Ridiculous! The cultivation world was nothing more than a marketplace. Yuyi had thought he had found reliable companions, but in their eyes—except for Lingxiao and Liuchen—they merely pitied him. Some even considered him a burden, wishing he would simply cease to exist. Yunyou and the others, mark my words. One day, I will show you who the true waste is!
First rule of survival: you may humiliate yourself, but never let others harm you.
Yuyi quickly composed himself, shaking off the sadness in his heart as he stepped onto the Xuantian Sect's mountain gate. He poured all his comprehension points into upgrading his techniques. Activating the sect's sound transmission formation, he shouted: "Seeking a secluded cultivation location. I will pay fifty thousand spirit stones to whoever brings me to a suitable place."
Yuyi opened his sound transmission jade talisman, and instantly, countless messages flooded his mind. He fought the urge to close the formation, sifting through the names until he found one that caught his eye. Someone named Muxue kept urging him to come to the foot of the mountain to discuss. Yuyi felt this person showed genuine sincerity, so he immediately closed both the sect's sound transmission formation and his jade talisman. Using his movement technique, he descended from the Xuantian Sect mountain gate at incredible speed.
A young woman saw Yuyi and hurriedly approached: "Do you remember me, Senior Brother?"
Yuyi stared at the young woman, pondering for a long moment before suddenly realizing: "I remember now. You were the one being bullied by Xuesha Sect disciples at the foot of the mountain that day."
The young woman immediately smiled: "I'm surprised you still remember me. I've always wanted to thank you. I asked around everywhere before finally learning your name from a senior brother."
Yuyi examined Muxue a few times, clicking his tongue in admiration: "In such a short time, you've become so much more mature and beautiful."
Muxue's face flushed slightly: "Senior Brother, you're teasing me. Are you looking for a place with few people where cultivation efficiency is fast?"
Yuyi had been anxious to ask but hadn't wanted to spoil her mood. Now that Muxue had brought it up herself, he nodded: "Yes, I want a place with good cultivation efficiency, but mainly with as few people as possible. Do you know of such a place?"
Muxue smiled: "I do know a place. An older sister took me there to cultivate once. Besides her, there was no one else. The location is very secluded, though it's a bit far from Xuantian Sect."
Yuyi hurriedly said: "Distance doesn't matter. Can you take me there?"
Muxue nodded: "Of course! We'll leave as soon as the flying boat arrives."
Yuyi was overjoyed. While waiting for the flying boat, they chatted casually. Yuyi learned about Muxue's basic situation and sensed that she was extremely simple-hearted, completely without scheming or calculation. He felt a bit of goodwill toward her. Although Yuyi thought such men were foolish, in a woman, it was actually quite endearing.
Yuyi examined this secluded location. After descending from the flying boat, they had walked nearly three hours of flat road, crossed five deep mountains, and passed through two hidden mountain paths before arriving here. The place was surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only a small path for entry and exit. In the center lay an emerald-green spirit lake, and farther away stood several wooden cabins, guarded by several spirit puppets.
Yuyi was extremely satisfied with this place. Not only was the scenery pleasant, but the spiritual energy was abundant. With such a large spirit lake, there was no need to worry about food and water. He could probably cultivate here continuously for a year or half a year without any problems.
Muxue quietly waited for Yuyi to finish examining the surroundings before asking: "Senior Brother, are you satisfied with this place?"
Yuyi nodded repeatedly: "I like it very much! I'm completely satisfied. Thank you, Muxue. Ah, here's the reward I promised. I'll add another double amount on top of that."
Muxue declined: "Senior Brother, you fell while saving me that day, and I've always felt extremely guilty about it. How could I possibly accept money for such a small matter? If you insist, I feel it would be an insult to my character."
Seeing Muxue's persistence, Yuyi returned the spirit stone vouchers to his storage ring: "Then I won't insist. But I'm truly grateful to you. I really like this place. If you ever lack spirit stones in the future, come to me anytime. I'm quite well-off at the moment."
Muxue smiled: "Senior Brother, you're so kind. Then I'll return to the sect now. I need to go on sect missions with a few senior brothers and sisters. I'll bring some things to visit you in a few days."
Yuyi smiled: "No need, no need. You go about your business. This place is indeed far, and the mountain roads aren't easy to walk. I won't be bored by myself."
"That won't happen. That older sister also cultivates here. She probably returned to the sect to upgrade her techniques. You'll meet her while cultivating here. Then I'll take my leave, Senior Brother. Goodbye."
