"Heavenly Dao fragments?"
"This game is pretty generous. The rewards actually have some substance to them."
As someone from Blue Star, Qi Yuan was all too familiar with what Heavenly Dao fragments were. After all, defying the heavens had long turned from a trendy trope into an outright cliché.
Still, no matter how cliché, Heavenly Dao fragments were unquestionably good stuff.
"Wait, does this mean the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground belongs to me now?"
Qi Yuan accepted the Heavenly Dao fragments.
All at once, he distinctly felt as though the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground had become his personal territory.
"Interesting," Qi Yuan murmured.
It was as if the Heavenly Dao fragments held administrative authority over the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground. Obtaining them made him feel like he had become the game's GM.
"So this Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground... is mine now?"
Qi Yuan wasn't overly excited.
"Is that all there is to Heavenly Dao fragments? Or do I have to collect all the fragments before they become truly useful?"
Shifting his attention away from the Heavenly Dao fragments, Qi Yuan focused on the Divine Brush.
"The Divine Brush is condensed from the power of rules. Can it inscribe rules onto the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground?
"For example, what conditions are required to enter the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground?
"Well, obviously you shouldn't be allowed in unless you're carrying a ladder."
Qi Yuan recalled a hilarious real-world observation from Blue Star: as long as someone carried a ladder, they seemed able to enter practically anywhere.
Movie theaters, amusement parks, zoos... as long as you carried a ladder, none of the staff would ever stop you.
After some thought, Qi Yuan inscribed a rule into the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground:
*Entry permitted if carrying a ladder; unimpeded passage.*
"Looking at the sky, it's not too late yet. Time to go walk my pet."
Qi Yuan rubbed his aching eyes.
Playing this game for too long took quite a heavy toll on his mental energy. That was why he sometimes seemed muddled and eccentric to people in the Divine Light Sect.
Of course, it wasn't entirely because of the game. His personality was naturally like that as well.
He came across as... a bit unhinged.
Qi Yuan tidied up, preparing to take his pet out for a stroll and meet with Zhuge Miao along the way.
Meanwhile, Jiang Lingsu stepped out of her thatched cottage.
After a full day of hard work, she had finally put the dwelling in order. Now, she was thinking of heading down the mountain to purchase some daily necessities.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached. Jiang Lingsu immediately looked over.
*Is Eldest Senior Brother heading out?*
However, the moment she saw him, she froze.
"Eldest Senior Brother, what are you doing?" Jiang Lingsu asked, a look of bewilderment washing over her face.
In her field of view, Qi Yuan was still dressed in the same white robe as earlier. But unlike when they first met, he was now holding a length of rope in his hand.
It looked just like someone walking a pet.
Except... that pet... was that really a pet?
That was... a kitchen cleaver!
Indeed, tied to the other end of the rope was a kitchen cleaver.
And Qi Yuan was dragging the cleaver along by the leash. The scene was utterly absurd.
"I'm walking my pet," Qi Yuan said calmly. "It's stayed cooped up inside the room for too long, and its legs are about to rust. I'm taking it out for a walk to get some fresh air."
*A kitchen cleaver has legs?*
*And walking it keeps it from rusting?*
*Do you think it's spiritual iron?!*
*That's clearly just a mortal iron cleaver!*
She was now completely certain that this senior brother had a screw loose.
"Eldest Senior Brother certainly has... unique tastes," Jiang Lingsu forced out.
"Are you heading down the mountain too? Want to come along?" Qi Yuan invited.
"No!" Jiang Lingsu hastily declined. "Eldest Senior Brother, you go ahead. I'll head down a bit later."
Her eldest senior brother was walking a kitchen cleaver. If she accompanied him, she would attract countless stares.
That would be way too humiliating!
Qi Yuan glanced at Jiang Lingsu, then withdrew his gaze. Looking down at the cleaver trailing behind the rope, he said earnestly, "Be good now. Listen to me and don't try to break free, or I won't lift a finger to help if you get beaten to death with sticks."
Qi Yuan was, after all, a civilized pet owner who always kept his pet on a leash.
