Yang Hong was a bit dumbfounded upon seeing the grinning Yu Kewei.
"Why are you back already? You've only been gone for nine days, right?"
"Heehee~ It was exactly nine days. Master, I've completed your mission!"
Yu Kewei smiled triumphantly and produced a storage bag, dangling it in front of Yang Hong.
"What? What mission did you complete?"
Yang Hong took the storage bag with some confusion and probed it with his divine sense.
"Huh? It's jade slips, so many!"
Seeing over 900 jade slips, Yang Hong was somewhat surprised.
"Hmph~ Hmph~ 950 jade slips, 100 cultivation techniques, and 850 spells. That's more than double what you asked for, Master."
Seeing Yang Hong's astonishment, Yu Kewei became even more pleased. She put her hands behind her back and swayed her body, causing a ripple effect that made one's head spin.
Yang Hong quickly lowered his head to examine the jade slips, constantly reminding himself that Yu Kewei was not human.
"Mmm~ These are indeed cultivation techniques, but..."
The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed.
He finished examining all 950 jade slips in less than half a day. The techniques recorded were too superficial and low-level. Most were of the Yellow grade, low to mid-tier, with only three reaching the Yellow grade, high-tier. The spells were slightly better, all being second or third-tier common spells. The lowest tier was second-tier minor spells, and the best were 19 fourth-tier common spells.
The martial arts value gained from the techniques was only 1324, but the spells contributed 5219. This meant Yang Hong finally had a glimmer of hope for evolving his Intermediate Body Tempering Technique. He originally had 23728 martial arts value, and with the addition of the techniques and spells, he now had a total of 30271. With over thirty thousand value, he could break through to Intermediate Body Tempering Technique and advance his cultivation to the Golden Core realm.
"It's been so hard, six years, or is it seven? I'm finally going to break through."
Looking at the data on his system panel, Yang Hong felt a surge of emotion.
"Keiwei, you've done a great job this time. What reward do you want?"
Merit should be rewarded. Yu Kewei had done exceptionally well, and she deserved a reward.
"I want to stay at Mount Gai Zhu for a few more years before leaving. I want Master to give me灌顶 (guàndǐng - power infusion) every day. I want to advance to the seventh rank."
Upon hearing about a reward, Yu Kewei immediately stated her most desired one. However, Yang Hong shook his head.
"Keiwei, there's something you might have misunderstood. Your current cultivation is at the sixth rank, Nascent Soul stage, and you use spiritual energy. I am only at the third rank, Fusion stage. Although my cultivation is progressing rapidly, I am only using fourth-tier true essence. Infusing you with true essence to supplement your spiritual energy would deplete me too much, and the energy conversion rate is too poor. It wouldn't benefit you much, and it might even affect your foundation. In this situation, cultivating yourself is the best option."
"But, my cultivation progresses so slowly by myself."
Yu Kewei clung to Yang Hong's arm and began to act spoiled. Those who had taken shortcuts would resist taking the conventional path and would only think of unorthodox methods. Such a mindset was dangerous. Yang Hong would not indulge her.
"How about this, Keiwei. Go to the waterfall, manifest your true form, and fully extend it. For the next period, you cannot steal spiritual energy from other plants. Instead, you must use the Great Brightness Buddhist Scripture to drive the [Sweet Rain Technique] to irrigate the atmosphere-covering plants."
"Master, what are you doing? This way, my cultivation will be even slower! I refuse."
Yu Kewei immediately rejected Yang Hong's request.
"Keiwei, don't refuse yet. After you cultivate like this for ten days to half a month, you'll understand the benefits."
Yang Hong patiently persuaded her. He recalled his experience cultivating with Song Yuzhi and the others in the imperial palace of the Great Sui dynasty. This method should also help refine Yu Kewei's spiritual energy.
"Master, I'm quite silly. Don't lie to me."
Yu Kewei still looked unconvinced, wondering how this cultivation method could be beneficial.
