I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 236 One Year (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
April of the year Xin Si.

As dawn broke and the mist over the town lingered, the tops of the old locust trees in the blue-brick courtyard were already tinged with a pale gold.

Jiang Yi awoke from her long dream, slowly opening her eyes. A thousand worldly dust seemed to pass through her eyes, only to return to a state of clarity.

A loose blue dress hung on her body, making her figure appear even thinner.

Jiang Yi walked barefoot on the cool blue brick floor, using a silver hairpin to tie up her loose hair as she went.

Pushing open the window, the morning breeze caressed her face, carrying with it the smoke from cooking fires and the hustle and bustle of the morning market. Jiang Yi smiled slightly, her fingertips gently stroking the sword-nurturing gourd at her waist.

During that year, she played the zither and practiced swordsmanship in this small courtyard in the mortal world. She also learned to carve wooden hairpins and occasionally went out to set up a stall to make a living in the mortal world.

In addition to her steadily improving cultivation level and the condensation of seven Divine Consciousness Star Swords, her state of mind is also more peaceful than before.

She often enters the dreams of mortals, witnessing all the joys and sorrows, and experiencing all the bitterness and sweetness of life.

There are sweet whispers between newlyweds, the grief of parents burying their children, the ecstatic joy of scholars who have studied hard for years and passed the imperial examinations, and the weariness and resilience of street vendors struggling to make a living.

These dreams, like a gentle stream, silently permeated her state of mind, gradually easing the tension in her mind caused by the battles in the cultivation world, and giving her a more detached and open-minded perspective.

The conflicts of the cultivation world seemed like distant matters, while the mundane world before her stirred a sense of longing and a yearning for immortality within her.

Zhu Mingzong's treasure-hunting competition is approaching, and it's time for her to go back.

Thinking this to herself, Jiang Yi did not make any move. She simply stood quietly by the window, letting the morning light fall on her shoulders, as if she had become one with the mortal world, yet also as if she had already transcended it.

During this time, she did not distance herself from the world, nor did she ponder the 'Tao', yet she felt closer to the 'Tao' than ever before.

She can now say without any shame that when she forms her core in the future, she will not need any external aids or forces and will definitely not be troubled by inner demons.

"There is one last thing to do before returning to the cultivation world."

Jiang Yi closed the window and slipped into Youxian Ferry.

As the year passed, the five hundred acres of spiritual fields in Youxian Ferry rippled like green waves, and various spiritual herbs stretched their branches and leaves, glistening with a lustrous sheen in the morning dew.

Swarms of green ribbon bees flitted through the medicinal field, pollinating the flowering herbs.

A dozen or so leaf-eared rabbits hopped by, their tail buds already blooming into snowballs, releasing a refreshing and invigorating fragrance with each leap.

The lead gray rabbit suddenly became alert, pricked up its ears, and led the other leaf-eared rabbits to dart into the herb bushes and disappear.

Seeing this, Hong Li, who was crawling forward hidden among the medicinal herbs, suddenly poked her fiery red head out from among the tender leaves. After seeing that the Leaf-Eared Rabbit had disappeared, she collapsed to the ground in frustration, drooling sadly from the corner of her mouth.

Beneath the flowering spirit fruit tree by the roadside, the Green Wood Cauldron lay tilted on the ground, with several clumps of charred medicinal residue scattered around it, clearly indicating that it had just experienced another disastrous pill-refining failure.

If the Azure Emperor were alive, seeing his precious cauldron being kicked over by Hong Li every day, he would probably curse her as a beast and then throw her into the cauldron to be refined.

That year, Hongli's alchemy failed repeatedly. At first, she couldn't figure out why. Later, after discussing it carefully with Hongli, she discovered that it was because Hongli had absorbed the Yin-Erosion Moth Fire, and her own firepower was too strong and difficult to control, which caused the pills to always be burned.

To solve this problem, we need to infuse bird souls into the three Azure Phoenix legs of the Azure Wood Cauldron to enhance its fire control capabilities.

There's no rush. Zhu Mingzong's Golden Zhengyuan Secret Realm originally contained some remnants of ancient bird souls, and she even found a remnant of a fire phoenix soul there before.

Despite failing at alchemy, Hong Li managed to accomplish one thing, aside from her sporadic attempts at weapon crafting.

Hong Li has successfully produced barbecue-flavored fasting pills!

She had to thank Pu Ning for bringing her the barbecue seasoning and monster meat.

She planned to wait until Hong Li obtained her alchemist certificate and had her own trademark before promoting the barbecue-flavored fasting pills. At that time, the name of alchemist Hong Li would surely become famous throughout Bei Xuan!

Jiang Yi looked away and saw two clouds busy at work in the distance.

Small clouds spread rain and irrigate the sacred fields.

The larger cloud formations transformed into the shadows of white cranes, their feathers imbued with the power of ice phoenixes. Their bodies crackled with lightning, stirring up torrents of arrows as they battled against the sea of ​​sword energy.

