Chapter 6: Three Seconds to Escape

Chu Sang changed the subject, “I was thinking, you probably haven’t tried grilled skewers, spicy hot pot, or Bobo chicken, have you? When we get the chance, I’ll make them for you to taste.”

Tantai Ming, being a foodie, lit up at the mention of delicious food. Chu Sang could almost see an imaginary tail wagging behind him.

The spirit beast meat and spirit rice were melt-in-your-mouth delicacies, leaving no impurities in the body. As spiritual energy circulated through her limbs and gathered in her dantian, Chu Sang felt a warm sensation in her abdomen.

This effect was stronger than meditating for an entire day!

While chewing on her chopsticks, Chu Sang pondered that although Lingqing Sect’s territory wasn’t small, encompassing several large mountains, if there were spirit veins beneath, she could cultivate fertile fields to grow various spiritual crops and herbs.

Not only could they be self-sufficient, but they could also sell the excess for profit.

Besides growing spiritual herbs and crops, they could also raise some low-level spirit beasts.

Beasts with delicious meat and high yield could be used for food, while those with strong attack power and superior quality could be bred selectively and sold to cultivators as spirit pets.

Unfortunately, Lingqing Sect had fallen to its current lowly state because its spiritual veins had mysteriously dried up a thousand years ago…

Even the best ideas could only go this far.

Lingqing Sect had more land than people, so Chu Sang was directly assigned a large courtyard.

It resembled a traditional four-sided courtyard house, facing south with four rooms and two side rooms.

Apart from the central master bedroom, the other rooms were empty. Chu Sang planned to keep one as a study, one as a sword practice room, one as a kitchen, and one as a storage room.

She hadn’t decided how to use the remaining room yet.

The courtyard was also empty, looking like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time. She planned to plant some flowers and trees, and create rockeries to DIY her new home.

Without Chu Sang having to ask, Tantai Ming had already prepared the master bedroom for her. All necessary facilities were in place, and he had only changed a new set of bedding, making it a hundred times more comfortable than the inn she had stayed in last night.

“Junior Sister, I’m right next door. Call me if you need anything.”

Tantai Ming yawned, waved at her, and slipped away.

It was getting late. Chu Sang sprawled on the bed, rolled around several times, hugged the soft bedding covering half her face, and took several deep breaths to calm her excited heart. Then she got up, conjured an iron sword with a hand seal, and practiced swordsmanship all night, accompanied by the frost-covered courtyard.

Even though her spirit root was damaged and her cultivation was difficult to progress, Chu Sang wasn’t discouraged. With the point system, she believed she wouldn’t always be stuck at this level, so she couldn’t slack off.

Physical fitness was crucial for cultivators; otherwise, they might not survive the future heavenly tribulation.

Dawn broke.

Chu Sang didn’t feel tired at all.

Instead, she felt increasingly refreshed.

Unlike ordinary people, cultivators didn’t necessarily need sleep. Circulating spiritual power made them feel more invigorated.

Chu Sang washed up early and went out.

Since all the teaching elders had left, Chu Sang naturally didn’t need to attend classes and could self-study in the library.

She had arrived in a hurry yesterday, so today she wanted to properly explore her new sect.

Lingqing Sect’s territory was even larger than she had imagined. Not only was the library enormous, but there was also a complete training field, alchemy rooms, equipment workshops, talisman towers, formation pavilions… Although the sect had few disciples left, they still kept a large dining hall for outer disciples.

Just the size of this dining hall alone rivaled the main hall of other sects.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that this now obscure small sect must have been very prosperous before.

It was just unclear why it had fallen to its current state, even losing its protective spirit veins…

After touring around, Chu Sang went to find Tantai Ming, but found he wasn’t in his room.

Just as she was about to go down the mountain, she saw the young man running towards her in a hurry. “Seventh Senior Brother, what’s happened?”

“The neighboring sect has come to grab territory again.”

Grab territory? This can’t be tolerated! Let’s teach them a lesson!

“Our Lingqing Sect used to be quite prosperous. I heard that at its peak, all the land within a hundred miles belonged to our sect. But later we fell on hard times, and some new sects arose around us. Those sects bullied us and gradually took a lot of our territory, leaving our sect with only these few dilapidated mountains now…”

After they went down the mountain, they saw several disciples wearing robes from other sects wandering at the foot of the mountain. They all looked unfriendly, like local ruffians, and seemed very difficult to deal with.

Chu Sang asked, “What territory do they want to grab?”

Tantai Ming became increasingly angry as he spoke, “We already gave them a mountain two years ago, but they’re still not satisfied. Early this morning, they came over demanding that we give up the forest on the back mountain!”

“Usually, when our senior brothers and sisters aren’t in the sect, that forest is actually shared between the two sects. But today they’re going too far, coming to our doorstep to rob us outright! They have no shame!”

Chu Sang, as a youth with a strong sense of collective honor, was also furious. “What sect are they from, to dare to be so arrogant?”

“It’s the Shuangyi Sect, ranked second to last.”

“Second to last and they dare to be so arrogant?”

Chu Sang’s eyebrows furrowed coldly as she was about to draw her sword.

“Little Junior Sister, um, we’re ranked last…” Tantai Ming tugged at her sleeve lightly, looking embarrassed.

Chu Sang stumbled a bit, looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle with a sorrowful expression, took a deep breath, and then exhaled, “I personally believe that people should have ambition. We can be last, but we can’t always remain last.”

“Let’s go, Senior Brother, defeat them, and then we’ll be second to last!”

Tantai Ming was inspired, but the next second, he deflated again, “But there are seven of them, and only two of us.”

Chu Sang widened her round cat-like eyes, “Senior Brother, don’t tell me you’re not up to it?”

A man can’t admit to being incapable.

Tantai Ming immediately drew his sword, protecting her behind him,

“I can take on ten of them!”

“Senior Brother is mighty!”

Their voices weren’t low, and cultivators had keen hearing. The Shuangyi Sect disciples nearby burst into laughter upon hearing this, looking at the two with disdain and contempt. “One at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and one still at Qi Refining stage, how arrogant!”

The seemingly refined head disciple stepped forward, “I’d say you’d better just give up the territory obediently, otherwise don’t blame us for not showing mercy later!”

The opposite side had three at Foundation Establishment stage and four at Qi Refining stage.

The head disciple was even at mid Foundation Establishment stage.

No matter how you looked at it, they didn’t stand a chance.

If it were before, regardless of whether they could win or not, Tantai Ming with his hot temper would have rolled up his sleeves and fought them. But now, with his little junior sister standing behind him, he had to consider her safety.

A dark cloud covered Tantai Ming’s handsome face. He gripped his sword tightly, just about to swallow his anger when unexpectedly, the girl behind him stepped out,

Chu Sang raised her eyes to scan the astonished Liangyi Sect disciples, held up three slender white fingers, raised her chin slightly, and said,

“You have three seconds to escape.”