Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 87

Ten Warming-Spirit Grass plants had sold for three hundred and thirty middle-grade spirit stones. Not only had Lin Mianmian earned back her cost, she had also made more than two hundred stones.
Since her cost was covered, Lin Mianmian no longer felt much money pressure for the time being. But the ambition she had once held, to earn a huge sum, had also been worn down by what happened during her first sale of Warming-Spirit Grass.
Wen Liangzhi had offered thirty-four middle-grade spirit stones for each Warming-Spirit Grass plant. He had even told her his bottom line, that he could resell them for thirty-eight. Looking at it that way, he seemed open and reliable. Afterward, Lin Mianmian sounded out Senior Brother Ying Fu and Senior Sister Zihui from the side. Both said Wen Liangzhi had good talent, but sadly his whole heart was buried in spirit stones. He was the disciple who gave True Person Han of Array Peak the biggest headache. Though he loved money, he did business as business and was still considered open and fair.
Senior Brother and Senior Sister both judged Wen Liangzhi well enough, but Lin Mianmian, who carried the secret of her ability, still did not dare continue doing business with him.
Especially after she figured out that most of the spiritual plant states recorded in books were signs of excellent quality.
Take Warming-Spirit Grass. The books recorded that the sign of maturity was when the seventh leaf at the very top grew to the same size as the first leaf at the bottom.
In truth, for ordinary Warming-Spirit Grass, even when picked, the seventh leaf and the first leaf might be close in size, but the other five leaves were usually all different.
The plants Lin Mianmian had grown before, with all seven leaves the same size, could already be called top-grade. Their medicinal effect was almost the limit of Warming-Spirit Grass. Warming-Spirit Grass like that rarely grew naturally. Even if it did, its growing place and process must have had something unusual about them. Most grass of that near top-grade level was planted with special methods or forced with spiritual energy.
But even with such methods, making all seven leaves the same size took great effort.
Special planting methods aside, if one used spiritual energy to force growth and wanted that result, then while speeding the plant’s growth, one also had to split spiritual energy into many streams and guide each leaf’s shape in detail. This did increase spiritual energy cost, but that was a small matter. The key was that moving many streams of spiritual energy at once made the growth-forcing art much more complex. Such a method could hardly be done below Golden Core. And after reaching Golden Core, who would waste time forcing a third-grade spiritual plant to grow?
Lin Mianmian did not feel that pushing Warming-Spirit Grass to that state was hard. But Warming-Spirit Grass that grew into that shape could no longer be taken out casually.
Of course, if she deliberately controlled her ability and forced out Warming-Spirit Grass with leaves of different sizes, it was not impossible. But right now, the sales route was unclear. Lin Mianmian still wanted to watch a while longer.
Inside the Five Elements Sect, if one wanted to sell spiritual plants, there were two routes. One could sell them to All Affairs Hall for spirit stones and sect points, or go to the large platform by Clear Heart Hall and trade with disciples. Lin Mianmian naturally did not dare take the first route. As for the second… walking it was not as easy as she had first imagined.
For now, Lin Mianmian stopped forcing Warming-Spirit Grass to grow. She also stopped drinking the costly Body-Nourishing Soup and only continued drinking Bitter Jiji Grass Soup every day to refill her ability.
Once she stopped, she stopped for more than two months.
During that time, Lin Mianmian did not go to All Affairs Hall to find Wen Liangzhi. Of course, she was even less likely to go to Dan Peak to find Liu Longyue.
Whether Wen Liangzhi could keep calm, or whether he did not care that much about Lin Mianmian’s spiritual plants, Lin Mianmian did not go looking for him, and he did not come looking for her either.
But Liu Longyue was different.
Only a few days after the Warming-Spirit Grass sale, Lin Mianmian ran into Liu Longyue at Great Lecture Hall.
At that time, Liu Longyue no longer looked at all like the person who had bargained during the trade. Instead, she seemed as if she had met an old acquaintance. She warmly pulled Lin Mianmian along and asked whether she still had Warming-Spirit Grass. Thirty-three middle-grade spirit stones per plant. She would take as many as Lin Mianmian had.
Even without Wen Liangzhi’s warning, Lin Mianmian had not planned to have a long-term trade with anyone. Much less now.
