novelraw Chapter 596 - 595 Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence
Chapter 596 - 595 Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence
"Oh, I got it." Huang Niu’Er pouted, evidently full of displeasure.
Seeing this, Huang Hanying felt heavy-hearted and couldn’t help but remind, "Niu’Er, although we Puppet Masters aren’t as powerful in direct combat as other Demon Cultivators, as long as we comprehend the cultivation technique and use the puppets we create for battle, we’re no worse than anyone else. Besides, we can safely control them from behind.
There are countless Spirit Stones in the world; no one can amass all the wealth. Without sufficient Life Chart Fortune, even if you have mountains of wealth, you might earn it but not live long enough to spend it. For cultivators, the most crucial thing is to pursue the great Dao and seek immortality. Do not get your priorities wrong.
I raised you from a young age and would not harm you. Cultivate with a peaceful mind. While I can’t promise you riches and a long life, if you cultivate your heart and mind to a certain realm, there is hope for your longevity!"
Having said this much, anything more would reveal too much. She only hoped that the word "immortality" could make her apprentice focus.
"Master, you’ve repeated this so many times I can recite it backwards." Huang Niu’Er sighed perfunctorily, "If we don’t take the job, we don’t take it. I’ll go carve some wood."
Protect my immortality? As soon as he turned around, a trace of impatience appeared on his face.
Thinking to himself, her lifespan is almost up, and she’s only a Fifth Layer Puppet Master in the Bone Refining Realm. She’s never been rich enough to make a powerful puppet, yet she talks of preserving my immortality?
At such an age, with a hunched back, she might die any day. If she truly had such skills, she wouldn’t be running a shabby little shop at the lowest level of the Golden Chicken River Market.
If even a hint of the word "immortality" were leaked, you’d instantly become a guest at the Venerable Lord’s table!
Protect my immortality, indeed. First, keep yourself alive!
Complaining about others using puppets for selfish gains, do you know how many Spirit Stones they can earn? If things were as Grandma said, why does Master Zhao, who does all the bad deeds, still enjoy wealth and luxury?
If Heaven really rewards hard work, why does Grandma work herself to the bone but can’t become wealthy or ascend to a higher realm? Not daring to do a single bad deed but still living in poverty, where did your blessings go?
This shows that the so-called principle of good and evil having consequences is merely self-deception for those unable to earn wealth, fooling themselves as a comfort!
The more Huang Niu’Er thought about it, the more he felt wronged. Holding the carving knife, he stabbed at the wooden sculpture as if venting his temper, his mind filled with scenes of high-tier cultivators lavishly living in those grand houses above.
Of course, he hadn’t seen it many times because he usually had to watch the shop and help Grandma make puppets, leaving little time to wander around.
Occasionally, when sent for deliveries, he’d pass through interconnected corridors, seeing the bright lights and lively scenes, dreaming of joining them, commanding respect and admiration.
But reality was brief daydreams followed by a return to the small shabby shop to do endless hard labor, with no chance to venture out and no opportunity for adventure.
He admitted that Grandma had taken him in and raised him, but her nurturing wasn’t without expectations. Since he could remember, he had to help with work, essentially being raised with minimal cost as a little slave to be ordered around!
"Alas!" Huang Hanying pretended to turn into the living quarters at the back of the shop, but in reality, she stood behind the door, observing his every movement. Seeing him so defiant, clearly not taking in a single word, she sighed silently.
Useless!
She was originally a jade clam living in a cold pool, transforming into a Demon Cultivator after acquiring a cultivation method by chance.
Ever since she could remember, she had no family or friends, living alone. After becoming a Demon Cultivator, the cultivation wasn’t suitable, and her speed was slow, so with a low realm and poor social skills, she wandered alone.
Later, while wandering, she was lucky enough to encounter a secret realm opening, and after passing many trials, Huang Hanying obtained a True Inheritance Technique for Puppet Masters. After cultivating it, she found it suited her, thus becoming a Puppet Master.
Having simple puppets was much better than her previous days, and occasionally she dared to join in the excitement by controlling a puppet, gaining some benefits along the way.
Huang Niu’Er was a little demon beast she saved while scavenging with her puppet.
At the time, two demon beast tribes were fighting fiercely, and many artifact refining materials, demon cores, and corpses were scattered on the ground while other cultivators were taking advantage of the chaos.
Huang Hanying also released her puppets to collect more demon cores to exchange for Spirit Stones, but during the search, she discovered a small demon beast calf in the wreckage affected by the battle!
Probably just born, the tiny, soft being curled up in a corner, looking pitiful.
Feeling compassion, she gave up picking up demon cores and carefully protected the little calf with her puppet, taking it off the battlefield.
When the fight ended, leaving ruins and bodies everywhere, there was no way to find the calf’s parents, so Huang Hanying took it with her and raised it carefully.
"It seemed fine at first, but who knew as it grew up, it became so materialistic..." The old lady’s heart was heavy, and her steps revealed her age as she walked to the table, slowly sat down, and took out the high-priced Longevity Pill from her Storage Bag, examining it closely.
She had told Huang Niu’Er of his origin but never brought it up repeatedly, fearing that the child would be bound by thoughts of repaying the favor, changing the affection from their years of dependence on each other.
After all, raising him and teaching him skills, Huang Hanying truly treated the child as her only reliable family, sincerely wanting to teach him the Longevity Technique she had comprehended.
But now, for a mere ten thousand Spirit Stones business, Huang Niu’Er’s materialistic nature was revealed.
She felt both relieved and saddened in her heart.
Relieved to have discovered early that the child’s heart was unreliable; saddened that the child she raised herself disdained the less affluent living conditions and disregarded everything for a small profit.