Unlike some people who walked their pets unleashed, only for the animals to run around like headless chickens. It was much better to keep his pet leashed; otherwise, if it started hacking and slashing blindly in all directions, things wouldn't end well.
Holding the rope, he slowly strolled down Seven Colors Peak.
A cool evening breeze blew as the sun in the sky dimmed into twilight.
Leading his pet along, Qi Yuan felt exceptionally relaxed.
Playing games for too long made his eyes and fingers ache. Feeling the breeze, taking a walk, and looking at beautiful women wasn't bad at all.
After all, this was a cultivation world. The probability of encountering beauties here far exceeded that of his previous life.
If nothing else, every single one of them had fair skin.
Their faces had no visible blemishes, and their natural looks held up remarkably well.
"Senior Brother Qi Yuan," a tall young woman greeted him. She wore a short skirt that accentuated her long, slender legs, which were pale and jade-smooth without looking sickly, drawing the eye effortlessly.
"Mm," Qi Yuan replied with a nod.
He came out to walk his pet almost every evening.
At first, he had been the only one doing it.
However, being the eldest disciple of Seven Colors Peak, he carried a certain celebrity influence. The practice of walking pets gradually became popular in the Divine Light Sect, and many disciples began imitating Qi Yuan by walking their own pets.
Of course, the pets those fellow disciples walked were legitimate pets—or rather, combat-capable spiritual beasts.
"Your little ao turtle isn't bad. I estimate it'll gain sentience in another few thousand years," Qi Yuan offered as his evaluation, looking at the creature the leggy woman had on a leash.
Hearing the first half of his sentence, the leggy woman's face was full of pride. She had spent a good deal of time picking out this spiritual beast.
The second half, however, left her thoroughly exasperated.
*Taking several thousand years just to gain sentience?*
*You call that good?*
Even with her good temper, she couldn't resist retorting, "Senior Brother Qi Yuan, when will your pet awaken its sentience, then?"
Qi Yuan's pet was a kitchen cleaver. How could it ever awaken sentience?
Many nearby Divine Light Sect disciples burst into laughter upon seeing the exchange.
Qi Yuan furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment before answering seriously, "A year at most, or three months at least, and it should awaken its sentience."
"Senior Brother is truly a joker," the leggy woman laughed, clearly not believing a word of it.
Qi Yuan merely smiled without explaining further.
Right at that moment, Zhuge Miao's figure came into view.
He spoke in a loud voice, "Junior Brother Qi Yuan had the courage to modify the Spirit Forging Art and test it personally. Regardless of success or failure, his bravery is commendable. Yet all of you mock him for it—you truly are frogs at the bottom of a well."
Hearing Zhuge Miao's reprimand, the surrounding crowd lowered their heads.
"Senior Brother is right to scold us!"
Zhuge Miao was the eldest disciple of Divine Medicine Peak, an expert at Foundation Establishment.
They feared him immensely.
As for the genial Qi Yuan, they held little reverence for him in their hearts.
After giving the crowd a stern lecture, Zhuge Miao walked over to Qi Yuan. "Junior Brother Qi Yuan, Master was concocting medicine today and I was attending at his side, so I arrived late. Please forgive me."
The overbearing aura around Zhuge Miao vanished. Facing Qi Yuan, he treated him as an equal, tinged even with a trace of admiration.
"Junior Brother Qi Yuan, this is an Origin Nourishing Pill recipe I obtained from an ancient cave abode. However, parts of it are incomplete. I wonder if Junior Brother would be willing to give me some guidance. In return, I am willing to offer a Foundation Establishment spiritual item."
Zhuge Miao adopted a very humble posture, in sharp contrast to his earlier domineering demeanor.
Qi Yuan took the recipe for the Origin Nourishing Pill and looked at it.
[This is an incomplete recipe for an Origin Nourishing Pill. If the vermilion realgar in it is replaced with privet fruit, and the missing sheep drum herb is replaced with small sun flower, the efficacy of the concocted pill will increase by fifty percent, and its pill toxins will be reduced by ten to twenty percent.]
Chapter 6