Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique-Chapter 129 - 126: Dao Rhyme

On Yingyue Peak, Lin Qiu Bai walked out of the grotto mansion with a stride as majestic as a dragon and tiger.

His strong build made his ink-colored Daoist robe stand out, making his body appear even more upright, and his eyes were as sharp as sword light, full of divine brilliance.

"Master!"

Ge Luoying and Li Haoran, who were waiting outside, both cupped their hands and bowed. Yesterday, they received a message from their master, asking them to wait here after noon today.

Lin Qiu Bai glanced at the two disciples, slightly nodding his head and uttered a soft "Hmm."

He had taken on six disciples over time, four of whom had died while adventuring outside. The remaining two disciples were the ones he was most satisfied with, especially Li Haoran.

Sword cultivation does not demand high aptitude, requiring only understanding of swordsmanship and unwavering will.

Li Haoran excelled in these areas and also possessed a Metal Element Dao Body and Celestial-Grade Talent, entering the sect at the age of twelve, establishing foundation at thirteen, and now after ten years, he was already at the Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishment.

For this disciple, breaking through to the Chao Origin Stage was no challenge; if he could form a Golden Core, the Golden Spirit Sect might become the strongest sect in the Western Continent.

"Ordinarily, apart from teaching sword techniques and guiding cultivation, I have never bestowed upon you any spiritual objects to refine your flying swords.

The achievements you have today are all due to your own efforts.

Today I’m taking you to a place where if luck is on our side, you might find some spiritual objects to refine your flying swords."

Ge Luoying was taken aback by these words. Her master always taught that sword cultivators rely on a single sword to conquer and that all external objects are gained through personal efforts; she fully understood the hardships involved.

Now he was saying he would take them to pick up spiritual objects, which sounded somewhat fantastical.

She automatically ignored the word ’might,’ believing that if the master wasn’t confident, he wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.

She glanced at her junior brother, only to find his expression unchanged, as if none of this could stir his heart.

’I am not as good as Junior Brother,’ she sighed inwardly.

"It’s not free pickup; you’ll exchange your own contribution points for them when the time comes. Follow me!"

Lin Qiu Bai summoned his flying sword, integrating his body with the sword and soaring into the sky, with a clear, autumn water-like brilliance underfoot.

Ge Luoying hurriedly collected her thoughts, summoned her flying sword, and followed their master in a flying escape.

Li Haoran was swift and arrived beside their master first, floating beside him.

Three sword lights flew out from Yingyue Peak, traversing the sky.

...

A gorgeous flying ship, twenty zhang long, was slowly moving through the air, with two cultivators standing at the forefront.

One was an elder with an immortal demeanor, thin face, and a robe with flame and cloud patterns fluttering like a fiery furnace.

The other was about the same height but was robust, with messy gray-white hair and a yellow gourd hanging at his waist.

Behind the two stood four disciples, showing deference.

The robust cultivator unclasped the gourd at his waist, unscrewed the stopper, releasing a burst of strong wine fragrance.

Taking a swig of wine, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said:

"I say, Old Zhu, what’s the big deal that you had to drag me along!

Once you get the stuff, just report it back to me later; do you think I’m scared of you embezzling it?"

He took another swig of wine, saying:

"Is your prediction accurate? If nothing shows up, the disciples following us will laugh their heads off."

Zhu Xiangrong stroked his chin beard and laughed:

"Old Jia, we’ve known each other for half our lives; have I ever been wrong about artifact refining matters?

While I don’t claim a full certainty, I have seventy percent confidence; following the sect’s process saves us from being criticized by Old Lin later."

He noticed three bright lights flying in the distance, focused his eyes, and his smile immediately faded:

"That Lin Qiu Bai, his nose is sharper than a dog’s."

Jia Yu, hearing this, gazed in the direction his old friend was looking:

"Maybe just passing by."

Holding his breath for a moment, he laughed so hard his fat shook:

"This Lin Qiu Bai is more easygoing than you; he won’t bother me, and clearly isn’t afraid of your nagging either."

Passing by? It couldn’t be a coincidence.

He patted the spirit ship’s railing:

"Old Zhu, how does it feel? It’s too funny..."

