"Master, senior brother..."
Zhang Fei Xuan's lips were trembling, and he stammered for quite a while, utterly unable to get the words out.
Seeing Song Yin's frown deepening and a crisis of death looming over everyone's minds, Zhang Fei Xuan revealed a smile uglier than crying, "Senior brother, you're also coming out to take a leak..."
"Hmm?"
Song Yin glanced at them curiously and said, "I'm not out here to relieve myself, but why are you carrying your bags?"
"I, I..." Zhang Fei Xuan's body was shaking, unable to articulate any reason.
In the middle of the night, a few people were carrying their bags, ready to leave the sect...
He didn't know how to answer that question!
Thump!
The tall and burly man immediately knelt down, banging his head hard on the ground, clearly on the verge of collapse, "Senior brother, please spare my life, spare my life! I truly couldn't bear it anymore, that's why I thought of leaving the mountain!"
It's over!
Zhang Fei Xuan's face was full of despair; the foolish man had spoken the truth.
But soon, his eyes turned fierce, and his hands behind his back revealed a surge of blood qi.
Before he could reveal any more...
"Unable to bear it..."
Instead, Song Yin glanced at him, shook his head, and said, "Enough, I understand your intentions. Since you're carrying your bags, then come down the mountain with me."
"Ah... what?"
Zhang Fei Xuan, who was ready to strike, blinked in confusion, his hands loosening slightly.
Senior brother... was not blaming them?
Song Yin spoke, "I know food has been scarce, especially after it was distributed among those people, making it even less sufficient. As cultivators, if we can't even satisfy the needs of hunger, then I, as the big senior brother, have failed in my duties. Now you wish to leave the mountain, isn't it to search for food to make provisions for tomorrow?"
He had been away from the sect for more than two months, surviving on the provisions sent by master, which, although not tasty, were quite plentiful in terms of wild vegetables, fruits, and meat. He had assumed that this was the Jinxian Sect's usual fare.
But the meal portion he received this evening was uniform grass dumplings, wrapped in strange wild vegetables with just a tiny bit of meat, difficult to swallow and not at all filling.
Song Yin even went to the kitchen to check and found that aside from wild vegetables, there were tiny bits of wild beast remains...
Is this what the Jinxian Sect usually eats?
And with a dozen more mouths to feed, there was not enough food...
Only then did he realize that his master had indeed been doing his utmost, and, moved by this, he too decided to go down the mountain to look for food, lest they ran out completely in a few days.
A cultivator still needed to eat, and one who was refining qi would need even more than a mortal. He, Song Yin, who had achieved the Flawless True Body, needed much more than others. A few grass dumplings couldn't possibly satisfy his hunger, not to mention they lacked nutrition.
If one couldn't eat well, how could one cultivate and seek the Dao!
Song Yin's eyes shone with approval as he said, "It's you who have been considerate, knowing to carry bags for storage. It seems I, as a senior brother, did not think this through. Rise, fellow disciple. The punishment you received during the day was purely out of tough love. Now that you've shown concern for the sect, as your senior brother, I am truly relieved."
"No, senior brother, I am..."
The tall and strong disciple, sensing that something was not right, attempted to say more, but Zhang Fei Xuan pulled him up by the back of his neck and smiled, "Senior brother is truly a wise man, easily guessing our thoughts. Exactly, considering the sect's lack of food, I intended to take a few disciples down the mountain to forage, so that tomorrow we can surprise everyone else."
"Junior Brother is thoughtful indeed. I had the same idea; I was just about to descend the mountain when I bumped into you all. In that case, let's go down the mountain together," Song Yin laughed.
"I will follow Senior Brother's command!" Zhang Fei Xuan said forcefully.
As Song Yin turned around, he shot a fierce glare at the tall and sturdy man, his eyes brimming with the intent to kill.
The tall and sturdy man, feeling the chill at the back of his neck, clenched his mouth shut.
Seeing this, Zhang Fei Xuan finally lowered his hand and looked towards the other several people, who also lowered their heads and pursed their lips.
Zhang Fei Xuan snorted coldly and then hurriedly caught up, "Big Senior Brother, wait for your junior brother..."
Mount Pingding was just one of many peaks within the Xumi Vein mountain range. The whole range was often windy, and at night, ghostly wails seemed to howl with the chilly gusts.
At the moment, Song Yin was walking through the forest. The mountain wind whistled through the trees, causing his clothes to flutter. He stopped, brushed aside some shrubs with his hand, and found an odd rootstock, shaking his head.
"Is it really so hard to find food in the Xumi Vein?"
Song Yin turned his head, looking at Zhang Fei Xuan and the five disciples following closely behind him.
He had been searching for about half an hour and hadn't found anything edible, but he did find some of these rootstock and wild vegetables, which were somewhat similar to those in the sect.
Zhang Fei Xuan said with an awkward smile, "Senior Brother might not know, but the Xumi Vein is itself a desolate place. Those who cultivate here do so for the peace and quiet."
Peace and quiet from not being killed by others...
If a mountain range were rich in natural treasures or abundant with wild beasts, it wouldn't be so desolate. People seeking a livelihood would come over, and where mortals gather, those annoying followers of the righteous path would come as well.
They could live here in peace precisely because the Xumi Vein is mountainous and difficult to traverse, and has nothing of value.
"Well then..."
Song Yin plucked the rootstock and handed it to Zhang Fei Xuan, saying, "It seems we have no choice but to resort to Danfa."
Zhang Fei Xuan took the rootstock, puzzled. "What do you mean, Senior Brother?"
"Since we cannot find any cultivable food or discover any meat, and relying solely on these rootstock and wild vegetables for fullness and nutrition won't suffice, we can only extract their substances and refine them into pills. Only then can the people of our sect acquire sufficient nutrition."
Song Yin looked around and then picked a flower, sniffed it, and handed it to Zhang Fei Xuan, "This flower has a sharp taste and can stimulate Blood Qi; good, take it."
Zhang Fei Xuan opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately, he accepted the flower and stowed it in his travel bag.
"Senior Brother, have you mastered this Danfa?" he couldn't help but ask in the end.
"I have the talent of a Great Immortal. Master refined me into the Flawless True Body. Although the 'Great Golden Immortal Elixir Decree' does not mention it, Master himself acknowledged it as the highest achievement in our methods. So naturally, I thought that with my ability to recognize medicines and discern poison, I would learn on my own. And indeed, it appears I have."
Song Yin showed a look of self-satisfaction, then brushed aside another plant with berries and gave it to Zhang Fei Xuan.
"As for Danfa, of course I know it. Since I am the Flawless True Body, I figured that being able to grasp things instantly without forgetting must be natural. Hence, I have learned the 'Jin Xian Grand Elixir Scripture' by heart. However, I am currently only at the Power Combat Stage, and although I can use some spells, I have not yet reached the stage of 'Using Wisdom.' For the art of Pill Fire, you will have to help me, Junior Brother."
"Ah... yes," Zhang Fei Xuan agreed blankly.
Don't you want to listen to what you're saying...
The Flawless True Body, the photographic memory, the thorough understanding of the alchemical methods...
In the years since I joined, outside of proficiency with the Blood Law, I barely understand a bit of the rest; I haven't even taken a Human Elixir. I'm just a tool for gathering materials.
You've been a disciple for only one day!
In legends, becoming an Immortal might equate one day to a year, but even if you're not an Immortal, even a reincarnated Immortal wouldn't achieve so much in just one year, right?