Chapter 185: Hua Yaoyue Ca in Person
Ji Yuan learned of this news while patrolling outside Liancheng Mountain with Liu Yuan.
The two of them simultaneously received a transmission from Rou Yi, telling them to hurry back.
If Ji Yuan had not already swapped shifts with Island Lord Yun Miao in advance, he might have suspected that he had been the one who killed Yang Taian.
After all, the first ti Ji Yuan had followed Yang Taian into the mine, he had already entertained the thought of killing him… He had already killed Yang Taian’s younger brother earlier, and killing him now would have truly eliminated all future troubles.
But thoughts were just thoughts.
Even if Ji Yuan wanted to act, he would never do it inside the Spirit Vein.
“Did Senior Sister Rou say who killed him? Or was it a Spirit Crystal Beast?”
Ji Yuan transmitted his voice to Liu Yuan.
After all, Liu Yuan and Rou Yi were true senior sister and junior brother, so there were so things Rou Yi would not tell Ji Yuan, but would tell Liu Yuan.
“No, she only said he died under strange circumstances.”
The two quickened their pace, and before long, they arrived at the Spirit Vein’s entrance.
Rou Yi, Island Lord Yun Miao, and the Foundation Establishnt cultivators on duty in the Spirit Vein this ti had already co out. In addition, Lady iru from Joy Palace and Guizhen, a peak Foundation Establishnt cultivator from dicine King Valley, had also brought their sect’s Foundation Establishnt cultivators here.
The miners had also been brought out, each hiding in their own quarters, not daring to show their faces for fear of being accidentally hard.
Seeing Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan arrive, Rou Yi spoke in a deep voice, “Alright, all our Water Dragon Sect people are here. You two had better give an explanation, or don’t bla my sword for showing no rcy!”
“An explanation?”
Guizhen, clad in a pure white robe, flicked his sleeves and said with a smile, “From the sound of it, Fellow Daoist Rou has already decided this person was killed by soone from our dicine King Valley or Joy Palace?”
“Nonsense. If not you, then what, one of our own Water Dragon Sect people killed him?”
“That’s not impossible.” Lady iru’s voice matched her na, carrying a seductive charm. She batted her eyes and gave Island Lord Yun Miao a once-over.
“With such peerless beauty, perhaps this Yang fellow harbored ill intentions toward you, but failed and was instead killed by you.”
“I think so too,” Guizhen said with a squinting smile.
Island Lord Yun Miao’s brows furrowed slightly at Lady iru’s words, and she said softly, “Do you think everyone is the sa kind of person as you?”
Lady iru’s expression remained unchanged.
“rely a late Foundation Establishnt cultivator, yet you dare speak so wildly. Believe it or not, I can kill you.”
“Don’t think that being a disciple of a Golden Core Real Person makes you so special. Everyone here has a Golden Core stage master.”
“You—!”
Island Lord Yun Miao took a step forward as if to test Lady iru’s depth.
Rou Yi, however, reached out and stopped her.
Ji Yuan silently observed all this. From what he could see, Rou Yi was bold yet ticulous, far from as reckless as she appeared on the surface—whether it was earlier, when she was provoking the other side, or now, when she stopped Island Lord Yun Miao.
By contrast, it was Island Lord Yun Miao who seed to lack sense.
Without revealing his thoughts, Ji Yuan took a step back, his divine sense sweeping over Yang Taian’s corpse, which lay on the ground, neat and still, his face calm.
If not for the absence of breath, it was as if he were simply sleeping.
There were no visible external injuries, nor could Ji Yuan detect any internal injuries.
Indeed, his death was strange… The place felt eerie, and Ji Yuan was already considering whether it was ti to leave.
Afterward, Rou Yi argued at length with Lady iru and Guizhen, but none of the three sides looked ready to fight.
Ji Yuan took the chance to figure out what had happened.
This ti had been the sa as usual—entering the mine as normal. Upon reaching the Spirit Vein, Yang Taian told Island Lord Yun Miao he was going to find a place to cultivate.
