Chapter 469 : Visiting Master
469: Visiting Master
Xuanqing Sect was not a charity house.
When subordinate small sects came seeking refuge, Xuanqing Sect naturally had to accommodate them out of responsibility. But beyond that, other people had no connection whatsoever to Xuanqing Sect—these "others" included independent cultivators seeking shelter, small sects not under Xuanqing Sect's jurisdiction, and certainly the two major demonic path sects that had come seeking protection in their desperation.
Sect Leader Qingxiao would inevitably need to extract some benefits from these two sects, but such matters were beyond Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue's purview. They had brought people back and settled them in; as for the rest, it would be up to those in power to negotiate.
After days of rushing about and resolving one crisis, their bodies might not be tired, but their minds certainly were.
After escorting Sect Leader Zhu to soak in the Lightning Pool, Jiang Mo hugged her Senior Sister's arm and rested her head on her shoulder: "I'm so tired. Ah Yue, will you come back to Purple Cloud Peak with me to rest for a while?"
Yun Qingyue had always been defenseless against the little tiger's coquettish behavior. She stroked the tiger's head and naturally acquiesced.
The two flew back to Purple Cloud Peak, only to discover that people had set up tents even at the foot of their spirit peak. She clicked her tongue a couple of times but didn't take it to heart, simply bringing her Senior Sister back up the peak for a good rest.
The next morning, Jiang Mo was awakened by the system's alert sound. The familiar mechanical voice exploded in her mind, startling the sleeping little tiger into bolting upright, her head buzzing with noise—
"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing main quest four, 'Vertical and Horizontal Alliances,' rewarding 10,000 points."
Jiang Mo was so startled that her heart raced wildly, with cold sweat from the shock trickling down her forehead. Her drowsy consciousness hadn't fully awakened, nor had she paid attention to what the system's prompt actually said. She looked like someone suddenly jolted from a nightmare.
A soft hand gently touched her back at that moment, lightly patting twice, followed by a familiar cool voice filled with evident concern: "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? It's alright now that you're awake, and I'm right here with you."
Yun Qingyue had never been fond of sleeping. Since childhood, she had cultivated the habit of substituting cultivation for sleep. But Jiang Mo was different—before transmigrating, she had been an ordinary person. Twenty years of regular living habits had ingrained sleep patterns that eighty years of transmigration hadn't changed much. Except during closed-door cultivation, going without sleep for extended periods gave her the illusion she might suddenly drop dead.
When two people live together, they inevitably influence each other. Gradually, Yun Qingyue had also developed sleeping habits because of Jiang Mo.
Last night, Jiang Mo had once again dragged her Senior Sister to sleep together, even secretly snuggling into her embrace. Naturally, this morning's sudden movement had also awakened Yun Qingyue. She didn't have any morning grumpiness and, seeing Jiang Mo's poor state, hurried to comfort her.
Jiang Mo had merely been startled awake from her sleep. Apart from the initial heart palpitations, she recovered quite quickly. In fact, she had mostly recovered even before Yun Qingyue began comforting her. But faced with her Senior Sister's gentle consolation, how could the little tiger bear to refuse? She turned and wrapped her arms around her Senior Sister's waist, burying herself completely in the other's embrace: "Let me hug you, and I'll be fine in a moment."
Yun Qingyue's motion of patting the person in her arms paused briefly, but only for an instant before continuing to comfort her. Feeling Jiang Mo's mood rapidly improve, she finally asked: "What did you dream about?"
Jiang Mo's thoughts were still somewhat chaotic as she hugged her Senior Sister and shook her head: "I don't remember."
She truly didn't remember, just like when someone shouts loudly in your ear while you're sleeping—beyond being startled awake, you wouldn't likely remember what they shouted.
Though Jiang Mo didn't remember, the system that had just sent the notification was quite excited. Perhaps the stuttering system had been suppressed for too long without speaking, and now, regardless of the situation, it bounced around in her sea of consciousness and responded: "H-host, you, main quest, task, c-completed, another one. R-rewarded, 10000, points."
The system's evident excitement stemmed partly from the host advancing further in the main quest, and partly because the host had finally escaped poverty—heaven knows how pragmatic the host was, speaking to the system when she needed it but completely ignoring it otherwise. More pathetically, the useless system could provide almost no help to the host except through the mall. Thus, after the points were used up, communication between host and system became pitifully rare.
Now it was better—with points credited to the account, the system could take a cut to repay loan interest. The cultivation world was becoming increasingly dangerous, and the host would surely need to use points later, which would inevitably involve communication with it.
