Cannon Fodder Cultivation Guide

Chapter 66 - Looking for People

"This made a lot of sense and was highly persuasive. Zhang Yiyi immediately felt a bit embarrassed.

After all, she was still too young. The contrast between joy and disappointment had come too quickly and too strongly, and in the end, she was unable to remain completely unaffected and indifferent.

Luckily, her master's timely guidance had pulled her back; otherwise, she would have almost lost her composure. Over time, this would have harmed her mindset, bringing more harm than good.

'Thank you for your teaching, Master. I will remember it,' Zhang Yiyi said, as she carefully put the bronze mirror back into her storage ring and nodded earnestly.

Jiang Heng, seeing that his young disciple had genuinely understood and taken his words to heart, was quite satisfied.

The fact that she could quickly recognize her own shortcomings and make timely adjustments amidst such great temptation was evidence of her maturity and insight.

'After you rest for a few days, you should go to the Sect's mission hall and take on one or two missions outside. Now that you've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it's time for you to go out and gain experience on your own.'

To Jiang Heng, the more important Zhang Yiyi was to him, the more he couldn't keep her confined within the sect like a flower in a greenhouse.

The real and complex outside world, along with its human nature, would always be the best teacher for his young disciple's growth.

'Yes, I will obey!' Zhang Yiyi cheerfully accepted the order.

For her, she had never really walked through the mundane world as a cultivator, so this first training outside the sect was particularly exciting.

In three days, Zhang Yiyi had handled most of the things she needed to take care of and fully prepared herself for the trip.

Afterward, she made a special trip to meet with Senior Sister Pan. Otherwise, who knew when they would meet again after she returned from her mission.

Last year, Senior Sister Pan had also reached the Foundation Establishment Stage and became an inner sect disciple.

Although she didn't have a master as powerful as Zhang Yiyi's, who was a True Saint of the Great Ascension stage, she had become a disciple of a formation master from one of the five inner peaks. Her life was going fairly well.

From the spoils Zhang Yiyi had gained from the secret realm, she picked out some items that Senior Sister Pan could use and stuffed them into a storage bag for her.

'The mystic realm of Luoxian River didn't have anything good. The things inside couldn't be brought out anyway, so just make do with these for now. Next time, when I go out on my mission, I'll bring back some better things for you.'

Zhang Yiyi didn't have many friends, but Pan Yuexin was definitely one of them.

To her, going out on a mission was like the rare opportunity for travel she'd had in her previous life when her health was poor. Naturally, she wanted to bring back gifts for her loved ones and friends.

Unfortunately, Luoxian River was a one-way place, famous for its stinginess, and the spoils she gained from disciples of other sects weren't anything worthy of her master's or senior brother's eyes.

Otherwise, she would have certainly brought gifts to show her filial respect to her master, senior brother, and even her martial uncle who was still in seclusion, as well as her second senior brother whom she hadn't met yet.

Pan Yuexin knew these were Zhang Yiyi's spoils and didn't decline, happily accepting them.

'No need to go out of your way to find something special for me. You're going on a mission, not a leisure trip, so don't let it delay you or compromise your safety,' Pan Yuexin habitually reminded her. 'When you're out there, always stay on guard. Don't believe everything people say. Bad people don't wear it on their faces, and the ones who talk sweetly are the least trustworthy. Also, don't meddle too much in other people's business. Just do what you can. The world is full of danger and injustice. We mustn't be too kindhearted or soft, or we'll suffer for it.'

As she spoke, Pan Yuexin also stuffed several sets of formation tools and a bunch of mid-to-low-level talismans into Zhang Yiyi's hands for her to use in emergencies.

Zhang Yiyi had already made ample preparations for her journey, so she didn't really need these things. But knowing they were Senior Sister Pan's heartfelt gift, she couldn't refuse and accepted them all.

It was normal for her senior sister, who studied formations, to give her so many useful formation tools. But why so many mid-to-low-level talismans?

This reminded her of when, during the sect competition, Senior Sister Pan had done the same thing, stuffing her with a bunch of low-level talismans as if they were free. In the end, they had indeed come in handy.

The familiar situation made Zhang Yiyi think more deeply.

'Senior Sister, why are you giving me so many talismans again, as if they cost you nothing? Have you found a talisman expert to be your future Dao companion?'

'Nonsense, just take them. Hurry up and go pick a mission before it gets dark!'

Hearing the words 'Dao companion,' Pan Yuexin's face turned red, and she shooed Zhang Yiyi away in a flustered manner, clearly embarrassed.

Seeing her senior sister like this, Zhang Yiyi knew she had most likely guessed right.

She wanted to ask more questions, but Pan Yuexin gave her no chance, waving her hand and running off faster than a rabbit.

Feeling a bit exasperated, Zhang Yiyi sighed. It was only morning, far from dusk. Were people really this careless with their excuses these days?

After being shooed away, Zhang Yiyi went straight to the mission hall to pick an appropriate task for her training.

There were far more tasks available for Foundation Establishment disciples compared to when she was at the Qi Refining stage.

Zhang Yiyi carefully went through all the missions available to Foundation Establishment disciples, comparing and weighing them, and finally chose a search mission that suited her training goals in terms of both risk and difficulty.

Half a year ago, three Qi Refining disciples from the sect had gone missing in succession. The last time the sect lost contact with them, they were all near Jiagu Guan City.

Although only three Qi Refining disciples had disappeared, the timing and location of their disappearances were somewhat similar and strange, so the sect had recently posted an official search mission.

After receiving the mission details, Zhang Yiyi quickly completed the formalities. There was no need to bid farewell to her master or senior brothers, so she left the Yunxian Sect and headed straight for the city.

Jiagu Guan City was not within Yunxian Sect's territory and was quite far away.

Zhang Yiyi couldn't understand why those missing Qi Refining disciples had traveled so far to a place filled with rogue cultivators and mixed company, instead of staying in the sect to cultivate.

What's more, when they had left the sect, their only stated reason for taking leave was 'visiting family.' Later, it was revealed that they didn't have any relatives in that area.

The journey was long, and flying on her sword was both time-consuming and tiring, so Zhang Yiyi decisively chose to take a public teleportation array from the nearest city to Jiagu Guan City.

Anyway, she has plenty of spirit stones now, so it doesn't matter if the sect doesn't reimburse the transportation fee.

By the time Zhang Yiyi reached the teleportation array, she had already changed out of her sect robes and into a plain-colored dress.

At the same time, she used an ancient jade to conceal her cultivation level to the early Foundation Establishment stage, added ten years to her bone age, and even planned to use the name from her previous life."