Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Who is the coward?
The sky was clear and cloudless, and the summer sun was particularly dazzling.
On Danfeng, vast fields of ripe wheat swayed in golden waves, ready for harvest. Empty paddy fields shimmered, waiting for sowing. Other fields, designated for various spiritual plants, also awaited watering, pest control, and weeding.
The disciples who were in urgent need of contribution points but failed to grab tasks from other sects came to Danfeng dejectedly and walked towards a strong man with dark skin, honest face and horns on his head.
"Brother Niu, I'm here to harvest wheat. Please give me the sign to enter the medium-quality wheat field."
"Lao Niu, yes, I've accepted another mission to water the Yang Shen flowers with the Hundred Flower Dew. This time, it's a full one hundred acres. Oh, I hope I can finish it before dark."
"Old Cow, I've been tasked with sowing Moonlight Rice. I need rice seeds..."
"Haha, don't be impatient. We have them all. Everyone, please don't push..."
Niu Raohan smiled and waved his hand, and a pile of cloth bags like a small hill immediately appeared on the ground.
The female cultivator who had accepted the sowing task staggered in shock. "Don't tell me these are the moonlight rice I'm going to sow today?"
Niu Rao shook his head honestly: "No, this is only half. The other half is in the warehouse. I'll bring it to you later."
Female cultivator: "...Is it too late for me to give up the mission now?"
The man, who had been simple and kind, had a sharp look in his eyes. "Giving up the mission will result in a loss of contribution points. Are you sure?"
The female cultivator quickly gathered up the rice seeds and flew away: "I'll go get to work now!"
When they were collecting their belongings, they suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar little girl sitting on the ridge of a field not far from Niu Rao. Someone recognized that she was Yun Miao, who had made a big splash yesterday, and they couldn't help but want to go up and chat with this amazing Junior Sister Yun.
However, when they noticed the whip in Yun Miao's hand, they immediately stopped. After hearing Niu Rao say that this Junior Sister Yun was one of today's supervisors, they retreated even faster, running as far as they could.
An incense stick later, Niu Rao, having completed his distribution mission, sat down next to Yun Miao and, somewhat awkwardly, asked with concern, "Junior Sister Yun, are you thirsty? Have some water. Don't worry, this is a water bottle I made out of bamboo this morning. It's unused."
Yun Miao took the bamboo kettle and took a sip, and felt a sweet taste mixed with the scent of green bamboo entering his mouth.
"Sweet?"
Niu Rao: "I thought children like sweet things, so I got some spiritual honey and mixed it in the water."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Niu. This flower is for you."
Yun Miao handed over the flowers he had just picked from the edge of the field.
Niu Rao accepted it flattered, then put it in his mouth and chewed it: "Thank you, Junior Sister Yun. I will savor it."
Yun Miao was stunned, and then she remembered that Tian Laokou had told her before that Niu Rao was the old yellow ox he once raised to plow the fields that had turned into a spirit.
She asked curiously, "How does it taste?"
Niu Rao smiled innocently: "Very sweet."
Yun Miao curiously picked one and put it in his mouth, then… "Pah, pah, pah, it's obviously bitter."
Niu Rao quickly asked her to rinse her mouth with water, then explained that he was a bull demon and had grown up eating these things, so naturally he thought they were delicious. Yun Miao was not a bull, so it was normal for her to find them unpalatable.
Yun Miao gulped down several sips of honey water: "Are contribution points important?"
"Don't you know?"
Niu Rao was puzzled at first, but then realized, "Junior Sister Yun only officially entered the sect yesterday, so it's normal that she doesn't know. Normally, there should be disciples who have taken on the Enlightenment Hall mission to teach the new disciples, but Junior Sister Yun can't go to the Enlightenment Hall right now. Let me briefly explain."
After listening for a while, Yun Miao understood that Xuantian Sect provided very good benefits to its disciples, including free food and accommodation, and monthly spiritual stones and flowers. In return, disciples were naturally required to make contributions to the sect. This is where the term "contribution points" came from.
Outer disciples were required to pay 500 contribution points to the Deacon Hall annually, effectively forcing them to contribute 500 contribution points to the sect. Inner disciples, however, received better instruction and more resources, but naturally shouldered more responsibilities, requiring them to pay 1,000 contribution points annually.
Because monks often need to retreat, and higher-level monks need longer retreats, contribution points can be paid in large quantities in advance, or paid later. The sect is people-oriented and this is very humane.
