The cave is deep and the stream is gurgling.
Tao Fengnian paddled a bamboo raft upstream, while Jiang Yuebai held a lantern to light the way ahead.
The wind is chilly and the air is freezing.
A-choo!
The echoes scared the bats on the cave ceiling away.
Jiang Yuebai dodged the bats that were flying around randomly, rubbed his nose and asked, "Grandpa, where are we going at this time of night?"
Tao Fengnian looked at the bright light in front of the cave and said slowly, "I discovered this waterway in the back mountain of Huaxi Valley by accident. After crossing it, you will reach the Shili Slope on the south side of Yinfengjian, where the sect punishes disciples who make mistakes."
"You have mastered the Gengjin Kung in just half a month, and learned the Fengmang Jue. You have also taken the initial steps in the Chasing Stars Step and Chopping Wood Knife Technique. Grandpa is very surprised and delighted."
Jiang Yuebai narrowed his eyes and smiled foolishly, secretly glancing at his own cultivation panel.
[Name]Jiang Yuebai
[Spiritual Roots] Five Elements Spiritual Roots (Gold 9, Wood 9, Water 9, Fire 9, Earth 9)
[Realm] Qi training level 1
[Exercise]
Gengjin Merit (first layer: 9/100)
Spells
Sharpness Technique (First level: 3/100)
[Martial Arts]
Star-chasing steps (beginner: 15/100)
Wood Chopping Knife Technique (Beginner: 15/100)
She had successfully mastered the technique and reached the first level three days ago, but it was slower than expected because her qi circulation was still new and she needed to practice more.
I have been practicing the Sharp Edge Technique for three days but only learned it today. I was able to successfully stimulate the hair-thin Gengjin sharp edge only three times out of ten. Each time I practiced the Technique, it took about five breaths. I need to continue to increase the power and speed.
The footwork and martial arts progress smoothly, and with accumulation over time you can go from entry level to minor success, and then to major success.
Tao Fengnian used the bamboo pole to speed up the raft and continued, "We will start the actual battle tonight."
"Actual combat?" Jiang Yuebai opened his eyes wide with trepidation.
She thought that once she had learned the Fengmang Jue, she could go to the fields to help with the work, and isn’t the Fengmang Jue a magic formula for killing insects
Tao Fengnian glanced at her and asked with a smile, "Are you scared?"
Jiang Yuebai was nervously pinching the corner of his clothes and trembling a little. He was definitely afraid. Shili Slope in Yinfengjian sounded like a haunted mass grave.
But besides being afraid, she was also trembling because of excitement.
"I told you that if you want to fight, you must first save your life, so I first taught you the powerful Gold Element Kung Fu and Sharp Edge Technique, as well as footwork martial arts. When the one-month deadline is up, you will eventually have to go around the sect, go to the Dharma Hall to listen to lectures, and interact with people."
Jiang Yuebai nodded. She had worried about these things before, but she didn't expect that her grandfather had already made plans for her.
"Grandpa, you are so nice, just as nice as my parents."
Tao Fengnian felt relieved. Seeing the water flow, he suddenly remembered, "You said before that your fingers always feel sluggish when you use the Sharp Edge Technique. You can practice by sinking your hands into the water later."
Jiang Yuebai tilted his head, his eyes full of curiosity.
"The Sharp Edge Technique is the most finger-heavy of the five techniques of the Spiritual Farmer, and it is also the most difficult one. If you learn the Sharp Edge Technique well, it will be much easier to learn other techniques."
"The trick to the Sharp Edge Technique is to stir the spiritual energy with your fingers, separate the spiritual energy, and then condense and consolidate it. The spiritual energy is ethereal and it is difficult for you to find the feeling of stirring it, and you cannot grasp the rhythm and tempo of it. Water flow can replace spiritual energy, you can give it a try."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuebai hurriedly put down the lantern, knelt on the bamboo raft, and sank his hands into the water to stir it.
The icy cold stream water made Jiang Yuebai shiver. She slowly stirred her fingers, and the water flowed through her fingers, making her movements slow down, but eliminating the previous sluggishness and becoming smooth and fluid.
The water flow prevents the movement of the fingers, and the fingers resist the resistance of the water flow. Under this mutual interaction, Jiang Yuebai slowly began to understand what Tao Fengnian meant by rhythm and rhyme.
[You get guidance from others, discover the secret of fingering, and your spirit bursts forth. Your proficiency in the sharp edge technique increases by +1]
Unconsciously, Jiang Yuebai became addicted to it, with his hands immersed in the water, and golden light occasionally emitting from his fingertips.
