Chapter 225 The Ruthless Senior Brother of the Path of the Path of the Cannon Fodder (Part 8) Perhaps...
Perhaps, as Senior Brother Qingmu said, those demonic cultivators did not expect Heng Mo to return to Anguo so quickly, so their plan to capture him was not yet complete. This also resulted in the fact that the only people chasing them were four Golden Core stage demonic cultivators who were probably hastily assembled.
This was the first time Heng Mo had seen a Nascent Soul cultivator make a move. As expected, sword cultivators were the most numerous profession in the cultivation world. The Third Elder's sword strike was like piercing through the clouds and chasing the sun, its sword light dazzling and eye-catching. The four demonic cultivators only had time to utter an "Ah" before they were killed.
Lin You sighed, "Although many sword cultivators don't have much extra income, their attack power is really high, and they're really cool. No wonder so many people would rather be poor than not become sword cultivators."
Heng Mo was no longer able to intervene in the remaining matters. After being sent back to the sect, he continued to cultivate. Originally, the Seventh Elder wanted him to learn swordsmanship from the Third Elder, but Heng Mo seriously expressed that he wanted to learn alchemy, weapon crafting, talisman drawing, and array formation.
Seventh Elder: ...?
Although he was happy that his youngest apprentice wanted to inherit his mantle, is it really okay for someone with an ice spirit root to want to learn how to make a furnace?
Heng Mo hadn't forgotten Lin You's mission. If he went to learn swordsmanship, how could he gather herbs, mine, and wander around?
The most important thing for a sword cultivator is focus. If you are not focused when learning swordsmanship, it is disrespectful to the sword. If he were to do a mission while learning swordsmanship, he would probably make his third senior uncle furious.
Hearing this, Lin You offered a few words of advice: "The mission isn't urgent. You can always do it later when you've made progress in your cultivation."
Heng Mo shook his head. "It's not just for Senior Lin's mission. Anguo is too poor. I need to earn more spirit stones. If necessary, I can switch to cultivation later. Anyway, Master said that a cultivator's lifespan is very long."
The initial stage of Qi Refining grants a lifespan of two hundred years, the Golden Core stage five hundred years, the Nascent Soul stage one thousand years, the Deity Transformation stage two thousand years, and the Tribulation Transcending stage five thousand years...
The number, coupled with the words "cultivation world," does indeed make it seem like there isn't much time. But from another perspective, her development in modern China has only spanned five thousand years.
Lin You herself, even adding up her life before death and all the time she traveled through, had only lived for a little over thirty years.
She patted Heng Mo on the shoulder: "You're right, you have plenty of time, learn slowly, there's no rush."
In cultivation, there are plenty of people who enter the Qi Refining stage in their fifties or sixties. Xiao Mo is only fifteen, so there's really no need to rush.
As for Lin You, having arrived in a world brimming with spiritual energy, and having just broken through a bottleneck, she naturally needs to work hard to cultivate.
Points are important, but strength is even more important. If her strength reaches a certain level, she won't be subject to too many restrictions and will naturally be able to protect her family.
The Seventh Elder's grades in his main courses were not good, but he had learned a lot of skills in his elective courses. His junior disciples often came to him to learn from him. He was gentle and always taught whatever major the children wanted to study.
This habit extended to his own disciple as well. After Heng Mo brought it up, he only thought about it for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before confirming that Heng Mo really wanted to learn alchemy, rather than just having an extra subject to study on a whim.
Of course, one must know about spiritual herbs to refine elixirs. One of the most convenient things in the cultivation world is that students don't need to memorize books. They can directly copy knowledge into their minds using jade slips, such as the jade slip with a picture book of spiritual herbs in the cultivation world that the Seventh Elder gave to Heng Mo.
Because the items could be used repeatedly, not only did Heng Mo gain an extra memory, but Lin You also used them as well.
The spiritual herbs in this world are quite different from those she encountered in her previous cultivation world. She can harvest some to refine pills later, whether for her own use or to sell for points, it's a great option.
The company has a rule that employees who are not part of a mission cannot take other items given to them, but Lin You has an ID card.
It was only then that she belatedly realized that ID cards weren't just something that could be used in modern times.
This thing grants her a legitimate identity in this world. This legitimacy isn't just legal within the country; even from the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, as long as she doesn't cause trouble, her identity is perfectly acceptable.
This also means that Lin You can take away unclaimed items or legal income from this world without going through Heng Mo.
