Chapter 54: Ku Sheng’s Destined One

On the second day, Jing Yue waited at the market for another night, but there was still no sign of Ku Sheng’s destined one.

On the third day, even the onlookers had lessened.

They dared not discuss openly in front of Jing Yue, but there was bound to be sour words at the back, such as, ‘It’s stupid not to take money for nothing’, ‘Obviously it’s a sword from the sword pavilion but he’s not ashamed to make decisions for it’, ‘I think he just wants to take it for himself and deliberately makes things difficult for others’, ‘So what if he’s a Laozu? His own sword doesn’t have a consciousness’, and so on.

In fact, those who said that also knew that such malicious speculations were full of loopholes, but they just couldn’t help complaining because of sour grapes.

Despite that, in the evening of that day, a couple suddenly appeared in front of the stall.

The man said, “Hello, Jing-shidi. My name is Ran Ping.”

Jing Yue, “Do you want to try?”

Actually, he recognized the man. The other party came on the first day and every day after that, but never gave any indication that he wanted to try, as if he was just here to watch.

Ran Ping waved his hand repeatedly, “No, it's my sister who wants to try. She’s a single wood spiritual root.”

Jing Yue's eyes lit up and saw the woman step forward and smiled charmingly, “Jing-shidi, my name is Ran Yu. Can I try now?”

The reason why Ran Yu only came today was that she and Ran Ping didn't raise much money before, so Ran Yu planned to return to the sect temporarily to borrow some spirit stones. As for Ran Ping, he brought all that they had to Jing Yue’s stall and stood on guard. It would be best if they could buy it, if not, then they could only think of another way in the future.

However, just one day after Ran Yu's departure, Ran Ping sent her a message that Ku Sheng would only be gifted to someone who was predestined, and there was no need for her to raise more spiritual stones. Ran Yu hurried back but the trip still delayed her for two days. Fortunately, the destined person hadn't appeared, otherwise, the siblings would really be crying by now.

Jing Yue noticed Ku Sheng's excitement and smiled. “Of course.”

As soon as Ran Yu's divine consciousness moved, Ku Sheng entangled with it, spinning around Ran Yu, and even spontaneously formed a sword flower.

The movement from Ku Sheng attracted many people’s attention. Someone said, “It’s the first time I see Ku Sheng so excited. Could something be up?”

“How could it be? There were a few people who drew a lot of excitement before, but the result? Didn’t they return empty-handed too?”

“But Ku Sheng is obviously different today.”

“It couldn’t be a paid actor, right? In fact, he ordered Ku Sheng to put on a show just to save some face for himself?”

Gradually, Ran Yu couldn't hear other people's comments. There was a breeze blowing through the leaves, the sounds of insects and birds; then there was a rumble of thunder, and the sound of flames crackling; after that, there was the sound of the earth roaring and rocks collapsing...

Those sounds gradually disappeared, and there was only silence. In a daze, she saw the shepherd boy, saw the burly man, saw the scholar, saw the girl, saw the old man... one by one stayed under an ancient tree.

Time passed through the vicissitudes of life, and she seemed to witness the entire withering and flourishing life of the ancient tree.

Jing Yue could feel that Ku Sheng was happier than ever and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous. Could it be her?

Suddenly, Ku Sheng soared into the sky and disappeared from everyone's sight in an instant.

“Where’s the sword? It ran away?”

“How is that possible…”

As soon as the voice fell, Ku Sheng suddenly appeared in front of Ran Yu, aiming directly between her eyebrows!

Everyone exclaimed in horror and Ran Ping yelled, “Yu’er!”

He was about to step forward and pull his sister away, but he heard Ran Yu say, “Gege, don’t come here!”

Everyone saw that Ran Yu's eyes were clear, still looking gently at Ku Sheng that had turned into a green light, as if she didn't know how dangerous her situation was.

Jing Yue raised his eyebrows and smiled slightly.

The next moment, Ku Sheng suddenly stopped an inch in front of Ran Yu's eyebrows.

Ran Yu's expression didn't change and the corners of her mouth even curled up. Dimples appeared, making it even more delicate.

She said, “Hello.”

Ku Sheng's blade trembled and Jing Yue knew that it was shy. His heart softened inexplicably and the eyes that looked at Ku Sheng were particularly kind.

He whispered in his divine consciousness, “Go on, be brave.”

Following that, he saw a tender white flower blooming on the tip of Ku Sheng’s wooden blade.

Ran Yu, “Is it for me?”

Ku Sheng nodded with the tip of the sword, affirming her words.

Ran Yu stretched out her hand, touched the petals, and gently plucked it off. After thinking about it, she put it on her hairpin.

With a shrill from the sword, Ku Sheng soared straight up to the blue clouds again, then fell straight down from the air, and stopped obediently in front of Ran Yu.

There was uproar from the crowd, and Ran Ping was soaked in cold sweat all over by the unexpected changes, but he saw his sister looking at Jing Yue nervously and expectantly.