But if you do something too out of line, such as being in the sect and not in seclusion but unwilling to work for the sect, and not creating a single contribution point for the sect for a year in a row, then the Deacon's Hall will issue a warning.
If you continue to do as you please, living a life of idleness and waiting to die in the sect, and have no sense of collective honor for the sect, then you will be expelled from the sect after three warnings.
"But Junior Sister Yun, don't worry. As long as the newly initiated disciples attend classes at the Enlightenment Hall on time, they will have enough contribution points to get through the year."
Niu Rao awkwardly touched his horn as he finished speaking, then changed his tone, "The managers of each peak will also treat new disciples well, giving them easier and more suitable tasks, and won't deliberately make things difficult for them. So contribution points are still easy to earn."
Yun Miao was curious: "Who is the manager of the main peak?"
Niu Rao was stunned, and awkwardly touched his horns with both hands: "Well... the main peak is not responsible for educating a large number of disciples. Besides Senior Brother, the only disciple living there is you, Junior Sister Yun."
"The Deacon Hall, Law Enforcement Hall, and Sutra Library above are all independent entities, managed by the elders. There's no need for a steward to handle internal affairs. It's not true to say that Elder Ge of the Deacon Hall is the sect's top steward. She doesn't handle trivial matters like assigning tasks..."
"But it doesn't matter. Junior Sister Yun, you are now at Danfeng. I am the manager of Danfeng. I can assign tasks to you! Since you are a new disciple and weak, I can choose some easier tasks for you that can contribute more."
The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was a good idea. His voice became louder, rumbling like thunder, attracting the sharp glares of the disciples working hard in the fields not far away.
Good job, old cow! I didn't expect you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be so clever! But then again... is there really any easy work in Danfeng that gives you a lot of contribution points?
Yun Miao thought of a question: "The Law Enforcement Hall has punished me to do odd jobs at Danfeng for three months. If I accept the tasks you assign to me during this period, can I really earn contribution points?"
Niu Rao fell silent. He sat slumped on the edge of the field, head bowed and back hunched. His calloused hands furiously rubbed the horns, sending sparks flying. The sparks landed on his thick black hair, and then a blazing fire erupted...
Yun Miao instantly forgot about the contribution points and sat aside, staring blankly at Niu Rao, who looked like nothing had happened. "Brother Niu, don't you feel hot?"
Niu Rao continued to touch his horn in distress: "Well, I'm not smart, so my head gets hot every time I think. I didn't expect that you, Junior Sister Yun, could see this."
Yun Miao: "Who can tell this? I mean, your hair is on fire, your entire head is ablaze!"
She finally reacted and quickly jumped up to use the Water Control Technique. At this moment, Niu Rao realized that he had embarrassed himself in front of Junior Sister Yun again. He immediately stood up and raised his hand to put out the fire, but at this moment, a huge water dragon as thick as a bucket suddenly roared and rushed straight towards Niu Rao's face!
Crash!
Niu Rao was swept down the ridge of the field by the swift water dragon and fell to the ground. He wiped the water off his face and turned to look at Yun Miao in amazement: "I didn't expect that Junior Sister Yun's Water Control Technique has been practiced to such perfection."
Yun Miao looked back in confusion, indicating that her "little earthworm" had nothing to do with this rude water dragon.
"Old Cow, are you so old that you can't even recognize who saved you?"
A rude and sarcastic voice came from the forest not far away.
"And that guy, he's at the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage after all, but the water he released can't even reach the level of my three-year-old self. It's really pathetic. But he's a weak human after all, so it's understandable."
Yun Miao turned his head and saw a tall young man walking out of the forest. The man had a high nose and thin lips, and walked like a dragon and a tiger. He wore a black suit inside and a dark scale armor outside. His handsomeness was accompanied by arrogance.
However, what caught her attention most was the prompt box that slowly appeared above the other person's head three seconds later: [Realm: Golden Core Stage 3, HP Bar: 200,000 points]
Yun Miao had discovered yesterday that after she possessed spiritual awareness, her ability to detect had become even stronger. Originally, as a mortal, she could only see through the Qi Refining Stage, and as a Qi Refining Stage, she could only see through the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Although she is still at the Qi Refining Stage, she can use her spiritual sense at the Foundation Establishment Stage to see through the cultivation and health bars of NPCs who are two realms higher than her.
Because she had seen many senior brothers and sisters with Jindan stage prompt boxes yesterday, she was not surprised by this person's realm, but was surprised by his long health bar.
This person is clearly only at the third level of the Golden Core Stage, so why is his health bar comparable to that of a ninth level Golden Core Stage person that she has seen?
