Wen Jingshu spread her hands and said in a grand, open manner, “Shopkeeper Zhao, when you were looking into my background, didn't your spies tell you that I have a lightning spiritual root?”
As everyone knew, while others opened their cauldrons to refine pills, those with a lightning spiritual root opened their cauldrons only to blow them up.
Hearing this, Zhao Yuansi's smile didn't waver as he replied:
“Miss Shu, you are too modest. The Pill Sect is filled with alchemists, so you must have picked up some knowledge just by being around them. The alchemists on our Cangwu Island are all self-taught. They would love nothing more than to receive a pointer or two from someone like you, who comes from the orthodox Pill Sect.”
To put it politely, it was asking for guidance; to put it bluntly, it was a disguised attempt to probe Wen Jingshu's background.
Didn't you say you were from the Pill Sect? Even if you can't refine pills, you must know something about a low-grade pill like the Rejuvenation Pill, right?
Even if you've never eaten pork, surely you've seen a pig run!
Seeing Zhao Yuansi's relentless persistence, Wen Jingshu felt a trace of disgust.
Probing once was fine, but continuing to do so was just plain rude.
To deal with such a rude person, Wen Jingshu waved her hand, and eighteen Thunder-Attracting Talismans, crackling with dense lightning element, drifted lightly around her.
“I'm so sorry, but I am a talisman cultivator. If Shopkeeper Zhao doesn't believe me, you are welcome to personally experience the power of my Thunder-Attracting Talismans.”
The moment the Thunder-Attracting Talismans appeared, Zhao Yuansi's face paled.
An opening move of eighteen high-grade first-rank Thunder-Attracting Talismans?
This young mistress was actually a high-grade first-rank talisman master?
A ten-year-old high-grade first-rank talisman master?
Zhao Yuansi rubbed his eyes, unsure of what he was seeing, and looked again.
“My apologies, Miss Shu. It was our Zhao family's rudeness that offended you. We know that ordinary gifts are beneath your notice, so please accept this map of the divine tree, which our Zhao family has treasured for many years. I hope you can forgive my rudeness just now.”
Zhao Yuansi dropped to his knees, sliding forward to present the map with both hands.
Let alone being a high-grade first-rank talisman master, it was already impressive for an ordinary ten-year-old cultivator to even enter the path. Yet Wen Jingshu had not only entered the path, but she was also already a high-grade first-rank talisman master!
Although nurturing a talisman master wasn't as costly as training an alchemist, it still wasn't something an ordinary family could afford.
Furthermore, with Wen Jingshu's talent in drawing talismans, she couldn't possibly be an ordinary person!
What was more, to be able to draw high-grade first-rank talismans... her cultivation had to be at least at the great perfection of Qi Refining!
Any higher... he didn't dare to imagine.
Wen Jingshu quite disliked Zhao Yuansi's rudeness. A moment ago, she had indeed thought of making an example out of him to warn others, but she hadn't expected him to offer something that suited her taste so perfectly.
A map of the divine tree... Yes, she did need a general area to guide her search.
Waving her hand to recall the eighteen Thunder-Attracting Talismans, Wen Jingshu resumed her harmless appearance and said:
“Since that's the case, I will accept your apology.”
“If there is a next time, I won't mind flattening your Zhao family.”
If any other high-grade first-rank talisman master had said this, Zhao Yuansi would have thought they were joking. But since it came from Wen Jingshu, he believed it seventy percent.
He believed that even if Wen Jingshu's cultivation was low, she definitely possessed treasures powerful enough to wipe out the Zhao family.
Zhao Yuansi apologized repeatedly, pouring out a torrent of flattering words, deeply afraid of offending this young mistress of mysterious origins.
Wen Jingshu wasn't one to hold a grudge once she had won. She gave a faint nod of acknowledgment and prepared to return to the Sun family residence.
However, before she could take more than a couple of steps, a deep male voice rang out: “Are you the young mistress who claims to be from the Pill Sect?”
Wen Jingshu looked in the direction of the voice and saw a burly middle-aged male cultivator. His eyes scanned her up and down, seemingly searching for any flaws in her demeanor.
Clearly, he did not come with good intentions.