There's a saying: you only appreciate what you've lost, and what you can't have is always best—the system used to be able to run and fly freely, appearing whenever it wanted and communicating with the host at will. It had even followed the host's habits of laziness for quite some time. Now, confined in the sea of consciousness unable to leave, with communication no longer smooth, the system began to miss its former freedom.
It had many sentiments to express, but unfortunately, the host was merciless. After hearing its stuttering explanation, she promptly shut it back in the dark room.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Jiang Mo only had time to deal with the system after she was done cuddling with her Senior Sister.
Unlike her Senior Sister's good temper, Jiang Mo had morning grumpiness. The system suddenly speaking while she was sound asleep and frightening her awake was something she would certainly hold against it. So when Jiang Mo finally found time to address the system, her expression wasn't pleasant at all, nearly scaring the little system into a crying mess.
Jiang Mo could see the small ball of light trembling in her sea of consciousness, which finally alleviated her irritation from being startled awake. She coldly "hmph-ed" and asked the system: "What was so important that you had to notify me while I was sleeping?"
The system whimpered and explained again, stuttering even more than usual in its tearful state.
Jiang Mo patiently listened to the end, her eyes finally showing some puzzlement. She opened the system panel to check the historical messages and indeed found such a notification, with a timestamp of five in the morning.
The cultivation world didn't have many formalities; cultivators didn't need fixed sleep schedules, so various areas within the sect didn't open or close at set times. But suddenly being notified of a completed task early in the morning—had she completed it in her dream? Yet she hadn't dreamed last night... Well, she had dreamed a bit about cuddling and snuggling with her Senior Sister, but what did that have to do with the task?
Jiang Mo couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she thought, so she turned to ask the system, but the little stutterer couldn't explain clearly either—ever since being sealed by the White Tiger, this system had become increasingly useless, barely able to do anything beyond internal system functions.
Finally, at noon, Jiang Mo learned—or rather, guessed—the reason for the task's completion.
At that time, Yun Qingyue had gone out and returned with two spirit fruits for her, mentioning in passing: "Master has returned, but she doesn't seem to be in good condition. I heard she's also injured; I should go check on her."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo naturally sprang up without hesitation, immediately following: "I'll come with you."
Yun Qingyue looked at her, with soft emotions seemingly floating in her eyes, and nodded: "Alright, let's go together then."
Jiang Mo was momentarily dazed by the tenderness in her Senior Sister's eyes. It was only when Yun Qingyue took the initiative to hold her hand that she came back to herself and followed. Because she was in a good mood, the whole tiger seemed somewhat buoyant. Only when they were walking did she remember to ask: "When did Master return? Is she recuperating at Mount Mingxia, or has she also gone to the Lightning Pool to remove demonic energy?"
Yun Qingyue replied with great patience: "I heard she returned before dawn this morning. I haven't seen Master yet, but given the current situation in the cultivation world, I imagine she would need to visit the Lightning Pool first if injured."
When Jiang Mo heard "before dawn," her eyelid twitched slightly, and she then asked: "Did Master return with Buddha Sect's people?"
The two were flying very quickly and could already see Mount Tianyang. Yun Qingyue nodded in response: "Apart from Buddha Sect, quite a few Buddhist cultivators from Mount Puhua were also rescued. I heard there are even more than from Crimson Blood Sect and Harmony Sect. The Sect Leader arranged another spirit peak for them." After finishing this sentence, she abruptly changed the subject: "We've arrived, you..."
The two landed, indeed having reached the outside of the Lightning Pool. Jiang Mo had just been thinking about winning effortlessly, but her Senior Sister's sudden hesitation left her puzzled. She looked back, blinking in confusion: "What about me?"
Yun Qingyue paused, then shook her head: "Nothing, let's go in and see Master first."
Jiang Mo felt that Yun Qingyue had wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing. She felt inexplicably nervous, but after careful thought, didn't know exactly what she was nervous about—they were just going to see Peak Master Qingyu, whom they had met before. When she was still a tiger cub, Master had even picked her up by the scruff of her neck. It was just a meeting now; what was there to be nervous about?
She shook her head, dismissing this momentary inexplicable feeling, and quickly caught up with her Senior Sister. However, just as they entered the Lightning Pool, she instinctively looked down at herself, making sure there was nothing amiss before following.
After many days away, there were even more people in the Lightning Pool. Besides the Xuanqing Sect disciples infected by demonic patterns, there were two additional groups of newcomers—the injured from the two demonic sects and Buddha Sect. Previously, the righteous and demonic paths would have fought to the death upon meeting, but now they disregarded status differences, all crowded haphazardly in various Lightning Pools.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue walked past one Lightning Pool after another, heading deep into the area.