Zhao Yunxiao returned to the Lightwind Pavilion after leaving the Outer Disciples Hall. Now that he had confirmed the mission details, it was time to go pack a suitable amount of food.
By now, the sun was starting to set across the horizon.
This time, he did not see Lu Zhiying around. Instead, only Gu Qiansi and Nie Hanchang were present, seated around a small bonfire.
"You are here?" Gu Qiansi remarked as she saw Zhao Yunxiao appear.
"Where's Junior Martial Sister Lu? She was here without you just now, and now you appeared without her. Are you two on bad terms or something?" Zhao Yunxiao asked casually as he took a seat by the fire beside them.
"Nonsense, our relationship cannot be better. She's just studying dance with Senior Martial Sister Leng right now," Gu Qiansi rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I heard from her that you will be leaving on another mission?"
"Yeah, I will be leaving tomorrow. And I heard that you are going on one yourself?" Zhao Yunxiao replied.
"Mine is still in the midst of discussions. I have yet to decide if I will be joining," Gu Qiansi said.
"Does it sound complicated?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.
"Yeah," Gu Qiansi nodded. "It's similar to the previous mission – to investigate corrupted vegetation around another town. But the situation sounds a lot more serious this time. Apparently, even animals in the area are showing similar symptoms."
"That does sound like there is a certain degree of danger involved," Zhao Yunxiao agreed. "It's good to think it through carefully."
"Yeah, what about yours? What mission are you going on this time?" Gu Qiansi asked.
"A delivery mission," Zhao Yunxiao answered nonchalantly. "It is a little far, but nothing nearly as dangerous as yours."
"Shall I go with you?" Nie Hanchang offered.
"Not worth it," Zhao Yunxiao shook his head. "The travel costs would be higher because of the distance, and the rewards are not fantastic due to the simplicity of the mission. If we go together, the rewards might not even be able to cover our individual expenses."
"You can keep the rewards," Nie Hanchang followed up immediately.
"No, you know I will feel bad doing that," Zhao Yunxiao insisted.
"This... all right, then," Nie Hanchang could only accept it at this point.
"Why are you taking up such a mission, though? It is unlike you to do so," Gu Qiansi questioned.
"Who knows?" Zhao Yunxiao said. "I guess you can say that after breaking through to the Advanced Essence Gathering realm, I feel like challenging myself a little."
"Really?"
"Really."
Gu Qiansi eyed him for a few moments before letting out a helpless sigh. "In any case, even the simplest-sounding missions will have their fair share of risks, not to mention the distance involved. Be careful out there."
"Yeah, I will," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "And don't worry. My cultivation level is higher than yours now, so I can definitely take care of myself better than you do!"
"Tch! Let's see how long that lasts!" Gu Qiansi clicked her tongue in irritation. "Maybe that fact would have changed by the time of your return!"
"We shall see about that!" Zhao Yunxiao laughed.
The group did not stay around for too long before retiring for the night, though not before Zhao Yunxiao packed a good amount of food for his upcoming trip.
Returning to his residence, Zhao Yunxiao did a final check of his inventory in preparation for the upcoming trip.
Even after he had confirmed that everything was in order, he did not immediately proceed with his daily meditation.
Instead, he retrieved two items from his spatial pouch and placed them in front of him.
A black-tinted jade flute and a bamboo flexible armour; these were none other than the Window of Tunes and Bamboo Barricade – Origin Core realm treasures that he had obtained from Elder Feng Wanjia and Elder Xiong Yan respectively.
He felt sorry to think this way, but between the two, Zhao Yunxiao was actually far more interested in the Bamboo Barricade gifted by Elder Xiong Yan.
Possessing sufficient defensive means could easily determine the difference between life and death. This was especially so for someone like Zhao Yunxiao, who intended to incorporate pure endurance into his combat style.
Trying his best to calm his pounding heart, Zhao Yunxiao placed a hand on the flexible armour, carefully directing a wisp of essence energy into it.
There were no visible reactions from the armour, but that was only true on the surface level.
Through his palm that was in contact with the Bamboo Barricade, Zhao Yunxiao could feel the faint aura of metal coursing through the flexible armour becoming stronger.
With a flick of his wrist, a dagger appeared in his hand, which he pierced straight towards the bamboo flexible armour.
Clank-!
The sound of metal striking metal could be heard as the two items collided – a strange matter considering how it was actually metal striking bamboo.
Or perhaps it was not all that strange.
From the looks of it, this bamboo appearance could be considered a mere facade. The main reason behind its durability should be the aura of metal that was silently coursing through it.
Zhao Yunxiao smiled in satisfaction.
Silently protecting while being barely noticeable by others – this was the ideal type of hidden armour in his eyes.
Gifts from an elder of a faction were truly useful!
Next, he turned his attention to the Window of Tunes. This one was a little less straightforward.
It was clearly special, as could be felt from the aura of wind it emitted and the wind that gently embraced him when he picked it up. However, Zhao Yunxiao had no idea how to put it to good use.
Well, the easiest way to find out was to give it a try!
Bringing it to his lips, he carefully blew into the jade flute. The resulting sound was soft due to his cautiousness, but undoubtedly clear. Still, that could hardly be considered anything special.
Repeating what he did with the Bamboo Barricade, Zhao Yunxiao carefully directed a wisp of essence energy into the Window of Tunes.
