Chapter 88: Halfhearted and Divided of Mind

It was time for a draw again.

"System, why can’t you just give me the quest directly from now on?" Having to rely on luck every single time was truly unbearable. Her fortune was already dreadful enough, and yet the system insisted on tormenting her with this every day.

"The mode has already been fixed. This is the most suitable method for you."

Just based on how much the host minded her own unlucky streak, the more she drew, the less resistance she would feel.

Otherwise, with more quests being issued, given her temper, she would never obediently do them.

"The most suitable method for me?" Ji Jiuxuan was about to explode. "What, am I supposed to draw with my foot?"

If it had not been such a hassle to take off her socks and lift her leg high, she would already have tried drawing with her foot.

Surely her luck could not be bad with both her hands and her feet, could it?

The system fell silent for a moment. "This system advises the host not to draw with her foot. You will regret it."

The warning sounded oddly familiar. In the end, Ji Jiuxuan restrained the urge to take off her socks and simply lifted a hand at random to draw one.

"Ding! Please dig a hundred meters into the back mountain of the main peak. The reward will be issued in advance. If the mission fails, please accept a random punishment."

A random punishment was a little excessive.

Still, digging a hundred meters into the back mountain was not impossible. For a cultivator, this kind of thing was relatively simple. If Xiaoxiao were here, a single spell might already have done the job.

"Reward issuance complete. Please finish the mission within three days, or punishment will be carried out."

As the words fell, an invisible current stirred over the entire sect, lingering for only an instant before vanishing without a trace.

At Hope Peak, looking at Wang Yumiao’s corpse, Wang Xunji wore a dark expression. His mind was already brooding over how to kill Ji Jiuxuan. With a wave of his hand, he burned Wang Yumiao’s body. Watching his disciple turn to ashes, the thoughts in his head seemed to vanish at once.

He could think of nothing at all, and even forgot that he had meant to think. His mind began once more to plot how to deal with that girl.

It was as though the whole sect had forgotten the matter in an instant. Only Qi Shuyuan raised his head toward the sky, faintly sensing something.

"All right, Host, go and complete the mission as soon as you can. The cleanup has already been finished."

The system’s flat tone made it sound as though everything were a trivial matter, leaving her at a loss for words.

What it had just said was one thing; what it had actually done was another. She had never imagined the system could accomplish something like this.

She grew even more curious about where the system had come from.

After tidying herself up, Ji Jiuxuan headed outside.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw her master standing there with a warm smile. "Not bad."

There were also degrees within the path of entering the literary way. He could tell at a glance how solid Ji Jiuxuan’s foundation was. Although her aura had already been completely restrained, it was still obvious that she had reached a very high level in the literary path.

"Master, is there a way to conceal it?" Thinking of what the system had said, being seized by someone with ill intent and locked up as a tool for creating techniques would truly be no pleasure at all.

When her cultivation grew higher, then even if it were revealed later, it would not matter in the least.

Zhou Guangsheng paused, then quickly nodded with a smile. "There is."

He was quite relieved that Ji Jiuxuan had thought of hiding it.

Low-profile conduct was best. Being too conspicuous made it easy to invite envy.

A jade slip appeared in his hand, and he said gently to Ji Jiuxuan, "This contains the method of concealment. Take a look first. If there is anything you do not understand, Master will teach you. Next, you will also need to study alchemy and formations. Learn the concealment method first, then I will teach you the rest."

At the mention of alchemy and formations, Ji Jiuxuan felt delighted. Those two were among the things she liked most.

"Thank you, Master!"

Her junior uncle had already given her an alchemy furnace, and she had also planted quite a lot of herbs herself, more than enough for her to go wild with.

What she lacked now were formation discs, a talisman brush, and talisman paper.

Formations came in many kinds. They could be set up with formation discs, with talisman paper, or, for the truly skilled, directly by guiding spiritual energy.

She was also quite interested in talismans. More skills never hurt. After all, aside from the four hours set aside for sword practice, she was fairly free the rest of the time.

