White-Robed Chief

Xiao Shi said, “It’s been a while since we went to Spirit Cranes Peak!”

She fixed her deep gaze on Chu Li.

Chu Li smiled and replied, “Alright then. Let’s go to Spirit Cranes Peak today!”

Xiao Qi gave him an indifferent glance.

Chu Li asked, “My Lady, would you like to join us?”

“No,” Xiao Qi muttered.

Xiao Shi pursed her lips into a smile as she said, “Stop being so stubborn. You’ve been extremely curious about it. Every time I mention it, your eyes light up immediately!”

Xiao Qi huffed and replied, “The two of you should just go without me.”

Chu Li said, “My Lady, aren’t you curious to see what the Hundred-Thousand Hills actually look like? Spirit Cranes Peak is located within the Hundred-Thousand Hills and is full of spiritual energy. It feels like a different world altogether compared to this place.”

Xiao Qi glanced at him but did not reply.

She was indeed very curious about this. As a martial artist who had studied a few secret manuals, she knew how important the Hundred-Thousand Hills was for martial artists. That was where ancient martial arts used to flourish the most. If she could cultivate in the Hundred-Thousand Hills, she would definitely be able to make astounding improvements in her cultivation level.

Unfortunately, no one had ever been able to enter the Hundred-Thousand Hills and come out unscathed. Chu Li’s fortuitous encounter was an extremely rare case. In fact, it might never occur again in the world, so of course, she wanted to go there and take a look.

However, she felt secretly upset too because Chu Li had never told her about it after all this time. It felt as though he was intentionally keeping it a secret from her so that this secret would stay between only him and her second eldest sister. This made her feel very uncomfortable.

Chu Li said, “I’ve been keeping this a secret from my Lady because I’m afraid that my Lady would want to go there and cultivate.”

Xiao Shi chuckled and replied, “Are you afraid that she might become too strong and you won’t be able to catch up to her? You should keep such a petty thought to yourself instead of saying it.”

“Yes,” Chu Li replied and nodded. “If my Lady becomes too strong, I won’t be able to catch up.”

“Well then, I’d like to go and take a look,” Xiao Qi calmly said.

Chu Li smiled and replied, “We shall all go together then.”

Xiao Shi said, “In that case, never mind. The two of you should go together. I’ll stay out of your way!”

She beamed and glanced at Chu Li. Her dimples were like flowers on her cheeks. She looked absolutely charming and gorgeous as she smiled at them.

Xiao Qi muttered, “If Second Eldest Sister isn’t going, I’m not going either.”

Xiao Shi shook her head and replied, “I’m feeling unwell.”

“Second Eldest Sister!” Xiao Qi frowned.

Chu Li smiled and said, “Well then, let’s go together!”

He did not give the two women a chance to reply and immediately took their wrists after he had finished speaking. The three of them vanished instantly.

Xiao Qi was just about to struggle and push him away instinctively. She had rarely had any physical contact with a man since young, so she was not used to it at all. However, she suddenly felt the ground disappear beneath her feet as if she was treading on air. Meanwhile, the view before her eyes turned into a blur, and this caused her to stop struggling.

Xiao Shi naturally closed her eyes.

Xiao Qi opened her eyes when she felt her feet on solid ground again.

Two clear cries resounded all of a sudden as white shadows flashed by. Xiao Qi was about to unsheathe her sword when Chu Li touched her wrist with a smile and said, “Don’t fight them.”

Then, he glided toward the two white shadows and got caught up in a messy brawl. The women could only see three shadows flashing around and could not make out their figures.

Xiao Shi tugged at Xiao Qi’s sleeve and said with a smile, “Let’s go. Just ignore them. It’ll take quite some time for their sparring to end. Have a taste of the fruits here. They’re extremely delicious!”

She pulled Xiao Qi over to a tree and reached out to pluck two peach-like fruits from the tree before taking out a silk handkerchief to wipe them clean. Then, she sat down on a rock under the tree. As Xiao Qi went and sat beside her sister, she suddenly touched the huge rock, which felt like white jade.

Xiao Shi said, “I think it’s white jade, but forget it. There’s no way to bring it back anyway. Have a taste of this fruit.”

Xiao Qi took out her silk handkerchief to wipe the fruit clean and then took a bite. At once, a sweet scent filled her mouth and spread through her internal organs. It felt as though her entire body was being cleansed of impurities.

“What is this?” Xiao Qi asked.

This fruit had great health benefits.

Xiao Shi shook her head. “I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s edible, and it tastes quite good. We can pluck a few more and bring them back later.”

“It’s too much of a waste to eat such a wonderful fruit in this way,” Xiao Qi said.

Such a magical fruit should be used to refine and produce pills. That way, its effects could be harnessed to its fullest extent.