When Lin Mianmian had gone to Zihui to ask about Wen Liangzhi before, she naturally had not forgotten to ask about Liu Longyue too.
Zihui did not know much about the Beauty-Nourishing Pill matter from three years ago. But she had followed Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai on several sect missions, and she had a deep impression of Liu Longyue, who would come look for Yuan Zhaoyang now and then.
According to Zihui, because Senior Sister Yuan taught at Great Lecture Hall, Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples liked her very much. But Senior Sister Yuan’s nature was not warm and sociable. Teaching and answering questions with care was one thing. In private, she did not walk too closely with disciples. Junior Sister Liu was, in these past few years, besides Lin Mianmian, the Five Elements Sect disciple who had walked closest to Senior Sister Yuan. During the few missions Zihui had joined with Senior Sister Yuan and A-Bai, Liu Longyue often came to find Yuan Zhaoyang too. When Senior Sister Yuan spoke, she listened. When Senior Sister Yuan worked, she followed. She was obedient and clever, did not speak much, and did not cause trouble. Sometimes, when there was something within her ability, she helped very actively.
At first, Zihui had rather liked that little junior sister.
Until later, there was a mission that needed more people, and Senior Brother Ying Fu joined as well. After that mission ended, Ying Fu could not hold back and pulled Zihui aside for a long round of “teaching.” Only then did Zihui understand a little. That Junior Sister Liu looked pretty, sweet, and friendly to everyone, but openly or secretly, she was always squeezing out the people around Yuan Zhaoyang. Zihui had always been careless, and her nature was straightforward. She had been squeezed out several times without noticing. But Ying Fu, who was careful as dust, had seen it clearly.
After that mission, Zihui did not like Liu Longyue much. But seeing that Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai never clearly refused Liu Longyue when she kept following them, Zihui could not say anything either. After all, Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai were famously generous. After a mission, not only did they split rewards especially fairly, sometimes they even gave benefits to the low-level disciples who had followed along. After taking benefits, even if one did not like Liu Longyue, one would not bring it into the open and embarrass Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai.
Before, Liu Longyue had gone to Guiyuan Sect, so Zihui had never mentioned her to Lin Mianmian. Now that Liu Longyue had returned, and Lin Mianmian had also come to ask, Zihui naturally gave a few more reminders and told Lin Mianmian to have less contact with Liu Longyue. Compared with Liu Longyue, who was deep-minded and could not tolerate others, Zihui liked the soft white little junior sister in front of her more.
Zihui had spent more time around Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai. When she spoke of Liu Longyue, the things she said were more specific and more real than what Wen Liangzhi had said. They also made Lin Mianmian’s heart sink further.
Of course, Lin Mianmian was not afraid of schemes, false feelings, smiles in the light and knives in the dark. What she cared about was the attitude Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai had shown toward Liu Longyue in Zihui’s words.
A-Bai was one thing. That rabbit naturally loved eating and playing, with a heart as big as the sky. Every day, her favorite thing was to let herself run free. Even if she was friendly to Liu Longyue, it was nothing special.
But Senior Sister Yuan…
The time Lin Mianmian had truly spent with Yuan Zhaoyang was only a little over ten days.
Yuan Zhaoyang was indeed someone who kept some distance from disciples in private. The only one who could play, laugh, and joke with Yuan Zhaoyang without restraint was probably A-Bai. Lin Mianmian saw all of that clearly. It was exactly because of that that Lin Mianmian could feel Yuan Zhaoyang’s special treatment toward her.
During those days, Lin Mianmian had seen her gentleness and care, seen her wronged gloom, seen her worry, her anger, her reluctance to part. Fine and delicious food, pills tempered again to remove pill poison, storage hair, jade slips of insights, arrays and talismans, large piles of spirit stones, and those more than ten days of classes squeezed out specially before seclusion.
Lin Mianmian had once felt curious because of this special treatment, had wondered, had panicked, and had even asked about it.
Yuan Zhaoyang’s answer, “we are connected by fate,” Lin Mianmian still remembered to this day. Every time she thought back on it, an unclear feeling wrapped around her heart.
A person should know how to be satisfied. But once she heard that this special treatment was not only for her alone, Lin Mianmian still felt an unspeakable emptiness.
After the emptiness, she could not help mocking herself.
What confidence did she, a messy grass demon, have to think she could win Senior Sister Yuan’s lone special glance?
