Linglong left the next day.
Gu Hai tried to stop her by force, but she trapped him in a Sword Formation. Then, she giggled and waved at Jiang Ming before she flew away to join the other disciples. With that, she left to slay the devils.
The Sect Master did not stop Linglong.
"Look at her!" Jiang Ming sighed emotionally.
When the Human Path Records appeared and flipped to Linglong's place, he studied the information carefully.
When the Sword Formation finally lost its effect, Gu Hai brought his wine gourd out with a sullen expression on his face. After taking a few swigs, he said with a sigh, "I can't believe her strength has already surpassed mine. To think I'm her master. I'm truly getting old. I can only manage you from now on. Ming, you're guilty of being unable to keep Linglong in check. You should be punished according to our old rules."
"Don't vent your anger on me, old geezer!" Jiang Ming rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, 'I can blow off your head if I want to!"
Gu Hai continued to sulk as he said, "Go prepare our next meal."
Jiang Ming was speechless. As a disciple, he could only obey his master's orders.
After the meal, Gu Hai rushed to the great hall so he could learn more about the situation outside.
With that, Jiang Ming was alone again. He called up Linglong's information again.
Name: Zi Linglong
Gender: Female
Cultivation base: Ninth Extreme Golden Core Realm
Background: Disciple of Jiuyang Sect's Chuyang Peak
Relationship: 95.
Innate Talent: Ten stars (primary phoenix bloodline)
Status: Left the sect to slay the devils.
He would glance at her information from time to time.
…
When night fell, Jiang Ming left the sect gates and found his junior sister soon after.
He noticed there were more than 20 male and female disciples in their group. Most of them were Core Formation cultivators. The leaders were two Purple Mansion experts from Taiyang Peak. A Dao Seed elder was also tailing them from the shadows.
The safety measures were sufficient.
After all, the powerful experts of the devil sects were either being monitored by Qingyun Sect or were still too afraid to show themselves for now.
Jiang Ming watched his junior sister from afar before he slipped into the void and traveled tens of thousands of miles before the night was even half over. He spread his senses as far and wide as he could. When he determined there were no devils who could be of threat to his junior sister and the other disciples, he returned to Chuyang Peak, feeling more at ease.
…
After washing up, Jiang Ming sat cross-legged on his bed as he silently waited for midnight to come. Based on his prediction, he would be greatly rewarded for the third anniversary. He was filled with excitement and anticipation and found it difficult to calm down.
When it was finally time…
[Ding! Congratulations on living at Chuyang Peak for three years and carrying out menial tasks every day. Reward: 1,000 years' worth of cultivation, an earth spiritual fruit, a sky spiritual fruit, 100 Enlightening Tea Leaves (high-grade), 50 Enlightening Stones (rare), a spiritual spring (top-grade), Enlightening Tea Plant Seed (immortal-grade)]
[Ding! The beginner phase has ended!]
[Ding! An ordinary life isn't a life of labor! Ordinary doesn't have to mean mediocre. Ordinary doesn't mean endless toiling. Protecting one's home while living a carefree life is what being ordinary means!]
[Ding! The spiritual farmland that can be developed in the future will depend on your cultivation base. With a Dao Seed cultivation base, you can develop five Mu of spiritual farmland]
[Ding! Spiritual seeds have to be at the low grade at least before they can be planted on the spiritual farm. The higher the grade, the greater the reward will be during the harvest]
[Ding! Here's to wishing you'll be able to understand the true meaning of being ordinary and to surpassing yourself as you live your life]
The series of notifications came to an abrupt stop after that.
Jiang Ming was surprised. However, a bitter smile soon appeared on his face. He had a feeling that something was not right when he developed the farmland in the past. After all, if he kept developing the lands, he would be receiving an endless stream of rewards. The rewards he received previously were rather shocking. As expected, the beginner phase was over after three years.
The system was imposing restrictions on him now.
"Ordinary, huh? Being carefree and ordinary?" Jiang Ming mulled over this, but he could not understand what the system meant by surpassing his own ordinariness.
After a while, he shook his head and dismissed his thoughts. 'Who cares? I don't mind as long as there are benefits. The rewards this time are great as well. I received 1,000 years' worth of cultivation. I wonder if this is because it's the end of the beginner phase. I hope there'll be big rewards like this in the future.'
Then, Jiang Ming took a look at his rewards.
The earth and sky spiritual fruits were similar to the human spiritual fruit he received in the past. They were rare items that would boost his chances of attaining enlightenment. He was certain these fruits were more potent as well.
Based on the description, the sky spiritual fruit was comparable to immortal items.
Jiang Ming did not hesitate. He brought it out and consumed it immediately.
Following that, he felt as though his mind was running at least 1,000 times faster than before. His mind seemed to merge with the world as he contemplated the laws of the world. He could even sense certain characters appearing in his mind.
This effect was similar to the effects of the Enlightening Tea Leaves.
Jiang Ming was amazed and motivated. "The Grand Path is close at hand!"
Although his improvements were not very noticeable, they were more precious than 1,000 years' worth of cultivation.
He did not have many comments about the Enlightening Tea Leaves and Stones this time around.
Another thing that surprised him was the top-grade spiritual spring. When he brought it out, it settled into the ground and took root. It tapped into the spiritual veins in its vicinity and absorbed the heaven and earth essence. Then, it changed the environment by increasing the density of the spiritual qi before forming pure spiritual liquid. It could turn an ordinary place into a Sacred Land for cultivation. It could be used to establish Sacred Lands.
Jiang Ming was filled with praise. "This is wonderful!"
Following that, he cast an Earth spell to dig a space underground in the courtyard. Then, he activated the Life and Death Disillusionment Formation Plate to keep the spot hidden.
He brought out the spiritual spring, which seemed like a bottomless aquarium, and set it on the ground where it took root and formed a spring.
At the same time, characters silently appeared along the ley lines.
Buzz!
The spring rippled before releasing very rich Qi. The space he cleared out was filled with spiritual qi that was in the form of a mist.
The spiritual fluid that appeared that was of the high-grade at least appeared as well.
"This is great. How lucky!" Jiang Ming exclaimed.
Then, he used a Formation to spread the spiritual qi to every corner of Chuyang Peak. Following that, the Formation circulated the spiritual qi at the peak.
"Someone will eventually notice the changes at Chuyang Peak, but oh, well." Jiang Ming shrugged as he considered several matters.
After that, he leaped onto the rooftop to have a look. He saw the mist lingering in the air around the mountain. The mist was the spiritual fluid that was being circulated around the mountain.
"I'll turn this place into a blessed land in the future…"
After that, he looked at the final reward.
The immortal-grade Tea Plant Seeds were an item of the immortals. It would be difficult to grow them in the mortal realm. It could be nourished with pseudo-immortal power every day or by a top-grade spiritual spring for it to germinate and slowly grow.
"How thoughtful of the system! It gave me a top-grade spiritual spring and an immortal-grade seed. I wonder how long it will take for the seed to grow into tea leaves?"
Alas, Jiang Ming did not receive any answer from the system.
He shook his head. He did not look forward to the fruits of this immortal item. They would be useless if he had to wait for 10,000 years for it to produce tea leaves.
'I wonder what effects it would have on me if I eat the seed?' A strange idea appeared in Jiang Ming's mind, and he was itching to try it out.