SQLJBFDTW Chapter 30

Chapter 30: New Year: Is it a Bear or a Rabbit?

When the purple lightning subsided, the thick clouds gradually dispersed, allowing countless colorful rays of heavenly light to penetrate.

Chao Jianxue swayed on his horse, looked back, and blurted out in amazement, “Tyndall effect!”

Yu Wei, leading his horse beside him, heard this sudden remark and also looked back.

“It’s the Heavenly Dao shedding light.” He said softly.

This meant that Lady Purple Myrtle had successfully entered the Tribulation Transcending Stage. From now on, congratulatory gifts and letters from all over would gather at Youmeng Sanqiandu, filling the Joyful Union Sect to the brim.

“Suddenly, a Tribulation Transcending cultivator has appeared; the masters must be busy as well,” Xie Bingyuan sighed.

Li Zhenzhen said, “Fortunately, it wasn’t from the Tianyao Sect. Otherwise, the sect leader would be forced into three years of closed-door cultivation, and we disciples would suffer!”

“What’s the difference?”

Li Zhenzhen urged his horse forward, riding alongside Chao Jianxue, and said, “Just like how the few of us can barely hold off Lin Yao of the Transformation Stage, Lady Purple Myrtle cultivates the Joyful Union Dao, which is not good for killing. In terms of martial prowess alone, she can’t beat a late-stage Great Vehicle sword cultivator. Even if the pressure of the Tribulation Transcending Stage comes down, two Great Vehicle cultivators should be able to break through it.”

So there was such a thing, Chao Jianxue understood.

He thought of the Thousand Mile Sword. Ever since the Lady gave him the sword that night, he had kept it in his golden bracelet. When he reached out his spiritual sense to look, he was horrified to find that the sword had lost its shape.

After carefully examining it, he discovered that the Thousand Mile Sword had merged with his Ming Qianli, the two spirits combining into one, tirelessly and slowly rotating.

Chao Jianxue glanced again at the colorful beams of light falling from the sky.

The wind rose, and purple cherry blossoms fluttered and fell under those heavenly lights, romantic like rain, like mist, like the bubbles of a colorful dream.

They flashed back to the Wuwu Sect, forgetting to add clothes, and were covered in flying snow.

The timing was perfect; the next day was the sect’s reunion dinner.

The disciples greeted their masters, the sect leader, and the masters of other peaks with New Year’s greetings one by one. When it was Chao Jianxue’s turn, he was about to finish the routine greeting when the sect leader stopped him and asked, “Have you advanced to the Golden Core stage?”

Chao Jianxue straightened his back, imitating Yu Wei’s respectful manner, and simply replied, “Yes.”

The other disciples present showed ghost-like expressions. This was even rarer than the sun rising in the west.

The sect leader stroked his long beard leisurely and looked at Mu Yuan, who also humbly returned his gaze, “Sect leader, don’t worry. This child has finally embarked on the right path.”

Chao Jianxue felt the sect leader’s intriguing gaze again, with a strange scrutiny that made him uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was suspected of having an improper background. It was so prejudiced.

He stood there quietly for a while, finally able to take his seat. According to seniority, he sat on Nan Shan’s left.

Li Zhenzhen waved to him from diagonally behind, and he raised the jade dew in his hand to clink glasses with him from afar.

The so-called reunion dinner, he thought it would be the usual dishes, but as the dishes were served one by one, Chao Jianxue stared blankly.

What pearl pills, hundred-year-old ginseng slices, a drop of dew collected from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth…

At this time, he had to admit that he was a country bumpkin who couldn’t appreciate fine food.

Chao Jianxue watched the other disciples around him taste the dishes reverently, as if they were treasures, and tasted each dish absentmindedly, tasting like chewing wax.

After that, it was the disciples’ social time.

He was still struggling to chew the round, icy pearl in his mouth when he heard someone gossiping about him.

“Who knows what means he used? It’s impossible to reach the Golden Core stage all of a sudden…”

Although the voice was small, Chao Jianxue happened to be petty and very sensitive to such voices.

He immediately looked coldly at the source of the sound.

Even if it was the effect of the Thousand Mile Clarity Mind Method, it was he who snatched the Mind Method and desperately broke through the key points. Blood flowed like a river, and the pain was excruciating, but it turned into a sentence of “what means,” which was really ridiculous.

Chao Jianxue usually looked beautiful, and when he was cold, he was also very intimidating. His two dark eyes were heavy, as if he was about to eat people.

“Just look at his appearance, how does he look like a disciple of the Wuwu Sect?”

Those disciples changed places, probably to gossip elsewhere.

Chao Jianxue bit the pearl in annoyance, and the icy feeling cracked in his mouth, making his teeth chatter with cold.