Two months ago, with her assistance, Hua Gu mastered the soul-splitting technique of the Heavenly Heart Ancestor, splitting her body in two.

The demon seed remained in the main body, while a portion of its divine soul resided in the secondary body, allowing for splitting and merging at any time. Hua Gu had also absorbed Lan Shui Yan's demon seed, and all spells except 'Water Shadow Shuttle' had been perfectly inherited by Hua Gu.

Hua Gu knew that she liked white cranes, so she practiced hard and transformed the ice phoenix form of 'Ice Phoenix Shadow' into the 'White Crane Shadow' that now carries the chilling aura of an ice phoenix.

Now, Hua Gu is managing to balance cultivation and work, even more so than she did back then. Even Hong Li has benefited from Hua Gu's crazy cultivation thanks to the Two Elements Pendant, and has recently started to enjoy a life of effortless success.

Hongli, this rebellious girl!

Foxes are naturally intelligent, and they are clever in a cunning way. This intelligence can also make Hong Li lazy and prone to cheating, since she herself is like that.

You can't get away with not deceiving Hong Li. If you treat Hong Li the same way you treat Hua Gu, talking about feelings, reason, and telling the truth, you'll end up being manipulated and controlled by Hong Li.

Hong Li also coveted the soul-splitting technique of the Heavenly Heart Ancestor, but this technique is currently only suitable for Hua Gu to learn, because Hua Gu's soul was split open by her sword. Hua Gu's cloud-like body would not be fatally injured by this sword, but only wounded.

The method was crazy, but it also fit the characteristics of the Heavenly Heart Ancestor.

Hong Li is no match for it; one strike from her could slice its brains in two, and it simply couldn't withstand it.

Over at the Hall of Inheritance...

Jiang Yi sighed. She still couldn't break the Seven-String Restriction; the Heavenly Sound Demon-Slaying Melody was still missing something.

Jiang Yi walked straight towards the volcanic cave that had been converted into a "soldier-training cave".

The clanging and hammering of forging echoed continuously, and the fire inside the cave blazed fiercely, making the mountain-suppressing figure on the rock wall appear like a giant spirit descending from heaven.

He was hammering away at the copper material to be used for the spirit-gathering lamp, hammering with all his might, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

Duan Jin sat to the side, holding the jade slip, frowning and deep in thought. In front of him were all the Five Elements Array Flags that had failed to be refined before, and he was thinking about the reasons for the failure.

In the corner, there were piles of 'Spirit Storage Bottles' and 'Spirit Gathering Lamps' that they had successfully crafted throughout the year; selling them would allow them to recoup some of their costs.

"Suppressing Mountain and Breaking Gold." Jiang Yi called out softly and walked over.

"Lord!"

Zhenshan and Duanjin stopped what they were doing, walked up to Jiang Yi, and bowed respectfully, fully embodying the etiquette of the human race.

Jiang Yi nodded with her chin at the five elemental array flags and asked Duan Jin, "Do you know why we failed?"

Duan Jin truthfully replied, "The Five Elements Forbidden Array that our lord is about to refine comes from ancient times. The power of the array patterns is too strong, and the materials we currently have are not enough to support the power of the array patterns. Also, the heat of the forging is not enough, and the power of the final quenching to activate the array patterns is not enough either."

Jiang Yi nodded, "That's what I thought too."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Jiang Yi smiled somewhat awkwardly. With Duan Jin flattering her like that, she really was getting carried away.

"Zhenshan, call Hongli and Huagu in. We need to work together to refine the array artifacts for the Five Elements Forbidden Array."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Zhenshan jogged away, while Jiang Yi flipped his hand and took out five old copper coins.

"The ancient formation can only be supported by materials that are also from ancient times. These five copper coins are what I took from the sword-nurturing gourd."

"The array patterns of the Five Elements Forbidden Array are equivalent to the number of thirty-six Heavenly Gangs. I have only completed one layer so far, but that is enough to refine the array artifact. I can slowly use my Divine Sense Star Sword to engrave the remaining array patterns and gradually increase the power of the array."

Jiang Yi wasn't particularly proficient in the art of weapon forging, but after studying the techniques of Zhenshan and Duanjin over the past year, he had gained some basic understanding.

However, she had studied sword formations extensively and had a good understanding of formation principles, so engraving formation patterns was not difficult for her.

The Five Elements Forbidden Array left by the Azure Emperor has protected the Azure Emperor Palace for thousands of years. This array combines defense, trapping, killing, and support, and its power is beyond question. Even if she can only use one-thirty-sixth of her power now, it is enough to deal with the crisis of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Even when encountering a Golden Core cultivator, with full power, there is still a chance to trap the enemy and counterattack.

Before long, Zhenshan, Huagu, and Hongli arrived at the weapon-refining cave. Jiang Yi and Duanjin carefully explained the process of refining the array weapon, and after ensuring that everyone remembered the key points, the refining officially began.

(End of this chapter)