Daily life of a cultivation judge



When Yang Qing opened his eyes, he felt his heart racing, while his robes were soaked in sweat. His qi flow wasn't as smooth as it used to be due to the state he was in from the replaying of those scenes.

A white chilly mist was instantly produced from the brook below him that had auspicious light flowing through it. The mist covered Yang Qing and instantly quelled his qi and the rampant emotions he had been feeling.

He felt like someone had poured cool refreshing water on his body after living in a scorched desert for a month.

"Thank you senior.." said Yang Qing.

"You did well for hanging on young judge, eventually you'll see it, your inner judgment so to speak.." said the auspicious grove wood tree.

Yang Qing didn't understand what it meant by inner judgment, but he still nodded his head in acknowledgment as he fearfully looked at the gentle crystal clear brook before him.

"How much time has passed?" asked Yang Qing

"Two hours.."

"TWO HOURS?! Will I need to endure the same thing again for the remaining two hours?!" Yang Qing quickly asked with fear in his tone.

No matter how much willpower he thought he had, he wasn't sure he could endure another play-by-play rendition of events from the brook of clarity.

"No, you won't. If we did, you would not be able to endure it, and before long, the budding internal demon in you would have a firm foothold.

For the next two hours, the mist around you will be cleansing, clearing, and strengthening your mind and mental sea, in preparation for tomorrow.

You only need to sit there and relax.." 

Yang Qing heaved a sigh of relief as he sat down, soaking in the mystical effects of the chilly mist around him.

Oddly enough in those two hours, he didn't have any of the scattering guilt-ridden thoughts that had been assaulting his mind for the past two days.

It even felt like he had fallen asleep. He got up refreshed, having had the most restful sleep he had ever had in his life.

Yang Qing thanked the auspicious grove tree on his way out. The auspicious grove tree transported him back to his abode the similar way he came in without the use of the blue ear drop stone.

He was surprised when the saint-grade tree showed him over a thousand of such stones littered about within the special region in its trunk.

The stones were nothing more than spatial node keys that brought people to its location because it would be next to impossible to reach where it was, not unless one had the cultivation realm of a soul formation expert who was in the soul adept stage at least.

Yang Qing became increasingly intrigued about the auspicious grove's background and location. It had heaven-defying abilities, and based on its statement, it seemed like it was on a different plane. 

"Maybe this is a grotto, or we are in the void.." he mused.

Grottos could be considered mini-worlds. As long as one didn't reveal itself either intentionally or accidentally, it would be next to impossible to locate one. So he felt there might be a chance they were in a grotto, and when it came to the void, it was also another mysterious and perilous zone that required great strength for one to casually traverse through it.

With his four hours up and the spirit-calming effects of the brook of clarity still present, Yang Qing decided to take advantage of his current mood to go eat at the Thousands Flavors Restaurant.

He also had another agenda in mind, which was to see if Dai Chen and Zhang Qingee would be there. 

After the experience he had, he wondered and worried if they were going through something similar.

Luckily for him, when he went to the restaurant he managed to find both of them.

"Dai, Qingge, you both broke through?!" Yang Qing said as he made his way over to them.

He could feel by the fluctuations, that the duo had already reached the second stage of the palace realm, and it didn't just stop there, they had both reached the middle tier of the second stage and it didn't seem like it would take long for them to reach the peak of the second stage.

As for Yang Qing himself, he was already at the peak of the first stage, which was a big leap considering just eight months ago, he had only just broken through to the palace realm. The leap was a concerted effort of the foundation he had built before, the surprise discovery of the mysterious radiant jade tree within the deepest recess of his palace realm which he suspected was a representation of his peerless jade physique, and the last, was the green orb, green cocoon had left in his palace realm.

After the fight, he discovered that it was because of that orb that he had been able to move back then, and move Mo Liwei out of the way, and prevent him from being skewered by the red abyssal thorn tree. 

When he went to observe it later, he discovered it had shrunk in size, which he didn't regret one bit, as he was able to prevent Mo Liwei's death, albeit for a millisecond.

"It's nothing much. Mo Liwei is the one who made the biggest improvement among us. With the harvest he made, he is directly making the leap to the fourth stage, and then make preparations for breaking through to the middle stage of the palace realm, the same as sister Wei Ying, who has already gone into seclusion," said Dai Chen.

"That's good, but will they be okay after everything?" Yang Qing asked with worry.

They had just gone through a tumultuous event, and breaking through a minor realm, was different than a leap in stages. The risks involved in the latter were higher.

"They will be okay. Senior Xu Biya will be personally taking care of them.." answered Zhang Qingge, who seemed a bit distracted by something.

Yang Qing sighed in relief when he heard that, though, he knew he was just being a worrywart for nothing. Whatever he could think of, the Order more specifically the veterans would have surely thought of it and acted accordingly, which was what they did.

The senior Xu Biya who Zhang Qingge mentioned, was the genial-looking old lady from the Judicial Review Committee who had been present during the deliberations to decide the fate of the Ice Emerald Sect.

With the experiences of the members of the committee, Mo Liwei and Wei Ying were sure to be in good hands.

...

"What's wrong, Qingge?" asked Yang Qing after he saw her look distracted all throughout their meal.