I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 196 The Sword-Nourishing Gourd (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Jiang Yi folded the letter, gathered sword energy at her fingertips, and carved a line of words in the corner of the tombstone.

[On the Cold Dew Day of the Year of Ji-Mao, my old friend, Doctor Jiang…]

"Gah!" Bai Yu suddenly stretched his neck and cried out, his black bean-like eyes staring at her.

Jiang Yi paused, then said, "Okay, I'll add your name to it."

The sword energy rose again, stone chips fell in a flurry, and the inscription continued,
On the Cold Dew Day of the Year of Ji-Mao, my old friend, Doctor Jiang, stood with me, a large goose with white feathers.

She swept away the dust from the monument with a wave of her sleeve, took off the wooden branch that bound her hair, and replaced it with the silver hairpin with crane feathers.

"I'm leaving, Baiyu." Jiang Yi crouched down, looking directly at the goose that always quacked. "Are you coming with me, or staying here?"

White Feather staggered to the grave mound, spread its wings and pounced on the earth; it chose to stay.

Jiang Yi nodded, "Alright, then..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Yi remembered the instructions at the end of the letter.

"I'll go get the plum wine he buried, and we'll drink it before we part."

Jiang Yi used the Phantom Escape technique to descend the mountain and found the pear tree mentioned in Xiao Wujiu's letter, which was right behind his house.

Jiang Yi took a hoe and squatted down to dig the soil, one stroke at a time. When she dug up the wine, she also found a wooden box.

The wooden box was opened, revealing a gourd and a note inside.

[This time, the senior didn't slack off and diligently found the treasure I left behind (smiley face)]

This sword-nurturing gourd was passed down from my ancestors. When it came into my possession, the sword inside was gone. I've pondered it for many years without success.

My dad told me that when I die, if I have no descendants, I should give the gourd to a friend; if I have no friends, I should jump off a cliff with the gourd in my arms, haha.

Fortunately, I met a senior, so I presented him with this gourd and half a jar of plum wine, hoping that he could decipher the mystery within the gourd and have a long and prosperous connection with the immortals.

Jiang Yi chuckled and shook her head, then picked up the gourd from the box.

The gourd was heavy and purplish-black all over. Dark hemp rope was woven into a net that held the lower half of the gourd and connected it to the mouth of the gourd. The knots of the rope were simple and ancient. On the net were six rusty copper coins and a palm-sized tortoise shell.

The sword-nurturing gourd should have its mouth sealed with a sword, but now the mouth of the gourd is only sealed with a vine knot. Even so, when Jiang Yi holds the gourd in his hand, he can still feel the sword intent sealed inside. When he probes with his divine sense, he seems to hear the sound of a zither.

This gourd is extraordinary!
Jiang Yidu channeled his true essence and began the initial refinement of the magical artifact using the method of refining magic weapons.

A moment later, golden runes resembling earthworms lit up on the surface of the gourd, then disappeared in an instant, and Jiang Yi's consciousness was suddenly pulled into another world.

A magical treasure from a hidden cave!

Jiang Yi was shocked. She had never heard of anyone in Beixuan having such a thing. She only knew that there were a few in Dongzhou, and they were all controlled by top sects.

She never imagined that Xiao Wujiu would leave her such a valuable gift.

Xiao Wujiu's father was right. As long as they have spiritual roots, they can break through fate. All they need to do to refine this sword-nurturing gourd is true essence and divine sense.

Unfortunately, the curse of Heaven caused the Xiao family to die young generation after generation, until their lineage was wiped out.

The cause and effect, and the root of the Heavenly Curse, are now in her hands; she can no longer avoid them.

If it were her the day before yesterday, she would definitely be worried, anxious, and uneasy.

But now, she's more relaxed than before, and she doesn't worry about things that haven't happened yet.

Jiang Yi took down her original gourd and poured all the plum wine from the jar into it.

Back outside Xiao Wujiu's courtyard, Jiang Yi gently stroked the sword-nurturing gourd at her waist with her fingertips, gazing at the courtyard that had left such a deep impression on her, her eyes falling on the vegetable cellar where radishes were hidden.

She wanted to try the radish that had been touched by frost.

With a thought, Jiang Yi squatted down and placed her palms on the ground.

In an instant, Jiang Yi's divine sense spread like a tide, completely enveloping the entire small building and the newly planted peach trees outside the courtyard.

The ground trembled, and the soil churned. Jiang Yi frowned and used all his strength to lift the entire small building up, turning it into a stream of light and putting it into the sword-nurturing gourd.