Upon hearing his words, Wen Jingshu tilted her head slightly. She didn't reply immediately, waiting for him to continue.
Zheng Jilin observed that Wen Jingshu's attire was indeed extremely valuable, and her temperament was genuine. Taking a breath, he reined in his hostile emotions, cupped his hands to her, and said:
“Please do not take offense, Fellow Daoist. My name is Zheng Jilin. I am an inner sect disciple of the Pill Sect, and I have been training here for five years.”
His underlying meaning was that since he also belonged to the Pill Sect, if Wen Jingshu were an impostor, he would easily expose her.
But Wen Jingshu wasn't an impostor! She was a genuine, bona fide, super second-generation cultivator!
Sigh, if only he had said earlier that there was someone from the Pill Sect here.
Someone from the Pill Sect was, for all intents and purposes, one of her own, wasn't he?
If she had known there was one of her own here, would she have needed to act so cautiously?
Wen Jingshu felt as if she had met family in a foreign land, and her tone became much lighter as she spoke:
“So it's a Senior Brother from the sect. Here is my disciple token.”
Wen Jingshu casually pulled out a token and let Zheng Jilin catch a glimpse of it.
And with just that single glance, Zheng Jilin's face changed dramatically.
What on earth was that token she had just taken out?
Unless he was blind or hallucinating, the patterns on that token should belong to Misty Peak, right?
He had only been away for five years. Had the Grand Elder of their Pill Sect actually taken a disciple?
Wait, that wasn't right. Didn't their Grand Elder hate teaching students the most? Hadn't he already announced to the world that he would never take a disciple in this lifetime?
And thinking of the Uncle Zhang she mentioned yesterday... and space leap... Could the Uncle Zhang she spoke of be Daoist Sovereign Ziyang's Dao protector, the Mahayana Stage cultivator Zhang Moheng???
If it really was him, then this wasn't some mere inner sect disciple—she was an ancestral young mistress!
Before Zheng Jilin could press further, the voice of a young female cultivator echoed from another side:
“If I remember correctly, did Junior Sister also mention the Qingyun Sect? This Senior Sister is not very talented, but I am Xue Wanshu, a personal disciple of the Qingyun Sect's Sound Peak. I wonder what relation Junior Sister has with our Qingyun Sect.”
What a turn of events. First, an inner sect disciple of the Pill Sect had stepped forward to expose Wen Jingshu's fake identity, and before anyone could even hear Zheng Jilin's response, a personal disciple of the Qingyun Sect had now appeared to call her out.
Wen Jingshu's entrance had been flashy to begin with, and Cangwu City had already harbored doubts about her identity. Now that representatives from both the Pill Sect and the Qingyun Sect had stepped up to question her, the surrounding cultivators cast curious glances over.
Was this mysteriously appeared young mistress truly of noble birth, or was she just putting on an act?
Wen Jingshu's opening remarks yesterday had been deliberately meant for Jinyin and the other three to hear. It was no surprise to her that Zheng Jilin and Xue Wanshu had stepped forward to challenge her.
But to think this Senior Sister was actually Martial Uncle Yuan Guanyi's personal disciple?
Thinking of Martial Uncle Yuan's eccentric behavior and recalling how he had desperately tried to recommend the suona to her, Wen Jingshu's expression became rather complicated.
“Senior Sister, you...”
Wen Jingshu hesitated, her words trailing off.
Xue Wanshu found it rather odd to hear Wen Jingshu's hesitation. “Junior Sister, if you have something to say, feel free to speak plainly.”
Wen Jingshu took a deep breath and asked, “Senior Sister, I'm a bit curious. Is your lifebound magic treasure... a suona?”
Xue Wanshu: ???
Wait, was it really appropriate for a cold, beautiful female cultivator like her to play the suona?
However...
Xue Wanshu instantly recalled the incredibly domineering lightning element that Wen Jingshu had just displayed. In the next second, a similarly complicated look appeared on her face.
A lightning spiritual root paired with a suona... Her eccentric master wouldn't have chased this little Junior Sister around, begging her to play the suona, would he?!
At this moment, Xue Wanshu's face burned with embarrassment, dying of secondhand mortification on behalf of her master a hundred times over!
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