With the help of Zhao Jia’s sixteenth uncle, Lin Shuang and the others were grabbed and thrown near the Shanhai Sect.
Lin Shuang leaned close to Zhao Keran, chatted with her for the time it took to burn an incense stick, and then let her and Zhao Ming return to the Shanhai Sect first.
Zhao Keran had initially been reluctant, but now she was determined to set a good example for over a hundred cousins in her family, leading the way.
—Proving that one can achieve more outside the valley!
Therefore, she was also eager to return and seek guidance from Master Li Daowei and other outer sect teachers.
“Yeah, according to the schedule,” Zhao Keran glanced at her notes. “I missed yesterday’s sword techniques and cultivation method lessons. I need to go back and catch up, Senior.”
Lin Shuang affectionately patted her forehead.
This child already knew how to adjust her schedule flexibly.
She even understood the need to catch up on her own.
“Good girl, wait until you finish your lessons. I’ll be back just in time and bring you a gift.”
Zhao Keran’s round eyes sparkled.
With her hands and feet dragging along the ground, she directly grabbed her cousin Zhao Ming beside her and rapidly retreated.
“Senior, Brother Meng, Brother Huangpu, we’ll be heading out first.”
Zhao Ming: “…”
Lin Shuang waved goodbye, watching her junior leave until she was out of sight.
At the same time, she also took a step backward.
Meng Zi and Huangpu Yuan: “…”
The cultivation market was on the way back to the Shanhai Sect and the Qingshui Sect.
In the Liuxian Town, where the two sects intersected, business-minded guilds and wandering cultivators all came here to trade.
Morning markets and night bazaars bustled with activity.
Rongbaozhai alone had opened three branches here.
“Step right up, take a look! First to third-tier formation disks, produced by Mingzhong Gate.”
“Seasonal sale! Lightweight and breathable! The latest summer dresses from Baihua Sect, with a matching belt, my dear immortal?”
“One bowl of iced red bean spirit tea?”
“Need any talismans?”
Walking down the street, Lin Shuang, Huangpu Yuan, and Meng Zi were constantly surrounded by wandering cultivators’ stalls and their calls.
After the Wangjian Layer trial ended, many expelled disciples came to the market to shop.
The road on both sides was lined with stalls and shops, bustling with activity.
Today was also an important day for the competition among the twelve sects, so pedestrians were scarce. Shopkeepers, upon seeing the three, eagerly targeted them.
Meng Zi held tightly to his storage pouch, not spending a single coin.
Lin Shuang, on the other hand, bought quite a few fresh items.
“We came all this way, Senior. If you don’t buy today, next time you need something, you’ll have to go out of the mountain again, flying on your sword.”
She understood the art of killing two birds with one stone.
“There are fewer people today, making it convenient to haggle.”
Meng Zi’s eyes lit up instantly.
Behind them, Huangpu Yuan already had a snow-white Pomeranian in his arms, three more of red, yellow, and white colors running behind, and another three in front leading the way.
A pitch-black little spirit dog was even clinging to his head.
When Lin Shuang turned around, she almost had a heart attack.
So many fluffy puppies were so cute that her heart could barely handle it. This was just too unfair.
“They followed me on their own,” Huangpu Yuan explained.
As he spoke, wild dogs from the roadside were trying to rush over to him.
Lin Shuang’s eyelid twitched. She suddenly remembered the transaction he had with Prince Cheng at the inn.
Back then, there had seemed to be more dogs than usual at the inn.
He naturally had a special affinity for dogs.
He had just been suppressing it.
She bent down on the street and picked up the fiery red little spirit dog spinning around Huangpu Yuan’s feet. “Did you pay for this one?”
Meng Zi was suddenly inspired. “Then I’ll take one too.”
Raising a spirit dog to a high level, although it couldn’t fully gain intelligence, it could understand simple commands.
In the beast-taming market, a healthy one would cost hundreds or even thousands of spirit stones. If it came from a family line with powerful ancestors, the price would be no less than five thousand spirit stones.
[Xiao Ai No.1 (Lin): Spending too much time with Senior Brother Huangpu might mean we’ve picked up some beastly aura too.]
They also needed to get rid of the smell.
Meng Zi: “…Ah, yes, I was just thinking the same thing.”
