Chapter 142: Stepping On Air, Flying Among the Clouds
After the martial arts competition ended, Elder He let the two disciples return to rest and recuperate their injuries.
This was especially true for Jiang Li’s ‘leg injury’. Elder He instructed him to exercise more these few days and pay a visit three days later.
Jiang Li dragged his ‘injured leg’ back to his small courtyard.
As soon as he returned to his quiet room, he immediately took out the five items rewarded by the sect’s martial arts competition.
Firstly, it was the token that was almost standard for the fifteen disciples.
According to the rankings, the usage duration of each token was different.
Jiang Li had two in his hands. One was as long as 24 hours, and the other was as long as 16 hours.
However, it was a pity that the sect did not allow them to split up the allocated time in each token for separate uses. To Jiang Li, these two tokens were actually of no difference in value.
Coupled with the token that Jiang Li obtained when he entered the inner sect earlier, which was only two hours long, he already had three Scripture Hall tokens in his possession.
Due to the characteristics of the Scripture Imparting Hall, before the completion of a single scripture transmission, if one entered the room with the same character again, they would automatically be reconnected to the previous scripture until it was completed.
For Jiang Li himself, the ‘Spirit’ Scripture Hall was already meaningless to him.
At the very least, he no longer had to enter this hall until the ‘Great Carefree Bodhisattva Heart Sutra’ was completed.
As for the length of the Bodhisattva Heart Sutra, Jiang Li roughly calculated that it would take 30,000 days which was nearly a century to complete the sutra without sleep and rest.
Even if Jiang Li’s Enlightenment and Mind attributes obtained a considerable increase later on, and the speed at which he comprehended the scripture increased greatly, it would still take many years.
Thus, considering the four rooms of ‘Spirit’, ‘Dharma’, ‘Body’, and ‘Technique’, the three tokens in his possession were already sufficient for Jiang Li to gather the remaining scriptures he needed.
Spirit refinement cultivation method, qi cultivation method, body cultivation method, and Dao spell technique.
Jiang Li currently possessed the Bodhisattva Heart Sutra and the Beast Blood Diagram, two top-notch inheritances.
If he could obtain a few more cultivation methods that were not inferior to the Earth Dust Scripture and Square Heaven Seal, he would make a killing.
However, it would be a waste to use the 24 hours and 16 hours tokens directly.
It would be best if he could exchange it with other disciples and see if he could exchange the extra time for some other benefits.
After putting away the three tokens, Jiang Li looked at the other three items.
First of all, the Heart Protection Mirror was a typical defensive artifact. However, the special thing was that this artifact did not require cultivators to take the initiative to use it. Instead, it would automatically activate according to the aura of the wearer.
At the critical moment, such as an assassination attempt, the wearer might be saved.
However, this thing’s grade was not very high. It was only high-grade Yellow-rank, and its defense was still quite limited. It could only be used for insurance and emergencies, and was not suitable for direct combat.
This Heart Protection Mirror was divided into two parts. After Jiang Li activated it, he stuck it to his chest and back.
Jiang Li picked up the porcelain bottle again. One could tell that it was a very high-grade porcelain bottle just by touching it.
He carefully opened the porcelain bottle and took a sniff. What came out was the smell of blood.
Since Jiang Li stepped into the cultivation world, he had experienced various battles. He had seen many mortals, cultivators, demon beasts, Yin Corpses, and various types of blood. He believed that he could not be wrong.
However, the liquid inside did not have any stench. Instead, it had a slight fragrance of plants.
This smell…
Jiang Li licked his lips as a slight flush appeared on his face.
For some reason, the liquid in the bottle made Jiang Li feel as if his blood was surging and stirring.
He closed the bottle cap again. After a long time, the flush on Jiang Li’s face finally slowly faded.
Before parting with the other members of the Demon Vanquishing Hall, Elder He had specially instructed them not to use the things in the bottle recklessly and to wait for his instructions.
Presumably, this was the reward that Elder He had specially obtained for Jiang Li.
Using appraisal, he only knew that this thing was called [Blood Essence], but as for how it was used and what use it had, he did not know.
However, with Elder He’s understanding of Jiang Li, this thing should be more suitable for his current situation. There was no need for him to worry about it.
He temporarily put away the porcelain bottle, leaving only the pair of boots.
He looked at a wooden sign hanging on the boots.
< Cloud-Treading Boots >
Hmm? Wasn’t this an artifact that could help him walk on air?
Jiang Li was instantly slightly disappointed by this. Merely stepping on air was not rare in the cultivation world.
Even the wood pieces that Jiang Li had casually carved could allow him to achieve such a feat to a certain extent.
Previously, he had asked Yan Hong to help him purchase similar items. The pair of shoes previously were called air-stepping boots, a medium-grade Yellow-rank item.