Normally, each person cultivated for five days, then stood guard for five days.
But Yang Taian was gone for five days and never returned.
Island Lord Yun Miao didn’t think much of it, believing Yang Taian, without a Golden Core master’s protection, was the sort to take advantage of the opportunity to boost his cultivation a bit more.
Unexpectedly, ten days later, he still hadn’t co back.
So Island Lord Yun Miao went deeper into the Spirit Vein to search, and then… she found Yang Taian’s corpse.
That was the whole story.
During that ti, besides Island Lord Yun Miao, Joy Palace’s Danxia and Zhiyun, as well as dicine King Valley’s Xuan Weizi and Dan Chengzi, had all gone to cultivate.
In theory, all of them were suspect.
But also, none of them were really suspect—firstly, because the places where they cultivated were far apart.
Secondly… all of them were only mid Foundation Establishnt stage. None had the ans or skill to kill a fellow mid Foundation Establishnt cultivator without a trace.
Not even Rou Yi and the other peak Foundation Establishnt cultivators could kill Yang Taian so silently.
That was exactly why Rou Yi hesitated to draw any conclusions.
After the argunt, Lady iru and Guizhen firmly claid that sothing strange was hidden deep in the Spirit Vein—perhaps a mutated Spirit Crystal Beast.
The three agreed to go down together to take a look.
This was the only viable solution for now.
Regardless of the truth, they had to check—otherwise, the other Foundation Establishnt cultivators would not dare enter the mine.
“You all wait for back at the station. I’ll go down to take a look.”
At the critical mont, Rou Yi could shoulder the responsibility.
Seeing her about to leave, Ji Yuan felt worried and hurriedly transmitted a reminder: “Senior Sister, be on guard against the two of them!”
Rou Yi’s steps paused slightly, and she replied via transmission:
“Rest assured.”
With those two simple words, the three of them left.
Island Lord Yun Miao collected Yang Taian’s corpse. “Let’s head back first.”
And so the Foundation Establishnt cultivators dispersed and returned to their respective places.
Back at the lakeside station, Ji Yuan and the other two gathered again. Liu Yuan looked at Island Lord Yun Miao and asked softly, “Senior Sister, do you have any suspects?”
Ji Yuan was also curious.
No matter what the truth of the matter was, Island Lord Yun Miao should at least know sothing.
Under their expectant gazes, Island Lord Yun Miao finally shook her head. “It really is just as I said earlier. There were no outsiders here. To speak honestly to the two of you, I am more inclined to believe that Junior Brother Yang was killed by sothing underground, not by anyone from dicine King Valley or Joy Palace.”
Ji Yuan and Liu Yuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in the other’s eyes.
“So it really is like that.”
“Yes, it was mainly just too strange. At the ti, I was only about two li away from Junior Brother Yang, yet I didn’t sense the slightest abnormality… It definitely wasn’t done by a person.”
“If it really was a cultivator, then they would have to be at least Golden Core stage.”
Island Lord Yun Miao spoke with furrowed brows.
“In that case, we can only wait for Senior Sister and the others to return and see.”
Once Liu Yuan finished speaking, Ji Yuan followed up, “Senior Sister, could you take out Senior Brother Yang’s body so we can take a look?”
“Alright.”
Island Lord Yun Miao casually waved her hand, and Yang Taian’s corpse appeared once more on the ground.
With no outsiders present, Ji Yuan released his divine sense to carefully examine it.
The other two did the sa.
“Junior Brother Yang’s cause of death was that his divine soul was gone,” Island Lord Yun Miao explained.
Ji Yuan had also noticed this. Aside from that, there was nothing else to see.
He then asked Liu Yuan, who also couldn’t tell anything. “We can only wait for Senior Sister to make the judgnt when she returns.”
“Mm.”
The three of them did not separate, choosing instead to wait together. They all knew that regardless of the reason for Yang Taian’s death, sticking together was safer than being apart.