Certainly not to save on spirit stones.
Huangpu Yuan: “…”
Lin Shuang: “…”
So the three of them, holding dogs, spent half a day shopping and ended up carrying several large and small packages.
“Lin Shuang, that’s enough. My hands are full. Can’t you just put them in your storage pouch?”
“No.”
Lin Shuang looked back at Meng Zi, whose arms were already full of bundles, and felt cheerful.
“Senior, you don’t understand. The joy of spending spirit stones—if you put them in your storage pouch, isn’t that like wearing brocade at night?”
“You have to hang them on your hands, feel the real weight, and double the happiness.”
Meng Zi suddenly understood!
Immediately, he took out the three outdated winter outfits he had bought cheaply and put them all on.
[…Are they really the ones who defeated the Baihua Sect?]
[…This is the group that has already beaten five sects?]
[Heaven! Open your eyes and see!]
“Hey, three cultivators, please wait a moment.”
Their bizarre appearance finally caught the attention of passersby.
Triggering an additional event.
The man wore a purple robe and held a birdcage in his hand.
That flashy purple instantly made Lin Shuang and Huangpu Yuan’s eyes twitch.
It was too familiar.
Lin Shuang stared at the man’s storage pouch. Wasn’t this the same venerable figure from the theft incident involving the Daoist boy—the one Huangpu Yuan had shoved into the alchemy furnace in that abandoned temple?
Could it be Tianji Order?
The purple-robed man didn’t seem to realize he had been exposed.
When he saw the bundles in Meng Zi’s hands, he looked delighted, as if he had found a gullible target.
“Three of you seem to be generous spenders.”
“You must have heard of the flourishing cultivation auction happening these days? Tonight at midnight, right on this street, it will be held as scheduled.”
The purple-robed man smiled and took out three rare copper coins from the cultivation world from his sleeve.
“If you’re interested, take my token and go. You can directly get a private tea room.”
Lin Shuang smiled, hugging her dog.
Huangpu Yuan didn’t move either, his phoenix eyes lowered.
Copper coins in the cultivation world couldn’t even buy a single spirit stone bun.
Using this as a token—was he looking down on someone?
Meng Zi hugged his dog and grinned.
None of the three took the coins.
The purple-robed man’s smile gradually turned awkward. “Three of you, auctions aren’t common. This time, an ancient secret mansion has been unearthed.”
[Xiao Ai No.1 (Lin): According to my schedule, there’s no auction today. My shopping is already finished.]
Meng Zi and Huangpu Yuan both twitched their eyes but quickly nodded.
Auction—
Extremely expensive, high bidding. Wasting spirit stones, hard to find a bargain.
Meng Zi didn’t like it.
—Owning Rongbaozhai, what was an auction?
Huangpu Yuan wasn’t interested.
—Round after round of bidding, three thousand once, three thousand twice… What, someone offered six thousand! Six thousand once, twice… Ah, this time wasted, it would be better to set a fixed price.
Lin Shuang didn’t like it.
“If the three of you aren’t interested, then forget it.”
The purple-robed man awkwardly withdrew his hand and turned to leave.
[Xiao Ai No.2 (Huangpu): I’ll go for a bit. You two watch my physical body.]
What?
Lin Shuang and Meng Zi both twitched their eyes.
Then, standing close, they noticed that the Huangpu Yuan beside them kept his posture of standing and holding the dog, lifting his jaw, his ink-black pupils gazing at the sky, as if admiring the scenery.
His gaze gradually became blank.
And a gray, plump little puppy, lifting its round head proudly, marched out from a narrow passage in front of a nearby shop, stepping forward with its short legs, following behind the purple-robed man who was leaving.
This little puppy had grape-like, clear ink-black round eyes. It even turned back, looking at them with a wet gaze.
It gave them a human-like nod, though it didn’t have a neck at all.
Lin Shuang: “…”
Meng Zi: “…”
Grass.
No one told him.
Was this Senior Brother Huangpu’s original form, so small and pitiful?
Lin Shuang and Meng Zi were so moved by the cuteness that they sighed.
They could only turn back and look at the ‘dazed’ Huangpu Yuan standing between them.
—What to do? Carry him away?
Meng Zi used his eyes to ask Lin Shuang with a grin.