He had originally wanted to use this kind of artifact to replace the rune wood pieces, in case he had to throw out wood pieces to barely step on air during aerial combat.
However, he later discovered that although that kind of artifact could indeed fly, the weight it could withstand was too small.
Jiang Li had tried it before. It was indeed possible to walk in the air, but the weight of a cultivator could not even exceed 200 kilograms, otherwise, they would not be able to withstand the slow decline.
This was very unfriendly to fat cultivators, but even more so to Jiang Li. This bit of air-treading ability was simply not enough to support him in flying.
Wait.
Jiang Li suddenly noticed the additional words at the bottom of the wooden sign.
Grade, low-grade Profound-rank!
A low-grade Profound-rank artifact was more than a hundred times more valuable than a medium-grade Yellow-rank artifact.
How could a pair of Cloud-Treading Boots have such a grade?
Jiang Li was a little puzzled, but the sect could not be so stingy.
Could it be… that this thing could help him step on air?
As Jiang Li thought about it, he felt a little excited.
He immediately took off his pair of leather boots reinforced with steel plates and put on the Cloud-Treading Boots.
Under the effect of the Armored Horse Divine Travel, his legs, which were already extremely light, seemed to become weightless.
Jiang Li walked out of the cultivation chamber and looked at the spacious courtyard. It felt a little small.
He directly opened the spirit array and gently sent spiritual qi to his feet. Immediately, a solid feeling was felt.
In front of Jiang Li, it was as if an invisible staircase appeared, and he walked up into the sky step by step.
Jiang Li took a step forward and continuously adjusted the output of his spiritual qi to sense the feedback of the Cloud-Treading Boots.
Due to the fact that Jiang Li’s Mind attribute was several times stronger than before and his Parallel Mind was active in his body, his control over artifacts and all aspects was much stronger than before. His adaptation to new things was also faster.
When he rose to a height of 20 meters, Jiang Li had already grasped the initial method to control this artifact.
Disciples were not allowed to fly openly in the sect. Jiang Li could only maintain a height of around twenty meters so that he would not be seen by the disciples outside the Demon Vanquishing Hall.
Then, he raised his foot and kicked hard behind him.
Bang!
Behind Jiang Li, a large area of the air seemed to have been struck by a large hammer, and it emitted a strange muffled sound.
He was clearly stepping on air, but Jiang Li felt as if he had stepped on a stone wall.
A huge reaction force was felt, causing Jiang Li to be like an arrow that left the bow, instantly shooting forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
As he flew forward, Jiang Li was still trampling on the air, and the air behind him emitted muffled sounds repeatedly.
As the strength of his feet increased, his flying speed increased, and the muffled sounds behind him gradually became explosive sounds.
This commotion caused many of the disciples below to look up.
But when they looked up, they saw nothing.
The series of explosions grew farther and farther away.
As he ran to the training ground, the pitch-black Dragon Imprisoning Lock suddenly shot out and wrapped around a human-shaped iron target below, instantly pulling it into the air.
Jiang Li suddenly stepped to the side, his figure abruptly changing direction.
Moving in all directions, he walked in the air was like walking on flat ground.
In the air, one could barely see a white shadow. One turned into two, two into four, four into eight, eight into sixteen.
Afterimages tore through the air as they let out sharp cries. In just a few breaths, they had already swept past the solid iron target hundreds of times.
The heavy iron target was sent flying in the air, but it did not land on the ground after a long time. Iron fists landed on it one after another, and fist imprints floated on the surface.
After receiving continuous attacks, the iron target could not land. The huge impact could not reach the ground, and it collided with the target. More and more cracks appeared on the surface, but in the end, it could not endure it and exploded into pieces.
The iron targets used by the disciples of the Demon Vanquishing Hall were extremely sturdy, but under Jiang Li’s iron fists, they could only end up like this.
The figure in the air slowly slowed down. Jiang Li took a few more steps before slowly landing on the ground.
Just as Elder He had said, he was very satisfied with these Cloud-Treading Boots.
Jiang Li’s legs were augmented by the Armored Horse Divine Travel buff that he had obtained from the ancient talisman so his speed had always been shockingly swift.
Even Senior Sister Liu Mulan, who specialized in agility and speed, could only watch him from behind.
If he was on flat and hard ground, his running speed would always be faster than flying.
However, due to the complicated terrain and the fact that the soft soil could not withstand his feet, it was more convenient for him to fly with his artifact most of the time.
But with these boots, things were different.
If someone bullied Jiang Li for not being good at flying next time, they would probably die an ugly death.
…
The next day, at the location of the Scripture Storage Valley’s Foreign Affairs Hall.
Jiang Li brought a nervous Yan Hong to visit.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang Li!”