If the other two sects had really acted, then even if they were besieged, the three of them together would be safer.
So they waited from day into night, and then from night into day.
The three peak Foundation Establishnt cultivators who had gone deep into the Spirit Vein finally returned.
Not only did they return, but they also brought back the culprits who had killed Yang Taian—two mutated peak second-tier Spirit Crystal Beasts.
According to Rou Yi, the mutation in these Spirit Crystal Beasts was that they had gained the ability to devour human divine souls.
When the three of them joined forces to explore the depths of the Spirit Vein, they didn’t detect them at first. Even Guizhen almost fell victim; if not for his quick reaction, even his divine soul might have been lost.
Later, the three joined forces, activating the power of the formation, and only then did they manage to kill the two mutated Spirit Crystal Beasts.
Ji Yuan went to take a look as well.
They were indeed two peak second-tier Spirit Crystal Beasts, and even in death, they exuded a strong sense of oppression.
With this, Yang Taian’s cause of death was finally determined, and the Foundation Establishnt cultivators all breathed a sigh of relief. To be safe, Rou Yi and the other two spent another ten days conducting a thorough search of the entire Spirit Vein.
They killed another three Spirit Crystal Beasts, but found no more of the mutated kind.
Afterwards, Rou Yi transmitted the news back to the sect. Real Person Xuan Shui said he would send another Foundation Establishnt cultivator and reminded those in Liancheng Mountain to be careful.
For safety, every future mining trip would have a peak Foundation Establishnt cultivator accompany them.
Two months passed like this, until no further incidents occurred and mining returned to normal.
The person sent by the Water Dragon Sect to replace Yang Taian also arrived.
She was a late Foundation Establishnt female cultivator nad Chen Moxin, known as “Island Lord Zhuying,” a disciple of Real Person Suxin. She was very gentle by nature and happened to be a good friend of Island Lord Yun Miao.
It seed that Real Person Xuan Shui had been deliberate in his choice.
That day.
Ji Yuan had just returned from the underground Spirit Vein, chatting and laughing with Liu Yuan as they headed back to the lakeside residence.
But just as they reached the gate, Ji Yuan noticed sothing was wrong.
Soone had opened his courtyard gate!
After I left, soone ca to my courtyard… Ji Yuan instinctively took a step back, his divine sense already touching the ssaging talisman from Rou Yi in his storage pouch.
At the sa ti, he gripped a talisman treasure for communication.
At the slightest disturbance, he would flee.
But just as he was about to send a ssage to Rou Yi, a familiar voice sounded in his mind. “What, are you so afraid even when I co here?”
Hearing the voice, Ji Yuan froze for a mont.
“Master?!”
To be safe, Ji Yuan still replaced the talisman treasure in his hand with a set of Fivefold Protection Talismans. Only when he pushed open the door and saw Hua Yaoyue’s figure did he put away the talismans and let out a long sigh of relief.
“Master, what brings you here!”
Ji Yuan closed the courtyard gate, looking at his master with joy.
Hua Yaoyue stood by the Fish Pond in a wide-sleeved gown of frost-colored shark gauze. Her tall and slender figure, a head above the average woman, did not seem cold or hard, but instead gave Ji Yuan an indescribable sense of safety.
The snow-colored hem of her skirt rippled in the breeze by the lake, and the flowing-bead palace sash under her cloud-pattern brocade waist seal lightly tapped against jade rings, producing a “ding-dong” sound.
Hearing the sound, Hua Yaoyue turned slightly, speaking in her usual calm tone, “Can’t I co if there’s nothing wrong?”
“No, no, that’s not what I ant.”
Ji Yuan quickly explained.
“I happened to be passing by on business, and I rembered you seed to be here, so I ca down to take a look.”
Hua Yaoyue spoke as if it were nothing.
Of course, she could only say it like that.
She couldn’t exactly say, “I heard soone died here, so I ca to check on your safety…” Could she say that?!
