White-Robed Chief

She got increasingly diligent in the two days following past events. All the meals were delicious and they all came with exquisite wine.

Chu Li did not say much and seemed to be enjoying every meal, while Xue was cultivating according to his advice, still ambivalent about the matter.

She no longer cultivated in the day, but instead did so before dawn. She would awake and cultivate for an hour before she returned to sleep due to fatigue. This ensured that she woke up in top form the next day.

The Crescent Cryptic took a lot of energy to train. She used to only be able to train for fifteen minutes, but she could now push it to an hour. She felt that she was much more energized during midnight and that it was easier for her to cultivate during that time.

With this new schedule, her cultivation period and its effectiveness increased drastically. It even made up for lost cultivation time from the days before. The more she thought about it the more miraculous she felt about it.

It was gloomy early in the morning, dark clouds blocked the sun.

However, Chu Li was feeling ecstatic. He drank wine and enjoyed the dishes as he leisurely looked at the yard. The blessed farmland was ready, and he could finally begin planting.

He secretly let out a breath. He had learned how to make the blessed soil from the book, and this was the first time he actually tried it. He was quite worried.

The recipe to making blessed soil was a closely held secret privy only to members of the royal family. The Public House could only receive blessed soil, but they did not know how to make them. This was how the Royal Family kept the Public House and the sects of the Martial Art Circle in check.

He had read more than ten books regarding blessed soil, and all of them only provided loose hints here and there about the method of making blessed soil. Chu Li had to combine all of that to roughly curate his current method.

Now, it seemed that his luck had not run out since the technique worked. After this, he just had to try planting some spirit herbs to give the blessed soil a test.

Xue stood next to Chu Li and filled up his cup regularly as her body emitted a pleasant aroma.

She carefully observed Chu Li's expression, and she could see that he was in quite a good mood. She quickly asked gently as she was pouring the wine. "Master, why is it that The Crescent Cryptic needs to be cultivated during midnight?"

She put down the wine jar and presented him the jade cup with both of her hands.

"You've seen the difference, haven't you?"

Chu Li took the jade cup and looked at the green bamboos.

"Yes," Xue answered gently. "It is faster and easier to cultivate too."

Chu Li sipped some of the wine and put down the cup. He picked a crunchy pork piece and put into his mouth to slowly chew it.

"Xue, do you read?"

"Of course, but I haven't had the time… So I haven't been reading much."

"What do you usually read?"

"Mostly historical books."

"How about the theory of martial arts ?"

"I've read some of those."

"If you want to cultivate smoothly, reading about the theory of martial arts is very important. And also medical books, martial arts and medicine are both fruits of the same tree."

"Medical books?" Xue was surprised.

Chu Li lifted the jade cup and sipped. "After you finish reading medical books and return to reading the theories of martial arts, you'll come to realize more things."

"Got it." Xue slightly nodded.

Chu Li had achieved the boundary of an Innate Master in his age and was even better than Lady Xiao. Xue was eager to reach the pinnacle of martial arts mastery. Hence was natural that she made an idol of Chu Li. She was not going to let go of this opportunity.

"The energy in the human body is always circulating, much like how you walk on the roads. During midnight, your energy will concentrate on the circuit of the Crescent Cryptic's heart technique. Therefore it is logical to deduce that this period of time is the perfect time to cultivate the Crescent Cryptic heart technique. Not to mention that it actually hurts your body if you cultivate the Crescent Cryptic anytime other than midnight. I'm afraid you'd collapse before you even complete your cultivation!"

"Is it that serious?"

"Most heart techniques in martial arts hurt your body. It'll only be compensated when you train it to the point of innate mastery." Chu Li shook his head. "The final hurdle to Innate Mastery itself is a do or die…"

He sighed. Many people had fallen right before the entrance to achieving Innate Mastery and were unable to live past sixty. However most humans remained unfazed, they were not satisfied with just being normal human being. That was the reason why the Martial Art Circles continued to prosper.

Xue pursed her lips. "Master, is there any faster way to cultivate?"

Chu Li raised his head and looked at her.

Her eyes were bright and shiny like she was pleading him. For someone who was usually proud like her to make an expression like that, it made it infinitely more sympathetic. Chu Li smiled. "There actually is!"

"Teach me please, Master!" Xue requested.

Chu Li put down the jade cup and walked out of the pagoda as he uttered, "Watch carefully." He readied his stance and waved his hand. He raised his leg, bent, and stretched as he drew an arc similar to the Tai Chi symbol of his last world.

