Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

“Feeding!” Lu Zhiying lit up in anticipation.

Zhao Yunxiao was right.

This was indeed what she had been curious about!

These small flowers... just how were they capable of posing a threat to people who were so much bigger than them?

“Watch out,” Zhao Yunxiao cautioned, he himself taking a step away from the Frozen Spiders.

As he said that, Gu Qiansi gently pulled Lu Zhiying further back.

Lei Wenzhang and Qing Dian did the same as well. In fact, they stayed at a distance even further away than Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying.

Seeing that the rest of them had steered clear, Zhao Yunxiao reached into his bamboo backpack once more and pulled out two rabbits.

The rabbits remained completely motionless in his hands, either dead or incapacitated.

A rabbit in each hand, Zhao Yunxiao carefully placed the two rabbits on the ground at the same time, one nearer to each of the Frozen Spiders.

At this point, Zhao Yunxiao was constantly channelling his essence energy through the two rabbits as well, using it to conceal them just like how he was concealing himself.

But once he was ready, Zhao Yunxiao simultaneously released both hands from the two rabbits, at the same time pulling back every last bit of essence energy that he had been channelling through them.

Zhao Yunxiao quickly leapt backwards, creating a safe distance between himself and the two motionless rabbits.

It was a very subtle movement, but the moment Zhao Yunxiao let go of the rabbits, the two flowers trembled slightly.

Crack-!

The ground around the rabbits suddenly split apart, revealing numerous thick roots that shot up and bound the rabbits in an instant.

These roots were inches thick and had small spikes protruding from it, easily piercing through the rabbits’ fur the moment the roots wrapped around them.

Despite that, no blood could be seen flowing out of these wounds. That was because before the blood could even begin to flow, the spikes had already sucked the blood dry.

In a way, one could at least say that there was no blood wasted, with every last bit flowing into the long roots.

Then again, it was not just the blood that went missing.

One moment the two rabbits were just lying there, and the next moment the rabbits were gone, completely hidden behind the numerous thick roots that had wrapped around them like cocoons.

As if that was not enough, the cocoons of spiky roots slowly descended into the ground, dragging the rabbits along until they eventually disappeared from sight.

From the moment Zhao Yunxiao released the rabbits, up till them disappearing into the ground... everything happened in a matter of seconds.

Just like that, silence returned to the garden plot, as though the events from earlier had never happened.

The Frozen Spiders continued to sway in the wind, appearing as harmless as ever.

But now, Lu Zhiying’s impression of these flower had completely changed.

“Looks like they are both eating well at least,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded in satisfaction before turning to Lu Zhiying. “How is it? Satisfied?”

Lu Zhiying: “...”

She had felt a chill run down her spine earlier, seeing how easily the two rabbits were seemingly erased from existence.

What made it worse was that had she not been told beforehand, Lu Zhiying would never have imagined that those vines from earlier actually came from these two harmless-looking flowers!

“Are you all right?” Gu Qiansi gently tapped her on the shoulder.

“...How strong are their roots?” Lu Zhiying finally asked.

“Enough to take down numerous people at once,” Gu Qiansi said with a smile. “Many people focus on developing means to deal with powerful monsters or spirit beasts when out hunting, but what they fail to realise is that spiritual plants can be even more dangerous at times.”

“This is how they got their names,” Zhao Yunxiao added. “They are called Frozen Spiders because their roots spread out underground like a spiderweb, capable of trapping any unsuspecting prey that is unlucky enough to venture within.”

Huu-!

Lu Zhiying let out a deep breath to calm herself down.

Still, it only took a couple of moments before a smile slowly started to creep across her face once more. “Are there a lot more of such dangerous plants?”

“Of course,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “There are plenty, many of which are far scarier than Frozen Spiders too.”

At the same time, he was relieved to see that Lu Zhiying had regained her usual temperament.

After seeing Lu Zhiying’s initial response, he had been slightly worried that Lu Zhiying would grow too fearful and lose confidence in herself.