...

In the distance, golden and red mist rises, and the destination is faintly visible.

Lin Qiu Bai just flashed a slight smile, but upon glancing at the flying ship in another direction, he shook his head with a wry smile.

His eyesight was as excellent as a hawk’s, already recognizing the people on the flying ship, so he transmitted a message to his disciples behind him:

"Follow me to pay respects to the two uncles."

The sword light changed direction, heading towards the flying ship, and with swift escape light, quickly caught up with it and flew parallel.

Lin Qiu Bai cupped his hands and said: 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Senior Brother Zhu, Senior Brother Jia, long time no see, where are you heading?"

"You ask despite knowing!" Zhu Xiangrong smiled, unable to cry or laugh.

"Haha, Old Zhu doesn’t want to see you.

He said that when spiritual veins are enhanced, there will certainly be a burst of spiritual mechanism, and Red Flame Peak is where various earth veins converge, and Earth Lung Fire Vein will inevitably erupt greatly.

At that time, a lot of high-tier fire-elemental spiritual objects will certainly gush out, and perhaps even some tier two top-grade spiritual objects.

The place is abundant with gold and fire qi, and along with the eruption, some metal-elemental spiritual objects will follow, which are all useful to Old Zhu.

Afraid of you saying something, he brought me along; if we acquire high-tier spiritual objects, we’ll exchange them directly with our own contribution points."

Jia Yu suppressed his laughter and quickly explained.

"You fat so-and-so, even wine can’t plug your mouth!"

Zhu Xiangrong spat, his small scheme being exposed to Lin made his face lose some shine.

"Senior Brother is not being fair. As a sword cultivator, I have no other skills to rely on, and life is quite challenging.

I finally got lucky enough to encounter a once-in-thousands-of-years opportunity, yet you want to cut me off at the pass."

Lin Qiu Bai smiled faintly, having long been prepared for the current situation.

"Old Zhuu is an Artifact Refiner and deals with all sorts of minerals daily. It’s understandable that he predicted the Red Flame Peak eruption might yield some gains. But how did Junior Brother Lin, a sword cultivator, come to the same conclusion?"

"Though I don’t refine artifacts, my understanding of various minerals is not much less than Senior Brother Zhuu’s."

Lin Qiu Bai’s tone was calm, but there was a hint of pride in his eyes.

A sword cultivator spends a lifetime dealing with spirit swords, so it’s reasonable for their understanding of metal-elemental spiritual objects to be on par with an artifact refiner’s.

Zhuu Xiangrong waved his hand, saying helplessly:

"Let’s go together and rely on our own abilities to get what we need."

"I have a presumptuous request; if Senior Brother obtains the metal-elemental spiritual objects we need, would you be willing to exchange them with us?"

...

Ji An sat cross-legged in a stone house by the cold pool, with his forehead against the Jade Slip of the Glaze-Gold Jade Bone Body.

He had browsed through it roughly once and found that the path of body refining was also vast and profound. To achieve anything, one must put in hard work.

The Glaze-Gold Jade Bone Body is a cultivation technique; it cannot be quickly elevated using the Stone Turtle, so he skipped over core content and only focused on the skin refining technique.

Skin refining is quite straightforward; using metal-elemental spiritual objects in conjunction with a medicinal bath can quickly achieve results.

The skin of an Artifact Refining Stage disciple lacks the resilience to withstand the damage from refining spiritual objects. The purpose of the medicinal bath is to reduce the harm to the cultivator and speed up skin recovery.

Ji An is now a Third-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although he’s a magic cultivator, his skin, nourished long-term by spiritual qi, is more resilient than that of many mid-stage Qi Refining body refining disciples, so the medicinal bath is unnecessary for him.

He copied the required spiritual objects onto a blank Jade Slip, planning to have Huang Feihu purchase them when he ventured out.

He wasn’t in a hurry to cultivate the Glaze-Gold Jade Bone Body, as the quantity of various spiritual objects needed was considerable, but the prices were currently inflated; he’d wait for them to drop before buying.

Returning the Jade Slip to his storage bag, Ji An took out the Cyan Yang Talisman Manual and placed it on his forehead.