Yuyi smiled and bid farewell to Muxue. Taking a deep breath, he felt refreshed and relaxed, as if this heaven and earth belonged entirely to him, filled with a sense of freedom. Moments later, sword in hand, he walked toward the spirit puppets outside the wooden cabins. In Yuyi's eyes, those were his comprehension points...
The spirit puppets' strength was indeed far superior to the Netherworld Beasts. Although Yuyi now had Foundation Building Realm sword cultivation, fighting them was still quite difficult. After battling continuously for nearly half a day, he gradually understood the spirit puppets' attack patterns and response methods, making the fights easier. Each defeated puppet earned him over five hundred comprehension points, and he suspected he would smile even in his sleep.
These wonderful days had finally arrived.
Suddenly, Yuyi felt something strange. Turning his head, he saw a beautiful woman in white robes with long hair standing before a nearby wooden cabin. She didn't know when she had appeared. The woman's expression was indifferent, exuding an aura of detachment from the mortal world. Her sword moved with extreme lightness and grace, and not a single spirit puppet could last more than two moves against her.
Yuyi observed for a while, feeling somewhat ashamed. He needed over ten moves to defeat a spirit puppet, while in that same time, she could defeat six or seven.
Unfortunately, her sword technique clearly suits women better. Even if I tried to learn it, it probably wouldn't be very effective.
Yuyi compared his own sword technique with the woman's, trying to find the unique characteristics of his sword technique and then maximize his strengths. After pondering for a while, Yuyi gradually gained some insight. Whether in attack power or defense, the Quick Sword Art was inferior to the Heaven Sword Chain Sword, but its speed was superior by several degrees.
The woman's sword stance felt light and flexible, but this impression was largely due to the coordination of her movement technique. If you removed her movement technique, purely in terms of sword technique, it probably wouldn't match the Quick Sword Art's speed.
Yuyi carefully observed the woman's movement technique, gradually seeing some tricks. Movement technique enhanced personal movement and jumping speed. Although it included body positioning, truly maximizing its effect relied entirely on personal experience, comprehension, and the body's own conditions. This was like sword speed—just because you run fast doesn't mean your sword speed is fast.
Xuantian Sect's sword techniques seem somewhat lacking in power. I should focus on developing my movement technique and sword speed to make up for this gap in power.
After observing the woman continuously for several days, Yuyi finally made his final conclusion about his goals.
He immediately stood up and began engaging the spirit puppets in a new, somewhat clumsy manner. After several more days of this, he finally saw remarkable results—he could now consistently defeat a spirit puppet within four sword strikes. But the innate deficiency in power could only be compensated by raising his technique realm. The sword qi released by a single sword strike could no longer increase its damage to the spirit puppets, so Yuyi had no choice but to bury himself in hard work.
Every time he ate, Yuyi found it strange. Why was it that when cultivating techniques, the shadow he encountered was a strange person, and now the person he met while cultivating was also strange? They had been facing each other at such close range for over ten days, yet she hadn't said a single word to him. Truly bizarre.
Yuyi thought about this randomly for a while, completely forgetting that he himself hadn't said a single word to her either.
One day, while cultivating, suddenly dark clouds gathered in the sky, and moments later, a heavy rainstorm began. Yuyi habitually glanced at the woman beside him. Seeing her completely indifferent, continuing to strike down spirit puppets one after another as usual, he couldn't help but admire her perseverance. Her willpower was probably not inferior to Xuying's.
Yuyi raised his head, and raindrops continuously fell on his face. Occasionally, they hit his eyes, causing him pain, but at the same time, he enjoyed the pleasant sensation of rain falling on his cheeks. He couldn't help but close his eyes, enjoying this rainy day that made his heart feel so comfortable and peaceful.
The raindrops were truly continuous.
Yuyi suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. When he joined the sect, he learned that Xuantian Sect's mental method was characterized by continuous, unending spiritual power. During cultivation, one must not be hasty. Only through gradual, diligent cultivation can one achieve greatness.
Xuantian Sect, the only advantage that can be found right now lies in the mental method. Although not as fierce as other sects', it is extremely substantial. At the same time, the circulation of spiritual power is extremely fast, continuing without interruption. When using techniques, spiritual power consumption is far less than other sects.
Gradual progress—could there be something wrong?
Yuyi suddenly had a thought. This was a cultivation world. Cultivation was definitely not simple numerical theory. As far as he knew, most sect disciples first cultivated their techniques to a profound realm, then used accumulated comprehension points from cultivation to raise their mental method cultivation base. On the surface, as long as both were improved in the end, it was the same destination by different paths. But the way of cultivation was definitely not simple accumulation. If one first cultivated techniques to an extremely high realm, then tried to make up for deficiencies in the mental method, would the final effect truly be the same as someone who cultivated techniques and mental method in balance?
