Just entering Wind Wolf Ridge.
As far as the eye could see, the area was filled with dense woods, the weeds among them varying in height, some even taller than she was.
Immersed in it, her line of sight was somewhat obstructed.
Seeing this, Xu Yuxiu couldn't help but sigh, feeling a wave of a headache coming on.
"No wonder nobody took this mission. Low-level miscellaneous chores are beyond the capacity of chore disciples, and outer disciples with higher cultivation look down on these few contribution points. Only someone like me, a blind cat catching a dead mouse, would take on this mission."
However, since she had already come, she could only bite the bullet and press on.
"The mission has a time limit of only half a month, so finding the Wind Spirit Grass is the top priority."
Mutters escaping her lips, Xu Yuxiu released her limited divine sense, beginning to search among the dense trees and tall grass.
Being at the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer, her divine sense could only extend outward by two zhang at most, which was practically her limit.
Following the outer periphery of Wind Wolf Ridge and searching until it was almost dark, she finally managed to find a stalk of Wind Spirit Grass amidst a patch of flourishing weeds.
The Wind Spirit Grass was small, only the size of a palm, entirely verdant green, with what seemed like a tiny whirlwind swirling around its body.
Before her hand even touched it, she could feel a faint breeze.
When she carefully harvested this stalk of Wind Spirit Grass into her hands, she was practically moved to tears.
It was truly too difficult!
Carefully packing this stalk of Wind Spirit Grass into a wooden box and putting it away into her storage bag, Xu Yuxiu decided not to continue searching any further.
By this time, the sky had darkened; night had fallen.
Nighttime in Wind Wolf Ridge belonged to the monster beast Wind Wolves. Wolf-type monster beasts loved to come out at night, and always in packs.
Once she encountered a pack of Wind Wolves at night, given her Qi Condensation 2nd Layer cultivation, she would only be torn to shreds by them.
Fortunately, this time she was only at the outer fringes of Wind Wolf Ridge, and leaving Wind Wolf Ridge wouldn't take long.
Xu Yuxiu did not linger and headed straight for Qingfeng Town outside of Wind Wolf Ridge.
After leaving Wind Wolf Ridge a quarter of an hour later, she saw that lamps had already been lit in Qingfeng Town. Like bright beacons in the night, the entire Qingfeng Town was illuminated with blazing lights.
Xu Yuxiu stepped into Qingfeng Town, found the residence set up there by the Taixuan Sect, paid one spirit stone, and checked in.
A single spirit stone allowed one to stay here for a month; this was an exclusive price for Taixuan Sect disciples. If it were casual cultivators, the price would naturally be much higher.
"Is this little junior sister a newly admitted disciple?"
The person leading Xu Yuxiu to her living quarters was a female outer disciple of the Taixuan Sect as well.
She looked to be around twenty years of age, with a beauty mark slightly to the right of her eyebrows and eyes, giving her smile a unique charm.
"Yes, that's right." Hearing her inquiry, Xu Yuxiu had no intention of hiding it.
After all, given her age, anyone from the Taixuan Sect could easily tell she was a newly admitted disciple.
"That's truly extraordinary!"
Xu Yuxiu was very curious why she was considered extraordinary in this person's eyes.
"Generally speaking, among newly admitted disciples, only inner disciples dare to come out for experiential training at this time. Among the recent batches of outer disciples, you are actually the only one."
Hearing this, Xu Yuxiu finally understood.
"Alright, little junior sister, this is your room. Rest well. Although there aren't too many dangers in Wind Wolf Ridge, you must keep your guard up at all times; otherwise, you might run into danger if you're not paying attention."
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister."
Bidding farewell to this senior sister, Xu Yuxiu stepped into the room, closed the door behind her, and shut out the brilliant lights outside.
Between traveling the whole day and entering Wind Wolf Ridge to search for the Wind Spirit Grass, she was somewhat tired.
Yet her daily cultivation routine was still unfinished, so she used the meditation and breathing technique to absorb and refine spiritual energy while slowly recovering her mental state.
This was how cultivators rested; as long as they weren't excessively exhausted, they generally spent their rest periods immersed in meditative cultivation.
The night passed without incident, and the next morning arrived.
As soon as the sky began to brighten, Xu Yuxiu set out from her lodgings and headed toward Wind Wolf Ridge.
Along the way, she also saw a few scattered early-rising casual cultivators rushing toward Wind Wolf Ridge.
Xu Yuxiu did not enter Wind Wolf Ridge together with them; instead, she waited until those casual cultivators had entered before choosing a different direction and stepping into the ridge alone.
