The Disguise: A Sword Cultivator from the Pill Sect

The group of three ran for nearly half a shichen before they finally came to a halt.

Fu Sinian and Yun Xiange collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath without a care for their image, while Wen Jingshu sat leisurely to the side, watching them pant.

That demon beast from earlier was only a second-rank, high-grade demon beast, with strength comparable to a human cultivator at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage. If the two of them hadn't been there, she would have actually liked to spar with it.

After the two rested for a good while, Yun Xiange finally spoke to Wen Jingshu.

“My apologies. It was an emergency just now, and I grabbed you to run with us out of instinct.”

“May I ask how to address you, fellow Daoist?”

Without batting an eye, Wen Jingshu gave a fake name.

“You jest, fellow Daoist. It is I who should thank you both for dragging me out of danger. This humble one is Shu Jing.”

By now, Fu Sinian had also rested enough. Looking at Wen Jingshu traveling alone, he asked:

“My junior sister and I are disciples of the Qingyun Sect. May I ask which sect you belong to, fellow Daoist, and why you are venturing into Jiangyuan Valley alone?”

“The Pill Sect. I just enjoy the freedom of traveling alone.”

The Pill Sect?

Hearing Wen Jingshu's words, their first thought was: Is this male cultivator before us actually a fragile alchemist?

Their second thought was: The Pill Sect actually let an alchemist travel alone?

Seeing their reactions, Wen Jingshu offered a thoughtful explanation:

“The Pill Sect isn't entirely made up of alchemists. It's just that there are more of them.”

Only about ninety percent of them, she thought.

Fearing they might not believe her, Wen Jingshu reached into her robes and produced a disciple token from the Pill Sect.

Seeing that it was indeed a genuine Pill Sect token, the two of them finally relaxed slightly.

After all, they were both heavily injured. If Wen Jingshu really wanted to do something to them, they would likely be powerless to resist.

Only in hindsight did Yun Xiange remember that this was the cultivation world, a place that devoured people without leaving even their bones. Now that they were safe, she felt a bit annoyed with herself. Why had she dragged Wen Jingshu along in her haste?

Fortunately, the person she had saved this time was a cultivator from the Pill Sect. If she had dragged along an evil cultivator or a rogue cultivator with malicious intent, they would have been in deep trouble.

However, reflecting on her actions did not mean Yun Xiange was actually afraid of the male cultivator before her.

As personal disciples of the Qingyun Sect, they naturally carried quite a few life-saving items on them.

It was just that during training, how could one improve without experiencing life-and-death situations? They would not easily use their trump cards.

The best course of action after a life-and-death battle was to immediately sit in meditation and recover spiritual energy. This would not only stabilize one's cultivation but also widen one's meridians.

But with Wen Jingshu, an outsider, present, Fu Sinian and Yun Xiange chose to consume pills instead. They also took the opportunity to change into clean robes.

“I've let Fellow Daoist Shu see us in a pathetic state. May I ask what your destination is on this journey?”

Hearing Fu Sinian's question, Wen Jingshu thought for a moment before replying, “I don't have a specific destination. I'm just wandering around.”

Fu Sinian's expression flickered slightly.

“In that case, would Fellow Daoist Shu be interested in traveling with us? To be frank, my junior sister and I possess a map to a legacy site. If you join us, we can split whatever we find—eighty percent for us, and twenty percent for you. What do you think?”

A legacy site, strictly speaking, was a place where a cultivator had passed away.

They were either rogue cultivators with no disciples, or they had been suddenly and severely injured, unable to return to their sects. Wishing to pass down their ultimate techniques, they would seal their final resting places with formations, waiting for a destined individual to arrive.

The cultivation bases of these deceased cultivators ranged from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Void Refinement Stage. Any legacy site whose location could fall into the hands of an individual wouldn't be particularly high-grade.

Wen Jingshu had no interest in legacy sites, but she was highly interested in Yun Xiange.

