“Did Fourth Junior Brother rest well last night? If there is anything else you need, you can ask me.”
Luo Qingyu was just about to speak when a bustling figure burst into the three's line of sight.
“Aaaaah! Run! Elder Zhao is coming!”
This person was indeed Mu Zhongxi. He was originally fleeing in a panic, but seeing Xue Yu, Ming Xuan, and Luo Qingyu standing there, he hurriedly stopped, his expression showing a bit of panic.
“Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, run! Elder Zhao is coming to catch us!”
Hearing this, Xue Yu didn't say another word. He grabbed Ming Xuan's sleeve with one hand and Luo Qingyu's wrist with the other, and the group immediately began fleeing for their lives.
Luo Qingyu was dragged along at a trot, her heart full of confusion. She quickly asked, “We didn't do anything wrong, so why are we running?”
Ming Xuan, rarely putting away his usual carefree attitude, hurriedly explained as he ran, “If Elder Zhao catches us, we'll definitely be dragged back to attend those boring mental cultivation method classes!”
“So you two Senior Brothers are skipping class?” Luo Qingyu dithered for a moment, asking softly in return.
“What do you mean ‘skipping class’? We just simply don't want to go to class,” Ming Xuan spoke frankly and naturally.
Luo Qingyu's lips couldn't help but twitch. She didn't expect Second Senior Brother to make escaping class sound so righteous.
The group quickly walked through the forest paths, and before long, they arrived at the sect cafeteria.
As soon as they stepped inside, Mu Zhongxi beside her rubbed his empty stomach and grumbled, “I'm starving to death!”
Xue Yu slowed his pace, turned to look at Luo Qingyu, and said gently, “Let's go, Fourth Junior Brother. Let's go in and eat.”
Mu Zhongxi looked up and saw rows of wooden steamers filled to the brim with steamed buns.
Staring at the pile of buns, he couldn't help but turn to ask Xue Yu, “Third Senior Brother, does our Changming Sect usually eat this?”
Xue Yu let out a helpless chuckle. “The daily meals in the Changming Sect mostly consist of only steamed buns. If you really can't get used to it, I have some Inedia Pills I can give you.”
Hearing this, Mu Zhongxi's shoulders instantly slumped, looking dispirited. He could only grab two buns, stuff them into his robes, and eat them in small bites.
Just then, the familiar mechanical voice rang in Luo Qingyu's ear: 【Today's mission has been completed.】
【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the rewards: 100 points, 5 card draw chances.】
【Detected available card draw chances. Would the Host like to draw cards now?】
Luo Qingyu looked at the panel in front of her. She silently replied in her heart, “Not for now.”
【007: Understood, Host. The card draw chances have been saved for you.】
Luo Qingyu quietly ate her steamed bun.
Beside her, Mu Zhongxi chewed on the dry bun, his cheeks slightly puffed. The more he ate, the more tasteless he found it. He couldn't help but complain, “Eating these buns is going to choke me to death.”
Seeing this, Xue Yu gently comforted him, “Don't be discouraged, Junior Brother. Once your cultivation level increases in the future, you can go down the mountain on your own. For now, just bear with it.”
Ming Xuan also sat down with his buns and added, “That's right. By the rules of the Changming Sect, a Personal Disciple's cultivation must reach the Golden Core Realm before they can descend the mountain alone.”
Mu Zhongxi bit his bun, his brow furrowed deeply as he grumbled, “We have to cultivate to the Golden Core Realm? That's going to take forever!”
“We can enter secret realms,” Xue Yu spoke up again. “However, the prerequisite is that Senior Brother must lead the team before we can go down the mountain.”
Ming Xuan chimed in right after, “Currently, there is also another way, which is to use a Teleportation Talisman to descend the mountain. Unfortunately, I haven't learned how to draw Teleportation Talismans yet.”
Hearing that neither method was feasible, Mu Zhongxi's initial spark of hope was completely dashed, and a wave of disappointment washed over him.
He turned to look at Luo Qingyu, who was quietly eating opposite him. “Fourth Senior Brother, do you know of any other way to go down the mountain?”
Hearing Mu Zhongxi's words, Luo Qingyu put down the half-eaten bun in her hand. A scene from the original novel flashed through her mind: half a month after Mu Zhongxi joined the sect, he egged on Xue Yu and Ming Xuan to sneak down the mountain in the middle of the night, only to be caught and dragged back by Qin Fanfan.
A glint of mischief flashed in her eyes as she whispered, “You guys could sneak down the mountain at night!”
Hearing this, Mu Zhongxi's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh. “Right! Why didn't I think of that!”
Ming Xuan also praised, “Brilliant, Fourth Junior Brother! This method is feasible!”
Xue Yu quickly tried to dissuade them from the side, “No, no, if the elders find out we sneaked down the mountain in the middle of the night, we'll definitely be locked in the forbidden grounds.”
Mu Zhongxi, being a newborn calf who did not fear tigers, smiled and coaxed, “Relax, Third Senior Brother. Don't you want to go down the mountain too?”
These words happened to hit the desire hidden deep in Xue Yu's heart. After hesitating for a moment, he finally relented. “Alright, I'll take this risk with you guys.”
