Half an hour later, having changed into clean clothes and washed and dried her trousers, Bao Gu had also calmed down. Since the great white snake was a mountain guardian spirit beast and could speak human language, it was highly spiritual and bore no malice towards her, so it wouldn’t harm her. If she lost her medicine basket, she would be missing a very handy tool. Thus, Bao Gu slowly made her way to the creek not far from the pool to pick up her medicine basket that had fallen by the creek, all the while cautiously hiding behind a large tree and looking towards the deep pool. She only saw ripples on the surface of the pool caused by the waterfall, with no sign of the great white snake. She thought to herself, “I should never come close to this place again.”
Suddenly, a voice sounded from above Bao Gu’s head: “What are you sneaking around for?”
Overjoyed to hear this long-lost familiar voice, Bao Gu exclaimed, “Senior Sister!” She looked up into the sky and indeed saw Yu Mi standing on a flying sword, hovering about ten feet above the ground. Bao Gu thought, “This great white snake in the pool is just a mountain guardian spirit beast, and her senior sister is also an expert who could kill the giant toad that caused a three-year drought in Qing Shan County. No matter how powerful this great white snake is, it has to listen to humans, right? The principle of raising a mountain guardian spirit beast is the same as raising a dog to watch over the house.” She said, “Senior Sister, there is a talking great white snake in this deep pool, and she called you a glutton and mocked you for taking in a ‘Five Waste Root’ disciple.” She whispered the part about being mocked very softly, then indignantly added, “Isn’t this mountain guardian spirit beast too arrogant?”
Yu Mi looked deeply towards the pool and then stared at Bao Gu, asking, “How do you know there’s a great white snake in the pool?”
Bao Gu replied, “I saw that the pool was very deep, so I threw a stone into it.”
Yu Mi scolded irritably, “You’re just looking for trouble when you’re too full.”
Suddenly, a burst of big white bubbles surfaced from the direction of the pool, scaring Bao Gu into hiding behind the big tree again. But then she remembered Yu Mi was there and, gathering her courage, stepped out from behind the tree, standing tall and proud.
Yu Mi landed, put away her flying sword, and stood firmly on the ground, bowing respectfully with a fist in palm salute, “Yu Mi pays respects to Martial Aunt!” She then glared fiercely at Bao Gu.
Martial Aunt? Who? Bao Gu quickly looked around but saw no one else appear. However, from the churning water of the deep pool, a white snake head emerged. The head, larger than a winnowing basket, surfaced, and a pair of emerald green snake eyes stared at Yu Mi.
Yu Mi sat down by the pool and said, “Martial Aunt, I thought you were still in seclusion.” As she spoke, a small hill-like, golden-brown, glistening, and fragrant tender meat was thrown into the pool.
Bao Gu, smelling the rich aroma of the roasted meat, drooled uncontrollably, swallowing several times to prevent herself from making a fool of herself.
Yu Mi said, “This is a Golden Core stage Earth Fire Toad I encountered last month in Qing Shan County. I’ve already extracted the fiery essence from its body.”
Suddenly, a whirlpool formed on the surface of the water and sucked the roasted meat straight down.
The great white snake spoke in human language, “Where did you find this ‘Five Waste Root’? I see she has poor talent and a lack of integrity. How could you take such a person as a disciple?”
Yu Mi’s delicate nose wrinkled as she said, “Martial Aunt, you’re one to talk! It’s the spirit-testing stone you gave me that caused this. When I tested her with the spirit-testing stone, it showed she had abundant spiritual roots. Your spirit-testing stone didn’t show she was a ‘Five Miscellaneous Root’!”
The great white snake glared at Yu Mi and said, “And you blame me for this?”
Yu Mi looked at the great white snake without speaking, but her face was full of grievance.
The great white snake turned its head towards Bao Gu and said, “You can go now.”
Upon hearing this, Bao Gu hurriedly grabbed her medicine basket and ran. As she ran, she heard the great white snake’s exasperated cries, “Enough with that aggrieved little wife act! I’m busy preparing for my Transformation Tribulation and have no time to deal with you! How many good things have you taken from me over the years? Ah, I finally had less than three years of peace after you left, and then you throw a glutton who relieves herself everywhere over here. I’m telling you, if it weren’t for your sake, and if she didn’t always do her business hundreds of meters below, I would have slapped her to death with my tail long ago!” Bao Gu was mortified and shrank behind the big tree.
Yu Mi’s ethereal voice rose, “Martial Aunt, a few days ago I obtained a drop of Water Essence. As soon as I entered the mountain gate, it was ‘borrowed’ by Martial Aunt Zhu Tou from the Water Spirit Marsh. You know I practice fire-based techniques, and I have no use for water-based items. Martial Aunt Zhu Tou insisted on borrowing it, and I couldn’t keep it…”
“What? A drop of Water Essence? Pighead, I’ll never let this go!” The great white snake’s powerful roar shook the forest, and the immense aura made Bao Gu, who was eavesdropping with perked ears, collapse to the ground, a sudden fear welling up inside her. She heard the sound of water and peeked out from behind the tree, only to see the great white snake shooting straight out of the pool and soaring into the sky. Its snow-white body reflected the sunlight and the sparkling water, looking as if it was enveloped in divine light. The snake’s body, over thirty feet long, seemed to contain immense power. From a distance, it looked not like a great white snake but more like a white dragon emerging from the water.
It soared into the sky, flying in a serpentine pattern as if on flat ground, and in the blink of an eye, it flew over the mountain top and disappeared from sight, leaving only a mist of water vapor drifting in the air.
The mist moistened the air, making this hot summer day feel as refreshing as early spring.
