I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Chapter 40: Chapter 31: Puppet Wooden Doll

Tao Fengnian staggered over to Jiang Yuebai, handed her a healing pill, and grasped the Locking Scythe, half-kneeling on the ground.

The roars of the monster beasts drew closer, and the tremors in the ground became more pronounced. Jiang Yuebai nervously gripped the sleeve of Tao Fengnian’s robe.

”Don’t be afraid, Grandfather is here.”

Glancing at the wooden box beside him, Tao Fengnian decisively took out a Gu worm and swallowed it.

The Gu worm ignited within him like a fierce fire, sending waves of heat sweeping through his body. Tao Fengnian felt invigorated, all fatigue vanished, and he could no longer feel any pain.

He stood up again, gripping the Locking Scythe tightly. ”Little girl, thirty miles north is the patrol boundary of the Heavenly Interence Sect. Grandfather will help you break through the encirclement; go and seek reinforcements.”

Jiang Yuebai’s small hands trembled. Though she knew seeking aid was unlikely, she bit her lips and nodded.

She refused to resist, for it would only divert Grandfather’s attention.

But even if it was impossible, she would struggle till the last moment!

The scar-faced man pressed against his wound and jumped onto a tree. A troop of ferocious Green Rock Monkeys swung along the tree vines, charging forward.

”Haha, hahaha, a hundred beasts are attacking. Let’s see how you survive this!”

Thud!

Just as the words fell, Jiang Yuebai’s eyes widened in shock, witnessing a wooden hand piercing through the scar-faced man’s chest.

The scar-faced man fell to the ground, dead, revealing the Faceless Wooden Doll in blue clothes and black hair standing behind him.

Chirp chirp!

The monkey troop rushed in, the mechanisms on the blue-clothed doll whirled, and it leapt into the air.

Thousands of needles shot out, like a storm of pear blossoms!

Tao Fengnian immediately shielded Jiang Yuebai. Amid the sound of breaking wind, the monkeys fell from the air, leaving behind a chorus of tragic cries, with none able to come close.

In the blink of an eye, the ground was covered with monkey corpses, each pierced with wooden needles.

The doll landed, its jaw mechanism opened, and a pipe extended, spewing blue smoke to dispel the Beast-Attracting Fragrance.

Impressive!

Jiang Yuebai’s eyes trembled, staring unblinkingly at the doll.

From the side came a movement, and Jiang Yuebai shifted her gaze to see a rugged female cultivator sitting with hands folded on a wooden bull, slowly approaching.

”Child, we meet again. It seems we are fated.”

Jiang Yuebai frowned, eyes full of vigilance. How could the timing be so perfect? Was there a problem?

Moh Baichun glanced at the headless female corpse. ”Did you kill her?”

Jiang Yuebai nodded, and Moh Baichun’s eyebrows rose.

”No wonder I have my eye on you. At Qi Cultivation Third Layer, you’re able to kill a Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer in one strike, showing intelligence, courage, and bravery. Good, good, good!”

Moh Baichun waved a hand, and the wooden doll leapt up, returning to her side to guard her.

”You’re injured, huh? My medicine is quite good, take it for healing.”

The medicine bottle was tossed in front of them. Tao Fengnian reached out to take it, but Jiang Yuebai tugged at his sleeve.

Tao Fengnian pressed her hand, picked up the bottle, took a pill, and swallowed it. After a moment, feeling no issues, he took another pill and fed it to Jiang Yuebai.

The medicine given by the Golden Core Master took effect quickly, and Tao Fengnian cupped his hands in thanks.

”Many thanks to the Master for lending a hand to rescue us,” said Tao Fengnian.

Moh Baichun waved it off, ”No matter, I did it for her, not for you. So, kid, how do you like this Puppet Wooden Doll?”

Jiang Yuebai furrowed her brows and nodded sullenly.

Moh Baichun beamed, ”The Great Dao is vast, and you’ve only glimpsed a corner. If you decide your path too early, you’ll regret it later. If I hadn’t pondered over you all night, I might not have arrived in time to rescue you today. So, do you want to reconsider? Accept me as your master, and I’ll give you this Puppet Wooden Doll. With the Jade Talisman in your hand, harm from Core Formation level and below would be hard to come by. What do you think?”

Moh Baichun seemed like a villain trying to bribe a child with candy. Tao Fengnian watched helplessly, powerless to intervene, clenching his fists in silence.

Jiang Yuebai lowered her eyes, contemplating for a while. ”I might regret it, but not now. As you said, the Great Dao is vast, and I’ve only glimpsed a corner. Let me see it all, then decide. It’s not too late.”

Moh Baichun raised an eyebrow, ”Oh, you’re an ambitious kid. Not afraid of flowers that distract the eyes, are you? But I’m growing fonder of you. Are you sure you won’t come with me?”

Jiang Yuebai nodded, ”I won’t go.”

Moh Baichun sighed heavily, ”Alright, perhaps our fates haven’t aligned yet. Take this, if you change your mind, seek me at the Spiritual Crane Sect. I’ve taken on a job, it’ll delay me for a year or two.”

A wooden doll, arm-sized and just like the Faceless Wooden Doll except smaller, was tossed over, with movable limbs and mechanisms inside whose purpose was unknown.

Moh Baichun watched from there, while Jiang Yuebai resisted her curiosity, pretending not to care.

Moh Baichun’s gaze withdrew and fell on Tao Fengnian, unable to resist sending a message.

”Worldly ties are easy to sever, but heart demons are hard to eliminate. Since your lifespan is running out, you shouldn’t burden her anymore.”

Tao Fengnian’s throat tightened, his body icy cold. Moh Baichun rode the wooden ox into the sky and soon disappeared.

