rose.
After one cycle of Qi circulation, Jiang Yuebai found that her grandfather had not returned home yet, and he must have been busy all night.
However, it wasn't with the work in their fields; it was the harvest, cultivation, and planting of the twenty acres of spiritual land owned by Jia Wei, the tyrant of the valley.
Jiang Yuebai was indignant, but her grandfather had to endure in silence.
It was because he had offended Elder Lin Xiangtian in his early years, and Jia Wei's elder sister happened to be Elder Lin Xiangtian's unofficial Dao companion, already at the Foundation Building stage.
Lin Suiwan, Lin Xiangtian, the entire Lin family was a nest of snakes and rats. None of them were good people!
The steamed spiritual rice was ready, and from outside the yard came the sound of coughing. Jiang Yuebai wiped her hands and walked out of the kitchen, looking at the dirt-stained grandfather with a distressed expression.
"Grandfather, your cough has been getting worse lately. Do you need to see a doctor?" Jiang Yuebai took the hoe and hat from him, pushing him to sit down.
Her grandfather sighed, "When Qi circulation is complete, all illnesses are repelled. It's just that I'm getting old and suffering from some minor ailments."
"Grandfather is not old at all! It's all because of that Jia Wei, making you work so hard. Grandfather, rest, and I'll prepare the meal."
Tao Fengnian nodded. As Jiang Yuebai entered the kitchen, he secretly took out a tobacco stick. Before he could light it, he heard a shout.
"No smoking! You're still coughing!"
Jiang Yuebai rushed out, snatched the tobacco stick from Tao Fengnian's hand with a fierce look.
Tao Fengnian smacked his lips, chuckled, and shook his head.
During breakfast, Jiang Yuebai sat upright, chewing slowly and elegantly, no longer wolfing down the food like she did a month ago, showing more refined manners.
These days of cultivating spiritual energy and eating spiritual rice had made her skin fair and tender. Her originally exquisite features became even more lively and charming, especially her almond-shaped eyes, twinkling like stars, radiating a bright light.
Amidst the sufferings of the world, she had also experienced the fickleness of life, but Tao Fengnian truly didn't know why she could still be so carefree and happy. He treated her as if she had grown up carefree and affluent since childhood.
The more bitter her heart, the sweeter her appearance, that's exactly how she was.
Looking at her, Tao Fengnian suddenly became worried. She had such a lovely appearance, sweet and clever, and he feared that some rotten boy might deceive her in the future. Otherwise, he might come out of his grave.
"Grandfather, are you full? Let me collect and wash the dishes; you can continue to rest."
Jiang Yuebai stood up to collect the dishes. Seeing the bluish-purple fingers and the cloth wrapped around her wrists and ankles, Tao Fengnian couldn't help but feel distressed.
She had never slackened in her daily cultivation, enduring all the injuries without complaint. Moreover, she took up the responsibilities of taking care of him during these days. Such a good child, how could one not feel tender towards her?
"Are you going to the menial tasks hall today to report your cultivation progress?"
"Yes, today is the last day of the one-month deadline. If I don't go, I will be expelled from the sect."
"The menial tasks hall is under Tianman Peak, some distance from Huaxi Valley. Once you are done tidying up, Grandfather will take you there."
Jiang Yuebai's hands, which were collecting dishes, paused. "Grandfather, you should rest. I will ask Lu Ying to take me there."
"If she takes you, it will take half a day to get there. You've always wanted to fly, right? Grandfather will take you."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes lit up. "Really? Can't the outer sect disciples fly within the sect?"
Tao Fengnian straightened his back. "Grandfather is a Spirit Cultivator, with the same status as an outer sect disciple, naturally able to fly."
Jiang Yuebai's eyes sparkled with excitement as she imagined herself riding a sword, soaring in the clouds, and chasing cranes through the sky.
However...
Squeak - yap!
Squeak - yap!
In the forest, paper cranes took to the sky.
Bamboo and paper rubbed together, making a sound of overburdened weight.
Jiang Yuebai sat cross-legged behind Tao Fengnian, holding onto his sleeves tightly, looking at the paper cranes made with bamboo as bones, coated with yellow paper, and inscribed with red cinnabar runes.
The grass clippings and traces of paste were evident everywhere, as if a three-year-old child had casually glued them together. The paper cranes flew up and down, swaying back and forth, flying near the treetops.
Jiang Yuebai felt that the paper crane might fall apart at any moment.
Whoosh!
A streak of sword light slashed through the sky. Jiang Yuebai looked up to see a handsome male cultivator standing on a flying sword with his hands behind his back, his robe fluttering, looking very suave.
Another crane cry followed, and a cold-looking female cultivator sat cross-legged on the back of a crane, with young cranes following on either side, wandering carefree in the clouds.
Their white and soft feathers looked very comfortable.
Squeak - yap!
Squeak - yap!
"Cough, cough," Tao Fengnian's face reddened slightly, "The old man... I also had a flying sword back then, but I sold it later when I was short of money."
Jiang Yuebai pursed her lips, "These paper cranes are good. They are stable. Grandfather, can you fly higher? The scenery above must be even better."
Tao Fengnian coughed twice more, "According to the sect rules, the height of flight for outer sect disciples cannot exceed the height of the main peak, Tiankui Peak. Also, this paper crane of mine... it's a bit old, so it might not be able to fly higher."
Jiang Yuebai's small face drooped, "Okay, then please be careful, Grandfather, don't crash into the trees."
Tao Fengnian swept his eyes at Jiang Yuebai, "Work hard, and when you become a Spirit Cultivator, Grandfather will personally make a flying sword for you."
Jiang Yuebai lifted her head, and her dejection disappeared, "Okay, Grandfather, you mustn't lie."
Tao Fengnian chuckled, "When did Grandfather ever lie to you? We are almost at Tianman Peak. Today, besides reporting your cultivation progress, you also need to go to the Library to select a cultivation technique."
"Also, you need to familiarize yourself with the Lecture Hall and the Internal Affairs Hall. In the future, you can choose to attend the classes you are interested in and take tasks to earn contribution points. You'll be busy today."
The paper crane suddenly accelerated, racing towards the majestic Tianman Peak.
The path ahead was unknown, and Jiang Yuebai felt both nervous and excited...
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