Chapter 16: Saving Lives and Revitalizing the Cultivation World (16% progress)
Lin Ming, who has a built-in redemption system, is quite helpless about this.
He studies destiny by focusing on people, and is the one among his four incarnations who travels the most and comes into contact with the most diverse people.
The cultivation world is fraught with danger, with frequent incidents of murder, robbery, and monster attacks, so the probability of encountering such a person is not small.
He studied the extraordinary encounters of those with great fortune, who were often looked down upon, provoked, and hunted down. Their waning fortune brought them hardship but was not enough to guarantee their safe passage through the tribulations.
Therefore, he usually lends a helping hand when his research subjects are about to give up.
Over time, he developed a somewhat meddlesome habit of watching the excitement and meddling in other people's business. He would deliberately choose to go to areas where accidents frequently occurred. He didn't rescue people randomly; he would only intervene when others had exhausted all their efforts and were still forced into a corner with no way to retreat.
It's as if it's bound to a redemption system with mission targets, and it makes a move every now and then in desperate situations.
For example, even now, just to collect materials for the main body of the academy that is currently being forged, he specifically chose to stay in the most dangerous central area of the Misty Forest.
As expected, I encountered a group of unlucky kids.
Amidst the swirling mist, Lin Ming stood atop the hill, directing the axe-wielding spirits to chop down trees, then sending the timber back to the Mustard Seed Space for Jun Hui to refine into a house.
The Misty Forest is named "Misty" because thick fog often rises from the forest, making it extremely dangerous due to obstructed vision. Traveling cultivators can easily stray into the territory of raptors and venomous creatures.
The neighbors of such high-grade wood as Gathering Spirit Wood are naturally not ordinary people.
With his profound cultivation and excellent eyesight, he easily penetrated the demonic barrier and saw the chaotic scene below.
A group of young children groped their way forward, with those behind tugging at the hem of the clothes of the children in front, their steps disordered yet orderly.
"Senior Brother Xu, will we be able to get out if we keep going like this?" someone in the group asked hesitantly.
The boy at the front held a compass in his palm, frowning as he stared intently at the pointer that should have been steadily pointing in a certain direction.
By the moonlight, he saw the compass needle trembling violently and spinning endlessly, giving him an ominous premonition.
Large beads of sweat slid down his face, dripping into his collar and soaking his undergarments. Xu Lingyou put away the compass that was no longer of any use, and comforted his younger junior brothers and sisters in a hoarse voice: "We reached the depths of the Misty Forest earlier in order to pick Canaan grass. No matter what choice we make, as long as we keep going in one direction and don't go astray, we will definitely be able to get out."
The subtext is that the situation can't get any worse.
Fearing that speaking frankly would cause panic among his juniors, he used a more tactful approach.
The voices of my junior brothers and sisters, oblivious to everything, came from behind me.
Huangfu Mian, who was limping in the group, had completely lost her sight in the darkness and could only move forward step by step with great tension by holding her friend's hand: "The Misty Forest is so dangerous, I will never come here again."
Dai Kui gently tapped the back of her hand with her finger to comfort her, and then pretended to be relaxed, saying, "That's right, that's right, you can't even light a candle here, what a terrible place it is, I'm not coming here again!"
“That won’t do. The path of cultivation is inherently arduous. How can we back down because of a little difficulty? It will create inner demons,” someone chimed in.
Dai Kui: "Inner demons are something only Golden Core stage experts need to consider. I probably won't be able to get close to them in my entire life."
"Don't be discouraged. Look, this time the inner sect's steward asked us outer sect disciples to find Canaan grass for him, and he also gave Senior Brother Xu a precious talisman for protection, saying that as long as we use the talisman, someone will come to save us. This shows that the sect has faith in us," a disciple comforted.
The sound, which wasn't deliberately controlled in volume, reached Xu Lingyou's ears, and his back stiffened.
Others joined the discussion.
"Besides, Senior Brother Xu is worried about us being the team leaders. You're being so disrespectful to Senior Brother Xu by saying that."
"That's right. If it weren't for Senior Brother Xu's initiative to join the team, we would never have been able to escape unscathed from the guardian beast of Canaan Grass. Look, everyone is now without any fatal injuries, which is the best-case scenario."
"Senior Brother Xu is the most diligent disciple in our outer sect, and his cultivation level is also the highest. He has already reached the late stage of Qi Refining. I believe he will be able to enter the inner sect soon."