The latter smiled cheerfully and said to Ran Yu, “Ku Sheng likes you. It belongs to you now.”

Ran Yu covered her mouth and screamed excitedly, tears of joy brimming in her eyes instantly. She stretched out her hand tremblingly, took a deep breath, and held Ku Sheng firmly!

At that moment, with Ran Yu as the center, many young green seedlings grew in the cracks of the bricks and stones on the floor of the market, and they quickly spread to the surroundings, like the green tide flooding the earth. The green didn’t grow past the ankle and blossomed out in a bunch of small white flowers, like the rippling waves, and people stood in the sea of ​​flowers, all in awe.

“Ahh! Ji-ji’s maiden heart!” Blue phoenix bounced around excitedly, flapping Jing Yue with one wing, “Jing-jing, why aren’t you taking notes? You are not even as good as a wooden sword in picking up girls! You, you! You’ll end up being a eunuch like this! Grow old and die alone! With no one to love you!”

Jing Yue: … Maiden heart?

Better not entangle on this topic and make himself suffer, right? Jing Yue turned around silently, said a few words to Wang Xiaoli, and was about to leave.

“Wait a minute.”

Jing Yue turned around again and found that Ran Yu had stopped him.

Ran Yu handed him a bag of spiritual stones. “There are only 30,000 spiritual stones here. My brother and I could only raise so much for the time being. I know that such a small amount is far beneath Ku Sheng’s true value, but we will continue to raise money and return it to you.”

Jing Yue smiled and said, “Ku Sheng is not mine. I have no right to collect money from you. Besides, you’re destined to be with it. It chose you.”

Ran Yu’s eyes rolled around. “Actually, I’d like to ask a favor from Jing-shidi.”

“How can I help you? Let’s listen to it first.”

There was a hint of confusion in Jing Yue's eyes, but he heard Ran Yu say, “I’d like to go to the beast fortress to tame a Wood Sparrow.”

In the world of seven continents, spiritual beasts and ferocious beasts shared the same origin.

It was only in the recent ancient times that the ancestors of spiritual beasts were raised by cultivators. After hundreds of thousands of years of training and reproduction, the temperament became gentler and closer to humans. Regardless of category and habit, they were clearly distinguished from ferocious beasts.

Not only would spiritual beasts not harm humans, but they could also use special abilities to assist cultivators.

But first and foremost, the cultivator must make the spirit beast recognize them as master and form a bond with them.

The Beast Fortress was the most famous spiritual beast garden in the Seven Realms, located in the Central Continent, occupying an entire city. There were hundreds of thousands of spirit beasts in captivity in the fort, which accounted for almost half of the species of spirit beasts.

Ran Yu, “I heard the Jing-shidi is good at making talisman. I’d like to ask you to produce a beast-suppression charm for me.”

Jing Yue suddenly came to a realization. Generally, in order for the spirit beast to recognize someone as master, the beast-suppression talisman was needed to control its soul-mind.

As for the Wood Sparrow, it was of wood attribute and very sensitive to spiritual herbs. It was usually used for treasure hunting, but its vigilance and sensitivity were very high. Generally, it would be difficult to control it even with a beast-suppression talisman, often requiring more than a hundred pieces at a time.

But then again…

“It cost 20 spirit stones for one beast-suppression talisman but you have 30,000 spirit stones here. Do you want me to refine more than a thousand for you? I don't have time. Moreover, I’m just a novice at the art of talisman-making, not better than others. This kind of talisman is only a little troublesome in materials. Many people can do it.”

He was fully aware that Ran Yu was just embarrassed to take Ku Sheng away for nothing, so she thought of such a lame way to compensate him. Although he liked spirit stones, he still had some principles.

Ran Yu was a little anxious and couldn't think of a better way, so she could only look at Ran Ping for help.

However, Ran Ping's face was blank. He was still in shock at his sister being chosen by Ku Sheng. Since Ku Sheng chose his younger sister, would he also have the opportunity to get some benefit from it?

Ran Yu, “…”

Just as Jing Yue was about to leave, suddenly, a lightbulb flashed in his mind.

The beast-suppression charm sold in the market currently was comprised of a homogeneous rune, but what if he could refine a talisman that was only targeted at wood sparrows? Assuming that this method worked, could it be done for other spirit beasts too?

This was actually a very simple thought, but talisman cultivators may be affected by habitual thinking, or they might find it troublesome, so no one ever did it.

After all, there were nearly a million known species of spirit beasts in the world. Refining different charms for different spirit beasts would be too troublesome, and the existing beast-suppression talisman was suitable for most spirit beasts. Even if one was insufficient, using dozens or hundreds of pieces would eventually achieve the goal.

But Jing Yue thought that this method was feasible. It could save a lot of money for normal cultivators and make a lot of money for him. It was perfect!

His eyes flashed with the light of wisdom, and said, “I have an idea, but it still needs to be tested.”