That would be akin to a death sentence to any promise of excellence that Lu Zhiying had shown so far.

After all, cultivators were required to continuously surpass their limits in pursuit of greater heights.

If one were to lose their self-confidence and no longer believe in their own abilities, there was no way they could tread far on the path of cultivation.

But it seemed that his worries were unfounded.

From the looks of it, Lu Zhiying was only getting more excited to encounter such dangerous plants in the future!

On second thought, perhaps injecting a bit of fear into her would have been a good thing too, especially if it could help tone down her reckless behaviour a little...

“Stop scaring the poor girl! Don’t worry, Junior Martial Sister Lu. I was just as creeped out when I firsrt saw this as well,” Qing Bian tried to console Lu Zhiying without having realised the change in her expression. “Things like this are what make me reconsider ever venturing out into the wilds.”

“You can’t just keep staying within the safety of the sect grounds as well,” Lei Wenzhang chided. “Venturing out into the wilds might come with its share of dangers, but it also helps to temper both your mind and body. It is necessary if you wish to grow as a cultivator.”

“Yes, yes, I’m not saying that I won’t ever do it. I already told you that I just want to make sure that I’m fully prepared before actually doing so,” Qing Bian answered impatiently.

It sounded like this was not the first time they had this conversation.

“Is that all? Are you not going to feed them more?” Gu Qiansi asked.

“No, I’m trying to see if their behaviours will adjust according to the lack of prey,” Zhao Yunxiao explained. “Perhaps they can transition from being carnivorous to simply creating their own food sources like most plants do.”

“That’s just starving them...” Gu Qiansi frowned.

“If they don’t adapt well, I will feed them more next time,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “Don’t worry. It was not easy getting my hands on them, so I definitely won’t want them to die on me either.”

“Are you done here then?” Qing Bian asked. “You have confirmed that we have enough prepared to meet the monthly quota, and also checked on your strange monster plants. Is there anything else you would like to check?”

“So eager to chase me off? Do you have something to hide?” Zhao Yunxiao narrowed his eyes at Qing Bian.

“Haha, how can that be? It’s just that I have an appointment to go to, and would like to go prepare for it as soon as possible,” Qing Bian shrugged.

“If you have something on, you can go ahead and leave first,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “I still have something else that I need to do here.”

“Hmm? Do you have more strange plants to be experimented on?” Lei Wenzhang asked.

“How rude, what do you mean strange plants?” Zhao Yunxiao clicked his tongue in irritation.

“Zhao Yunxiao is right for once. There are no strange plants, only plants that we don’t know much about,” Gu Qiansi agreed.

“Whatever, do you have more plants to be experimented on then?” Lei Wenzhang asked.

“That’s not it,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head. “I just need to set up some stuff.”

“Set up some stuff?” Lei Wenzhang raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “Don’t worry, Senior Martial Brother Lei. Feel free to go back to whatever you need to do. I will just handle this myself.”

“What are you planning to do though?” Lei Wenzhang was still curious.

“I can tell you if you are willing to pay to find out,” Zhao Yunxiao grinned.

“Not interested,” Lei Wenzhang snorted. “Let’s go, Junior Martial Brother Qing.”

“Yeah, I will get going now. Just don’t screw things up and blame it on us, Junior Martial Brother Zhao,” Qing Bian warned.

“I’m not stupid enough to sabotage my own garden plot,” Zhao Yunxiao assured them.

Hearing that, Lei Wenzhang and Qing Bian left the garden plot.

From the looks of it, they were just here to meet Zhao Yunxiao. Now that they were done, both of them left to tend to their own matters.

“So, what are you intending to do, Senior Martial Brother Zhao?” Lu Zhiying asked.

“Monster traps,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile.

“Monster traps?” Gu Qiansi repeated in surprise.

“Well, not exactly that either. More like something that can help identify any trespassing monsters,” Zhao Yunxiao clarified while rummaging through his bamboo backpack. “After what happened to your garden plot, I realised that I should probably do something to safeguard my own garden plot as well.”

