Emptiness Mountain
A month ago, Yan Jue had started making frequent trips to Valley of a Hundred Flowers to gather nectar.
At first, it was just to feed the ghostfire fireflies. Later, after discovering that the nectar from Valley of a Hundred Flowers could also be brewed into tea, she began experimenting with all kinds of flower teas.
After all, when Yan Jue had lived in the modern world, she had always liked tinkering with things like that in the kitchen.
Nectar from jasmine blossoms, brewed into flower tea, not only tasted good but also had a beautifying effect.
Yan Jue thought that since she might not see Qi Xianqing for a while after going down the mountain this time, she should prepare a cup of beautifying flower tea early that morning and seal it in a thermos to give to Qi Xianqing.
After all, she had eaten so many snacks from Qi Xianqing this month that she really did feel a little guilty.
As for why she had protected Qi Xianqing like a guardian last night... what did that have to do with her? That had just been something the little fox had done.
...
After saying goodbye to Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue returned to the dormitory and slept for a short while.
The next day, she set out on the trial path down the mountain.
“Come on, hurry up!” Du Ying urged.
As Yan Jue walked out through the mountain gates, she felt a distinct fluctuation of spiritual energy in her chest, as if some kind of brand had been pressed into her.
This was already her last junior-level mission; once a Five Dragons disciple completed three junior tasks, they could descend the mountain freely.
Yan Jue thought this should be the last time the restrictions at the foot of Five Dragons Mountain would take effect on her.
After all, this was her final mission outside the mountain.
Yan Jue and Du Ying arrived at the foot of the mountain. Before they even got close, they saw two ethereally graceful women already standing at the mountain gate.
Both women wore long dresses, and each had a huge gourd strapped to her back.
One gourd was cyan and slightly smaller.
The other was deep purple and a little larger.
This mission was D-rank, and only three to four people were needed.
So the team configuration was basically the same as last time Yan Jue went out on a mission.
There were four of them in total, led by a senior sister at the Late Illumination Stage.
Then there was another senior sister in the early Illumination Stage.
Du Ying, also in the early Illumination Stage. And Yan Jue, who was at the mid-Foundation Establishment Realm.
“..."
Although Yan Jue already knew from last time that her cultivation should have reached the Illumination Stage, the aura she gave off still appeared to be at the Foundation Establishment level.
So Du Ying didn’t think much of it. After all, everyone knew Yan Jue was that kind of trash who had spent three years on the mountain and was still only at the early Foundation Establishment Realm.
Even if she had finally advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment Realm, there were rumors that she had only gotten there by sheer dumb luck.
Du Ying filled in mid-Foundation Establishment Realm on the registration form.
It was the dead of winter, but this stretch at the foot of Five Dragons Mountain was nourished year-round by the mountain’s immortal aura, and the grass was still lush and green.
Today, the sun had finally come out. Tree shadows slanted across the ground, and the surroundings were extraordinarily quiet.
Yan Jue looked at the two senior sisters who had already been waiting at the mountain gate and politely smiled. “May I ask who the senior sisters are?”
“Jingang Sect, Lin Xi.”
“Ji Guiyan.”
As Yan Jue looked at their cold gazes, she suddenly felt that something was off.
Why did those names seem so familiar...
The leading senior sister at the Late Illumination Stage, Lin Xi from Jingang Peak, the main peak of Five Dragons Mountain, glanced at her indifferently. Her words carried a faint edge of mockery. “Junior Sister Yan, aren’t you busy clinging to Junior Brother Chu? And yet you still have time to come down the mountain for training?”
The other senior sister quickly shot Yan Jue the same contemptuous look. “How rare.”
Now Yan Jue finally understood why it had felt strange.
These two, the older and the younger one, both seemed to be part of Chu Fu’s harem.
They were two of the women in the novel who had been won over by Chu Fu’s handsome face.
Yan Jue’s gaze slowly swept over the four of them, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say.
Wasn’t this a textbook Shura field!