“Your disciple thanks Master for her concern.”
Ji Yuan naturally didn’t believe her words, so he quickly bowed in salute.
“Mm, I’m leaving.”
Seeing Hua Yaoyue about to leave—how could that be allowed?
“Master, please stay.”
“What else is there?”
Hua Yaoyue turned back to ask.
“It’s nothing, your disciple just wishes to invite Master to stay for dinner.”
“No need.”
Hua Yaoyue still wanted to go, but Ji Yuan added, “Your disciple has also brewed a lot of Wishful Wine here.”
Hua Yaoyue’s steps stopped.
“Go ahead.”
“Alright!”
Ji Yuan hurried to the backyard.
Since his master had co from afar to visit him, it would be far too rude not to at least have her stay for a al. So Ji Yuan brought out his best—activating the Kitchen’s spiritual effect to prepare a fine table of dishes for Hua Yaoyue.
He also brought out over a dozen jars of Wishful Wine.
Perhaps it had been too long since she’d eaten Ji Yuan’s cooking, but Hua Yaoyue rarely ate more than usual this ti.
After eating and drinking her fill, Ji Yuan suddenly thought of sothing and casually asked,
“Master, have you ever heard of sothing called a Three-Colored Spiritual Egg…? Your disciple recently read about it in an ancient text, but when I asked my senior brothers and sisters, they didn’t know.”
“Three-Colored Spiritual Egg?”
Hua Yaoyue frowned slightly, thinking for a mont before speaking.
“I’ve heard of it—it’s a good thing. It can purify spiritual energy and increase the storage limit of spiritual energy in the dantian, but it’s extrely rare. Among tens of thousands of spiritual eggs laid by a second-tier or higher spiritual bird, there might be one Three-Colored Spiritual Egg.”
“And eating just one of these doesn’t do much—you need to take it over a long period of ti.”
Purified spiritual energy, increased spiritual energy storage limit… was there anything better than that?!
To Ji Yuan, a body cultivator was like a warrior, a spiritual cultivator like a mage, and what mattered most to a mage?
Naturally, it was the mana bar.
A large part of why cultivators of the sa realm lost in battle was because their spiritual energy ran out—when you reached the later stages of a fight, you might have techniques you couldn’t use.
Take talisman treasures, for example: other cultivators might only be able to use them once due to insufficient spiritual energy, but if your storage limit was higher, you could use them several tis in a row—who could stand against that?
That was why the level 3 Chicken Coop could produce “Three-Colored Spiritual Eggs.”
Do it!
I must do it!
As for Hua Yaoyue’s ntion of long-term consumption—Ji Yuan’s Chicken Coop produced one egg a day. Wasn’t that already long-term consumption?
“That would be far too hard to get.”
Ji Yuan shook his head, then thought for a mont and asked directly, “Master, do you have Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust?”
For Ji Yuan to get this on his own would be too difficult; it would be better to just ask Hua Yaoyue directly.
After all, she was his master—if he didn’t ask, it would be a wasted opportunity.
If she had it, it would save him a great deal of trouble.
“Corrupt-Firefly Yin Locust? Isn’t that sothing demonic cultivators use?”
Hua Yaoyue gave Ji Yuan a once-over.
“Your disciple happened upon an ancient pill recipe that requires this, but it’s too hard to find.”
Ji Yuan’s lie rolled off his tongue.
“No, that thing is too filthy. Whenever I see it, I destroy it imdiately.”
“Uh…”
Ji Yuan didn’t know what to say to that.
“You really need it?”
Hua Yaoyue had noticed Ji Yuan’s reaction.
“A little.”
Sothing that could increase the dantian’s spiritual energy storage limit was practically a treasure—how could he not need it?
“Alright, I’ll go back and ask around, see if I can get so for you.”
Hua Yaoyue’s concern actually made Ji Yuan happy, so he imdiately suggested, “Why don’t I return to the sect with Master?”