"Okay, the stream water is cold and not good for your health. When you get back, practice in a water tank. Still water is better than running water. Here we are."
Jiang Yuebai took out her hand reluctantly, her ten little fingers were red from the cold, and she rubbed her hands hurriedly with her breath.
The bamboo raft sailed out of the cave and stopped at the shore.
The moonlight was hazy, the ten-mile hillside was overgrown with weeds, dead trees were everywhere, and the crows on the trees were crying, which was creepy.
A few rats flew by, bones were exposed in the wild, and in the distance there was a ghost-like light floating in the air, appearing and disappearing.
Jiang Yuebai grabbed Tao Fengnian's sleeve. When she was a child, she was naughty and was scared by her mother with ghost stories. Therefore, she was more afraid of ghosts than the jackals, tigers and leopards in the Jiuchong Mountains.
Tao Fengnian pulled his sleeve away from Jiang Yuebai's hand and handed her an axe.
"This hatchet is a low-grade magical weapon that I made myself in my early years. In addition to being quite sharp and able to restrain evil spirits, it can also store the Gengjin sharp edge of the sharp edge technique to slash with powerful force."
"Thirty-three sharp edge techniques can harm an early stage Qi training enemy, sixty-six can harm a middle stage Qi training enemy, and ninety-nine can hurt even a late stage Qi training enemy."
"However, the Gengjin sharpness stored in it can only be used once. When not in use, the Gengjin sharpness will continue to dissipate over time, and it will dissipate in seven days at most. In the future, you should practice the sharpness technique with this sword, make the best use of it, and keep it for self-defense."
Jiang Yuebai took the hatchet, holding it in a heavy hand, sharp.
The blade was completely black and covered with traces of age, with rune grooves visible, waiting for her to inject the sharp edge of Gengjin.
Tao Fengnian led her to push aside the dead grass and walk up the hillside. In the distance, there was a solitary peak standing precariously, with jagged rocks, and the middle seemed to be split by a giant blade, leaving a long and narrow mountain stream.
A cold wind howled in the air, like the wailing of hundreds of ghosts.
Jiang Yuebai held the hatchet tightly and took two quick steps, following closely behind Tao Fengnian.
Soon, Tao Fengnian paused and said, "That one in front is the ghost lantern."
Jiang Yuebai leaned over and half of his head stuck out from behind Tao Fengnian, and saw a lantern-shaped ball of green phosphorous floating under the dead tree in front of him, flickering like breathing.
"Ghost lanterns are weak ghosts born from Yin energy and phosphorous fire from corpses. They have no intelligence and like to bump into living people. When they are bumped into, at most they will be haunted by Yin energy and become sick for a few days."
After hearing this, Jiang Yuebai walked out from behind Tao Fengnian and looked at the ghost fire lantern under the tree with curiosity.
Her gaze gradually drifted away, and she discovered that there were even more ghost lights deep in the hillside, layer upon layer, forming a vast green ocean.
"Why is there no one taking care of all these ghost lanterns?"
It would be a joke if ghosts and monsters were rampant in the territory of immortals.
"Ghost lanterns are weak and insignificant, but they are agile and difficult to catch. Especially when they sense a cultivator with high cultivation, they will escape even faster. Moreover, after being killed, they will appear again within a few days. Therefore, the sect only completely clears them out every three to five years."
After saying that, Tao Fengnian approached quietly, moved his hands quickly, and in just a breath he activated the Sharp Edge Technique.
A short golden light shot out, and the ghost lantern dissipated with a puff.
At this moment, another ghost lantern rushed out from the bushes on the side of the two people and headed straight for Jiang Yuebai.
Seeing this, Tao Fengnian did not make a move. Jiang Yuebai stepped back with his eyes wide open. When the faint green light illuminated his face, he remembered to use the Star-Chasing Step to move to the side, and then swung his knife to chop.
The hatchet broke the ghost lantern, and the phosphorescence scattered like the wind.
[You dodged the ghost lantern with the Star Chasing Step. You were embarrassed and almost fell down, but you successfully dodged it. Star Chasing Step proficiency +1]
[You used the chopping knife technique to fight against Gui Deng. Your knife technique was terrible, but you succeeded in killing him by accident. Your chopping knife technique proficiency +1]
The ghost lantern was extinguished, and before Jiang Yuebai had time to check the panel prompts, she saw green lanterns rising from the ground and surrounding her in an instant.
The phosphorescence fluctuates and the green waves ripple.