-
Since Yan Jue and Du Ying weren’t familiar with the other two women, they didn’t make much small talk on the way to Emptiness Mountain. They traveled in silence and soon reached their destination.
At the foot of Emptiness Mountain.
The forest was dim; even from far away, one could feel the dense spiritual energy there.
Before coming, Yan Jue had checked the books and knew that Emptiness Mountain was rich in spiritual energy. It was called Emptiness Mountain because it was hollow inside and rarely visited by humans.
Where humans rarely set foot, all kinds of unknown poisonous grasses and toxic flowers naturally grew, along with... demon beasts.
Senior Sister Lin Xi, who was leading them, turned around and briefed everyone on Emptiness Mountain.
Lin Xi: “Emptiness Mountain is divided into outer, middle, and inner sections. This time, we’ll mainly be working in the outer section.
“The demon beasts in the outer section are basically third-level or above. Once we enter the mountain, you must stay closely behind me. If anyone disobeys orders and acts on their own, don’t blame me for deducting points.”
“Yes!”
Lin Xi coughed once. “The task this time is to gather Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi. Especially since there are still people in our team who haven’t reached Illumination yet, don’t think you can slack off just because your cultivation is low. If you simply trail behind without contributing, I’ll still deduct your score!”
Yan Jue: “..."
For missions led by a senior disciple, the trial disciples’ mission included one additional item: a score.
For example, on Yan Jue’s previous mission with Qi Xianqing, Qi Xianqing had also given everyone scores afterward.
It was just that during the mission, Qi Xianqing had never used point deductions to threaten them.
Comparing the two, Yan Jue suddenly felt that Qi Xianqing’s image had become much more magnificent in her heart.
“..."
After Lin Xi finished laying down the rules, the group entered the mountain.
There were only four of them, and the formation was simple: Lin Xi, with the highest cultivation, led the way in front; Ji Guiyan, whose cultivation was second only to Lin Xi’s, brought up the rear; and Yan Jue, the lowest at the Foundation Establishment Realm, was sandwiched in the middle.
Although the two senior sisters had decent manners and said nothing about the arrangement, the contempt and disdain on their faces could not be hidden.
Everyone knew that the famed Junior Sister Yan was a hopeless romantic; in the three years since she had joined the mountain, the only thing she had done was stir up rumors with Chu Fu, a reserve disciple of Watercloud Sect, then repeatedly go provoke Lord Meng Heng of Thunderflame Sect, all while still being a waste at the mid-Foundation Establishment Realm.
No one would bother mingling with someone like that.
Du Ying quietly told Yan Jue, “It’s fine. Just think of them as turnips and cabbages. Anyway, we’re here to piggyback on the big shots this time. As long as we coast through the mission, everything will be great.”
Yan Jue had never cared much about other people’s looks to begin with, so she nodded.
Because they were worried the forest might contain miasma, the leading senior sister Lin Xi formed a seal and shouted, “Immortal technique, Breath-Suppressing Art!”
A faint golden light slowly spread out around the four of them, sealing off everything nearby.
Emptiness Mountain was almost entirely covered by dense forest. The deeper they went, the darker the light became.
The towering trees took on all kinds of bizarre shapes. Yan Jue stared at them blankly and, for some reason, felt that several of the trunks looked a little like... human faces.
So this was what trees looked like after absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Massive vines hung down from above, and all around them, the damp scent of grass and wood drifted faintly through the air.
As they walked, Lin Xi: “No one here is unaware of the mission details, right?”
There was definitely someone who didn’t know.
Just look at that Watercloud Sect disciple surnamed Yan; with her red lips, white teeth, and powdered complexion, even the plain standard robe looked stunning on her. Her eyes were lively and bright. She probably spent all her energy on looking pretty and hadn’t actually read the mission token carefully.
The reason Lin Xi had agreed to let Yan Jue join them this time was because no one wanted to come to this deep mountain wilderness full of demon beasts and do the thankless work of gathering lingzhi.
Their team had been waiting for a month and still hadn’t managed to fill the numbers; the mission was about to be pulled back by the Administrative Hall.