"Yes, yes, Senior Brother Xu works so hard, it's only right that he gets into the inner sect. Those people in the inner sect always look down on us, but once Senior Brother Xu gets in, we'll see if he doesn't slap them in the face!"
Having a common topic made the tense atmosphere in the team much more relaxed.
Hearing all the discussions, Xu Lingyou's expression gradually darkened.
He thought that defeating the guardian beast and obtaining the Canaan Grass would protect his junior brothers and sisters, but he did not expect that the Misty Forest itself was an insurmountable obstacle.
The regret of coming here climbed up his heart like a demon emerging from the darkness.
Why did he come? He wasn't the one sent to his death. It's not too late to leave now. Without any burden, he can easily escape unscathed.
Xu Lingyou shook his head, trying to shake off the surging evil thoughts.
No, he embarked on the path of cultivation to save the world and its people. He couldn't just stand by and watch others die. He would never give up the belief he had upheld for so many years.
He straightened his stiff back and, using the meager light of the moon, groped his way to the right spot.
Not long after walking forward, a chilling aura crept up my spine.
His keener intuition than most people made him stop in his tracks.
He drew his long sword from his waist and shouted for everyone to be on guard.
"The seriously injured are in the middle."
The group immediately became alert and changed from a single line to a circular formation.
"Is it a monster? It walks without making a sound," someone whispered.
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone heard a soft rustling sound. The high-frequency flapping sound was like that of some kind of flying insect. The sound of them overlapping each other grew louder and louder, and the number of them was so great that it made people's scalps tingle.
Wu Ji, who was standing next to Xu Lingyou, shuddered: "Could it be..."
A terrifying hypothesis is becoming increasingly clear, and what is truly despairing is that the fear has materialized into reality.
A beam of eerie blue light shone in the darkness.
Then countless lights lit up, completely illuminating the night.
They saw a dreamlike, butterfly-shaped blue sea.
The butterfly's wings shimmered with a blue fluorescence, beautiful and alluring.
But they had no interest in appreciating the beautiful scenery.
—Any insect magnified hundreds of times becomes extremely terrifying.
Countless round, bulging compound eyes perched on the trees lining the road, staring at them menacingly without blinking.
Such a large group is definitely not something that a few people can deal with.
"Oh no, we've accidentally wandered into the territory of giant butterflies! They're very territorial!"
"run!"
Xu Lingyou immediately reacted, shouted loudly, picked up his junior brother who was the most seriously injured and slow to move, and ran away.
"Don't look back! Don't get separated! Run back the way we came! It's safe that way!"
The butterfly's fluorescence illuminated the path they had come from, and Xu Lingyou quickly calmed down and called out to his companions.
The butterflies swarmed out of their nest. Xu Lingyou handed his junior brother, whom he was carrying on his back, to Wu Ji, who was nearby. He gritted his teeth, drew his sword, and covered their retreat.
Huangfu Mian was still recovering from his injuries and was disoriented from running.
"It hurts, I can't run anymore." She gasped for breath and let go of Dai Kui's hand. "Xiao Kui, you run. Don't worry about me. A piece of trash like me will die sooner or later."
Hearing her trembling sobs, Dai Kui reached out and grabbed her tightly: "Mission accomplished, we're safe now, all we have to do is get out!"
The taut string in her mind snapped, and Huangfu Mian's piercing scream almost broke her voice: "It's no use! If we don't die now, we'll die later anyway! After this mission, they'll only exploit the outer disciples even more! Giving an outer disciple a mission of this difficulty is just sending them to their deaths! I can't take it anymore! I'm going to die sooner or later anyway, so I might as well die now and avoid further suffering!"
"Don't talk nonsense! At worst, you can go back down the mountain and stop cultivating immortality. Think about your family who sent you to the mountain gate; they still miss you!"
Mentioning his family, Huangfu Mian calmed down a bit, but became even more sorrowful: "They all thought I was becoming an immortal, and the whole town saw me off, but what's the truth? I'm just a useless person being bossed around in the outer sect. I really can't hold on any longer!"
She thought about how she always told her family in her letters home that she was doing well and that her cultivation was going smoothly. She also thought about how her family was worried that her constant letters would be affected by karma, and they painfully asked her to sever her ties with the world.
Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.
"Stop talking nonsense, I'll take you. The butterflies didn't attack us before, which means they didn't intend to kill us. They probably just wanted to drive us out of their territory." Dai Kui showed great mental fortitude, hugging the nearly collapsing girl and continuing to run with her arm around her shoulder.
Fortunately, the butterfly's goal was as she expected: to drive the outsiders out of the territory, and she stopped chasing them halfway through.