Yuyi pondered this problem bitterly but couldn't make a decision. While hesitating, he saw the woman beside him and finally summoned the courage to speak loudly: "Hello, I'd like to ask you a question. When cultivating techniques and mental method, is it better to advance them together, or one after the other?"
The woman finally stopped her sword and slowly turned her body. Her expression indifferent, she spoke: "The result is successful cultivation in both cases, but the insights gained during the process and the impact on the foundation cannot be the same."
Yuyi immediately felt as if the sky had cleared. He shouted: "Thank you! I understand."
Yuyi had made his decision. Since he understood the principle of balanced cultivation, rather than continuing in an unbalanced state, it was better to start from the beginning and cultivate in the correct way. Although he would lose some time, the final result would inevitably be better.
Yuyi took a deep breath, his gaze firm. He rushed to a spirit puppet before a wooden cabin and lightly struck out with a sword, then allowed the puppet's fatal counterattack to pierce his throat.
The woman was stunned, unable to understand Yuyi's thinking. Why fall when everything was fine? After pondering for a moment, she still picked up the items Yuyi had left behind and placed them to the side, then raised her sword and resumed focused cultivation.
Cultivation was not merely about gaining comprehension points within the rules. More important was better mastering the strengths and weaknesses of learned techniques during the process, cultivating one's reaction and combat experience, and increasing actual combat ability. Therefore, the difference between focused people and those who only cultivated to increase comprehension points was enormous. The woman understood this principle very well, so she was extremely focused.
After completing two sect missions with her senior brothers and sisters, Muxue finally obtained a brief rest. Thinking of Yuyi, she bought over thirty spirit stones' worth of cooked food and spirit wine at Tianxiang Pavilion at the foot of the mountain and decided to visit this senior brother who had once saved her life.
Muxue's companions all thought she had fallen in love with the senior brother she spoke of, but Muxue herself believed it was absolutely not the case—it was merely simple gratitude and moved feelings. She was moved by Yuyi's selfless action, touched by the purity of his purpose in making that move. Muxue admitted she was indeed simple, but that didn't mean she was a fool.
Everyone had their own set of principles for measuring things, and Muxue was no exception. She had experienced some days in the cultivation world. Among her companions, there was a harmonious atmosphere and affection. Every time they fought, someone always protected her, even blocking knives and swords for her, especially Qingfeng.
Qingfeng liked her, and Muxue knew this—even among her companions, everyone knew. Muxue often wondered: if Qingfeng didn't like me, would he save me as selflessly as Senior Brother Yuyi did? In Muxue's understanding, Yuyi's completely unmotivated behavior reflected a somewhat higher moral character by comparison. But Muxue still liked Qingfeng, still moved by Qingfeng's care and protection of her.
Passing through the mountain path hidden by dense grass and tree branches, Muxue turned into the Emerald Spirit Lake green area. She searched for a while but didn't see Yuyi's figure. Before Yuyi came here, whenever she had time, Muxue would come and bring things to Sister Sha. Back then, her cultivation was not yet respectable. If she had rashly gone to kill bandits to cultivate without Sister Sha's rescue, she would have been dead. If not for Sister Sha bringing her here to cultivate without compensation and guiding her with countless practical techniques, she wouldn't have achieved her current cultivation level in such a short time.
Although Muxue had later made a group of very good companions and stopped cultivating here, she still never forgot to visit Sister Sha. Watching Sister Sha's figure, light and graceful as a fairy, she couldn't help but silently admire: Truly beautiful!
"Sister Sha! I bought some things to visit you."
Shadow struck down a spirit puppet with one sword, then turned and smiled faintly at Muxue. Muxue was already used to Shadow's personality—she loved talking very little. Every time she smiled at Muxue, that was her expression of joy.
Muxue placed the vegetarian food Shadow liked on the spread-out meal cloth, then looked up to see Shadow's puzzled expression. She smiled: "The wine and meat are for Senior Brother, but I didn't see him."
Shadow gently bent her knees and sat down: "He fell."
"Ah!" Muxue couldn't help but cry out in surprise. "Why did Senior Brother fall?"
Muxue's heart was filled with confusion.
"I'm not sure, but I speculate perhaps he had a better consideration for his cultivation method and fell to cultivate again."
Muxue suppressed the confusion in her stomach and accompanied Shadow while eating, recounting her experiences these past days. When she reached exciting or tense parts, she couldn't help but cry out and make a scene, while Shadow continuously smiled and listened, not interjecting even a single word.