There were still more than ten years until she came of age, and time in these years was limited. It would be good to learn more while she still had the chance.

She had plenty of finished talisman paper in her storage, but no raw materials.

And if she was going to dig the back mountain, she would need to buy a shovel, one made of sturdier material.

Sitting on a small flat boat, Ji Jiuxuan could not help feeling a little sorrowful. In the past, Moon White had always been with her; wherever she went, she liked to seek it out and take it along.

"That rabbit will be revived soon enough. Think of something happier." At that moment, the voice of the Little Thin Dragon rang out, its words full of disdain. "You fickle woman. You already have me, and yet you still flirt around."

Ji Jiuxuan instantly forgot her sadness and stared at the Little Thin Dragon, which had already awakened. "Speak properly. When have I ever been fickle or flirted around?"

The more she looked at it, the more she felt this fellow deserved a beating.

"Then what about contracting the Divine Gale Eagle, plus the soon-to-be-born Moon White Rabbit? If that is not fickle, what is?" The proud little dragon quietly breathed a sigh of relief when it saw the sorrow on Ji Jiuxuan’s face vanish.

"I like it that way." There were no rules in this world limiting how many beast companions a cultivator could contract.

Suddenly remembering what had happened at the sparring arena, Ji Jiuxuan could not help asking, "How did you suddenly appear at the arena?"

She was not blaming the Little Thin Dragon. There was only gratitude, besides the shock of the moment. She knew exactly what condition she had been in then.

"I just woke up at the right time. You hesitated, and that should never have happened." The Little Thin Dragon looked solemn. "That may become the fatal point that kills you."

Ji Jiuxuan glanced at the proud dragon, then looked into the distance and said brightly, "I know. And thank you."

"Little Thin Dragon, why have you woken up? I thought you would sleep until the end of time." In that deathlike slumber, it really did seem as though it had petrified beyond waking.

Little Thin Dragon!

Hearing that name, the black dragon, small as a loach, instantly stiffened as though struck by lightning.

Its voice carried open dissatisfaction. "I am not Little Thin Dragon. My name is Ye..."

Just then it abruptly stopped, looking toward the ring. Through the void, it met the gaze of a shadowy figure.

At that moment, the figure’s eyes were filled with warning.

Rarely having company on the road, Ji Jiuxuan smiled. "Then what are you called?"

The surroundings fell silent. She looked down at where the Little Thin Dragon was. If not for its eyes still being open, she would have thought it had fallen asleep again.

A long while passed, so long that she thought no answer would come, before the Little Thin Dragon spoke again.

"You may call me Long Xuan."

Long Xuan? "Very well. From now on, I will call you Long Xuan."

Within the void inside the ring, the shadow figure quietly let out a breath of relief at that moment.

The instant the black dragon was about to speak its name, he had instinctively not wanted it to say it. Countless scenes had flashed through his mind, incomplete and blurred, yet enough to make him feel endless longing.

But what was that name again?

Ji Jiuxuan walked through the small town beneath the mountain of the Azure Heaven Sect. This place lay within the sect’s protective range, and most of the people here were cultivators of the Azure Heaven Sect, so there was no need to worry about safety.

She went straight to the ironware shop and headed for the shovels the moment she entered. Shovels were not rare in the cultivation world; after all, some were still needed for planting spiritual herbs.

When the shop boy caught sight of the red token at her waist, he hurried over and bowed. "May I ask what the young immortal needs?"

"A shovel."

There were quite a few kinds here, it seemed.

Actually, she had some in her own storage too, but those were specialized for planting spiritual herbs and might not be suitable for digging earth.

"Do you have tools for digging wells?" Digging a hundred meters into the ground was not so different from digging a deep well.

"You really plan to dig the back mountain?" Long Xuan asked curiously, his tone calm, as though stating a fact. "You could have the shadowy figure help. He is absolutely skilled at this."

Thank you to Yixiu for the monthly ticket, thank you!