Half a year later.
In the third month of spring, the willow trees were green, the flowers were red, and all things were being revived.
Outside the courtyard at the foot of Heavenly Cry Peak, a tabby cat crouched in the grass by the courtyard wall, fully alert in a hunting stance, its erald eyes locked onto the white tiger swaggering up from the slope below.
ow!!
Just as Mountain Lord Qionglin reached the gate of the courtyard, the tabby cat sprang out, pouncing in front of Mountain Lord Qionglin, launching a flurry of relentless claws, and then darted back into the courtyard wall with lightning speed.
Moving so swiftly, Mountain Lord Qionglin was left dazed after being struck, its raised forepaw still suspended mid-air, forgotten to be put down.
After a mont, a tiger’s roar shook the mountains and forests; in a burst of anger, Mountain Lord Qionglin charged into the courtyard and saw the small Cat Demon hiding among the peach blossoms, looking down from above.
Mountain Lord Qionglin’s eyes widened, and a golden ray appeared out of nowhere, chopping directly at the branch beneath the Cat Demon’s feet.
At this mont, a Crane Cry sounded from an unknown source, and a feather-soft as nothing drifted down, effortlessly dispersing the golden light conjured by the Tiger Demon of Mid-Stage Golden Core.
The tabby cat and Mountain Lord Qionglin both turned their heads towards the depth of the courtyard.
There, a woman in white, holding a white parasol adorned with feather-like motifs, walked gracefully, the umbrella’s canopy tilted to shield her face, exuding an air of Immortal Spirit Qi.
Mountain Lord Qionglin involuntarily took half a step back; clearly at Late-Stage Foundation Establishnt, yet she gave it a sense of heavy oppression.
"Mountain Lord, long ti no see~"
A voice clear and moist as a mountain spring ca from under the umbrella, making Mountain Lord Qionglin’s tiger ears twitch when the umbrella lifted to reveal Jiang Yuebai’s charming smile.
"Awooo~~"
Mountain Lord Qionglin let out a joyful cry, leaping over to bounce around Jiang Yuebai happily, nudging her with its large head, only to be held down by Jiang Yuebai.
"Stop fooling around; you’re an old tiger now, be more mature."
"ow ow!!"
A cat’s ow drew Jiang Yuebai’s gaze upward, where she saw the tabby cat dashing over from the peach tree. She spun the Taihe Umbrella and caught the tabby cat mid-air with her hands, gripping under its armpits.
The Taihe Umbrella turned into a white light and rged into Jiang Yuebai’s body. The tabby cat struggled excitedly in her hands, its erald eyes misty, owing continuously.
"Where did this cat co from? Why does it look so familiar?"
Jiang Yuebai scrutinized the tabby cat.
"Ah! You are Danggui, right? You actually ca to Heavenly Interence Sect to find ."
Back when visiting her grandfather’s hotown to seek the legacy of Wuwei Mountain Man, she t the Cat Demon Danggui in Qingxi Town, leaving it a ssage Paper Crane, telling it to wait until its owner ca a hundred years later to Heavenly Interence Sect, unexpectedly it really ca looking.
Danggui nodded vigorously, breaking free from Jiang Yuebai’s hands to jump onto her shoulder, affectionately rubbing its head against Jiang Yuebai’s face, owing continuously.
In seeing this, Mountain Lord Qionglin approached Jiang Yuebai slowly, emitting a wounded whimper, suddenly catching a scent on her that ignited excitent.
Danggui, sitting on Jiang Yuebai’s shoulder, sniffed too, even raising its upper body to get closer to the bun on Jiang Yuebai’s head.
At this mont, her bun was adorned with the Orchid Hairpin she obtained from the Alchemy Association; during her seclusion, she discovered this hairpin, like the one she originally had, could conceal the foreign Qi she emitted.
However, this Orchid Hairpin was even better; it could even conceal the aura of the Innate Spiritual Object within her; perhaps by coincidence, or perhaps the president of the Alchemy Master Guild had discovered sothing and purposefully given it to her.
Seeing Danggui extending its paw to claw at her bun, Jiang Yuebai grabbed Danggui down and placed it atop Mountain Lord Qionglin’s tiger head.
"Both of you, stop causing trouble. Mountain Lord, do you know where Qii Ming is?"
Mountain Lord Qionglin shook Danggui off its head, suspiciously glancing at Jiang Yuebai, motioning her to follow.
Jiang Yuebai followed Mountain Lord Qionglin, with Danggui accompanying her, heading together to find Qii Ming.
Jiang Yuebai had long known that her master brought Mountain Lord Qionglin to Heavenly Cry Peak to guard the mountain.
Mountain Lord Qionglin was a Tiger Demon, and Danggui a Cat Demon, perchance they could beco master and disciple.
Her cultivation progress in the past half-year had been smooth; all the Green Cicada Child Coins had been refined and absorbed, smoothly entering Late-Stage Foundation Establishnt.
Now only one Green Cicada Mother Coin remained; the Mother Coin was sentient, and she dared not refin it recklessly, needing either her master or the Supre Elder to protect her.