“But why identifiers instead of traps?” Gu Qiansi asked.

“Do you know how expensive it is to make traps? How can I afford to set them up here for an indefinite period, and without any potential returns to speak of?” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “All I can do is set up identifiers such that if the plot does get invaded by some monster, I can at least prove it to Senior Lan so that she can do something about it. It will be even better if we can convince her to cover the costs of the damaged crops!”

By Senior Lan, Zhao Yunxiao was referring to Lan Tingyu – the administrative deacon in charge of his garden plot.

“It’s always about costs and benefits when it comes to Senior Martial Brother Zhao!” Lu Zhiying laughed.

“It’s about being realistic,” Zhao Yunxiao answered while pulling out a coil of silver thread from his bamboo backpack.

“String? How are you planning to use that as an identifier?” Lu Zhiying asked.

“Don’t underestimate this thing. It can be quite sharp when taut,” Zhao Yunxiao explained. “Once it is properly laid out around the garden plot, it can leave cuts on any uninvited guests, allowing us to identify these intruders by blood. Even if it doesn’t cut through the flesh, it can at least help to collect some fur or skin for identification.”

“That’s true, but why didn’t you tell Senior Martial Brother Lei and Senior Martial Brother Qing earlier? What if they get cut as well before you can tell them next time you meet?” Gu Qiansi asked.

“Heh, it is not as if the silver thread if completely undetectable. If they really get cut, that will be testament to their carelessness then!” Zhao Yunxiao grinned playfully. “You can say that I am just helping them to hone their observation skills!”

Gu Qiansi: “...”

Lu Zhiying: “...”

At times like this, Gu Qiansi could not help but feel relieved that she did not accept Zhao Yunxiao’s proposition to join him at his garden plot.

Regardless of their misgivings, Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying still helped Zhao Yunxiao set up the silver thread as per his plan, creating a system of silver thread that surrounded the garden plot.

After all, they had to wait till Zhao Yunxiao was done here anyway, so they might as well help to speed things up a little.

It had taken them a few hours to complete the setup, and dusk was quickly approaching by then.

The silver thread was thin enough to remain relatively undetected, only really visible to those who were consciously looking out for it.

Now that the sun was going down, this was even more the case.

Even though they were the ones who had set up the silver thread, they themselves could barely make out the exact positions of the silver thread anymore.

In a way, they could see it working perfectly against any intruding monsters or spirit beasts.

“Come to think of it, won’t any intruding monsters be taken care of by the Frozen Spiders anyway?” Lu Zhiying asked after a moment of contemplation.

“That might be the case, but it depends on who or what the intruders are as well,” Gu Qiansi explained. “Some monsters have sharp natural instincts when it comes to danger, so they are able to avoid the territory of the Frozen Spiders, aiming instead for the rest of the crops.”

“There are also those that are not afraid of the Frozen Spiders,” Zhao Yunxiao added. “Frozen Spiders might be scary, but it is not difficult to avoid their detection if you know how to do so.”

“That’s true,” Lu Zhiying nodded.

The Frozen Spiders’ spiked roots seemed terrifying, but the fact was that Zhao Yunxiao had been able to move freely in their vicinity without triggering any attacks from them as well.

“So, where are we going next?” Lu Zhiying was not ready to rest for the day just yet.

“I am thinking of restocking some of my supplies at the Sect Market,” Zhao Yunxiao said before turning towards Gu Qiansi. “Are you still going to take a look at your garden plot?”

“Come to think of it, I have some supplies that I need to get as well, so let’s go together. I will just check on my garden plot tomorrow,” Gu Qiansi shook her head.

“Sect Market!” Lu Zhiying’s eyes lit up in excitement once more.

That was a name that she had not heard before, but it was obvious what they would be finding at the Sect Market.

Perhaps she would finally be seeing all those amazing cultivation treasures that she had yet to catch a single glimpse of since joining the sect!