I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World-Chapter 44 - 35: Facing the Wall, Meeting Nanzhi

Yinfeng Creek, under the gloomy sky, the cold wind pierced the bones.

In the place overgrown with wild grass, crows were cawing, strange rocks stood rugged.

Jiang Yuebai angrily stared at Lu Nanzhi, who was expressionless and exuded a cold aura.

Today after class, Lu Nanzhi blocked her, and eventually they ended up here, unable to return to Huaxi Valley.

Nearby, Xie Jingshan squatted, clutching his head, "You two fought, I was just passing by to watch the excitement, why am I also punished to be here at Yinfeng Creek to face the wall for seven days? I’m wronged!"

Lu Nanzhi tidied her clothes and cupped her hands, "Sorry for dragging you into this."

After speaking, she looked at Jiang Yuebai again, "Today I was at fault too, but if you had just directly told me the secret of Water Generating Ice, I wouldn’t have acted rashly against you."

Jiang Yuebai angrily said, "Why should I have to tell you when you ask? I’m in a bad mood and don’t want to talk, okay? And you also made me miss my Talisman Making Class!"

Lu Nanzhi maintained a good attitude, bowing once again to Jiang Yuebai, "Sorry, today was indeed my fault."

Lu Nanzhi’s sincerity left Jiang Yuebai with nowhere to vent her anger, so she sat down sullenly, hugging her arms tightly to ward off the chill.

"What angers me most is Elder Lii—yesterday laughing and joking with me, but today mercilessly punishing people!"

Xie Jingshan grumbled indignantly, "Right, of all the uncles and elders in the Dharma Hall, he’s the one who loves punishing people to Yinfeng Creek for wall-facing; this is my second time here!"

Lu Nanzhi, with her small face characteristically cool and indifferent, slightly nodded in agreement.

The three of them were abandoned on the outskirts of Yinfeng Creek; the Law Enforcement Disciple was not worried they would run away, as in the depths, the strong Yin wind left them with nowhere to go aside from the entrance they came from.

The raging wind howled, as Xie Jingshan found the straw mat he made last time, sat down honestly, rubbing his hands.

"You two stop standing there, find a sheltered spot and sit down, it’ll be a long seven days."

Jiang Yuebai raised an eyebrow, "You seem rather happy?"

Xie Jingshan didn’t hide it, clasping his hands, "Of course, last time I was stuck here bored alone, worrying about someone surpassing me in cultivation while I’m punished—now I’m relieved, here no one can cultivate, hahaha."

At that moment, Lu Nanzhi was at Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, Jiang Yuebai at Qi Cultivation Third Layer, and Xie Jingshan, just out of seclusion, had reached Qi Cultivation Third Layer.

The coldness of Yin Qi was such that they couldn’t circulate internal energy into their bodies.

Lu Nanzhi leaned against a strange rock, hanging her head listlessly.

Jiang Yuebai was worried about her grandfather; when she was sent here, she had asked a servant apprentice at Huaxi Valley to pass word to him.

In truth, being punished was good, as it allowed her to avoid Jia Wei and spared her grandfather the worry of Jia Wei’s revenge.

However, she didn’t notice Jia Wei following her today; perhaps he didn’t think her worth the trouble.

Focusing her mind, Jiang Yuebai began to read the book Lii Jiuchuan had given her, amidst the sound of wailing winds.

Upon entering, the Law Enforcement Disciple had checked their storage bags, seizing the elixirs and talismans Lu Nanzhi and Xie Jingshan had to resist hunger and cold; she had nothing, so nothing of hers was taken.

Not far away, Xie Jingshan planned to nestle comfortably with a piece of straw in his mouth, but upon seeing Jiang Yuebai take out her book, he jumped up suddenly.

"Jiang Yuebai, what are you doing!"

Jiang Yuebai raised her eyebrow, "Reading, what’s it to you?"

"Who allowed you to read!"

Jiang Yuebai rolled her eyes dramatically, continued to read, meanwhile gesturing with her fingers.

Her delicate fingers were like knives and swords, stabbing Xie Jingshan’s fragile heart, each time drawing blood.

Lu Nanzhi, after observing for a while, took out the book "Five Elements Reincarnation Technique" from her storage bag, expressionlessly reading silently.

Xie Jingshan’s heart raced, his hands sweating, he spat out the straw and angrily found a book in his storage bag, sitting and flipping through it.

The Yin wind howled, dark undercurrents surged.

Jiang Yuebai hadn’t thought about how to apply Ice Spiritual Energy to her spells, as the Three Strange Attributes were too distant for her—she needed to first understand the Five Elements Path.

