Wen Jingshu felt Lin Yunan's goodwill and accepted the storage bag he handed over with a slight smile.
“Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother.”
“Did you come here specifically to see me, Eldest Senior Brother?”
Seeing that the young girl's aloofness had faded a little and her face now bore a warmer smile, Lin Yunan explained,
“Yes and no.”
“I also took the mission you and Zhou Yuanshen accepted. I came to take you to the gathering point.”
Wen Jingshu looked at him in surprise. “What a coincidence.”
Lin Yunan was Beili's most prized personal disciple. Barring any accidents, he would also be the future peak master of Hidden Star Peak. Now that Lin Yunan was showing her goodwill, she could not help but wonder if Beili had revealed her true identity to him.
Unaware of Wen Jingshu's thoughts, Lin Yunan said candidly,
“Actually, Master was worried, so he asked me to accompany you.”
Wen Jingshu said, “I see. Let's head out now, then.”
Upon hearing Lin Yunan's words, Wen Jingshu wore a look that said just as I thought. However, she was not one to overthink things. Regardless of whether he was approaching her because of her identity or because Beili was worried about her safety, having an extra protector was never a bad thing.
After all, her sister was an Eighth-Grade Alchemist. Capturing her would be equivalent to seizing her sister's weakness.
To wear the crown, one must bear its weight!
With every gain, there is a loss!
When the senior brother and junior sister arrived, there were two other cultivators standing beside Zhou Yuanshen.
When one of the male cultivators saw Wen Jingshu, his expression instantly soured.
“Our mission this time is fraught with danger. How can we bring along a little girl at the Qi Refining Stage?”
Zhou Yuanshen, who had been smiling when he saw Wen Jingshu, immediately darkened his face upon hearing the male cultivator's words.
“You are merely a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator yourself, Zhou Qi. Mind your words.”
This mission was indeed somewhat dangerous, but its main purpose was to take low-level disciples out to gain experience.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have had two Golden Core Stage disciples leading the team.
Of course, Lin Yunan was there specifically to protect his junior sister.
“Junior Brother, if you have any objections, you are free to back out at any time. As for my junior sister's safety, you don't need to worry about it.”
Lin Yunan still wore his gentle smile, but the threat in his words was unmistakable.
Having been rebuffed by two Golden Core Stage cultivators in a row, Zhou Qi's expression turned extremely unsightly, and he did not dare to say another word.
“Let's go, Junior Sister.”
After greeting Wen Jingshu, Zhou Yuanshen turned to Lin Yunan and said, “You rascal, when did you get back? You didn't even let me know.”
The two of them were both the chosen talents of their generation, and through their frequent interactions, they had become good friends.
Lin Yunan smiled slightly and led Wen Jingshu onto his flying vessel, saying, “Just returned a few days ago. This time, I'm an extra companion, here to accompany my junior sister to see the world.”
Lin Yunan's words were very tactful. On one hand, he let the other two know that he was there solely for Wen Jingshu. On the other hand, he expressed to Wen Jingshu that he was accompanying her of his own free will.
Lin Yunan's flying vessel was very large. From the outside, it looked more like a medium-sized ship.
The first floor had ten rooms, while the second floor featured a viewing deck furnished with tables, chairs, and cushioned stools, looking incredibly comfortable.
Having not seen each other for a long time, Zhou Yuanshen and Lin Yunan gathered on the second floor.
Wen Jingshu had originally wanted to ask Zhou Yuanshen for advice on talismans, but seeing that the two of them had things to discuss, she found a random room to rest.
Zhou Qi and the other female cultivator also tactfully found their own rooms to rest.
After setting up a small defensive formation, Wen Jingshu took out her talisman brush and talisman paper.
After mentally deducing the process a few times, she lifted her brush and drew a first-grade low-tier talisman from memory—a Gale Talisman.
The moment Wen Jingshu withdrew her brush, the talisman flashed with a golden light, signaling the successful creation of the Gale Talisman.
Once the talisman was complete, Wen Jingshu dithered for a moment.
Smooth. It had been incredibly smooth.
Even the quality was higher than before.
Holding the talisman, Wen Jingshu examined it in detail, filled with emotions.
In her past life as a talisman cultivator, Wen Jingshu had been a commandery princess in the mortal realm. Her parents had been deeply in love, and her older brothers and sisters had doted on her immensely.
