Chapter 88 - 56: Tribulation of Huang Bamboo, Magic Grotto Heaven

Chapter 88: Chapter 56: Tribulation of Huang Bamboo, Magic Grotto Heaven

Inside the room, Li Yinsheng and Meng Yu naturally had no idea what Qi Jiushan was thinking.

After Meng Yu arrived, she also spoke to Li Yinsheng about the Shouyi Temple matters, reminding him to be on guard against their people. Since Qi Jiushan had already told him most of the details regarding Shouyi Temple, Meng didn’t have much else to add. After a brief chat, Li Yinsheng changed the subject to ask Meng about the Bright Spirit Refining Array.

He was much more financially comfortable now. He thought that if he could strengthen the Bright Spirit Refining Array a bit more, it would be of even greater help to his junior sister’s cultivation. Unfortunately, according to Meng Yu, the Bright Spirit Refining Array was already an excellent Spirit Refining Array. Any so-called "upgrade" would only expand its scale.

This meant that if Xuanzhen Temple took in more disciples in the future and the small Bright Spirit Refining Array was no longer sufficient, it could be enlarged to benefit more people. But under the current circumstances, his junior sister was already completely enveloped by the Bright Spirit Charm at all times. Increasing the amount of Bright Spirit Charm wouldn’t bring her any additional benefits.

Ultimately, the fundamental difference between a small Spirit Refining Array and a large Spirit Refining Array was merely their scale. A small one could only support about a dozen people, while a large one could accommodate hundreds. But for Xuanzhen Temple, which only had three people, there was truly no difference between a small and a large version of the same Spirit Refining Array.

If he wanted to replace it with a better array—one that refined a higher quality of special Spirit Charm—it wasn’t something an ordinary cultivator could achieve. Even if Meng Yu’s master, the current Temple Master of Jade Altar Temple, came personally, he wouldn’t be able to set up an array a tier higher than what Meng Yu could. He could only ensure the resulting array was more seasoned and refined, but its essence would remain on the same level.

That was, unless the secluded Daoist of Jade Altar Temple personally handled the array formation. However, that Daoist had been in seclusion for over a decade, and there was no telling when he would emerge. Furthermore, hiring an Array Dao Daoist to personally set up an array, even a small Spirit Refining Array, would cost an astronomical price. The little spare change Li Yinsheng had on hand probably wouldn’t even cover a fraction of it.

Temporarily dismissing the thought of upgrading the Bright Spirit Refining Array, Li Yinsheng exchanged a few more casual remarks with Meng. Then, he remembered that Meng had mentioned she usually enjoyed playing chess. Even her custom-made Upper Grade Magical Artifact was a Cyan Jade Chessboard, which showed how much she truly loved the game. Thus, Li Yinsheng took the initiative to ask Meng Yu for some guidance on his chess skill.

He was never so arrogant as to think he could properly play Go against an array master who loved chess; he was sincerely asking for instruction. In fact, he didn’t even play a proper game with Meng Yu. Instead, he directly pulled out a chess manual and humbly asked for advice. At the very least, he needed to practice until he could play against his martial uncle. That way, he could frequently play chess with his martial uncle at the temple in the future, preventing that unbearable itch whenever the urge to play arose.

Just like that, through a session of asking for and receiving guidance, the sun had already slanted toward the west in the blink of an eye.

Li Yinsheng was still earnestly studying the chess manual. Meanwhile, Meng Yu exhaustedly wiped the fine sweat from her forehead. Li’s talent in cultivation was something she had never seen before in her life, but his talent in chess was truly hard to compliment. She even felt that Li Yinsheng’s cultivation talent and chess talent were entirely inversely proportional. As amazing as his cultivation talent was, his chess talent was equally abysmal!

After less than half a day of instructing him, she felt more exhausted than if she had engaged in array formation for a full day and night. Initially, she had been quite happy to sit across a single table and have a heart-to-heart conversation with Li Yinsheng. But after half a day of discussing chess, she was now hesitating whether she should even come back tomorrow.

Talking to Li was a joy, and just looking at his face made Meng Yu feel relaxed and happy. However, if she also had to look at his chess moves, Meng Yu would find it absolutely agonizing.

