Chapter 109: Recovering
"Young miss, why did you give them the treasure tokens of our BlueStar Treasure pavilion?" A man asked.
This was the same person who argued with Jiang Yue right after the fight ended.
Now that the death flower ascension front had retreated and everything was settled, everyone had retreated to their own tents to count their losses.
Meng Zihua was no different.
However, she did not expect to be questioned about this matter as soon as she entered the tent.
"Did fellow Daoist Song have a different way of handling the matter?" Meng Zihua asked.
She poured a cup of tea for herself, took a sip, and then turned to the young man.
"They only have nine people." Song Qiufeng said, and fighting spirit entered his eyes.
His thoughts were clear from this.
The treasure tokens given to the nine allowed each to redeem one low-grade spirit rank item from the BlueStar Treasure pavilion.
They could be used at any branch in the Cangxing world, and they had no time limit.
Song Qiufeng did not believe the nine people deserved the tokens.
When she heard this, Meng Zihua sneered and didn’t hide her distaste.
"They only have nine people, but it is a fact they protected the guardian box."
"But..."
"Our BlueStar Treasure pavilion does not repay gratitude with unkindness."
The BlueStar Treasure pavilion did not side with the righteous or evil factions in the Cangxing world.
It maintained a neutral stance, but it had a moral bottom line.
That bottom line prevented cultivators from the BlueStar Treasure pavilion from acting like bandits.
When someone extended a kindness, they had to repay severalfold.
Although things had gotten a little tense for a moment, Meng Zihua never thought about being unrighteous.
This was not only because of the rules of her BlueStar Treasure pavilion but because she could feel the qi presence of the cultivators on the other side.
’Who are those three?’ She wondered and allowed her thoughts to wander.
From what she felt, two among the nine were equal to her in strength.
However, she was more concerned with the last of the three.
This was because she could not feel his qi presence and thus could not estimate his strength.
This in itself made her wary, and she didn’t dare to be reckless.
"The matter is done, and we shall not discuss it any longer." She finally said.
"Our BlueStar Treasure pavilion has more important matters to worry about."
When they heard that, everyone in the tent turned a little solemn.
The secret realm would not close for a few more months, and they needed to protect the guardian box until then.
.....
While the BlueStar Treasure pavilion was discussing countermeasures, Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen were alone in a tent.
After settling the matter with the pavilion, their group of nine broke up.
The original group of four returned to the tent hotel and settled in their old tents.
"How long will it take to fully recover?" Jiang Yue asked when they were seated across from each other.
"Two or three shichen." Yu Nianzhen said and frowned a little.
Although he wished to leave the valley as soon as possible, he didn’t want to risk it until his intent was fully recovered.
"Don’t worry about anything, and take your time to recover."
Yu Nianzhen smiled and pulled Jiang Yue towards him.
He kissed him lightly and tousled his hair.
"Okay, hurry along." Jiang Yue pushed him away, and Yu Nianzhen didn’t resist.
He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
As soon as his mind was calm, he spread his consciousness and examined his body.
’My sword intent was initially depleted, and the next fight didn’t help the situation.’ He thought as he observed his body.
’I have less than five per cent intent remaining. My qi is also less than ten per cent.’
’Most importantly, all the swords in my origin qi have been used up.’
’I will replenish my qi first.’
After that, Yu Nianzhen spent a shichen recovering his qi.
In the outside world, he would have required more time, but the qi in the secret realm was abundant and friendly.
He only needed to tug it a little before it rushed into his body.
The refining was also relatively easy because the qi was pure and didn’t have to be circulated many times to purify.
When his dantian was full, Yu Nianzhen checked his qi ocean to determine the situation, and his mouth dropped open in shock.
’What is the meaning of this? What happened?’
After the mayflies’ experience, the swords in his qi ocean had risen from nineteen to three thousand.
Although he couldn’t increase the number in the following months, he polished the existing three thousand at every opportunity.
However, he didn’t expect the number to suddenly decrease.
’Why did they decrease to one thousand?’
Yu Nianzhen felt a little panic in his heart, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.
’There is no use for panic. I need to examine myself more closely.’
After that, Yu Nianzhen spent two shichen observing his qi ocean.
When he was done, he sighed in relief, and his mind finally calmed down.
Although the swords had decreased, the one thousand were of better quality than before.
They were not only denser but also brighter and more mysterious.
If he had to compare them, he would equate the previous swords to iron swords and the new swords to steel swords.
Yu Nianzhen didn’t understand it, but the evolution was beneficial.
’Was it because of the fight?’ He wondered.
However, he didn’t think fighting was enough to bring this much of a change.
’I can only think about it later. It’s more important to recover my sword intent now.’
Two shichens later, Yu Nianzhen finally opened his eyes.
He exhaled a turbid breath, and a silver light flashed in his eyes before they turned back to normal.
"Did anything happen?" He asked.
"Nothing."
Jiang Yue looked at the other and felt a slight change in him.
The change was small, and he couldn’t place it, but he felt the other had grown more powerful.
’I will be left behind at this rate.’ He thought, and a little desperation entered his heart.
On earth, it didn’t affect too much if one part of a relationship was more powerful than the other.
However, things were different in the cultivation world.
If they wanted to walk together until the end, they needed to be equally powerful.
Otherwise, they couldn’t go on the same adventures if one party was weak and couldn’t stand the risk in some places.
Jiang Yue didn’t want this to happen.
He wanted to visit every safe and forbidden region in the Cangxing world.
When there were no longer any places to journey in the world, he wanted to accompany Yu Nianzhen to other worlds.
He didn’t want to be left behind or protected because he wasn’t strong enough.
While Jiang Yue was having a mild panic attack, his body was pulled against a firm one.
Strong arms wrapped around him, and his head was laid on a firm chest.
Yu Nianzhen’s steady heartbeat calmed his heart, and his breathing returned to normal.
When he was calm enough, a voice came from above his head, "XiaoYue, I am only one step in front. You will catch up soon enough."
The voice was full of confidence and all of Jiang Yue’s anxiety dissipated.
He wrapped his arms around Yu Nianzhen’s waist and pressed himself closer.
"I am fine, don’t worry." He said.
However, he didn’t immediately step away from the comforting warmth.
He took a moment to reassure himself, and when he finally stepped back, his eyes were no longer desperate.
Instead, they were filled with a stubborn strength that took Yu Nianzhen’s breath away.
’This is my Jiang Yue.’ He thought.
Unable to resist, he wrapped his left arm around Jiang Yue’s shoulders and used his right hand to tip his chin upward.
A moment, their lips collided in a kiss.
It was a kiss filled with passion, reassurance, and unbreakable determination.
In this life, they weren’t willing to be apart.
"Spare this little monk’s eyes." An amused voice suddenly called from the tent entrance.
The two separated and looked at Xuan Ke, who had entered the tent at some point.
"Brother Ke." Jiang Yue called, and Yu Nianzhen narrowed his eyes.
The monk lifted his hands in surrender but still cast a mocking look at Yu Nianzhen.
’You should be thanking me. Both of you are still under twenty-one.’ He thought.
However, he didn’t dare say it out loud.
He had a bad feeling his sentiment would not be appreciated.
"Does brother Ke need something?"
When he heard Jiang Yue’s question, Xuan Ke’s smile was wiped off his face.
While they were recovering in the tent, he had walked around the valley.
Although he didn’t know the details, he had a half understanding of what was going on with the BlueStar Treasure pavilion and the Death Flower Ascension Front.
