Reacting to what Cheng Moyang said, the short Young Master Yang's lips curved into a slight smile. "This should be very interesting. Especially if we get Fang Yong to do it, just like last time.
"Wouldn't that be even better?
"That way, we won't have to get our hands dirty."
He paused, then said with a touch of regret, "I've been deliberately avoiding Fang Yong lately. I wonder when he'll come looking for us."
Cheng Moyang smiled. "Just head to the small courtyard. He passes by there often."
Sure enough, they hadn't been cultivating in the courtyard for long before they saw Fang Yong walk by.
Fang Yong immediately approached them familiarly and asked, "Young Master Cheng, what have you been using for your cultivation recently?"
Hearing this, Cheng Moyang smiled and said, "I've been cultivating at the Spirit Gathering Hall."
After a pause, he asked, "What about you, Young Master Fang?"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Fang Yong's eyes before he replied, "I've also been going to the Spirit Gathering Hall for my cultivation."
"Is that so?" Young Master Yang, who was standing to the side, said with a smile. "You're quite something, Young Master Fang. Since we're both cultivating at the Spirit Gathering Hall, let's go together sometime."
Fang Yong smiled and nodded. "Alright."
Only then did Fang Yong leave.
As he watched the man leave,
Young Master Yang chuckled. "I bet he's never even stepped through the gates of the Spirit Gathering Hall."
Cheng Moyang shook his head. "Just because he walks with us and goes to the same places doesn't mean he's one of us."
The two of them left, smiling.
'This is just the beginning. It's going to get much more interesting later on.'
「 」
Jiang Man had obtained the Token, but he didn't dare make it public.
It was the kind of thing that naturally had to be kept secret.
After all, no one in the entire Cyan Cloud Pavilion knew about the trial.
This meant the higher-ups had no intention of letting their subordinates know about it.
Some things, no one was willing to share with everyone.
The more Jiang Man understood this, the more he felt he had made the right gamble.
Although Mr. Zhao had charged a high price, at least he got the job done.
Some people would take your money and just go through the motions.
"Normally, he wouldn't necessarily have been qualified to compete for a spot like this, but with the rearing method you gave him, his status was elevated, which made him eligible," the Old Yellow Ox said.
Jiang Man took a Spirit Gathering Pill and continued his Cultivation.
Right now, his fifth Gourd wasn't even half full.
To secure his chance, he wanted to break through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer as quickly as possible.
"So, are you saying I'm the one who actually earned this opportunity?" Jiang Man asked as he guided the Spiritual Qi in his body.
"You can console yourself with that thought if you like," the Old Yellow Ox said.
But it suddenly froze a moment later and said, "It's here."
"What's here?" Jiang Man, who had been about to cultivate, was quite surprised.
"Your wife's little trick is back again." As the Old Yellow Ox spoke, its body began to glow. "Wait for me to stabilize this, then draw out the light."
It wasn't the first time, so Jiang Man had some experience with this.
He quickly drew out the light.
It coalesced into a ball of light in his hand before shining back onto him.
Her voice came through once again: "My husband is still alive? Did that Evil God you're raising tell you the Magpie Bridge only opens once a year? It's lying to you."
As the voice faded, the light vanished.
Jiang Man was speechless.
"What did she say?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.
"She said you're a liar, Brother Niu. That the Magpie Bridge doesn't open just once a year," Jiang Man answered truthfully.
There was no need to hide something like this.
Compared to that Fairy, he was more inclined to trust the Old Yellow Ox for now.
After all, he was quite reliant on it at the moment.
"She's lying to you. She wants to drive a wedge between us," the Old Yellow Ox explained.
Jiang Man wasn't too concerned.
"Do you think she's the one telling the truth?" the Old Yellow Ox asked.
Jiang Man shook his head. "I don't know. But either way, the Magpie Bridge definitely isn't open right now."
'If it were open, she would've been here long ago.'
'Why would she need to keep using these methods?'
"The more wary you are of me, the easier it is for her to use her methods to find our location. When the Magpie Bridge is closed, her methods aren't as effective. But if it were open, she could use that wariness to pinpoint our position quickly," the Old Yellow Ox explained.
