Chapter 9 Cultivation (Part 5) The Vanished Books and Master's Wooden Staff...
"Doesn't anyone think they're a perfect match? Both are disciples of the sect leader, their strength is comparable, they cultivate together every day, from acquaintance to friendship to mutual respect and love... This is practically a standard plot from a comic book!"
"Hahaha, junior sister, you've been reading too many sketchbooks, haven't you? I think Senior Brother Xie and Senior Sister Shen are just like-minded friends."
"Hmm? Actually, you have a crush on Senior Sister Shen, and you're jealous, aren't you?"
"You...how is this possible! Don't talk nonsense..."
"Really? When Senior Sister came to help with the cultivation class before, I saw you trying your best to get a front row seat, your face turned red from squeezing!"
The sounds of boys and girls laughing and playing gradually faded away and disappeared at the end of the path.
Qingxing glanced in the direction they left and thought to herself: There aren't many disciples under the sect leader. She had only heard of the surnames "Xie" and "Chen" once from Guda.
They must be the male and female protagonists of this world.
Thinking of this, Qingxing became curious again, so she asked, "What are they cultivating?"
“They are both sword cultivators,” Gudako replied expressionlessly. “Oh, and by the way, they both have top-grade spiritual roots, one water and one fire.”
Fearing that Qingxing might be discouraged, it quickly added, "It's alright, aptitude doesn't represent everything. Aren't you also a top-grade spiritual root? We wood spiritual roots are just as good!"
When performing the apprenticeship ceremony, testing one's spiritual root attributes is a mandatory step, and Qingxing was naturally not exempt from it.
Among the disciples who joined the sect, she was the only one with a top-grade spiritual root. The elders sighed for a long time, envying Jiu Qu Chen while also lamenting Qing Xing's good fortune in becoming the disciple of such a good-for-nothing.
Although Jiuquchen had always let her roam freely.
If Qingxing hadn't malfunctioned in the magic array and caused trouble, thus arousing his already limited sense of responsibility, Qingxing would probably still be relying on himself to struggle on the path of cultivation, just like in his previous lives.
But in this life, with Gudako, everything changed.
Thinking of this, Qingxing sighed softly and hummed in response to Guda's words.
She didn't think much of them as just top-grade spiritual root sword cultivators; she simply lowered her eyes and pondered how she should deal with them if she encountered them during the inner sect test.
Seeing that she had been silent for so long, Guda thought it was a sign of a lack of confidence. As Qingxing's book spirit, he felt that he should encourage his master.
"Hey, don't be so down! They weren't invincible in the original book either. There was a world-destroying villain, wasn't there?" It smacked its lips as soon as it said that, then, realizing something was off, added, "Of course, I'm not saying the villain is invincible. After all, you're the chosen one!"
Upon hearing this, Qingxing exclaimed "Ah!" and turned to look at Gudako: "You mean, I'm the one who's invincible?"
"Of course! Otherwise I would have gone straight to the male and female leads!" Guda snorted disdainfully. "You were just led astray by Jiu Qu Chen's laziness in your previous lives. If Jiu Chao Ying had taken you as his disciple, your name would definitely be on the list of 'young talents' in the world today!"
"I see... But apart from my top-grade spiritual root, I don't seem to have anything special about me? Of course, if rebirth counts."
Qingxing casually uttered this question, waiting to hear Guda's answer.
To be honest, she still wanted to know why she had been reborn, even though Gudako didn't seem like the type to tell her.
"Nonsense! You're a genius at array formations! There aren't many people in the world who can use the Spirit Locking Pearl these days, let alone someone who's self-taught." Guda said to herself, completely ignoring the trap in Qingxing's words. "Master Qingxing, don't underestimate yourself. I dare to guarantee with the status of the Nameless Heavenly Book that you're very powerful!"
"OK."
Qingxing verbally agreed, but in her heart she wondered: Could it be that she asked too vaguely and Guda didn't understand the implication?
After hesitating for a moment, she still chose to ask, "There are many talented cultivators in the world, why did you choose me?"
"Master, this is the third time you've asked me this question. What's so troubling you?" Guda coughed lightly, seemingly not wanting Qingxing to ask again, and said helplessly, "Let me put it this way, you've been reborn so many times and you still have memories. You can't possibly say and do the same thing every time, can you?"
"Since you're different, it's normal for the Heavenly Book to notice you. All things considered, you're more accepting of 'finding the villain,' so naturally, we chose you!"
Qingxing thought back carefully and realized that although her life trajectory in her previous lives was not much different, she would find some fun that she had never had before when she was bored. Guda's words made a lot of sense.