"A total of eight moves, they are all useful for training the Crescent Grip and Crescent Step scriptures. Repeat this for half an hour every midnight before cultivating your Crescent Cryptic."

"Got it."

"The eight forms are very easy, have you memorized them already?"

Xue asked in embarrassment, "Can master do it again?"

"Look closely this time."

Chu Li slowly moved.

"It's better to be slow rather than fast. You need to be gentle and soft. You absolutely cannot use brute force with this."

Xue tried to mimic him. The eight moves were easy, she had already memorized how it worked.

"Hey, sorry for disturbing you guys!"

A burst of laughter could be heard, and it halted both their movements. Su Ru stood at the entrance of the courtyard.

Chu Li smiled and looked at her, wrapping his fist.

Xue greeted her, "Chief."

Su Ru smiled and entered the courtyard. "You're in such a good mood, Chu Li!"

Chu Li waved his hands. "Xue has been serving me with so much great wine and dishes! It's only natural that I pay her back. It's nothing much! Chief, if you'd allow me."

Chu Li invited Su Ru over into the pagoda to sit next to the stone table.

Xue poured two cups of tea and served it to them before gently leaving the pagoda.

There were only Chu Li and Su Ru left in the pagoda.

Su Ru sipped some of the tea and put down the jade cup. She sighed. "We found it."

Chu Li raised his eyes from behind his cup. "You found them all?"

"Mmhmm." Su Ru showed a smile. "We put in quite a lot of effort. The Thorned Beauty and the Crimson Sunset are both being transported here, but we dared not touch the Black Eyes Tree."

Chu Li felt relieved as he let out a smile. The Public House was deserving of the title powerful as all these trees were incredibly rare. All of them grew in extremely secluded areas. If he had tried to search for them himself, he probably would not have even found one in his entire lifetime.

"I'll make a move tomorrow!"

"Chu Li, are you really going to leave the Public House?" Su Ru furrowed her brows and looked at him worriedly. "You haven't forgotten about the Tempest Temple, have you?"

"I'll just have to disguise myself. I can probably confuse them and get away with it," replied Chu Li. While Art of Disguise did not exist in this world, some costumes and makeup could probably still make a huge difference.

"It's too dangerous!" Su Ru shook her head. "Forget about it, let Gu Litong do it!"

Chu Li shook his head. "This is far too important. I need to do it by myself."

"Gu Litong is a great choice too!"

"There's no need to worry. I'm not that easily hindered."

Su Ru slapped the stone table and called him out. "You can't always get away with this apathetic attitude of yours! You're not going to be lucky all the time! If you keep thinking like this, you're going to die to those damned monks sooner or later!"

Black Eyes Tree were very hard to find and grow. The moment someone came in contact with its roots, it would immediately die. Chu Li had the Life and Death Scripture, which was why he dared to move it. It was going to be hard for anyone else to move it without killing it.

"Chief, the Black Eyes Tree are too important." Chu Li shook his head. "If anything goes wrong by chance, then it's going to delay the actual task. We are going to lose a lot of time!"

"It doesn't matter how important it is, it's not worth your life!" Su Ru said angrily, "If the Black Eyes Tree live but not you, who's going to grow the Glory's Will? … No. You're not allowed to go!"

Chu Li looked at her speechlessly.

Su Ru rolled her eyes at him.

"Let Gu Litong do it. He isn't that bad. Don't think that you're the only capable one out there."

"The Black Eyes Tree…" Chu Li sighed.

"You better stay at the Public House obediently, you are not allowed to leave!" Su Ru said.

"... Okay then," Chu Li slightly nodded.

He definitely appreciated being alive, hence he definitely had to avoid the Tempest Temple. If he had actually encountered them, he may not make it out alive. It was best if he avoided risks wherever possible.

Su Ru finally put up a smile at this point. "Has Xue been of good use?"

"Not bad."

"You'd better not be having any perverted thoughts!"

"I wouldn't dare!"

"Hmph.you men. Don't forget that you still have Zhao Ying."

Chu Li put out a bitter smile. Zhao Ying was too sensitive. She was avoiding Chu Li because of the rubbish rumors spewed by Zhou Yuting. She was indeed innocent and childish, which was quite cute.

Su Ru pursed her lips.

"Why, did you have a fallout with her?"

Chu Li smiled.

Su Ru smiled from ear to ear. "Do you want me to help you again?"