It took a while for Bao Gu to come back to her senses as she watched the great white snake disappear into the distance. She ran back to sit by Yu Mi, who was sitting by a rock next to the pool, and said, “Senior Sister, the way this great white snake Martial Aunt speaks is even more human-like than actual people!”
Yu Mi glanced at Bao Gu and said, “Martial Aunt was originally human. She just failed her Nascent Soul Tribulation and her spirit escaped into the body of a white python to continue her cultivation.”
Bao Gu uttered an “Oh” and asked, “What is Water Essence?”
“Water Essence is the essence of water, a treasure for those who practice water-based techniques.”
Bao Gu asked, “What’s it used for?”
Yu Mi explained, “It contains a large amount of spiritual energy and the essence of water. It’s infinitely useful whether for cultivation or for crafting magical treasures. Water Essence is rare and hard to come by.”
Her Martial Aunt was about to face the Transformation Tribulation, and with Water Essence, the chances of success would increase by more than fifty percent, as long as it wasn’t the nine-death tribulation, which usually posed no problem. Martial Aunt Zhu Tou had been collecting materials for refining a Nascent Soul magical weapon, and he practiced water-based techniques. If he could incorporate Water Essence into his magical weapon, it was highly likely he could create a top-grade water-based spiritual treasure. A Nascent Soul-level top-grade water-based spiritual treasure was rare even in the cultivation world, and it would be coveted wherever it went. It was by chance that she encountered Water Essence, but since she couldn’t use it, she thought of her Martial Aunt who needed it and brought it back.
Now that Martial Aunt Zhu Tou had forcefully borrowed it, whether her Martial Aunt could retrieve the Water Essence was not up to her. She felt the most likely outcome was that Martial Aunt Zhu Tou would keep the Water Essence, and her Martial Aunt would receive some other equally valuable heavenly and earthly treasures as compensation. Although she had considered auctioning the Water Essence for treasures she needed for her own cultivation, her cheap master had given her a few magical treasures and then went into life-and-death seclusion, ignoring her. She had survived in the competitive sect and cultivation world solely because of her Martial Aunt’s support. Now that her Martial Aunt’s great tribulation was imminent, she had to consider her Martial Aunt’s needs. Poor as she was, she couldn’t be heartless.
Seeing Yu Mi deep in thought, Bao Gu thought she was worried about the great white snake Martial Aunt and asked, “Senior Sister, will Martial Aunt fight with Martial Aunt Zhu Tou?”
Yu Mi murmured, “Probably!” Her gaze fell on Bao Gu and she asked, “How many Qi Refining Pills have you eaten?”
Bao Gu replied, “I’ve eaten them all!”
Yu Mi suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “You’ve finished a whole bottle of Qi Refining Pills, and you… you’re still only at the first stage of Qi Refining? You—” What a waste of her pills!
Bao Gu smiled, showing her white teeth, and said, “Senior Sister, I’m amazing, right? I reached the first stage of Qi Refining in a month. In fact, I reached the first stage of Qi Refining in half a month!” She smiled brightly but felt very guilty. Her senior sister’s expression was so fierce, as if being at the first stage of Qi Refining was an unforgivable sin!
Yu Mi’s face changed colors, and finally, she gritted her teeth and said, “From now on, no matter who you meet, don’t say I took you in as a disciple! I can’t afford to lose that face!” To think that with two Zhu Ming fruit trees full of fruit and a bottle of Qi Refining Pills, she was still only at the first stage of Qi Refining! The spiritual energy formed from digesting the pills should have advanced her beyond the first stage of Qi Refining! How could she have taken in such a wasteful ‘Five Waste Root’!
Yu Mi, frustrated, swept her sleeve, stepped on her flying sword, and flew away with the wind. She really wanted to cry out to her Martial Aunt, “Martial Aunt, please slap Bao Gu to death with your tail!”
The fact that she had taken in a disciple with five neat spiritual roots was known to all sects, and with Feng Menglong’s big mouth spreading the word within the sect, even the secluded disciples of Xuan Tian Sect knew about it. Everyone in the sect knew she had taken in a ‘Five Waste Root’ disciple with neat spiritual roots! Now, whenever she returned to the sect and stepped out of Lingyun Peak, the first thing people greeted her with was asking about the progress of the genius disciple with five neat spiritual roots she had taken in against the norm.
With a bottle of Qi Refining Pills, two Zhu Ming fruit trees, and a courtyard full of low-level spiritual herbs, she had thought that even if Bao Gu was a waste, she could still be pushed to the third stage of Qi Refining with the help of heavenly and earthly treasures. After seeing Bao Gu, she could have smiled and said, “Ah! I went to see her last time, and after a month of cultivation, she’s only at the third stage of Qi Refining. Well, considering she had never been exposed to the cultivation world before entering the sect, I shouldn’t have such high expectations for her,” as a retort to them! But now, she could only continue to sneer coldly and walk away.
The more Yu Mi thought about it, the angrier and sadder she became. She really wanted to rush back and cry out to Bao Gu, “My dear ancestor, can you show some spirit and put in some effort? Even if you’re not at the third stage of Qi Refining, the second stage would be fine! First stage! How can you face those Zhu Ming fruits you’ve eaten? How can you face that bottle of Qi Refining Pills? How can you face me? How can you face those disciples who reached the first stage of Qi Refining with just one pill? An entire bottle of fifteen extra-strength Qi Refining Pills only got you to the first stage of Qi Refining, you…”
Yu Mi really wanted to pull up the sleeves of her flowing immortal dress and cry! Her first disciple in the sect turned out to be so promising!