But something felt off. The book spirit seemed to be answering her questions seriously, but upon closer inspection... it seemed more like it was exploiting loopholes in her language.
So Qingxing asked again, "Is that all?"
"Yeah! What else could it be?" Gudako pushed her impatiently and headed towards Tingyu Garden. "Don't ask anymore! I'm exhausted and want to sleep."
Qingxing didn't really care about this matter, but she was just too curious. Now that Gudako had said so, she thought, "Okay, anyway, this kind of life seems pretty good," and let Gudako put the matter to the back of her mind.
The girl and the book returned to Tingyu Garden. Qingxing took a hot bath, turned off the lights early, and planned to get up earlier the next day to learn more about array formations.
She slept soundly that night. Perhaps because of the recent broken mirror, Qingxing felt very comfortable and refreshed when she woke up.
After washing up, she slung her old cloth bag from yesterday over her shoulder, and with a few pastries she had taken from the kitchen in her pocket, headed straight for the library.
And so, another morning passed.
Qingxing had just finished reading one chapter of "Itchy Array" and was about to close the book when she suddenly remembered that her master had slept in late the day before. After thinking for a moment, she finally picked up another array scroll and decided to go later.
Guda still didn't wake up until after noon. It lay on Qingxing's shoulder, its eyes on the densely packed pages of the book, and couldn't help but yawn: "Ah... I say, Master Qingxing, shouldn't we go find Master now?"
"Why don't you call me by my full name anymore?"
As Qingxing teased him, she put the books back in their place. She picked up the old cloth bag and slung it over her shoulder, but then suddenly realized something was wrong.
The cloth bag is lighter than when I left home this morning.
"You're my master, so I'll just call you whatever you're called," Gudako replied nonchalantly. Seeing her suddenly stop, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"The Demon-Subduing Formation is gone." Qingxing opened her bag, inside was only a blank book. "It was still there when I left this morning."
Guda was startled and immediately peeked into the bag: "Wait a minute! It was still here when I woke up!"
Qingxing and it exchanged a glance, and alarm bells rang in her heart—
Guda is a top-level book spirit, and its sensitivity to the aura of books is far beyond the average level. The fact that this evil book could "escape" right under its nose while the two were talking suggests that the author was no ordinary person.
"When you checked the book yesterday, were there any other magic arrays on the pages? Like teleportation arrays or something similar?"
Qingxing frowned slightly. Apart from teleportation arrays, she couldn't think of any other magic array that could send an item away silently.
However, since the author was able to create such a bizarre thing as the "Demon Refining Array," he must have been a genius in array formations, and it's not impossible for him to casually create a new array.
Guda shook her head, also puzzled: "No, there's no magic array at all."
"This is too strange." Qingxing glanced at the mountain of books in front of her, confirming that there was no trace of spiritual energy left in the area. "This book was written recently and has a misleading name like 'Subduing Demons.' It was hastily placed here, as if to lure people to find it, but then it vanished without a trace today..."
Very few disciples come to the High-Level Scroll Bookstore. Judging from the dust at the entrance, only Qingxing has obtained the key recently.
She certainly wouldn't believe it was all a coincidence.
Did the author want her to learn demonic arts?
But what good would that do for him? And how did he know he had the key to the bookstore? And how did he know her daily routine?
A flood of questions rushed into Qingxing's mind, leaving her completely bewildered.
"I'll remember this." Guda frowned, quite displeased. "How dare someone use such a 'heaven-stealing' technique right under my nose! If I catch them, I'll see how Master Qingxing deals with them!"
Qingxing was deep in thought when Guda suddenly said that, interrupting her train of thought. She glanced at it helplessly.
"Don't look at me like that." Gudako scratched her head sheepishly. "Well, I can't help it, I'm just a Book Spirit. Even if I'm a bit higher level, I can't take on a demonic cultivator one-on-one!"
"Let's go." Qingxing pushed open the wooden door, feeling increasingly worried since her rebirth. "Could this... be related to the villain?"
Gudako: "Probably not... After all, we're not the main characters, what use would he be to us? Besides, opening the gate to the Demon Realm doesn't require array cultivators!"
"I guess it was because you fought Su Lin that day that some powerful demonic cultivator saw it and wanted to drag you down with them."
Qingxing had already stepped out of the Sutra Repository. The sun was shining brightly outside, and the air was filled with the unique fragrance of spring flowers. She squinted and took a deep breath.
"Maybe."
I originally planned to show the evil book to my master, but now there's no way to do it.
I just hope nothing serious happens.
Qingxing strolled leisurely to Biyueyun Residence. She thought the gate would be closed again, just like yesterday, but when she turned the corner and stood at the door, she was stunned.
