Chapter 191: Chapter 53 Jiang occupies Wei’s nest
“Winter has come,” Wei Dongliu suddenly said.
The two of them stood at the summit of Shiping Mountain, watching the snowflakes flutter down.
The river that flowed through Tong Xuan Gate had also frozen over quite a bit.
“Every time winter arrives, I just want to sleep,” Jiang Liyan yawned. “I can never seem to wake up fully.”
“You could try Daoist meditative concentration,” Wei Dongliu suggested.
“Meditative concentration? I’m enjoying the tranquility of sleep, okay?” Jiang Liyan said, exasperated.
Wei Dongliu chuckled wryly and shook his head.
This Jiang the Witch, how similar she was to Miss Shi. It’s just that Miss Shi was obsessed with food, while Jiang the Witch was obsessed with sleep.
On reflection, Senior Sister An also seemed quite fond of drinking alcohol, while only Junior Sister Xu had no particular hobbies; she did nothing but cultivate every day, truly a role model for us cultivators.
Thinking of those three, Wei Dongliu suddenly realized:
Since coming to Mount Wutai, time had insensibly passed by.
This must be the longest he had stayed in one place under one identity.
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Upon reflection, the reason was simple: Life on Mount Wutai was too peaceful, hardly resembling the life of a Demon Cult cultivator.
In Kunlun, Qiu Changtian had to expound scriptures to junior brothers and sisters every day, cultivate diligently as an example, and every so often debate scriptures with other sect members, boosting his Synchronization Value—just like a regular office worker.
At Shushan, Ling Yunpo had to practice swordsmanship with his Senior Sister every day, practice swordsmanship, and then practice some more swordsmanship, and every so often spar with her, getting beaten up in all sorts of ways—almost like those preparing for postgraduate studies.
In Penglai, Luo Yan had to accompany Miss Shi in chatting to relieve her boredom, stroll in the market, eat, choose clothes and jewelry, and gossip about Elder Shi Ding and other brothers and sisters, just like a college student.
Only here, here in the southern part of Mount Wutai, within Shiping Mountain, and in the company of Jiang Liyan, did Wei Dongliu truly obtain a rare sense of freedom and peace.
There were no sects here, no masters, no senior or junior sisters to attend to, just plenty of ample, disposable time—life as a Loose Cultivator was indeed so unrestrained.
When he felt like cultivating, he would cultivate; when he didn’t, he would train his two disciples. Although Jiang Liyan had the demeanor of a little demoness, her emotional intelligence was astonishingly high, her words always comforting, occasionally granting heart-fluttering little benefits…
“I’m a bit curious, Daoist Jiang,” Wei Dongliu said slowly, “your sect doesn’t seem to keep a close eye on you?”
“In the Heavenly Demon Path, we have always valued freedom and competition,” Jiang Liyan said with a smile. “For the sect, once they provide you with the corresponding cultivation secret techniques, the rest is up to you.”
“Whether you are slow in cultivating, dying of old age, perishing from the Heavenly Tribulation, killed by enemy cultivators, or even dying at the hands of fellow sect members, that’s all because you were less skilled, and the sect has no need to protect you.”
“Isn’t that social Darwinism?” Wei Dongliu remarked.
“What’s Darwin?” Jiang Liyan asked curiously.
“Never mind,” Wei Dongliu said thoughtfully. “You think I should use this method too, letting Guo Jin and Wang Cong freely compete and improve on their own?”
Jiang Liyan: ……
So you’re saying you only learn the bad things, not the good ones, huh?
After watching the scenery from the mountaintop for a while, they both began to feel the chill and decided to return to the warm Tong Xuan Gate base.
Inside the belly of Shiping Mountain, Guo Jin and Wang Cong had completed their Fasting and were practicing Breathing and Qi Refinement to open up their Qi Sea.
Guo Jin’s cultivation speed was slower, but his foundation was very solid, and he had a thorough grasp on the Demon Purifying Qi Scripture.
