I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World-Chapter 144 - 121: Clarifying the Heart, Finding the True Self (Revised)_2
"Yuebai, are you going to say goodbye to Grandpa?"
With her eyes misting over, Jiang Yuebai gazed greedily at her grandfather, knowing full well he was merely an illusion.
Tao Fengnian tapped his smoke rod, letting the spent ashes return to the earth.
"Does Grandpa’s ’Huaxi Record’ still linger with you? Open it and have another look."
Jiang Yuebai found the well-thumbed book, smoothing its turned corners with her palm, and opened it.
"The third day of the third month, harvested one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds of Winter Spiritual Wheat, returned two hundred pounds to Old Sun, lent one hundred pounds to the Dong Family."
"The twentieth of August, harvested two thousand seven hundred pounds of Spiritual Grain, accumulated five hundred Spirit Stones, planning to purchase cultivation necessities."
"The twenty-fifth of August, the two sons of the Wuh Family severely injured by demon hunting, hoping to borrow Spirit Stones to buy medicine for healing, deliberated for a long time; life in Huaxi Valley is not easy, so I lent to them."
"The fifteenth of November, poor harvest, slow progress in cultivation, debt collection not going smoothly, what is to be done?"
Jiang Yuebai flipped through unconsciously, having read it many times before. It was all the same: farming, harvests, trivial family matters, never leaving Huaxi Valley, never leaving the Heavenly Interence Sect.
Tao Fengnian pressed the smoke rod down, "Now look at your own journal."
Jiang Yuebai took out her Jade Scroll where she recorded her journal.
"The third day of February, ice formed in the water on that day, how did it happen? Lv Ying told me two apprentices from the Wang Family and the Li Family fought, what does it have to do with me?!"
"The seventeenth of March, although the Divine Mechanism Stone costs Spirit Stones, as long as it can improve my Divine Sense, I’ll admit it. Even if I have to borrow, I’ll continue learning." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Jiang Yuebai’s heart trembled slightly as she continued reading through her time at the Yin Mountain Mine.
"The nineteenth of July, fell into an underground river and encountered a herd of Blood-Toothed Crocodiles, a narrow escape, completely annihilated them..."
"The eleventh of May, ambushed by a mining team, injured and outmatched, retreated temporarily..."
"The first of June, fought a group of five, in a life-and-death confrontation, realized the ’Thunderbolt Charge’..."
Jiang Yuebai put down the Jade Scroll, clutching it tightly.
Tao Fengnian smiled kindly, "Yuebai, you’re more insightful than most of your age. In truth, you’ve known for a long time that Grandpa cannot accompany you all the way. Sooner or later, we have to part ways."
"Grandpa’s world is this Huaxi Valley, this Heavenly Interence Sect, while your world is at the pinnacle of Qingyun Peak, at the epitome of the Great Dao. Now that the grudges have been settled, you should completely let go and pursue the vastness and freedom you desire."
Jiang Yuebai nodded with her eyes closed, repeatedly, tears streaming down.
Indeed, she had always understood, but understanding and achieving are two different matters.
Jiang Yuebai took out the smoke rod, the Locking Scythe, along with the ’Huaxi Record’. These were the last three items related to Grandpa she kept with her.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yuebai enveloped them with her Divine Sense, casting the three items into the Five Elements Lotus Platform.
Once decided, she hesitated no longer.
The three items gradually transformed into Five Element Spiritual Energy, merging into the Lotus Platform, becoming the power to aid her growth, to assist her in battle.
"Yuebai, the past is irretrievable, you must truly let go, not hoping to one day reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao and reverse time. Ask yourself, in this cultivation against the heavens, what exactly do you want to defy? On the path of immortality that must be contested, whom do you wish to contest against?"
The figure of Tao Fengnian and those three items together, slowly disintegrated into dust.
Jiang Yuebai extended her hand, watching the dust slip through her fingers, tears still marked her face, yet her gaze became increasingly serene.
A small sprout unfurled its leaves, grew a bit stronger.
"Defy what? Contest with whom?"
The last lingering attachment in her heart released, Jiang Yuebai unknowingly entered a profound and indescribable state.
As if floating amidst the clouds, free with the wind.
Inspired by that female immortal, she embarked upon the path of immortality, determined to become a Spiritual Cultivation Master like her grandfather.
Having seen Fuyi, waving to shake the heavens, studying the Array Dao intending to apprentice under him.
Under the tutelage of Master Jiuchuan, she thrived, walking alongside him on the Five Elements Path in the future.
And then there was Wuwei Mountain Man, whose free and unrestrained nature she admired, yet in the end, it all traced back to one person.
Figures flashed before Jiang Yuebai’s eyes, disappearing one after another, until finally returning to the starting point.
Leaving only the Green-Clothed Female Immortal, seated on a sword, with her attire billowing.
"Little one, are you intending to compete with me?"
Jiang Yuebai steadily observed the female immortal, still uncertain whether she was Lu Xingyun, the ancestor of the Heavenly Interence Sect, but her intuition told her this was indeed Lu Xingyun.
"Grandpa always said I had no idea how high the sky was or how deep the earth, always telling me to keep my feet on the ground, not to aim too high. Competing with you is too difficult for me at present. From the Immortal Cultivation Panel you gave me, I realized one thing, that experiencing accomplishments and rewards is vitally important, no matter how minor, as it can provide the drive for me to continue."
"Chasing after your footsteps, I will not gain any sense of achievement for a long time, persisting is too difficult, and it easily breeds frustration and helplessness. Besides, so long as I continue upwards, surpassing you is merely a matter of time."
"And with True Monarch Fuyi’s example before me, pursuing you may bring even greater disappointment and setbacks, but there’s one person I can never surpass yet provides me with ample motivation, and can delight myself."
The female immortal raised her eyebrows, drawing closer with curiosity, "Who is it?"
Jiang Yuebai, composed and serene, slowly voiced.
"The me of today, stronger than yesterday, but not yet as strong as tomorrow."
On the sword, the female immortal, with an untrammeled smile, had already became Jiang Yuebai’s countenance.
Seeing oneself with clarity, the heavens and earth trembled!
*
At that time, Wenn Miao finished a pot of wine, a hundred-foot long scroll above his head, one section held in his hand, muttering with a frown.
"Defy, defy, defy, the whole page is filled with the word defy, making me almost not recognize this word anymore, huh?"
The Heaven and Earth Qiankun Mirror flew out from his sleeve, swirling winds transformed into streams of light converging into the mirror.
Wenn Miao perceived the Spiritual Energy on Heavenly Leisure Peak being frantically absorbed, he was greatly shocked.
"It was merely a small trial during Foundation Establishment for her to confront the Heart Demon, how could it cause such a great upheaval? What’s this?!!"
An immense, ethereal Daoist Rhyme emanated from the mirror, leaving Wenn Miao dumbfounded.
Wenn Miao grabbed the scroll from above to steady his mind, "Though merely a budding sign, nowhere near the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, being able to glimpse this budding sign at her current stage is rare and precious, immensely beneficial, leaving countless Qi Cultivation prodigies of the past and present far behind."
"With such formidable Spiritual Energy flooding her body... let’s just lend her a hand, lest this bounty from heaven and earth be wasted."
Wenn Miao immediately immersed his consciousness into the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Mirror, found the Bone Marrow Cleansing Elixir and the Five Elements Lotus Platform, and sent them into Jiang Yuebai’s body all at once.
