It was still a beautiful day… actually, no! They were currently on a Spirit Boat.
Agarwood smoke diffused through the room, and a faint, soothing fragrance drifted around, making the atmosphere exceptionally calm.
At this moment, three people were sitting upright and still, each waiting for the other to speak first.
Finally, Lin Shu could no longer contain himself and asked, “Fairy, didn’t I say that digging up graves was forbidden?”
Hearing this, Lu Zhiyun shrank her neck. She knew that a war of words was about to break out.
Upon hearing his question, a forced sneer escaped the Sanqing Fairy’s lips. She replied, “Then… then you tell me why you were lying in a coffin in the middle of the night first!”
Oh? She was feeling bold?
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow and glanced at Lu Zhiyun. He instantly understood that the Fairy was relying on the fact that his Junior Sister was present.
“You tell me why you didn’t listen to me first!”
“You tell me why you were lying in a coffin to scare me first!”
“You first!”
“No! You first!”
“I ate too much for dinner and wanted to find a different place to sleep for a while!”
“Then I also ate too much for dinner and wanted to go for a stroll!”
— — —
Watching the two of them argue as childishly as young children, Lu Zhiyun weakly raised her hand and whispered, “Senior Brother! Is… is your injury any better?”
With Lu Zhiyun showing such concern, Lin Shu’s attention was diverted, and he immediately stopped arguing with the “unreasonable” Fairy.
“It’s alright, my back just hurts a bit.”
In her state of extreme terror, the Sanqing Fairy had delivered a palm strike without any restraint. It was incredibly powerful, and it was also the first time Lin Shu had directly experienced the power of an immortal.
If an immortal who specialized in running away had such power, he could hardly imagine what it would be like if an immortal maxed out their **[Strength]** attribute.
If he hadn’t usually farmed some basic **[Root Bone]** attributes, that single palm strike likely wouldn’t have just broken him into several pieces; he would have been instantly turned into a bloody mist.
As for the **[Extreme · Root Bone]** special attribute he obtained after taking that hit, Lin Shu now understood its effect.
That day, after receiving the Fairy’s palm and gaining the special attribute, the effect triggered after he crashed through several mountains.
Lin Shu thought about it carefully. This effect was likely a life-saving skill — a special ability that granted immunity to physical attacks capable of killing him in one hit.
The most crucial part was that this skill wasn’t a one-time use; it had a cooldown.
Lin Shu calculated it. It seemed to refresh automatically at every Zizheng Hour — which was 12:00 AM.
Since there was **[Extreme · Root Bone]**, there must surely be **[Extreme · Spiritual Power]**, **[Extreme · Divine Sense]**, and so on…
However, Lin Shu still preferred **[Extreme · Poison Resistance]**. To him, that skill would be the most valuable.
Hearing Lin Shu’s answer, the Sanqing Fairy’s tone immediately softened.
“I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry!”
Lin Shu sighed and waved his hand to indicate it was fine.
Afterward, he began to explain to the two of them that Sanqing Daoist’s coffin had been empty from the start. After he informed them that he had only gone to sleep in the coffin because he became temporarily loopy after eating the Junior Aunt’s dinner, Lu Zhiyun immediately gave him a look of pity.
“It was actually empty?” the Sanqing Fairy asked in surprise.
“Yes! It was empty from the beginning!” Lin Shu nodded.
“Then why didn’t you tell me at first? Why were you being so secretive?” the Sanqing Fairy asked.
Lin Shu looked up and asked back, “If I had told you it was empty, what would you have planned to do next?”
“Of course I would have left the Heaven’s Gate Sect with you guys to look for it! If you didn’t go, then I would have gone by my—”
Before she could finish, the Sanqing Fairy let out a sheepish laugh.
Lin Shu shook his head helplessly. “Fairy, you aren’t very familiar with the cultivation world right now. If people found out an immortal was wandering around everywhere, it would definitely attract unwanted attention!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The Sanqing Fairy nodded in agreement, feeling embarrassed.
“But the result is pretty much the same! Haven’t we left the mountains anyway?”
Nonsense!
Don’t even think about the reason why we had to leave the mountains.
Lin Shu sourly picked up his tea and drained it in one gulp.
Lu Zhiyun leaned in and asked, “Senior Brother, do we owe a lot of spirit stones this time?”
“Quite a lot, but this trip is specifically to earn spirit stones,” Lin Shu said.
“Then, what if we can’t earn any spirit stones?”
“It’s fine! I have business within the sect as well; it can help cover some of the costs,” Lin Shu smiled.
“What business?” Lu Zhiyun asked curiously. She really wanted to know what else Lin Shu could do besides compiling cultivation techniques.
“Oh! I signed an agreement with Junior Aunt. From today onward, all the disciples of Qingluan Peak are her taste-testers. Whenever there’s a new dish, the Junior Brothers and Sisters must unconditionally test the food.”