The sacrificial refining of the Taihe Umbrella went smoothly; learning of the Spiritual Tree Grafting thod had its initial success, pending practical validation.
The second piece of "Green Lotus lody," ’Clear Heart Song,’ was also learned; this song could invigorate the spirit, break obstacles, dispel evil, and was also miraculously effective for breaking Illusion Arrays and illusions. As per the description, it could even gradually awaken those who had fallen into deviation.
There was only the last Killing Song in the "Green Lotus lody" left; the Demon Language was too obscure. She had only translated the beginning, suggesting it was an extraordinarily powerful Killing Song.
When Mountain Lord Qionglin led Jiang Yuebai to find Qii Ming, he had just returned from outside, holding a handful of invitation cards, looking troubled.
"Qii Ming."
From a distance, Jiang Yuebai called, and upon seeing her, Qii Ming retracted his worried expression, a bit of light shone in his eyes.
"Congratulations on erging from seclusion, Senior Sister Jiang, reaching new heights!"
Jiang Yuebai nodded, "What’s the matter?"
Qii Ming held up the invitation cards, chuckling, "These are all invitations to et and invite Senior Sister Jiang. You’ve been back for half a year, and still, so many invitations co daily."
Jiang Yuebai nodded, not asking who wanted to see her; she first inquired about Danggui’s matter, learning the little one had arrived at Heavenly Interence Sect during her closed-door cultivation.
It was fortunate, eting Qii Yue returning from a task. Qii Yue recognized the ssage Paper Crane Danggui carried in its mouth, bearing Jiang Yuebai’s mark, and thus brought it back.
"Where is my master?"
"Together with True Monarch Yinghuai, they went to Pingjiang Domain and haven’t returned yet. However, True Monarch Jiuchuan instructed that if you erged from seclusion, you should visit the Supre Elder." Qii Ming said.
Jiang Yuebai frowned slightly, True Monarch Yinghuai Lu Yinghuai was also a mber of the Lu Family, but having joined Heavenly Interence Sect, his ties with the Lu Family had weakened. Returning now may be to deal with so unresolved matters.
"I was planning to visit the Supre Elder. Also, have Qii Yue and Guo Zhen organize the financial results and business logs for Huaxi Valley from the past few years; I want to review them upon my return. Additionally, check with Inner Affairs Hall how many plots in Heavenly Interence Sect are vacant and prepare a map for ."
"Lastly, please deliver an invitation to True Monarch Cang Huo for . I wish to consult so matters regarding the refinent of Spiritual Artifacts after returning from the Supre Elder’s place. Make a note of this on the invitation."
Qii Ming morized it all, "Rest assured, Senior Sister Jiang, I’ve taken note of everything."
"Thank you, Qii Ming. Without you and your sister, my master and I couldn’t have been such relaxed shopkeepers regarding Heavenly Cry Peak and Huaxi Valley? Here, I have four Seventh-Grade Magical Artifacts we don’t need; distribute them to you siblings, along with Guo Zhen and Shi Xiaowu, one each."
"Mountain Lord, here’s so Spiritual Wine for you; you can share so with your friends, and I’ll go see the Supre Elder first."
Without letting them refuse, Jiang Yuebai handed the artifacts to Qii Ming, leaving behind three large jars of Spiritual Wine.
White feathers from the Taihe Umbrella scattered from all over her body, quickly forming into an elegant Immortal Crane that carried Jiang Yuebai high into the sky, vanishing with a clear Crane Cry.
"Awoo!"
Mountain Lord Qionglin frolicked around the wine jars, batting away Danggui, who tried to climb up and sneak a drink.
Qii Ming held the four different magical artifacts joyfully; seventh-grade magical artifacts were the best a Foundation Establishnt Cultivator could use.
They were easy for a Direct Disciple like Jiang Yuebai to obtain but exceedingly rare for Outer Sect disciples with average qualifications. He had made a fortune at the Wind and Cloud eting but hadn’t splurged on buying one for himself.
Qii Ming smiled knowingly, grateful Yang Yue had chosen Jiang Yuebai back then, paving a bright path away from darkness for him.
At Fengyu Peak.
Placing the Spiritual Wine she ticulously collected in front of the untidy Wenn Miao, the latter rubbed her hands in joy.
"Supre Elder, you see, these are the most authentic local wines I specifically sought out from many clans in the Witch Clan, including tender and juicy bamboo worms. They say drinking a sip and chewing them makes them burst instantly!"
Wenn Miao’s smile gradually vanished.
"And this centipede wine uses the most poisonous green centipedes from the Ten Thousand Mountains. See these distinct centipede legs? I hear chewing them makes the outer shell crunchy and the inside like aspic."
Wenn Miao’s face gradually turned pale.
"And this one, the rarest is the toad-bond wine; do you know what toad-bond is? It’s the poison extracted from those poisonous toads full of warts..."
"That’s enough!"
Wenn Miao grew exasperated, flinging her shoe at Jiang Yuebai.
"You cheeky girl!!"
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