He had been out for over half a year this ti.
Ji Yuan was worried sothing might happen to Misty Island and had long wanted to return for a look.
But going back alone would be too troubleso—just the travel ti would be a long delay.
Now that he had run into Hua Yaoyue, naturally he wanted to hitch a ride.
“You’re going back too? Alright then.”
“Then I’ll go ask Senior Sister Rou Yi for leave.”
“No need for that trouble.”
Before Ji Yuan could react, Hua Yaoyue reached out and grabbed, and suddenly another figure appeared before them.
Even Rou Yi hadn’t reacted yet. She glanced around, and when she saw who it was, she quickly bowed.
“Disciple greets Martial Aunt Wangyou.”
“Mm, Ji Yuan has sothing to do. I’m taking him back to the sect.”
Hua Yaoyue gave her instructions.
“Yes.”
The normally proud and unrestrained Rou Yi behaved like a well-behaved child in Hua Yaoyue’s presence.
“Go on.”
Hua Yaoyue waved her hand, and Rou Yi excused herself and left.
Then, before Ji Yuan could even tidy up the table, he found himself high in the sky.
Under the Golden Core escape light, they flew straight north, the path marked by rolling thunder.
It had taken Ji Yuan more than half a month to get to Liancheng Mountain before, but this ti the return took only three days—and that was with Hua Yaoyue deliberately slowing down.
Back in the long-missed Water Dragon Sect, Ji Yuan bid farewell to Hua Yaoyue, pretending to head for Wuyou Island.
In reality, he went straight south, returning to the long-missed Misty Island.
Passing through the mist, Ji Yuan imdiately spread his divine sense over most of the island. The familiar sights filled him with joy.
Sure enough, there was nothing like his own nest!
Ji Yuan released the Ice Flood Dragon, which had been cooped up for who knew how long.
For the past half-year, aside from the occasional trip outside for fresh air, the only ti it had any fun was when Ji Yuan let it swim in the Fish Pond.
After half a year of being fed Ice Soul Cold Dew, not only had it grown much larger, but its aura had beco extrely fierce.
Ji Yuan estimated it wouldn’t be long before it advanced to a second-tier demon beast.
When that ti ca… Hehehe!
Returning to the familiar Misty Island, the Ice Flood Dragon walked on its four legs like a lizard, quickly crawling into the Yunyu Marshlands.
Wherever it passed, it left a clearly visible frozen path.
“Croak, croak—”
“CROAK!!!”
Sensing Ji Yuan’s return, the Great Toad leapt dozens of ters in one bound, landing nearby.
Boom!
Ji Yuan chuckled and rubbed the Great Toad’s head.
He also noticed many Spiritual Pigs running about the island, of various sizes.
The Great Toad clearly knew the value of sustainable growth.
Then Ji Yuan went to Tu Yue, giving her cheek a pinch.
With the nourishnt of the Grave Mound, Tu Yue had beco even more radiant.
Before Ji Yuan could take the storage pouch from her hand, she pointed west, signaling that sothing was up there.
“Hm?”
A few steps brought Ji Yuan to the Fish Pond. No new Ice Flood Dragon had hatched.
That ant… He spread his divine sense and instantly understood what Tu Yue ant.
The Queen Bee… had advanced to second tier!
The hive’s population had also reached over 12,000.
Didn’t that an… the Bee Nest could finally be upgraded to level 2?!
At once, Ji Yuan’s mind was filled with a scene—
Countless cultivators were locked in battle, when he descended from the sky in his escape light, black robe covering him, iron armor masking his face, and behind him a swarm of Spirit-Devouring Bees, dense beyond counting.
Countless cultivators below stared in terror, crying out—
“The Insect Devil is here!!!”
The more he imagined it, the better it felt.
Ji Yuan couldn’t help letting out a “Hehehe” laugh.
Temporarily leaving, but he would be back—after all, the Spirit Vein wasn’t open yet. Best to deal with the chickens first.
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