Lin Shuang thought for a moment, then took out a first-tier roller skate talisman she had made herself from her storage pouch.
“What is this?” Meng Zi asked, puzzled.
Lin Shuang bent down and stuck a yellow paper talisman under her shoe.
Instantly, spirit energy was activated from the first-tier yellow paper, forming double rows of roller skate wheels. With a puff, she slid forward on her own.
This roller skate talisman, as the name suggests, allows one to slide once worn.
It’s slower than flying on a sword but faster than walking.
It was something she had created after mastering all the first-tier talismans.
Flying a sword requires using one’s own spirit energy, but these roller skate talismans don’t.
They can automatically draw surrounding spirit energy, similar to gathering energy first and then skating in a fully automatic mode.
Combined with Xiao Ai’s main control talisman, they can also be controlled remotely like a remote-controlled car.
“…Shuang, can you be any lazier?”
Meng Zi was doubtful but also lifted his foot and stuck the talisman paper under his boot.
In an instant, he slid into a big split.
[…]
[What are they doing?]
[Why am I here watching this?]
[Is this the arrogance of the competition winners?]
[Meng Zi: Let me do a weird move—yes, Baihua Sect, you were defeated by someone like me.]
[…]
The projected text collapsed.
Lin Shuang watched as Meng Zi grumbled, got up, and then fell into another big split, nodding approvingly.
Good.
Attracting the attention of watching disciples.
She took the opportunity to let the spare Xiao Ai fly out from her sleeve and stick a roller skate talisman to the heels of the ‘dazed’ Huangpu Yuan.
Then she stopped controlling the talisman under Meng Zi’s feet, letting him slide on his own.
Meng Zi: “…”
He was just a tool person!
So the three of them, holding their dogs, walking the dogs, and carrying many full packages, slowly began roller-skating down the street of Liuxian Town.
They skated for a small circle, but Huangpu Yuan’s real body hadn’t returned yet.
Meng Zi finally figured it out. This purple-robed man was a member of the Tianji Order they had analyzed before.
This evil cultivation organization was related to the wreckage.
Following them might lead to finding the rogue cultivator hiding in the Shanhai Sect.
“Wait, he invited us to this auction… Hmph.”
Meng Zi was relieved they hadn’t gone.
Wasn’t this auction a den of wolves?
Just as he was reflecting, a gray, plump little puppy, walking with a dignified posture that didn’t match its body, returned.
When it saw Lin Shuang, the ‘Huangpu Yuan,’ and Meng Zi gliding straight down the street, its fluffy fur that trembled with each step paused for a moment.
Its wet, doggy eyes suspiciously looked at Lin Shuang’s head.
Such a human-like black pupil gaze made Meng Zi very certain that this was Senior Brother Huangpu’s true form.
“Hey, you little dog, come here!”
Meng Zi grabbed its two chubby front paws.
He immediately fell flat on the ground!
The little gray farm dog narrowed its grape-like black eyes, and with elegant steps, its four paws stepped one by one over his chest.
Finally, it rubbed hard against Meng Zi’s clothes.
Instantly, the dirty little paw prints on the ground turned pink all around.
It then lifted its head toward Lin Shuang, as if showing her its clean little paws.
Meng Zi: “…”
Lin Shuang patted its head, took out a new roller skate talisman from her storage pouch, and stuck it on its raised front paw.
“Just received a message from Mei Xin, saying they’re nearby.”
She grabbed its back paw, taking the opportunity to press and pinch its little paw pad, collecting payment for the work.
The little gray dog’s plump body stiffened instantly.
But Lin Shuang didn’t pay attention to him anymore.
Who knew how long this great demon would want to play in the little gray dog’s body.
“Lin Senior—”
Mei Xin, along with Chen Xingchuan and Dao Dong, had just hurriedly arrived.
From a distance, they saw the three of them.
Mei Xin had just started to call out when she seemed to have her throat pinched.
She rubbed her eyes, looking at the gray short-haired little creature in Lin Shuang’s hands… Could it be?
What was she seeing.
The eighth tail of the master, silver-gray, had once broken, and the subsequent growth had always been slower and less smooth than the other three tails.
So when this eighth tail transformed into its original form, it was still a juvenile little fox-dog.
Now it was being pinched by Lin Shuang’s paw pad…
“Cough!”