It was fine. Although she was not Senior Sister Yuan’s favorite little junior sister, Senior Sister Yuan was still her favorite senior sister. Lin Mianmian, who knew how to repay kindness, thought this way.
But once she knew more, when Liu Longyue “happened” to meet her at Great Lecture Hall, Lin Mianmian’s heart still felt a little uncomfortable.
Liu Longyue wanted warmly to buy the grass. Lin Mianmian was uninterested and did not want to sell. She had not wanted to sell in the first place. Now she wanted to even less.
Wen Liangzhi’s excuse was quite good, but Lin Mianmian did not want to push the matter of the Warming-Spirit Grass onto Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai.
If good things were not given to Liu Longyue but were given to her instead, once that was said aloud, would that not damage the feelings between senior and junior sisters? Even if Lin Mianmian felt uncomfortable inside, she was unwilling to do something that would make Yuan Zhaoyang unhappy. So she only said that there had only been a little Warming-Spirit Grass, and it was already gone.
Clearly, such a brushing-off answer did not look sincere, much less true.
Lin Mianmian very clearly saw Liu Longyue’s eyes flash. Then Liu Longyue continued coaxing her warmly, saying that next time Lin Mianmian had good spiritual plants, she must remember her.
Liu Longyue was naturally small and delicate. Now she looked a little over twenty, having shed childishness and begun to show clear beauty. When she used soft words to coax someone, she had another kind of charming innocence. Even though Lin Mianmian knew her purpose clearly, and had already heard of her past from Wen Liangzhi and Zihui, she still could not feel dislike for Liu Longyue now.
After all, Liu Longyue had never done anything to her. Lin Mianmian pressed down the strange knot in her heart and mocked herself instead. Perhaps even Senior Sister Zihui could not imagine that Lin Mianmian’s desire to have someone all to herself might be a few degrees heavier than Liu Longyue’s.
Although she did not dislike Liu Longyue, one could not lack a guard against others. Lin Mianmian naturally would not promise Liu Longyue anything about spiritual plants.
Liu Longyue probably heard the refusal in her words from the start. She did not keep clinging to the spiritual plants. Only afterward, every few days, Lin Mianmian would always “happen” to meet Liu Longyue in places like Great Lecture Hall, Clear Heart Hall, and even World-Viewing Hall.
Fine. More accurately, Liu Longyue would “happen” to meet Lin Mianmian.
Every time they met, Liu Longyue would walk over familiarly and pull Lin Mianmian into a few words.
How was the weather today? Had she eaten? What classes was she taking lately? What books was she reading? Did she have any good spiritual plants?
After it happened many times, perhaps because Lin Mianmian brushed her off too many times, Liu Longyue gradually asked about spiritual plants less and less. But the chance meetings still happened, and the chats still happened. Even if it was awkward talk, she still had to say a few words every time.
If Liu Longyue had not also been a female cultivator, Lin Mianmian would almost have suspected that the other party had some strange thoughts.
Lin Mianmian felt that she was a boring person. She also knew little about the cultivation world. Every time Liu Longyue pulled her into conversation, she could not answer much. Yet Liu Longyue did not mind the dullness. She could warm up the scene with her own words, giving off the feeling of good senior sister, good junior sister, hand in hand as good friends.
But Lin Mianmian could feel that the other party, like herself, did not actually like this awkward talk very much.
Clearly she did not like it, yet she kept “happening” to meet her again and again. It was truly hard to understand.
Only after many chance meetings, when Liu Longyue finally turned the topic toward Yuan Zhaoyang, did Lin Mianmian feel that sure enough, she had come for Senior Sister Yuan.
When it came to Yuan Zhaoyang, the two of them should have had many things to talk about. But Lin Mianmian did not want to talk at all. She even felt that chatting about the weather like before would be better.
Yuan Zhaoyang had a thousand good points, ten thousand good points, but Lin Mianmian did not want to share a single one with Liu Longyue.
After Liu Longyue tried several more times, she saw Lin Mianmian slowly change from being a little at a loss into an old hand who had no emotional rise or fall and only gave short replies, refusing to take up any topic. Perhaps Liu Longyue also knew she could not ask anything more. Slowly, the chance meetings lessened, and the awkward chats lessened. But whenever they met, she would still pull Lin Mianmian into a few friendly casual words, still looking like a good fellow disciple.