Suddenly, she discovered that the cheat code "Golden Finger Test" wasn't as useless as she thought. After all, many of Lin You's items came from treasure chests given after completing the Golden Finger quests.
There are many things that you can't even buy from the system's in-game store.
The Xuan Yang Sect occupies a large area, with each elder having their own mountain. The open spaces between the mountains are used to build libraries, martial arts training grounds, sect halls, and so on.
The mountain was surrounded by a forested mountain range, divided into different areas. From time to time, people would capture suitable monsters and use this place as a training ground for the disciples.
Heng Mo went to the safest area. There were no demonic beasts there, but there were quite a few ordinary wild animals, and some of the servant disciples were hunting there.
Although it's only one area, it's quite large, and there's even a small bamboo forest where he can complete many cheat-like tasks.
Heng Mo didn't need to come here to pick them; the Seventh Elder's medicinal field had many herbs.
But he made an excuse that it was no big deal to learn about the habits of wild herbs. After confirming that he had completed his daily cultivation tasks on time and had a thorough understanding of the theoretical knowledge, the Seventh Elder was very open-minded and let him wander around.
Kids are naturally playful, as long as it doesn't interfere with their studies, it's fine.
[Ding! Collection of ten herbs completed, earning 1 game point.]
[Ding! Collection of ten kinds of wild fruits completed, game points +1.]
[Ding! You have successfully caught ten different types of fish. You have earned 1 game point.]
[Ding! Capturing ten different prey items complete, earning you +1 game point.]
…………
Heng Mo wandered around while completing tasks. He worked very efficiently and completed about ten tasks in half a day. But to others, he just seemed like he was there to have fun.
One moment they're picking flowers and cutting grass, the next they're climbing trees to pick fruit, then they're fishing, then they're hunting—they're completely neglecting their duties.
The Seventh Elder allowed him to play around, as long as it didn't interfere with his serious cultivation. But there are always some people who have a possessive desire for other people's disciples.
For example, the Third Elder, who liked to come and freeload on pills, would always pull Heng Mo aside for private lessons. Heng Mo learned a lot of movement techniques and moves from him, but he never agreed to learn swordsmanship.
But he learns everything quickly and has exceptional talent, which makes the Third Elder even more eager to take him back. If he didn't have to save face, he would have wanted to carry the unconscious man back with him.
The Seventh Elder rolled his eyes at his words: "You think you have any shame? Aren't you just afraid I'll get angry and you won't be able to get free pills and magical artifacts anymore?"
The Third Elder wanted nothing more than to grab his shoulders and shake him violently, but remembering the Yuan-Nourishing Pill he had just rubbed into his sleeve, he didn't dare to touch him, and could only howl:
"Little Mo is truly a promising talent for swordsmanship!! Exceptional aptitude, superb temperament, and extraordinary comprehension. Seventh Junior Brother, you can't waste such a gift!!"
Unfortunately, the Seventh Elder remained unmoved and said that if he kept yelling, he would pay back the money he owed for the medicine.
The Third Elder fell silent instantly, like a squeaking chicken whose neck had been choked.
Although he claimed the pills were borrowed, the Seventh Elder never asked him for the money back. Even though he would bring back any spiritual herbs or monsters he encountered or killed while out, Xiao Qi still lost money.
You should know that he wasn't the only one in his family who relied on this junior uncle for alchemy and magical artifacts; three of his disciples also depended on this junior uncle for support, and even their pocket money came from him.
Heng Mo wasn't truly unwilling to learn swordsmanship from the Third Elder; the main issue was that there was another person in the Xuan Yang Sect who was possessive of other people's disciples.
To speed up his progress, Heng Mo would go to play in the grove after finishing his daily cultivation. He wasn't greedy; he would complete ten random tasks a day and then leave.
Lin You didn't know what Heng Mo had experienced as a child, but whether it was climbing trees to steal bird nests, going down to the river to catch fish, digging for wild vegetables and fruits, making traps to catch rabbits and pheasants, or even picking mushrooms and digging bamboo shoots, he was good at any task of finding food.
It's both admirable and heartbreaking to watch.
Then Heng Mo received a lot of food in a daze, including fried chicken and fried fish that he would never eat, as well as all kinds of sweet candies and snacks. Although he didn't know why Senior Lin had developed such a habit, he never picked and chose food when there was something to eat.
Meanwhile, the usually aloof and detached Elder Xuan Ling, who dislikes going out and doesn't care about anything serious or trivial, and is focused on cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness, has been acting like he's sick lately, going to the grove to ambush Heng Mo every few days.