“The current agreement is for a monthly payment of spirit stones. Junior Aunt is very wealthy! At this rate, even if we lose money, we can return to the sect in two years at most.”
Lin Shu stroked his chin and continued, “I also added a loss clause. If someone accidentally dies from eating, she must pay twice the spirit stones specified in the contract.”
“Se… Senior Brother! You’re joking, right?” Lu Zhiyun was so shocked that her hands started to tremble.
“Hahaha! Of course it’s a joke!” Lin Shu patted Lu Zhiyun on the shoulder and stood up. “How could anyone die from eating!”
Then, under Lu Zhiyun’s terrified gaze, he walked straight out of the room.
Lu Zhiyun watched his disappearing figure, her heart trembling.
‘As expected of an evil cultivator, his heart really is ruthless!’
Fortunately, she had worked hard to build up Lin Shu’s favorability; otherwise, she might not have been spared!
But at this moment, she didn’t know how ridiculous she would find her current thoughts after they spent some time in Mist City.
***
In the evening, the Sanqing Fairy was relaxing on the bed, reading a novel.
Lu Zhiyun quietly took out a letter with the character “Jiang” sealed on the envelope.
Before setting off, Lu Zhiyun had sent a letter to Jiang Chenyin, informing her that she was headed to Mist City and hoping to describe the situation regarding the evil cultivator in person.
While the Fairy was engrossed in her novel, she quickly tore it open to read.
Under the candlelight, the words on the letter gradually flowed through her eyes, and she finished reading it in a short while.
The content of the letter was simple, consisting of only one sentence: Jiang Chenyin had agreed to her request.
Furthermore, to hide her tracks and protect Lu Zhiyun, Jiang Chenyin planned to send someone to deliver a Token. Once Lu Zhiyun had the Token, she was to go to a secret location to find her.
“Whew!” Lu Zhiyun took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
It had been a long time since her last meeting with Jiang Chenyin. Many things had happened in the meantime, and she had become a qualified cultivator.
However, the investigation into Lin Shu being an evil cultivator had yielded no substantial progress. It was almost all trivial matters that didn’t meet the criteria for a conviction.
And as for that cultivation genius who was supposed to “join the sect in six months” that Jiang Chenyin had tasked her to find, she hadn’t found them either. In fact, she could barely find any record of such a person.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhiyun felt a massive headache coming on.
Seeing Lu Zhiyun holding her head as if something was on her mind, the Sanqing Fairy crept up beside her and poked her in the waist.
“Ah!” Lu Zhiyun was startled. “Fairy, what are you doing?”
“Little Lu, what are you thinking about? You’re sighing so much!” the Sanqing Fairy laughed.
“No… nothing!” Lu Zhiyun said nervously, quickly hiding the letter.
The Sanqing Fairy narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Are you thinking about your Senior Brother?”
“Huh? Is… is it that obvious?” Lu Zhiyun’s face turned pale.
The Sanqing Fairy looked bewildered. Shouldn’t a young girl in love be blushing?
Why did it feel like Little Lu looked like she had seen a ghost?
“Ahem! Your Senior Brother! He’s actually quite good!” the Sanqing Fairy mused.
“For a Qi Refiner to survive a palm strike from me shows that his cultivation is quite decent. Most importantly, for a Mixed Spiritual Root to reach this level of cultivation is simply the work of a genius!”
“Fairy, about my Senior Brother… roughly what level is he at?” Lu Zhiyun asked curiously.
“Hmm — I don’t know. It’s impossible to see the true cultivation level of a Qi Refiner. Even the Qi Refiner themselves doesn’t know their own cultivation. But since he can do all this, I’d estimate he has the strength to rival someone in the Body Integration Stage.”
The Body Integration Stage was an important stage in a cultivator’s development. Those who could reach this level were rare geniuses.
And the Body Integration Stage was only two realms away from becoming an immortal, separated only by the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and the Half-Immortal realm.
Of course! This was the Sanqing Fairy’s conservative estimate. After all, everyone’s skill points were distributed differently. If Lin Shu had put all his points into defense because he was afraid of pain, then she wouldn’t be able to give an accurate rating.
Besides, she knew there was a being at the High Immortal level behind Lin Shu. Whether that person had acted that day or if Lin Shu had endured it himself, the Sanqing Fairy wasn’t sure.
“Body Integration Stage… that’s so far away!” Lu Zhiyun fantasized about the future.
“However! Your Senior Brother is also a ruthless man. To think he would dare to walk this path!” the Sanqing Fairy said solemnly.
“What do you mean?” Lu Zhiyun was puzzled.
“It means your Senior Brother is gambling with his life!”
“If he doesn’t become an immortal within 100 years, he will certainly die!”
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