Chapter 12: The Scent of Delicious Food

"Is this Little Nine?" Qi Dongcheng looked at Ji Jiuxuan with a smile. "The Beast Taming Sect welcomes you, young friend."

Watching as Qi Dongcheng and her grandfather walked away, Ji Jiuxuan felt a bit puzzled.

"Uncle Master, what did Grandfather Dongcheng mean by what he said just now?" Her intuition told her she might soon be heading to the Beast Taming Sect, but she was still too young in both age and cultivation to go out and gain experience.

Nie Xingyuan lowered his head to meet Ji Jiuxuan's questioning gaze, his expression gentle as he explained, "The Beast Taming Sect has a Spirit Valley where all the spirit beast eggs the sect has accumulated since its founding are stored. Every five years, the valley is opened once, allowing disciples with sufficient talent to enter and select a spirit beast egg for contracting."

Hearing this, Ji Jiuxuan's eyes lit up and she hurriedly asked, "Uncle Master, does that mean the Beast Taming Sect's five-yearly Spirit Valley selection is about to begin again?"

She thought of the moon-white rabbit she rode earlier that morning, so soft and fluffy, and suddenly found herself a little envious. How wonderful it would be to have a contracted spirit beast of her own.

She had previously heard from Wen Ying that the Spirit Valley was protected by a special formation, ensuring all the spirit beast eggs inside were kept safe.

Currently, the number of spirit beast eggs in the valley numbered in the tens of thousands, though the exact count was unknown. Only eggs of a certain quality could be placed there, and over the years, many disciples had obtained high-bloodline spirit beasts, even ones with ancient divine beast lineage.

For this reason, every opening of the Spirit Valley attracted the attention of all the great sects; they would even fight fiercely for entry slots.

Seeing Ji Jiuxuan's eager face, Nie Xingyuan smiled instantly. "Yes, it's expected to be in four months."

Nie Xingyuan didn't reveal everything at once, but Ji Jiuxuan was not impatient. She blinked her large eyes and looked at Nie Xingyuan with hope. "Uncle Master, do you think I might have a chance to participate?"

The presence of Elder Dongcheng here proved that Xuantian Sect had a slot this time.

Her talent was good, but with the health protection system in place, it was hard for her to push herself as hard as she wanted in this world. Having a contracted spirit beast would at least give her an extra measure of strength, and in case of danger, she wouldn't die so miserably.

"We'll only know when the final list is announced," Nie Xingyuan replied, not giving a direct answer. Normally, Little Ah Jiu would have the slot, but their teaching method was to give pressure to inspire motivation.

They all hoped Ji Jiuxuan would grow stronger; this was the only bloodline their eldest brother had left in the world. Apart from external safety, the girl's own strength would be an even better guarantee.

Not getting a direct answer, Ji Jiuxuan wasn't discouraged. It was four months away anyway—she would see how things stood then. Her luck with lotteries was abysmal, but her intuition was always spot-on.

Just like how she always knew her luck would collapse when it came to draws.

After Nie Xingyuan escorted her back, he left.

Standing at the courtyard gate, Ji Jiuxuan suddenly remembered that her grandfather had promised to bring her delicious food, which had not yet come to pass! She had planned to indulge in all kinds of delicacies after drawing in spiritual energy, but that plan hadn't materialized either.

She suddenly felt a craving...

After searching around and not finding Wen Ying, the reluctantly anti-competitive Ji Jiuxuan could only follow her usual routine: running, then fist practice, then swordsmanship, and if there was time, she planned to work on the two techniques she learned yesterday.

With so little time, she decided to finish her cultivation diligently before seeking out food—otherwise, she'd just lose more time for training the next day.

Having learned her lesson from the day before, Ji Jiuxuan no longer scheduled her time carelessly. She ran faster now, and since it was for training, she wore the special spirit-suppressing and gravity devices Wen Ying had prepared for her.

Her spiritual energy still flowed normally, but the training was more effective and carried greater resistance.

On the first day, she had dawdled through the tasks due to unfamiliarity, but with time constraints, her efficiency had improved dramatically.

Although she didn't gain much extra time, at least she wasn't procrastinating. Sitting on her mat to rest, Ji Jiuxuan realized she still needed to improve her speed and efficiency, or she wouldn't be able to study anything else.

She had truly come to appreciate the benefits of high efficiency.

Before, she only focused on the repetitions; while there were results, the effect was nothing like this.

Activating the protective formation plate, she calmed her mind and immersed herself in the jade slip containing the Profound Flame Yin Yang Technique.

The Profound Flame Yin Yang Technique was similar in principle to the Yin-Yang Duality she had known in her previous life: it drew in fire-element spiritual energy, forming a misty sea in her dantian shaped like the yin-yang fish, cyclical and inexhaustible.

After leaving the jade slip, she reviewed the entire technique in her mind several times, and once she was sure there were no problems, Ji Jiuxuan composed herself and began cultivating.

Under the effect of the Profound Flame Yin Yang Technique, the spiritual energy within her body flowed more regularly than ever before. Where her dantian had previously circulated energy in a simple ring, it now faintly shifted toward the form of the Taiji Yin-Yang fish.

The fire-element spiritual energy, once harsh and unyielding, now seemed capable of overcoming force with gentleness, and the spiritual energy itself grew even stronger.

Delighted by the changes within her, Ji Jiuxuan thought: this must be the benefit of cultivating exclusive techniques in addition to the basic ones for drawing in spiritual energy.

The transformation was clear. With the support of her previous technique, the flow of spiritual energy in her dantian was faster than before. Automatic, rapid cultivation—what a marvelous thing.

No wonder it was a heaven-grade technique.

"This isn't entirely due to the Profound Flame Yin Yang Technique. The technique you used for drawing in spiritual energy earlier provided significant support. A good foundation helps greatly in the future."

The system's voice suddenly emerged, startling Ji Jiuxuan. "System, so you do come out for casual conversation sometimes!"

It was rather miraculous. She had thought the system was just a tool, but it was so intelligent that if one day it told her it wasn't a system but something else—maybe even a human soul—she wouldn't be surprised.

She had already noticed something unusual when Wen Ying's technique allowed spiritual energy to circulate automatically and become her own. Turns out, it really was extraordinary.

She wasn't planning to ask where Wen Ying got the technique; everyone had their own secrets. Even if the system knew, she didn't intend to ask.

All that mattered was that she knew Wen Ying had her best interests at heart.

"Reminder: today's cultivation time is over. Please take note."

The system's gentle reminder surprised Ji Jiuxuan. "Your way of calling time today is so gentle. Not bad, keep it up."

Finishing her cultivation, she put away the formation plate and was immediately greeted by the scent of food.

It was a fragrance she hadn't encountered since coming to this world, and she couldn't help but salivate at its mere whiff.

Casting a cleansing spell on herself, Ji Jiuxuan quickly ran toward the source of the aroma.

Because of her years of training and spiritual energy support, she was small but swift. She wished she had a teleportation technique like her grandfather and the others, so she could vanish and reappear wherever she wanted.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she needed to find a technique to increase her speed; otherwise, next time she might not reach the food before it was gone.

Luckily, the food hadn't disappeared this time. Ji Jiuxuan saw a little girl in a tender yellow dress sitting on a stone bench in a roadside pavilion, happily gnawing on a roasted spirit chicken.

She recognized the girl at once.