Cultivation knows no years. Even someone with a low cultivation base like Zhao Chun had this thought. Two hundred and forty-some days passed in the blink of an eye.
As Zhao Chun had expected, she had finally crossed the hurdle between the Early and Middle Stages of Qi Refining. She had little trouble with the fifty-two single acupoints and the three hundred double acupoints, only spending a bit more time on the fifty extraordinary acupoints outside the main meridians.
Once all these meridians and acupoints were cleared, she could form a complete Heavenly Cycle, expel the last mouthful of mundane turbid qi from her body, and advance to the fourth level of Qi Refining.
In addition, she had officially reached the entry level for the Tiger Strength Technique and the Snake Walk Step, and her strength and speed had both increased significantly. After reaching the minor achievement stage in the Single-line Flying Dagger, there was no noticeable change yet.
However, after reaching minor achievement in the Swift Travel Sword Art, the fusion of her footwork and swordsmanship became much more exquisite, much to Zhao Chun's delight. In a flash, a year and a half had passed since she came to the Drifting Clouds World.
She once thought she would have to languish in the Outer Sect for many years, but unexpectedly, after several fortuitous encounters, she had already made her way into the Inner Sect. Zhao Chun accepted the mortal servants' congratulations, and her state of mind calmed down. The path ahead was long; she couldn't let joy or anger disturb her.
Now that she was an Inner Sect Disciple, she could skip the step of being formally registered at the Disciple Residence. However, Zhao Chun still needed to go there to accept a minor trial mission. Before that, there was another important matter.
To continue cultivating the Sympathetic Resonance True Perception Dharma Scripture after breaking through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage, she needed to obtain the second volume. Thus, Zhao Chun had to go to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, verify her cultivation base, and get her hands on the second volume.
After running all these errands, she finally entered the Disciple Residence. At the counter, she received a wooden tablet. A grey-clothed menial laborer then took out a map for her and said, "The Tu Family Manor is located north of Pine Mountain.
The journey is over several thousand li, so it's quite far. I'll put you down for three months, how does that sound?" Zhao Chun nodded and asked, "Are the minor trial missions always this far away?"
The menial laborer smiled sheepishly and replied, "Not necessarily. The sect releases missions every two months for disciples to choose from. You just came a little late this time, so the closer missions have already been taken.
If you are not satisfied, there will be new ones available next month."
"That won't be necessary."
Zhao Chun shook her head. She was only asking casually. Privately, she actually wanted to travel farther, to see the lands and broaden her horizons.
With all her belongings packed, Zhao Chun did not wish to delay. She returned to the Daylily Garden to give a few instructions and then departed from the sect. The True Spirit Sect was located in the Southern Region of the Drifting Clouds World, nestled in a secluded valley where three mountains gathered.
Leaving the secluded valley, one arrived in a larger valley flanked by two mountains. As it was still within the sect's jurisdiction, it was known as the True Spirit Valley. Looking down from above, Zhao Chun could see densely packed houses arranged in lines, which were likely inhabited by the families of cultivators.
Ji City was located on the first plain after leaving the valley. By now, Zhao Chun had been away from the sect for three days and had already used one Smoke Boat. It was half a month later when she truly entered the Pine Mountain region.
Zhao Chun was puzzled. Why would a family clan so far away from the sect still be its subordinate? Shouldn't they have allied with a closer sect?
After asking some locals in Pine Mountain, she learned that this was actually the former site of the True Spirit Sect, the place where the Founding Master, Daoist Reedleaf, had established it. Later, the third-generation Sect Master relocated the sect to the Secluded Valley. Some cultivation families were unwilling to move and thus remained behind.
The Tu family was one of them. When the True Spirit Sect relocated, they took all the usable spirit veins, spirit soil, and even the minerals and medicinal plants, stripping the place bare. All that remained were some mountain springs that couldn't be moved and a few minor spirit veins they disdained, left for the remaining families to subsist on.
Over time, the families annexed and merged with one another, each carving out their own territory. The Tu Family Manor was the area under the Tu family's control, situated at a river bend north of Pine Mountain. According to the intelligence Zhao Chun had obtained, the Patriarch, Tu Cenzhen, was merely a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Furthermore, he was elderly and had no hope of reaching the late stage of Qi Refining. Among his descendants, there were no suitable successors; most were mortals. He had only one great-grandson, Tu Congwen, a cultivator with a three-element spiritual root who was currently sixteen and lingering at the second level of Qi Refining.
It seemed that without the protection of the True Spirit Sect, these cultivation families had mostly shown signs of decline. Zhao Chun let out a long sigh and continued on her way to the river bend. Although the Tu family's prospects on the immortal path were bleak, their city was surprisingly well-governed.
Zhao Chun retracted her Smoke Boat and entered the city. Unlike Ji City, where immortals and mortals coexisted and rogue cultivators were a common sight, this place was different. She looked all around but didn't spot any cultivators, only ordinary people.
The Tu family did not reside here, but in an ancient residence ten li outside the city, accessible by a small path leading up the mountainside. Zhao Chun presented the True Spirit Sect's token, and the gatekeeper hurriedly welcomed her inside. In the main hall, an old man with white hair and a white beard was there to greet her.
It was the Patriarch, Tu Cenzhen, who had come to receive her personally. Beside him were mostly middle-aged men and women, with only two youths among them, who stood out like cranes among a flock of chickens. Before Zhao Chun could ask, Tu Cenzhen spoke first, "This is my great-grandson, Tu Congwen."
Tu Congwen was the square-faced one of the two. His gaze was clear and honest. When he saw Zhao Chun looking at him, he was momentarily stunned, but he quickly bowed in greeting, "Greetings, Senior."
He must have felt it was strange, given how young she was. Zhao Chun was inwardly embarrassed. Sometimes, she really wished she could grow up faster; it would make things much more convenient.
The other youth had smiling eyes and appeared very friendly. Tu Cenzhen's expression darkened slightly. His lips parted and closed several times before he reluctantly spoke, "This is my grandnephew, Tu Mian."
"Greetings, Senior."
His face was impassive, and he seemed even calmer than Tu Congwen.
Zhao Chun looked at him more closely and discovered that he, too, was at the second level of Qi Refining, and the spiritual qi around his body was even more abundant than Tu Congwen's. Yet, there was no mention of this person in the sect's intelligence files, which couldn't help but make Zhao Chun a bit guarded.
"That demonic moth is nocturnal. After I managed to injure it, it hasn't shown itself for several days. However, the day after tomorrow is the full moon. The demonic moth loves light, so it is bound to appear. Fellow Daoist, you can settle in for now. We will go together the day after tomorrow."
Zhao Chun saw no reason to disagree, so she settled in to stay at the Tu residence.
(End of this chapter)