Almost instantly, the winds embracing him grew stronger, going even beyond just staying within his direct proximity.
It was no longer his hair and robes that fluttered. Scratching sounds could be heard as the heavy chests in his front hall started edging across the floor, carried along by the wind until they were completely picked up and thrown around the room.
Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!
The huge chests slammed against not just one another, but also against the walls and chairs.
"Shit!" Zhao Yunxiao cursed aloud as he quickly disconnected his essence energy from the Window of Tunes.
At the same time, he had to nimbly dodge around to avoid the chests that were flying around the room. Fortunately, the winds died down almost immediately after he retracted his essence energy, allowing the chests to fall back onto the ground.
Looking at the numerous chests that were now sprawled across his front hall, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a helpless sigh.
It was good that the chests were all closed and locked, so the contents did not spill all over the floor. Otherwise, it would have been even more of a mess!
Still, it would appear that he would need quite a bit more practice in order to get used to this treasure flute – practice that would definitely have to be conducted outdoors instead.
***
Zhao Yunxiao got up early the next morning, making sure that he went through his morning practice before leaving. Yet despite the fact that the sky had yet to turn bright, there was already someone waiting outside his residence.
"Gu Qiansi? What are you doing here so early?" Zhao Yunxiao frowned. "Did something happen?"
"That's not it," Gu Qiansi shook her head. "I just happened to wake up early today, so I decided to come see if you'd need any help before going on your trip. That said, why do you always have to wear those shabby clothes?"
"You might find them shabby looking, but they are precious protective talismans in my eyes," Zhao Yunxiao answered proudly. "The outside world is dangerous, so remember not to draw too much attention to yourself when you leave for your mission as well!"
"Even if I do go, I will be going with Senior Martial Sister Chang and Senior Martial Sister Luo. My dressing alone won't change anything, and the two of them would probably rather die than be caught wearing things like that," Gu Qiansi rolled her eyes before reaching into her bag. "Here, take this."
Zhao Yunxiao opened his palm to see a small jade bottle fall into his hands, tightly sealed with a cork.
"What is this?" Zhao Yunxiao raised it to eye level. From the bottle alone, he had no clue what could be stored within.
"It is a medicinal elixir, concocted from the root of a Blue Jade Lotus," Gu Qiansi said. "When applied directly, it should be able to help with most physical wounds."
"Eh? Is this made from the root that I gave you previously?" Zhao Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. "Are you stupid? That's my gift to you. Why are you giving it back to me?"
Gu Qiansi did not answer, merely looking back at him in silence.
"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhao Yunxiao exclaimed uncomfortably.
"It's nothing," Gu Qiansi turned around and left. "Stay safe. See you again when you are back."
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
He glanced at the small jade bottle in his hand, then turned his gaze back up to watch the departing back of the young lady.
Huu-!
After letting out a helpless sigh, Zhao Yunxiao stored the small jade bottle away in his spatial pouch before heading in another direction – towards the sect gate.
Just like with most other missions, he made a quick stop at the Black Tortoise Inn, where he rented a horse before departing for Thousand Autumn City.
On regular horseback, the journey from Purple Plum Mountain to Thousand Autumn City should take approximately seven days. That was including the more frequent breaks that regular horses would have to take throughout the day as compared to spirit horses.
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao did not intend to let those breaks go to waste.
While allowing his horse to drink by a large stream, he carefully extended his spiritual senses to check if there was anybody else in the vicinity. Only after confirming that there was nobody else around did he finally retrieve the Heaven's Descent Bowl from his spatial pouch.
Ever since the other day when he opened the Mind Gate, he had wanted to try experimenting with this treasure bowl. If not for the fact that he had been worried that anything unexpected would end up drawing the attention of the sect administrators, he would have done so long ago.
It had been a painful wait. But now that he was out alone in the wilderness, it was finally time to give it another try!
Holding the Heaven's Descent Bowl in his hands, Zhao Yunxiao closed his eyes and thought back to the events that had led up to the activation of the treasure bowl.
Come on, Heaven's Descent Bowl. Return the avatars of zodiac spirits so that they can show me all that they know!
...
Zhao Yunxiao opened his eyes a little to peek at the bowl.
No response.
He remained calm, carefully injecting a wisp of essence energy into the bowl. After all, the Heaven's Descent Bowl had drained him of essence energy at a frightening rate during its activation, so doing so might help expedite things.
Oh, great Heaven's Descent Bowl. Let the avatar of zodiac spirits out to bless me with any information that could be helpful to me!
Still nothing.
Summon the avatars of the zodiac spirits! Show me their memories!
Stupid bowl! Activate already!
After half an hour of trying in vain, the frustrated Zhao Yunxiao finally decided to change his approach.
Since the avatars of the zodiac spirits were powerful entities in their own right, perhaps the Heaven's Descent Bowl needed some time to recover before summoning them again.
But apart from them, the Heaven's Descent Bowl had absorbed others in the past as well.
Zhao Yunxiao closed his eyes, and a familiar image appeared in his mind.
Since you can't resummon the avatars of the zodiac spirits, what about resummoning a monkey monster?
Tremble-!
Almost immediately after he thought that, Zhao Yunxiao felt the Heaven's Descent Bowl slowly floating up from his hands, hovering just a few centimetres above his open palms.