After her spiritual roots were tested, the elder at the time had even advised her that entering an immortal sect would not be as good as enjoying wealth and honor in the mortal realm.
At that time, her only thought had been that her fate was hers to control, not heaven's. Looking back now, the elder's advice had not been entirely wrong.
Her journey had been rough and lonely. Low-level cultivators stopped at nothing to scramble for resources, and there was no true affection between cultivators—only schemes.
Despite her constant vigilance, she had still failed to guard against those people and fell victim to a scheme, perishing during her Nascent Soul Stage.
Before her death as a talisman cultivator, she had suddenly thought of her days in the mortal realm...
If she had not entered the immortal sect back then, she probably would have lived out a happy and fulfilling life...
But as sentimental as she felt, she knew that if given another chance, she would still choose to enter the immortal sect.
If her talent was lacking, she would simply push herself harder!
If once was not enough, then she would try a hundred times!
Her Dao Heart had been firm before, and now it would only be firmer.
Wen Jingshu's mind became clear and tranquil. The barrier of her early Foundation Establishment Stage shook slightly; she would be able to break through once she returned and entered seclusion.
She had already walked the path of cultivation once. Now, with a different identity and perspective, what she saw and heard brought her new insights.
With her cultivation progressing, Wen Jingshu was in a good mood. She put away her things and went up to the second floor to sit with Lin Yunan and Zhou Yuanshen.
“Junior Sister, what good thing did you encounter to make you so happy?”
Hearing Zhou Yuanshen's question, Wen Jingshu did not hide anything either and pulled out the Gale Talisman she had successfully drawn.
“Here, I drew this.”
Since her alchemy had to be kept secret, Wen Jingshu decided to bring her talismans out into the open and treat them as her secondary profession.
No one would ever suspect that someone would cultivate three paths simultaneously.
Zhou Yuanshen took the talisman in surprise, looking back and forth between her and the talisman before asking, “You succeeded on your very first try? No one taught you?”
Wen Jingshu nodded against her conscience.
If judged by the experience of the young Wen Jingshu, it was indeed a success on the first try.
“Junior Sister, are you sure you don't want to come to our Talisman Peak? Your talent for drawing talismans is much higher than mine.”
When Zhou Yuanshen first started drawing talismans, he had also been praised all along the way.
Back then, he hadn't thought much of it, but now, seeing a talent even more outstanding than himself, he could somewhat understand how his master had felt when looking at him.
What a wonderful talent for a talisman cultivator. It's such a pity for her to practice sword arts!
Seeing how shocked Zhou Yuanshen was, Lin Yunan also took the talisman to examine it.
The spiritual energy was rich and the quality was excellent. It was indeed very good.
Considering Wen Jingshu's ninety-five percent lightning spiritual root, it was only natural for her to be talented in talismans.
Chosen talents like them always possessed some unique, innate advantages when learning the four auxiliary arts.
“Junior Sister is the legacy disciple handpicked by Master. You should give up on that idea.”
“Besides, Junior Sister's talent on the path of a sword cultivator is also one in ten thousand.”
Lin Yunan returned the talisman to Wen Jingshu, speaking with a hint of pride in his tone.
Of course, Zhou Yuanshen knew of this connection. He simply could not bear to let such a good talent go.
“I'll tell the old man when I get back. After all, I'm not the only one who thinks it's a pity.”
“Maybe the old man will go to Hidden Star Peak to snatch her away, or she could just take my dad as her second master.”
The path of cultivation was long. Some highly talented disciples could easily surpass their master's capabilities, so having a second master was a common occurrence.
For someone like Wen Jingshu to have one master for the sword and another for talismans was also completely normal.
Lin Yunan naturally knew this as well; he himself had a second master for formations.
After saying this, Zhou Yuanshen began to chat with Wen Jingshu about talismans.
This time, it was Lin Yunan's turn to watch from the side as the two of them conversed enthusiastically.
Wen Jingshu pretended to be a novice talisman cultivator, asking many questions and saying very little along the way.
Listening to Zhou Yuanshen's various insights on the path of talismans, Wen Jingshu could not help but sigh with emotion once again.
An orthodox talisman cultivator was indeed very different from a self-taught one like her.
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