Mei Xin braked suddenly and lowered her head.
“Mei Senior.”
Lin Shuang, however, noticed her and immediately stood up, releasing the stiff little gray dog’s paw pad.
The three people and one dog then slid straight on the ground toward Mei Xin, Chen Xingchuan, and Dao Dong.
Mei Xin and others: “…”
Mei Xin pressed her hand to her head. “Lin Junior, just the other night when Gang Er was taken back by the spiral clan, Gang Yi was returning to her western homeland with his partner, saying they would be gone for three days.”
“I had no choice but to pay a hefty sum to hire two deep-sea fish demons, who are willing to guide us. We can enter the sea today.”
[? What does this mean? Are they planning to go to the deep sea to persuade them to study?]
[Oh no! Is the Qingshui Sect preparing to wipe out the five major sects again?]
“Quick, run! The deep sea sects of Shanhai Sect and Wanseng Gate!”
But in the projection, Mei Xin smiled toward Lin Shuang again,
“The two deep-sea fish demons sent a message saying that as soon as the Shanhai Sect and Wanseng Gate entered the deep sea, they were affected by the spiral clan’s sound attack. Even if the spiral clan stops now and stops attacking, they will at least need to sleep for half a day.”
“We still have time to leave now.”
Lin Shuang nodded as she listened.
Her original plan was also to find Senior Gang.
“Can we still send a message to contact him?”
Zhao Ming was locked in the ancestral hall.
Was Gang Er also locked up? What rules did the spiral clan have?
Mei Xin smiled bitterly. “No contact. He’s a pure spiral demon. Having not returned for too long, as soon as he goes back to the deep sea, he’ll mostly transform into his original form. Spiral demon’s original form…”
She didn’t continue.
She glanced at Lin Shuang and the ‘Huangpu Yuan’ behind her.
Seeing Mei Xin hesitating to speak, Lin Shuang immediately pulled out “The Complete Encyclopedia of Demon Clans Friendly to Human Cultivators.”
[Spiral demon, all kind-hearted househusbands when on land.
But when they return to the sea and transform into their original form, their movement speed becomes extremely slow, and they might drift with the currents. A slight mistake could send them floating who knows where.
The lower-cultivation-level Luo Clan struggles to suppress their innate bloodline tendencies.
Therefore, keep an eye on your River Snail Maiden and River Snail Young Man.”
Lin Shuang: “…”
Therefore, this matter still required the intervention of the great fairy Huangfu.
Sure enough, the little gray dog on the ground stepped forward.
It stretched its leg in front of Meixin.
Shaking its round and plump body, a short gray hair floated down and landed on Meixin’s collar.
Meixin instantly controlled her expression and smiled toward Lin Shuang.
“Senior Lin, thank you for your guidance. I now know how to approach the Luo Clan.”
“I’ll go with Daodong to find Gang brother, you all return to Shanhai Sect to claim this level of reward first.”
Lin Shuang: “…”
She looked speechless and glanced at the dog on the ground.
Again, she was framed?
Meng Zi tilted his head in confusion, “What did you guide Meixin?”
The gray dog stepped over his black boots with one of its small feet.
Meng Zi: “…”
Lin Shuang also smiled toward Meixin and said, “Well then, Senior Meixin, you go ahead and beep beep woohoo…”
[!]
[? Do they know how to persuade the Luo Clan now?]
[What did Lin Shuang say? Has the audio-blocking mechanism been triggered again?]
Hearing Lin Shuang’s beeping on the spot, Meixin’s expression turned blank.
Chen Xingchuan and Daodong also looked confused, but although they didn’t understand, they had trained with Lin Shuang for three months in Lijia Village.
They had already unconsciously followed Lin Shuang’s actions without thinking.
If she said beep, there must be a reason.
Chen Xingchuan: “Yes, beep.”
Daodong: “…Baba.”
Meixin: “…”
If she didn’t say something now, wouldn’t it be awkward?
“Woohoo~”
Meng Zi and Huangfu Yuan’s mouths twitched.
[Did they really share so many tips to pass the trial?!]
“What’s going on? Does everyone from Qingshui Sect know how to pass the trial!”
[Does anyone from Qingshui Sect watch the projection?]