Yun Miao looked the man up and down several times, then turned his head suspiciously and asked Niu Rao.
"Brother Niu, who is this soldier who looks like he deserves a beating?"
The man in black armor immediately lowered his brows upon hearing this, glaring fiercely at him, "Who are you calling a soldier? Judging by my appearance and demeanor, I must be a general who just returned victorious with a large army!"
"Mo Aotian, Junior Sister Yun is still recovering from her injuries. What if you scare her by yelling so loudly?"
Niu Rao immediately stood up and glared at her, then turned around and gave Yun Miao a simple smile: "Don't be afraid, Junior Sister Yun. His name is Mo Aotian, a black dragon. He lives in the Li Lake below the main peak. His duties are to guard the mountain gate and the Xuanxin Mine in the lake."
Yun Miao suddenly realized: "So you are the black dragon. I was wondering why your voice sounded familiar."
Is it because it's a black dragon that its health bar is so long?
Mo Aotian snorted coldly: "Old Niu, don't worry about it. This guy is very brave and won't be scared so easily."
Niu Rao looked around suspiciously: "Could it be that you two already know each other?"
Mo Aotian walked to the edge of the field and looked down at Yun Miao. "Hmm, she's so familiar. If I had to describe her... she's like the worm in my stomach."
Niu Rao: ???
Yun Miao crossed his arms and sneered, "Did the roundworm bite cause a perforation in your stomach? Then you're truly fragile and pathetic."
Mo Aotian choked and after a long pause, he could only manage to utter one sentence: "You have a sharp tongue. I won't talk to you anymore. Go away. I have something to discuss with Lao Niu."
"She's got a sharp tongue, right?"
Yun Miao touched the disciple order at his waist threateningly. "Didn't Senior Sister Ning say you'd be punished? Why are you still running around? You'd better give me a reasonable explanation, or I'll report you to the Law Enforcement Hall."
Mo Aotian scolded her: "You snitch!"
Yun Miao smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."
"How come you're thicker than an old cow's hide? Even the legendary Samadhi True Fire can't burn through your thick skin."
Mo Aotian cursed again, and then expressed it arrogantly.
"The punishment handed down to me by the Law Enforcement Hall is to dig up at least 10,000 pieces of low-grade Xuanxin Ore within a year. With my abilities, completing this punishment is a piece of cake, so I have plenty of time to play."
Yun Miao looked at his smug expression and feigned shock: "You can actually read Samadhi True Fire?"
Mo Aotian immediately jumped up in anger: "Do you really think I'm illiterate? I'm a dragon with inherited memories, I'm just not familiar with your human knowledge!"
Then he dragged Niu Rao towards the orchard nearby. However, after only a few steps, he turned his head fiercely and asked, "What are you doing?"
Yun Miao, who was following behind from a distance, blinked innocently: "I'm just taking a stroll."
Mo Aotian warned: "Don't follow me."
Niu Rao thought that Mo Aotian had something urgent to do, so he also advised Yun Miao to go back first and he would be back soon.
"Okay. I'd better wait for Xiao Hei here."
Yun Miao stopped obediently and sat back on the edge of the field.
Seeing this, Mo Aotian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled Niu Rao and quickened his pace.
*
A moment later, in the orchard.
Mo Aotian: "Old Niu, come with me to dig a tunnel and escape from Xuantian Sect!"
Niu Rao sighed: "Mo Aotian, you haven't given up yet."
Mo Aotian: "How can we give up? Xuantian Sect is a sect for human cultivators. What are we? We are demons. Humans and demons have been incompatible since ancient times. If we stay here, we will be degraded!"
"Look at those stupid beasts in the Beast Peak Zoo and Bird Park. They're so fat and bloated that they can't even bury their shit. They even need help bathing. Even though they're all monsters that can't transform into humans, they're at least intelligent. But they have no ambitions. All they do all day is eat and sleep. They follow humans around like pugs, waiting for their orders."
"And that white deer? Not only did it recognize a human master, it also bathes every day. It's even cleaner than a human. Is it still a demon? Demons should never bathe, just like me!"
Niu Rao: "...of course you don't need to take a bath if you soak in water every day."
Mo Aotian's face was stern. "Hey, don't interrupt me. Anyway, all the demon beasts and demon cultivators in Beast Peak have already fallen. In the vast Xuantian Sect, there are only a few demons that have not been completely tamed. So we must quickly find a way to escape, otherwise we will be the next ones to abandon our pride and cry and turn over at humans! Old Bull, do you want to become like that?"
