Chapter 54: Passing the Position Part 3

Fu Aoqing and the others still hadn’t come out. Gui Nian’an clenched her fists and spoke idly to distract from her anxiety. “Sect Master, doesn’t our branch hall need a name? I remember the Heavenly Feast Sect’s branch halls all have grand, imposing names.”

Gui Nian’an had hit on something Bo Xuenong could answer.

Shen Yanting hadn’t considered it, so neither had she.

Seeing no one speak, Feng Jin’s eyes darted around. “Call it Osmanthus Candy Hall.”

Bo Xuenong turned to look at Feng Jin, unsure if she meant candy or hall. Some villagers overheard and responded enthusiastically. “Osmanthus Hall is great. It has the village chief’s surname.”

Gui Nianqin’s efforts had paid off. The villagers fully acknowledged her as village chief and willingly followed her lead, even no longer being just Mistlongevity Village folk.

With the first approval, more followed quickly.

Seeing everyone’s enthusiasm, Bo Xuenong didn’t want to dampen it and agreed. Thus, the Imperial Serenity Sect’s first branch hall became ‘Osmanthus Hall.’ Other sects usually named branch halls systematically, but she forced a smile and asked Feng Jin, “What will you name the next one?”

“Malt sugar hall, pear paste sugar hall, sesame sugar hall, dragon crisp sugar hall…” Feng Jin suddenly rubbed her stomach and looked at her pitifully. “Eldest Senior Sister, I’m hungry.”

Bo Xuenong hadn’t heard of many of those sugars, but she knew they must be delicious since Feng Jin’s face screamed gluttony.

She understood that Feng Jin’s body hadn’t reached food abstinence despite her cultivation and felt hungry, but she hadn’t expected food to dominate her thoughts at a time like this. Bo Xuenong forced a smile as she stared at her. “Feng Jin, have I been too nice to you lately?”

In the past, Feng Jin would’ve fled in fear. Now, she not only stayed but straightened her back. “Eldest Senior Sister, Elder Shen said to be gentler with me.”

Feng Jin remembered Shen Yanting’s words well.

Just like her.

Bo Xuenong felt like pinching Feng Jin’s cheeks and laughing a little. “Fine, gentle it is. Eldest Senior Sister will buy you osmanthus candy in Divine Moon City in a couple days.”

Feng Jin rubbed her stomach and whined pitifully. “By the time we get to Divine Moon City, I’ll have starved to death.”

Gui Nian’an gave Feng Jin a strange look.

Feng Jin didn’t notice her gaze. She just knew she was truly hungry.

As Bo Xuenong was about to ask if the village had food, some non-abstinent Mistlongevity villagers had already gotten up to prepare some.

Feng Jin followed a kindly-faced old woman to scrounge food. Gui Nian’an thought for a moment and followed too. Golden core realm cultivators could fully abstain from food; she should prepare some for Fu Aoqing and Liu Huairou.

Bo Xuenong had no such hunger worries. She stood quietly by the door, waiting for Shen Yanting and the others.

Shen Yanting and Fu Aoqing didn’t emerge until evening. Fu Aoqing looked somewhat weak but her aura was steady. She had endured the pain of severing her lifebound sword.

However, Fu Aoqing couldn’t cultivate yet. She needed Gui Nianqin to nourish her body and fully bind her spirit root before resuming.

From now on, she was no longer a sword cultivator but a spirit cultivator.

Out of concern for Fu Aoqing, Bo Xuenong and Shen Yanting didn’t rush to leave Osmanthus Hall. For the next half month, they stayed there. Shen Yanting taught Liu Huairou and the others cultivation while helping Gui Nianqin sort Fu Aoqing’s spirit root.

Bo Xuenong guided the villagers’ cultivation while cultivating furiously herself—day and night, resting only one hour a day.

Wu Qingshu and the others hadn’t returned since heading to the Heavenly Feast Sect that day. Wu Qingshu and Si Xianling each sent a talisman message. Wu Qingshu had to return to the Divine Pavilion to report the Heavenly Feast Sect situation, reallocate their remaining resources, then prepare for the Scale Eel County Trial at the Cloud Smoke Sect, planning to meet Shen Yanting there.

As the “culprit” behind the Heavenly Feast Sect’s destruction, Si Xianling had to go to the Divine Pavilion with Wu Qingshu to explain. She also prepared for the Scale Eel County Trial. As the Beast Taming Sect Young Sect Master, she needed to return to her sect quickly to stabilize and boost morale. She could only plan to meet Bo Xuenong and Shen Yanting at Scale Eel County.

Notably, Si Xianling expressed lavish gratitude to Bo Xuenong in her message and urged Shen Yanting and the others to travel with the Beast Taming Sect for the Scale Eel County Trial, fearing Bo Xuenong might back out.

Bo Xuenong wasn’t particularly fond of Si Xianling but was pleased the system defined her as her little tail. Si Xianling was close with Zhu Ningfu and Wu Qingshu, so Zhu Ningfu was likely accompanying her to the Divine Pavilion.

Si Xianling earned a fixed fifteen hundred points each day from Wu Qingshu and Zhu Ningfu respectively, totaling three thousand points per day. After parting ways with Wu Qingshu later on, the points she gained from Zhu Ningfu decreased, dropping to only a thousand per day.

Of course, getting a fixed thousand points every day without doing anything was still quite good. In just half a month, they had accumulated thirty thousand points. This time, Bo Xuenong and Feng Jin had saved up points even faster.