Currently, she needed to practice circulating Golden Spiritual Energy while performing the Cloud Rain Technique; Lii Jiuchuan’s book contained a history of the evolution of spells in the Cultivation Realm from Ancient Times to now.

In Ancient Times, Qi Cultivators casting spells required no hand techniques, a thought invoked Daoist Techniques, even low-level cultivators only needed to orally chant incantations to summon wind and rain.

But now, cultivators below the Golden Core heavily relied on hand techniques to direct spiritual energy, making things exceedingly complicated.

Puzzled, Lu Nanzhi suddenly sat next to Jiang Yuebai, handing her the opened book.

"Please, Junior Sister, what does this sentence mean?"

Jiang Yuebai was stunned; Lu Nanzhi, the top talent of her year, with unmatched aptitude and perception, how could she possibly come to seek her advice?

And they had just fought, how could she be so calm and without bitterness?

"Did I ask something wrong?" Lu Nanzhi asked, puzzled.

Recalling Lv Ying’s words, Jiang Yuebai bit her lip and asked, "Lu Nanzhi, don’t you look down on me? I’m a servant disciple while you’re the Inner Sect’s pride."

Lu Nanzhi replied calmly, "My status in the Inner Sect is due to a heavenly gift of a Spiritual Body, not my own skills, so I don’t feel any superiority. If we switched bodies, you’d likely achieve more than me."

"Are you trying to praise me until I fail?" Jiang Yuebai squinted like a wary little fox.

"This is the truth; otherwise, why would Elder Lii have me consult you about Water Generating Ice."

Jiang Yuebai was moved internally, did she truly think this way!

"Elder Lii’s intentions are clear; he fears I’ll take pride in my Spiritual Body, so he wishes me to understand that there’s always someone better. Fearing you’ll feel inadequate because of your aptitude, he wants me to reassure you. Punishing us to face the wall together is likely deliberate; Elder Lii truly values you."

"How are you so... insightful?"

Jiang Yuebai was surprised, feeling like she didn’t understand people’s hearts at all compared to Lu Nanzhi.

Lu Nanzhi’s eyes flickered slightly, "In the Immortal Cultivation Families, there are many more insightful than me; there’s nothing but understanding between life and death."

Jiang Yuebai previously viewed Lu Nanzhi’s aloofness as arrogance, but now understood it as the ’laziness’ of a young age realizing the world and hearts of people.

Laziness in wasting expressions and emotions on things meaningless to her, thus appearing cold.

"Senior Sister Lu, earlier I was out of line."

Jiang Yuebai sincerely apologized; she deliberately gave Lu Nanzhi a hard time because of her bad mood and spoke unpleasantly.

"I was impulsive, sincerely sorry for acting against you."

"But Senior Sister Lu, to me, you’re not an impulsive person, so why were you so eager to comprehend Water Generating Ice?"

Lu Nanzhi glanced at the distant Xie Jingshan, asleep over his book, and with her mind on matters, spoke slowly.

"Born with Water Spirit Body, excellent furnace cauldron aptitude, my mother was extraordinary for half her life, yet ultimately deceived into the Lu Family, becoming a stepping stone for my father’s Nascent Soul, eventually exhausting her Spiritual Body, forced to birth one talented child after another in the deep confines as my father’s constant new passions thrived around her."

"A Water Spirit Body paired with a Single Spiritual Root results in a high probability of birthing a Single Spiritual Root or even a Spiritual Body offspring. I have three brothers and two sisters; except second sister with Dual Spirit Roots, the others have Three Spiritual Roots or Single Spiritual Roots. For Cultivation Families, sacrificing one woman for several talented offspring is profitable, inevitable for family prosperity."

"Like my mother, I possess the Water Spirit Body, betrothed at birth, expected to marry once I achieve Core Formation, to have children to solidify family relations and maintain family glory. But I refuse to follow her path; thus, I will cultivate the Path of Killing and defy destiny!"

Jiang Yuebai’s pupils trembled; realizing everyone has their hardships, those defying fate are not only herself—everyone fights fate, striving to escape its grip.

Jiang Yuebai laughed openly, moved closer to Lu Nanzhi, removing the book from her hands and placing it aside.

"Actually, my understanding of Water Generating Ice is rather accidental, having stumbled on its threshold, unsure how to utilize it—I can only tell you what I know. First, watch me perform the Grass and Wood Technique..."

Within the wild grass, Xie Jingshan lay asleep, the book covering his face snores resounding.

Across, the two huddled side by side, one with fingertip surrounded by green glow, patient and meticulous; the other, brow furrowed, fully focused.