Chapter Thirty-One: No Pay Without Work

  As the Xiuzhen world declined, some precious Xiuzhen legacies disappeared in the long river of history. Nowadays, every time a Xiuzhen practitioner advances to the next level, it is extremely difficult!

  Although it's not rare for cultivators to reach the Liquid Stage before the age of fifty, it's extremely rare for someone like Lu Hong Tian to advance to the Foundation Building Stage before turning fifty. The resources consumed in this process are absolutely unbearable for ordinary powers.

  In the Cultivation Realm, all ninth-level cultivators are stuck at the Liquid Stage for life and cannot enter the Foundation Establishment Stage. The number of cultivators who are blocked at the Liquid Stage is countless!

  The ignorant? B, Zuo Xiao Yao also didn't realize until now how lucky she was. With the help of the inverted heavenly Purple Yuan Boundary, she cultivated all the way to the perfect Liquid Stage, almost effortlessly. She had already discovered the opportunity to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and her cultivation advancement was imminent.

  Although I don't know Zuo Xiaoyao's real age, it's not good to ask her this question, but from her very youthful face, her age shouldn't be too big. Yet thinking that she can cultivate to the perfect round of the fusion stage without anyone guiding her, this is absolutely not something an ordinary cultivator can achieve. Luo Hongtian was also extremely curious about the twists and turns in this matter.

  However, among the many questions about cultivation raised after Zuo Xiaoyao, Lu Hongtian finally confirmed that her cultivation was also obtained through long-term practice, and not because of some legendary great opportunities that made her cultivation progress rapidly.

  Upon learning that Hongtian was planning to attend a large trade fair in Jiutai Valley two months later, he decided to take his time and visit the Shennong Platform, where rare treasures might occasionally appear. It was then that he encountered this matter, after which Xiangxiu didn't stand on ceremony with him either, asking him to accompany her until Bai Xiong woke up, and then bring her along to Jiutai Valley for a look around. Hongtian, who had been thinking of doing just that, readily agreed!

  "What's with the red net that Brother Lang used to trap the Frost Ice Python? It looks really powerful and useful!"

  Thinking of Hong Tian's effortless collection of the giant python, which had shrunk into a fist-sized red net, Zuo Xiao Yao couldn't help but feel curious. As they got along quite well, the two of them didn't stand on ceremony and addressed each other as 'fellow Taoists'.

  "You're talking about the Huo Yun Gu Lian Wang? This is a top-grade artifact, artifacts are divided into lower, middle, upper and extreme grades, a total of four levels, which are the weapons of us cultivators. According to their purposes, they can also be divided into flying artifacts, defensive artifacts, attacking artifacts, and some with special uses. My Huo Yun Wang is a special artifact that can trap spirits. Artifacts are further divided into Ling Qi, Fa Bao, etc., but those things, we cultivators don't need to know about yet, nor do we have the ability to use them. These knowledge, after you participate in the Jiu Tai Shan transaction meeting, will all be understood. Like the materials on this Ice Python's body, at that time, you can ask a refining master to refine them into two or three artifacts. We cultivators still need some artifacts for self-defense!"

  It was clear that Lü Hong Tian was being sincere, and it was indeed the truth. However, since they didn't work together to obtain it, dividing the Spirit Fruit would still be a good reputation for their school. This Frost Ice Python was completely his spoils of war and had nothing to do with her. Zuo Xiao Yao shook her head resolutely and said, "Thank you, this Frost Ice Python is Lü brother's gain, and has nothing to do with me."

  "Xiao Yao, don't be polite. Don't worry, this Frost Python's strength is limited and the materials on its body aren't anything good. The spiritual tool that can be refined from it at most can only reach mid-grade quality. I won't be using it anyway, but you might find it useful."

  It is already known that Zuo Xiaoyao is the kind of person who will only take what he deserves, and will not take anything that he does not deserve. Lu Hongtian's words of advice, which seemed to be made in a tone of disapproval, were actually based on his understanding of the fact that the price of the artifact was extremely high in the Xiuzhen world.

  It's just that Zuo Xiao Yao, who has a certain level of cultivation, is still learning about the existence of magical instruments for the first time. Apparently, she lacks the essential weapon of a cultivator. After all, in the world of cultivation, the weak are preyed upon by the strong, and defensive weapons are indispensable. The reason why she couldn't even deal with the Frost Ice Python, which was not stronger than her, was that apart from relying on consuming her internal spiritual energy to cast limited magical abilities, she didn't have a magical instrument that could withstand the physical attacks of the Frost Ice Python.

  So, with a sincere heart for his newly made friend, Luo Hongtian hoped that Zuo Xiaoyao could accept his opinion. After all, he was able to obtain the Frost Python so easily also had something to do with Zuo Xiaoyao having already consumed more than half of its original power previously.

