After searching for a while, Wu LiJing heard some voices and flew upwards with her purple robes fluttering lightly until her feet quietly landed on a tall tree. She looked down and observed as five disciples wearing lavender robes appeared.
“Senior Brother, what do we do now?” a male outer disciple asked a male inner disciple in their group.
“We were all able to obtain a general Spikey Grass from that field earlier and it was quite easy since there was no beast guardian. We should look around some more and try to obtain most of our herbs today because it will be much harder in the next three days when the forest changes. If you recognize any special herbs, or see a beast guarding anything, we should try to see if we can defeat the beast.” Undeniably, these were the basics that all inner disciples who’s had enough experience should understand. The best they could do was find at least four to five herbs for this day so they wouldn’t have such a hard time for the next three days and risk putting themselves in danger.
The outer disciples nodded with smiles.
Wu LiJing listened in and pondered for a moment. Then she moved on and jumped to another tree and continued stealthily. She had to find a sunny place, a sunny place… She came upon an open area and stopped to look around.
With a concentrated amount of chi flowing into her eyes, she easily scanned the place without wasting any time. It wasn’t here. Only a small bush of white Fire Lilies could be found. And it was guarded by a big looking ant. She frowned and felt goosebumps on her arms when she saw the ant beast but ignored it and continued on.
Finally, she came upon the fourth open spot with plenty of sun and scanned the area again. She took out the picture in her sleeve once more and confirmed that the bushes of herbs on the left side, guarded by that big wolf beast was indeed the Red Rosemary. Without a second thought, she jumped off the tree, with her hair fluttering behind her and flew at an unhesitating speed towards the wolf.
Wu LiJing drew her sword as she was in the air and the wolf growled when it spotted a human.
The beast possessed a red horn and was a little bigger than the usual wolf, with its muscles around its legs and body obviously defined. She swung her sword in a quick motion before she even reached the wolf, and the wolf quickly dodged to the side as the chi released from her swing missed and hit the ground, lifting dust along with it.
The wolf jumped towards her to attack when she was still in the air and she twisted her body, easing back her inner chi to nullify her flying technique so she would drop with the gravity. Once she landed on the ground, she stabbed towards the wolf but it dodged once again and swiftly attacked without a break.
Wu LiJing used her silver sword to block its teeth from sinking into her neck.
The wolf growled loudly and refused to give in, using all of its strength to push forward. Wu LiJing’s inner chi was focused onto her sword and it glowed.
The wolf sensed danger and quickly jumped back. With its abhorring glare focused on Wu LiJing, its red horn started to glow as well and it swung its head, letting out a fast, red wave towards its enemy. Wu LiJing slashed the wave in half with her glowing sword and she jumped towards the beast. It only took a moment before the beast could no longer howl in pain, overwhelmed with the energy from this human's sword, and turned to dust.
With the Red Rosemary in her hands, Wu LiJing smiled, satisfied. She grabbed a few more stocks but then thought about her master’s personality and decided to take all of it. She took out a wooden container and put it inside. Once she closed it, the box suddenly vanished into thin air.
She looked at her silver space ring and adjusted it. It was convenient to have a large space ring, where you could put anything in without having to physically carry it. She decided to invest in one when Jin RuiYing mentioned it to her, and her master also gifted her one a while back but that one is now also stored in this ring. Now, she liked to carry a space ring with her and wear it whenever she went out.
“Too easy,” she muttered. The beast was nowhere to be seen because once a beast was defeated, it would vanish and then reappear after a few hours. But well, this Red Rosemary was only good for enhancing tea and had some health benefits so it made sense its guardian wasn’t as strong.
Wu LiJing moved her shoulders a little to stretch them. “But it was some good warm-up.” This beast had good agility and was also quite fierce, so it wasn’t too bad. An experienced inner disciple could probably defeat one by themselves if they didn’t give up. Since she’s dealt with beasts before, she didn’t find them to be as intimidating.
Wu LiJing jumped back up onto a tree. She closed her eyes and sensed the area around her. Then she looked for the flow of inner chi that she would recognize as her own and concentrated on that feeling. After a while of silence, she was able to detect a connecting light and smiled.
“I need more practice,” she muttered. She opened her eyes, feeling a link with the inner chi she had inserted into another object and followed it. As Wu LiJing jumped from tree to tree, she looked around to see if there was anything worth getting. So far, she hasn’t found anything she wanted.
Master Lu HongHou smiled when he saw one of their disciples fighting a Brown Bear Beast. He chuckled. “Ah, this team is doing well. Their coordination is in formation.”
“Oh, this is the inner disciple, Sheng Ai. He listens well. After giving him some advice on his sword fighting, he was able to understand and put it to use after a few weeks,” Ruan FuPing commented.
“Hm… He seems to have good leadership skills and is quite talented. That outer disciple, Sun Guan, was it? She is performing well as well. She’s not backing down even with a lower cultivation level. Perhaps she’ll become an inner disciple after a few more years.”
The white pendant they had given to the disciples to verify their location as well as act as a call for help, also acted as a special kind of gadget that allowed them to see the actions of each team through a mirror.
Ruan FuPing chuckled. “Ah, Master Lu, your odd spells are very interesting.”
Lu HongHou grinned. “Who do you think I am?”
“I bet none of the disciples are aware that we are peeping on them. Hm… but it’s been so many years, so maybe the smart ones do?”
Lu HongHou frowned. “Peeping? Do you have to use that word? It’s called observing.”
"Well, this is how we are better able to see the skills of our own disciples. The other masters back at the sect can also see."
Lu HongHou suddenly frowned. “Sect Master Wang is out again…”
Ruan FuPing chuckled. “He’s dealing with the problems happening in the northeast.”
“He could’ve made a speech to encourage the disciples first before leaving,” Lu HongHou muttered.
“Well, he sent his precious disciple in to stand in, so it’s fine.”
Lu HongHou nodded. “Disciple Wu LiJing has been doing really well since she entered the sect. I would’ve enjoyed having her as a main disciple.” His stern expression softened as he sighed.
Ruan FuPing laughed. “If Sect Master Wang didn’t want her, she would have chosen me before she decided to choose you. She has more talent in her sword fighting than in learning those odd spells of yours.”
Lu HongHou sneered and glared at Ruan FuPing, his rival since he entered the sect. “I’m better in both than you!”
Ruan FuPing rolled his eyes this time. This Master Lu says this, yet he always carries a whip on his side. “Then let’s see who’s better!” He took out his sword.
Their bickering started once more, and in the spur of the moment, they forgot about the happenings in the mirror.
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