He turned his head away to avoid seeing, and saw that Yu Wei was surrounded, with junior brothers calling out to him, it was very lively. And Li Zhenzhen and Xie Bingyuan were also laughing together.

Chao Jianxue ate another pearl, crushed it hard, and shivered again from the cold. He got up and left the table alone.

Snow fell one after another as he left the main peak and went to the Moon Gazing Platform.

Ming Qianli and the Thousand Mile Sword officially combined and could already turn into the shape of a sword. He used it smoothly, so he simply only used Ming Qianli from now on.

The sword shadow was bright, reflecting his own face.

Chao Jianxue blew a breath on the snow on the sword, picked up the sword, and practiced swordsmanship.

Spinning, attacking, stabbing, turning… He practiced dozens of times without stopping, the heat melting the snowflakes on his eyelashes, condensing into water droplets.

When his wrist was numb, Chao Jianxue finished practicing happily, and Ming Qianli obediently coiled back around his arm.

He turned around to go down the Moon Gazing Platform, but saw a person standing under the platform with an umbrella, not knowing how long he had been watching.

The umbrella was raised, and Chao Jianxue sneezed.

Yu Wei said, “I wanted to come here to practice swordsmanship, but I didn’t expect Senior Brother to be here.”

This child’s diligence was outrageous.

Chao Jianxue was speechless, “I came out to practice swordsmanship because I was upset. Weren’t you chatting happily with them?”

“Why is Senior Brother upset?”

“You know why.” Chao Jianxue walked down, passing him by.

The plain umbrella covered his head. Chao Jianxue was stunned and looked up to see the ink plum swaying.

“What others say is their business. Senior Brother doesn’t have to mind.”

Yu Wei was actually concerned about him?

Chao Jianxue met his questioning gaze and felt that he was being illuminated by a light similar to that of a fairy again.

He smiled, “Of course I know, but I’m just petty, and I just feel uncomfortable when I hear it. You wouldn’t understand.”

Yu Wei’s holy face did not change. Chao Jianxue dodged his umbrella, walked into the snow alone, and waved to him, “I’m going back to Qingxue Residence.”

“Senior Brother!” Yu Wei called him.

Chao Jianxue turned his head patiently and saw a jade porcelain bottle suddenly appear in his hand.

“It’s the finale of the banquet just now, a rare spiritual spring wine. Senior Brother, dispel the cold.”

Based on the principle of not taking it for nothing, Chao Jianxue took it. It was still hot.

He curled his lips and said, “Thank you.”

Yu Wei’s umbrella tilted towards him again. Chao Jianxue folded his arms, wondering if he was going to say those useless words of persuasion.

Unexpectedly, Yu Wei’s expression was faint, but a square box wrapped in floral paper appeared in his palm.

Chao Jianxue was stunned, and his defensive posture relaxed. He lowered his head to look.

Yu Wei said, “It’s the incense burner I bought in the Water Moon Valley that day. I was going to give it to Senior Brother, but I hesitated for a while and delayed it.”

Chao Jianxue took the box in flattered surprise. It was heavy, and his mood suddenly became cheerful.

He hugged the box tightly and couldn’t stop smiling, “Look at you… Oh, Junior Brother is so considerate.”

The original haze was swept away. He picked out a spiritual weapon from his golden ring with great interest and forcibly stuffed it into Yu Wei’s hand, “Take it, take it! It’s impolite not to reciprocate.”

After thinking about it, he stuffed a few more spirit stones to him, “I’ll give you New Year’s money!”

It was the first time he had given New Year’s money. He didn’t know how much to give, so he just stuffed a few more because he was happy.

Yu Wei’s lips curled up, and joy appeared in his eyes, making him lively all of a sudden, more likable than usual.

“Happy New Year, Senior Brother.” He said to Chao Jianxue.

Chao Jianxue said happily, “Happy New Year! Junior Brother.”

He walked back happily, holding the wine and the incense burner. Looking back again, Yu Wei walked up to the Moon Gazing Platform with his sword, his back lonely.

So diligent…

But… is it really okay to let Yu Wei practice swordsmanship here? Who knows if he will break through again while practicing?

He sniffed his numb nose and shouted, “Why don’t we drink together?”

Unexpectedly, Yu Wei said yes. The two sat in the small pavilion next to the Moon Gazing Platform and drank one after another. The development was so smooth that Chao Jianxue doubted his life.

Without speaking, he listened to the snow falling, and his heart was rarely calm.

It was so calm that when Chao Jianxue woke up the next day, he thought he had dreamed last night. But the lotus incense burner was still on the table, it was not a dream.

According to the rules, the inner disciples had to sweep the snow this day, the kind without spiritual power or magic.

The snow had stopped. Chao Jianxue arrived early, and Mu Yuan gave him a broom and assigned him to sweep the snow on the west side of Fuxian Mountain.

