537: The Battle Draws Near
After returning from Zhiming Peak to Purple Cloud Peak, there was still some time to spare.
Jiang Mo had been injured and needed to recover properly, but after receiving a cup of spirit tea from Divine Lord Zhiming, she was already completely healed. Thus, after returning to Purple Cloud Peak, she found herself with nothing to do—there were still three days left, and she should have been seizing the time to level up and increase her strength, but she had already completed today's challenge mission. Now that she was back at Xuanqing Sect, it was impossible to convince Sect Leader Qingxiao to open the formation and let her out to hunt monsters.
The idle little tiger couldn't stay still, so she paced back and forth in the room. After she circled a few times, Yun Qingyue began to feel dizzy from watching her and reached out to grab her: "Enough, Ah Mo, stop pacing. You're making me dizzy."
Jiang Mo had no choice but to stop and obediently sit beside her Senior Sister, turning to gaze at her longingly.
Yun Qingyue felt helpless under her gaze and had to ask, "What is it? Knowing the great battle is just three days away, are you nervous?"
Jiang Mo thought for a moment and honestly shook her head: "Not really. After all, the Divine Lord was so confident, so the demon race should be no problem for him. As for the others, my cultivation isn't low now, so I should be able to handle them." After a pause, she added, "It's just that with the battle approaching, I still want to improve a bit more. Now that I've completed the challenge and can't leave the formation, I don't know what else to do."
She spoke as if she truly wasn't worried about the battle in three days, but Yun Qingyue clearly detected her nervousness in her words—when had the little tiger, who was usually such a salted fish, ever been unable to stay still except when nervous?
However, Yun Qingyue didn't point this out, and instead said, "If that's the case, then let's cultivate."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo suddenly realized: Yes, the normal way for cultivators to increase their strength was through cultivation, not through her cheating methods!
Her heart immediately settled down, and she nodded in agreement: "You're right, we should cultivate." After a pause, her gaze fell on her Senior Sister, looked at her briefly before glancing away: "So, Ah Yue, will you join me?"
Yun Qingyue didn't refuse, as she was still a traditional cultivator who needed diligent practice to advance her realm. As for cultivation methods, dual cultivation together was indeed much more efficient than cultivating alone. So the Senior Sister readily agreed, and even in broad daylight, they didn't do anything inappropriate, simply pressing their dantians together to cultivate as they had done before.
Soon, a spiritual energy vortex formed above Purple Cloud Peak, drawing in all the nearby spiritual energy.
......
Unlike the two juniors, Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi didn't have time to relax after leaving Zhiming Peak. They each returned to their own territories and began arranging upcoming matters. By the time everything was settled, who knew how much time had passed.
With the battle approaching, Zhu Baiyi was still a mother after all. Although she hadn't raised her daughter for many days, she couldn't completely ignore her. So after arranging affairs with her subordinates, she left her temporary residence and headed toward Purple Cloud Peak... Coincidentally, Qingyu was in a similar situation, also planning to visit Purple Cloud Peak to see her disciple and deliver some life-saving treasures.
The two arrived at just the right time, encountering each other before reaching Purple Cloud Peak.
Previously, with one matter after another and others present, the two hadn't spoken much. Now meeting halfway, Zhu Baiyi's eyes brightened, and she immediately approached.
Noticing the direction Qingyu was heading, Zhu Baiyi asked, "Is Ah Gui going to find Qingyue?"
Qingyu nodded, intentionally slowing her pace to wait for Zhu Baiyi to catch up: "Are you also going to see Qingyue?"
Zhu Baiyi's fox-like eyes curved, and she nodded: "Indeed. With the battle approaching, she is my daughter, so I must give her some life-saving items." As she spoke, her gaze lingered briefly on Qingyu, and her fingers hidden in her sleeve caressed a jade talisman for a long time. Only when the jade talisman, taken from her storage ring, had absorbed her body temperature did she finally hand it over: "This is for you, keep it for protection."
Qingyu didn't lack protective items. Not to mention the treasures she had inherited from the inheritance secret realm, just with her status as Peak Master of Mount Mingxia, Xuanqing Sect wouldn't treat her poorly—Xuanqing City had been passed down for tens of thousands of years, accumulating resources for tens of thousands of years. Now facing a calamity concerning the sect's survival, the sect's treasury would naturally be opened, and anything useful would not be withheld.
It could be said that Qingyu was now wealthier than ever before, so she wasn't planning to accept: "There's no need, you..." Before she could finish saying "keep it for yourself," Qingyu saw the obvious disappointment in Zhu Baiyi's eyes.
Her heart, normally as cold as ice, somehow softened at this moment, and she couldn't finish her words.
Zhu Baiyi was indeed disappointed, her hand clutching the jade talisman a bit tighter, but when she waited and Qingyu didn't finish her sentence, she somehow felt relieved. Without further delay, she simply placed the jade talisman directly into Qingyu's hand.
