I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 188 My Cousin (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Once the thought was made up, Jiang Yi put everything on his body into his storage belt, leaving only the water gourd and the Yin-Yang pendant, which could not be stored in it, hanging on his waist.

"Where do you live?"

Jiang Yi changed her clothes and came out. She used a twig she had broken off to tie her hair up on top of her head, like a Taoist bun. Paired with her blue cloth clothes, she did look like a young Taoist priest who had come out of a Taoist temple.

Xiao Wujiu glanced at Jiang Yi and then looked away, pointing down the mountain. "It's over there, at the foot of Yunfeng Ridge, in Quanshui Village. The nearest city is to the southwest. You can see it once you cross that mountain. It's called Wanning City."

What kind of temple do you worship here?

"Changying Temple, Daoist Yan."

Jiang Yi understood; this was Zhu Mingzong's territory.

Zhu Mingzong is located near the desert and governs Huangsha City and the Jinzhengyuan Secret Realm. In the past, she went to the Jinzhengyuan Secret Realm several times in order to obtain the remnant soul of the Fire Phoenix.

Zhu Ming represents summer, a time of flourishing growth, which extends to all things, causing vegetation to grow abundantly.

Therefore, the temple that Emperor Zhu Mingzong established in the mortal world was called "Changying Temple," and the people were instructed to worship "Yan Daoren," who was in charge of fire, so as to help increase the fire virtue of the sect.

"Take me to your village."

"Huh?" Xiao Wujiu glanced at Jiang Yi in surprise. "Our Quanshui Village is just a poor mountain village. Miss, you should go to Wanning City... Oh! This way, please!"

Seeing that Jiang Yi was holding a tael of silver in her hand, Xiao Wujiu immediately changed his mind and gestured for her to lead the way, kicking the goose Bai Yu.

This silver was given to her by Xin Wushuang that morning at Cangling Temple; she only had this one or two taels of silver, the equivalent of a mortal's silver.

Gah!
Jiang Yi followed the goose, while Xiao Wujiu put the silver in his mouth and bit it to confirm its authenticity, wary that it might be made of stone.

Seeing that it was indeed silver, Xiao Wujiu beamed and became much more attentive, following after Jiang Yi to lead the way.

"Your goose is called Baiyu? It's quite intelligent." Jiang Yi rarely took the initiative to start a conversation with someone.

Xiao Wujiu laughed and said, "That's true. I bought it intending to kill it and eat it, but when I took out the knife, it spread its wings and circled around, performing a dance for me. Although the dance was a bit ugly, it actually knew how to please me. I found it novel and kept it as a pet."

Gah!
Bai Yu spread his wings and flapped them.

Jiang Yi stopped talking and strolled along the mountain path in the spring, recalling the events of that day.

Since her master has arrived, he will certainly not let Wushuang get into trouble. She doesn't know if Wushuang has overcome the tribulation of love, but this time when she went out with Wushuang, she saw the righteous yet wicked side of Wushuang. Her family may be her only weakness.

It's likely that Wushuang will be able to overcome all difficulties smoothly, and it's only a matter of time before she passes the Heartbreak Tribulation; there's no need to worry.

Before Pei Zhixu died, he said that Song Ming possessed the power of a Holy Lord and was immortal. Jiang Yi didn't understand this. Did Song Ming have this immortal power before he met her, or did he acquire it after meeting her?

Song Ming had previously practiced the "Azure Wood Nourishing Yuan Technique," which was related to the Azure Emperor. Could it be related to this power of immortality? Should she die again to verify it?
Jiang Yi chuckled to himself; the existing clues were insufficient, and Jiang Yi could not deduce a reliable answer.

When I return to the sect, I must tell my master that this cultivation method should be put away for now and not allowed to be practiced by other disciples, just in case.

As for Pei Zhixu being possessed in the end, Jiang Yi took the woman's words as nonsense. The people of the Dream Immortal Sect were best at manipulating people's hearts, and she would not fall for it.

Jiang Yi pondered why Pei Zhixu was highly valued by the Dream Immortal Sect. Perhaps it was because he was able to spread the Dream Immortal Sect's doctrines on a large scale in the mortal realm. He had previously heard Wushuang's family mention it... writing letters and copying books!

Pei Zhixu had been writing letters for others in town and copying books for the bookstore to sell. This maggot must have been smuggling in his own stuff, especially those chivalrous novels about mortals entering the path of immortality. If he tampered with the ink, it would be easy to lure people into dreams after they bought the books, and they would slowly become members of the Dream Immortal Cult.

After all, not just anyone can parasitize a cultivator. If you send a farmer who knows nothing to do it, he'll be exposed as soon as he gets inside. It's better to use someone who's educated and has some shrewdness.

It's possible that the bookstores Pei Zhixu visited also had problems, with deeper connections behind them. However, given her master's intelligence, he would definitely think of this, so she didn't need to worry too much.

Gathering her scattered thoughts, Jiang Yi glanced at the surrounding green mountains. Unconsciously, another year had passed, and her current body was already sixteen years old. Last time, she only reached the Foundation Establishment stage at eighteen, went out to travel at twenty, and didn't break through the Heart Tribulation until she was twenty-five, entering the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

In the early stages of sword cultivation, one must learn sword techniques, strengthen one's muscles and bones, and condense the spiritual energy in the dantian into sword energy. The time from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment is longer than that of other Taoist sects, but this also lays a strong foundation for sword cultivation at an early stage.

Now that she's no longer a sword cultivator, her cultivation progress is much faster than before. Even if she's delayed for a year or two, it won't be a big deal.

