CH 30.1

senior sister’s thirtieth lesson

◎ concentration, she is serious. ◎

in li’s ancestral hall, there was nothing special.

like most ancestral halls, it housed the ancestral tablets.

but at this moment, huang fuyuan and lin shuang were separately invited in by li lao.

“sister, you go first?” huang fuyuan politely said.

lin shuang didn’t decline either, nodding appreciatively. her voice was somewhat soft, “thank you, senior brother, for letting me…”

huang fuyuan was taken aback.

was it necessary for her to be so moved?

he let her go first, but the first to enter would be in more danger, right?

but lin shuang, with a grateful smile towards him, quickly walked into the ancestral hall, seeming quite eager.

she had completed all her daily tasks, and the next step was personal rest.

relaxation in moderation is the key to longevity.

what a joke, zhenchuan still had to drag it out… it was too uncomfortable. she quickly entered the ancestral hall.

li lao was already waiting with his hands behind his back.

in front of him were a set of tables and chairs with paper and ink, as well as a mysterious gold testing spirit stone.

lin shuang became anxious at a glance.

it seemed like this lecture would take a long time.

li lao revealed a friendly smile.

“it’s just a few questions, not many. after sitting down, pick up the testing spirit stone.”

lin shuang’s eyes twitched.

“as an immortal, you should know that if you speak insincerely, the aura in your body will fluctuate. the spirit stone will show traces.”

li lao squinted.

lin shuang raised an eyebrow and quickly took her seat.

to li lao’s surprise, she generously rolled up her sleeves, picked up the testing spirit stone with her right hand, and said, “alright, come on, quickly!”

“…” li lao paused for a moment and then said, “hold the testing spirit stone and fully activate your dantian. now, open the rice paper on the table and answer the questions on it.”

lin shuang nodded and internally observed her dantian.

slightly furrowing her brows, numbers seven and eight were both depleted. right after completing the trial clearance, she switched to number nine, letting seven and eight take an early break.

now, she immediately fully activated the ninth dantian.

opening the paper, the water patterns on it deepened.

[question one: how much of your true strength did you just use? did you do your best?]

[question two: among the following types of enemies, which one would you subdue first?

1. the nearest enemy.

2. the enemy most easily subdued under your cultivation level.

3. someone who provokes you, a far-off enemy must be eradicated.

4. enemies obstructing your goal but pose no threat.

5. other, please specify]

[question three: how much impact do you think your performance in front of the ancestral hall had on the overall situation just now?

1. stronger than meng zi

2. between meng zi and huang fuyuan

3. not as important as them.]

lin shuang swiftly read through the questions. these types of questions hardly required any thought; everything that had just happened was already stored in her memory.

she wrote rapidly.

the brightness of the testing spirit stone in her hand remained consistent—the peak of qi condensation third level.

“good, now go out and call huang fuyuan in.”

“oh, sure.”

lin shuang walked out and paused again, “li lao, i came in to answer your questions, and i stayed in the hall longer than senior brother meng zi. remember to settle the carriage and horse fee for these extra hundred breaths for me later, okay?”

can’t spoil these puppets!

li lao’s figure stagnated, vividly showing signs of rolling his eyes.

“huang fuyuan, it’s your turn.”

lin shuang stepped out of the ancestral hall’s threshold with her left foot, and her right foot immediately coughed incessantly outside the door. she asked a villager for a chair, sat down, and called huang fuyuan, who was still coughing.

“senior brother, i asked the elder for extra time loss compensation. you better speak up too.”

she was thinking that in the mountain levels above zhenchuan, there might be other puppet stages.

if every puppet required them to stay extra time for questioning, how much time would she lose?

she couldn’t bear it.

she had to wait for meng zi to answer, and she had to wait for huang fuyuan to answer.

oh my, this is endless.

it must be made clear to these puppets that time is precious.

“…alright, junior sister.” huang fuyuan glanced at her subtly.

holding a hand warmer, wrapped in a furry white and gold fox fur collar, he walked into the ancestral hall.

before long, he saw the questions, and his eyes became subtle.

but soon, he smiled and answered.

“what did elder li ask you to do? what are you discussing?”

meng zi, carrying a knife, couldn’t help but come over to ask lin shuang.

why didn’t he ask him?

was he discriminated against by old li?

[i also want to know.]

