Beili processed this for a good while, unable to resist casting another glance at Wen Jingshu, before coming to a sudden realization.
“A tree that stands out in the forest will surely be destroyed by the wind.” Beili understood this concept well.
With Wen Shuyi's explanation, Beili grew even more satisfied with Wen Jingshu.
Exceptionally gifted, and possessing a heavenly lightning spiritual root just like him—Wen Jingshu was destined to inherit his mantle!
Yet, he still did not realize that Wen Shuyi was still holding something back.
Wen Jingshu actually possessed a perfect, ten-out-of-ten top-grade heavenly lightning spiritual root. Furthermore, after three years of cultivation, her wood spiritual root had also reached the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
A spiritual root value above ninety percent was considered top-grade. However, even among top-grade spiritual roots, a perfect ten-out-of-ten was worlds apart from ninety percent, or even ninety-nine percent, in terms of the talent it displayed.
Throughout history, every single cultivator with a perfect spiritual root value had ascended without exception, so long as they were not deliberately hunted down and killed.
“Please put your mind at ease, Daoist Sovereign Ziyang. I will teach her everything I know throughout my life, and she will be my last personal disciple.”
“As for her talent, I will also keep it somewhat hidden from the outside world.”
Once Beili became Wen Jingshu's master, he would have to guide her hand-in-hand through cultivation mantras and techniques. While her talent had to be hidden from others, it could not be hidden from him.
Before Wen Jingshu, Beili had already taken in three personal disciples. Wen Jingshu would be his last.
Any disciples he accepted after this would, at most, only be inner sect disciples.
The Wen sisters were highly satisfied with Beili's sensible attitude. Wen Jingshu immediately performed the master-acknowledgment ceremony and presented a generous apprenticeship gift.
As the saying goes, ‘one's mouth is soft when eating others' food, and one's hands are short when taking others' things.’ Children from great clans always presented apprenticeship gifts when acknowledging a master, precisely so that the master would put more heart into teaching them.
Furthermore, this was an apprenticeship gift from an Eighth-Grade Alchemist. Beili swept his divine sense over it, and the smile on his face could not be concealed at all.
There was only a single jade bottle inside the storage bag, containing just one medicinal pill.
Yet, this single tiny pill was enough to allow him to break through from the mid stage of the Void Refinement Stage to the late stage of the Void Refinement Stage.
Afterward, Beili also gave Wen Jingshu a spatial ring as a meeting gift.
“My good disciple, if you are ready, we can return to the sect at any time.”
Having received the pill, Beili was in an excellent mood, and his fondness for Wen Jingshu grew even deeper.
Wen Jingshu looked at Beili, then at Wen Shuyi, and decided to leave the following day.
The two sisters were of one mind on this. Wen Shuyi also had some extra things to explain. After having someone lead Beili away to rest, she handed Wen Jingshu a small cauldron.
“This is the Fifth-Grade cauldron Mother used when she first entered the path, the Qingshuang Tripod. Its greatest advantage is that it saves half the spiritual energy required and additionally increases the success rate of pill condensation.”
“Previously, I had you practice alchemy with ordinary cauldrons because I was afraid you would become overly reliant on them. Now that you are going on a long journey, it is time to prepare some handy cauldrons for you.”
“Also, take this Glazed Fire. I will protect your path while you refine it tonight.”
Although the Qingshuang Tripod and the Glazed Fire were not top-tier cauldrons or exotic fires, they were more than enough for the current Wen Jingshu.
Wen Shuyi had undoubtedly prepared even better things for her, but there was surely a reason why she wasn't letting her use them just yet.
She simply trusted her older sister unconditionally.
Having said this, Wen Shuyi saw her younger sister's eyes light up and couldn't help but burst into a soft laugh.
Why did she feel that ever since her younger sister took the Intelligence Awakening Pill, she had become a bit of a money-grubber? Her eyes sparkled whenever she saw something of a slightly higher grade.
In the past, her younger sister wouldn't have spared a second glance at anything below the fifth grade.
But this was also a good thing. Giving her things that were too high-grade right as she entered the immortal path would easily make her arrogant and impractical, and in the end, she would be the one to suffer.
The Glazed Fire ranked twenty-eighth on the Exotic Fire Registry, famous for its rarity, beauty, and gentleness. It was not suited for combat but was perfect for alchemy and artifact refining. With Wen Shuyi's help, Wen Jingshu refined it without much effort.
The Glazed Fire had a translucent, cyan-to-yellow gradient. Wen Jingshu could not bear to put it down, playing with it for quite a while before drawing it back into her dantian.
Treasures! These were all treasures that Wen Jingshu, the talisman cultivator in her past life, had yearned for but could never obtain! Now, they were all hers!