Who else in the current Five Dragons Sect would want to come into the deep mountains to take on a mission?
Everyone wanted fame early. Anyone with eyes wanted to go into town and help rich households drive out ghosts; not only were those missions easy, they also earned universal admiration and the title of “young hero.”
Du Ying: “Senior Sister, we’re here to gather Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi. Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi is an extremely rare ingredient for alchemy; across the whole world, only Emptiness Mountain produces it.”
Lin Xi gave a reluctant nod and said loudly, “The hardest part of harvesting Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi is that it looks very similar to ordinary lingzhi. You have to keep your full attention on it when picking it.”
As expected of a cultivator at the Late Illumination Stage, Lin Xi’s voice wasn’t especially loud, but her internal force was profound. Her words carried far enough that even Ji Guiyan, walking at the back of the group, could hear them clearly.
As Lin Xi walked, she suddenly noticed something and crouched down.
Yan Jue, learning earnestly from behind, watched Lin Xi take out a small dagger from her Qiankun bag and cut down a lingzhi growing beside a large tree.
Lin Xi held the cut lingzhi in her hands and continued explaining. “Look closely at the top of this Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi.”
Yan Jue was startled.
The cap of ordinary lingzhi was smooth.
But the Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi in Lin Xi’s hand had an uneven cap, as if it were some kind of... special shape.
Lin Xi: “The difference between Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi and ordinary lingzhi lies in the cap.
“Ordinary lingzhi has a smooth cap, but Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi can have all kinds of shapes. For example, the one I’m holding now has a carriage-and-horse shape; this is a lower-grade Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi.
“Of course, Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi can also come in other shapes. For instance, a middle-grade one has a house-shaped cap.
“And the finest grade of Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi has a cap shaped like a dragon and phoenix; it’s a rare treasure that can scarcely be seen in the whole world. Make sure you look carefully.”
After Lin Xi finished speaking, she suddenly spotted something else, crouched again, took the dagger from her bosom, and cut down another lingzhi.
Yan Jue took one look and saw that the top was uneven, faintly shaped like a carriage; it was a lower-grade Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi.
She had to admit that this senior sister’s instincts were very sharp. The gap between the Late Illumination Stage and the Foundation Establishment Realm really was huge; she could actually spot Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi even while talking to them.
The group kept walking after that, but they didn’t find any more Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi.
Yan Jue followed slowly behind Lin Xi, observing the situation around them.
Although the two senior sisters were from the same sect and seemed to get along well, because they were far apart, they rarely spoke.
The whole team gradually fell into an eerie silence.
Yan Jue was happy to enjoy the quiet and couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of flowing water all around them.
The originally dim forest suddenly opened up ahead, and jagged rocks could faintly be seen.
Beyond the rocks was a little stream gurgling along.
Everyone froze for a moment.
Emptiness Mountain had many demon beasts.
Streams wound down from the mountain peak, and many Spirit Stones could be found in them.
Emptiness Mountain didn’t just produce Thousand-Top Divine Lingzhi; it also produced Spirit Stones.
This was a world of cultivation. In this world, ordinary gold and silver weren’t the main currency; Spirit Stones were what circulated in the market.
And according to legend, the streams on Emptiness Mountain held many extremely rare Spirit Stones!
The group emerged from the forest, and the surroundings brightened.
Stretching out before them was a long, steep slope, with the stream flowing down from the mountain.
Leaving the forest meant leaving the danger behind.
Sunlight reflected off the water, scattering ripples of glimmering light.
At that moment, everyone’s eyes fell on the leading senior sister, Lin Xi.
Without Lin Xi’s order, no one dared act on their own.
As someone at the Late Illumination Stage, Lin Xi naturally knew what this was. She pressed her lips together slightly and murmured, “It’s said that the streams on Emptiness Mountain are rich in Spirit Stones, but no one has ever encountered this stream... Could we have actually found it?”
Ji Guiyan widened her eyes and no longer cared about formation discipline. She hurried forward, grabbed Lin Xi’s sleeve, and cheered, “No way, Senior Sister! I drew a fortune hexagram before leaving home today, and it said I’d have good luck. I never thought we’d really find this stream!”