[i don’t understand why there is no projection for this part of the ancestral hall. is it a secret?]

[i’m afraid it involves the techniques of the two individuals. that’s my guess.]

“well…” lin shuang pondered, “i’m afraid it will take more than thirty breaths for me to recount what happened to you. why don’t you ask senior brother huang fuyuan?”

“…”

meng zi gave her a deep look, hmphed, and turned away.

“i don’t care to know!”

[…]

huang fuyuan soon walked out with a smile.

but li lao was still in the ancestral hall.

in the resting cave.

the pink-dressed woman watched the two answer the questions, and her expression gradually turned dark.

curious, zhao keran leaned over to read.

[question one—

lin shuang: hmm, how much of my strength did i use just now… i went all out in the defense training of this tomato clock, and i am satisfied with myself.

huang fuyuan: i did my best. i haven’t done this much alchemy in the past year. how much of my strength… in terms of alchemy, it’s everything.

as for the final blow, it’s less than a tenth compared to when my body was healed. alas, my broken body…]

the veins on the pink-dressed woman’s forehead jumped.

[question two: which type of enemy would you subdue first?

lin shuang: if there’s no life-threatening danger, it would definitely be the fourth type, those who disrupt my plans.

huang fuyuan: i choose ‘other.’ any specifics? for example, if they destroyed the drawings on my three-winged spirit chicken cauldron?]

[question three:

lin shuang: ranking the three of us… i would give myself the first place. i said i did my best, so i give myself a full score of one hundred.

huang fuyuan: my role is the least important, not as good as theirs. but considering my body has reached this level, i give myself the highest rating.]

the answers were different, yet unexpectedly similar.

after reading it, zhao keran felt a strange and subtle feeling.

—senior sister and senior huang fuyuan seem alike.

was it because of the peculiar self-confidence expressed between the lines?

“bang!”

the jade table in front of the pink-dressed woman instantly turned into ashes.

“shameless!”

zhao keran: “…”

the woman in pink took a deep breath, “lin shuang is your senior sister, so it’s excusable if she’s sick. but this huang fuyuan, hehe, his cauldron is indeed broken.”

zhao keran was stunned.

did he use divine consciousness to kill ten bandits? just because the chicken drawing on his cauldron was destroyed? really?

she thought it was a joke.

“hehe.”

the woman in pink shook her head.

the more it looked fake, the more real it seemed.

she shot out a spiritual technique with her fingers.

then, within the projection array, water ripples finally appeared.

[lin shuang: qi condensation disciple.]

[detail-oriented, well-versed in cracking the rules of the li family village, triggered the li family village hidden item — three hundred youths!]

[she wasn’t the first immortal to arrive here, but she was the first one willing to patiently teach them techniques.]

is this the bestowal of heavenly favor? the heavens have heard their prayers.

—this is what the people of li family village thought.

lin shuang gained admiration and prestige in li family village, and elder li decided to give lin shuang a reward of 2,000 spirit stones as travel expenses.]

[lin shuang’s profound and vivid sword techniques left a deep impression on the three hundred young people who had just embarked on the path of cultivation.

are all immortals so patient?

in the future, if they go out to teach, can they be as patient?

—lin shuang triggered contemplation among the young cultivators.

every bit of effort counts, but human effort can defy fate!

the horizons of the three hundred young cultivators were opened, realizing that self-isolation is not sustainable in the long run.

to maintain the prosperity of our human cultivation, it is necessary to pass on from generation to generation without extinction!

“the sword of returning home” is worth 5,200 spirit stones. the young people pooled together and took out 2,800 spirit stones as their payment.

at the same time, village chief elder li, grateful for lin shuang’s guidance to the young people of li’s village, seeing hope for the future of li’s village, gave lin shuang an additional 500 spirit stones as a gratitude travel fee.]

[battle reward:

in the first round, lin shuang didn’t move but learned the five steps continuous killing formation on the spot. this spiritual achievement deeply moved li’s village, and li lao took out 500 more spirit stones in admiration for the immortal.

in the second round, lin shuang roamed the entire field, playing a crucial role—]

the water ripples stopped at this point.

only to see li lao walking out of the ancestral hall, smiling, and taking out the fourth big red silk bundle from behind!

looking at lin shuang and huang fuyuan, he said with a smile, “two immortals, this is an extra gift from me.”

meng zi opened his mouth.

another set of water ripples began.

