105 Plans 5

Qin Feng sighed again, as he considered the amount of time that he had wasted already. He was already behind when it came to his cultivation, and all of these interruptions by Lingxi weren't helping him at all. He did have a limit to the amount of time that he had left, and he really wished to get himself into the Qi Accumulation Realm before he was forced to leave the Heaven Sword School.

That was probably the main reason why he had agreed to Elder Ming's plan. It was to get his hands on the precious herbs and resources that were available in the Southern Woods. So long as he had access to that, he should have less trouble getting through those odd requirements of his personal Foundation Realm cultivation.

There were several times when he wondered if he should simply forgo that long and boring training plan that he had received from Old Man Snow Mountain, and concentrate on reaching the Qi Accumulation Realm straightaway. But he soon gave up that idea once he calmed down and thought about it.

After all, the arguments that Old Man Snow Mountain had presented to him were all quite sound. And he had relied on the now-dead practitioner's advice throughout his journey. That would be a little pointless, if he gave up on it now.

Especially when it was clear that he stood to gain certain advantages, by forming a wider and deeper Foundation!

Which was why he simply sat down on his simple bed in the middle of his little house, and began to circulate his zhenqi once more. He had estimated that he would need another two seasons, to bring the level of qi in his body to the target threshold that he was aiming for. But with all of these interruptions, it now looked as though he might not be able to attain that until the Winter was over. And maybe even half of the following Spring!

That was somewhat depressing, he had to admit.

But what choice did he have? He wasn't even an Outer School disciple, so he could hardly have whole months free to spend on cultivation, in exchange for completing those small chores for the School. And even those from the Outer School were envious of those from the Inner. The latter not only had a monthly stipend of cultivation resources, they even had access to the restricted zones within the Library, and could practice the rarer and more powerful martial arts.

Instead, he had to spend his days dealing with the medicinal herbs, both here in his medicine field, and on his trips into the Southern Woods. That is, if Elder Ming's arrangement came through, and he was allowed to make independent visits there, to pick the plants that they both needed.

Of course, that might hint that he had Elder Xuan's support as well. And give the impression that he was squarely in the Left Guardian's camp! Wouldn't that tell everyone in the Sect that he had already come to the notice of the Left Guardian? And already had his favor?

If he had the same, why would he bother with all those little ploys of his, to draw the Rear Gardens disciples and Elder Ming Guanhe to his side? After all, weren't all of his efforts simply aimed at gaining him more cultivation resources, just like those Inner School disciples?

But of course, he would have to pay a equitable price for the same. And probably in ways that he had never expected!

He breathed out heavily, and resolved to push those wild thoughts about all those stupid rumours out of his head as he tried his best to calm down. It was pointless to try to control what other people would think, and reaching the Qi Accumulation Realm was more important at this point in time. Worrying about all that gossip was only going to drive him crazy!

Besides, he doubted that Lingxi would stay annoyed with him for too long. Not when she was still relying on him to get her hands on those medicinal herbs that she needed. The rest of the Rear Gardens disciples were relying on her for the same, after all. So she would be back, in another day or two, to squeeze the same out of his hands.

Which was just as well. He had one more trip to the Southern Woods to worry about, and from what he had gathered from Elder Ming earlier, it looked as if the old, scar-faced man was likely to let him wander about on his own.

And Qin Feng already had a rough idea of just where he intended to go!

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