CHAPTER 6: WALKING A PET

"Heavenly Dao Fragment? Not too shabby. Quite generous of the game, actually."

As someone from the Blue Planet, Heavenly Dao Fragments were all too familiar. After all, defying the heavens wasn’t cool anymore—it was cliché. Regardless, Heavenly Dao Fragments were definitely good stuff.

Upon accepting the Heavenly Dao Fragments, he gained free rein over the Xuanyuan Forbidden Zone. It made him feel like the Game Master.

"Seems like this zone is mine now," Qi Yuan muttered to himself, "Interesting."

He wasn’t particularly delighted, though. "Is this all the Heavenly Dao Fragments amount to? Or do I need to collect them all before they become useful?"

Qi Yuan shifted his attention to the Divine Brush. "Since the Divine Brush is condensed from the power of rules, can it engrave rules onto this zone? Maybe like entry restrictions? How about requiring a ladder to enter?"

Qi Yuan recalled something interesting he saw on the Blue Planet. It seemed like people could go anywhere they wanted as long as they had a ladder. Be it to cinemas, amusement parks, zoos—none of the staff would stop them.

With that in mind, Qi Yuan wrote down a rule.

Ladder carriers are permitted free entry.

Qi Yuan rubbed his tired eyes. Looks like it’s getting late. Time to take my pet out for a walk.

Excessive gaming mentally exhausted him, which was why he sometimes seemed out of sorts and detached in the Divine Radiance Sect. It wasn’t entirely the game’s fault, though. That was just how he was. Maybe he did seem a bit off.

Qi Yuan tidied himself up, getting ready to walk his pet. He would also visit Zhuge Miao while he was at it.

At the same time, Jiang Lingsu also stepped out of her straw hut. She had spent the whole day setting the place up. Now, she planned to go down the mountain to buy some daily necessities.

Just then, she heard footsteps and looked over.

Is Senior Brother heading out?

Upon seeing him, Jiang Lingsu froze. With a puzzled expression, she asked, "Senior Brother, what are you doing?"

Qi Yuan, still clad in the same white robe from earlier today, was holding a rope. He seemed to be walking a pet. Well, minus the pet.

Is that a vegetable knife?!

The other end of the rope was indeed tied to a vegetable knife, making Qi Yuan look like a lunatic.

"I am walking my pet," Qi Yuan said calmly. "It has been indoors for so long that its legs are becoming rusty. I have to walk it for a bit and let it have some fresh air."

Vegetable knives had legs? Walking it prevents rust? You think it's made of spiritual iron?

No matter how she looked at it, it was clearly just an ordinary vegetable knife! She was now absolutely certain that her senior brother had a few loose screws.

Jiang Lingsu managed to reply, "Your taste is a little strange, Senior Brother."

"Are you heading down the mountain too? Shall we go together?" Qi Yuan offered.

"No!" Jiang Lingsu swiftly declined. "Please go ahead, Senior Brother. I will head down a bit later."

If she followed her senior brother, who was walking a vegetable knife, they would definitely get tons of stares. She’d die from embarrassment!

Qi Yuan glanced at Jiang Lingsu and then turned to his vegetable knife, saying seriously, "Be good. Don’t pull on the leash. I won't save you if someone beats you to death with a stick."

Unlike those who’d let their pets run around crazily, Qi Yuan made sure his pet was leashed. Well, it was better this way. It’d be troublesome if it started to unleash the Eight Summer Slashes.

Qi Yuan held onto the leash as he headed down the Seven-Colored Peak. The sky had just started to dim, and refreshing evening air had begun to blow. He felt at ease as he walked his pet. Gaming for too long made his eyes and fingers hurt. Walking around, enjoying the breeze, and checking out some girls helped him recover.

After all, this was a world of cultivation. The probability of encountering beauties was much higher than in his previous life. Moreover, they all had beautiful, fair skin and no obvious blemishes on their face. They didn’t need makeup to look stunning.

"Senior Brother Qi Yuan," a tall, young woman greeted. She wore a short skirt, flaunting her long, jade-like legs. They were eye-catching—fair yet didn't look sickly.

"Hmm." Qi Yuan responded.

He walked his pet every evening. At the start, he was the only one. However, as the senior disciple of the Seven-Colored Peak, he had some level of fame. Many started imitating him and walked their own pets too. Gradually, it became a trend in the Divine Radiance Sect.

Of course, the pets of the other disciples were actual pets, or rather, spirit beasts with combat ability.

Qi Yuan looked at the long-legged woman's pet. "Your little turtle looks pretty good. Give it a few thousand more years, and it might gain intelligence."

The woman beamed with pride when she heard the first half of his sentence. After all, she had chosen this spirit beast with the utmost care! The second half annoyed her, though.

Thousands of years to gain intelligence? How is that supposed to be good?

No matter how patient she was, she couldn’t help but retort, "And when do you think your pet will gain intelligence, Senior Brother Qi Yuan?"

Would a vegetable knife ever gain intelligence?

Noticing the commotion, several Divine Radiance Sect disciples burst into laughter.

Qi Yuan frowned and pondered for a bit. He then answered seriously, "It should gain intelligence in a year at most, maybe even sooner."

"Senior Brother, you really know how to joke around." The long-legged woman laughed. She clearly didn’t believe him.

Qi Yuan just smiled, choosing not to explain further.

As their conversation ended, Zhuge Miao appeared. "Junior Brother Qi Yuan has modified the Spirit-Refining Sutra and is testing it himself. Whether he succeeds or not, his courage is commendable. And you mock him for it? You all are like frogs at the bottom of a well."

Everyone lowered their heads.

"We apologize, Senior Brother. We were wrong."

Zhuge Miao was the chief disciple of the Divine Medicine Peak and a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. Everyone held more respect and fear for him. As for the easygoing Qi Yuan, they didn’t have as much awe for him.

After reprimanding the crowd, Zhuge Miao walked up to Qi Yuan. "Junior Brother Qi Yuan, my apologies for being late. My Master was refining pills today, and I was assisting him. Please forgive me."

Zhuge Miao’s overbearing aura had completely disappeared. He regarded Qi Yuan as an equal, and even with a trace of admiration. Even his tone was extremely humble, a stark contrast to his domineering behavior from earlier.

"Junior Brother Qi Yuan, I’d obtained an Nourishing Essence Pill recipe from a cave, but it’s incomplete. I wonder if you could help me shed some light on it? I’m willing to offer a Foundation Establishment spirit item in exchange."

Qi Yuan accepted the recipe and took a look.

[This is an incomplete recipe for the Essence-Nourishing Pill. If cinnabar is replaced with privet and the goat drum with Little Taihua, the pill's effectiveness can rise by fifty percent, and its toxicity will slightly decrease.]