[A disciple of Qingshui Sect is here: Just get used to it.]
[…]
[An elder brother of Qingshui Sect: Don’t envy, it won’t help. She’s ours.]
Chen Xingchuan and others with Lin Shuang actually understood the key to the Nine-Thousand Trial!
The six of them continuously triggered so many audio-blocking spells.
At this moment, Daofa, watching the projection on the viewing mountain, and the other six thousand level disciples of Qingshui Sect, were all silently envious.
They also wanted to join her.
After the competition ended, could Lin Shuang bring them along?
While in the projection, Lin Shuang, Meixin, and the others faced each other, beeping and babbling for a while, then split into two groups again.
The little gray dog, as if startled, ran into an alley and disappeared.
It took away the four skating talismans she painstakingly drew.
Lin Shuang’s eyebrows twitched.
Then, Huangfu Yuan behind her, between her and Meng Zi, moved his black pupils, tilted his head back, exhaled deeply, as if suddenly waking up.
Stretching his muscles.
His voice was hoarse, probably because he had just regained his human voice.
“I got it.”
Hmm?
Lin Shuang was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood—the Tianji Order from the purple-robed birdwatcher.
“So he—”
Huangfu Yuan’s lips slightly curved, “I left a tail hair in his storage pouch. Later, let’s see what information they have.”
Lin Shuang: “…Let’s go.”
[Xiao Ai No.3 (Meng): So we’re going back already? I feel a bit uneasy. If Senior Yueshi wants to guide us, wouldn’t he leave something on us again? Is it him, the teleportation array enthusiast—the sinister elder?]
Meng Zi, inspired just now, learned how to encrypt text.
Although it was quite rudimentary, Lin Shuang nodded.
Everyone was growing.
She soon fell into deep thought.
The teleportation talisman had issues—personally handed to them by Elder Wang of Yuanhe Supervision with Nascent Foundation cultivation;
Right after leaving the Zhao family, Shanhai Sect immediately recalled them, and the Nascent Foundation-level Elder Yueshi wanted to personally guide them as a reward.
Werewolf vote, this round probably will go to Elder Yueshi…
Why not have Elder Wang, who has Nascent Foundation cultivation, give guidance?
They were only at the Nascent Foundation stage.
Even in Zhenchuan, the guidance for disciples was handled by Nascent Foundation elders like Li Min.
Even now, they had been advancing triumphantly through the competitions, yet Qingshui Sect’s Qiutan Elder had not personally guided the three of them.
It was just like what Xiao Zhao’s father said—they were watching Nascent Foundation cultivation like watching ‘broad beans,’ needing careful discernment to see whether you’ve improved from yesterday.
Guidance from Nascent Foundation elders would be more appropriate in terms of teaching efficiency and cultivation disparity.
So why did Shanhai Sect suddenly upgrade to Nascent Foundation elders giving guidance?
This eagerness, this emphasis on ‘personal guidance,’ added another 50% certainty that Elder Yueshi was the werewolf.
Tsk.
“Let’s go back to Shanhai Sect, and return the useless teleportation talismans to them.”
Lin Shuang’s eyes flickered.
Meng Zi, while flying his sword, showed a trace of confusion—how to return them?
According to the Zhao family’s ancestor, once the teleportation talisman was used, it would be hard to escape the Nascent Foundation elder’s divine consciousness.
At that time, their every thought would be perceived by the other side.
Even Xiao Ai’s talisman walkie-talkie communication couldn’t hide it.
The fastest learning efficiency method—innovation is always the primary productive force. When opponents can’t keep up with your rhythm, they can’t defeat you!
[Xiao Ai No.1 (Lin): We walk ahead of him, leaving him no way to go!]
Since the other side wanted to peek into her consciousness sea, she would let them see it openly!
Lin Shuang turned on her message stone, stood on the street, and suddenly shouted loudly, “Elder Li Min, Elder Duan Wufang, Master Li Daowei, something big happened…”
Huangfu Yuan and Meng Zi held their breath.
[How familiar this scene feels?]
[Isn’t this exactly how Zhao family’s little junior sister told her uncle and second uncle…that she was beaten?]
[…She learned it pretty fast?]
“What’s going on?” The anxious voices of Elders Li Min and Duan Wufang immediately came through the message stone, “Aren’t you out shopping? Just separated from Meixin? What are you beeping about?”
