The female attendants recalled the previous times they had cleaned the arena. Compared to the current scene, the one-on-one duels between inner disciples, which were brutal enough to require careful consideration before handling anyone, were like a minor skirmish. They hesitated over which part to even grab.
Only Gu Junshi remained unfazed. Whether it was a whole corpse, half a corpse, upper half, lower half, or dismembered limbs, she dragged them away and discarded them without hesitation. If an uninformed observer saw her detached and cold demeanor towards death, they might mistake her for a deranged killer disposing of bodies.
Although she arrived late, her accumulation of sect contribution points was faster than anyone else's.
Finally, even the demonic beasts that Little Yuan had defeated were dragged away by her alone, with her proficiently tossing a leg off the arena.
Female attendants: "..." My goodness, she's so strong!
They suspected she might not have been a mere village girl in the mortal realm, but rather a martial arts master in disguise.
Perhaps influenced by Gu Junshi's stoic and diligent work ethic, they no longer felt disgusted. Instead, they were eager to snatch some of the leaked contribution points from her, and their work efficiency drastically improved.
Fetching water from the Eastern Peak Waterfall Spring and returning took a quarter of an hour. They poured bucket after bucket onto the arena, washing away the still-drying bloodstains. This tedious and exhausting task would take them, the attendants, an entire day.
—
As dusk settled, the attendants, with their tired bodies, returned to the lower peak. Their waist tokens had already recorded the contribution points for the day's cleaning. Some earned dozens, while others earned over a hundred.
And the ridiculously high amount... Gu Junshi alone earned over two hundred contribution points.
Jealousy and envy contorted their faces! They recalled their earlier worry about her not earning enough contribution points and suffering from cold and hunger, and now they only wanted to hug themselves with concern.
However, compared to the thousands of contribution points inner disciples could earn from a single sect collection mission, their accumulated labor points were pitiful. They could only exchange them for ordinary daily necessities. More advanced medicinal herbs for cultivation and healing were astronomically expensive for them, requiring tens of thousands of sect contribution points.
Upon their return, they learned that Little Yuan had already left the lower peak and become a registered disciple of Mount Wumei, barely squeezing into the ranks of outer disciples, as she hadn't yet found a master willing to formally accept and guide her.
Before she left, she had left them a note. The attendant sisters excitedly huddled together to read its contents, but Gu Junshi showed no interest and turned to leave.
Not reaching for what is not yours, this is a lesson even children are taught from a young age.
—
In the deep quiet of the night, when all was still, thin black mist flowed silently along the mountain path, feeling damp and cold. There was no wind, no insect chirps, only profound stillness in the deep mountains.
The vast moonlight illuminated the pale ground. The night mist, unhindered by the surrounding barriers, resolutely entered a pitch-black land. Outside, the moonlight could not penetrate. The winds howled coldly from all sides. Thick, poisonous miasma and shadows obscured the sky, as if impossible to cut with a knife or pierce with a needle.
Most people might not see through it, but the "poisonous miasma" was formed by the continuous upward surge of rotten and foul death energy from underground, while the "mist" was comprised of the densely packed, pressing souls wandering in the chaos above.
Frankly speaking, this kind of underworld ambiance was always detested and resisted by cultivators.
However, for Gu Junshi, this was an excellent place for cultivation.
Since the outbreak of the Three Realms War a thousand years ago, the Underworld and the "Gate of Yellow Springs" had disappeared from the face of the earth. Without the Underworld to ferry wandering souls for reincarnation, the souls of the deceased from the Spirit Realm, Demon Realm, and Devil Tribes were forced to remain in their death places, never to attain reincarnation, until they dissipated and transformed into spiritual energy to nourish the living world.
What exactly happened a thousand years ago was a secret known only to a very few. Even Gu Junshi had not uncovered the truth. She only knew that these people had concealed this secret for a full millennium. During this thousand years, the number of lingering souls in the entire living world had reached a terrifyingly vast figure.
No one knew what would happen to this world when the number of dead in the cultivation world far surpassed the living.
The black mist dispersed, gradually forming a solid figure. Gu Junshi wore a flowing, dark cloak. The wide brim of her hat covered her head, completely obscuring her form. From the moment she appeared, the wandering souls, as if drawn by something, began to rush towards her. Having drifted for so many years, they had long lost their consciousness and were driven only by instinct.
Gu Junshi had no intention of stopping them. She needed a large number of souls to open the "Gate of Yellow Springs." She absorbed the masses of souls into her sea of consciousness as they rushed into her body.
Hundreds and thousands of souls clashed violently within her consciousness, but the tightly shut "Gate of Yellow Springs" remained unresponsive.
Thus, Gu Junshi continued to devour more souls. As her consciousness became increasingly full, her face turned as pale as paper, yet her serene eyes were as dark as if unblemished.
Finally, when she felt she was nearing her limit, the "Gate of Yellow Springs" grudgingly opened a crack, and an bone-chilling aura, not belonging to this world, emanated from within.
However, this aura was like a holy light to the wandering souls. These souls were not ordinary; they included powerful figures from the cultivation world a thousand years ago, ancient demons, and celestial beasts. Nourished by the breath of the Yellow Springs, they gradually recovered from their chaotic state to resemble their human forms at the moment of death.
But having been in the mortal world for too long, their memories were hazy. They vaguely understood that the "Gate of Yellow Springs," which they had waited for a millennium, had finally appeared!
"The Spirit Realm is no place for you lingering spirits. Go to the Underworld and await reincarnation."
To enter the Underworld, one must pass through the "Gate of Yellow Springs" for teleportation; otherwise, no one can reach it.
A voice broke through the mist before them. They looked up, filled with emotion, and expressed their gratitude.
"Little girl, thank you."
Though they were once proud and arrogant individuals, now even a slight breeze might scatter them. Without her, they might have vanished from existence forever.
Gu Junshi replied indifferently, "No merit, no thanks."
She only wished to use their death energy to restart the "Gate of Yellow Springs." The "Gate of Yellow Springs" was akin to her spiritual root seed, capable of cultivation through Yin and evil energy, similar to her little husband's Pure Lotus Seed. It grew stronger as she grew stronger, and weaker as she grew weaker, complementing each other.
As the crack in the "Gate of Yellow Springs" was extremely narrow, they dared not complain about the weakness of this generation's "Lord of Yellow Springs," and could only humbly push themselves inwards.
Gu Junshi: "..." Muttering about her within her sea of consciousness, did they really think she couldn't hear?
As countless souls entered the Underworld through the "Gate of Yellow Springs," golden light suddenly rained down upon her, transforming into fragments and merging into her body. Her dry, scorched sea of consciousness was suddenly revitalized. Lush little blades of grass sprouted from the earth, swaying in the wind, appearing very vibrant...
Merit points?
Was it a reward from the Heavenly Dao for accumulating great virtue by sending souls to the Underworld for reincarnation?
But wasn't this something the monks at the Maha Temple needed? What use was it to her? For decoration?
She sneered dismissively, waved her arm, and the newly sprouted worldly things in her sea of consciousness were instantly turned to ash.
The golden light that had been shining upon her withered instantly. Angrily, it transferred the remaining merit points to her, then withdrew and left without hesitation.