It paused, then added, "As long as we completely avoid her, once I've recovered, I can even find you another wife."
Jiang Man was speechless.
'He felt like the old ox was just making empty promises.'
After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Brother Niu, how can you recover? Do you need my help?"
"Of course I need your help," the Old Yellow Ox replied.
"What do you need me to do?" Jiang Man asked curiously.
The Old Yellow Ox glanced at Jiang Man and said nonchalantly, "We can talk about it after you survive this hundred-day calamity."
Jiang Man shrugged.
'What's holding me back isn't my Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart… it's poverty.'
'I don't even have a Cultivation Skill.'
'If I had woken up during the wedding ceremony back in the village, ten lives wouldn't have been enough to survive.'
'There are absolutely no resources to be found there.'
'After working hard for a month, once you factor in food and drink, I might not even be able to afford a single Spirit Gathering Pill.'
Inside the Yunqian Bureau, not only was Spiritual Source easier to earn than outside, but Spirit Gathering Pills were also relatively cheaper.
He'd discovered this after buying Spirit Gathering Pills for a while.
The Yunqian Bureau received preferential treatment in every aspect.
The world outside was truly a dog-eat-dog world.
No wonder Song Qing wanted to become Luo Xuan's guard.
'Once you leave, you might never get a chance like that again in your entire life.'
"Brother Niu, what do you think the requirements for the next stage of my Fate Chart are?" Jiang Man asked, a little curious.
The Old Yellow Ox didn't answer at all.
Jiang Man didn't press the issue, as he knew he wouldn't get an answer.
After that, it was just Cultivation.
He had been awake for over two months, and he had spent most of that time cultivating and earning Spiritual Source.
…Or making enemies.
Fortunately, everyone was busy working toward the upcoming spots, which gave him enough breathing room.
In the time that followed, Jiang Man focused solely on his Cultivation.
He would study Cultivation during the day and go to the Spirit Gathering Hall in the evening.
Then he would earn Spiritual Source to buy Elixirs and continue cultivating.
The days passed one by one.
Every day, Jiang Man could see the water inside the Gourd increasing.
Forty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent.
This continued until November 13th.
When Jiang Man finished his Cultivation session,
the water in the "Gourd" had reached ninety percent.
Tomorrow was the 14th. He'd buy one more Spirit Gathering Pill.
And he should be able to break through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
As his appetite grew, his Spiritual Source had to cover not only Spirit Gathering Pills but also food.
He currently had 350 Spiritual Source.
This was mainly because the Spirit Gathering Hall had given him an extra hundred tonight.
One of the guards had something come up, so Steward Miao needed him to fill in for a day or two.
Luckily, it was the end of the month, so he was naturally happy to do it.
Otherwise, he would have had to wait until he went to the Spirit Gathering Hall tomorrow to have the 300 he needed.
There was nothing wrong with earning one hundred Spiritual Source to stand guard.
Of course, he'd had to hesitate for a moment, or else the other party would feel like they weren't getting a good deal.
「The next day.」
「November 14th.」
Jiang Man woke up early.
He planned to take care of his duties at the stables first.
But as soon as he got there, Jiang Man froze.
There was another person and another horse in the stables today.
The person was, of course, Fang Yong.
And the horse wasn't the same one as last time; this one was silvery-white.
An Illusory Moon Silver Mane.
A wild horse that had become a spirit by absorbing moonlight. Its silver coat would turn transparent under the moon, and it left afterimages as it ran.
It was incredibly fast and had great stamina.
It was a mount many people dreamed of owning.
'How does Fang Yong have one?'
"I'll pay you in Spiritual Source for the feed it eats," Fang Yong said.
Jiang Man frowned, surprised. "Young Master Fang, what are you doing here?"
Fang Yong looked disdainful. He hadn't wanted to come here, but his mount was tired and had insisted on heading this way, and now it wanted to eat the feed here.
'Why else would I be here?'
'Last time, something bad happened right here.'
Just as he was about to speak, spots suddenly began to appear on the Illusory Moon Silver Mane's coat.
Then, it let out a pained whinny.
In an instant, he whipped his head around to look at Jiang Man.
Jiang Man was speechless.
'So, this was aimed at me after all.'