No matter what, after getting through that stretch of constantly running into Liu Longyue, the knot in Lin Mianmian’s heart unknowingly eased a little.
So Senior Sister Yuan liked this kind of little junior sister.
A little clingy, a little talkative, sweet and delicate, good at reading the room, and also pretty.
Then looking back at herself.
Heh.
The knot in her heart loosened somewhat, but her heart sank somewhat more.
Lin Mianmian’s mood had turned gray on this side, but over at All Affairs Hall, Wen Liangzhi had no idea at all.
He waited and waited at All Affairs Hall. From late autumn, he waited until winter began. From falling leaves, he waited until snow pressed down the branches. The little junior sister who had sold Warming-Spirit Grass never came again.
Every day he waited, Wen Liangzhi felt as if a crowd of spirit stones had run out of his pocket, laughing and playing as they floated into the distant sky.
Wen Liangzhi knew who Lin Mianmian was. He knew where she lived. If he wanted to know, he could even know her daily route.
Back then, after he first met that little junior sister and sold her the Warming-Spirit Grass seed, at night he kept thinking of his master’s radishes, his martial uncle’s spirit beast, and his junior sister’s soft white paws.
It was true that he was True Person Han’s disciple. It was true that he was Wang Minger’s senior brother. But before that, he had not known which disciples had been trapped by his naughty junior sister, and he had not known that Lin Mianmian had a good relationship with Yuan Zhaoyang.
The things he had mentioned to Lin Mianmian on the large platform were all things he had gone to investigate after selling her the Warming-Spirit Grass seed, because he kept thinking of that little junior sister.
People who loved earning spirit stones always had some routes. Things that could be known were easy to know.
People who loved earning spirit stones always had some sense. Things that should not be done naturally would not be done on purpose.
Wen Liangzhi thought the junior sister was white and soft like a radish and very cute. But he loved those top-grade Warming-Spirit Grass plants in her hands even more. He could feel Lin Mianmian’s hesitation and unease, so he did not dare press too hard. He was willing to give the little junior sister more time to consider. After all, Yuan Zhaoyang was in seclusion, and unreliable A-Bai seemed to have gone wandering the world. In the Five Elements Sect, could there be anyone more reliable than him, someone who could exchange her plants for more spirit stones?
Having confidence was a good thing.
Wen Liangzhi paid more than two months for his confidence, and in the end had no choice but to face reality. That little junior sister was probably not going to come sell grass to him.
She had not sold to All Affairs Hall, had not sold to the large platform, and had not sold to Dan Peak.
Wen Liangzhi began to suspect that his first guess, that this junior sister possessed a strange art and could grow spiritual plants above her level, might have been wrong.
No matter what Liu Longyue and Wen Liangzhi thought, Lin Mianmian had already decided to be a low-key grass for now.
Inside the Five Elements Sect, it seemed difficult to sell spiritual plants while hiding her identity. She only wondered whether there would be chances after leaving the sect in the future.
In the cultivation towns outside, if she sold some second-grade or third-grade spiritual plants, surely no one would still come check her identity and past experience, right?
Yes, Lin Mianmian no longer dared sell even the Moon-Watching Epiphyllum she had already forced to grow inside the Five Elements Sect.
After Wen Liangzhi pointed out that the Warming-Spirit Grass she had forced to grow was from high-grade to top-grade, Lin Mianmian checked the records again. Only then did she realize that although the Moon-Watching Epiphyllum she had forced out before looked correct, ordinary planted Moon-Watching Epiphyllum only grew to a size that one to one and a half hands could circle. The ones she had forced out were already two hands around.
If Lin Mianmian’s cultivation were higher, no matter what spiritual plants she took out or how good their quality was, she could offer some source. For example, she could say they were found on a mission, bought outside, or obtained after entering a secret realm. At least she could find a better reason for those spiritual plants to appear.
But right now, she was only at the first level of Qi Refining. She lived in the outer valley of the Five Elements Sect, could not enter secret realms, and could not leave the Five Elements Sect. What reason could she have for constantly taking out high-quality spiritual plants?
Raising her cultivation once again became her first priority.
For more than two months, aside from classes, drinking soup, and occasionally checking information, Lin Mianmian honestly cultivated in her little courtyard.
