531: I'll Teach You
Yun Qingyue was ultimately persuaded by Jiang Mo, and together they refined the pair of heart jades.
She couldn't say whether joy or worry predominated in her heart. With the existence of these heart jades, she felt the responsibility on her shoulders had grown heavier—beyond her sect and her principles, she now carried another person's life. And this person was important to her and trusted her deeply.
This created a sense of urgency in Yun Qingyue. Although her cultivation was already progressing rapidly, she wished it could be even faster. Soon, she would see a "shortcut" to cultivation...
After examining the Sect Leader Qingxiao's gift, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's attention finally fell on the only other gift.
Jiang Mo actually had some guesses, so she first carefully glanced at her Senior Sister's expression before opening Fei Yuan's gift. It was another red brocade box, half the size of the one Sect Leader Qingxiao had given. Inside was a plain, ordinary jade slip. Since jade slips were typically used for recording information, what would the Harmony Sect include in a wedding gift?
The little tiger considered herself proper, and her Senior Sister was even more so, but faced with this jade slip, the two exchanged looks, both feeling it was too hot to handle. She curled her fingers slightly, unconsciously looking toward her beloved: "Ah Yue..."
Yun Qingyue maintained a serious expression, though her earlobes reddened slightly with inexplicable embarrassment: "Hmm?"
Jiang Mo immediately noticed her forced composure. Initially she had felt bashful, but seeing her Senior Sister like this, her heart steadied, and she suddenly wasn't so shy anymore—there was really no need to be, as the two had experienced things together before. Even if they had truly received "secret techniques" from the Harmony Sect, at worst, they could treat it as an alternative textbook, study it, and learn from it.
With this mindset, Jiang Mo reached for the jade slip, and before Yun Qingyue could react, she probed it with her divine sense. Seeing this, Yun Qingyue seemed about to speak but hesitated, slightly raising her finger before ultimately not intervening.
A moment later, Jiang Mo withdrew her divine sense, her face having unconsciously turned bright red.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue knew the contents of the jade slip were likely as she had expected. Jiang Mo's gaze wavered for a moment before settling on Yun Qingyue, hesitantly offering the jade slip: "Ah Yue, do you want to take a look? It might be useful..."
Jiang Mo spoke truthfully. Fei Yuan, as the leader of the Harmony Sect and a cultivator of extremely high level, couldn't possibly offer a mere collection of erotic images as a gift. What she had given them was a genuine dual cultivation method suitable for two women, not one meant for energy absorption. Upon careful consideration, this cultivation technique was quite valuable and particularly appropriate for the two of them.
It was curious why Fei Yuan suddenly gave them such a gift—was it inspired by that spiritual energy vortex she saw in the back hall of Lingyun Hall? Or had she discerned the secret behind Yun Qingyue's recent cultivation progress? Regardless, it was certainly thoughtful.
Yun Qingyue could tell Jiang Mo wasn't joking, but she bit her lower lip gently, too embarrassed to look at it, especially in front of Jiang Mo. After a while, she slightly turned her head away, saying: "Never mind, I won't look. You can put it away."
Jiang Mo didn't insist and obediently stored the jade slip: "Alright, but I've already seen it, so I can teach you."
Upon hearing this, Yun Qingyue's entire ear burned hot.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Daylight had broken, and Jiang Mo certainly had no opportunity to do anything, even though she had just learned a new cultivation method.
With less than a month until the final battle, everyone felt the urgency and had no time to waste. Therefore, as soon as dawn broke, Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo left Purple Cloud Peak—they needed to leave the sect today, not only for training and fighting monsters but, more importantly, to deliver a response regarding the alliance with the Nine Abyss Sect Leader.
However, to avoid missing challenge rewards like last time, they decided to complete the challenge tasks first, then hurry out. So early in the morning, the two appeared on the path to Zhiming Peak.
As they flew, Jiang Mo reassured: "Don't worry, Ah Yue, we'll definitely make it in time this morning. There aren't many people left in the sect that I can challenge."
Even without Jiang Mo saying so, the observant Yun Qingyue had long noticed many patterns. For instance, Jiang Mo never competed with those of lower cultivation than herself; once her cultivation surpassed someone, that person would be removed from her challenge list. Additionally, challenging those with significantly higher cultivation seemed to bring her greater benefits, which she enjoyed immensely. Similarly, she was happy to challenge many people at once, even being ganged up on.
Now that Jiang Mo had broken through to the Grand Achievement realm, not only were those previous Golden Core Elders no longer qualified, but even most of the peak masters of Xuanqing Sect had lost their qualification to fight her.
When she said there weren't many people left to challenge, it was truly the case.
Thinking of this, Yun Qingyue couldn't help but worry and asked: "I don't know how you cultivate, but now with fewer challenge opponents, isn't it harder for you to cultivate than before?"
Hearing this, Jiang Mo inwardly smiled bitterly. Indeed, as her cultivation increased, not only were there fewer targets to exploit, but the remaining ones provided diminishing returns. Even the rewards from Divine Lord Zhiming's tasks were drastically reduced. The system's timed challenge tasks were becoming less and less appealing, yet she couldn't bear to abandon them.
If only she could gather Sect Leader Qingxiao and the others with Divine Lord Zhiming for a challenge!
Jiang Mo's imagination ran wild, but she knew it wasn't realistic, so she didn't voice it. She maintained a calm expression, casually answering: "That's right, my cultivation method is like this—rapid progress in the early stages, then gradually slowing down."
This explanation didn't surprise Yun Qingyue, as many cultivation methods followed this pattern—the deeper one went, the more profound it became, naturally slowing progress. But she strongly doubted whether Jiang Mo's was truly a normal cultivation method.
Jiang Mo didn't explain further and changed the subject: "Actually, now that this cultivation method is yielding slower progress, I've found that going out to fight demons and gain experience is quite beneficial for my cultivation, so I need to go out more often."
Of course, she had also acquired a new method today and wanted to test its effectiveness.
Yun Qingyue was unaware that as Jiang Mo spoke, her thoughts had taken a different direction. She very normally discussed cultivation methods with Jiang Mo and very normally accompanied her to Zhiming Peak.
……
After not seeing her for a night, Divine Lord Zhiming was surprised to discover the little tiger had broken through again: "How is your cultivation advancing so quickly?"
Coming from Divine Lord Zhiming, another divine beast, these words were truly remarkable, proving that Jiang Mo's cultivation speed was abnormal even by divine beast standards—of course, not just now, she had been abnormal for quite some time.
From the moment she was brought back to Xuanqing Sect by her Senior Sister, the little tiger with her congenital deficiency and fallen realm was already unprecedented. Later, using eighty years to cultivate to the Fusion realm and reaching early maturity was extremely rare. Now, breaking through again in such a short time, all the way to the Grand Achievement realm, should not be so surprising... like hell it shouldn't!
Even with Divine Lord Zhiming's vast experience, he couldn't help but scrutinize Jiang Mo carefully. Knowing the nature of divine beasts, the surprise in his eyes when looking at Jiang Mo was even greater than that of Sect Leader Qingxiao and the others.
Jiang Mo felt inexplicably guilty under his gaze, since her cultivation advancement relied entirely on her system advantage. She rubbed her nose and said: "Just, just normal cultivation. I don't know how I broke through." She quickly followed with flattery: "Besides, my cultivation progress these days has largely depended on Divine Lord's guidance. My breakthrough to Grand Achievement is partly thanks to you."
Divine Lord Zhiming could see through her perfunctory response and forced a smile: "Thanks to my guidance? Partly my credit? Well then, I shouldn't accept your gratitude for nothing. Today I'll give you some more guidance."
Unsurprisingly, Jiang Mo was beaten again, but fortunately, after the beating, Divine Lord Zhiming didn't pursue the matter further or make things difficult for her. After successfully obtaining her reduced daily rewards from Divine Lord Zhiming, Jiang Mo left with her Senior Sister, feeling somewhat pleased—probably because with her cultivation breakthrough, she wasn't as miserable from the beating as before.
The big-hearted little tiger didn't think too much of it. After leaving Zhiming Peak, she mentally counted and suddenly realized she had no one left to challenge, so she had to go early to the barrier to wait for Sect Leader Qingxiao to open it.
Yun Qingyue was much more thoughtful than her, or perhaps as an observer, she could see more clearly—she felt that Divine Lord Zhiming seemed to have much on his mind lately.
……
When the two arrived at the designated location, Sect Leader Qingxiao hadn't yet arrived, but some disciples who were also going out to train had arrived early. Seeing Jianbing's unwelcoming demeanor, most people tactfully kept their distance, merely bowing to the two from afar before walking away in small groups.
Jiang Mo ignored the unfamiliar disciples, though there were familiar ones like Zhong Heng and others. They seemed surprised to see her, and their gazes fell on the two's clasped hands. Zhong Heng remarked: "Jianbing and Senior Sister are still so close."