The villagers of Quanshui Village were startled by the commotion and rushed out of their houses, only to find that the small courtyard had vanished into thin air, leaving only a large pit in its place.

The Dr. Jiang they knew, usually gentle and kind, stood there quietly, dressed in a blue Taoist robe with crane feather patterns sewn by Liu Niang, surrounded by a faint mist, both real and unreal.

"Dr. Jiang... is he a celestial master?!" someone stammered.

Jiang Yi turned around, smiled at everyone, and her eyes still held that familiar gentleness.

"I thank you all for your care during this time. I'll take my leave now." Without saying much, Jiang Yi simply cupped his hands slightly, and his figure transformed into a phantom, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.

The villagers stood there dumbfounded for a long time before they came to their senses.

"She is different from those aloof immortal masters."

"Yes, Dr. Jiang treated my little rascal without getting angry at all, but the stinky Taoist priests at Changying Temple would curse at me if they even glanced at me a couple of times."

"She just smiled at us and thanked us."

"Dr. Jiang, no, Master Jiang is truly a good person."

……

At the grave on the mountaintop, three earthen bowls were filled with amber-colored wine.

"The first bowl is for Mr. Xiao."

Jiang Yi poured wine into the earth.

"The second bowl is for Bai Yu."

The goose pecked at the rim of the bowl, and wine stains soaked its feathers.

"The third bowl..."

Jiang Yi looked up at the rising sun, said nothing, and simply tilted her head back to drink the wine.

It's all in the wine.

Jiang Yi put down the bowl, picked up the hairpin she had just dropped, tapped the bowl, and muttered to herself.

"A small courtyard with two or three rooms and a bamboo fence, where the zither plays in peace and the geese play in peace."

Half an acre of radishes, half an acre of land; whether green or yellow, they are both pleasing.

After the rain, I carried wine to watch the clouds and mist; the mountains and the moon were right before my eyes.

The boy smiled and asked how many characters were in the book. He was delighted whether he answered correctly or incorrectly.

Patched clothes are better than silk, suitable for both spring and winter.

Wild vegetables cooked freshly are enough for two meals a day; whether salty or bland, they taste sweet.

Drunk, I embrace the white feathers and reminisce about the passing years; life is like a cacophony, death is like a cacophony.

A handful of yellow earth tells of destiny; I envy neither immortals nor blame Heaven.

Mr. Xiao, I quite envy your life. Although you are only mortal, I have learned a great deal from you and benefited immensely. You may not know, but my Daoist name is Heying (Crane Shadow). Thank you for the music you gifted me that day.”

After finishing the wine in his bowl, Bai Yu suddenly flapped his wings and squawked loudly, drunkenly chasing his own shadow in circles.

Jiang Yi smiled, "Just as the letter said, he has a bad temper when drunk."

Jiang Yi buried the gourd containing the remaining plum wine in the grave and said softly, "Keep the rest of the wine for yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Yi pointed his fingers and the Broken Tribulation Sword flew out from his storage belt with a clear sword light, severing the only way to get here.

A spring rain falls, plants grow wildly, and no one will notice that there is still a grave here.

It's just a pity for Bai Yu, but Xiao Wujiu is right, geese also have their own way, and they choose their own way.

Out of selfishness, Jiang Yi left all the edible things on her body in front of the grave, along with three bowls of water gathered from the spring rain.

The original owner of the Yin-Yang Pendant had a snow demon guarding his body for three hundred years, and today Xiao Wujiu also has white feathers accompanying him...

"This humble Taoist priest, Jiang Heying, thanks Fellow Daoist Xiao for his guidance and gifts. Farewell, and may we never meet again."

Jiang Yi lightly touched the blue stone on the cliff edge with her toes, and in the midst of her fluttering clothes, she was already suspended in mid-air on her sword.

Bai Yu stopped chasing the shadow in his drunken state upon hearing the sound, tilted his neck and cackled, his black bean eyes reflecting the figure that soared into the air like a white crane.

The Sword of Destruction transformed into a rainbow piercing the sun, soaring straight into the sky and startling the birds that nestled among the mountains.

Jiang Heying came to overcome the tribulation, and left after breaking free from it.

　Still asking for monthly votes!

　　I've already achieved my goal of getting two thousand monthly tickets (I set a goal of two thousand, but I feel it wasn't enough; I underestimated everyone's ability, sob sob). I received an extra monthly ticket reward from Qidian, thank you all so much! After the double monthly ticket event ends on the 8th, I will add an extra chapter to thank everyone, in addition to the extra chapter for 500 monthly tickets. Thank you again!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)