A spiritual root aptitude of thirty-two percent was very ordinary. One could even say it was somewhat poor. But at least it was much better than the mung-bean-sprout-like spiritual root Lin Mianmian had at the very beginning. Cultivating was no longer as difficult as the first days when she had tried to draw qi into her body.
With poor spiritual roots, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy was slow. The speed of circulating spiritual energy could not become very fast either. After cultivating for a long time, she would more or less feel some strain. Fortunately, the pills Yuan Zhaoyang had left her, bottle after bottle, had almost been tailor-made for Lin Mianmian’s aptitude.
When to take each kind of pill, how much to take, what feeling in the body meant she should take which kind next. It was all laid out clearly. Lin Mianmian only had to follow the sensations during cultivation, and she could find the pill-taking method that best fit her need.
In the cultivation world, using pills to support cultivation was common. Pills were good, but pill poison was troublesome.
Different pills had different pill poisons. Cultivators could only rely on their bodies to slowly refine the pill poison away. This also meant that although pill support was powerful, cultivators could not eat pills like candy.
For pill poison, many large sects had inherited secondary tempering arts that could refine away some of the poison. But tempering arts were not easy to master. Powerful cultivators could refine away ninety percent of the poison. Worse ones might only refine away half or even less. If one’s luck was bad, not only would the pill poison remain, the pill itself might be refined into dregs.
Looking at it this way, tempering pills took effort and time. The pills circulating on the market that had undergone secondary tempering to remove pill poison were mostly life-saving pills used at key moments, such as Spirit-Returning Pills, Blood-Replenishing Pills, Bone-Mending Flesh-Growing Pills, and Spirit-Calming Pills.
At a life-and-death moment, when the body was weak, taking versions of these pills with pill poison tempered out could first reduce the burden on the body as it dissolved pill poison, and second, if the injury was heavy, one could take more pills at once and recover faster.
Lin Mianmian had heard some things about pill poison in Yuan Zhaoyang’s classes before. Later, she heard more in other cultivators’ classes.
Because of that, when Lin Mianmian looked at the full bottles and jars inside her storage bag, her heart was filled with mixed feelings.
What Senior Sister Yuan had given her were Spirit-Guiding Pills, Spirit-Nourishing Pills, Body-Tempering Pills, Meridian-Moistening Pills, all with pill poison refined away.
Those were the lowest-level pills. Some were even distributed by the sect at set times.
The pills themselves could not be counted as precious. What was precious was that Senior Sister Yuan had spent a great amount of effort refining away the pill poison from such low-level pills.
Low-level pills already did not have much pill poison. After Senior Sister Yuan refined away ninety percent of it, Lin Mianmian could eat them like sugar beans without any issue.
Before, Lin Mianmian had not understood how precious those pills were. After taking more classes and reading more books, she finally understood how troublesome removing pill poison was. The effort Senior Sister Yuan spent refining the pill poison out of one bottle of Spirit-Guiding Pills was probably enough to refine ten bottles of ordinary Spirit-Guiding Pills.
Such earnest care. Truly, there was no way to repay it.
Lin Mianmian deeply felt that even if Senior Sister Yuan liked Liu Longyue more, she should not hold even a little jealousy. Because Senior Sister Yuan had truly cared for her in every possible way. Even if Liu Longyue returned from Guiyuan Sect, and after Senior Sister Yuan came out of seclusion, she no longer had time to be as close to Lin Mianmian as before, Lin Mianmian should still always remember this goodness and repay it.
With diligent cultivation and the support of pills, Lin Mianmian gradually adapted to the cultivation method of this world.
No haste, no impatience. Absorb spiritual energy bit by bit, slowly expand the meridians, circulate, flow, repeat.
On the road of cultivation, diligence and pills were indeed important, but what mattered most was always the quality of the spiritual root.
In deep winter, Great Lecture Hall opened the trial ground.
The Five Elements Sect’s trial ground had three small secret realms in total. One was for disciples at the third level of Qi Refining. It had first-grade to second-grade spiritual plants, as well as very weak spirit beasts that had almost no attacking power. One was for disciples at the fourth through sixth levels of Qi Refining. It had first-grade to third-grade spiritual plants, as well as spirit beasts with a certain amount of attacking power. The last one required disciples at the seventh level of Qi Refining or above, but below Foundation Establishment. It had first-grade to fourth-grade spiritual plants, as well as spirit beasts with slightly stronger attacking power.