Huangfu Yuan and Meng Zi: “…”
Lin Shuang suddenly stumbled, her face paled as she fell to the ground.
Huangfu Yuan and Meng Zi: “!”
“Senior Elder, disciple refuses to go to the deep sea; Meixin went instead, and I’ve barely held on until now.”
“Actually, since leaving the Zhao family, I’ve been unwell, so I went shopping to enjoy myself…”
“But I didn’t expect that even timely enjoyment couldn’t cure my sadness.”
Lin Shuang raised her sleeve to wipe her eyes.
“Ah, Senior Elder, I might have to withdraw from the competition.”
“My dantian and divine consciousness have gone wrong, splitting into a hundred pieces…”
[???]
[What!]
[Ah?]
A silence fell at the other end of the message stone.
Lin Shuang wiped at non-existent tears.
Since she, as a Foundation-Building cultivator, stepped onto the inner sect arena, the abnormality in her dantian could no longer be hidden from the elders of various sects.
Foundation-Building cultivators couldn’t possibly compete against Nascent Foundation ones.
Most sects must have already realized her dantian and divine consciousness were abnormal, allowing her to jump between Foundation-Building and Nascent Foundation.
Since everyone had already guessed most of it, there was no harm in her directly saying it now.
Once she said it, everyone watching the projection would know.
It saved her from having to explain it repeatedly later.
At the same time, she, Lin Shuang, would completely step out from the sect’s shadows and onto the spotlighted stage of the Twelve Sects!
Whoever wanted to target her would have to weigh whether they could withstand the consequences of their evil intentions being exposed in front of tens of thousands of people!
Whether it was Elder Yue or Elder Ri, sorry!
Try messing with me?
Lin Shuang cried into the message stone. “Senior Elder, I actually wanted to tell you long ago about this issue with my dantian splitting into a hundred…”
“Today, I’m truly shaken in my Dao heart, unable to compete! Please, Senior Elder, heal my hundred dantians!”
[!]
[…??]
[What!]
As Lin Shuang’s words fell, a torrential waterfall suddenly appeared above the three of them!
The cascading waters fell three thousand feet, instantly enveloping them and the dogs.
Soon, the water vanished without a trace.
Not a trace of moisture or a single water droplet remained on the ground.
Lin Shuang and the three others also disappeared.
[!]
[Is it a Tribulation Descent?!]
[It’s Qingshui Sect’s water puddle elder—]
As Lin Shuang and the others opened their eyes, they, along with ten dogs, arrived at the central arena surrounded by the twelve viewing mountains of Shanhai Sect!
Meng Zi’s mouth twitched, Huangfu Yuan’s temple pulsed.
She really said she’d come back and came back immediately.
Even saving the time of flying on a sword.
And now, the grand elders of the twelve sects were all present.
The two central seats were occupied by the stern-faced and surprised Elder Yueshi, who looked at her with strict eyes, and Elder Shuitan of Qingshui Sect, who had transformed into a puddle of water.
The second round of competition, the persuasion hadn’t ended yet.
Cultivators didn’t need sleep or rest.
Everyone was watching the competition and hadn’t left.
“I thought she was Qingshui Sect’s genius, but she actually messed up her cultivation?”
“A hundred dantians, no wonder she’s still Foundation-Building but so strong when she erupts…Wait, does she learn techniques a hundred times faster?”
“Shut up, think about a hundred dantians—wouldn’t you have to breakthrough a hundred times?”
“This…No wonder she asked for help.”
“Did she only realize her dantian was messed up today? Oh, maybe in the Zhao family, the Zhao ancestor advised her and told her this wouldn’t work!”
“And what about her beeping with Meixin earlier—could that have been when she found out her dantian was ruined!?”
On the viewing mountains around, disciples were discussing wildly.
Everyone’s imagination was running wild.
Lin Shuang lowered her head, raising her moist, bloodshot eyes after just running the Fire Eyes technique, and sniffled as if sorrowfully bowing her head.
As she wiped her tears, she also covered the smile she couldn’t help but show on her lips.
Good, everyone keep brainstorming, come up with the next lines for her.
That way, she wouldn’t have to waste time explaining more.