After seeing off the conflicted-looking Meng Yu, Li Yinsheng looked over at Mu Xiaoyu, who had long since eaten her fill and was now snoring away on his bed. He hadn’t forced Mu Xiaoyu to cultivate today. After all, the child had been practicing continuously for two months; it was time for a day of rest. Moreover, for the next half month, she would be participating in patrols and engaging in magical combat with demons daily. She truly needed a day to rest and fully recover her energy.

Of course, resting was one thing, but staying in his room was out of the question.

"Junior Sister, Junior Sister!" Li Yinsheng shook Mu Xiaoyu awake. "Time to get up. I’ll take you to the living quarters halfway up the mountain."

"Mmm..."

Mu Xiaoyu rubbed her sleepy eyes, climbed out of bed, and let out a yawn. Then, she followed behind Li Yinsheng, walked out of the bamboo house, stepped onto the Talisman Crane, and flew toward the mountainside.

Before they had flown for long, a clearing in the forest appeared before her eyes. The clearing seemed to have been created simply by felling trees, forming a large, square-shaped area. The chopped trees had been directly used on the spot to construct rows of neat wooden houses. There were quite a number of these wooden dwellings; neatly arranged, they looked exactly like a small village. A wide road in the middle divided the houses into two sections: one side for male cultivators and the other for female cultivators.

Li Yinsheng looked down. Within this village-like area, several open spaces had been set aside for activities, and there were already quite a few cultivators gathered there. These cultivators were either chatting in small groups of three or five, or simply setting up stalls to sell items. In the more remote clearings, some diligent individuals were practicing magic. There were also a few people sitting cross-legged on the ground, cultivating, for some reason choosing not to do so indoors.

When the Talisman Crane appeared above the "small village," it immediately attracted the attention of a large number of cultivators below. Li Yinsheng steered the Talisman Crane downward, carrying Mu Xiaoyu straight to the front of the female cultivators’ residences.

The cultivators, male and female alike, who had originally been focused on the Talisman Crane, instantly shifted their gazes to Li Yinsheng, who was steering it. The difference, however, was that the male cultivators mainly stared at his Black Silver-Threaded Magic Robe, which looked extraordinarily impressive; their eyes were filled with either awe or envy. The female cultivators, on the other hand, almost entirely fixated on his face.

Li Yinsheng subconsciously raised a hand to adjust his conical hat, only to grasp at empty air. He then realized he hadn’t worn his conical hat this time.

"A miscalculation. My mind was so preoccupied with the chess moves Meng taught me this afternoon that I completely forgot the conical hat," Li Yinsheng thought with a sigh. He blamed the oversight on the fact that the chess strategies Meng taught him were too profound, taking up too much of his heart and spirit.

He looked down at a few female cultivators wearing Huang Bamboo Temple Daoist robes and asked, "Little friends, do any of you know who is in charge of arranging accommodations for the newly arrived patrol disciples?"

One of the female cultivators, who was the quickest to react, hurriedly stepped forward. "Greetings, Senior! I can assist you!"

Although Li Yinsheng looked younger than many of the people present, it was perfectly reasonable for an expert capable of flying in the sky to address them as ’little friends.’ The other female cultivators, having been half a beat too slow, immediately looked annoyed with themselves.

Li Yinsheng raised his hand, using a gentle breeze to lower Mu Xiaoyu to the ground. "Then I will trouble you to arrange things for my little junior sister."

"Senior Brother, are you heading back already?" Mu Xiaoyu tilted her head.

"Yes," Li Yinsheng nodded. "I discussed the Dao with Meng today, and I still have some insights that I haven’t fully sorted out."

"Oh..." Mu Xiaoyu nodded, half-understanding, and then said very sensibly, "Then go back, Senior Brother. You don’t need to worry about me!"

Li Yinsheng nodded. "Junior Sister, I have already undone the Quenching Essence Lock on you. While you shouldn’t slack off on your cultivation these days, gaining experience in fighting demons is more important."

"Mm!" Mu Xiaoyu nodded vigorously, her face full of joy.

The Quenching Essence Lock was finally unlocked! And this time, it would stay unlocked for a full half month!

The Talisman Crane flapped its wings and ascended into the high sky in the blink of an eye, carrying Li Yinsheng far away.