At the entrance of the Foreign Affairs Hall, an outer sect disciple who was guarding the door was first stunned when he saw Jiang Li, and then he immediately recognized the superstar. Immediately, he bowed, cupped his hands, and greeted respectfully.
“Senior Brother Jiang Li, why have you come to the Foreign Affairs Hall?”
The Foreign Affairs Hall was in charge of external matters, and its scope of influence was very wide.
Apart from purchasing artifacts, medicinal pills, and selling the products of the sect and other basic duties, all external operations were under their jurisdiction.
Even for the extermination of demons by the Demon Vanquishing Hall, they would often require their assistance in building a stronghold for supplies.
“Junior Brother, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. We’re here to visit Senior Brother Ma Donggui. We need Junior Brother’s help to guide the way!”
Jiang Li’s enthusiastic intention to deliberately make friends yesterday was naturally not to find something to do out of boredom.
It was because Jiang Li really needed them.
Under the guidance of that registered disciple, the two of them walked into the region of the Foreign Affairs Hall.
This was completely different from the training facilities in the Demon Vanquishing Hall.
At least half of the buildings in the Foreign Affairs Hall were warehouses. There were even many things placed on both sides of the road.
Yan Hong followed beside Jiang Li. His eyes lit up when he saw the goods by the roadside.
Jiang Li did not know many of these things, but Yan Hong, who had been in the trading area for a long time, knew them well.
Typically, with just a glance, he could tell the location and quality of the goods and quickly determine the price range of this thing on the market.
Buying as much as he could at the price and earning as much as possible, exposing the fake goods of unscrupulous businessmen, and being careful in all transactions.
It could be seen that Yan Hong had indeed learned a lot during the past half a year in the trading area.
In any case, even if he had three heads, Jiang Li would not be able to do such a thing.
“Senior Brother Jiang Li, this is the place. I still have to guard the door, so I’ll take my leave first.”
The disciple took his leave, and Jiang Li went up to knock on the door.
“Who is it? Didn’t I tell you that I won’t be seeing anyone these few days!”
Ma Donggui’s native accent sounded from the door. From his tone, it could be seen that this guy’s status in the Foreign Affairs Hall was not low.
Jiang Li had previously learned about Ma Donggui’s background. He was not recruited through the Immortal Ascension Pavilion’s Assembly.
He was an orphan who was brought back from a rural area when the Head Elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall was out traveling to gather a rare spiritual material.
Afterwards, after being tested for a rare mutated lightning spiritual root, he was directly taken under the tutelage of the Head Elder.
Under normal circumstances, such a talented disciple would not be accepted by the Foreign Affairs Hall. However, he had actually encountered one.
Due to their affinity, the Head Elder of the Foreign Affairs Hall adored Ma Donggui very much. He was not stingy with the investment of various cultivation resources.
Ma Donggui did not need to learn or handle the matters of the Foreign Affairs Hall and only needed to cultivate in peace.
His status in the Foreign Affairs Hall was only that of a disciple, but no matter which elder it was, they had to consider it carefully before offending him.
“Junior Brother Jiang Li? Why have you come?”
Ma Donggui did not wear a shirt and was still wrapped in some bandages. It seemed that the injuries from Jiang Li’s talisman explosion had not completely recovered.
His physique was worlds apart from that man who possessed a cheat.
“I said yesterday that I would pay you a visit. Don’t tell me I’m not welcomed?”
After Jiang Li handed over a beautifully wrapped gift with a smile, he was enthusiastically invited in.
Ma Donggui came from a rural area. Such a person could only rely on himself all along, be it begging for food or working for others.
Don’t be fooled by his simple and honest appearance. He was much more knowledgeable about the status between people than ordinary people.
If not for the fact that Jiang Li had a genius aptitude and was also the disciple of the Head Elder of the Demon Vanquishing Hall, he would not have given him so much respect.
One had to know that a lightning spiritual root cultivator was even more violent and rash than a fire spiritual root cultivator.
After a round of chatting, after Ma Donggui poured a cup of tea for Jiang Li, he got straight to the point and asked about Jiang Li’s purpose for coming.
“The martial arts competition has just ended. Junior Brother Jiang Li is injured and is probably not here to drink tea.”
“I’m a boorish person and don’t know too much. If Junior Brother Jiang Li needs anything, I definitely won’t refuse.”
He said that about himself, but how could he be more boorish-looking than the current Jiang Li?
“I’m ashamed to say this. I have a favor to ask of you despite coming to visit for the first time.”
“Senior Brother Ma, let me introduce you. This is my good friend from the same hometown called Yan Hong. He’s quick-witted and is quite proficient in doing business.”
“Junior Brother, I came here today to ask for a registered disciple position for him.”
Jiang Li had already thought about this matter for a long time. No matter if it was him or Yan Hong, it was greatly beneficial to both of them. Now that the time was ripe, he naturally had to deal with it.