It is beautiful, but also dangerous!
Jiang Yuebai swallowed his saliva, stood where he was and dared not move, looking stiffly at Tao Fengnian in the distance. He saw that he lowered his eyes, slowly took out his pipe, lit it, and started smoking.
Dozens of ghost lanterns were attracted by the breath of life on her, and they rioted in an instant, rushing and colliding wildly.
Jiang Yue rolled his eyes, used the Star-Chasing Step, and wielded the axe.
His footwork was awkward and his swordsmanship was clumsy. He had just killed a ghost lantern in front of him when he was hit on the back by three ghost lanterns.
Phosphorescence exploded, and a chilling and piercing air rushed into his body. Jiang Yuebai shivered, and the axe deflected, and the ghost lantern hit his right arm again.
He felt his blood freeze and his right arm became stiff and unable to move. Jiang Yuebai dodged left and right and was surrounded. Gui Deng pressed on step by step, becoming more and more rampant.
Tao Fengnian still had no intention of taking action. Jiang Yuebai's eyes became fierce. Her experiences in the mortal world made her calmer the more dangerous the situation was.
Seeing a group of ghost lanterns coming towards her, she dodged behind a dead tree, circled around, and attacked from the side.
The hatchet swept across, phosphorescence filled the sky, and the group of ghost lanterns turned around. She took a star-chasing step, circled the tree again, and attacked from behind.
Leaning against a dead tree, Jiang Yuebai was no longer panicking. She remained calm and composed. She used the Star-Chasing Step and the Wood-Chopping Knife Technique to complement each other. She advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, and dozens of ghost lanterns were gradually chopped off by her.
Tao Fengnian nodded slowly, and his eyes looking at Jiang Yuebai became brighter and brighter.
The last ghost lantern was extinguished, and Jiang Yuebai felt relieved, but then he was struck by fear.
She leaned against the tree, feeling cold and panting. Just as she stood up and was about to speak, she saw more ghost lanterns emerging from the ground.
It's obvious that he is trying to kill her while she is sick!
Jiang Yuebai's face immediately fell, and he pouted as if he was about to cry.
"grandfather… "
"Ha ha."
Tao Fengnian laughed out loud, took a deep puff of his pipe, and exhaled wisps of white smoke.
The white smoke dissipated, the ghost lantern was frightened, and disappeared like a flash of lightning. Jiang Yuebai then slid down to the ground against the dead tree, feeling angry.
"You lantern monster who bullies the weak and only fears the strong! Come again if you have the guts!"
Tao Fengnian walked over and squatted, placing his palm on Jiang Yuebai's shoulder, injecting warm fire spiritual energy into her body to dispel the chill of the ghost lantern.
"Grandpa, am I useless?"
"Don't underestimate yourself. You are already very capable. I will accompany you today. From now on, you can come here by yourself every few days. In addition to footwork and martial arts, you can also try to use the Sharp Edge Technique to deal with the Ghost Lantern."
"Remember, fear is because you are not strong enough and think that the ghost lanterns are invincible. Once you defeat them, you will find that these ghost lanterns are nothing to be afraid of."
Jiang Yuebai nodded sullenly. She didn’t think it was that scary. If she couldn’t win, she could just run away. She just didn’t want to disappoint her grandfather.
Tao Fengnian pulled Jiang Yuebai up from the ground and said, "Let's go deeper."
Jiang Yuebai followed behind Tao Fengnian. She had not been able to pay attention to him while she was fighting just now. Many prompts of increased proficiency flashed on the cultivation panel. When she looked at them all at this moment, Jiang Yuebai was filled with surprise.
[Martial Arts]
Star-chasing steps (beginner: 26/100)
Wood Chopping Knife Technique (Beginner: 32/100)
Her proficiency was only 15 before, and she usually had to complete a complete set to increase her proficiency by 1 point, which was time-consuming and laborious.
Now it’s just one battle and it’s grown so much!
When she thought about it carefully, it was true. She only had fixed moves and routines when she practiced, and she didn't know the right method.
In battle, only under pressure of crisis can fixed moves be transformed into effective attacks and used flexibly.
Even if you don't increase your proficiency by 1 point by killing each Ghost Lantern, your proficiency will definitely increase faster through constant use and actual combat than by practicing alone.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yuebai's palms gradually became hot.
Looking at the ghost lanterns all over the mountains at this moment, they are not some lantern monsters that bully people. They are all cute little creatures that help her improve her magic and martial arts!
(End of this chapter)