Chapter 64: Mission Accomplished

Suddenly, Qiu Yingying summoned the enormous golden sword spirit behind her, cleaving a narrow path of sword energy across the surface of the river. The sword energy cut straight down to the riverbed, forcing the surging waters apart and exposing a fissure about a meter wide. Only after several seconds, when the sword’s will faded, did the water crash back together, erasing all traces of what had just occurred.

Having done all this, Qiu Yingying looked at Qingxi, who had finally come to his senses. Her tone was calm but imperious: “It seems you’re quite fond of daydreaming. But don’t worry, I’ll remind you more often from now on.”

Re—remind?

Thinking of how Qiu Yingying had just split a hundred-meter-long scar into the river with a single stroke, Qingxi couldn’t help but shrink back—such reminders were far too frightening.

He immediately composed himself, and said seriously, “So, Senior Sister, are you planning to test my memory and comprehension next?”

“No rush. Aren’t you here on the Xisha River to carry out the ‘Search for the Water Spirit Pearls’ mission? Let’s finish this task first; testing can wait.”

“You even know about that?” Qingxi’s face showed his surprise.

“Yes, of course. After you left the sect, I’ve been following you. By the way, you handled that group of bandits well, but you should pay more attention—you really ought to find a hidden spot before changing clothes next time.” Qiu Yingying’s expression remained placid, but Qingxi’s smile grew increasingly awkward.

He felt as though he’d been seen through completely.

If Qiu Yingying hadn’t said it herself, he would never have guessed that this always-mysterious Senior Sister was, in fact, a stalker.

It was downright terrifying.

Qingxi shivered.

But before he could explain, Qiu Yingying continued, “Also, if you lack literary talent, don’t try to compose poetry or match verses like others. No need to keep people in suspense.”

“Composing poetry?” Qingxi was filled with confusion.

Seeing that he seemed to have forgotten, Qiu Yingying added, still calm but cutting, “Do you remember ‘Waves upon Waves’?”

“Waves... upon waves?” Qingxi’s breath caught as he recalled that a few days ago, moved by the scene upon arriving at the Xisha River, he had recited a poem.

“But wasn’t my poem quite good? Long and broad, waves upon waves, surging mightily to the sky—it all rhymes so well... ah!”

Before he could finish, Qiu Yingying grabbed his shoulder and, with force, pressed him into the river, scolding as she did, “Waves upon waves, you say? Surging mightily, are you?”

...

A short while later, thoroughly drenched, Qingxi lay sprawled on the little boat Qiu Yingying had conjured from her energy, spitting out mouthfuls of river water.

Qiu Yingying stood at the stern, forming an oar from her energy to propel the boat swiftly toward their destination.

The Xisha River at night was anything but tranquil.

Just as Qingxi had described, the river was vast—waves upon waves, surging with boundless power. Occasionally, enormous fish would leap from the water, their scales bathed in the moonlight, glimmering like specks of starlight, as if absorbing the essence of the moon.

Some fish, emboldened by their strength, would open their monstrous jaws and lunge at the small boat, their fearsome, beastly aura crashing over them even before they arrived.

Yet Qiu Yingying needed only to wave her hand—one sweep of golden sword energy, and a fish rivaling the peak of the Qi Refining stage was cleaved cleanly in two.

Watching the fish’s corpse sink into the water, Qingxi’s heart ached.

Those were all precious elemental sources!

With a prodigy like Qiu Yingying, at the mid-stage Innate Realm, even a late-stage Innate master would be powerless to harm them.

At last, in the latter half of the night, the two of them arrived at their destination.

Diving down to the sandy riverbed, Qingxi soon spotted the white octopus gliding along the bottom.

A few days ago, this upper-grade human-level beast would have been a formidable threat to him. But now, having reached the peak of Qi Refining, he was much stronger; dealing with the white octopus would be no problem.

Qingxi sent out five threads of spiritual energy, lightning-quick, to bind the octopus and restrain it.

But to his surprise, the octopus was as boneless as ever—its eight limbs twisted, slipping free of the threads, then it lunged at Qingxi, baring its fangs and claws.

“Oh? Looks like I’ll have to use force,” Qingxi muttered.

He summoned his top-grade spiritual sword and, with a flick of his wrist, unleashed a sword energy as thin as a cicada’s wing. The water rippled violently; the octopus, unable to dodge in time, lost two tentacles to the strike. Its large, jet-black eyes now showed a distinctly human-like fear.

Then, like a squid, it squirted a cloud of black ink, obscuring Qingxi’s vision.

Qingxi responded instantly, sending out a powerful palm strike. The water churned, scattering the ink.

But when his vision cleared, the white octopus had vanished without a trace.

“Had I known it was this weak, I’d have acted sooner,” Qingxi lamented.

His gaze fell to the sand, only to find that all the Water Spirit Clams had disappeared.

“Hiding, are they?”

He activated his scanning technique, and sure enough, discovered the clams trembling several meters beneath the sand.

Qingxi sent his spirit threads into the sand, pulling out over a dozen of the largest clams. He then tapped the shells with his sword as a warning.

Fearing for their lives, the clams had no choice but to open up, revealing the Water Spirit Pearls inside.

“What a haul!”

Without hesitation, Qingxi took all the mature Water Spirit Pearls—eighteen in total, enough to exchange for over two thousand merit points.

Having completed his mission, he quickly surfaced, where Qiu Yingying awaited him.

“Next, come with me to the sect’s library to test your memory. If you truly pass my trial, then tomorrow, you will accompany me to that forbidden zone.”

“Wait a moment, I’d like to check the riverbank first,” Qingxi raised his hand.

Qiu Yingying glanced at him. “Why?”

“My prized Thousand-Mile Horse is still tied up there. It would be a shame not to check. That horse is worth three points, after all!” Qingxi’s face was full of pain.

In his view, a horse without cultivation left by the riverbank had likely already been eaten by river beasts, but perhaps the saddle or bridle remained.

If he brought those back, he might get another point or two.

Ah, the hardship of living with so few points!

Thinking this, Qingxi felt bitter indeed.

Qiu Yingying rolled her eyes. “To think you care so much about a measly three points. If you help me memorize the contents of the stone wall, I can easily get you ten thousand points.”

“Te—ten thousand?” Qingxi’s eyes widened, staring at her in disbelief.

Killing a single low-grade Earth-level beast at the early Innate stage only earned a thousand points.

But ten thousand points—that was equivalent to ten such beasts!

Qiu Yingying was offering ten thousand points at a stroke—how generous!

Thinking of this, Qingxi grew excited.

With ten thousand points, he could immediately rank in the top ten of the merit board.

Add in the points from the Water Spirit Pearls, and he might even break into the top three!

That would allow him to complete Ouyang Changfeng’s test ahead of schedule.

“All right, I’m in!” Qingxi’s eyes shone with determination, his fighting spirit burning.