Lin Xi was still very cautious. She drew the sword at her waist and slowly approached the stream, afraid that some terrifying demon beast might suddenly leap out of the clear water.
The stream was perfectly still; there was nothing there. The only thing visible was the rare pale-gold gleam coming from the Spirit Stones at the bottom.
They were rare upper-grade Spirit Stones!
Lin Xi’s pupils widened slightly, and she immediately took out her Qiankun bag. Then she thought of something and turned back to look at the others. “This is a rare opportunity; come collect them.”
After all, she was only sixteen or seventeen. If this were the modern world, she’d just be a high school student; when something like this happened, the joy in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Ji Guiyan cheered and ran over, also taking out her Qiankun bag.
Du Ying grabbed Yan Jue’s sleeve. “My god, this senior sister leading us is really kind; she even let us collect them.”
“Does that mean that when we get back, we’ll be rich women?”
Yan Jue frowned at the excited backs of the others and suddenly felt that something was off.
Based on her years of reading cultivation novels, when had good fortune ever come this easily?
Du Ying: “Even the senior sister told us to go. There shouldn’t be any danger, right? Come on, Yan Jue.”
Yan Jue suddenly noticed something, and her pupils contracted sharply. “Careful!”
In an instant, Lin Xi withdrew her Qiankun bag; deep purple spiritual energy burst out from beside her, and her longsword was already drawn!
The silver-white immortal sword pointed straight at the water’s surface.
The water remained calm and undisturbed.
“..."
Lin Xi frowned and looked at Yan Jue. “What were you shouting about just now?”
Ji Guiyan, who had also been startled, said unhappily, “What was that for? You nearly scared me into a heart attack!”
Yan Jue pointed at the tiny insects in the water, her expression grave. “This insect... I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.”
Whenever she had free time, Yan Jue always ran to the Library Pavilion, and she had gone through the bestiary in Hundred Beasts Illustrated several times as well; but now that she was looking at these familiar insects in the stream, she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen them.
Sigh, skimming over things really wasn’t good.
Lin Xi followed Yan Jue’s gaze and saw several tiny black insects floating in the stream.
As if sensing that someone had invaded their territory, the black insects beat their wings in the water and kept spitting something toward the shore.
Lin Xi looked once and said, “They’re spitting water.”
The moment she finished speaking, Ji Guiyan laughed first. “Hahaha, Junior Sister Yan, you’re way too timid. It’s not like every demon beast in the world eats people. These are clearly just a bunch of... little bugs that attack by spitting water.”
Yan Jue: “..."
Is that so.
Lin Xi also smiled contemptuously and rolled up her pant legs before jumping into the water.
Maybe she had been reading too many cultivation novels and had imagined this deep mountain as being too dangerous.
Yan Jue shook her head and was about to step forward when she suddenly saw the little flying insects in the water tirelessly spitting at the shore.
But Lin Xi and Ji Guiyan had already gone into the water, so why were they still spitting toward the bank? Could it be that these were a group of insects with very little intelligence?
No.
Yan Jue’s pupils suddenly contracted; her gaze landed on the shadows of the two women on the shore.
One crystal-clear bead of water after another slid down from the air and landed exactly on the slanted shadows of the two women, as if rain were falling from the sky.
Scattered, yet orderly.
The black insects were actually spitting water at their shadows.
Then, one of the black insects in the water suddenly leapt up. Crystal-clear droplets traced a beautiful arc through the air and landed straight on Yan Jue’s shadow.
Yan Jue only felt a wave of dizziness before everything went dark.
Bad!
Yan Jue immediately began reciting the Mind-Calming Mantra; spiritual energy within her body rapidly circulated in a full cycle.
She steadied herself and looked toward Lin Xi and Ji Guiyan, only to find those black insects circling the two of them. Their tiny mouths were opened wide, and in the sunlight, one tiny tooth after another looked sharp and vicious.
And the two women had already fallen headfirst into the water!