Once your problem is resolved, you can go to Huangsha City to send a message to your master to let him know you are safe, and then see if you can find a suitable earth-based cultivation method.

Zhu Mingzong is not far from Songjiang City. Shen Puning's family lives there. It is precisely because of the existence of the demon-hunting Shen family that Songjiang City holds demon spirit appreciation and trading fairs all year round, where all kinds of demon spirits from the entire Beixuan can be found.

In addition, Zhu Mingzong, the Shen family of Songjiang City, the Hu family of Huangsha City, and several other forces hold a demon-hunting and treasure-hunting tournament in Jinzheng Plain every ten years, inviting heroes from all over the world to participate. Judging by the time, the next one will be in two years.

She missed the time last time and didn't participate, but she can give it a try this time; maybe she'll have some unexpected gains.

……

Quanshui Village is surrounded by mountains and water, with a clear stream meandering through the village, dividing it into east and west halves.

It was spring planting season, and smoke curled from chimneys throughout the village, accompanied by the sounds of chickens and dogs. In the distance, terraced fields cascaded down, dotted with the figures of villagers bending over to plant rice seedlings, creating a scene reminiscent of a traditional Chinese ink painting. From afar, Xiao Wujiu saw several women sitting together sewing shoe soles under the old locust tree behind the village, and his scalp tightened.

He stopped and looked at Jiang Yi, his expression troubled. Finally, he lowered his head, steeled himself, and led Jiang Yi past the old locust tree, quickening his pace considerably.

Jiang Yi chuckled. This was the village intelligence organization that was known for its reputation; anyone who walked past them would be ruined.

Sure enough, as they passed by, the women immediately looked up and their eyes lit up.

"Mr. Xiao is back!"

A woman with a blue headscarf greeted them with a smile, but her eyes kept glancing at Jiang Yi. She was amazed by Jiang Yi's ethereal beauty and stood up from her small stool, staring intently at her.

"This female Taoist priest is..."

Just as Xiao Wujiu was about to speak, Jiang Yi casually blurted out, "I am his cousin."

"cousin?"

The women looked at each other in dismay. The girl looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, while Mr. Xiao was almost thirty.

"He is of a high generation but looks young."

Jiang Yi continued to spout nonsense, her tone as calm as if she were stating a perfectly ordinary fact.

Xiao Wujiu's lips twitched, while Bai Yu cackled beside him, as if mocking him for being shorter for no reason.

"Aunties, you're all busy."

Xiao Wujiu walked briskly along the bluestone path towards the hillside, using his light footwork.

Jiang Yi followed at a leisurely pace, and Xiao Wujiu's courtyard gradually came into view.

In the courtyard enclosed by a bamboo fence, several wild morning glories climbed up and bloomed brightly.

Pushing open the fence gate, a two-story wooden house stands quietly. The yard is very tidy, with some wood and half-finished carpentry work piled up in the corner. Several strings of bright red dried chili peppers hang at the kitchen door, giving it a very homey feel.

A stone tablet comes into view at the corner of the kitchen's outer wall, with the words "Tomb of Xiao Wujiu" engraved on it.

"Xiao Wujiu is..." Jiang Yi stopped and asked, pointing her chin toward the stone tablet.

Xiao Wujiu put the basket on the ground and answered casually, "It's me."

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any more questions.

Her gaze was drawn to the second floor, where there was a piano table and tea set. The outdoor platform had no railings to block the view, offering an excellent vista of the entire village and the terraced fields in the distance.

Jiang Yi looked intently at the well-preserved guqin on the zither table. The original owner of the Two Elements Pendant, that white-robed cultivator, was also skilled in playing the zither.

“It’s windy upstairs, but it’s nice for stargazing,” Xiao Wujiu explained, following her gaze. “On summer nights, you can also hear a chorus of frogs croaking in the rice paddies.”

In this small courtyard, the downstairs is for making a living, and the upstairs is for living.

Xiao Wujiu pushed open the wooden door to the inner room, where the furnishings were simple yet cozy.

A low bed, a bookshelf, and several calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, the brushstrokes free and unrestrained, yet subtly sharp.

“If you don’t mind, cousin, you can stay here for a while. I have to teach the children to read during the day and do some carpentry work. I’ll stay at Old Wang’s house next door tonight. You can lock the door.”

Xiao Wujiu called her "cousin" quite naturally and took out a set of bedding from the cabinet.

"My place is a bit simple, but the bedding is clean. It's only one or two taels of silver. I can only let my cousin stay for five days at most, but meals are not included and will be charged separately."

Jiang Yi's gaze swept over the terraced fields outside the courtyard. A spring breeze blew, and the tender green rice seedlings swayed in the wind. The laughter of the farmers could be faintly heard.

Bai Yu strolled up to her feet without her noticing, placed a morning glory on her shoe with it in his mouth, and then walked away with his head held high, looking like a playboy who had just finished being attentive and was now pretending to be aloof.

Xiao Wujiu poked Bai Yu's head speechlessly.

Jiang Yi's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. "You can live in the house yourself, and I'll lend you the second floor. You can pretend I don't exist on weekdays. You don't need to be fed. Just do whatever you need to do."

Xiao Wujiu's pupils trembled. "Could my cousin be... a Foundation Establishment cultivator who has already achieved the state of abstaining from grains?"

Jiang Yi turned to look at him. "So you really do know. Then I'll be frank. You look exactly like a senior I know well. So I'm very curious about your past. If you don't mind, could you tell me a little about it to clear up my doubts?"

(End of this chapter)