Chapter 106: Origins of the Southern Border
The dense forest fell into an extremely strange atmosphere. Song Yan remained hidden, the girl sat alone atop the giant toad, and the sound of demonic beasts chewing surrounded them.
After a moment, a giant scorpion slowly crawled from the forest to the girl’s side, standing beside the toad.
Dangling from its tail were the two bloodstained cosmos bags of the black-robed cultivators.
The girl casually plucked them off and played with them in her hand.
The silver bells jingled as the girl tucked her feet and sat cross-legged on the toad’s head.
“Why are you still hiding? What a coward.”
The girl smiled, two shallow dimples appearing at the corners of her lips.
Innocent and naive, yet spine-chilling.
The scorpion tail suddenly lengthened again and stabbed toward his hiding spot!
He leaped into the air, dodged the sting, and landed in the clearing.
He could sense that this time, the scorpion tail was not fast and seemed to hold no malice.
However, Song Yan still watched her warily, his fingers secretly gripping the escape talisman.
Fleeing before an eight- or nine-year-old girl might seem laughable, but it was better than entangling with this strange girl here.
Although her spiritual energy fluctuations were weak, the venomous scorpion she commanded could instantly kill an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator!
That was the strangest part.
The spiritual energy intensity the girl displayed was only about that of the seventh level of Qi Refining.
Clack.
The scorpion tail suddenly lengthened, blocking his retreat and subtly herding him in front of the girl. Blood droplets on the tail hook dripped one by one at his feet.
“Senior Brother Song…”
The girl tilted her head and smiled softly. “You took the Awakening Pill and ran. Ling’er’s payment hasn’t been settled yet.”
She gently hooked a finger, and the scorpion tail retracted, forcing him to take a few steps forward.
A fair little hand reached toward Song Yan’s face.
There were no spiritual energy fluctuations. It simply brushed lightly along the edge of his face, then slowly peeled off the human skin mask.
His original features were revealed.
Sss…
The scorpion tail withdrew, and there was no longer an obstruction behind him. It seemed he could leave at any time.
The girl held the human skin mask in her hand, playing with it, occasionally putting it on her own face and making a face at him.
“This… fellow Daoist.”
Song Yan stiffened and cupped his fists in a salute.
She called him senior brother, but he dared not call her junior sister.
This person was obviously an old senior pretending to be young, just like Granny Qin.
“I thank fellow Daoist for your help in escaping this danger.”
Seeing his restraint, the girl giggled. “Don’t thank me. I just wanted this fake face.”
“My name is Xiang Zhaoling.”
She leaned forward, resting on the toad’s head, her little feet swaying behind her as she looked at Song Yan with great interest.
“Senior Brother Song, Qingqing often talks about you. Are you two… a couple?”
Gu Qingqing?
Could this person be a Foundation Establishment elder from Lotus Peak?
Now that the crisis was over, listening carefully, her speech carried a unique accent.
Moreover, she lacked common sense.
Song Yan shook his head and answered honestly. “Uh… fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. Qingqing and I are good friends, not romantically involved.”
“Oh…”
The girl suddenly realized, then said something startling.
“Then be my lover?”
“…?”
Song Yan was stunned and momentarily speechless.
“Oh dear…”
Seeing Song Yan’s dazed expression, the girl suddenly looked troubled. “The rules of the Central Plains are so troublesome. Feelings need to be cultivated slowly…”
Central Plains?
Song Yan was inwardly shocked.
He wondered if this person was from the Southern Border.
“Anyway, forget it. Maybe we can be paramours sometime.”
No, was this fellow disciple’s choice of words a bit too crude?
She patted the toad’s head with her little hand, and the massive creature turned around, ready to leave.
On the toad’s back, the girl still held the human skin mask and waved at him.
“Senior Brother Song, remember to come find me for trysts when you’re back at the sect~”
Before her voice faded, the blue-gray toad had already leaped high into the air with her.
It jumped into the twilight.
“…” Song Yan stared at the disappearing silhouette, speechless. After a moment of thought, he did not linger.
He simply took out the wind escape talisman again and headed back toward the sect.
The State of Chu and these border kingdoms never referred to themselves as the Central Plains.
The Northern Border was far away and might not even know of the Nine Border Kingdoms.
Therefore, she most likely came from the Southern Border south of the Great Heavenly Mountains, or the Eastern Sea region.
“Is there such a person in the sect?”
Song Yan had no impression.
He had not seen this person when he went to Lotus Peak before.
Why did she help him?
Fellow sect member bond?
Unlikely.
After thinking it over, he figured she probably just found it amusing.
As for those baffling words she had said, Song Yan did not take them to heart.
Without stopping, he returned to Green Leaf Peak.
Stepping into his cave dwelling, he let out a long breath.
Actually, even if Xiang Zhaoling had not helped, Song Yan would have been confident in his ability to escape, though it would have been a fierce battle.
Fortunately, the situation had reversed, saving him a precious earth escape talisman.
He had spent some spiritual energy and one wisp of sword essence, and had not even been injured.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the cave, meditating and slowly recovering his spiritual energy.
Only after a long time did he open his eyes.
He took out a jade box from his cosmos bag and gently opened it.
The pill inside was similar in size to ordinary pills.
It was pale yellow overall, with a glossy surface and a semi-transparent coating. Faint patterns were faintly visible on the pill.
These were not pill patterns, but traces left by the unique refining technique of Hanging Sword Mountain’s pill workshop.
It was equivalent to Granny Qin stamping pills with her seal.
Held in his hand, it was round like a jade bead with a warm, smooth texture.
The Awakening Pill had a rough market price of five hundred to six hundred spirit stones.
However, because such pills were scarce in circulation, their prices were generally much higher than that range.
Song Yan’s purchase this time was still a good deal.
“…”
After putting away the pill, he began to contemplate other matters.
Breakthrough pills were rare and hard to come by.
If he were to start from scratch and pick up alchemy to achieve self-sufficiency, it would be unrealistic in the current situation.
Now that he had obtained the Awakening Pill, many of his original plans had changed.
The most urgent task was naturally to cultivate steadily, refine spiritual energy, and break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining to advance to the inner sect.
However, his plans for the future had slightly changed.
“As Senior Brother Lin Qing said, serving at the border for one year will provide enough resources to exchange for a breakthrough pill.”
“When the mission deadline ends, there is also the sect competition, which offers pills as rewards.”
Song Yan clenched his fists, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
He could certainly choose safety, cultivate within the sect after breaking through to late-stage Qi Refining, and stay in seclusion.
But opportunities would not last forever. Miss one step, and you miss every step after.
He never considered himself some chosen one, believing that fate gave opportunities to everyone.
But when that opportunity was placed before you, at the very least, you had to reach out and take it!
The competition on the Great Dao.
If you did not fight or strive, you might as well be buried early.
“If what Senior Brother Lin Qing said is true, then the mission to guard Changping is at least three months away…”
“Moreover, the mission deadline is two years. Serving for only one year will provide enough contribution points to exchange for the spirit pill.”
“No rush…”
There was plenty of time, enough for him to cultivate steadily and break through to late-stage Qi Refining!