Chapter 96 The Carved Height and the Wood Carving

In the period before the great battle arrived.

Mu An and the others stole some leisure time to properly enjoy the feeling of being rich in the 'ancient times.'

Anyway, as cultivators, plus the fact that they had just obtained so many bounties not long ago, they were not short on money.

See something they wanted... buy it!

See something they wanted to eat... buy it!

See something they wanted to drink... buy it!

Beggar, Da Ya, and Xiao Ya were simply spoiled rotten by Mu An.

It seemed like he wanted to erase all the suffering the three had experienced in the past, so that their future life would only be filled with endless sweetness.

Or in other words, what is known as... sweetness after bitterness?

"Let me see... Beggar's height is 1.2 meters?"

Mu An took out a tape measure to check, and carved Beggar's height onto the stone pillar.

The little girl had been malnourished since childhood, so being able to grow this tall was truly not easy.

Afterward, Da Ya and Xiao Ya were also 'caught' by Mu An to have their heights measured, which were 1.2 meters and 1.1 meters respectively.

After living together for these few days, the three little ones had basically gotten used to the presence of this 'weird uncle' Mu An.

They didn't resist, just stood there obediently, wearing their beautiful new clothes, letting him do as he pleased.

During this time, Mu An even took out his mobile phone and quietly snapped several 'childhood photos' of the three, just to keep as a memento (or dark history).

"Brother Mu, have you considered what I talked to you about last time?"

Xiao Qingzhu placed her sword on the stone table and sat down.

Her high ponytail swayed slightly with her movements, and in her clean, form-fitting constable uniform, she looked quite heroic and spirited.

"Regarding joining the Demon Exorcism Bureau..."

Mu An pondered for a moment.

Truth be told, when he heard Xiao Qingzhu say that the Tower of Demon Suppression held many great demons and evil cultivators, among which there were quite a few at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he was actually quite tempted.

To others, the great demons that wreaked havoc on the world were merely walking 'experience packs' to Mu An.

Especially now that cultivation resources were so scarce, even a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone could cause countless cultivators to break their heads fighting over it.

If Mu An and the others wanted to level up steadily, going to bully the evil cultivators and great demons inside the Tower of Demon Suppression was undoubtedly a good choice.

But in a few days, the Qingyun Sect near Canglan Town would begin recruiting Disciples again.

Because of this, many Loose Cultivators had been appearing in town recently, presumably holding the mindset of giving it a try.

If one could enter a Sect, that would be a huge profit.

If not, it didn't matter; they could just treat it as a cultivation journey.

"Let's talk about that later!"

"I want to see what the Qingyun Sect is about first."

Mu An gave his answer.

If joining the Qingyun Sect meant enjoying better 'benefits,' he didn't mind joining it.

As the saying goes.

Water flows to lower places, people strive for higher ones.

Many choices in life are never one-way streets.

If all else failed, Mu An could still 'make a comeback' and join the Demon Exorcism Bureau that Xiao Qingzhu mentioned.

The latter could be considered a 'guaranteed fallback.'

"Alright then!"

Xiao Qingzhu shrugged, not forcing the issue, nor was she too disappointed.

Initially, after accepting that she had no talent for cultivation, she had already felt disheartened.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have run to a remote place like Canglan Town to be an obscure little constable.

But with Mu An's help, she had embarked on the path of cultivation again, and her cultivation talent and Spiritual Root were completely reshaped during that Epiphany.

(Besides the Epiphany, Mu An also gifted her a drop of the elven holy spring that could cleanse the marrow and refine the bones.)

This had reignited her desire to become stronger!

[When poor, one keeps to oneself; when successful, one helps the world.]

Xiao Qingzhu felt that these words spoken by Mu An were excellent.

Since she now had the ability, and was the Ninth Princess of the Tianyuan Dynasty, she should do something for the common people who were suffering.

It didn't need to be earth-shattering; just doing what she could was enough.

"Let's put these matters aside for now. Brother Mu, tell me more about your hometown!"

"Anything is fine, please!"

The young girl clasped her hands together in front of her forehead, making a pleading gesture.

Mu An couldn't help but sigh softly.

It was all his fault for mentioning 'the philosophy of universal harmony' last time; otherwise, he wouldn't be constantly pestered by the 'studious' Xiao Qingzhu.

Truly getting to the bottom of everything!

In the modern era, wouldn't that be the Innate learning physique?

He glanced at Nina and Renée, who were playing hopscotch with the three little ones.

Having nothing better to do, Mu An assumed the role of a 'temporary mentor.'

Starting from the beginning of heaven and earth, covering myths and legends, the Four Great Classical Novels, five thousand years of history, modern technology, gaming and entertainment, the Pythagorean theorem, a certain celebrity's march, why there are so many 'acquaintances' in the Sakura Country, why modern young people don't have children, why housing prices are so high, why a certain country's president would fall in love with a cleaning lady, the decline and rise of the contemporary national football team...

Anyway, he just talked about whatever came to mind, focusing on being spontaneous.

Xiao Qingzhu's beautiful eyes seemed filled with little stars; her gaze toward him was full of admiration, and the rest was a deep thirst for brand-new knowledge.

Like a sponge, she was frantically absorbing new knowledge.

Of course.

Mu An wasn't actually just sitting idle.

With his current strength, he could manage to multitask.

While chatting and bragging with Xiao Qingzhu, he picked up a piece of wood and started carving.

Under the effects of the [Gold - Infinite Mana] and [Gold - God of Wood Carving] skills, his Qi (Mana) limit was increasing every second.

Since there was no specific subject he wanted to carve, he used himself, Xiao Qingzhu, and the others as ready-made 'models.'

He carved Q-version images of everyone, which looked cute and adorable.

With various poses and expressions, plus the lifelike effect, they looked really good.

Even Xiao Qingzhu, who was so engrossed in learning, was attracted by them.

After much hesitation, she still thickened her skin and asked Mu An for a few wood carvings.

There were ones of Mu An himself and ones of her; she rubbed them with her jade-like hands, unable to put them down.

As a return gift, she shared the sword technique she was currently practicing, telling him everything she knew.

As for the inner Sect Cultivation Technique, it was a secret art and could not be passed on, so she didn't share it.

Furthermore, practicing it required special conditions, so even if others knew it, they couldn't learn it.

Mu An curiously asked one more question and learned that her Cultivation Technique was the 'Heaven, Earth, and Human Imperial Art.'

It was quite an imposing name, though he didn't know how powerful it actually was.

The wind blew through the courtyard, and the few tender leaves that had just sprouted on the ginkgo sapling swayed gently.

Brick walls, upturned eaves, rockeries and green lotus, red carp swimming in the void...

Everything quietly cast dappled shadows.

Amidst laughter and joy, everyone found their own amusement, and the scene was peaceful and warm.

If time could pause here, could memories also last forever?

No one knew the answer to that...