"With her personality? It wouldn't be suitable to rush things."

"Seems like you still haven't fallen head over heels for her." Su Ru slightly smiled. "You seem to be still pretty calm. Then I'll go and have Gu Litong move the Black Eyes Tree now."

"Ask him to be careful." Chu Li said. "The Black Eyes Tree are a hard lot to tend to."

Su Ru stood up, waved her hand quickly left.

...

Xue had been smiling for the past two days. She was becoming prettier.

She liked to wear spotless white shirts. If she accidentally got them dirty she would immediately change them regardless. Even if she needed to wash them regularly, she would still wear those white clothes.

Chu Li was feeling the spiritual force of the blessed farmland. He had planted the Nightmare Flower and the Andromeda in it, while also planting two huge trees to the west and east side of the courtyard. The trees' barks were as thick as someone holding out their hands in an attempt to hug something. It all looked very plain and ordinary and did not catch any eyes.

The two trees were the Crimson Sunset and the Thorned Beauty. Both of their spiritual energies were stable and full of vigor.

The Nightmare Flower and the Andromeda were growing rapidly. The progress was much faster compared to normal dirt. According to Chu Li's estimation, the process would be shortened two-thirds of the original time to reach peak bloom.

With the help of a further boost from the Life and Death Scripture, it only needed one-third of the original time.

Chu Li's Life and Death Scripture was only at its first tier. If was any stronger, its effects would be further enhanced. If he combined that with the power of Glory's Will, it would result in amazing results.

After Xue had kept and cleaned the dishes, she approached Chu Li. "Master, my progress for the past two days have been incredible."

Chu Li sized her up. "Show me the eight forms right now."

"Okay!" Xue quickly answered.

She exited the pagoda and began to show him the moves with a deadpan face. She extended her limbs and moved elegantly. It was elegance at its finest.

"Smile! Show me your smile!" Chu Li exclaimed.

Xue stretched the corners of her mouth as far as she could.

Chu Li smiled. "When you smile, your whole body relaxes and your energy becomes more active! You need to train as if you are playing around and having fun!"

Xue adjusted her attitude and started to smile naturally, her moves became much more gentle.

"That's good, but you're not gentle enough! Imagine you're a baby. You don't have to put in any force, you merely have to make those moves in a casual and relaxing manner."

Xue corrected her movements further, and her energy and vigor began to shift.

Chu Li nodded with satisfaction. Xue's comprehension skills were quite commendable, in fact they were significantly better than her natural talents. As long as he put some effort into teaching her, it would be possible to make something out her yet.

A knocking on the door could be heard.

Chu Li used the Omniscient Mirror and realized that it was Su Ru. He waved off his hands at Xue, indicating her to continue.

He walked out of the pagoda and opened the door to the courtyard. Su Ru was wearing an apricot gown standing outside of the door looking deadly serious.

Chu Li tilted his body and held out his hand.

Su Ru gently walked into the small courtyard. She glanced over at the Nightmare Flower and Andromeda. Her bright eyes stopped at the two trees for a moment.

She immediately walked into the main hall and quietly sat on the chair.

Xue had already stopped moving and gently walked in. She served them both tea and closed the door to the main hall.

Chu Li drank a mouthful of tea and looked over at Su Ru.

"Was there a problem with the Black Eyes Tree?

"It's dead." Su Ru sighed and unwillingly muttered

"Gu Litong tried his best, it's such a waste…" Chu Li furrowed his brows.

It had turned into such a troublesome situation. With the Crimson Sunset and the Thorned Beauty both alive, they were waiting for the Black Eye as the final piece. As long as the Black Eyes Tree arrived and the three were combined, he would have been able to activate Glory's Will.

Somehow there was a small blister on the edge of Su Ru's lips, her voice was quite hoarse when she said, "Chu Li, are there really no trees that can replace it?"

Chu Li slightly shook his head.

Su Ru sighed.

"What do we do now?"

"Can't we find another Black Eyes Tree?"

"What are you planning to do?!" Su Ru's glared at him. "Are you trying to leave the Public House?"

"Since things have gone down the drain, I can only go and get it myself."

"Don't even think about it!" Su Ru angrily remarked, "What if we bring one of its branches back and see if you can bring it back to life?"

"... It doesn't work that way."

Chu Li sighed.

Glory's Will needed to be fed by the spiritual force of those three trees. If the spiritual force was lacking, Glory's Will would not grow at all.