Cannon Fodder Cultivation Guide

Chapter 4 - Escape and Survival

Zhang Yiyi was assigned by the sect leader to the outer sect's Ninth Peak.

Her escort was an elder surnamed Song, who appeared to be a middle-aged man but was actually over 130 years old.

At over 130 years old and still in the Foundation Establishment stage, it was almost hopeless for him to advance to the Golden Core stage before reaching his 200th birthday.

Elder Song understood his own aptitude and had long since accepted it. He settled comfortably into a decent position at the outer sect and focused on his duties, managing to secure additional resources for his younger generation at home.

"Disciple Zhang, although the master of the Ninth Peak doesn't usually manage things, the Ninth Peak is the most resource-rich and sparsely populated among all the outer peaks. As long as you don't cause trouble, the master won't impose any restrictions, so you'll live more freely and comfortably than anywhere else."

"Also, among all the outer sect disciples, only those of the Ninth Peak don't have to submit a fixed sect task every month. Even the spirit stones you receive are 50% more than those given to disciples of other outer peaks."

Elder Song had a good impression of Zhang Yiyi. Although the young girl's spiritual roots were not exceptional, her results in the trial of the heart path were the second-best ever among newly admitted disciples, far surpassing many of them.

Considering that even the sect leader had taken the trouble to personally send her to the Ninth Peak, Elder Song was more than willing to make an effort to build a good relationship. He proactively explained all the important matters and precautions of the sect along the way.

Zhang Yiyi was quite interested in the information. Just as she was about to ask why the Ninth Peak disciples had such special treatment, she suddenly felt the same life-threatening danger she had experienced during the heart path trial.

In the next moment, a gigantic beast resembling a dragon and tiger leaped out from the lake ahead, its gaping maw aiming straight for Zhang Yiyi.

Zhang Yiyi was directly suppressed by the beast's aura, unable to move, and was on the verge of being devoured.

In the nick of time, an invisible halo emanated from the storage bag at Zhang Yiyi's waist, forcibly repelling the beast.

Before she could even feel relieved, the situation took a dramatic turn for the worse.

The beast, seemingly struck by some primal fear from its soul, suddenly turned and fled, crashing heavily into the bottom of the lake and vanishing without a trace.

In a matter of seconds, Zhang Yiyi found herself once again at death's door.

Her pale face turned even whiter as she collapsed, spitting out blood, clearly injured.

When her mind cleared a bit, she was about to search for healing pills, but a well-defined hand suddenly reached out in front of her and stuffed two pills into her mouth.

"Quickly sit down and regulate your breathing to heal!"

The owner of the hand, who did not look back at Zhang Yiyi, tossed another pill to Elder Song, who was nearby, and then headed straight to the lake to investigate.

The Sixth Stage beast in the lake had already been tamed as a guardian beast of the sect and was reinforced with a seal, so it shouldn't have suddenly gone mad and attacked people.

What was even stranger was that the tiger-dragon beast, with strength comparable to the Nascent Soul peak, had abandoned its seemingly easy prey at the last moment and fled in terror as if something had scared it out of its wits.

Qiao Chu had a gut feeling that the young girl must have something unusual about her. Otherwise, a mere Qi Condensation stage disciple like her wouldn't have survived.

After Zhang Yiyi had stabilized her injuries, she opened her eyes.

She looked up and saw Elder Song respectfully reporting to a handsome, cold-looking man in black, who was the owner of the hand, Qiao Chu, the master of the Ninth Peak and a perfected Nascent Soul practitioner.

Compared to the world's top cultivation prodigy, Jiang Heng, Qiao Chu's name was barely mentioned in "Supreme Immortal Beauty."

Fortunately, Elder Song had mentioned Qiao Chu's background to her. He and Jiang Heng had entered the sect in the same year, both becoming direct disciples of the same Great Ascension True Saint. Their qualifications and starting points were comparable, with only his senior brother Jiang Heng surpassing him.

Under fifty years old and not yet a hundred years old in the Nascent Soul stage, Qiao Chu's initial cultivation speed was nearly as fast as his senior brother Jiang Heng. Having two such prodigies in one sect had undoubtedly shocked and envied many.

Unfortunately, since reaching the perfected Nascent Soul stage, Qiao Chu's cultivation had hit a major snag. Over seven hundred years had passed, and while Jiang Heng had ascended to the Great Ascension stage, Qiao Chu was still stuck at the Nascent Soul peak.

With a lifespan of only a thousand years for the Nascent Soul stage, if Qiao Chu could not advance to the Divine Transformation stage within fifty years, he would be doomed to death and reincarnation.

No wonder his reputation among new disciples was not significant, and when mentioned, it was often with a sigh of regret.

Zhang Yiyi didn't feel the same regret about Qiao Chu's situation.

No matter how remarkable he was as a perfected Nascent Soul cultivator with an ascended master and a senior brother who had reached Great Ascension, she, a novice, had no right to worry about his problems.

"You have something special on you?"

Qiao Chu scrutinized the young girl before him and spoke with firm certainty, "A guardian beast wouldn't go mad and specifically attack a Qi Condensation disciple like you without reason."

"Special? I don't know. Please enlighten me, Master Qiao."

The only special thing on her was the drop of ancient divine blood sealed in her storage ring. Otherwise, she wouldn't have survived in the beast's mouth.

However, she also didn't know why the previously tamed guardian beast would attack such a weak target.

The only certainty was that the killing intent and aura from the beast during the heart path trial matched exactly with the one it emitted earlier.

In other words, the beast had targeted her from the beginning, and it wasn't a coincidence.

Zhang Yiyi was partly scared, partly confused, and partly anxious. Her half-truths managed to dispel most of Qiao Chu's suspicions.

Qiao Chu, having used his spiritual sense to thoroughly examine Zhang Yiyi and confirm that there was nothing unusual about her, did not press further.

"Since it has nothing to do with you, then forget it. I have strengthened the seal in the lake, so such incidents won't occur again."

Qiao Chu had no intention of making things difficult for a young novice. After leaving this statement, he swiftly departed.

Seeing him come and go so quickly, Zhang Yiyi sighed with relief.

The ancient divine blood was too precious and priceless. She dared not reveal even a trace of it, or else, whether it was a powerful figure like Qiao Chu or a regular Foundation Establishment practitioner like Elder Song, they could easily kill her for it.

Elder Song had no suspicions. He believed that Zhang Yiyi had survived due to Qiao Chu's timely arrival and only sighed at her good fortune.

After this encounter, Elder Song lost his previous enthusiasm. He settled Zhang Yiyi in a courtyard at the Ninth Peak and quickly left.