Vindicator’s Wrath - Chapter 26

Hong Wu thought it odd that Lan Cixi was the first person she had ever seen in the forest since meeting Yan. Considering how often the sect put out foraging requests, Hong Wu imagined that she or Yan would have at least ran into one of their fellow cultivators while doing their daily sweeps. Wondering about this, Hong Wu went to her best source of information, Hu Huan.

As it turned out, the forested area they were located in was still under the domain of the Drifting Cloud Quarters. In reality, the Drifting Cloud Quarters was almost ten times the size of what Hong Wu had initially believed. Seeing as Gu Fei had claimed the area along with everything in it, anyone without express permission to enter the region was forbidden to do so.

This information Hu Huan gave came with a warning. He made mention that the forest area outside the confines of the Drifting Cloud Quarters was something of a lawless zone in the sect. Fighting over valuable resources was not uncommon. While killing was still strictly forbidden, it was much harder to monitor such a wide area. If a disciple made it look like an accident or a wild animal attack, the higher ups would rarely look deeply into any deaths.

Even with such a large part of the forest to themselves, the girls inevitably reached the borders of their enclosed space. After another month of exploration, they had scoured all of the land sectioned off for their own personal use. The most important find they made was an old, abandoned cultivator’s cave. Yan stumbled upon it when she noticed an odd rock formation next to the foot of a short cliff. With Hong Wu’s help, the two managed to push aside a large boulder covering the mouth of the cave.

The first thing the pair noticed was the thick spiritual qi that spilled out from the entrance. The spiritual qi inside the cave rushed out and diffused into the air. Looks of shock and loss appeared on the girls faces. ‘How much spiritual qi had collected in this cave and for how long? What a waste!’

The cave was a simple one room hole of about six square meters in diameter on the mountainside. Taking up about a fifth of the cave at the back sat a pool of dark blue water slowly collecting from the dripping stalactites above. Walking closer to the edge of the pool, Hong Wu noticed a slight drop in temperature, as well as an increase in spiritual qi around her. Hong Wu marveled at the peculiar qualities of the pool, “Amazing!”

Drawing closer, Yan bent down and scooped up a handful of water to take a sip. Her eyes widened in surprise, “Good stuff!”

Curious, Hong Wu did the same. As the water entered her mouth she felt a pleasurable cooling sensation. Using her divine sense, it was clear to her that the water she had just ingested had traces of spiritual qi inside it. “Really good stuff! We hit the jackpot again!”

The previous owner dug out a fire pit in the center of the cave to keep warm. This was crucial for the girls as winter was fast approaching. Frost was already starting to form on the ground at night. While the cold air was beneficial to their cultivation, there was a limit to their endurance. This cave would provide vital protection from the elements.

The two spent the rest of the day moving their camp over to the cave. The hardest part of the move was moving the black rock again. When they finally got everything to the cave they slumped down to the floor and closed their eyes to rest.

Besides finding the cave, Hong Wu found some modestly valuable plants. She handed these plants off to Lan Cixi just before morning the next day. Seeing as this time was the best for cultivating the Coldmist Breathing Technique, all of the other girls would be locked away in their homes meditating. Because of this, they could conduct their business in secret. This cut into their own cultivation time, but Hong Wu did not mind this. She believed that the pros would eventually outweigh the cons if she could figure out how to make her alchemy profitable. As for Lan Cixi, she was so far ahead in her cultivation it was maddening to others. As far as Hong Wu could tell, Lan Cixi was close to breaking through to the fifth layer any day now. In Hong Wu’s opinion, Lan Cixi could do with a few days off from the most profitable time for cultivating.

Other than the cave and various spirit grass, the girls did not have any more luck finding lost artifacts from cultivators of the past. As such, the two decided it was almost time to step outside of the border separating the Drifting Clouds Quarters from the rest of the sect. Yan wanted to leave straight away, but Hong Wu convinced her to wait for one week while Hong Wu used her newly earned merit points to try her hand at concocting some medicines.

Hong Wu had gathered the resources for one of the simplest medicines in the Initiate Apothecary, Soothing Salve, a topical ointment for minor to moderate wounds that could stem bleeding, disinfect, and speed up the healing process. Recognizing the utility of such a wonder drug, Yan relented and decided to instead focus on improving her Flying Sword Technique for the time being. Hong Wu hoped to draw just as much potential out of her Initiate Apothecary as Yan did with her Flying Sword Technique.

The one jade slip that gave both girls the most anticipation was also the greatest letdown. Both girls had attempted practicing the Combustion Configuration technique on numerous occasions. The two would assume the awkward stance described within the jade slip and attempt to channel the yang energy around them into their bones. A burning sensation would rise up in their chests. The next step was to slowly infuse this hot energy into their bones. According to the Combustion Configuration, every bone would needed to be charred black. This transformation signaled that the user had refined their entire skeleton to Scorched Bones.

They had experimented a lot and found the best time of day to practice the Combustion Configuration was when the sun was near its zenith. Even then, both girls had only managed to complete a few ribs at most. What was frustrating for Yan was that Hong Wu’s progress actually seemed to be faster than hers. Yan, who had the opportunity to practice for multiple months, had just finished her fourth rib, while Hong Wu was still only a month in and already working on her third rib.

Even with this increased speed, Hong Wu realized that making any significant progress in this technique would take years. She would probably only reach completion of Scorched Bones by the time Gu Fei’s trial by fire was to begin. ‘Cultivation truly is a test of patience. Too bad we don’t have the time to wait.’

Setting aside these thoughts for now, Hong Wu made her way to the Hall of Craftsmen for her first attempt at alchemy.

One of the biggest pet-peeves in my writing is passive voice. As I go through editing each chapter I see more and more of it. It is a bad habit I want to get rid of.

Next chapter is the last chapter that I have written out as a rough copy. I was trying to pump out the chapters already posted on WordPress so readers on Webnovel can catch up, but my pace is going to slow from now on. Hope ya’ll stay with me as I continue the story.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments.