I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Chapter 231: Chapter 202: Passing By Each Other

”Ah, it hurts, it hurts, don’t pull it!!”

Jiang Yuebai’s eyes welled up with tears from the pain as Yun Shang quickly withdrew her hand, surprised and fascinated by the two small Lingzhi mushrooms on Jiang Yuebai’s head.

”So cute～”

Jiang Yuebai was biting into crispy snake meat, her face covered in oil. The serpent looked terrifying but tasted delicious!

”This is not cute at all. If the people in Snake Village find out I’m an alien, they’ll kill me. But it’s also strange; why is the Witch Clan so hostile towards aliens? Aren’t they said to be created by the Ancient Heavenly Witch Clan?”

Yun Shang nudged the Lingzhi on Jiang Yuebai’s head with her finger, and Jiang Yuebai frowned, the Lingzhi moving slightly in response.

”I don’t know. As soon as we arrived at Snake Village, my little aunt ran into an old friend and was called away for help. I didn’t dare to go out alone, and after being cooped up for so many days, I was really craving something to eat. I went out to buy some food, only to get hit by an embroidered ball... Sigh!”

”You didn’t just buy food; you also bought books. Aren’t you fasting?”

Yun Shang blushed and sat down. ”My little aunt was always watching me to ensure I was fasting, but I couldn’t hold it any longer.”

Jiang Yuebai raised an eyebrow, ”I understand. I won’t tell her. I think it’s quite difficult to completely cut off our appetite just after entering Foundation Establishment. Pressuring ourselves too much is not pleasant. It’s better to savor the delicacies of the world and then refocus later. During my time in Quicksand Domain, I didn’t find anything delicious, so I fasted easily for over three years.”

Yun Shang nodded, also sitting down and taking a piece of crispy snake meat, laughing and eating together with Jiang Yuebai.

”Try this stir-fried mixed fungi, all Spiritual Mushrooms from Ten Thousand Mountains. It’s especially delicious.”

Yun Shang picked up a piece for Jiang Yuebai, whose Lingzhi moved on her head, feeling a peculiar sense of strangeness. Mushrooms and Lingzhi... seemed like the same kind.

”How have you been these past few years? Does Master Yuu still watch over you strictly?” Jiang Yuebai didn’t pick up her chopsticks.

Yun Shang shook her head, ”My little aunt has loosened her grip on me a lot now. When she first entered Foundation Establishment, she traveled across Nine Domains and knew people everywhere. In every place we went, she’d leave me to meet her friends, so most of the time, I traveled alone and faced many life and death crises.”

”If it weren’t for the men in Baipu Domain being so enthusiastic, I wouldn’t have called you to accompany me. But how did you cultivate so quickly, Little Bai? I obviously reached Foundation Establishment first, yet you advanced to Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment before me. But I won’t call you ’senior sister.’ I’ll call you Little Bai.”

Jiang Yuebai sighed, ”I had no choice either. It was the accident in Land of Azure Flame that unintentionally turned me into a Fire Evil Spiritual Body. My cultivation sped up rapidly, but it’ll cause significant problems for Core Formation. Now, turning into an alien is also for Core Formation.”

Seeing the book on the table, Jiang Yuebai asked, ”Does the Witch Clan really have something like a Love Gu which makes the other person loyal forever once planted?”

Yun Shang glanced at the book and shook her head, ”No. My little aunt told me that Witch Clan women hold high status. Only women have inheritance rights over all properties, and men are considered accessories.”

”If a Witch Clan woman takes a liking to a man, he must follow her unless he can defeat her. Even if he’s someone else’s man, he can be taken by winning a Poisonous Insect Fight. So why would they need Love Gu?”

”The stories about Witch Clan women loving a man desperately enough to sacrifice everything and plant a so-called Love Gu, I believe, are fantasies of those Witch Clan men. But Witch Clan women don’t buy into it. If I hadn’t dug this book out from a corner, it would’ve just been collecting dust.”

Jiang Yuebai nodded, ”Can’t Witch Clan men go elsewhere to make a living? Don’t they feel stifled here?”

Yun Shang replied, ”I know about this. The man who blocked me in the room earlier saw me as an external cultivator and wanted me to take him out of Baipu Domain. Witch Clan men, unless married, are not allowed to leave privately. They probably have some Gu planted in them at birth, so they can’t leave.”

”I see. So when does the Poisonous Insect Fighting Meeting start?” Jiang Yuebai asked.

Yun Shang calculated, ”In about two and a half months, it will be held in Toad Village. During this time, I want to explore the outskirts of Ten Thousand Mountains to collect some Strange Insects and Strange Beasts from Baipu Domain. Little Bai, can you accompany me?”

”Of course, I can. There’s a great variety of Spirit Grass and Spiritual Medicine in Ten Thousand Mountains, and I need to gather more Spiritual Medicine. But before we set off, accompany me around Snake Village so I can inquire about the matters between the Witch Clan and aliens.”

The Immortal Grass Scripture currently requires ten thousand points to upgrade the Cloud Mushroom Grass Bloodline from Level 6 to Level 7. She must accumulate it bit by bit and entering Ten Thousand Mountains is a good choice.

After eating and drinking their fill, they set off arm in arm.

Jiang Yuebai still dressed as a man, the jade hairpin on her head not only concealed her demon energy but also made her gender and cultivation level imperceptible to others.

Men from the Witch Clan, upon seeing Yun Shang accompanied by Jiang Yuebai, would quietly abandon the idea of throwing an embroidered ball.

They tried all the delicious foods they encountered except for the soil wine soaked in various poisonous insects, which they avoided.

In a bookstore, Jiang Yuebai found many translations of Ancient Demon Texts, even more comprehensive and accessible than those in Mountain and Sea Building of Quicksand Domain.

She could only understand a small part of the musical scores in the Green Jade Bamboo Flute and needed further study of Ancient Demon Texts.

While buying books, Jiang Yuebai tried to inquire about why the Witch Clan rejected aliens. The female shopkeeper was very secretive, claiming that discussing aliens was prohibited in Snake Village.

When she heard Jiang Yuebai and Yun Shang planning to visit Ten Thousand Mountains, she kindly warned them that each village in the mountains had its own territory and was quite xenophobic and unfriendly. She advised them to avoid conflicts with the villagers.

External cultivators who came here often ended up offending one person and eventually brought down the whole village’s retaliations.

Jiang Yuebai thanked the shopkeeper and bought a copy of Heavenly Witch History and three books on Ancient Demon Texts.

The shopkeeper touched Jiang Yuebai’s hand while accepting the Spirit Stones, throwing a flirtatious glance.

”Want to have some fun with sister in the back?”

Startled, Jiang Yuebai quickly grabbed Yun Shang and fled, feeling that neither men nor women were safe here.

The Witch Clan had a sparse population and rarely intermarried with other tribes. Thus, they were very liberal and had a culture that revered such aspects, hoping it would help the clan to proliferate and strengthen.

After purchasing poison-repelling and Gu-breaking medicine, they both dove into a clothing store.

”This set looks nice; I want to wear this,” Jiang Yuebai said to Yun Shang, tugging at a set of Witch Clan skirts hanging on the store’s wall.

Yun Shang was also tugging at another set, ”I want to wear this too.”

They looked at each other, saying simultaneously, ”You play the man.”

Their eyes remained firm; they both wanted to wear the beautiful skirts and have the other play the man to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Eventually, Yun Shang compromised first, ”Then we’ll take turns playing the man, three days each, how about that?”

”Deal!”

Jiang Yuebai readily agreed. They each bought two sets of Witch Clan attire, matched with some silver ornaments before heading back, planning to rest for the night and venture into the mountains the next day.

Late at night, Jiang Yuebai was in her room refining essence for her own use when a young woman in her twenties walked into the backyard of Wangjiang Building.

She wore a simple blue dress full of tears, her face marked with dirt and blood stains, yet her keen eyes brimmed with joy.

”Yo, Lv Ying, you’re back? You’ve been in the mountains for over three months; did you find the Spiritual Medicine for Foundation Establishment?” the middle-aged man chopping wood in the backyard asked.

Lv Ying nodded with a smile, ”I found it. I’m preparing to enter seclusion for Foundation Establishment. Please inform the shopkeeper, and I’ll make up for the work I missed after I come out.”

”Alright, best of luck with your Foundation Establishment.”

The faint moonlight shone as Lv Ying looked towards the direction of Heavenly Interence Sect, a smile on her lips.

”Little Bai, I’m about to enter Foundation Establishment. I wonder if you’re doing well now?”