CH 100 An Inch Of Time Is Like An Arrow, An Inch Of Gold Is Hard To Buy

After the flying peaks lifted off, they headed directly downward toward Yun Capital. The journey was not smooth; although there weren’t many beasts in Qingqiu and Ziyun Dao before, as they delved deeper into the heart of the Yuntian Domain, in less than three days, they encountered a swarm of beasts almost daily.

The golden-feathered butterflies, vast as a tidal wave, made the hundreds of flying peaks look like fish swimming in the currents. Each of these beasts, numbering in the billions, had at least the strength of the Foundation Establishment stage, and countless Golden Core and Nascent Soul stage beings were mixed among them. The flying peaks had no choice but to land and form a defensive ward to withstand the attacks.

The terror of it all gave the first-time expeditioners quite a fright, even Feng Qingxiu was somewhat overwhelmed.

"These are golden-feathered butterflies. Every ten years, they return from the North Sea to the Yuntian Domain to breed, lay eggs in the Fire Domain, and then, along with the young butterflies, return to the North Sea the following year. Their journey serves as food for countless greater spirit demons," a nearby cultivator explained to the disciples who were there for the first time. "Recently, it’s been the migration season for many spirit demon clans, and their routes often intersect, leading to fierce battles where they prey on each other. Only the strongest reach their destination."

Feng Qingxiu listened as he controlled the flying peak, keenly aware of the formidable power of the beast tide. The defensive wards of the peak consumed spiritual stones according to the intensity of the attacks, and watching the stones deplete at such a rate was nerve-wracking.

Ji Yunlai, standing nearby, was also quite excited. He had long wanted to venture outside, and now, with Xiao Qing accompanying him—even though he was just a split fragment—he felt the world was incredibly beautiful. He was merely a phantom, invisible to anyone but Xiao Qing. 

Besides enjoying the scenery, he liked observing Xiao Qing. He noticed that if he stared at Xiao Qing for a while, the boy's ears would turn red. If he stared for an hour, Xiao Qing would start to show a bit of temper, becoming adorably fierce.

Sometimes, when his apprentice was practicing the sword techniques he had taught, he looked particularly serious. However, Xiao Qing’s learning ability was almost frightening; he mastered techniques whether he studied them or not, as if he was merely reviewing something he had already learned. Watching his apprentice effortlessly wield the formless sword energy, Ji Yunlai suddenly got the urge to teach Xiao Qing a few more techniques for self-defense, since he had been controlling the boy's cultivation progress.

With a gentle flick of his hand, he sent out a sword intent. Feng Qingxiu immediately sensed it, raised his hand to catch it, and looked at his master with a puzzled expression.

"Come, let me teach you something fun." Ji Yunlai reached out, drawing an elegant arc above a orchid in the courtyard. The slow movement seemed to brush away the morning dew from the fresh flower. Feng Qingxiu observed closely and saw a faint, invisible force being drawn out from his master’s hand. The next second, something extraordinary happened—all the light seemed to dim for a brief moment, as if the arc his master had traced stole away even the light in his eyes.

Then, he saw the orchid wither and fade at an alarming speed, the fallen petals turning to mud.

"This technique, in principle, should only be used by those at the Human Immortal or Great Sage stage. It briefly manipulates the flow of time within a space. Su Wan used a similar method to control your sword energy. I’ve thought about it for a long time, and although it requires a high level of comprehension, if you master it, it will be very advantageous in future battles." Ji Yunlai retracted his hand and spoke slowly.

He then noticed the sparkling eyes of his apprentice, who exclaimed in admiration, "Please teach me, Master!"

"No rush on that. By the way, I haven’t seen the gift I gave you lately," Ji Yunlai said with a smile.

Feng Qingxiu’s ears turned red, his gaze sharpened, and his expression cooled. "If you mean the item I threw away, I’m sorry, but I’ve already disposed of it somewhere you’ll never find."

His apprentice was becoming less cute by the day, Ji Yunlai thought regretfully, knowing full well that the item was still safely hidden in that small box of his…

Feng Qingxiu managed to endure being stared at for a while, but eventually, he could take it no longer. "Are you going to teach me or not? If not, I’m leaving."

Only then did Ji Yunlai demonstrate the technique for his disciple at an extremely slow pace.

Feng Qingxiu tried to follow along, but halfway through, he found he couldn’t continue. It was as if a force in the void was preventing him, and when he tried too hard, his movements would falter, rendering the technique ineffective.

Ji Yunlai frowned slightly, moved behind his apprentice, and guided his wrist through the correct motions where he had faltered. 

Though the movement seemed slow, it required precise control of the subtle Dao rhythm in the void, making it anything but simple to learn.

They practiced all day, yet the apprentice still hadn’t mastered it.

Ji Yunlai released his apprentice’s hand, pondering what might be the issue.

Then, with a thud, his apprentice collapsed to the ground.

“What happened?” Ji Yunlai reached out to help him up.

Feng Qingxiu hesitated for a moment, lowered his head, with a hint of confusion and panic in his eyes, then calmed himself before standing up and politely saying, "Master, I’m tired. Let’s practice again tomorrow."

Huh, how could a cultivator get tired so easily?

Ji Yunlai gave his disciple a scrutinizing look before nodding, “Then go rest.”

Only then did Feng Qingxiu retreat to his room, quickly placing a talisman on the door. Last time, when he stuck over a hundred talismans in one go, his master had scolded him and told him that just one would do—after all, doors are meant to keep out gentlemen, not villains.

So, he stuck one talisman, confident that his master wouldn’t come in.

Finally, he allowed his heart to race as he silently covered his face.