On the elders’ chairs, the puddle of water instantly transformed into the image of a drunken old man, hastily standing up.
“Come back to my cave with me!”
But almost instantly, other elders around narrowed their eyes, scanning Lin Shuang’s dantian and divine consciousness.
Originally, they had only seen her through the projection of the Nine-Thousand Trial, but now with this direct gaze, they truly noticed her abnormalities.
The elder of the Pill and Forging Sect looked at Lin Shuang, half amused, half nodding.
“No wonder, I was wondering where such an extraordinary genius came from. It turns out you exchanged your future for it through self-destructive means.”
“Old Tan, don’t hide from seeking treatment. My Pill and Forging Sect can help you figure out how to save her.”
The elder of the Mingzhong Sect was also interested, “Her divine consciousness is also special. Water Qiantan, can you handle such a complicated case alone? While the twelve sects’ Nascent Foundation elders are here, why not let everyone work together to find a solution.”
An expert consultation.
Lin Shuang sniffled.
Being watched by the elders of the twelve sects, she was not only not nervous but also a little happy.
This was exactly the effect she wanted.
“Senior Elder, my dantian can’t merge, it hurts when I try. The Zhao ancestor said I might never reach the Spirit Transformation stage in my life, and he offered to painlessly remove 99 of my dantians so I could start cultivating from scratch…”
Huangfu Yuan’s mouth twitched.
That was his exact line from the Lijia Village. Was she holding a grudge?
“Absurd, breaking the dantian would ruin you.”
The Pill and Forging Sect elder solemnly shook his head.
“Unless you buy 99 of our seventh-grade pills to protect your meridians.”
Water Qiantan glared at him without affection.
At a time like this, he was still trying to sell!
But looking at the hundred scattered dantians and the hundred drifting divine consciousnesses inside Lin Shuang, he also twitched his mouth.
Lin Shuang glanced at the projection stone and found a good close-up facial expression.
Continuing to wipe her tears, she said, “Senior Elder, I don’t want to start over, nor do I want to never reach the Spirit Transformation stage in my life, but every time I try to merge them, I pass out from the pain.”
“Senior Elder, can you save me…”
The four outer sect instructors stood up and rushed to the center.
But it was no use, even Xiaohong and Xiaolv hurried to Lin Shuang’s side.
But again, no use!
Water Qiantan and the grand elders of the various sects quickly appeared beside Lin Shuang, pushing Huangfu Yuan, who was worried about exposing his demonic race’s aura, aside.
Huangfu Yuan, holding the dog: “…”
Meng Zi: “…”
The elders of the various sects immediately conducted a full-body check on Lin Shuang.
One checked the health of her dantian, another examined her divine consciousness, another checked if her meridians were unobstructed…
“Hisss, why does it hurt when they merge… I need to think about this.”
Even the Pill and Forging Sect’s pill expert was stumped.
Beside him, the elder from the Qingmu Sect, known for healing, also frowned, “It can separate, but cannot merge.”
“Could it be the cultivation method is wrong? Perhaps we should try breaking through to Spirit Formation separately first, enhancing the meridians’ strength, and then practicing our Qingmu Sect’s healing technique to merge them without damaging the foundation?”
[…]
[Elder of Qingmu Sect, are you sure you’re not trying to recruit a genius disciple?]
[Qingmu Sect, eyeing the inner sect’s achievements?]
[This…I’m starting to envy Lin Shuang a bit.]
[The twelve sects’ Nascent Foundation elders are all around her.]
Lin Shuang’s strange dantian and divine consciousness made her famous in an instant.
“Ah, Old Tan, give me some time. I’ll go back and check some ancient books. I suspect the root of her pain lies in her divine consciousness.”
The elder from Mingzhong Sect also spoke up.
“Interesting, so does this mean your cultivation speed is faster than others?”
The elder from Yunyang Sect rubbed his chin, looking at Lin Shuang.
“Although breaking through is troublesome, you’re almost invincible at the same level. Little girl, you’re clever.”
“This inner sect competition isn’t a waste of my trip. Little girl, I’ll pass you a Spirit Gathering Technique today. Ten days later, I’ll come back to check your dantian again.”
The elders were racking their brains.
But there was no overnight cure.
Of course, because it wasn’t a problem with the technique, but her dantian not wanting to work every day.