Ming Xuan immediately finalized the plan. “Then it's settled. Tonight at the hour of the Rat, we will gather at Fourth Junior Brother's courtyard.”
Luo Qingyu was stunned and asked in surprise, “Why choose to gather in my courtyard?”
Ming Xuan said matter-of-factly, “Because your courtyard is closest to the mountain gate, making it the most convenient to descend the mountain.”
Hearing this, Luo Qingyu was temporarily left speechless.
Mu Zhongxi was full of excitement, clapping his hands as he finalized it, “Then it's a deal! See you at the hour of the Rat!”
With that, Xue Yu, Ming Xuan, and Mu Zhongxi stood up and left the cafeteria, returning to their respective residences.
Luo Qingyu returned to her courtyard with a heart full of helplessness. As she sat on the edge of her bed and recalled the senior brothers she met today, she felt as if everything from today was like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water, fragile enough to shatter at a single touch.
She softly called out in her heart, “007, I feel like today was a dream. It feels so unreal.”
Hearing Luo Qingyu's words, System 007 replied in a gentle voice: 【Rest assured, Host. Your transmigration is real, and everything is indeed happening for real. No matter what you encounter, 007 will be by your side.】
Hearing 007's words, a touch of warmth welled up in Luo Qingyu's heart. She smiled and nodded, “Mm, I know. Thank you, 007.”
【007: You are welcome, Host. It is my honor to serve you. May I ask if the Host would like to draw cards now?】
Luo Qingyu nodded. “Draw, of course I want to draw! Nothing is more important than drawing cards.”
【Ding~ Beginning card draw.】
【Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Invisibility Talisman (Basic Version) x1】
【Ding~ Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid (Basic Version) x1 bottle】
【Ding~ Thank you for your patronage.】
【Ding~ Thank you for your patronage.】
【Ding~ Thank you for your patronage.】
Looking at the three “Thank you for your patronage” results, Luo Qingyu's mood, which had just been comforted by the system, instantly sank.
“Tell me, 007! Did you change the card draw probabilities? Out of five chances, I only got two items. This luck is way too terrible.”
007 claimed innocence: 【Host, I do not have the authority to alter the card draw probabilities. All card pool configurations are set by the main system. I am merely executing the tasks.】
After hearing the explanation, Luo Qingyu let out a helpless sigh. “Fine, I won't blame you for this. Apply the tenfold expansion to the items I drew.”
【Ding~ Expansion successful!】
【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Invisibility Talisman (Advanced Version) x1】
【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid (Advanced Version) x1 bottle】
【Note: Invisibility Talisman (Advanced Version) can be used for three shichen. During this time, no one will be able to detect you. After using the Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid (Advanced Version), your physical endurance and strike resistance will be enhanced, making your physical body comparable to a Nascent Soul Realm sword cultivator.】
Looking at the bottle of spiritual liquid glowing with a faint golden light, the corners of Luo Qingyu's mouth couldn't help but curve upward.
She had read many novels in her past life and knew very well the professions of the cultivation world: although sword cultivators were cool, they were prone to getting beaten up.
Talisman cultivators were mages; once someone got close to them, they were finished.
As for pill cultivators, they were the squishiest of the squishy. As for artifact cultivators, they could smash people with dharma treasures and also make money...
However, artifact cultivators were actually quite squishy too.
But! Luo Qingyu had a second thought. If she added this bottle of Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid to raise her physical strength, wouldn't she be no different from those sword cultivators?
Imagine that scene: she, a seemingly weak and fragile artifact cultivator, ended up being even more strike-resistant than a bona fide sword cultivator!
When someone else's flying sword slashed over, she would block it with an artifact. Even if she took a hit, it wouldn't hurt much...
Luo Qingyu smiled exceptionally brightly. She took out the bottle of Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid from the system space and turned to run toward the back of the courtyard.
She ran straight to the quiet bamboo forest in the backyard. Deep in the bamboo forest, there was a hot spring where she planned to use it.
Luo Qingyu was just about to open the stopper when 007's voice suddenly exploded in her mind. It startled her so much that her hand shook, almost spilling the entire bottle of spiritual liquid.
【Ding! Host, please stop!】
【Detected that you are currently still a mortal body and have not yet reached the Foundation Establishment Realm! The medicinal power of this Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid is extremely violent. If forced to use it, there is an extremely high probability that you will explode and die from being unable to withstand the medicinal power!】
Only then did Luo Qingyu realize—oh right! She hadn't even drawn Qi into her body yet; she was purely a mortal flesh-and-blood body! This thing was for cultivators. If she used it now, wouldn't she probably die on the spot?
Just thinking about that scene made her shudder, and the excitement she felt just now vanished in an instant.
“...007, thank goodness you reminded me in time,” she muttered softly, turning to walk back.
Returning to her room, she stored the bottle of Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid back into the system space. Only after doing all this did she let out a long sigh of relief and collapse onto the bed.
“Whatever, whatever. Time to sleep... Before Foundation Establishment, I'll just honestly be a squishy artifact cultivator.”
Luo Qingyu tossed and turned under the covers and closed her eyes, but in her heart, she was still silently calculating: once she reached Foundation Establishment, she would definitely use this spiritual liquid at the very first opportunity. At that time, who would dare call her a squishy artifact cultivator?
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