He carried the broom and lazily swept down the stone steps. Occasionally, one or two squirrels drilled out of the white field of vision and were driven by him to the nearby tall trees.

While sweeping, a unique courtyard appeared around the corner.

Under the reflection of the snow, the entire residence faintly glowed with a light cyan color, and a bronze bell was hung on the eaves, which would jingle endlessly in the wind.

A squirrel swooshed out from his feet, neatly climbed up the eaves along the porch pillar, stepped out a string of footprints on the snow layer, and straightened up to look back at him warily.

Chao Jianxue took a closer look, and this residence, full of its owner’s immortal spirit, was Yu Wei’s Qingya Residence.

He had never entered Yu Wei’s residence before.

Chao Jianxue muttered in his heart and swept into Qingya Residence all the way.

This place was particularly elegant. There was also a small pond in the courtyard, which was now covered by snow, but after stroking the snow layer, the two red fish under the ice surface were still wagging their tails.

“Junior Brother?” Chao Jianxue shouted in front of the door, but there was no answer.

He wanted to push the door, but when he reached out, he realized that there was a restriction here.

Those below the Nascent Soul stage are not allowed to enter.

Chao Jianxue: “…” He was something.

He swept the snow around Qingya Residence, passing the side window, where the window was half open. He glanced inside. The furnishings inside were extremely simple, the floor was spotless, and even the quilt was neatly folded.

Chao Jianxue suspected that he couldn’t even find a hair on his couch.

The pens and inks on the table were neatly hung, and the book was probably half written, with a paperweight pressed on the side. The copper stove was still emitting smoke, it was incense for concentrating.

Chao Jianxue suddenly felt that he was a bit like a thief, and couldn’t figure out what was good to see. He continued to sweep, sweeping the snow of Qingya Residence in one place and rolling it into a huge snowball.

Then, after thinking about it, he summoned Ming Qianli.

The sword light flashed, and he hurriedly carried out a carving.

A round rabbit.

In the evening, the masters and disciples listened to Mu Yuan’s lecture on the Moon Gazing Platform. Yu Wei approached Chao Jianxue under the deliberate gaze he cast, and asked in a low voice, “Has Senior Brother been to Qingya Residence?”

Chao Jianxue had a proud tone that said, “I helped you sweep away the snow. How is it? I also added a scenery for you, as a thank you for drinking with me last night.”

Yu Wei pondered for a moment and said, “The bear carved by Senior Brother is indeed lifelike.”

Chao Jianxue also pondered and did not answer.

He chose to turn his head and listen carefully to Mu Yuan’s “Heavenly Dao Nature.”

After about six or seven days of leisure, the inner disciples routinely went to patrol the areas under their respective jurisdiction in the human world.

This was Chao Jianxue’s first time in the human world. He thought that the journey from the Xuanzhen Realm to the human world would be a rather grand journey, but the result was that he took the jade token, and the masters cast spells to open the two-world entrance.

It turned out that only three Great Vehicle cultivators could open the formation.

When his feet stepped on the ground, Chao Jianxue couldn’t believe it. Had he arrived in the human world just like that?

Looking up, the cold sun was hanging high in the sky, it was also the middle of winter.

The area under the jurisdiction of Fuxian Mountain was in the northern region of the human world, among the mountains. All they saw was a yellowing bamboo forest, and the bamboo leaves were trapped and falling.

Chao Jianxue immediately noticed the difference between the human world and the Xuanzhen Realm. The spiritual energy here was much thinner. Therefore, it was much more difficult for the human world to become demons and immortals than the Xuanzhen Realm.

Nan Shan took out the compass, and the pointer on the dial swished, dividing into several directions.

“I and Qiu Shui are responsible for the northwest, how about asking Junior Brother and Senior Brother Chao for the southeast?”

Nan Shan and Qiu Shui had the most tacit understanding. They were always tied together for outside missions.

Chao Jianxue had no opinion and got up and walked to the right of the bamboo forest.

After walking for a while, he asked Yu Wei:

“Why can’t I see a single person here?”

Yu Wei said, “This place is remote. Only hunters come and go. Now it’s winter, and there are few hunters going up the mountain. But further south is the Juling Kingdom. You can see the city from the top of the mountain.”

“Junior Brother has been here many times?”

“After the Golden Core stage, I often come here. Four or five months in the Xuanzhen Realm is one year in the human world. The last time I patrolled, it was still spring here.”

“Eh–” Chao Jianxue had a question, “Has the human world always been like this? Hasn’t there been anything like a four-wheeled automatic carriage?”

Yu Wei looked puzzled.

Chao Jianxue understood that it was indeed a world without logical thinking.

At this time, the demon-seeking plate in Yu Wei’s hand vibrated. The two looked at each other and hurried in the indicated direction.