Jing Yue pushed away the spirit stones that Ran Yu handed over. “If I can really make one, you can give me the money when the time comes.”

In the evening of the next day, he deliberately went to the library.

The library of Nine Heaven Academy was unique. It was located on the ninth peak and occupied the entire peak. It was divided into four big pavilions in each direction with more than tens of millions of ancient manuals and scrolls.

Besides being big, each pavilion consisted of a special reading area and rest area. The reading area was inside the pavilion while the rest area was built in the courtyard outside.

Each garden had different views but all were elegant and peaceful.

There were stone tables and benches in the garden, widely-spaced apart, so there was no worry about being disturbed by others.

Once someone sat down, a servant would serve spiritual tea and food at the cost of two spirit stones. And as long as people didn’t leave, they could stay here forever.

“Hmph, it’s the same as some cafés or bars in certain small worlds. Ji-ji is tired of seeing it already.”

The melon seeds that Jing Yue fed it still couldn’t stop blue phoenix’s mouth. Seeing Jing Yue reading the book seriously and ignoring it, it said aggrievedly, “Ji-ji already told you all about the habits of the wood sparrow, yet here you are in the library to verify it again. Why don’t you believe me?”

Jing Yue, “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I’m also sorting out my thoughts when looking for information.”

However, the real reason was because blue phoenix had always been unreliable! Although he often put blue phoenix down, he still couldn’t tell the truth this time, otherwise, Ji-ji would really be sad.

Blue phoenix huffed and sprawled on the table in boredom.

The entire night, Jing Yue researched the preferences of the wood sparrow and found that Ji-ji was right. It once again reaffirmed its knowledge reserve on different beasts, and finally displayed a little omniscience and omnipotence, while he formed a plan in his heart.

Jing Yue listed all the materials he needed, some of them relatively special. He estimated that it was unlikely to be sold at the academy’s marketplace so he had to go to Bliss City. One of the materials was the Skyspirit wood, which was the tree where wood sparrows inhabit. The vibe from the Skyspirit wood would make it feel safe and secure.

However, this plant was rarely found in the Central region, and even the beast fortress had to deliberately transplant it. That being the case, he planned to prepare the other materials first before going directly to the beast fortress and refine the talisman on the spot.

On this day, the weather was fine. Jing Yue asked for a leave of absence from the academy and made an appointment with the Ran siblings to head to the beast fortress.

In response to this, blue phoenix shook its head in disappointment. What a great opportunity for a man and a woman to be alone, but Jing-jing still brought a 1KW lightbulb Ran Ping along!

It took them two days to arrive at Serenity Town near the beast fortress. The town was not big, but because it was close to the beast fortress, most of the people in the town would bring spirit beasts out along with them. Occasionally, if a spirit beast had an ‘accident’ on the road, the owner would also be a conscientious poop shoveling officer.

When passing through the market, stalls were selling small pets, as well as all kinds of pet food, props, and books along the street.

As a female, Ran Yu had no resistance to these cute little spirit pets. Her cheeks were flushed along the way, and her eyes almost turned heart-shaped.

At this moment, she was holding a stick with a few bright feathers hanging from one end of the stick, and asked, “What is this for?”

The stall owner smiled and said, “For teasing the cats. Spiritual felines like it the most.”

Ran Ping pulled her aside and whispered, “Why are you asking so many questions? You won’t be buying it! Jing-shidi is waiting for us.”

However, when he turned his head, he found that Jing-shidi's line of sight was on a book placed on the stall. The cover of the book—How to Raise and Train Spirit Chickens.

Ran Ping glanced at the blue chick on Jing Yue's shoulder. As expected of the patriarch of Frostcloud Sect. He even spent so much energy on raising a chicken.

Jing Yue asked, “Boss, how much for this book?”

Ji-ji immediately exclaimed furiously, “I’m not a chicken! I’m a divine beast! An omniscient and omnipotent blue phoenix!”

Of course, its owner ignored it.

A quarter of an hour later, they came to the central square in Serenity Town. They happened to meet a rogue cultivator who was replacing the Flying Immortal List and there were many people nearby.

Before they approached, an exclamation was heard from the crowd, “The number one of the Amethyst Abode… has changed!!!”

“What? Oh, it’s true.”

“Where is Qin Yanzhi? Was he beaten?”

“I can’t see his name in the top 100 Amethyst Abode list! Could it be that Qin Yanzhi has fallen?”

Jing Yue and the others quickly squeezed into the crowd. Looking at the list, the first person on the Amethyst Abode stage had indeed changed, and it was none other than Wei Tianli, who had made some breakthroughs under Jing Yue’s guidance over the past few years.

Jing Yue nodded in relief, at the same time wondering about Qin Yanzhi. Of course, nothing would happen to the latter. He deliberately asked him for a leave of absence when he came out this time.

At this moment, a piercing voice suddenly rang in his ears. “Good riddance! Who told that Qin fellow to succumb and take up the position as head of the Nine Insects Academy? I can only say that heaven has eyes!”