Chapter 30 Promotion
Wu Buyu's earnest and heartfelt persuasion to Ji Zhuang to leave stemmed from a lack of other options.
He's already very old. In a few years, when even flying at high speed will be difficult, I guess no caravan will want him anymore.
He secretly hoped that his young apprentice, Ji Zhuang, would have a better life after he left.
As for Ji Rong, it wasn't that he wanted to abandon her, but rather that her aptitude was simply too poor; there were plenty of such lowly cultivators out there, and they were beyond help.
If he were to die, Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang would have a very difficult time surviving in Ligu City. Given the choice, he naturally hoped that Ji Zhuang could get rid of Ji Rong, this burden.
Unfortunately, Ji Zhuang had been hanging out with Ji Rong for too long, and his mind was filled with blood ties and moral principles that Wu Buyu had never heard of.
What a joke! What does a lowly cultivator struggling to survive need blood ties and morality for?
Beasts who become cultivators simply have simple thought processes. It's not that they want to follow the rules; often, they appear to follow the rules only because their pitiful brains simply don't know how to break them.
After spending a long time together, Wu Buyu naturally became aware of Ji Rong's unusual behavior, but he was old and too lazy to think about it anymore.
Ji Rong understood the whole story from what Wu Buyu and Ji Zhuang said, but she pretended not to know. However, her guilt towards her brother Ji Zhuang grew stronger day by day.
Over the years, although she has worked, her income has been quite low; the spirit crystals she and her brother earned were not enough to live in such a spacious cave dwelling, nor could they afford to eat fine spirit food every day.
These were all obtained from the old cultivator Kenwu Buyu.
But Wu Buyu is right. Her brother is far more talented than her. He shouldn't struggle to survive just to accommodate her. This is not the life her brother Ji Zhuang should live.
So, after her brother Ji Zhuang returned, Ji Rong explained the pros and cons to him.
Ji Zhuang disagreed.
“But brother,” Ji Rong said anxiously, “if you join the caravan of the blessed land, it will still pay you. You can bring me money back when you travel, wouldn’t that be enough?”
“Little sister, you’re too naive. If we leave, how will you survive, being so weak? Have you forgotten the meat that your brother and master collected two years ago? Some of it didn’t actually freeze to death.”
Ji Zhuang grinned, sticking out his sharp tongue. Fine, sharp teeth were embedded in the flesh of his hyoid bone. He said, "The spirit rabbit meat you mentioned that was delicious was the one I pecked to death."
"Don't worry, little sister, we still have the Mysterious Returning Wood Token given to us by the Tiger Child Mountain's center forward; even if Master dies, your brother can keep you alive, and besides, your brother's cultivation will definitely increase again."
“But…” Ji Rong wanted to persuade him further, but Ji Zhuang embraced her with his wings. His words were filled with deep sorrow. He said, “Sister, don’t say anymore. I’m afraid. I don’t want you to die too.”
Ji Rong remained silent, for she felt the same way; she feared that Ji Zhuang would die before her, so she hoped he would leave.
Thinking of her worries, Ji Rong decided to find a way to break through. No matter what method she used, as long as she could improve her cultivation, her brother would be at ease.
Moreover, if her cultivation level were higher, she could do more, and they could earn more.
——————
Unable to figure out how to break through, Ji Rong set her sights on Wu Buyu. Wu Buyu didn't want to pay attention to her, but Ji Rong, in order to show that she was different from other cultivators of the same level, began to memorize the "Phoenix True Explanation".
After Feng Lie died that day, the "Phoenix True Explanation" was imprinted in her mind like a brand. After she reached the Spirit Realm, she was gradually able to recite a few parts of it, but the more she read, the more her head ached.
Ji Zhuang naturally knew about this matter. The "Soaring Cloud Ice Blade" he obtained that day was a decent attack technique, but it was far inferior to the system and its vastness that Ji Rong had obtained. Ji Zhuang learned many principles by often listening to Ji Rong recite mantras for him.
At first, Wu Buyu listened to Ji Rong's recitation with great interest, but then he realized something was wrong.
The more Ji Rong carried him, the more strained she became, and her body swayed. But today, no matter how badly her head hurt and how much blood was flowing from her nose, Ji Rong still insisted on carrying him. Wu Buyu was shocked to see this and no longer cared about those profound incantations. He hurriedly reached out and gently pinched Ji Rong's beak, forbidding her from carrying him anymore.
Ji Rong then leaned back and fainted.
After sleeping for seven days, Ji Rong finally woke up. On the other side of the cushion, Wu Buyu, who was excited, and Ji Zhuang, whose eyes were bloodshot and who was extremely anxious, were both looking at her.