Recently, Bo Xuenong had felt the urge to redeem a few more parasitic gu and add a few more little tails—ideally attaching one to Feng Jin. After all, the points Feng Jin could provide were double hers. Unfortunately, Feng Jin lacked a special bloodline. If she rashly implanted a parasitic gu, they might end up being hunted down.

Bo Xuenong’s own bloodline could at least amplify the effects for the recipient, making them more willing to accept a parasitic gu. But it was hard to find someone whose relationship with a strategy target was as close as Si Xianling’s.

She could only shelve the idea for now.

Half a month passed in a flash. Fu Aoqing finally managed to regather her spirit energy, while the others progressed at an astonishingly fast cultivation speed, as expected. Everyone in Osmanthus Hall had now broken through to the foundation establishment realm except Liu Huairou. It was estimated that within half a year, they would all reach foundation establishment peak and formally embark on dao seeking to become spirit cultivators.

Liu Huairou’s cultivation speed was only about half of theirs. What she needed most right now was to nourish her body. If her physical condition didn’t improve, her cultivation speed would slow even further. This filled Gui Nianqin with immense guilt.

In recent days, after everyone else had broken through and only Liu Huairou remained, Gui Nianqin often shed tears alone.

Liu Huairou herself didn’t mind at all. She never grew discouraged by her slow progress and persisted in her daily cultivation, silently enduring the pain from the medicinal herbs stimulating her meridians and body.

Fu Aoqing shared all this with Bo Xuenong and the others. Ever since deciding to stay, Fu Aoqing had formally moved into the Gui Residence. Things had been similar before, but previously she had shared a room with Gui Nian’an, while Liu Huairou and Gui Nianqin each had their own. Now, Gui Nian’an and Fu Aoqing each had a room, and Liu Huairou shared with Gui Nianqin.

Overall, things were going well. The people of Osmanthus Hall were gradually shaking off the shadows of Mistlongevity Village and embracing a brand-new life.

Fu Aoqing used to chatter about freedom, but now her mouth was full of talk about “Auntie” and “Nian’an.” She never mentioned wanting to travel with them anymore.

She wasn’t leaving.

But Bo Xuenong and the others still had to continue on their way.

The Scale Eel County Trial awaited them. Feng Jin and Feng Yingbo were definitely going with them, but Xiang Yu… Xiang Yu’s strength was low, and her talent wasn’t particularly outstanding. She had only reached the foundation establishment realm now. Continuing to follow them might put her in danger.

Bo Xuenong had originally discussed with Gui Nianqin whether they could also supplement Xiang Yu’s spirit root. Gui Nianqin had agreed, but Xiang Yu refused to entrust her life to Gui Nianqin and still chose to go with Bo Xuenong and the others.

This time, they didn’t bother hiding their identities and boarded the carriage again. The two horses had been fed plenty of pills by Feng Jin, so their speed was now five or six times faster than an ordinary carriage—decent enough for travel. After all, they were bringing Xiang Yu and Feng Jin, who couldn’t use sword flight, as well as Feng Yingbo with her frail constitution.

After half a month of recuperation and taking high-grade healing pills, Feng Yingbo’s injuries still hadn’t fully healed. She coughed a couple times now and then when speaking, and she had grown somewhat despairing from all the recovery time.

She had known her body wasn’t great, but she hadn’t realized it was this bad.

On the first day back on the road, they heard Feng Yingbo coughing so much that by the hundredth time, Shen Yanting pulled a set of scale armor from her storage ring. With a complicated expression, she handed it to Feng Yingbo. “Junior Sister Feng, this scale armor can withstand a full strike from an out-of-body realm sword cultivator. Sect Master Mo gave it to me when I first joined the sect. I have no use for it now, so you can have it.”

She paused. “In the future, try to avoid getting injured and bleeding as much as possible.”

A single wound on her arm had nearly wrecked Feng Yingbo’s body. If it had been any deeper, it might have been fatal. For cultivators who routinely dealt with severed limbs or gaping chest wounds, Feng Yingbo’s body was simply too frail.

Feng Yingbo looked at the scale armor, then at Shen Yanting, on the verge of tears. “Senior Sister, can I not wear this?”

Bo Xuenong glanced at the scale armor, then at Shen Yanting, and pointed at it. “Master, I don’t have one of these.”

Shen Yanting raised her hand and knocked both Feng Yingbo and Bo Xuenong on the forehead. She glared at Feng Yingbo first before telling Bo Xuenong, “Xuenong is still the more obedient one.”

Shen Yanting was saying Feng Yingbo was disobedient.

And praising her.

Bo Xuenong’s eyes darted around, and she gave up on coveting the scale armor. Instead, she activated it for Feng Yingbo on her behalf. The light blue scale armor turned into mist and seeped into Feng Yingbo’s clothes, clinging tightly to her body.

Feng Yingbo moved her wrists, feeling the sudden added weight, and wanted to cry even more. “Senior Sister, this really affects my swordplay.”

Shen Yanting looked at Feng Yingbo’s pale lips and said very seriously, “Unless absolutely necessary, don’t use your sword.”

Feng Yingbo felt a bit unconvinced. She murmured softly, “Senior Sister, I’m still pretty strong. I just… can’t get hurt.”

Her voice grew weaker and weaker until even she felt embarrassed.

With no need to disguise themselves anymore, no one drove the carriage. They all sat inside, with Feng Jin naturally sitting closest to Feng Yingbo and even supporting her with one hand. Hearing this, guilt flickered in Feng Jin’s eyes.

Bo Xuenong didn’t know what to say to comfort Feng Jin. She stealthily lifted the carriage curtain for some air and suddenly spotted a figure in bright yellow. “Master, I think I just saw Shibo Ye.”