All along the way, Lin Shu kept chatting idly, constantly sharing interesting stories about the Tianque Sect with the new little junior sister.
With the completion of the previous optional task, Lin Shu once again received a point in [Arts of Speech+1].
Under Lin Shu’s masterful wordplay, Lu Zhiyun almost forgot about what he had just said about “sending her on her way.”
So much so that Lin Shu kept seeing that cute junior sister’s look of “trying so hard not to laugh.”
This child was really reserved, working hard to put on a serious face, as if she was very afraid of strangers.
Lin Shu had seen Lu Zhiyun’s background information: no parents, worked odd jobs in the capital, and grew up tough all on her own. It really wasn’t easy.
Lu Zhiyun felt awful—who tries to make someone laugh before killing them?
Are they afraid she’ll suffer too much before dying, so they’ll deduct Lin Shu’s merit?
“Senior Brother, can you give me a quick death?”
Lu Zhiyun almost spat out the words.
A quick death?
What does that mean?
Even with high-level conversation skills, there wasn’t a response for this!
Seeing Lin Shu silent, Lu Zhiyun answered herself.
“I guess… next, I’ll probably die from absorbing too much Spirit Qi during Qi Introduction, and explode…”
“Or maybe during Qi Introduction, my meridians will flow in reverse, my blood will cover my body and I’ll die a tragic death…”
“It’s also possible…”
Seeing the little girl was lost in wild imaginings like she was possessed, Lin Shu hurriedly interrupted.
“Junior Sister, this is proper cultivation, completely by the book! Nothing like that could happen!”
Lin Shu waved his hand and made an “X.”
“But… but you just said you were going to send me on my way…”
Lu Zhiyun was on the verge of tears.
“Ahem! Didn’t you say you wanted to embark on the road to immortality?”
Being questioned like this, Lin Shu realized his own words had been off and quickly assured her:
“Junior Sister, trust me. You can be absolutely certain, today is just a simple Qi Introduction, nothing will happen!”
“R-really?”
Lu Zhiyun asked softly.
“Really!”
Lin Shu nodded.
After hearing Lin Shu’s words, Lu Zhiyun finally relaxed a little, but she still couldn’t let her guard down.
Storybooks always said you had to stay wary of what demonic cultivators said—never believe it all!
She remembered a storyteller once telling about a landlord’s son who deliberately made things hard for commoners.
After a commoner accidentally completed a task, the landlord’s son killed him with a single sword strike, leaving behind the words, “I don’t eat beef.”
The same caution applied to Lin Shu’s words.
Lu Zhiyun had to be careful!
He promised not to kill her, but what if he found something off and changed his mind?
Seeing his little junior sister’s mood improve a bit, Lin Shu finally started today’s main topic.
“Junior Sister, do you think it’s harder to sense Spirit Qi first, or to draw it into your body?”
Here it was! A new test!
Lu Zhiyun’s mind raced, then she replied, “Senior Brother, I think, compared to sensing Spirit Qi or drawing it into the body, brewing a good pot of tea is harder!”
Sugar-free cola and regular cola—you went and picked ice-cold cola, didn’t you?
If it weren’t for the worry that patting her on the head would be too forward, Lin Shu really wanted to check if the little junior sister’s head was pointy.
“Ahem! Sure, making tea is hard too, but I mean Qi Introduction.”
Lin Shu quickly steered the conversation back to the topic, afraid her left brain would start fighting her right brain again.
“The first step in cultivation is always Qi Introduction, but what most people don’t know is that Spirit Qi has always been inside us. There’s no need for Qi Introduction at all.”
What?!
Spirit Qi has always been inside us?
There’s no need for Qi Introduction?
It was Lu Zhiyun’s first time hearing this view.
At this moment, she had no idea—even the other four supreme immortal sects had never discovered this.
When Lin Shu first began cultivating, he was curious about one thing.
In this cultivation world abundant with Spirit Qi, was it that ordinary people rejected Spirit Qi, so they couldn’t cultivate?
But if that were really the case, wouldn’t it be like throwing a freshwater fish into the ocean?
How could mortals survive?
So, there could only be one answer: ordinary people also possess Spirit Qi, they just can’t sense it themselves, so they can’t cultivate.
And reality proved Lin Shu’s theory correct.
The so-called Qi Introduction in the cultivation world was actually more complicated; you had to draw in a lot more Spirit Qi until it overflowed, finally sense the abundance within, and only then could you enter the Refining Qi Stage.
But Lin Shu’s view was much simpler: as long as you can sense the Spirit Qi inside you, you can start cultivating anytime.
But the difficulty lay in how to sense such an intangible thing.
“Spirit Qi is more special than air, but just like air, as long as you breathe, you can more or less feel it.”
