NFBE Chapter 74 Strolling in the Back Mountain
Chapter 74 Strolling in the Back Mountain
"Brother Jincheng, when do you think the Ancestor will be back? It seems like it's been quite a while since we've seen her."
Holding her sect's standard-issue sword, Miao Xiaohua asked Zhu Jincheng, who was walking ahead, without showing any emotion.
"Hey, what business is it of our ancestors? We count the days, but those with high cultivation levels live like sand, they don't even count the days."
"That's true. It's just that I haven't seen the Ancestor for too long and I miss her a bit. This mountain is nice, but it gets a bit boring with just the three of us all day."
"It's not like our ancestors forbid us from going down the mountain. If you're bored, just go down and visit them. Didn't you have a pretty good girlfriend before? Why don't you go visit her?"
Speaking of this, Miao Xiaohua's expression became somewhat downcast: "Ever since I went to the top, she hasn't paid any attention to me. When I go to see her, she always avoids me..."
"Hey, it's no big deal. Old Tian's brothers are the same. Last time Old Tian went to see them, he almost got beaten up. A bunch of bastards who can't stand seeing others do well, Old Tian, don't you think?"
Ding Tian, suddenly brought up, replied sullenly, "I... I just want to focus on my cultivation. I shouldn't have any hope for anything else."
Zhu Jincheng came over and put his arm around his shoulder, jokingly saying, "Of the three of us, you've made the fastest progress. You've reached the sixth level of Qi Refining in just two years. Don't push yourself so hard. Sometimes you should relax. You're making us all tense all the time. Even Xiaohua isn't as anxious as you."
“Just talk about him, why drag me into this?”
Miao Xiaohua was slightly dissatisfied. Among the three, her cultivation level was the lowest. She watched as Ding Tian, who usually spoke the least, quietly entered the second floor. She was anxious but helpless.
The ancestor gave her a ten-year deadline, and one-fifth of that time has passed, yet she hasn't made any progress. She's very anxious.
"cough."
A clearing of the throat interrupted their conversation. All three of them were startled and looked toward the room at the same time. There stood the person who had been missing for almost three years.
After their initial surprise, the three hurriedly bowed and said, "Welcome back, Ancestor!"
Liu Xingxing slowly walked over: "Yes, everyone get up."
Miao Xiaohua happily moved closer to Liu Xingxing and asked, "Ancestor, when did you come back?"
"Just got back. It's been over two years. You've all improved a lot. How's the puppet I made? Is it working well?"
Zhu Jincheng replied, "It works great. The puppet made by the ancestor is flawless. It's just that we are really limited in talent, and our cultivation progress is very slow."
"Slow progress is better than no progress at all. I just overheard you guys talking and Xiao Ding is making the fastest progress, right? Xiao Ding, come here and let me see."
Ding Tian looked up at Liu Xingxing with bright eyes and took two steps closer.
Liu Xingxing reached out and touched his crown for a moment, then withdrew her hand.
"Yes, the foundation is solid, and there is no sign of superficiality. It is indeed very good."
Ding Tian's joy was palpable: "Thank you for your praise, Ancestor."
"Xiao Zhu and Xiao Hua, you two need to work harder and learn more from Xiao Ding. However, even so, you must not be greedy and rash."
Zhu Jincheng and Miao Xiaohua were somewhat ashamed: "We will keep in mind the teachings of our ancestor."
"These are some local delicacies I brought back from outside. Please share them and have a taste. Oh, and here are the allowances for the past two years as well. This extra bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pill is a reward for Xiao Ding, who has made the most progress."
With a wave of her hand, Liu Xingxing placed all sorts of food on the stone table beside her, and the portions were delivered directly to them.
With money and good food, the three were even happier, feeling incredibly fortunate that the sect leader had chosen them to come up the mountain to serve the patriarch.
The three replied in unison, "Thank you, Ancestor!"
Zhu Jincheng and Miao Xiaohua were no longer upset about being lectured earlier, and were secretly delighted.
However, the three of them were very well-behaved and did not immediately start picking at the newly acquired items. They waited until Liu Xingxing finished giving some instructions and left before they began to eat the food on the table.
"Mmm, this is delicious! You guys should try it!"
"This is delicious too! Our ancestors are so kind to us!"
The three of them, like hamsters, started devouring the food.
Liu Xingxing, who had just left her things behind, didn't have anything urgent to do. She must have been really tired after traveling for half a day. She wandered around the mountaintop for a while, until she saw a crystal-clear lake and stopped.