Qingyu was momentarily stunned, feeling the body temperature on the jade talisman, her fingertips curling slightly.
Afraid she would return it, Zhu Baiyi flew a little distance away, and only when she saw that Qingyu apparently had no intention of returning it did her expression finally relax. Then she prepared to find a topic to change the subject, and the topic was ready-made—they were both going to Purple Cloud Peak to find Qingyue, and now that they were not far from Purple Cloud Peak, they could talk about their daughter.
But before she could speak, Zhu Baiyi's flying form suddenly halted... The reason was simple: she had already seen Purple Cloud Peak in the distance, and also saw the familiar spiritual energy vortex above it.
Tsk, in broad daylight, those two little ones had already started dual cultivation?!
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Because of the spiritual energy vortex, Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu, who believed they understood the situation, were ultimately too embarrassed to visit. They left only a few words in communication jade talismans, telling Yun Qingyue to come find them for the items after finishing cultivation, and then both departed.
While Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo were indeed dual cultivating, their dual cultivation was proper cultivation—joke aside, what dual cultivation technique would dare cause such a commotion? If such a dual cultivation technique existed, it couldn't have been passed down. Otherwise, each cultivation session would be equivalent to announcing it to the world. How thick-skinned would cultivators need to be to cultivate under such pressure?
Obviously, neither Jiang Mo nor Yun Qingyue had such thick skin. Their dual cultivation was simply pressing their dantians together, which merely accelerated their cultivation speed. Because they knew they were innocent, neither of them even thought to clarify or explain.
The entire day, the two spent in dual cultivation, until dusk when they both stopped and opened their eyes.
Yun Qingyue received messages from both elders and found it strange: "Both Master and Mother came by, why didn't they visit and just left?" And after coming all this way, they suddenly left just to send a message asking her to collect the items?
Jiang Mo leaned over to look, equally confused. She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Perhaps they noticed we were cultivating and didn't want to disturb us."
That explanation made sense. When the two cultivated, they absorbed spiritual energy quickly, forming a spiritual energy vortex as a regular occurrence, making it easy for others to notice they were cultivating. However, neither realized the misunderstanding of others. After finishing cultivation, they naturally went out, originally planning to go to Lingyun Hall to check the situation, but now they changed course to visit Mount Mingxia first.
Sect Leader Qingxiao had obviously informed everyone about the battle in three days, so as soon as Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue stepped out, they sensed the tense atmosphere in the sect. Fortunately, Sect Leader Qingxiao had mentioned that Divine Lord Zhiming would join the battle, which somewhat stabilized everyone's emotions.
The two flew all the way to Mount Mingxia and successfully met with Qingyu, unsurprisingly receiving several life-saving treasures.
Worth mentioning is that Peak Master Qingyu handed over two storage rings, preparing life-saving treasures not only for Yun Qingyue but also for Jiang Mo—the value of the items was secondary, as was Jianbing's status. The key was that these items were prepared together with those for her Senior Sister. Didn't this represent her master's acknowledgment?
Jiang Mo accepted the storage ring, feeling a bit excited inside. Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, secretly reached out and, under the cover of her robe, held her Senior Sister's hand. While Yun Qingyue maintained an outwardly calm appearance, she privately cooperated by holding the other's hand.
The actions of the two juniors in private naturally couldn't escape Qingyu's notice. After a few more admonitions, she dismissed the two.
Afterward, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue made another trip to the Crimson Blood Sect's temporary residence, similarly acquiring various treasures and warnings. However, Sect Leader Zhu was even more impatient than Qingyu, quickly giving her warnings and sending the two away.
Being driven out of the Crimson Blood Sect's quarters, Jiang Mo was somewhat bewildered. She blinked and asked Yun Qingyue, "Didn't the Sect Leader change her opinion of me today?"
Yes, after she was injured protecting Yun Qingyue, Sect Leader Zhu's attitude toward Jiang Mo had noticeably improved, and she had even praised her. However, women could change their attitudes faster than turning pages of a book, and the poor little tiger had no idea what she had done to offend her mother-in-law again.
Yun Qingyue also didn't know, but having already been driven out, it really wasn't necessary to go back and ask.
So the two returned to Purple Cloud Peak. The trip wasn't wasted; besides gaining many treasures, they also gained a preliminary understanding of Xuanqing Sect's current situation. The good news was that the sect's situation was relatively stable; the bad news was that the great battle would be in three days, and Sect Leader Qingxiao had decided to use these three days to help everyone adjust their condition, so he wouldn't open the sect formation to let people out anymore.
After returning to Purple Cloud Peak, Jiang Mo hesitated for a long time before finally taking out a certain gift and inching closer: "Ah Yue, there are still three days left. Should we explore a new cultivation method?"