Lu Zhiyun took a couple of breaths and frowned.
Am I just too dumb?
I don’t feel anything at all!
Lin Shu smiled and patted Lu Zhiyun’s back in comfort.
“It’s not that easy. Right now, you just need a little external stimulation.”
“But don’t worry. Your Senior Brother and Senior Sister are here just for that.”
Lin Shu led Lu Zhiyun through the stone gate halfway up the mountain, arriving at a vast square.
All around the square stood pavilions in neat rows, from which wafted the rich scent of medicinal pills.
If you listened carefully, you could also hear the unique sounds of smelting from artifact forging.
Just as they arrived, someone popped up from the ground, startling Lu Zhiyun so much she hid behind Lin Shu.
“Senior Brother, hello! Who’s this?”
Wu Qinglong asked.
“The new little junior sister. Junior Sister, this is your Senior Brother Wu Qinglong. Just call him Senior Brother Wu!”
Lin Shu gave a quick introduction.
Wu Qinglong clicked his tongue and glanced at Lu Zhiyun hiding behind Lin Shu.
“Junior Sister, have you killed someone before?”
“Stop it! Junior Sister is innocent and pure, kinder than most people tricked into coming here! The odds she killed someone and was sent here are lower than that!”
Lin Shu gave Wu Qinglong a smack on the head to snap him out of it.
“Oh, oh, sorry!”
Wu Qinglong chuckled sheepishly.
Seeing he meant no harm, Lu Zhiyun nodded politely and put on her well-behaved-girl act.
She’d been at Qingluan Peak for a month and never met this Senior Brother, but he seemed simple and honest—not likely to scheme.
All things considered—a regular underling of a demonic cultivator!
Of course, she could have misjudged; maybe he was tricked by the demonic cultivators too!
Lin Shu continued, “How about the Qi Introduction Secret Realm? Is it still usable? Even though Qingluan Peak hasn’t had new people for hundreds of years, it still needs maintenance, right?”
“Reporting to Senior Brother, the secret realm is ready at any time!”
“That’s good!”
Lin Shu nodded in satisfaction.
“In that case, Junior Sister, go ahead and enter the secret realm!”
“Huh? Me? I can go into the secret realm?”
Lu Zhiyun pointed to herself.
She was still an ordinary person.
Weren’t only cultivators allowed in secret realms?
“Don’t worry, Junior Sister! This secret realm was developed under Senior Brother’s guidance—absolutely safe, made specifically for Qi Introduction. Every Senior Brother and Sister has done it this way!”
Wu Qinglong explained.
“Well… okay!”
Lu Zhiyun was still a little worried, but to continue her undercover mission, she had to make sure she became a cultivator.
Next, under Wu Qinglong’s guidance, the three arrived at an underground chamber.
The space was small, about the size of Lu Zhiyun’s own cave residence.
At the end of the space was a swirling vortex—presumably the secret realm they spoke of.
“All right, Junior Sister, go on in!”
Lin Shu encouraged.
“But, Senior Brother, you haven’t taught me how to sense Spirit Qi yet!”
Lu Zhiyun said anxiously.
“Don’t worry, once you’re inside, it’ll happen naturally. It’s really simple!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Shu gave Lu Zhiyun a gentle push.
With an “Ah!” she disappeared on the spot.
***
After Lu Zhiyun entered, the two men felt at a loss with nothing to do.
Wu Qinglong suggested, “Senior Brother, since we’re just waiting, why don’t we see what the other junior brothers and sisters are up to?”
“Sure! Anyway, the fastest anyone’s completed Qi Introduction in this secret realm is a day. You still hold the record.”
Looking back, Lin Shu felt quite emotional.
Wu Qinglong was a junior brother he’d personally brought up.
Honest and straightforward, loved research, didn’t care for women—how did someone like this end up at Tianque Sect?
The monks next door at Qi Yun Temple must be crying, right?
“Don’t worry!”
Wu Qinglong laughed heartily, “Senior Brother, I’m confident Junior Sister will break my record. I made a few improvements to the secret realm. Now this 2.0 version guarantees she’ll complete Qi Introduction within an hour!”
Improvements?
Lin Shu had a bad feeling.
He suddenly remembered a fatal flaw: Wu Qinglong was radically innovative.
Sometimes Lin Shu just had to give him a hint, and Wu Qinglong would have a flash of inspiration and, with his amazing execution, always managed to cook up something completely unexpected.
In short, Qingluan Peak’s bad reputation—aside from Master and Senior Sister—Wu Qinglong was one of the main reasons.
But this secret realm only allowed one person in at a time, and nothing inside was aggressive.
Junior Sister should be fine—right?