This lake must be the one that draws water from the courtyard. Although she had lived on Qiwu Peak for a while, she had rarely explored the mountain. This lake was the first time she had ever seen it.
"That's it."
Liu Xingxing sat down cross-legged and rested in the beautiful mountain stream and lake.
Actually, she wasn't that tired after traveling for only half a day, but she didn't know why she was becoming more and more fond of meditation. Unlike when she first transmigrated, she no longer needed to lie down to sleep. Now, she could fall asleep while meditating.
She hasn't changed much when it comes to food; she still loves to eat everything and often buys and stocks up on delicious food. The food she gave to the three before was just the tip of the iceberg. Her storage ring is still piled with all sorts of snacks, and she takes one out from time to time to satisfy her cravings.
I don't know whether she has been assimilated or not.
To be honest, she hadn't seriously studied the extra "golden core" in her sea of consciousness yet, and didn't know what it was for.
Thinking of this, Liu Xingxing opened her eyes again, and with a thought, opened her sea of consciousness and took out the shining "golden pill".
The "Golden Pill" lay quietly in my palm without any unusual reaction; its slightly cool touch was no different from that of ordinary pills.
Liu Xingxing curiously picked it up and held it above her head, trying to see what was inside by the light of day. But her hand trembled and the "golden pill" came crashing down on her.
"Grass!"
Liu Xingxing reflexively closed her eyes; if such a big bead hit her eye, she would go blind!
As a result, the "Golden Elixir" transformed into a beam of light and shot into Liu Xingxing's eyes just a second before she closed them.
"Eh?"
Liu Xingxing rubbed her eyes and blinked several times. Her right eye was blurry for a while before clearing up again, as if nothing had happened.
I looked up into the distance, and wow, my eyesight seems even better than before, as if I had a high-definition blue light camera installed in my eyes.
If a typical high-level cultivator can sense the flapping of a fly's wings ten miles away with their divine sense, then she can see the flapping of a fly's wings ten miles away with her naked eye.
"Holy crap, this is outrageous!"
Liu Xingxing rubbed her eyes in disbelief, opened them again, and saw the same thing. Despairing, Liu Xingxing lay down on the grass.
"What the hell? Did I agree to this before you flew into my eyes?!"
She shouldn't have been so foolish as to bring this thing out to look at, but so far, apart from improving her eyesight, she hasn't experienced any discomfort. She doesn't know if there are any side effects.
Liu Xingxing did a sit-up, channeling her spiritual energy into one hand. She silently observed the swirling spiritual power in her hand for a while, then suddenly gave up.
The thought of gouging out your own eyeballs is terrifying.
"Forget it."
Judging from the current situation, it's probably something related to me again.
Everything has its own reason for existence. Just like last time in Yunhai Bitian, she couldn't explain why that inexplicable person kept calling her "Xing'er".
Liu Xingxing always felt that this bead was connected to her in some way, a subconscious feeling, but she couldn't explain it now.
I looked up at the clear sky for a while. It was midday, and the early summer weather was warm and pleasant, but it still felt a bit hot after being in the sun for a while.
The location chosen for Xuanshan Gate happens to be one of the few areas that still has all four seasons, so more subtle changes can be clearly felt.
After the commotion, Liu Xingxing lost her will to meditate and instead began to idly observe her surroundings.
The clear, cool Twilight Lake and the lush green meadows complement each other perfectly. The ethereal, lingering mist and the occasional calls of mythical beasts echoing from the mountains make it seem like Qiwu Peak is a truly wonderful place, with scenery that rivals other famous scenic spots.
As the best mountain in the Xuanshan Sect, these things are naturally not bad, but Liu Xingxing only realized this today.
Two or three low-level spirit beasts seemed unafraid of people. From initially being tentative, they now leisurely came out to forage for food, completely ignoring Liu Xingxing as she passed by.
Liu Xingxing watched as a spirit beast resembling a small deer brazenly nibbled on the tender grass in front of her. Intrigued, she took out a few fruits from her storage ring and held them in her hand to lure the beast over to eat.
The spirit beast also cooperated by coming over and eating the fruit in her hand, showing no fear of people at all.
Liu Xingxing curiously reached out her other hand and gently stroked it. The touch was surprisingly good, and the spirit beast showed no resistance.
Liu Xingxing spent the whole afternoon feeding the spirit beasts in the back mountain as if she had discovered a new continent. She caught one and fed it to everyone, and she was still not satisfied until dark, completely forgetting about the bead.