After raising her head to watch her senior brother leave, Mu Xiaoyu looked forward and was immediately startled. Unbeknownst to her, she had already been surrounded by a group of female cultivators. The looks they gave her were increasingly complex, but the only common trait was that their eyes were all terrifyingly bright. The closest one to her was the Huang Bamboo Temple female cultivator who had volunteered to arrange her accommodation.

"Come along, little Junior Sister. Follow me, I’ll arrange the best room for you..."

Disregarding the fact that she had just called Li Yinsheng "Senior," she affectionately took Mu Xiaoyu’s hand and started calling her "Junior Sister."

Early the next morning.

Li Yinsheng, having meditated for the entire night, pushed open the door of the bamboo house and looked at the pale white glow on the horizon. Within his divine sense’s perception, just moments ago, a refined and elegant aura had gradually begun to spread across the entire Bamboo Forest Peak. Attracted by this aura, the demonic presences on the surrounding mountains clearly became restless.

At the same time, a massive array that almost covered the entire Bamboo Forest Peak expanded in all directions with the peak at its center. This array was not permanent; it was only a temporary setup used to expel and suppress demons. The weak ones would find it difficult to enter, and while the strong ones could penetrate deeper, they would also be more easily exposed.

These changes all indicated that the first batch of Cultivation Fruit had begun to ripen. With the demons drawn by the Cultivation Fruit ready to make their move, Huang Bamboo Temple immediately deployed its countermeasures to guard against them.

Barring any accidents, the Vice Temple Master of Shouyi Temple would also arrive today with those disciples looking to profit off others. Even though they missed the first day of patrol, Li Yinsheng guessed that the compensation these people demanded certainly wouldn’t be reduced by a fifteenth. However, such mundane matters as ordinary disciples patrolling and exterminating demons had nothing to do with him.

Today was only the first day of the Cultivation Fruit ripening. The number of fruits formed was small, so they wouldn’t attract any particularly strong demons. Over the next half month, the Cultivation Fruit would ripen faster and faster. Even if the Huang Bamboo Temple disciples harvested them without a moment’s pause, the accumulated aura of the Cultivation Fruit would still draw more and increasingly stronger demons.

Only after a few more days, when the aura of the Cultivation Fruit was dense enough, would there be demons that even the demon extermination disciples couldn’t handle. Thus, today was just the start of busy times for the patrol disciples and demon extermination disciples; it wasn’t yet time for the presiding experts to take action.

He estimated the time. At this hour, his junior sister had probably already been dragged out of bed. Braving the morning autumn wind with her sword in hand, she would be starting her patrols in the bamboo forest alongside the other disciples. For her, this was likely a very rare pastoral experience.

Stretching his back, Li Yinsheng, who had cultivated all night, turned to walk back into the bamboo house to cultivate a bit longer. But the next moment, his footsteps halted. Bathed in the early morning sunlight, his expression suddenly turned peculiar.

The resonant sound of Huang Zhong and Da Lv rang in his ears, and the familiar golden characters emerged, though their content differed from before.

[Cultivation Tribulation: Huang Bamboo Tribulation!

The Master of the Cave Heaven has encountered his first tribulation in life. This tribulation originates from Huang Bamboo Temple’s actions of planting and harvesting the Cultivation Fruit.

An unexpected disaster lies hidden within and is highly likely to affect the Master of the Cave Heaven. The Master of the Cave Heaven can choose to flee from this tribulation, or face and resolve it.

Seeking immortality and cultivating the Dao is an act against fate, inevitably accompanied by calamities and hardships.

The Master of the Cave Heaven can choose to evade the disaster, or actively confront it, turning it into a stepping stone on his path of cultivation!

Tribulation Reward: Depending on the Master of the Cave Heaven’s performance during this tribulation, he will obtain time to cultivate magic within the Magic Grotto Heaven. This reward will be calculated upon fleeing or after the tribulation ends.

Current Magic Grotto Heaven Cultivation Time: None]

Seeing the golden characters floating before him—so vastly different from before—Li Yinsheng’s eyes lit up.

"So this Grotto Heaven of yours doesn’t just improve cultivation!" he thought.