Niu Rao glanced in the direction of the medicine house and lowered his head in disappointment. "If turning my belly over and whimpering a few times can make the Peak Master accept me as his disciple, I will be willing to do it one hundred percent."
Mo Aotian choked, then said coldly: "If you really do that, Tian Laokou will definitely be so scared that he will kick you away."
"You must call me Peak Master!"
Niu Rao glared at Mo Aotian, and then firmly rejected Mo Aotian's request to escape from prison for the one hundred and fifty-sixth time.
"Every demon has its own aspirations. I understand that you don't want to stay in the sect, but I will never leave Danfeng. The Peak Master saved my mother and me, and I want to stay here to repay him."
Mo Aotian frowned, "But you've been at Danfeng for eight hundred years. After all, you're a great demon at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Stage. Are you really willing to work in the fields until you die?"
"I heard from the old turtle that your life span is almost over. If you don't break through to the Out-of-Body Stage in the next few years, you will... Even Tian Laokou said he never intended to trap you in Danfeng..."
"I told you to call me Peak Master!"
Niu Rao's face darkened as he punched Mo Aotian in the stomach, sending him flying. Fortunately, the punch was just a warning, not a powerful one, so after being sent flying by the Jindan stage, Mo Aotian did a backflip in the air and regained his footing.
Just when he was about to say something with an unhappy look on his face, he heard Niu Rao turn around and speak lightly as he walked.
"I'm a plowing ox, born to till the land. The Peak Master bought me for farming. He saved my mother's life once, and saved me twice. So, I owe him two lives. I'm only making a profit by plowing the land for him for a lifetime."
Mo Aotian chased after him: "Why are you so stubborn!"
Niu Rao seemed to have heard a joke and resumed his usual silly smile: "Haha, stubborn ox, stubborn ox, if you're not stubborn, would you still be a ox?"
Mo Aotian: "Is there really no room for negotiation at all?"
Niu Rao: "You've asked me this question one hundred and fifty-six times."
Mo Aotian was so angry that he slashed at the peach tree in front of him: "You are as annoying as humans!"
"You've said that a hundred and fifty-six times."
Niu Rao easily blocked Mo Aotian's falling palm, then touched the bark of the peach tree that was scratched by the palm wind with heartache.
"Mo Aotian, I advise you not to waste your time here. Although I don't know what mistake you made this time to be punished so severely, I think it's better for you to go mining. Mining 10,000 Xuanxin ores a year is not an easy task. Are you sure you can really do it?"
Mo Aotian froze as if a vital point had been struck. He then dejectedly told the truth, "Aren't you talking nonsense? Why would I come to you if I could complete it? It's precisely because I can't complete it that I have to escape quickly within this year."
Niu Rao was surprised: "Then you just said..."
Mo Aotian lowered his voice: "I'm just bragging. I can't lose face in front of a little human girl, right?"
Niu Rao: "...As an ox, to borrow the words of Junior Sister Ning, I think bragging is not very polite."
Yun Miao nodded: "That's right, lying is shameful, honesty is a virtue."
Mo Aotian looked embarrassed and wanted to say something, but the next moment he realized that something was wrong. He turned his head in shock and looked behind him, only to see a familiar little face peeking out from behind a short and thick peach tree in the distance. The pair of distinct black and white almond eyes were staring at him and Niu Rao without blinking.
Mo Aotian's handsome face flushed instantly, embarrassed and angry, his tongue tied: "You...why are you here? When did you come? How much did you hear?"
"Hey, I heard everything."
Yun Miao smiled provocatively and emerged from behind the tree. A delicate emerald ball spun around above her head. Instead of radiating its brilliant light as before, it had become less radiant, and Yun Miao's presence had become almost nonexistent.
Relying on that magic weapon again... No, that's not right...
Mo Aotian realized the problem as soon as his spiritual sense swept over it. Human cultivators are weak and always like to take advantage of magic weapons. Although he didn't know what kind of magic weapon it was, he knew at a glance that it was not simple. It must be a rare high-level magic weapon.
The more powerful the magic weapon is, the more difficult it is to control it. A weak cultivator would find it difficult to control it, let alone completely master it. This was the reason why the human the day before yesterday was unable to activate the magic weapon to attack him. He could only rely on the magic weapon's automatic protection to survive in the crack of his powerful and hard stomach.
But now, only two days have passed. Who can tell him... "You are only at the Qi Refining Stage, how can you have a spiritual sense comparable to the strength of the Foundation Establishment Stage?"