Who could figure that out?
Lin Shuang lowered her head.
Anyway, she had no loss.
The Zhao ancestor had said, unless you’re like him, already at the peak of Nascent Foundation.
Otherwise, from the dantian, at most they could discern the depth of her cultivation, but not the progress of her various techniques.
She wasn’t afraid of them watching.
With gratitude, Lin Shuang looked toward the elders, “I’ve caused the elders some trouble.”
Throughout the competition period in Donghua Domain, and even for a long time in the future,
whenever cultivators of great power saw her, they couldn’t help but glance at her curiously.
They were curious about her cultivation speed, how she reached the Lianshen stage, and whether her situation might improve after learning the techniques of Gathering Spirit and Healing the Heart.
Moon Elder, Sun Elder—whatever elder—would dare to leave something on her?
Could he be confident that the elders from the other eleven sects wouldn’t detect the anomaly in the teleportation talisman?
She looked gratefully at each elder, and soon her gaze casually landed on Yue Zhi from the Shanhai Sect, meeting his intense, sharply scrutinizing gaze with furrowed brows.
In an instant, Lin Shuang felt her spatial pouch stir.
She looked down and realized the teleportation talisman she had placed on top was gone!
The teleportation runes on the spatial pouches of Huangpu Yuan and Meng Zi also vanished instantly.
The Grand Elder of the Shanhai Sect, Yue Zhi, gave them a subtle expression, strictly scrutinizing the three of them.
“Since you’ve returned safely, you should return the teleportation talismans to the Shanhai Sect now.”
[!]
[The elder is so stingy.]
It was indeed him!
Lin Shuang closed her eyes; he couldn’t hold back anymore.
Was he afraid the elders’ X-ray-like inspection would detect the anomaly in his teleportation talisman?
His fox tail finally showed!
She was overjoyed but pretended to look disappointed, casting a regretful glance at the talisman.
Only Meng Zi was genuinely upset, “Sigh, at least 50,000 spirit stones…”
That was the price of the teleportation value.
“Stingy!” Shui Qiantan also glared at Yue Zhi.
Yue Zhi’s face darkened slightly.
Lin Shuang nodded inwardly.
Today, she had not only revealed her extraordinary potential in plain sight but also successfully identified this black-hearted elder and eliminated the sinister means involving the teleportation talismans.
A single arrow hitting multiple targets!
“Your dantian… well, let us think about it.”
Shui Qiantan shook his head full of white hair like splashing water.
On his face, without a single wrinkle, was a lingering flush from last night’s drinking, but now his brows were tightly knitted.
Clearly, he also had no good solution for Lin Shuang’s dantian issue.
“But your hundredfold spiritual senses are quite suitable for one of our Shanhai Sect’s techniques.”
Yue Zhi remained silent.
“Old Yue, since they convinced Zhao Ming to return, the Shanhai Sect already owes them a favor. And now you’re stingily taking back the teleportation talisman—why not just give them that instead! If you’re going to guide them, only that technique would be suitable for her current dantian and spiritual state.”
Lin Shuang raised her eyebrows in curiosity.
“The Thousand Mountains and Myriad Waters Painting. Lin Shuang, do you want to learn it?”
As Shui Qiantan spoke, Lin Shuang saw a flicker of reluctance on Yue Zhi’s face.
Her eyes immediately lit up.
When her enemies were unhappy, she was happy.
Instantly, the first volume of “The Thousand Mountains and Myriad Waters Painting” flew swiftly toward her.
[!]
[! A Heaven-tier technique!]
And in the next moment, the immense aura of Yuanhe Nine Thousand descended upon Lin Shuang and the other two.
[Layer 4396 Persuasion Task: Qing Shui Sect successfully persuaded Gang Er, earning 100 points.]
[Shanhai Sect and Wanseng Sect have failed. You may now proceed to the Northern Region to persuade Tao You, a disciple of Baihua Sect.]
[!]
[…Lin Shuang and the other three are here—how did they complete the persuasion task in the Deep Sea from thousands of miles away?!]
[Shanhai Sect, Wanseng Sect—why did you insist on going to the Deep Sea? Why oppose Qing Shui Sect! Wouldn’t it have been better to go straight to the Northern Region?!]
[…]
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