With the Qingshuang Tripod and the Glazed Fire in hand, Wen Jingshu's hands itched. She immediately opened the cauldron to perform alchemy. It was still the first-grade low-rank Rejuvenation Pill, and she still successfully condensed eleven pills, but this time, two of them turned out to be supreme-grade pills!
Wen Shuyi pinched the supreme-grade pill, her expression twitching slightly.
She knew that with the assistance of a high-grade cauldron, this little girl would definitely be able to refine supreme-grade pills!
Wen Jingshu also felt the charm of the cauldron. After a brief sigh of admiration, she asked Wen Shuyi for a few more ordinary cauldrons.
“What do you want ordinary cauldrons for?”
Wen Jingshu said as if it were a matter of course, “I only refined supreme-grade pills this time by relying on the Qingshuang Tripod. What if I lose the Qingshuang Tripod one day? My own abilities still need to be solid.”
Back then, she could draw high-level talismans using the lowest-grade talisman paper. Now that her talent was heaven-defying, she had to be able to refine supreme-grade pills using ordinary cauldrons.
Once again, Wen Shuyi marveled at what a wonderful thing the Intelligence Awakening Pill was. Her silly, sweet younger sister had actually become so wise and composed.
The next day, Wen Jingshu bid farewell to Wen Shuyi. Just as Beili was preparing to fly on his sword, he saw Wen Jingshu take out an exceptionally magnificent flying palanquin first.
To call it a palanquin was an understatement; it was more like an incredibly spacious pavilion.
The floor of the palanquin was paved with white jade tiles, with the fur of a third-grade demon beast acting as a foot mat. Inside, it was fully equipped with tables, chairs, and tea stools. Spanning over fifty square meters, it was spacious enough for the two of them to ride in absolute comfort.
Its sides were adorned with flowing pink silk, exuding an ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful aura.
Seeing Beili staring blankly at the palanquin, Wen Jingshu reminded him, “Master, aren't we leaving?”
The impoverished sword cultivator was snapped back to his senses and hurriedly climbed onto the magnificent palanquin.
Next, he watched as Wen Jingshu tossed a hundred high-grade spirit stones into the palanquin's mechanism. After inputting their destination, she lay down comfortably on a rocking chair.
Although the Wen family kept a low profile, they were not so stingy that they dared not show any wealth. With Beili picking her up in person and her sister's Dao protectors secretly escorting them, she was one hundred percent safe. Why should she suffer the hardship of flying on a sword?
Watching Wen Jingshu spend spirit stones so lavishly, Beili's heart bled.
Alchemists were truly, damnably rich.
It's just a short distance, couldn't we just fly over?
With a wooden expression, Beili sat down by the tea table and poured himself a cup of tea.
Upon taking a sip, he realized something was off.
“Heart-Enlightening Tea?”
Although it was not as good as Dao-Comprehension Tea, it was still a supreme-grade spiritual tea that cost one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones per liang!
Something so rare that one could hardly catch a glimpse of it on ordinary days, and he had just casually taken a sip of it?
Alchemists were truly, truly, damnably rich.
Yet Wen Jingshu even remarked, “Ah, so this is Heart-Enlightening Tea? It's not all that. If you like it, Master, I'll give you a box of it later.”
Beili's already expressionless face became even more blank.
He did his absolute best to control his facial expressions, trying his hardest not to show any look of envy.
The palanquin took off, its stealth formation activating, completely erasing its presence from the sky.
Just as they were leaving, Wen Jingshu thought she heard someone calling her.
She turned around and scanned the area but saw no one, dismissing it as a mere hallucination.
Little did she know, it was Ying Zhen, the treacherous senior brother of the original Wen Jingshu. He was the very one who had instigated her to cast aside her status and go to the Qingyun Sect.
The palanquin was extremely fast, but the Eastern Azure Continent was simply too vast. Even though the Pill Sect and the Qingyun Sect were considered very close neighbors, the palanquin still had to fly for a day and a night to arrive.
At a normal sword-flying speed, traveling from the Pill Sect to the Qingyun Sect would take at least half a month of non-stop flight without eating or drinking.
A day later, the master and disciple arrived at the Qingyun Sect. With Beili's token, they smoothly passed through the sect's protective grand array.
As soon as they entered the Qingyun Sect, what met their eyes was a scene of swirling clouds and mist amidst mountains and rivers. Spiritual cranes soared in the sky while spirit beasts frolicked below. Disciples came and went, some flying on swords, some riding flying spirit beasts, and others traveling in flying magical treasures—a truly thriving and prosperous sight.
It was truly worthy of being the head of the four major sects.
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