Chapter 173 - 41: Encounter with the White Tiger on East Sun Mountain

Chapter 173: Chapter 41: Encounter with the White Tiger on East Sun MountainThe Huqiu Mountain in the early morning was bathed in the dawn’s first light, and it was just five o’clock. All of Jiangbei City lay in silence, and Xiao Jie stood in the woods, looking around at the desolate Huqiu Mountain, yawned a bit with sleepiness, yet with the boost of his Inner Strength, it wasn’t much of a problem. Waking up early, Xiao Jie was there just to test out the effects of his Qinggong. Although Grass Flying was also cool, Wind Stepping and Flying Cloud Chasing Moon were the true forms of Qinggong. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Xiao Jie circulated his Inner Strength and leaped with all his might. Flying Cloud Chasing Moon First Stage—Wind Stepping! He felt a stream of clear energy converging in his chest, and like stepping on the wind, he shot up eight or nine meters high, the equivalent of three stories. Damn, exhilarating! As Inner Strength circulated and infused into his limbs, gathering under his feet. Second Stage—Flying Cloud Crossing! It was as if he had stepped on invisible stepping stones, a somersault propelling him diagonally upwards again four or five meters high, and more than ten meters distance. By now, he was twelve or thirteen meters above ground, and although he could have gone even higher, for safety’s sake, it was better not to be too reckless. Looking down at the towering ground beneath his feet, Xiao Jie felt both shock and thrill—this height truly gave him the feeling of flying. Moon Chasing! With a forceful push from his legs and arms stretched out to balance on either side, he soared out like a large bird, the wind whistling past his ears, sprinting a dozen meters before gradually slowing down. As he started to fall toward the ground, Xiao Jie wasn’t the least bit panicked. Yan Hang! Like a wind-riding bird, he gently glided down towards the forest on the hillside. When he finally landed back on the ground, Xiao Jie’s legs were a little weak. Exhilarating, way too exhilarating! This was more thrilling than skydiving or bungee jumping, even more enjoyable than using a hang glider or powered parachute. Just like the Qinggong he had fantasized about in his dreams when he was a child, too awesome! Moreover, now that his Inner Strength had greatly developed, using Qinggong had become much more sustainable, and he felt no hint of exhaustion after the whole set. It was a pity he was in the city, where he ultimately couldn’t use Qinggong without restraint. In the future, he would have to find an opportunity to go to a deep forest and have a proper play. After a few more attempts and gradually getting familiar with the nuances of Flying Cloud Chasing Moon, he noticed it was getting late and people were starting to come out for their morning exercises. Xiao Jie then descended the mountain and headed home. Having breakfast at a morning stall on the way back, Xiao Jie didn’t rush to log into the game after getting home. He laid down in bed and slept a bit longer. It was not until noon that he logged on again. As soon as he was online, "I Want to Be Immortal" bombarded him with private messages. "Feng, how come you’re not online yet?" "What’s the hurry, didn’t we agree to go up the mountain in the afternoon?" "Ah, okay, I got too excited and forgot." Xiao Jie sighed, "Cheng Xian, can you please be a bit more cautious? With me, there’s no problem, but if you were taken in by Xuanxu Palace, with your careless ways, sooner or later, you’ll cause a huge disaster. You don’t think that once you’ve entered a sect, you’ll have nothing to worry about, do you?" "I’ll be careful, Feng. What time do we set off?" "Let’s make it three o’clock. That way we’ll get up the mountain by about five, and the Taoists at Xuanxu Palace should not be chasing people down the mountain so late at night. By the way, how far did you level up your Wild Bull Skill?" "Seventh Layer, just enough to wield Furious Sea Tide." To wield Furious Sea Tide required a Strength of 50, and "I Want to Be Immortal" only had a Strength of 30. However, each layer of the Wild Bull Skill Kung Fu adds 3 points to Strength, so seven layers meant an additional 21 points to Strength, enabling him to wield it single-handedly. He could also pair it with a shield. Looking at "I Want to Be Immortal" with a Steel Shield in one hand and Furious Sea Tide in the other, plus the Heavy Armor look, he appeared quite imposing. "Not bad at all. I’ve also maxed out my Inner Strength and learned Qinggong, so our combat abilities should now be outstanding among Level 13 characters," said Xiao Jie as he went off to the auction house to collect some money from selling wine. Five bottles of Monkey Wine, all sold out. Xiao Jie could feel that this Monkey Wine could still ensure a steady sale for a short while, likely due to the market shortage caused by a Brewer’s recent absence. Those two suppliers had put up quite a lot of materials, which Xiao Jie swept up and made another ten bottles of Monkey Wine to sell. The Secret Dog Food had sold a few as well, but in comparison to the income from the Monkey Wine, it wasn’t much. Looking in his bag, he now had 12 taels of Silver. With this pace, in ten and a half months’ time, he’d have enough to buy either a secret martial arts manual or a treasure sword. By three o’clock in the afternoon, Xiao Jie was all set to go. "Let’s move, Cheng Xian. Off to Xuanxu Palace." Passing through the square, Xiao Jie glanced over towards where the Mad Taoist had been yesterday, but found he had disappeared. But he didn’t mind, this guy was clearly an NPC up to some mischief, and he probably ran off to cause trouble elsewhere. Leaving the north gate of Xiaofeng City and heading north along the road outside the city, the environment around Xiaofeng City was quite pleasant, with residential houses and farmlands distributed around the city walls, and a continuous stream of