Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Isn’t This a Standard Operation?
"Don’t be ridiculous."
This was the answer Jiang Tianya received from his father.
He was very busy. After saying this, he added with a frown, "I’m very busy. I don’t have time to deal with your wild ideas."
His father’s words stopped Jiang Tianya from saying anything more.
After his father left, his mother looked at Jiang Tianya with some disappointment. "When will you ever learn to be more sensible? Have you thought about what I told you last time?"
Jiang Tianya said in a somber voice, "I don’t want to go abroad."
His mother just said softly, "Suit yourself, then."
Jiang Tianya felt extremely frustrated. Messages in his game group chat were constantly popping up.
He hadn’t logged into the game since he logged off in the early morning. Now, he suddenly felt like logging in to relax.
After logging in, he stepped out of the courtyard—his safe log-off spot—and found a bustling scene outside.
Next to A Wu’s house, a crude stove was being built, though it didn’t quite look like they were building a house.
His game ID was Jiang Ya. He walked over and asked, "What are you guys doing?"
The one doing the construction was none other than Zhou Xiao.
Zhou Xiao looked up, and upon seeing him online, he said, "The big shot’s online? We’re getting ready to expand the kitchen and build a winery. One of the players in our group knows how to brew wine. The plan is to use that skill to trade with the mortals at the foot of the mountain for money."
"Master Miao Miao also said we should try to combine the Spirit Grass with these other ingredients. We want to see if we can extract the grass’s medicinal effects without having to make them into individual Medicine Pills."
Jiang Ya was a little surprised. "Is that so?"
Unfortunately, he wasn’t interested in that for the time being.
Zhou Xiao suddenly said, "Also, the player who went down the mountain seems to have discovered that the game’s main storyline has probably appeared."
Jiang Ya was taken aback. "What main storyline? Isn’t our main mission just to help the Sect grow stronger?"
"That’s the obvious, public mission. But if there are side quests, how could there not be a main story questline? It was discovered this morning in the game by that player with the ID Fan Guzhou, when he went down the mountain with A Wu to sell Spirit Grass."
"The owner of the medicine shop said that the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect is holding the Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony next month, and all the major Sects from across the Yunzhou Continent will be sending representatives. This sounds like a massive event, and apparently A Wu knew about it all along but didn’t give us any hints."
Jiang Ya: "That Immortal Sacrifice Ceremony sounds incredible. A Sect like ours probably isn’t qualified to participate, right?"
Zhou Xiao nodded. "Probably not. But since it’s a major in-game event, there’s no way they won’t let us players get involved somehow, right?"
The only question was how.
Zhou Xiao didn’t know either.
An event that was sure to have High-level Cultivators wasn’t something that small fries like them, still in the Qi Refinement Realm, could just casually join.
A Great Power Cultivator could kill a whole group of Little Cultivators just by sneezing.
But now that they knew about it, how could any player be satisfied without at least getting a taste of the action, even if they couldn’t fully participate?
Whether they were satisfied or not, Song Jiulai was currently on her way to the edge of Demon Cave Valley.
She hadn’t brought much equipment. Right now, her mind was filled with two things: the entire Yunzhou Continent Materials Compendium, and the two spells she had practiced.
The most basic Fireball Technique and Water Manipulation Technique.
Cheap and effective.
Good enough to deal with First-stage Demons.
Most importantly, if she ran into extreme danger, the system’s existence could still save her hide.
Or so it said.
Of course, that wouldn’t work against a high-level Cultivator.
After passing Wang’an County, on the road to her destination, she would occasionally run into other Cultivators.
They were all relatively low-level like Song Jiulai, but most were at least in the Mid-stage or Late Stage of their cultivation, hurrying to gain experience.
They were all in a rush and didn’t cause trouble.
Those in the Early Stage, like Song Jiulai, were a minority.
Not long after leaving Wang’an County, signs of demon beasts began to appear along the path.
However, most of them were harmless, like the Stealing Spirit Mice from the mountains of the Feique Sect.
There was a reason they were left alone.