[lin shuang and huang fuyuan cooperated to ‘seriously injure’ dao xi at the condensation stage 3; killed eighteen bandits, ranging from peak qi condensation to foundation establishment stage 1.]

[li lao thinks that you two, in this battle, were equally matched and had excellent cooperation. an additional reward of two thousand spirit stones is given to lin shuang and huang fuyuan, and you can distribute it yourselves!]

[1720 levels, reward settlement complete.]

[lin shuang, huang fuyuan, and meng zi, triggered the hidden magic treasure—three hundred puppets, shrunken sand table, passed with a first-class rating.]

[received the highest spirit stone gratitude fee for the little fang event in li’s village, temporarily ranking as the level master!]

the water ripples dissipated, turning into a golden beast head in an instant, flying to the chest of lin shuang and the others!

the fourth beast’s head, with the number 1720 on its forehead!

three beast heads lined up.

this one had already formed a new line on their robes!

【…!】

【i’m convinced.】

lin shuang was just about to leave when the defeated figures of dao dong, dao xi, and dao bei quickly appeared in the wheat field opposite.

they had pale faces and floated in steps, but after preliminary treatment, they were no longer in danger.

meng zi had too much to say, ultimately looking at lin shuang and huang fuyuan, combining his words into one sentence.

“i’ll settle the score with you later.”

“now, let’s draw the technique book. who’s going? let me check my luck today—it’s not bad.”

with the spirit stones in his hands, he wanted to go draw!

meng zi exuded an eager-to-move aura.

huang fuyuan raised an eyebrow, holding a hand warmer, standing still in place.

lin shuang had closed her eyes and slumped in a nearby chair, waving her hand.

no more requests, all her pomodoro sessions for the day were done.

…

meng zi blushed and cleared his throat, “so, shall i go then?”

dao dong, dao xi, and dao bei glared at meng zi with clenched teeth, then shot an angry gaze at lin shuang.

“why do you also know the five-step chain killing formation?”

lin shuang, with her eyes still closed, shook her head, then quickly shut them again.

“do you know what brain development is?”

“what?!”

lin shuang sighed.

as long as one persists in brain development training, the human ability for image memory will improve rapidly. modern people can do it, let alone her… after ten years of cultivating in this world, nurturing 108 strands of divine consciousness—equivalent to 108 brains!

for many years, almost every day was filled with the schedule of studying, practicing, and reviewing talismans.

can’t remember a third-order formation?

these three seemed to be questioning her learning ability.

lin shuang looked at dao dong.

“it’s better not to insult me casually, or i’ll get angry.”

dao dong: “???”

“how could you learn it so quickly! i only perfected it when i entered zhenchuan this time—”

lin shuang struggled to open her eyes.

her defensive spiritual qi had clashed with the sword qi several times, and now she was truly tired.

it not only consumed the seventh and eighth elixir fields but also kept 108 strands of divine consciousness running at high speed…

constantly calculating the angle and intensity of the sword qi, adjusting her spiritual qi. at the same time, she had to recall two newly learned techniques and apply them.

there was also the ‘defensive’ five steps formation that the opponent insisted on drawing in front of her, trying to make her accidentally learn… this kind of continuous causes the opponent to lose blood ‘defense’ formation—you hit me? you can slowly bleed. even if it’s fast memorization, it still consumes a lot of energy.

“how did you learn it? well, that’s vip-exclusive content, can’t tell you. i’m tired, need a short nap, don’t bother me.”

“!”

lin shuang took out a soft couch from her mustard seed bag, tucked herself in, pulled the small cotton quilt tighter, and closed her eyes to sleep.

“meng shixiong, when you leave this level later, can you move me next to my junior sister zhao keran?”

“i’ll give you fifty spirit stones.”

“???”

“!”

meng zi almost drew his sword, “am i your dao disciple—hmm, fifty? alright, i’ll do it for you. senior brother huang, how about you? are you tired? you’re a male cultivator; i’ll charge you seventy-five spirit stones?”

“…”

while meng zi was talking, he walked in front of dao xi and casually patted him when he wasn’t paying attention.

“borrowing your technique for a look, thanks.”

huang fuyuan narrowed his phoenix eyes.