With the experience of searching for the Wind Spirit Grass on the first day, the search this time proved to be much faster.
She specifically chose to search patches of lush, dense grass.
Sure enough, after wandering through the forest for only half an hour, she discovered a stalk of Wind Spirit Grass.
Shortly after, she found a second stalk in another patch of dense grass nearby.
Just as she was joyfully hoping to ride this momentum and continue searching, her luck seemed to have run out.
For the entire remainder of the morning, she did not find a single stalk of Wind Spirit Grass.
Xu Yuxiu was somewhat reluctant to give up.
Since she couldn't find any on the periphery, she would venture deeper to look.
Out of caution, she had only operated on the outer fringes of Wind Wolf Ridge for the past two days and hadn't dared to go too deep.
Yet she had already scoured most of the fringe area and only managed to find a total of three stalks of Wind Spirit Grass.
Continuing like this, the mission would very likely be delayed.
Failing to complete the mission meant a penalty of forty contribution points!
Xu Yuxiu was only a new disciple and didn't have a single contribution point to her name.
Without contribution points, what would they deduct?
Though this question had crossed her mind, her instincts told her she'd better not find out.
Having made up her mind, she grasped her sword and cautiously ventured deeper into the outer reaches of Wind Wolf Ridge.
Sure enough, not long after pressing deeper into the outer region, Xu Yuxiu keenly relied on her divine sense to detect a stalk of Wind Spirit Grass.
It was a stalk of Wind Spirit Grass growing on a rock, looking fresh and tender, with a quality that appeared even somewhat better than those found on the periphery.
Overjoyed, Xu Yuxiu stepped forward to harvest this Wind Spirit Grass.
However, the moment she took a few steps, she felt a dangerous aura surging out from behind the rock.
The next instant, a massive black shadow lunged out from behind the rock.
Looking closely, it was none other than the most populous type of monster beast in Wind Wolf Ridge—a Wind Wolf.
The Wind Wolf was covered in greenish-brown mane, baring its blood-red cavernous wolf mouth with exposed canine teeth, staring viciously at Xu Yuxiu.
From this Wind Wolf, Xu Yuxiu felt a dangerous aura emanating.
"Qi Condensation 3rd Layer!"
Xu Yuxiu's pretty face turned ugly.
She herself was only at the Qi Condensation 2nd Layer, while the aura radiating from the Wind Wolf before her was as strong as the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer.
In an instant, the situation became tricky.
Facing a monster beast for the very first time, a thin layer of sweat seeped into Xu Yuxiu's palms, making her grip on the sword feel somewhat sticky.
"Flame Technique!"
Without hesitation, she launched the attack first.
As the saying goes, striking first gains the initiative, especially when facing an existence stronger than oneself; seizing the initiative was particularly crucial.
Yet just as the flames began to condense in her palm, the Wind Wolf moved with agility.
Wind Wolves were a type of monster beast notorious for their extreme speed.
Higher-level Wind Wolves could even spit out extremely fast, highly destructive wind blades from their mouths to attack enemies.
The Wind Wolf before her, equivalent to the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer, could not spit wind blades from its mouth, but its speed was exceptionally fast.
The fireball Xu Yuxiu had condensed had already lingered in her palm for about five breaths of time.
It wasn't that she didn't want to hurl it out, but she simply couldn't aim at the Wind Wolf, which was moving at blinding speed.
"Continuing like this won't work. Sooner or later, I'll be worn down to death by this Wind Wolf. I need to think of a way to restrict its movements."
Xu Yuxiu wanted to devise a way to restrict the Wind Wolf's movements, but the wolf seemed unwilling to give her time to think.
Just as her attention drifted slightly, the Wind Wolf's body suddenly pivoted in mid-air, opening its jaws to lunge and bite at her.
In her panic, Xu Yuxiu only had time to hastily hurl the fireball formed by her Flame Technique and scrambled to dodge to the side.
A ball of fire exploded in the forest with a "bang" before quickly dissipating.
Xu Yuxiu looked back at the spot where the flames had burst and saw that the Wind Wolf was still safe and sound.
Clearly, the previous blow hadn't hit the Wind Wolf; it had merely intercepted its lunging pounce and forced it back.
Xu Yuxiu carefully observed and noticed that the Wind Wolf wasn't entirely unhurt; patches of its fur had turned slightly charred.
Seeing this, Xu Yuxiu's eyes lit up, and she had already figured out how to restrict the Wind Wolf's movements.