She tried to speak but found her voice was hoarse; well, now she'd have to ask Li Fengnian for leave again.
It was a month later when Ji Rong was able to speak. Wu Buyu asked Ji Rong impatiently, "When did you get this?"
Ji Rong nodded and said, "But I only know how to read a little bit, and it's very difficult to memorize it."
"You know everything?!"
Ji Rong nodded: "Yes, from beginning to end, but there are many parts I don't understand. My brother knows more than I do now."
Upon hearing this, Wu Buyu felt an instant sense of satisfaction. He stared hatefully in the direction of Zhongzhou, his whole bird trembling as he murmured, "Heaven hasn't forsaken me... good child! You are truly a very good child, no wonder Huang Pinjie likes you so much!"
No wonder, no wonder. I thought she knew I was proud; so that's the crux of the matter.
Huang Pinjie's judgment of Wu Buyu was correct.
If it weren't for the past ten years of getting to know each other, and if Wu Buyu had known from the beginning that Ji Rong actually possessed the "Phoenix True Understanding," he might have resorted to torture and forced confessions. But now he won't.
He barely escaped the massacre; throughout his life, he experienced unprecedented bitterness and joy during those ten years of hardship. As his life drew to a close, he no longer feared death.
Even if Ji Rong were sold to the Golden Cauldron Palace, it would only mean sending his own head there, delaying his execution.
However, if he could nurture Ji Rong well, even if it was just to accompany her for a while and pass on the "Phoenix True Explanation", Wu Buyu would be a great contributor to the bird family.
Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang did not yet understand the immense significance of the "Phoenix True Understanding." It was the inheritance that Feng Lie had obtained by sacrificing his own origin and pleading with the heavens for the Phoenix Clan. It carried the history, supernatural powers, and methods of the Phoenix Clan, and even Feng Lie himself might not have mastered it so completely.
If Jin Ding Palace has mastered the true "Phoenix Secrets," then the future of thousands of phoenix species will depend on what the person who possesses the secrets of the Phoenix Secrets thinks.
This is fate! Who could have imagined that such an important lineage would be obtained by such a lowly bird?
Wu Buyu changed his previous disdain and decided to teach Ji Rong properly, but he lost heart after only a few days.
Ji Rong, he can't teach her!
Ji Rong was actually learning the methods of the Celestial Race. As for the methods of the Illusionary Transformation stage, Huang Pinjie was dead and could no longer translate them for Ji Rong.
As for Ji Rong's suggestion to learn the Celestial Race's script, Wu Buyu shook his head. There were few cultivators in Ligu City with such abilities, and even if there were, they couldn't afford the teachers.
Therefore, Wu Buyu was at ease to act as Ji Rong's translator, teaching Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang word by word the parts of "The True Meaning of the Phoenix" that Ji Rong could read.
At the same time, he repeatedly instructed Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang not to utter a single word to other living beings; if a powerful cultivator with malicious intent found out, they would most likely face endless torment, wishing for death but unable to.
Wu Buyu's expression was serious, and his whole body seemed to radiate a solemn light. Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang quickly responded.
With Wu Buyu's explanation, Ji Rong memorized many bird-related spells; while Ji Zhuang felt an increasing understanding and affinity for the trace of phoenix bloodline hidden within him.
His spiritual platform expanded rapidly, and a bird's soul emerged from it;
His bones cracked and popped, and his fur changed; the spiritual energy around the cave seemed to be drawn to him, and claws seemed to grow from the tips of Ji Zhuang's wings. This was a sign that he was about to naturally reach the melting stage.
Seeing this, Wu Buyu was both pleased and worried.
The spiritual energy here is thin, yet Ji Zhuang was able to break through to the next realm without taking any suitable high-grade spiritual medicine. If other cultivators find out, the consequences could be dire.
So Wu Buyu, Ji Zhuang, and Ji Rong discussed it and gathered all the treasures in their bags together, intending for Wu Buyu to take them and resell them to exchange for a spiritual medicine to cover it up.
Wu Buyu picked out the feathers and storage bag that Ji Erqingshi had left for them and returned them, intending to just buy an Eight-Turn Gale Grass to settle the matter.
But after hearing this, Ji Rong handed over the feathers and the pouch, saying, "Grandpa Wu, sell them all. Let's make the act more convincing. Otherwise, a meticulous cultivator like me will also become suspicious."
Wu Buyu thought Ji Rong was right, but he still kept the feathers. Qing Shi's few feathers were only good-looking; they weren't as valuable as his.
Finally, Wu Buyu sold the storage bag and the three hundred feathers he had refined, exchanging them for a Nine-Turn Vermilion Fruit that met Ji Zhuang's advancement requirements and two auxiliary spiritual medicines.
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