“the most valuable thing on the three of them is probably the formation books. junior brother dao dong likely obtained ancient formations in the zhenchuan trial, thus perfecting his own five steps formation.”

as these words came out, dao dong’s figure slightly paused.

dao xi stood breathless; his expression stiff.

meng zi nodded, lowered his head to look at the scroll in his hand, and chuckled.

he raised it high towards huang fuyuan.

in his hand was the “eight arrays of rivers and rivers.” “i’ve never made a mistake when it comes to spirit stones. just a sniff, and i know which one is the most valuable.”

meng zi happily grinned, huang fuyuan smiled, and lin shuang lay down.

the three of them, dao xi, dao dong, and dao bei, felt despair.

“next time, don’t look so nervous as if you’re carrying something valuable, dao xi senior brother.” meng zi arched his hand towards him, “thanks for this time.”

above a thousand layers, giving away heads, giving away treasures, giving away rewards!

the three of them were about to collapse.

\[“damn it! is this meng zi, the disciple who doesn’t join unless he gets paid even at the low level of foundation establishment!?”\]

\[“? this senior brother seems very excited. could you be one of the ten sons of dao mountain, white-haired and biscuit inside?”\]

\[“…well, the other senior brothers of dao mountain’s ten sons are indeed watching this projection.”\]

\[“calm down. senior brothers with white hair and biscuit-like appearance from above the three thousand levels of zhenchuan cannot challenge disciples below three thousand.”\]

\[“ah, encountering three hundred puppets and locust meng zi, dao xi, dao bei, and dao dong are indeed unlucky.”\]

…

the projection completely disappeared.

meng zi, who returned fully loaded, had already left the trial level and returned to the rest cave.

as soon as he entered the hall, he looked cautious, as if carrying precious treasures.

he pushed a bamboo chair with his left hand, on which sat huang fuyuan, coughing and with a thick white blanket on his legs.

he carried a soft pallet on his right shoulder, on which lin shuang lay in a daze, covered with a pink small quilt.

a big knife was clamped under his armpit.

as a cultivator of the dao of the blade, he was steady with both hands.

lin shuang was placed next to zhao keran and didn’t feel the slightest shake. she was still asleep.

huang fuyuan was also very satisfied.

“auntie, let me check cave 1700,” meng zi smiled and grinned at the pink-dressed woman behind the counter.

“…”

the pink-dressed woman looked at the three of them as if they were sick, her hands trembling.

zhao keran hurried forward to ease the atmosphere. “i’ll take care of it.”

she looked anxious, fearing that meng zi and senior uncle would quarrel.

if that happened, it would affect her next shift, and she probably couldn’t have a meal with her senior sister.

zhao keran took the introduction jade slip of cave 1700 from the pink-dressed woman and placed it in front of meng zi.

unlike the plain text of the previous jade slips, the introduction of cave 1700 had a vivid ‘model’ map.

it could rotate 365 degrees to view the situation of every room in the cave, and even see the simulated surrounding spiritual energy environment.

“the inner sect cafeteria is right next to cave 1700, and you can walk there,” zhao keran said, deeply influenced by lin shuang.

it sounded great as if advertising convenient transportation.

“if you don’t want to go out, the cafeteria offers a dao disciple delivery service for an additional 10 spirit stones. door-to-door delivery takes only about a dozen breaths.”

lin shuang opened her eyes instantly as she lay on the soft couch, casting her gaze toward this cave.

sensitive words were triggered, and she woke up.

although the fasting pill could keep one full, it lacked the healing effect on one’s mood, and the lack of sugar could lead to depression over time.

better to go to the canteen.

this delivery service was not available for outer sect disciples.

“this sounds good,” meng zi was a bit tempted, “ten spirit stones for one delivery. if i ask everyone to pay five spirit stones, wouldn’t everyone choose me for the delivery?”

zhao keran: “…”

lin shuang: “…”

huang fuyuan: “…”

however, meng zi calculated with his fingers and felt that this cave was much better than the previous one. “i’m close to the canteen. if i deliver meals to a hundred people three times a day, that would be…”

zhao keran interjected, “a lot of spirit stones.”

meng zi laughed and slapped his thigh on the spot. “thirty days would be forty-five thousand spirit stones. the annual rent for this cave is two hundred thousand.”

by delivering for five months, it’s like getting a free stay for a year!

lin shuang’s mouth twitched, and huang fuyuan also pressed his temples.

this person, they didn’t know him.