"Trust me. Master, I used to cultivate this way as well. Look at me now, at the third rank, I can use fourth-tier energy. That's proof."
"Alright, I'll try it now."
"Go ahead. Start cultivating today."
Yu Kewei was now at the sixth rank, and her true form was a sixth-grade spiritual plant. Combined with her spiritual energy, her main vine could now extend sixty li, enough to encircle Yang Hong's small basin ten times. Under Yang Hong's guidance, she spiraled her vines outwards. When she cast the third-tier Great Spell [Sweet Rain Technique], a faint golden-green light emanated from within a sixty-li radius, giving it a mystical beauty. However, at night, it looked somewhat eerie and frightening.
For ten days, Yang Hong did not give Yu Kewei any灌顶. He let her recover her spiritual energy on her own. As soon as she recovered, she would cast the [Sweet Rain Technique] day and night. However, she could only persist for ten days. Yu Kewei could no longer endure it. She manifested her true form and appeared before Yang Hong, holding out a ring and shaking it.
"What? A storage ring? It seems you've been robbing quite a bit on this trip! Did you raid the cultivation technique shop first, and then the magic artifact shop for these?"
"Heehee~ I didn't rob any shops."
"I don't believe you! If not the cultivation technique shop, where did so many technique jade slips come from? And if not the magic artifact shop, where did you get the storage ring? Do you think storage rings grow on trees?"
When Yang Hong saw so many jade slips, he was certain that Yu Kewei had gone on a robbing spree.
"Hmph~ Hmph~ Master, my ambition isn't that small. I robbed an entire city! I'm the City Lord of Jade Stream City now."
Yu Kewei puffed out her chest proudly, looking extremely pleased. Hearing Yu Kewei's words, Yang Hong's first reaction was to think she was dreaming.
"Is that true?"
"Of course, it's true! As soon as I left the vicinity of Mount Gai Zhu, I sensed a formation fluctuation, so I followed it by wood escape, heading east... And then I came back."
Yu Kewei gestured and narrated her miraculous nine-day journey. Yang Hong exclaimed, "Amazing!" Yu Kewei's strength far surpassed his imagination, and Lei Peng King of Jade Stream Island was surprisingly weak. There was no comparison without contrast. Yu Kewei, a flower demon at the early stage of the sixth rank, could instantly kill a roc demon at the late stage of the sixth rank. She was truly a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Master, there are many clothes in here. They are all magic artifacts. The worst is a third-grade magic artifact, and the best is a fifth-grade one! There are also flying sword magic artifacts. I even custom-ordered my pots and pans as magic artifacts!"
Yu Kewei proudly introduced the items in the storage ring. In her excitement, she poured out a small mountain of magic artifacts.
"Spit it out. What are you planning?"
Seeing Yu Kewei's actions, Yang Hong knew she wanted to go down the mountain.
"Hehe~ Master, I'm already the City Lord now, and I need to manage the city. I want to..."
Indeed, with Yu Kewei's posture, Yang Hong knew what she was about to say.
"You're quite something. I was planning to take you out to rob some more after my cultivation breaks through. I didn't expect you to become a City Lord directly."
Looking at Yu Kewei, Yang Hong couldn't help but marvel at her luck.
"Hehe~ It's all thanks to Master's excellent guidance. If not for Master's灌顶 and teaching me so many cultivation techniques, I wouldn't be this powerful. Moreover, my life was given to me by Master."
Yu Kewei took the opportunity to flatter Yang Hong.
"Alright, no need to be so sweet-tongued. You can go down the mountain. However, don't slack off on your cultivation. This method of cultivation I taught you is still quite effective for improving your cultivation."
"Thank you, Master. Master is the best."
"Remember not to expose me. My injuries haven't healed yet. If any high-level demons arrive, neither you nor I can stop them."
"Don't worry, Master. Your servant knows to keep it secret."
After a few more admonishments, Yang Hong let the new City Lord descend the mountain. He also needed to seize the time to cultivate (farm).