The first secret realm opened every year. Each time, disciples could stay inside for three days.
The second secret realm opened every two years. Each time, disciples could stay inside for six days.
The third secret realm opened every three years. Each time, disciples could stay inside for nine days.
Every disciple could enter each kind of secret realm only once.
They were called secret realms, but in truth they were trial grounds specially prepared by the Five Elements Sect for disciples to practice and gain some benefits. The opening and closing of the secret realms were controlled by the sect. Every so often, the sect also sent high-cultivation disciples into the trial grounds to clean and maintain them.
Looking at it this way, the Five Elements Sect truly put great care into raising its disciples.
This year, Great Lecture Hall’s trial ground only opened the first and second secret realms.
Originally, whether the trial ground opened one realm, two realms, or three had nothing to do with Lin Mianmian, this little transparent person still at the first level of Qi Refining.
The problem was that the little transparent person’s friends were no longer transparent.
Xiong Lanlan and Wang Minger had entered the third level of Qi Refining one after the other right at the start of winter.
After the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array matter, the black bear and the little child had laid things out and talked them through. Then they shared a chicken leg, and the bear and the person returned to their friendly period. Wang Minger obediently apologized to every person and demon who had been dragged in because of Xiong Lanlan. True Person Han also gave quite a few compensating pills and a low-level defensive array to each person. The Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array matter was then put behind them.
Feng Liang and Gui Changshou were still all right. Only Meng Tianhe, perhaps because he felt embarrassed about almost suffocating that day, or perhaps because shame had turned to anger, afterward never came to the group’s small gatherings again.
Feng Liang and Wang Minger both went to invite him several times, but he refused each time. Later, when they went to Great Lecture Hall for class, Meng Tianhe no longer sat with them. He sat alone in a corner, looking gloomy as usual.
They had entered the sect from the same place, so there was some old feeling between them. But since Meng Tianhe repeatedly acted as if he wanted to draw a clear line, they would not keep going to find him.
Lin Mianmian felt some regret in her heart, especially whenever she thought of those days in the outermost part of the outer valley, when the whole little village had only her, Meng Tianhe, and a pile of little furballs left. She thought of how, after Meng Tianhe raised Little Gray, his whole person had begun to clear up.
But Lin Mianmian had also gone to find Meng Tianhe twice on her own. Although he was not warm, his attitude was still quite good. But when she mentioned small gatherings and such, he only shook his head. Lin Mianmian could only treat it as the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array matter making him lose face, and Senior Sister Yuan later pointing out his heart illness making him even more withdrawn.
Nothing could be forced. Regret was regret, but Meng Tianhe still gradually drifted away from everyone.
This time, Great Lecture Hall opened the trial ground. Although Lin Mianmian could not enter, since her friends were entering, she still had to send them off. Also, she was rather curious about what the trial ground looked like.
That day, the weather was very cold, and the wind was strong. But on the large teleportation array square of Great Lecture Hall Mountain, quite a few people were standing.
Lin Mianmian saw that Feng Liang and Gui Changshou had come as well, so she naturally walked over to stand with them.
The green turtle lay on the ground, small and still. For some reason, at a glance, he looked a little like a puffed-up mugwort ball.
In truth, Gui Changshou was angry. Very angry. He had chased and chased, feeling that he was only a few days away from breaking through to the third level of Qi Refining. Yet the trial ground opened at exactly this time. A difference of a few days left him one year behind those two fellows.
Still, angry though Gui Changshou was, he remembered that beside him were two people at the first and second levels of Qi Refining, so he did not say it aloud.
Lin Mianmian had come and gone from the teleportation array square of Great Lecture Hall many times for class. She often saw the strange stone statues in the corner. The first time she had seen them, she had been with Senior Sister Yuan.
What had Senior Sister Yuan said then? Oh, she had given Lin Mianmian a pile of talismans and told her that next time she went in, if she could not win, she should run.
Really, those words did not sound like something a strict teacher would say at all.
Lin Mianmian looked at the stone statues of many shapes in front of her and unconsciously curved her mouth.