Just as he released his Divine Sense, a sound like tearing through metal and stone resonated throughout the stone house.

"I am Lin Qiu Bai of Yingyue Peak. Whose Grotto Mansion is this? Come out and meet me!"

What is happening?

Ji An was startled; the Jade Slip slipped from his forehead, and he hastily caught it.

His Junior Martial Uncle Lin Qiu Bai was a late-stage Chao Origin cultivator, renowned as the strongest force of the sword cultivators in Western Continent during the Chao Origin Stage.

Without pondering the visitor’s intent, he hurriedly stepped out of the stone house and saw a Flying Ship parked outside the Magic Array, accompanied by three Sword Lights.

He rode a Flying Shuttle to greet them, recognizing his Junior Martial Uncle Zhuu, whom he had once met at the Inheritance Hall, standing on the Flying Ship.

Activating a spell to unlock the restriction, he flew out of the Magic Array and cupped his hands in salute:

"Greetings to Junior Martial Uncle Lin, Junior Martial Uncle Zhuu, and this Martial Uncle. I am Ji An, a disciple of the Ningcui Cliff branch. May I know the purpose of your visit, Martial Uncles?"

"The sect’s Spiritual Vein is about to advance, and we believe the Red Flame Peak will experience a massive eruption.

It’s very likely to spew out numerous high-tier spiritual objects, which the sect will collect.

Your fortune has arrived, choosing a good spot allows you to follow the flow."

Jia Yu patted his Gourd Magical Artifact and continued:

"Also, my surname is Jia, and I manage the Sect’s Secret Vault.

I remember Little Ge has a disciple named Liu Yu, who earned considerable contributions to exchange a spiritual artifact from the Secret Vault.

You’re quite promising yourself, reaching the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment at such a young age."

Not many disciples at the early-stage Foundation Establishment have managed to acquire spiritual artifacts, as they’re the elite, hence Jia Yu’s impression of them.

Relieved upon hearing they weren’t there for him, Ji An said:

"Please come in, Martial Uncles. I usually keep some Spirit Tea and mild wine here...."

Jia Yu urged, "Having wine is good; let’s move."

The group landed near the cold pool, and Ji An summoned Liang Hill’s two people:

"Quickly find some tables and chairs. Bring out two jars each of spirit wine and pick some ripe Spiritual Apricots. Bring up all the pine nuts, dried meat, and anything edible."

Setting up the tables and chairs with food, Ji An warmly invited the seniors to sit, acknowledging that every one of them had a higher cultivation level than he.

Jia Yu crunched a few pine nuts, saying:

"I’m familiar with the taste of these pine nuts; sometimes, I drink wine alone and use them as snacks."

He sampled each wine, nodding slightly:

"The taste is somewhat bland, but it’s quite good for an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator."

As sunset approached, Liang Hill cooked a large amount of spiritual food, which everyone praised for its deliciousness.

Jia Yu patted his belly, laughing:

"I’m very satisfied with this hospitality, young one shall surely benefit tomorrow."

The moon rose, still shrouded in mist on Red Flame Peak, closely resembling the pre-eruption state.

The night passed uneventfully.

Until the next day’s 7:00 AM, a pillar of fire shot skywards, the agitated Spiritual Mechanism surged like a gale, and Spirit Wood swayed unstably like grass in the wind.

"Senior Brother Zhuu, each will go by their fate, let’s disperse!"

Lin Qiu Bai commanded his Sword Light first, leading his disciples to fly away.

Zhuu Xiangrong waved his hand, instructing his disciples:

"We’ll head in a different direction; keep your eyes bright."

Five people each commanded their artifacts and flew away in Escape Light.

Ji An felt the ground beneath him start to shake, the water of the cold pool boiled and surged, and denser Spiritual Mechanisms enveloped them, bearing indescribable mystical auras.

The Stone Turtle in his Dantian stirred frantically, expressing a thirsting emotion.

For a moment, he focused his mind within his Dantian and became elated.

[Dao Rhyme: Metal 0.2, Water 0.1, Wood 0.1, Fire 0.3, Earth 0.1]