"Even the children you raise yourself are unreliable; who can you depend on in the future?" Huang Hanying swallowed the Longevity Pill, feeling the vigorous vitality spread within her, easing the sensation of her dwindling lifespan.
She exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly stood up, returning to her room to activate the array, and only then carefully opened the hidden compartment by her bed.
"Clatter!"
A mechanism gently clicked, revealing a puppet resembling a sleeping young girl under the bedboard.
"I’ve bought myself ten more years. If by then I still can’t restore you perfectly, and that rebellious child can’t be depended on, what am I going to do?" The frail and aged fingers brushed across the girl’s tender face, leaving only a heavy sigh in the dim room.
"Sigh! It’s really hard to earn points!" Jiang Yuan lamented, his eyes filled with longing for the automatic sprinkler.
But in the Mysterious Cave, you can’t spend money; the system is tightly controlled, requiring you to earn points bit by bit to exchange for the desired goods. Moreover, after defeating monsters on each level, it’s still not enough; you have to clear all the obstacles to reveal the passage to the next level.
In this way, the intention of defeating monsters to earn the most points was thwarted.
Luckily, there’s still ample time. The products won’t refresh until midnight, so he drank a cup of Spirit Tea to replenish his energy, motivating himself, "Heaven rewards diligence. Even if I don’t get it today, I’ll definitely be able to exchange for it next time!"
After all, a little more effort results in a few more points in the account; having something is better than having nothing.
As the Wilderness was about to ascend, Bai Yunqi and two others returned after a night of bloody battle;
Jiang Yuan set certain permissions for the Bluebird to enter and exit the Misty Ridge instance freely, so she teleported out and happened to see that annoying snake, then turned to Hu Zhile, "Where’s my brother?"
"The Venerable Family had something urgent to attend to and it’s uncertain when they’ll be back." She pointed to the house with a smile, "The Venerable Family specially prepared hot meals for us in advance, placing them in the storage box for us to take whenever we want."
"What? And your little sister? Why did she come back from the Market?"
"There was no time to pick her up, so she stayed there for the time being. Anyway, we’re short on Immortal Jade, she can contact the Venerable Family for exchange directly."
Hearing this, Bluebird stamped her feet and pouted, "That stinky brother! He promised to help when he had time with those tricky things, but then had something else to do. And who knows what he’s busy with, why doesn’t he ask us to help?"
Bai Yunqi looked up at the sky and sighed, "Do you even need to ask? Surely it’s because we can’t help the Venerable Family, and bringing us would just be a burden."
With that, he listlessly went inside the house.
Bluebird was left puzzled, "What’s up with that snake? What blow did it receive?"
"Senior Bai feels that the amount of Demon Cores hunted last night was too little, not impressive enough." Yun Mo replied in a lowered voice, "Recently, the price of Demon Cores has been skyrocketing. We wanted to seize the opportunity to help the Mister earn more Spirit Stones, but last night, after tracking them for a long time, we failed to hunt the Demon Beast group successfully."
"I see..." Bluebird sighed inwardly, her brother never mentioned favors, yet all the members of the small courtyard knew how to be grateful.
That snake, though annoying, sulks for not hunting enough Demon Cores, which is somewhat endearing. Oh well, when I regain my strength, I won’t hold it against him.
"Sir!" Yun Shu sprinted onto the Cloud Prairie, bursting through the protective barrier with excitement, "Sir, I finally drew a Teleportation Talisman!"
When Wan Mingchuan went to the Otherworld previously, she couldn’t draw talismans yet and could only send him off with Advanced Talismans. After ceaseless effort over these few days, she finally succeeded with her first Teleportation Talisman!
Qian Duoduo, responsible for teaching the Path of Runes, was both shocked and pleased. Shocked at how incredibly talented this girl was to complete the leap from talisman to talisman drawing in such a short time; pleased at the significant teaching results, proving that his considerable fees were worth every cent, justifying his spending.
Yun Shu was overjoyed, eager to show her teacher the results, but she didn’t have permission to use the Teleportation Array temporarily, so she rushed out of Cloud City to bring a surprise to everyone.
Unexpectedly, the teacher wasn’t home.
"It’s really a Teleportation Talisman! Yun Shu, you’re amazing!" Hu Zhile, seeing her disappointment, hurried forward to take a look. The paper talisman emitted familiar Spiritual Power waves, barely different from the typical Teleportation Talisman.
Bluebird didn’t hold back in her praise, giving a thumbs-up, "Truly impressive. The path of talismans requires talent just like Alchemy and Artifact Refining. If you can learn to draw genuine runes in such a short time, you will surely become a Talisman Master with time!"
"Congratulations, Miss Yun Shu, in being able to draw a Teleportation Talisman, you are already a true Talisman Master."
"As they say, Heaven rewards diligence. The Venerable Family will surely be pleased to know about it. Yun Shu, well done!"
...
Faced with the sincere praises from the small courtyard members, Yun Shu, who was initially disappointed, couldn’t help but feel delighted inside, and her smile bloomed on her face.
She thought about how becoming a Talisman Master made her an irreplaceable, valuable member of the small courtyard, without the worry of being discarded!
"Master Qian said that my ability to learn how to draw Teleportation Talismans is indeed excellent, but I mustn’t become arrogant or impatient. He advised me to practice diligently during this period, striving to fully master the Teleportation Talismans, and if I can draw high-quality runes, so much the better."
She chuckled, "It’s perfect that I’ll practice at home. When the teacher returns, I’ll aim to have drawn dozens, so he can take them to the Market and exchange them for Spirit Stones."