At noon, beside a fish stone statue with dense scales, claws, and an upward-leaping posture, a middle-aged woman took out two blue stones and set them into the fish’s eyes. Then she took out a jade plate and pressed it to the statue’s base. After she formed several hand seals and struck the stones and jade plate, a stream of clear spring water spat from the fish statue’s mouth and fell to the ground nearby. In a moment, it formed a small puddle.
“Disciples at the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels of Qi Refining, enter the trial ground.” The middle-aged woman raised her hand and pointed to the puddle.
As soon as the woman spoke, more than ten disciples walked out from the watching crowd. One after another, they stepped onto the puddle and sank into it.
That puddle remained only about two square meters the whole time. It did not grow larger because the fish’s mouth kept pouring water, and it did not overflow when people entered it. It was as if it were no longer a puddle on flat ground, but a water surface connected to another space.
Because every disciple could enter each kind of secret realm only once, many disciples at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and even some at the fifth level, would give up entering after calculating things. They thought that if they waited until they reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, they would have more confidence and could gain more chances.
From the discussions around her, it was not hard to hear that most of the disciples entering the second trial ground this time had just entered the sixth level of Qi Refining.
After more than ten disciples disappeared into the puddle, the middle-aged woman waited a while longer. Seeing no one else step out, she took back the jade plate on the base.
As soon as the jade plate left, the stream from the fish’s mouth stopped at once. Only the puddle remained on the ground. It was unknown whether it would slowly evaporate.
Once the stream stopped, an old man standing beside a wild boar stone statue took out two stones as well. This wild boar statue had fangs, a single horn, and two tails. It was half crouched and as tall as two people. The stones the old man took out were red. He pressed them into the boar’s eyes, then set a jade plate onto its base.
That old man looked a little familiar to Lin Mianmian. After thinking about it, was he not Senior Brother Du from All Affairs Hall, who had been there when she exchanged her disciple plate?
Senior Brother Du struck out hand seals. The wild boar did not spray anything out. Instead, it seemed to be urged by something and quickly grew larger. In the blink of an eye, the boar that had been two people tall became more than twice as large.
The half-crouching giant wild boar opened its mouth.
It was clearly a stone boar, but after opening its mouth, the inside was black like a whirlpool.
After seeing the dreamy and cute little puddle before, then looking at this boar’s mouth, it truly had a different flavor.
“Disciples at the third level of Qi Refining may enter.” The old man also pointed at the boar’s mouth.
The boar’s open mouth was still one person high above the ground, but that naturally could not trouble disciples already at the third level of Qi Refining.
For a time, some leaped up, some were lifted by vines, and some made metal stairs and walked up step by step.
Xiong Lanlan and Wang Minger stood beside the boar statue. After several disciples went in, Xiong Lanlan could not hold back anymore. She made a staircase of earth and brought Wang Minger, who was hanging from her leg fur, elegantly up to the boar’s mouth. Before entering, she did not forget to pull Wang Minger on her leg and wave toward Lin Mianmian and the others before walking into the boar’s mouth.
Lin Mianmian really wanted to pretend she did not know them.
Under everyone’s eyes, could they stop hanging from leg fur? Did they dare?
Lin Mianmian had just turned her head away when she saw that the person and turtle beside her were also turning their heads away.
Six eyes met. The awkwardness could hardly be described in one word.
Soon, more than a hundred disciples at the third level of Qi Refining each showed their own skill and disappeared into the boar’s mouth.
“I heard there were not this many disciples at the third level of Qi Refining at the same time before.” Gui Changshou stretched his neck and gossiped with the two of them. “For some reason, these past few years, the Five Elements Sect seems to have loosened its disciple acceptance conditions quite a bit. The number of low-level disciples suddenly went up.”
Feng Liang heard this and grew a little worried. “With more people, competition is bigger. They will not have trouble inside, right?”
“Hmph, who cares about them.” The little turtle proudly turned his head. “They did not wait for me by two days. If no one protects them, they deserve it.”
“They will be fine. The Five Elements Sect forbids internal fighting. If they do not clash with others, the spirit beasts inside should not be much. Does the sect not often send people in to maintain it? I think there should not be any powerful spirit beasts.” Lin Mianmian comforted him. “Besides, I heard that before they enter the trial ground, the sect gives them an emergency teleportation talisman. If they meet danger, they can teleport out.”