pedestrians. Farmers were transporting vegetables, fruits, grain, and the like into the city, adding a bit of a lively atmosphere. Monsters and such were a rare sight, and occasionally, one could see squads of soldiers patrolling between the roads. Indeed, the State Mansion is different. Xiaofeng City and its surrounding areas felt like the most orderly place in the entire game to Xiao Jie. Passing through villages and wilderness, they arrived at the foot of a gently sloping mountain range, where a wide stone stairway stretched all the way up to the mountain top. The map showed—East Sun Mountain. It’s so close... Xiao Jie relaxed immediately upon seeing the beautiful mountain range in front of him. Compared to the wild and desolate ridges, a mountain with basic infrastructure so close to the main city seemed much safer, without that constant heart-racing feeling. At the foot of the mountain stood two Guest Welcoming Pines, one on each side of the steps, forming an arch-like shape. A Level 27 player was sitting cross-legged under the pine tree, with a stall set up and a sign stuck in it. It read—[Master offers mountain-guiding services, one silver per person, payment accepted after service.] Are there really people offering to guide others up the mountain? If it had been in the past, Xiao Jie would have had doubts, but now that he was wealthy, he could just hire someone to escort him up the mountain. "Hey, Master, could you give us a lift up the mountain? There are two of us." White Tiger (Taoist): "No problem, come on, you two, I’ll take you up the mountain." The trio formed a party, and White Tiger led the two of them up the mountain. Along the way, Xiao Jie began inquiring for information. "What’s the difference between a Daoist Temple and a Dao Palace, exactly?" "The difference between a Dao Palace and a Daoist Temple lies in the fact that Daoist Temples only have Taoists, while a Dao Palace is a place where Immortals have emerged. Only a place that has produced Immortals has the qualification to be called a Dao Palace. This Xuanxu Palace had an Immortal known as Xuanxuzi emerge from it a thousand years ago. Although his whereabouts are unknown today, the Immortal Law has been passed down." As White Tiger led the way, he also served as a guide, explaining things to them. You couldn’t deny, it felt a bit like having a tour guide. "Be careful now, up ahead is where the tigers spawn." Xiao Jie became alert and looked intently, and indeed, he saw a huge tiger with hanging eyes and a white forehead pacing around an open area halfway up the mountain. White Tiger: Level 30. Life Value 5000. What a huge tiger! Xiao Jie watched with trepidation. Even with Beast Affinity, it didn’t feel very safe. "Why isn’t anyone farming this BOSS?" "Haha, because this thing isn’t a BOSS at all. It’s a Summoning Beast that the Taoists from Xuanxu Palace summoned and placed here to ward off intruders. Recently, there were too many people coming to Xuanxu Palace seeking mentorship, which bothered the masters to no end, so they simply put a Summoning Beast here to scare people away. At first, no one knew, and several guilds organized attempts to defeat it, but it dropped nothing when killed. And if it was defeated today, it would respawn the next day, so everyone later realized it was a Summoning Beast placed by the members of Xuanxu Palace. By the way, did you guys focus on your Spiritual attributes? The discipleship at the palace is dependent on aptitude, and the threshold is getting higher. It’s said that initially, 40 Spiritual was enough for entry-level, but now, even 60 is barely enough." Xiao Jie was startled upon hearing this. A Spiritual attribute of 60...! And that’s barely enough. Even if he started focusing on Spiritual points now, at Level 19, he could only reach about 60, "Why is it like this?" "Of course, it’s because there are too many disciples." As they spoke, the trio had already entered the alert range of the White Tiger. Roar! The White Tiger suddenly let out a roar that seemed to shake the mountains. White Tiger quickly cast a spell. Group Invisibility Technique! Poof, a cloud of white mist enveloped the three of them, depriving the White Tiger of its sight, and it quickly calmed down again. White Tiger effortlessly led the two around the area patrolled by the White Tiger, easily overcoming this obstacle. After that, there wasn’t much to talk about. East Sun Mountain, just like Xiaofeng City, was clearly a map protected by high-level NPCs, safe and secure. Other than the White Tiger, there wasn’t even a wolf or boar to be seen, and the wildlife consisted of rabbits, deer, and even flocks of Immortal Cranes flying overhead. Xiao Jie had thought it would be quite troublesome, but to his surprise, the path was clear, and within less than an hour, they arrived at the mountaintop. In front of the majestic gates of a Dao Palace. "Alright, here we are. Let’s add each other as friends. If you need to descend the mountain later, you can find me; the fee is still one silver. Of course, you can also jump down the cliff; if your Qinggong is high enough, you should survive the fall." "Thanks a lot, Master," Xiao Jie said, transferring two taels of silver and thanking him. "Haha, don’t mention it. It’s a paid service, we each get what we need. See you later, and best of luck with finding a mentor." Watching White Tiger disappear, the pair walked toward the Dao Palace ahead. As soon as they approached, they were stunned to see more than a dozen players kneeling in front of the main gate of Xuanxu Palace. All Level 9 or 19, and there was even a Level 29 among them, all of them kneeling neatly, facing the palace gates, and occasionally some would call out to the gate. "Master, please take me as your disciple. If you don’t, I’ll kneel here forever and never leave." "Master, look how sincere I am, please accept me!" "Hey, anyone selling steamed buns? I’m out of food." No need to ask, these were all players who had come seeking mentorship to no avail.