  Although that's the case, combining what Hong Tian previously introduced about the situation in the Cultivation Realm, Zuo Xiao Yao naturally knew she really needed a magic tool. However, no matter how valuable the magic tool was in the Cultivation Realm, although she appreciated his kind intentions, she didn't plan on accepting Hong Tian's gift for nothing. "Thank you, as long as Brother Hong can bring me into the Cultivation Realm, I'll definitely be able to obtain a magic tool through my own efforts. As you said, after all, our cultivation in the Cultivation Realm is at least above average, so it won't be particularly difficult to gain a foothold."

  Seeing Zuo Xiaoyao's calm and determined refusal, Lu Hongtian knew that there was no need to say more. He thought that her cultivation would soon break through to the foundation stage due to the effects of the Kaishen fruit she had taken earlier, and it wouldn't be difficult for her to gain a foothold in the Xiuzhen world at that time, so he didn't persist either.

  Unconsciously, the sky had already darkened, and the white bear still showed no signs of waking up. Although she was a cultivator, she didn't fear cold like ordinary people, nor did she need to eat three meals a day like them. However, as someone with relatively low cultivation, Zuo Xiaoyao still retained some mortal habits. She couldn't completely ignore the cold and heat, and her training of eating wind and drinking dew couldn't fully satisfy her physical needs. Although going without food for two or three days didn't have much impact, she wouldn't be able to hold out for more than five days. Moreover, at this time, although it was already late winter and early spring, the forest night was still quite chilly.

  As Hong Tian didn't seem to have any intention of starting a fire to cook food, Zuo Xiao Yao took the initiative to go into the surrounding woods and gather a bundle of relatively thick dry branches. Then, she foraged around and, relying on her spiritual sense which worked just as well in the dark night as it did during the day, 'fished' out three fish from a nearby pond.

  As long as she left the Ziyuan boundary, there was a travel bag on her back. Xue Xiao took out the knife and dealt with the few fish, and then took out a set of seasoning for barbecue from the bag, including a small bottle of honey, which was very well-prepared. Fortunately, her travel bag was big enough, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

  The bonfire rose, and the fish strung on the branches of the trees were placed on the fire to roast. In his hand, he also held two rods with fish strings. Lu Hongtian couldn't help but laugh and say, "It seems that Xiao Yao has already become very accustomed to this jungle life!"

  "That's for sure, in today's world, almost every place with people has industrial pollution sources, and there's hardly any spiritual energy left. However, the spiritual energy density is slightly higher in these deep mountains and ancient forests, so if I want to improve my cultivation, I'll have to stay here in these mountains for a long time!"

  Zuo Xiaoyao nodded in response, but the term "Ling Qi" was something she wouldn't have known referred to the extremely rare, densely distributed light points in the air of the city's Purple Yuan boundary. Cultivators' cultivation relied on using their techniques to absorb these Ling Qi elements into their bodies, transforming them into their own strength. The higher one's cultivation, the faster they could absorb Ling Qi, and the stronger this internal power would become.

  When the fish was roasted to a golden brown, Zuo Xiao Yao finally started sprinkling various seasonings on the fish, and then used a freshly made grass brush to evenly apply honey to the three fish. As a mouth-watering aroma wafted out, the two of them were about to dig in when they saw that the white bear, who had been in a daze all along, finally reacted. Zuo Xiao Yao was somewhat surprised and said, "Could it be that this gluttonous fellow only woke up because he smelled the fragrance? He's usually a vegetarian!"

  The white bear, which had stood up again, responded with another "Ao, Ao" sound, its dissatisfaction and protest quite evident, allowing even Rong Tian who didn't understand it to grasp its meaning in the first instance. Suddenly, his interest piqued, he joked, "Looks like this Divine Fruit has a pretty powerful effect on it too, this bear is almost becoming a White Bear Spirit!"

  Upon hearing this, Zuo Xiao Yao couldn't help but laugh out loud "This water pool can produce a python spirit, if Bai Xiong Ruo can also cultivate successfully, it doesn't seem that strange!"

  The white bear then, after unconsciously flipping a shallow red eye at Hong Tian, seemed to know that the other party was not someone it could afford to provoke, and then intimately crawled into Xiao Yao's arms.

  Xiao Yao saw Lü Qi's casual gesture of reaching out to touch the white bear's chubby head, and his intimate expression. Lu Hongtian was eating fish on the side, and said somewhat vaguely, "You wouldn't think of taking it as a beast pet, would you? Raising a spiritual beast is very energy-consuming. Moreover, although it has gained spiritual intelligence now, it is still an ordinary object after all. It's unknown how many years it will take for it to cultivate successfully. Although it seems to be born with the ability to find places where heaven and earth are rich in spiritual energy, I don't support you bringing it along either. This fish is really well-cooked, come back for two more later!"

  "That's not the case, it has opened its spiritual wisdom, and for it, I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Moreover, it belongs to this Shen Nong frame, and I didn't think of taking it out just for my own sake..."

  "Oh! It's great, it's great, I finally met someone here!"

  "I told you, this smell, this fire, must be because someone is here! You still don't believe me!"

  PS: Thanks for the support from Huayu Wuqing, double updates will continue, and the next one will be released around 6 o'clock!