Tao Fengnian’s body weakened, collapsing to the ground, as Jiang Yuebai discarded the wooden puppet and ran to Tao Fengnian’s side.

”Grandpa, are you okay? Was she bullying you just now?”

Tao Fengnian shook his head with a bitter smile, ”Cough cough, it’s not safe here. We should pack up and leave quickly.”

Jiang Yuebai nodded, watching Tao Fengnian take their belongings, stuffing the surrounding demon beast corpses into the storage bag, then burn the bodies to destroy them.

Using Gale Talisman to rush along the way, they stepped into the Heavenly Interence Sect’s patrolling area by nightfall, allowing Tao Fengnian to finally breathe a sigh of relief and take Jiang Yuebai to lodge at a small village at the foot of the mountain.

After some cleaning and rest, along with Moh Baichun’s remarkably effective medicine, they mostly recovered.

”Grandpa, does highway robbery often happen around Nangu Market?”

In the dead of night, Jiang Yuebai tinkered with a small wooden puppet, sitting at the table and asking Tao Fengnian.

”Hard to say. Why are you asking?”

Jiang Yuebai’s little face puckered, ”I suspect all this was arranged by that Moh Baichun!”

Tao Fengnian stopped repairing the Heart Burning Mother Flower in his hands, ”It’s good to be suspicious of strangers, but without evidence, you can’t speak recklessly. Regardless, she saved us, and she didn’t forcibly take you away, which shows she’s not aggressive or domineering, nor really intends you harm.”

”Hmm, I understand.”

Jiang Yuebai doesn’t show dislike for anyone usually, only speaking truthfully in front of Tao Fengnian.

Tao Fengnian smiled wryly, ”Just treat it as forming a beneficial bond. If someday you can’t stay in the Heavenly Interence Sect, at least you have a retreat.”

Jiang Yuebai nodded gloomily, putting the puppet into the storage bag.

Tao Fengnian took out the storage bags of the black-clothed woman and scarred-face man, ”Blessings and misfortunes are intertwined; though narrowly escaping death, there’s unexpected gain. But I must remind you, regardless of how many things are in these two storage bags, you mustn’t let greed stir you. Life is singular; everything else, you can earn back even if lost, understand?”

”Understood, understood, Grandpa, quickly open them and see how many spirit stones there are.”

Jiang Yuebai’s eyes shone, and Tao Fengnian shook his head with a chuckle.

After sorting, Jiang Yuebai exclaimed, ”Two hundred and forty-eight pieces of Low-Grade Spirit Stones, so many!”

Jiang Yuebai was excited, while Tao Fengnian didn’t feel much joy, knowing it’s still far from the price of a Lifespan Extension Pill.

”Quickly store them away, don’t let anyone see,” Jiang Yuebai pushed the spirit stones toward Tao Fengnian, who only took half.

”As fellow Daoists fighting together, it’s customary to divide the spoils equally.”

”Fellow Daoist?” Jiang Yuebai widened her eyes in pleasant surprise.

”Your eyes are already big enough, don’t make them bull’s eyes. You surprisingly managed to slay that black-clothed female cultivator today, catching me off guard. I’ve underestimated you, always treating you as a child, but not anymore, Fellow Daoist Jiang.”

Jiang Yuebai chuckled, unhesitant as she put her share of spirit stones into the storage bag.

Apart from the spirit stones, there were also some talismans and Healing Pills and antidotes, which Jiang Yuebai took what she could use.

The remaining items were the black-clothed woman’s White Jade Ocarina, the scarred-faced man’s Great Saber, two cultivation techniques, and a bag of thorn seeds.

”The ’Chaotic Soul Technique’ corresponds to this ocarina, consisting of only one tune, not graded but classified as a secret technique. The black-clothed female cultivator hadn’t mastered it yet; if she had perfected it, just listening to this tune, we would instantly have our divine souls thrown into chaos, killing each other.”

”The ’Broken Water Three Blades’ is a Top-Grade Martial Technique, containing only three moves as sword method ultimate moves, and that strike on my shoulder was one of them. My Locking Scythe, being an Eighth-Grade Magical Artifact, got cracked by his Ninth-Grade Great Saber, showing the power of this sword technique.”

Tao Fengnian handed the two cultivation techniques to Jiang Yuebai.

”You can look if you’re interested, but remember, don’t bite off more than you can chew. For now, focus on preparing to be a Spiritual Cultivation Master.”

”Hmm, I know what’s important and urgent.”

”This ocarina, specially made as a Ninth-Grade Magical Artifact, has effects to disturb divine sense and mind, keep it for defense. The great saber is too heavy for you, I’ll find you a lighter one later. That machete really doesn’t suit you.”

Jiang Yuebai quickly shielded the machete, ”No way, it’s very handy for me, and Ninth-Grade Magical Artifacts are hard for me to cultivate with now. Using too many is difficult. I’ll switch weapons when my divine sense strengthens. Keep the great saber, Grandpa, we’re dividing the spoils equally, right?”

Tao Fengnian didn’t insist, instead pushing the last bag of thorn seeds and the two storage bags towards Jiang Yuebai.

”Keep these two storage bags, so you can separate items later, and there’s a spare if one is lost. Thorn seeds are another way Low-Level Qi Cultivation Practitioners use in Battle Methods, besides talismans. The explanations are on the first floor of the Library.”

”Finally, the Iron-Backed Demon Wolf and those Green Rock Monkeys’ bodies, I’ll process them later, keeping the meat for you to snack on, making a set of leather armor from the good pelts, and selling the rest for spirit stones.”

”Grandpa, you’re so good; we really profited from this trip.”

”We did indeed, though we almost lost our lives. Don’t just remember the good parts and forget the dangers. Go rest, and tomorrow morning switch to servant disciple clothes to return to the sect.”