Hearing Lin Mianmian’s words, Feng Liang let out a breath. “So they can teleport out. That is great.”
“Then if they do not use it, do they not earn a teleportation talisman?” Gui Changshou shook his little head.
“I heard it is specially made. It can only be used to teleport out of this trial ground.” Lin Mianmian thought for a moment. “Mm, if it has not been used, it will probably be taken back after they come out. After all, it has no use in their hands.”
However, Lin Mianmian at this moment did not expect that those specially made teleportation talismans did have to be taken back, but not because they had no use in the disciples’ hands.
The people who should enter the trial ground had already entered. The people outside gradually scattered.
When everyone dispersed, Lin Mianmian did see Meng Tianhe standing at the very edge. His face was cold, with no joy or sadness visible. It was unknown whether he had come out of curiosity, or whether, like them, he had wanted to send off Xiong Lanlan and Wang Minger.
In the cultivation world, three days passed in a blink.
Three days later at noon, quite a few people came to the teleportation square of Great Lecture Hall. But this “quite a few” was much less than the crowd at noon three days before.
Some disciples who had come to watch the excitement and satisfy curiosity were gone. Most of the people who came to the square this time were there to pick up friends.
Feng Liang and Gui Changshou naturally came.
Lin Mianmian specially looked around the people nearby. Sure enough, Meng Tianhe was standing in a corner of the square again. Lin Mianmian gave a soft sigh and thought that perhaps next time they gathered, she should go find him again and speak with him.
This time, the strange fish statue opened first. Lin Mianmian counted. As many people came out as had gone in, and her heart settled.
Soon, the wild boar statue was opened as well. This time, Lin Mianmian had no time to count, because the first to jump down from the boar’s mouth was Xiong Lanlan and her leg fur. Oh, no. It was Wang Minger hanging from her leg fur.
As soon as Xiong Lanlan and Wang Minger landed, they quickly moved toward Lin Mianmian and the others.
From far away, nothing unusual could be seen. But once Xiong Lanlan came closer, Lin Mianmian saw the displeasure all over Xiong Lanlan’s face.
Speaking of which, it was rather interesting. Xiong Lanlan was clearly a black bear with smooth, glossy fur. Usually, that faceful of fur did not block her rich expressions at all.
The anger now was also shown very clearly on that furry face.
Why had her anger value become so high after a trip to the trial ground? She had clearly been so happy when she went in.
Had Wang Minger thrown another child’s temper?
Lin Mianmian reflexively looked toward Xiong Lanlan’s leg.
Fine. The little girl hanging from Xiong Lanlan’s leg fur also had her lips pressed tight, her cheeks puffed, looking very unhappy. But her little hands hugged the bear leg tightly, and Xiong Lanlan had not shaken her off. No matter how one looked at it, it did not seem like the person and bear had quarreled in the trial ground.
“What happened? Who bullied you?” The one who had muttered unhappily before that Xiong Lanlan and Wang Minger had not waited for him was Gui Changshou. Now the first to speak in concern was still the same little turtle.
“Hmph, do not even mention it!” Xiong Lanlan gave a heavy snort, pulled Wang Minger off her leg fur, set her on the ground, and turned to look back at the wild boar statue.
The grass, person, and turtle were all confused.
“Minger?” Feng Liang bent down and touched Wang Minger’s somewhat messy hair.
“Inside, we met an annoying junior sister.” Wang Minger had grown a little, and lately her tongue had become very nimble. “Master clearly said that junior sister was locked up by True Person Wang and would not come out before Foundation Establishment. Master lied.”
Would not come out before Foundation Establishment.
Wang Chuanying?
About the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array matter, Yuan Zhaoyang had hidden nothing from Lin Mianmian. Add to that that Wang Minger herself was one of the people involved, and during the group’s small gatherings they had long since talked the matter through clearly.
Now that Wang Minger brought it up, everyone thought of the same person.
“There. It is her.” Xiong Lanlan, who had been watching the statue, suddenly pointed with a paw.
They saw a person wearing a cloak, with a hood covering her face. Only from her build could one tell she was a female cultivator. She happened to step down from the boar’s mouth on a water mirror.
The next moment, Wang Fang, who had been standing nearby, pulled the female cultivator onto a flying sword. In one breath, the two flew far away.