After running for a long time, they finally got away from the giant butterfly's territory, but they also lost their way.
"Has anyone gotten separated?" Xu Lingyou asked wearily, using his sword for support.
Wu Ji glanced around and shook his head, too exhausted to speak.
The group became unusually quiet for a moment.
Huangfu Mian's words struck a chord with everyone.
She spoke the truth that no one wanted to admit—they had been abandoned by their sect.
Huangfu Mian calmed down and lowered his head in remorse.
Xu Lingyou walked over and patted her on the shoulder: "The pollen of giant butterflies can amplify people's negative emotions. To be honest, I was also wondering whether I should have come."
“Senior Brother Xu…” Huangfu Mian hugged Dai Kui and wept bitterly.
"Th-what is that?" A boy raised his hand tremblingly, a faint green reflected in his terrified pupils.
Dozens of green "lanterns" suddenly lit up under the faint moonlight.
The thick fog slowly dissipated, and the true shape of the "lantern" quietly appeared.
"Wolves!" And a pack of wolves at that!
The boy screamed.
In just a few breaths, the wolf pack completely surrounded them.
"Damn it."
Xu Lingyou drew his sword again and led the charge towards the wolf pack.
"Wolves are smarter than other monsters; they can cooperate to launch sneak attacks. Two people per group, don't expose your backs, and follow me out!"
The team consisted of thirteen people, and he had the highest cultivation level, so he left the rest of the team behind.
"Do we still have a chance to escape?" Wu Ji murmured, having just escaped one danger only to fall into another. "Before leaving, the steward gave us a talisman to call for help. Senior brother, please use it quickly, we can't hold on any longer."
"Wu Ji, what discouraging words are you spouting!" The disheveled youth angrily swung his sword, slaying a wolf that tried to ambush him. Taking advantage of the lull, he shouted sternly, "Only real combat can improve oneself. If you give up at the first sign of setback, what's the point of cultivation! I won't use that talisman unless absolutely necessary!"
Wu Ji gripped his weapon tightly in shame and threw himself into the battle without uttering a sound.
The boys fought bravely against the beast attacks, but their physical strength was gradually depleted.
The wolves seemed inexhaustible, and their movements as they brandished their weapons grew increasingly sluggish.
People kept getting injured, and people kept urging Xu Lingyou to use the talisman.
The talisman symbolizing rescue became their only motivation to persevere.
Xu Lingyou chopped off another wolf's head, his eyes blurred with sweat. He realized that if this continued, they wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
He stared wide-eyed, searching for the alpha wolf, but the wolf was too well hidden; he had been unable to pinpoint its location since the start of the battle.
"Senior Brother Xu! Use a talisman!" The others, unable to hold on any longer, said one after another.
Should I use that talisman?
But……
Xu Lingyou suppressed the urge to reach for his waist and take out a talisman.
"Senior Brother Xu, watch out behind you!"
Xu Lingyou's expression hardened, and he barely managed to turn half his face to meet the wolf's gaping maw.
It turns out that while he was trying to find the alpha wolf, the alpha wolf was also secretly observing him as the leader of the team.
Finally, it found its opportunity.
He tried to defend himself, but it was too late. He swung his sword in an extremely awkward posture, only to be swatted away by the alpha wolf's claw.
The wolf's claws whipped up a powerful gust of wind and whistled towards the back of his head.
It's the alpha wolf that hasn't shown itself yet!
The sword slipped from his grasp and was knocked away; Xu Lingyou instinctively placed his hand on his waist.
However, her trembling hand eventually loosened its grip.
He resignedly lowered his arms, his gaze fixed on the wolf's claws so close to his face.
"Clang!"
Xu Lingyou's empty eyes regained their light.
He's not dead!
At the critical moment, a flawless, ornate folding fan was placed between him and the alpha wolf, knocking away the wolf's sharp claws!
With a quarter of the fan unfolded, a gentle flick of the wrist sliced the ferocious wolf in two before it could even scream.
"A swordsman can never let go of the sword in his hand."
He heard a clear and pleasant voice say this.
His slow and steady tone carried no hint of blame; his clear and gentle voice was imbued with a tender and tolerant quality, like clear water that could wash away all the dust and smooth the wrinkles between his brows.
At this moment, Xu Lingyou could see nothing; his world was completely still, leaving only a blue figure.
The graceful figure casually drew his sword, which had been knocked away, and moved with ease among the fleeing wolves.
Sword cultivator, this is the true sword cultivator.
Xu Lingyou's heart was burning.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