In the warm spring of March, under the peach tree in front of the door, Jiu Quchen sat upright on the fragrant grass, holding a carefully polished wooden cane in his hand.
Petals fell onto his white robes, but he was oblivious, his eyelashes drooping as if he were thinking about something.
"Master."
Qingxing stepped forward and obediently bowed.
“My disciple, you’ve come at just the right time.” Jiu Qu Chen snapped out of his reverie, smiled, looked up, patted the grass in front of him, and gestured for Qing Xing to sit down. “I have a surprise for you.”
surprise?
Qingxing sat down cross-legged and watched as Jiuquchen handed her the wooden staff. Although she was puzzled, she still took it with both hands.
The moment her fingertips touched the wooden staff, she felt the immense spiritual energy flowing within it, which was remarkably similar to the energy inside the Wooden God Pearl.
"How about it? You can feel it now!" Jiu Qu Chen winked at her. "I was thinking that it wouldn't be very convenient to just take one bead. This wooden staff is made from inexhaustible wood and has the same origin as the Wood God Bead. You can use it to make a magic staff."
"This will not only make up for the regret that array cultivators cannot fly on swords, but also greatly increase your aura when casting spells! Just stick this wooden staff there, and you'll be sure to look majestic!"
Upon hearing this, Qingxing looked up and indeed saw a dent at the top of the wooden staff, which was exactly the size of the Wood God Pearl.
She paused for a moment, then took out the Wood God Bead from her cloth bag. The bead sensed the call of the same source of spiritual power, gradually began to glow, and slowly flew to the dent.
With a "snap," the bead and the wooden staff merged into one, and Qingxing felt a burning heat in her palm.
Jiu Qu Chen looked at the staff with great satisfaction. When he casually tossed the Wood God Pearl to Qing Xing, he never expected that his disciple would have a talent for array formations.
The green apricot is a top-grade wood spirit root, so this staff is perfect for it, and it won't let the precious pearl be tarnished.
"Alright, let's name the new magical artifact."
Naming it? This was a bit of a challenge for Qingxing. She pondered for a long time, countless images flashing through her mind, and finally decided to name it after the essence of the staff.
"Inexhaustible Wood".
Qingxing spoke softly, and the staff seemed to hear her call, releasing wisps of spiritual power that, like vines, intimately wrapped around her left hand.
She lowered her eyes and saw three characters on the staff that she didn't recognize; they must be some kind of ancient calligraphy.
Seeing this, Jiu Quchen stretched with relief: "It seems it's quite satisfied with you too."
"It was worth it for me to work through the night to make this!"
Upon hearing this, Qingxing pursed her lips. She wasn't very good at accepting kindness from others face to face, and after hesitating for a long time, she could only manage to say, "Thank you, Master."
Gudako, who had been silent all along, excitedly jumped onto the wooden staff, touching it all over, practically drooling: "This is even better than the Golden Pattern Sword. I can already imagine you wielding the Endless Wood and wreaking havoc!"
"Wow, Little Water Drop is here today too!" Jiu Qu Chen reached out and gently pinched Gu Da's cheek. "You've got good taste!"
Gudako was engrossed in the high-level magical artifact and, unusually, didn't push his hand away. She just rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth, saying, "My name is Gudako, not Little Water Drop."
"Okay, Gudako."
Qingxing held the Endless Wood, glanced at the smiling Jiuquchen, and unconsciously curled the corners of her mouth.
She is genuinely happy now.
Having a mentor is indeed a good thing.
Time flies by, and Qingxing lives a monotonous life, going between Tingyuyuan, Zangjingge, and Bishuiyunju every day.
She occasionally had moments of enlightenment, but the speed of her progress slowed down as she progressed in her cultivation. Apart from breaking through four levels on the first day, Qingxing did not have any other amazing performances. She only practiced in the lotus pond for a month and slowly made it to the tenth level of Foundation Establishment. She was just one step away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
But before she could even grasp the intricacies of the process, one evening when she returned home, a white egret brought her a message: the inner sect test will begin in three days, please prepare yourselves.
A note from the author:
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The "handsome man" archetype will never be broken.
Now, I have something a little regretful to say. This story has already reached 30,000 words, and now we're aiming for a ranking (to avoid a major flop). However, rankings have word count requirements, and my current number of favorites is too low to qualify. If I update daily, the word count will exceed the requirements of certain rankings. So, from now on, I might update every two days or every other day. If there's no update by 7:30 PM, please don't wait. Thank you to all the readers who have been following along. I'm super happy to see new clicks every day [crying emoji]. I've been writing and saving up even on days when I don't update. Please don't give up on me and Xiao Qingxing! The story ahead is very exciting [please emoji].
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