Song Jiulai wasn’t bored, though. On her journey, she at least had the system to argue with inside her head. That is, until she was passing through a patch of mountain forest and suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Then, she heard a woman’s cry: "Watch out!"
Without a second thought, Song Jiulai swiped her hand, and a Fireball the size of a human head appeared. She whipped her head around to see a snake-like demon beast, as tall as a person and covered in fleshy warts that made one’s skin crawl, lunging right at her.
A First-rank Demon Beast: the Toad Snake.
It was covered in tumors. It wasn’t very lethal, but it was disgusting, and the venom in its tumors would contaminate Spirit Grass and crops.
It also actively attacked mortals and Cultivators.
It was classified as a harmful type of demon beast.
But when Song Jiulai’s Fireball smashed into it, the Toad Snake recoiled, letting out a "HISSSSSS."
The Fireball burst two of its tumors, and venom trickled onto the ground, immediately causing plumes of green smoke to rise from the surrounding area.
"Holy crap!!"
It was Song Jiulai’s first time facing a demon beast up close. She wasn’t so much scared as she was utterly disgusted.
She had practiced this Fireball Technique like her life depended on it from the very first day she awakened her Spirit Root.
’She didn’t know much, but she figured practicing a high-damage Spell first was always the best choice.’
It had taken her two full days of study to get the hang of it, but now she was quite proficient with the Fireball Technique.
’But dealing with a First-rank Demon Beast shouldn’t be this hard, right?’
The woman in the pink dress, who had appeared nearby, was also in the Early Stage of Qi Refining. She was startled to see the massive Fireball Song Jiulai had whipped up out of nowhere and immediately shouted, "There’s something strange about this Toad Snake! Be careful!"
The moment she finished speaking, she saw Song Jiulai furiously conjure two more huge Fireballs.
The barrage sent the Toad Snake stumbling backward with a constant "HISSSSSS."
The woman was even more astonished.
’This Cultivator’s aura feels the same as mine, just Early Stage of Qi Refining,’ she thought. ’How can she cast the Fireball Technique over and over without a break?’
Song Jiulai didn’t feel like she was doing anything out of the ordinary. After three Fireballs, the Toad Snake was smoking all over. Seeing it was on the verge of death, Song Jiulai immediately followed up with another.
"BOOM—"
The ugly Toad Snake died a violent death.
Looking at the snake’s corpse, Song Jiulai fought back her disgust and collected it anyway.
’Oh no, the Jiezidai that Senior Sister Su Huanli gave me is dirty now!’
’But this snake can be sold for money! I have no choice!!’
’In the future, if players want to raise demon beasts, the list of pets has to be approved by me. If anyone dares to raise this kind of snake, I’ll kick them right out of the game!’
After firing four Fireballs in a row, she only felt slightly out of breath.
The woman in the pink dress walked over and said cautiously, "I am Lin Qian of the Taohua Sect."
"Ah, a senior sister from the Taohua Sect. I’m Song Jiulai from the Longevity Sect, a vassal sect of the neighboring Feique Sect."
As she spoke, she subconsciously extended her hand for a handshake, only to snap back to her senses at the other woman’s baffled expression. She quickly withdrew her hand.
Song Jiulai was a bit puzzled. "I haven’t even reached the edge of Demon Cave Valley yet. Are Toad Snakes already starting to appear here?"
’The terrain data I memorized said that Toad Snakes are always driven away because they’re so polluting,’ she thought. ’It hasn’t been that long since I left Wang’an County. There shouldn’t be any here.’
Lin Qian immediately said, "That’s what I was trying to tell you! There was something strange about that Toad Snake. I was just out gathering herbs when I ran into it. My Fireball Technique only grazed its hide. When I saw things were bad, I ran for it."
Lin Qian’s gaze was filled with admiration. "Your Fireball Technique is amazing! Are you really in the Early Stage of Qi Refining? I’ve seen senior brothers and sisters in my sect who are in the Mid-stage, and even they might not be as skilled as you."
Song Jiulai: "..."
Huh?
’Isn’t this just standard procedure?’
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