While Wen Jingshu simply felt there wouldn't be any good treasures, Yun Xiange was frowning.

She had followed the plot of the original novel to find this map before Wen Jingshu could. In the original novel, Wen Jingshu had obtained an Earth-grade sword manual from this very legacy site. Although that sword manual wasn't top-tier, it had played a major role in Wen Jingshu's journey before she reached the Golden Core Stage.

If they hadn't underestimated their enemy this time and miscalculated their reserve of pills and talismans, leaving them lacking in everything halfway through their journey, and if both of them didn't desperately need time to recover, she would never have wanted to share this map with an outsider.

Furthermore, she wasn't entirely certain she could obtain the sword manual with absolute certainty. She believed this random bystander before her wouldn't have that kind of luck either.

Even taking a step back, even if this bystander really did get the sword manual... it was still better than letting Wen Jingshu have it.

As a female supporting character destined to oppose the female protagonist, she truly, from the bottom of her heart, did not want to make things easy for her.

All in all, the way Yun Xiange looked at Wen Jingshu was practically saying, You're getting a real bargain here.

Wen Jingshu feigned hesitation for a moment before asking, “May I ask what kind of legacy site it is? To be honest with you both, I am a sword cultivator from the Pill Sect.”

Hearing Wen Jingshu's words, Fu Sinian's expression relaxed slightly.

The fact that she was willing to accept their invitation proved that she harbored no ill intentions.

“The seller once mentioned that it belonged to a sword cultivator at the Golden Core Stage.”

Only then did Wen Jingshu agree. “In that case, let us travel together.”

Upon hearing Wen Jingshu's agreement, the three of them established a temporary contract.

Fu Sinian continued, “Since that's settled, let's find a place to settle down first. We will set off again at dawn tomorrow.”

Many fierce demon beasts were nocturnal. Therefore, when training in the wild, cultivators tacitly agreed to find a safe place to rest during the night.

Between the two of them, Fu Sinian took the lead. Since Wen Jingshu indicated she was fine with anything, the three of them, led by Fu Sinian, found an abandoned small cave.

The small cave appeared to be man-made, likely blasted out by cultivators who had previously trained here.

After the three entered the cave, Yun Xiange took the initiative to pull out a defensive formation plate to set up a barrier.

“The three of us will take turns keeping watch tonight. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Shu?”

Hearing Fu Sinian's suggestion, Wen Jingshu casually tossed out two formation plates. One was a defensive formation plate, and the other was an illusion formation plate.

“No need to go through all that trouble. When training outside, getting a good rest is the most important thing.”

Fu Sinian sensed their surroundings and could not help but feel astonished.

Just what grade were these two formation plates Wen Jingshu had thrown out?

Even with his cultivation at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage, he could not detect the slightest trace of the formations.

The highest rank of demon beasts in the outer perimeter of Jiangyuan Valley was only second-rank, high-grade. With Wen Jingshu's two formation plates, they could rest perfectly.

As the personal disciple of Beili, Fu Sinian believed he possessed quite a few treasures himself.

Yet, he was still shocked by the two items Wen Jingshu had casually produced.

“In that case, my thanks to Fellow Daoist Shu.”

Although Fu Sinian said this, he still covertly cast a meaningful glance at Yun Xiange.

While the dangers outside were taken care of, who could guarantee that the person right in front of them wasn't a danger themselves?

Even though they had formed an Equal Contract, they still wouldn't easily trust Wen Jingshu.

Seeing that the two of them were still somewhat on guard, Wen Jingshu remained completely unbothered.

Back when she was the talisman cultivator Wen Jingshu, her wariness had been far greater than theirs.

Let alone inviting a stranger to explore together, not outright eliminating an unfamiliar cultivator was already her showing mercy.

Wen Jingshu sat in meditation to regulate her breathing for a moment. Then, clearing her mind of distracting thoughts, she pulled out her talisman brush and began to draw talismans.

The other two froze when they saw Wen Jingshu's actions.

Then, they sensed a dense surge of the lightning element.