The comments and votes from the cultivators were largely the same, citing three main reasons.
First, the methods of a music cultivator were mysterious and unpredictable. Their attacks were difficult to guard against, often providing unexpected surprises during a fight.
Second, a powerful and versatile music cultivator could handle offense, defense, and healing. They could act as the primary attacker or support their teammates. After a battle, they could even play a healing melody to treat everyone's injuries, making them the ultimate companion for any expedition.
Third, while auxiliary resources like pills, arrays, talismans, and artifacts could mostly be purchased with spirit stones, a music cultivator's abilities required the cultivator themselves to be present. It was an asset that couldn't be replaced by money.
This young girl was actually a music cultivator.
Music cultivation relied heavily on talent. Even if she spent most of her time on meditation and only a fraction on practicing her melodies, as long as she could produce the intended effects of the music, she could manifest the fundamental strength of her profession.
Huo Chaoyu looked into the girl's eyes.
They were a pair of round, almond-shaped eyes, filled with determination, composure, and confidence.
The girl reminded Huo Chaoyu of herself when she had first entered the cultivation world.
I might as well try, she thought.
She wanted to give the girl a chance.
If it worked, it would be a win-win. If it didn't, there was no real loss; it would just be another skirmish with sea beasts.
What she hadn't expected was that a mere trial run would result in such a surprise from this girl and her companions.
No, it wasn't just a surprise.
It was an experience unlike any she had ever had.
She couldn't understand how this girl, clearly a music cultivator, was operating like a master strategist.
All's Fair in War.
Do not pursue a desperate foe.
Leave an Opening.
The girl had an endless stream of ideas.
Huo Chaoyu had listened, completely dazed.
The girl's points seemed to make sense, but she had talked so much—even describing the potential emotions of the sea spiders in various situations—that Huo Chaoyu's head was spinning.
Who on earth observed the emotions and reactions of demon beasts and sea beasts so meticulously during a fight?
These sea beasts hadn't even developed intelligence. Aside from their instincts, how complex could their emotions really be?
Was it possible that if a sea beast felt sad after being hit, she was supposed to go soft and let it go?
Normally, you just fought if you could win, targeting the beast's physical weaknesses. If you couldn't win, you ran—ran for your life.
Huo Chaoyu wanted to rub her temples, but she held back.
People were always hesitant and untrusting when faced with something they had never tried before.
But if one never dared to try, how could they ever achieve a breakthrough?
Thinking it over, the girl's ideas seemed quite excellent.
So, she had tried them.
She never imagined that this single attempt would shake her very mindset.
It turned out that hunting sea beasts could be this efficient and effortless.
No one was seriously injured, and there was no prolonged war of attrition where they had to chug pills because their spirit energy was depleted.
By simply using a few strategies, they had easily handled being outnumbered, used weakness to overcome strength, and turned the tide of battle to claim victory.
If she could master these strategies, how much time could she save when she went out to fight for chances in the future?
“Little Friend Gu.”
Meeting Gu Ningyun's puzzled gaze, Huo Chaoyu pulled out her Spirit-Attuning Jade Token.
“I am Huo Chaoyu of the Yuebai Sect. Would you be willing to add me as a friend? If there are similar opportunities for cooperation in the future, please feel free to contact me.”
She wanted to follow along and learn a few more moves.
Gu Ningyun opened her mouth, slightly surprised.
A middle Foundation Establishment cultivator was taking the initiative to ask for cooperation with a Qi Refining disciple?
Gu Ningyun reached into the plain grey storage bag at her waist and fished out her "alt account."
Since she was on a trial mission, it wasn't convenient to reveal her true identity. She would add her with the alt account first and explain things to Senior Huo if the opportunity arose later.
After exchanging contact info, the eight members of the Yuebai Sect left the small island.
Gu Ningyun and her four companions, however, did not leave.
They had collected the long legs of the small spiders not to sell for spirit stones, but to lure the Blue Lake Scallops.
They didn't want to reveal the matter of the Blue Lake Scallops, so they planned to wait until the Yuebai Sect cultivators were far away before acting.
The rocky reef island was fairly flat, making it a perfect spot to eat something and rest while they waited.
Jiang Yao pulled out a square, four-legged stove and tossed three pieces of Qinglan spirit wood into it.
This was something Jiang Yao had forged during his seclusion in Conghe City, based on blueprints provided by Gu Ningyun.
In addition to the stove, there were several matching mesh grill racks made of refined iron.
It was all designed to make barbecuing more convenient.
This Qinglan spirit wood had been chopped by them in a forest while they were practicing their movement techniques on the way here; it was a common fuel used by food cultivators for cooking.
The spirit wood they had brought from the Qixia Peak dining hall had long since run out. When they happened upon a Qinglan forest on the road, Gu Ningyun had chopped down two extra trees and used her wind-attribute sword qi to split them into logs.
When he first saw Gu Ningyun using a sword to chop trees and sword qi to split wood, Jun Luo had gritted his teeth, looking like he wanted to say something.
But as he watched her movements and saw how perfectly uniform every piece of firewood was, he eventually got used to it.
It seemed like a form of sword practice in its own right.
He had even pulled out his peach wood sword to join in.
Wen Xuan had hurriedly stopped him. “If you leave your ice-attribute sword qi in the wood, it will turn into water when it melts. How are we supposed to light the fire if the wood is soaking wet?”
Jun Luo: “...”
Fine, he would find other wood to practice his sword on later.
On the reef island, once Jiang Yao had arranged the three pieces of Qinglan spirit wood, Wen Xuan flicked her finger, sending a small spark onto the wood.
As soon as the spark touched the wood, it spread across the surface, enveloping the three logs.
Soon, the wood was burning with a gentle, steady fire.
Gu Ningyun, Mu Chenze, and Jun Luo then took out the long legs of the small spiders from their storage bags.
These legs were the sea spiders' primary weapons. Once the hard outer shell was removed, the meat inside was exceptionally delicious. Not only did Blue Lake Scallops love it, but the cultivators of Donglin City were also quite fond of it.
They had harvested thousands of small spiders during this trip to the sea.
Each spider had eight legs.
The three of them took five hundred legs, intending to have a grilled sea spider leg feast.
The sea spider legs had three segments. They cut off the bottom two segments, keeping only the thickest, meatiest part closest to the body for eating.
The discarded parts weren't wasted; they were kept to attract the Blue Lake Scallops later.
Platter after platter of spider legs—neatly trimmed by Gu Ningyun and Jun Luo's sword qi and washed clean by Mu Chenze's water—were arranged on spirit porcelain plates specially made by Jiang Yao. They filled twenty-three plates in total.
There were too many plates to leave out on the small island, so they packed each one into their storage rings as soon as it was ready, only to be taken out when it was time to grill.
Using level seven Qi Refining spirit fire and yellow-rank firewood, it didn't take long to grill the rank one spider legs.
Under Wen Xuan's careful turning, a fresh, mouth-watering aroma soon wafted from the grill.
Catching the scent, Mu Chenze suddenly stood up. “I almost forgot to set up an array.”
“It wouldn't be good if the smell attracted something troublesome.”
Rate on N.U.