“There’s plenty of it here.” Xiao Shi chuckled.

Xiao Qi shook her head in resignation and laughed as she scanned her surroundings.

Under the pale moonlight, this spirit mountain was bathed in a shade of silvery-white and looked as though it was covered in a thin layer of snow. The moon seemed much brighter and clearer here as compared to the outside world.

As she inhaled a deep breath, she felt her lungs relaxing and welcoming the fresh air while her entire body became lighter. The gentle night breeze felt pleasant and refreshing. This was the Hundred-Thousand Hills. It was an extraordinary place indeed!

She surveyed the lush forest around her. Just as Xiao Shi had told her, there were many more fruit trees like this one. She noticed hundreds of them at a glance. There was no way they could ever finish eating all of these fruits. Most of the fruits here would most likely fall to the ground and rot before eventually turning into fertilizer.

There was a pine forest on the summit of a mountain nearby and a pair of majestic-looking Spirit Cranes resting on two of the pine trees on the summit. They were lazily looking over as if they were parents watching their children play and fight. Their gaze had a very human quality to it.

Xiao Qi was astounded to see these Spirit Cranes in real life.

She had never expected a real Spirit Crane to look like this. She could not help sighing in admiration as she said, “If anyone from Green Deer Cliff were to see this, I wonder how delighted they would be!”

Xiao Shi laughed and shook her head. “It’s impossible for them to come to this place.”

Xiao Qi nodded and turned her gaze to Chu Li.

He was waving his sword around while he fought with two other Spirit Cranes. His sword movements were lightning fast. She could see that his swordsmanship had become truly formidable and that she was no match for him. Chu Li’s martial arts skills had improved significantly and had far surpassed her skills now.

Nonetheless, his sword could not pierce through the feathers of the Spirit Cranes. This showed just how strong the Spirit Cranes were.

Xiao Shi noticed Xiao Qi staring at them. She smiled and explained, “They’ve grown used to it already. They’ve been sparring with him since young. When these Spirit Cranes was just born, it was Chu Li who rescued one of them. That’s why they’ve accepted him as one of their own here.”

Xiao Qi sighed in amazement. “No other fortuitous encounter can ever compare with this one.”

Xiao Shi said, “We don’t come here often though. Before I was married into the Imperial Residence, I came here quite a few times to relax and clear my mind. As Chu Li became busier over the past few months, we never found the time to come here anymore.”

“He’s letting such wonderful resources go to waste!” Xiao Qi shook her head. “If he can come here, why would he keep running around in the outside world? He should just stay here and go into isolated cultivation!”

“This place can be quite dangerous too,” Xiao Shi replied. “Flying snakes would often come and launch a surprise attack on us. If it weren’t for his strong martial arts skills, I’m afraid he would’ve been killed already. That’s why he can’t go into isolated cultivation here. He won’t be able to cultivate in peace.”

“I see…” Xiao Qi nodded.

When Chu Li was done play-fighting with the two Spirit Cranes, he took out two drawings from his inner pocket and showed them to the Spirit Cranes while making a few gestures.

The two Spirit Cranes gave a loud cry and nodded twice before flapping their wings and flew straight into the skies. They vanished in the night sky in the blink of an eye as if they had gone to the moon.

Then, Chu Li disappeared before the two women in a flash.

He appeared inside a forest and pulled out more than ten Wind Speed Grass. There were many more of them around the area. The herb could be found growing everywhere like weeds. He did not pull out any more of them as the Wind Speed Grass he had collected was enough for him to refine and produce a large batch of Wind Speed Pills.

Around ten minutes later, he heard two loud cries echoing from the sky above him. The two Spirit Cranes flew over and landed in front of Chu Li. They were each holding over ten Titanium Grass in their claws.

Chu Li grinned from ear to ear as he took the herbs from the Spirit Cranes and patted them on their necks to thank them for their help.

With these, he would be able to produce many Giant Spirit Pills as well. In any case, it was useless to take too many of these pills.

When he reappeared before the two women, he had a bright smile on his face. “Shall we leave?”

“We’ve only been here for a while. Why are we coming and going in haste?” Xiao Shi asked.

Chu Li replied, “I have some matters to attend to. We can stay longer next time.”

“Let’s pick a few more fruits to bring back then,” Xiao Shi said.

Chu Li nodded and let the women pick the fruits while he started to plant some of the Titanium Grass under a tree.

After planting around ten of them, he used the Life and Death Scripture to boost their vitality so that they could grow well.

The Titanium Grass was very sturdy and had incredible vitality. These ten Titanium Grass would continue to propagate, and after a year, there would probably be more than a hundred of them here. However, with the help of his Life and Death Scripture, he would be able to make that happen within half a year instead of one year. If he managed to come here more often to facilitate their growth, the herbs might even be able to flower and produce seeds within a month.