Wang Cong progressed faster, but he often looked for shortcuts and had subtle misunderstandings about the Demon Purifying Qi Scripture. It was all thanks to Guo Jin’s corrections that she got back on track.
Of course, Guo Jin was not what you’d call highly perceptive—whenever he encountered problems understanding the scriptures, no matter how simple, he would take them to his master, much to Wei Dongliu’s annoyance, who preferred to pass as many of them as possible to Jiang the Witch.
But as for Jiang the Witch probing into our Sect’s Qi Refining Technique, Wang Cong had recently also sneakily reported this to the master.
Although the Demon Purifying Qi Scripture was quite intricately designed, with Wei Dongliu in possession of the “Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra,” he didn’t consider it a closely-guarded secret never to be divulged; thus, he allowed Jiang Liyan to probe it at will.
Jiang Liyan certainly didn’t miss this opportunity, answering any questions they had in great detail.
It’s just that before answering, she couldn’t help but confirm details of the Demon Purifying Qi Scripture under the guise of “clarifying their questions.”
Guo Jin was okay with it; Wang Cong, on the other hand, felt like crying without tears.
On one hand, she sensed that this Senior Sister had ulterior motives, with her problem-solving seeming somewhat intentional.
On the other hand, Senior Sister’s serious and responsible demeanor while clearing up queries was indeed much better than her master’s…
Forget it, since the master doesn’t mind, it’s not for me, a mere Qi Refining Rank disciple, to worry.
“Jiang Sister, I have a question I’d like to ask you~” Seeing Jiang Liyan come in, she approached her eagerly, speaking sweetly.
“What’s the question?” smiled Jiang Liyan amiably.
She had an excellent impression of the young girl; on one hand because her personality and cleverness were quite similar to her own and on the other, because of her past uncherished status in the Wang family, which evoked an involuntary empathy in Jiang Liyan.
Of course, the girl’s constant wariness towards her gave Jiang Liyan a sense of ironic frustration.
“You’re thinking in the wrong direction here,” Jiang Liyan laughed after hearing Wang Cong’s question, “Pure Qi is nimble, while turbid qi is sluggish; hence, the pathways for their circulation differ.”
“Pure Qi supports your Microcosmic Orbit, so you should store it in the Qi Sea and circulate it through your meridians.”
“Turbid qi drives magic, fights, and kills. But it has hard-to-remove impurities, so it must be enveloped many times over with pure qi to ensure none of it leaks out.”
“Of course, when you reach the Refining Mansion phase later, the pure qi will condense into True Yuan and the turbid qi into Demonic Qi, and you’ll come to a deeper understanding then.”
“So that’s how it is, thank you, Jiang Sister.” Wang Cong knew how to speak pleasingly, aware that calling her “sister” rather than “senior” would make Jiang the Witch happier, the specifics of which naturally didn’t need to be stated.
Wang Cong had just left when Guo Jin came running over from the other side and said respectfully:
“Senior Jiang, I have a few questions to ask as well.”
“Mhm, what questions?” asked Jiang Liyan, patiently.
Listening to Guo Jin finish his questions, Jiang Liyan couldn’t help but marvel at the… delicacy and simplicity of them, and thus she explained to him in the most straightforward manner.
After listening, Guo Jin had an epiphany, solemnly thanked her, and then left.
Jiang Liyan watched his receding figure, reflecting in her mind.
Wang Cong was shrewd, but her flaw was her impatience; she tended to skim over many things without seeking in-depth understanding.
Guo Jin’s fixation on details was commendable, yet his problem was the inability to prioritize; he’d ponder over some inconsequential questions for ages.
However, since their initiation up to now, the growth of these two disciples had indeed been startling, particularly in how they cooperated and learned from each other.
When Guo Jin was slow to understand, Wang Cong would often give him pointers to help him come around; when Wang Cong was impatient, Guo Jin would make her read carefully and think deeply.
Watching these two disciples grow increasingly excellent gave Jiang Liyan a sense of achievement, as if her own disciples were maturing before her eyes.
Hold on, that’s not right!
They are not my disciples! What on Earth is Wei Dongliu doing?