This time it was Yun Miao's turn to brag. "Oh, it's nothing, actually. I just had such a great talent that I couldn't hold it back, and I accidentally broke through to the Purple Palace. Yesterday, I happened to ask Elder Tian... the old Peak Master, how to avoid being monitored by others' spiritual senses, and I accidentally learned a few more tricks. The result is what I'm like now."
Although Tian Laokou looked disgusted at the time and said that the Ladder to Heaven was a waste in her hands, he still pinched his nose and taught her how to use spiritual sense to activate the Ladder to Heaven.
Due to the limitation of his cultivation, if the ability to ascend the Heaven Ladder is divided into ten levels, Yun Miao's current poor cultivation level can only activate half a level, and this is only with the assistance of his spiritual consciousness in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
There are two unlocked functions: Attack: Use spiritual consciousness to drive the ladder to fly towards the enemy at a high speed. The attack distance depends on the range of the owner's spiritual consciousness.
Auxiliary: Utilizes the spiritual energy within the body to generate a protective shield with special effects. For example, full output of spiritual energy can enhance defense, up to the point of blocking a full-strength attack from a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. Other functions include gathering spiritual energy, avoiding water, avoiding fire, and so on.
Yun Miao is now using the function of isolating breath. According to Tian Laokou, it is very effective for cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Stage, but there is only a 70% chance of concealing it against cultivators in the Golden Core Stage.
Mo Aotian only knew that she was in the Qi Refining Stage, but he didn't know that her spiritual awareness had already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, so he relaxed his vigilance towards her, and thus his 70% confidence became 100%.
Just from its auxiliary capabilities, you can tell how powerful the Ladder itself is. So when Tian Laokou discovered that the Ladder in Yun Miao's hands could only hit people from a distance, he was so heartbroken that he beat his chest and stamped his feet, saying that this was simply like a three-year-old child using the imperial seal to crack walnuts. The most annoying thing was that she couldn't hit it accurately!
Good news: I learned a couple of tricks.
The bad news: those are the only two options.
Mo Aotian naturally didn't know that Yun Miao's house was just an unfinished house behind the fine decoration on the surface, and he was really frightened by her for a moment.
Niu Raohan smiled and admired her talent, feeling ashamed of himself.
Mo Aotian, still half-convinced, said angrily, "You've been awesome this time! You may listen to what I said, but I'm warning you not to tell on me, or else... don't blame me for being rude to you!"
His head suddenly turned into a ferocious dragon head, opening his bloody mouth and revealing his cold sharp teeth.
Niu Rao immediately stood in front of Yun Miao, his eyes glaring again, his fists clenched loudly: "How do you want to be rude?"
Mo Aotian, threatened, turned back to his normal self with grievance: "Lao Niu, shouldn't you be in the same group with me? Did you realize she was eavesdropping a long time ago?"
Niu Rao loosened his fist, smiled foolishly and said nothing.
Yun Miao poked his head out from behind him, sneering with a smug look on his face: "You're welcome? How do you want to be rude to me?"
Then she deliberately put her hands on the pergola and looked around. "Speaking of which, where's that great general who just led the army back in triumph? I clearly saw him and Senior Brother Niu walking into the woods together. How come he suddenly disappeared? Instead, this cowardly general who wanted to escape is standing here, and he dares to threaten me?"
Mo Aotian's handsome face flushed again, and a few black scales appeared faintly on his originally smooth neck.
"Okay, okay, now that you've said that, if I don't teach you a lesson, wouldn't I really be a coward?"
Niu Rao quickly spread his arms to block the two of them, turning back to persuade Yun Miao to be quiet and Mo Aotian to calm down. If Mo Aotian dared to bully the weak, don't blame him for really hitting Jiao.
Mo Aotian pretended not to hear what Niu Rao said. His eyes had changed from normal black pupils to black vertical pupils, revealing a hint of ferocity. He stared at Yun Miao behind Niu Rao.
"I know you're injured, but I won't bully you. I'll suppress my strength to the seventh level of the Qi Refining Stage. You can use your magic weapon freely, while I'll only use my hands and feet. I won't use any other magic weapons, elixirs, or anything like that. Let's have a real fight on the Qi Refining Stage's stage."
"If you lose, you have to promise me not to tell on me, and stand on that ridge in the field and yell 'I'm a coward' ten times every day for a month! Do you dare?"
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The author has something to say: Mo Aotian: Tell my mother, I’m not a coward!
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