How embarrassing! When his master leaned in from behind to guide him, he actually wanted to fall into his master’s arms.

Not only was he completely flustered, but when his master let go, he even fell to the ground!

He just wanted to die of shame.

How could I think my master’s scent was so comforting!

Even though he was merely a fragment of divine consciousness and didn’t have a scent!

He lay down on the bed, utterly defeated, feeling as if he was about to suffer an energy deviation.

He didn’t even want to bother with the shadow on the wall that was dancing with glee.

***

When Feng Qingxiu woke up in the morning, he felt as if he had another dream.

He couldn’t quite remember what the dream was about, but his underwear was tented quite high.

Low-level cultivators are better off not losing their vital essence, so Feng Qingxiu silently recited a mind-clearing mantra for a quarter of an hour until the issue subsided.

Then he took a bath in the hot spring behind the courtyard and changed into fresh clothes.

“How far have you gotten?” a soft voice suddenly asked from beside him.

Startled, Feng Qingxiu instinctively shot out his formless sword energy.

Yang Fuyin instinctively dodged, but this sword energy wasn’t just fast—it was as if it was ghostly. Despite his protective ward, the energy reached his forehead, triggering his own defenses before it finally stopped.

“It’s you!” Remembering the trap with the fabric earlier, Feng Qingxiu’s lips curled up slightly. He had been planning to find time to deal with this person, but since he came voluntarily…there was no need to be polite.

The formless sword energy exploded all at once, like a torrential downpour, instantly turning the place upside down.

Yang Fuyin’s expression was slightly nostalgic as defensive wards formed around him. In a flash, they clashed with the formless sword energy, creating countless sparks as they collided, evaporating most of the hot spring water in an instant, and spreading white steam everywhere.

“You’ll thank me in the future,” Yang Fuyin said, sensing that his Second Master’s sword energy seemed to have gained a new layer of power. He thought of his innate skill of summoning Master at will and took a few steps back, pulling out a letter. "Is this your writing?"

The handwriting was indeed his own, but Feng Qingxiu merely glanced up, and the shadow on the ground flashed with a similar letter in its hand.

Yang Fuyin looked at his empty fingers, shrugged, and said, "No need to get so worked up. Come, let’s talk this over calmly."

"Then you better explain why you did what you did!" Feng Qingxiu replied coldly.

"Don’t make it sound so misleading," Yang Fuyin instinctively kept a safe distance, explaining gently, "Let me put it this way: I admire the Sect Leader, so I wanted you to test the waters."

"What! You?" Feng Qingxiu was genuinely shocked this time. "How could you think that way? He is… he is…"

"Why not? I admire him. If I don’t try, how will I know he’s not interested?" Yang Fuyin's tone was as calm as if he were simply saying, "Ah, this signal ward is difficult. I need to overcome it."

"Impossible!" Feng Qingxiu was furious.

"Then stop me. Give me back the letter," Yang Fuyin extended his hand.

Feng Qingxiu tore open the letter and saw the words: "The mountains have trees, and the trees have branches. My heart loves you, but you don’t know."

He raised his hand and burned it.

"If you don’t want me to make a move, then guard Master well." Yang Fuyin smiled slightly and turned to leave.

But as soon as he turned, he saw the indifferent Kun-Lai Master standing behind him.

Senior Brother Yang was delighted and was about to pay his respects to Master when, in the next second, a large hand appeared out of thin air and instantly grabbed him back to his own flying peak.

Ji Yunlai didn’t say anything, he just went to his apprentice’s side, silently patted his head, and teased, "Having my apprentice is enough. Don’t worry, your Master won’t look for little tempters outside.”

Feng Qingxiu’s ears turned red again, and he nodded, but somehow he felt something was off…

***

On Zhuiyun Peak, a vertical banner with the words "The Sage cherishes every inch of time, and everyone else should cherish every minute; twenty days left, now only nineteen remain" hung on the cliff.

A nightingale perched on a branch, nibbling on cloud seeds, watching the scene of bustling activity in the trees below.

"If I hadn’t gone to get you, you’d still be in the city and causing delays!" He said while nibbling, scolding his brother at the same time.

"That snake demon was so annoying," Black Snake complained, having just eaten a treasure-hunting mouse, "Too little meat, too many bones, not nearly as tasty as a Kun-Lai mice."

"He said he’d go back to Yun Capital and wait for you. There, you’ll have plenty to eat and a strong body to satisfy you. Why didn’t you go with him?" Nightingale mocked his brother, "If you marry him, you’d be the Dragon-Snake Madam."

"If I hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve eaten you! Stop messing around, will you?" Black Snake, sweating, nudged his brother with his tail. "Stop messing around, because if you fall, it’ll be trouble."

Below them, a group of female disciples from Qingnu Peak were studying injuries. One of them heard the conversation, looked up at them disdainfully, and said, "Don’t worry, we’re not interested in spirit demons."

She then turned back and smiled at another captive, "Come on, let’s have a fight. If you win, you won’t have to stay on Medicine Peak for three days."

"Do you mean it?" The captive broke out in a slight sweat but asked calmly.

"Of course. When we reach Yun Capital, we’ll send you back unharmed." The healer smiled kindly, like any ordinary mundane doctor.

"Alright!" The captive immediately drew his sword, filled with fighting spirit.

And so a life-and-death battle began.

Nightingale nibbled on another seed, shook his head regretfully, and thought, these foolish kids, if you don’t stay on Medicine Peak, you’ll just end up on Poison Peak or Pill Peak. Kun-Lai’s meat only rots in its own bowl. With only nineteen days left, how could they possibly let you rest for three days?