Every time he gets stuck, he pretends to give a lecture, from Heng Mo being distracted by frivolous pursuits and wasting his talent, to the Seventh Elder not knowing how to teach according to aptitude and being unworthy of being a teacher, and then saying what would happen if he followed him.
Lin You didn't know if it was because of the plot or if this guy was just crazy, but Heng Mo had no intention of learning swordsmanship from him.
To avoid being forcibly taken away under the pretext of instructing him on swordsmanship, Heng Mo has not touched a sword at all so far.
He tried his hand at all sorts of weapons, including knives, spears, and clubs, and even practiced throwing knives, but he just wouldn't learn swordsmanship.
The Seventh Elder watched as he learned all sorts of things, but he didn't stop him. Instead, he would occasionally give him some pointers, which infuriated the Third Elder, who came to visit every few days, and Xuan Ling, who was secretly keeping an eye on Heng Mo's learning progress.
Although Xuan Ling would always pretend to argue with Heng Mo, he always cared about his public image and would never do something like running up the mountain to snatch a disciple.
As for his attempt to entice Heng Mo with preferential treatment...
Lin You and Heng Mo still remember the day he ambushed Heng Mo in the grove while he was grinding for grilled fish for a quest, and he said in a cold and aloof tone:
"With such indulgence in frivolous pursuits, when will you ever achieve anything great? With your top-grade ice spiritual root, if you were to follow me and learn the ruthless sword path, I could have you temper your character in the sword formation, eliminate distracting thoughts, and undergo forty-nine tribulations every day to refine your mind and body, allowing you to go further on the path to immortality."
After Xuan Ling finished speaking, he deliberately put his hands behind his back, turned around, and looked inscrutable, as if he was waiting for Heng Mo to kneel down excitedly and beg to become his disciple.
Xuan Ling waited for a long time, but the boy showed no intention of becoming his disciple. Seeing that he hadn't left for a while, Xuan Ling even asked very obediently, "Elder, would you like some grilled fish?"
Heng Mo appeared respectful on the surface, but inwardly he was cursing. He wasn't an idiot; why would he abandon his beloved master, who doted on him like a son, to go and suffer at the hands of this lunatic?
What they call tempering the mind and body is just making people suffer without any real hardship. Experiencing tribulations every day is just torture. He had already suffered enough in the mortal realm and his character had been tempered long ago. Now he just wants to live a comfortable and carefree life.
Seeing his feigned ignorance, Xuan Ling clenched his fist, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to say he wanted to take on a disciple. He then forcefully turned and left.
After all, how many people with top-grade spiritual roots are truly stupid? This kid clearly doesn't want to learn swordsmanship from him. What if he tells him himself and is then rejected? Where would he put his old face then?
Compared to Xuan Ling, who was particularly concerned about his reputation, the Third Elder was not so particular. Even after being rejected many times, he still couldn't bear to give up on this promising talent.
After learning that his newly accepted disciple Shen Ting was acquainted with Heng Mo, he threw him onto the Seventh Elder's mountain.
Although the Seventh Elder isn't much of a fighter, he's quite good at early childhood education, as evidenced by Heng Mo's solid foundation despite running around playing every day.
Shen Ting, used as bait: ………
So, does that mean I'm not your beloved disciple anymore?!
When they took me in, they spoke so grandly, saying that by following me I would definitely become a world-renowned, world-shaking sword god. But after just over a month, I've been sent out to be used as a tool.
The eldest and second eldest brothers, who were standing nearby, were extremely envious when they heard about it. "Going to Seventh Uncle's place means having food and drink and even pocket money. Isn't that better than just sitting on our mountain eating fasting pills?"
Shen Ting tentatively asked, "Didn't Master say that the reason for taking the Bigu Pill is that after cultivation, eating ordinary grains would cause impurities in the body?"
The eldest brother smiled without saying a word, while the second brother patted him on the shoulder and accidentally dropped a shop price list that someone had given him in front of Shen Ting.
Shen Ting clearly saw that among all the foods that cultivators could eat, the Bigu Pill was the most cost-effective, the cheapest, and the one that kept them full for the longest time.
Among the pile of fasting pills, there were various flavors, sweet, salty, fragrant, and spicy, but the one he ate, which was tasteless, was the cheapest.
Shen Ting finally realized that not all cultivators were without desires; they also had their own appetites. At least one of the exquisite dishes on the list cost a mid-grade spirit stone.
He finally understood that his master dressed so simply every day not because he was indifferent to fame and fortune or material possessions, but because he was poor.
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