Conversation

H. Chapter 19

"I am wondering if going to the Blazing Parasol Tree is really necessary," remarked Su Maoxian. After four days of continuous travel, he was exhausted, and his steps felt dull. His shoulders hunched, weighed down by fatigue.

"Let's have a rest then." Liu Ye suggested to Su Maoxian.

"I do want to stop and have some rest, but our destination is still too far," lamented Su Maoxian. They will need to walk for another three days at least.

"Did you think a distance that will take 10 hours for True Qi realm cultivators to traverse would be simple for us to reach on foot?" questioned Liu Ye. "We have been taking a lot of breaks along the way. I must say, you are not accustomed to long-distance travelling on foot."

"I have never walked continuously for more than three days straight," answered Su Maoxian. "And these days, if we had to travel, we would use beast wagon services."

"The horse beasts in the city were all sold out, if not I would have chosen one," said Liu Ye.

"We were unlucky and bad at making decisions," whined Su Maoxian.

"I am not regretting my decision to take you with me," said Liu Ye in a lazy tone, as he shook his head. "Will you regret when we meet brother Qin?"

"I have been regretting from the moment I stepped out the door of my home. My stomach and intestines might have coiled into a ball," bemoaned Su Maoxian.

"Brother Qin will not hurt you, but I don't know the consequences you might face," responded Liu Ye. "He never punishes, if our actions don't cross the line."

"I don't know if we had crossed the line or not," replied Su Maoxian. 

"We might have placed our foot on the line," indicated Liu Ye.

"How will he act upon us in that setting?" inquired Su Maoxian.

"A harsh training that is meant to train the minds of young cultivators. That is the only thing I can think of," replied Liu Ye.

"And what is that?" asked Su Maoxian.

"I don't know," replied Liu Ye. "I was never punished."

"You are a spoiled brat," mocked Su Maoxian. 

"I don't think I should be referred to as a brat, and I am older than you," stated Liu Ye.

"So what if you are a year older than me? I am more mature than you," remarked Su Maoxian.

"I don't think we should debate about maturity. You still lack knowledge and experience about many things. While I possess them, my selfishness and laziness deny me the right to have an opinion on maturity in the eyes of many," quipped Liu Ye.

"Those qualities of yours annoy me, especially as a man younger than you. I agree with others on this matter," replied Su Maoxian.

"I am glad that I am the person I am," smiled Liu Ye.

"You are an idiot," declared Su Maoxian.

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Liu Ye and Su Maoxian tried to maintain their pace while taking short rests. The duo picked some common first grade resources when they came across them.

Qin Jia calmed himself down, and searched in the direction of Blazing Parasol Tree. He halted his search when he reached the formation that prevents others from targeting the Blazing Parasol Tree. 

Qin Jia chose to stay close to one of the obvious node points of the formation, facing the direction of Blazing Parasol City. Liu Ye must either break or infiltrate the formation from one of these node points. Qin Jia is aware of Liu Ye's accomplishments in formations, so he decided to encounter Liu Ye near the node points of the formation. He was not certain about the node point Liu Ye will decide to infiltrate, so he placed a bet on his luck to select a node point. He also decided to monitor some other node points of the formation that he speculated Liu Ye might select to infiltrate.

Before all that, he cultivated to recover from his injuries, as there was a lot of time for Liu Ye to arrive near the formation.

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"Why are we turning back?" questioned Su Maoxian.

"We have reached the formation that prevents others from approaching the Blazing Parasol Tree," replied Liu Ye. "We will need to change direction and travel around this formation, otherwise we might run into brother Qin."

"What should we do if we meet brother Qin," asked Su Maoxian.

"Just close your mouth after giving an apology. I will try to handle him," answered Liu Ye.

"Can brother Qin control himself if you talk with him?" questioned Su Maoxian.

"I will not try to argue with him. I will apologise and then persuade him to join us," replied Liu Ye.

"Can brother Qin be persuaded?" asked Su Maoxian.

"If I can convince him that there won't be any danger in doing this," replied Liu Ye.

"But he didn't agree with you in the beginning," stated Su Maoxian.

"We have travelled this far. We must show our firm determination to get to the Blazing Parasol Tree," encouraged Liu Ye.

"Firm determination? I am tired. Brother Qin can only see my exhausted self," replied Su Maoxian.

"Be firm and feel the suppressed craving for this opportunity concealed by your fatigue," encouraged Liu Ye.

"I am craving to return home," answered Su Maoxian.

"I will continue from here. You can go back," declared Liu Ye.

"Fine. I will try to act in front of brother Qin," waived Su Maoxian. 

"You shall not act. You must have a craving for these adventures," said Liu Ye.

"Laziness and adventures, don't match," grumbled Su Maoxian.

"They are not mutually exclusive. I just have to avoid tasks that are too physically or mentally demanding," answered Liu Ye.

"This journey is demanding," Su Maoxian retorted.

"I don't feel walking is demanding," answered Liu Ye.

"If you are an ordinary human, your legs might even bleed if you walk for seven days," said Su Maoxian.

"We are not. We also have better stamina," answered Liu Ye. "You are weak if you can't handle this at distance at Acquired Qi realm."  

"Okay, as you feel," replied Su Maoxian. 

He was doubtful and asked Liu Ye, "I can't see any formation. Can you break this formation?" 

"This formation is easy to break. I can do it in seconds," replied Liu Ye. 

Actually, he didn't have all the necessary items that would let him break the formation. Furthermore, using these external items would also consume a significant amount of time. Therefore, Liu Ye decided to use his system to infiltrate the formation. It is a better tool to use than what he could accomplish with his knowledge alone.

Status bar:

Host: Liu Ye

Physique: Pure Jade body

Bloodline: None

Elemental roots: Death essence spirit root (10th grade)(Sealed), Life essence spirit root (10th grade)  

Spirit cultivation realm: Body tempering realm (Fourth layer)

Cultivation base: 23%

Soul cultivation stage: First layer

Body refining stage: First Grade (Mid-tier)

Cultivation techniques: Golden Soul Scripture, Pure Jade Art

Skills: none

Professions: Rune-master, Formation master

— Rune master  — master level: unavailable

— Formation master  — master level: unavailable

Weapons: Rusty Carnage Sword (unavailable)(storage space),

Million Toxins Needle (unavailable)(storage space).

System points: 17,652

Map: 6,233/10,000 soul stones (not completed)

Tracking & Surveillance sensor: 6,233/10,000 soul stones, (not completed)

Life Pearl: 76,659/100,000 space stones (not completed)(required conditions not met)