After Foundation Establishment, there were many things to do. Gu Ningyun made a plan, deciding to eat her fill of Blue Lake Scallops first.
This matter had been delayed for too long, and raising so many scallops consumed rations.
Before her seclusion, Wen Xuan and the others had taken a six-month supply of cooked food. Their progress was likely ahead of hers.
She couldn't fall behind.
Thus, Gu Ningyun began days of eating until she passed out, waking up to eat, and cooking in between.
After about ten days, she suddenly received a transmission from the Peak Master of Punishment Peak, Daoist Lord Yi Kong.
Upon entering the Peak Master's hall, she saw a woman in a white robe with cloud patterns. She sat with her left leg folded and her right knee raised to support her right arm, her left hand braced against the floor behind her. She sat lopsided on a meditation mat before a low table.
Her aura was ethereal, like a celestial maiden from the highest heavens, yet her features held an air of uninhibited, wandering heroism.
Seeing the golden jade token hanging from her waist, Gu Ningyun bowed. "Disciple Gu Ningyun greets Martial Aunt Yi Kong."
Daoist Lord Yi Kong, the Peak Master of Punishment Peak, was at the late stage of Soul Transformation—one rank higher than her master, Yi Chu. Thus, she addressed her as Martial Aunt.
"Sit."
She held a wine jar in her right hand. Once Gu Ningyun sat opposite her, she poured a small half-cup into a white jade vessel. "Care for a sip?"
In her past life, Gu Ningyun had been allergic to alcohol and never touched it. In this life, she had only ever drunk the juice-like Spirit-Heart Peach Blossom Wine. As a minor, she thought... "..."
The wine in the white jade cup was clear, with spirit energy churning at the rim like misty clouds.
The temptation of spirit energy.
She picked up the cup and drained it in one gulp. The smooth, sweet liquid slid down her throat without any harshness.
Delicious!
She looked up, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Daoist Lord Yi Kong. "Martial Aunt, what... wine... is this..."
She turned red from her face to her hands. Her head grew heavy, and she collapsed onto the table. The white jade cup slipped from her fingers, rolled across her robes, and clattered all the way to the door.
Spirit energy saturated her body, swirling around her in a light, tumbling shroud.
"Oh dear, she drank it too early. I haven't even finished the official business yet."
Yi Kong pinched her wrist to check her pulse. "Even while drunk, she remembers to use her cultivation technique to absorb the spirit energy. That saves me the trouble of helping her refine it."
"Senior Sister, how is the investigation into that old Daoist going? I've been researching many ancient restrictions lately..."
As soon as Yi Chu entered the hall, he saw Gu Ningyun slumped over the table with a bright red face.
"You—you—you gave her wine?"
When would his senior sister ever fix her habit of trying to feed wine to any junior she liked? His disciple was still a child!!!
Yi Kong gave him a look as if he were making a fuss over nothing. "It was just a small sip. She'll wake up after a few days of sleep."
Three days later.
Gu Ningyun's consciousness cleared. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Martial Aunt Yi Kong and her master playing chess by the window.
One was ethereal like an immortal, the other gentle and refined, yet the game between them was filled with hidden killing intent and showed no mercy.
The sound of the pieces hitting the board was sharp, like the clashing of gold and jade.
She rubbed her neck as she rose from the couch. "Master?"
"You're awake. How do you feel?" Yi Chu put his white piece back into the container and turned to look at her.
Gu Ningyun looked inward. The thin layer of blue and white energy liquid that had previously sat at the bottom of her dantian had now risen to fill one-ninth of it.
If she accumulated two-ninths more, she would break through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
She looked up in surprise. "Was I drunk for a long time?"
Yi Kong arched an eyebrow. "Only three days."
Gu Ningyun was stunned. Wine for the Soul Transformation stage was terrifyingly powerful.
"The wine is called Guiyuan. The first drink has a spirit-gathering effect, but subsequent drinks won't have the same result."
Yi Kong put down her piece and sat back in her original spot facing the door. "Your master won't let me give you any more wine. If you think it's delicious and want more, then grow up quickly."
Yi Chu's expression shifted.
His senior sister shouldn't paint him in such a bad light. He was just a bit worried; he wasn't that strict.
He didn't want to leave his disciple with the impression that he was an overbearing tyrant.
"Don't listen to your martial aunt's nonsense. I was only worried that because you are young and your cultivation is still shallow, you wouldn't be able to handle the spirit energy of high-grade spirit wine and might injure yourself. As long as you act within your capabilities, it is naturally fine."
Gu Ningyun glanced at their expressions. Her master looked solemn while her martial aunt looked mischievous. She chose to change the subject.
She sat back in her previous seat. "Martial Aunt, did you call for me regarding Gu Lianxue and the old Daoist?"
"Indeed. We have confirmed that the old Daoist is the person we have been searching for for a long time."
"Your cultivation is still shallow, so I cannot go into detail. I can only tell you that this old Daoist is only one step away from the Tribulation Transcendence stage. He has lived for tens of thousands of years, possesses mysterious methods, acts with extreme caution, and is incredibly cunning. He loves to hide in the shadows like a venomous snake, waiting to deliver a fatal blow."
"After receiving your report, we started two lines of investigation, targeting both the old Daoist and Gu Lianxue simultaneously. As usual, we couldn't find a trace of the old Daoist, but we did find a witness regarding Gu Lianxue."
"The old Daoist swapped Gu Lianxue's spirit root and solved her cultivation issues; he must have a motive. We originally wanted to leave Gu Lianxue alone. As long as he has a goal, he will eventually contact her. Then, we could follow the clues and capture him."
"In that case, didn't the storybook ruin your plan?"
"Not exactly."
"We checked the Gu family, and the old Daoist left no traces there. Everyone in the Gu family who knew of him had restrictions placed on them. His goal has already been achieved, and he won't reappear in the short term. It's hard to say if keeping Gu Lianxue would be useful; it's more likely she would become a disaster. We were already planning to take the witness to the Star-Moon Sect to demand her release. When the storybook came out, it simply allowed us to go with the flow and use the momentum."
At this point, Yi Kong gave Gu Ningyun a meaningful look.
Gu Ningyun kept her gaze lowered and stayed silent, refusing to admit the storybook was her handiwork. What kind of good person blatantly admits to doing bad things?
Yi Kong didn't press her. She took out a scroll and a pair of jade slit-rings. "The restrictions in the seas of consciousness of Gu Lianxue and her parents are not from this world. Although we haven't found a way to break them yet, the Gu family will no longer pose a threat to you."
"For certain reasons, the old Daoist is currently avoiding us. But based on his actions, he seems to hold a grudge against you. In the current cultivation world, the only person who can rival him alone is the Grand Elder of my Punishment Peak, Daoist Lord Zhi Zhuo."
"To be safe, I asked him to prepare three items for you. First is a fixed-point ten-thousand-mile transmission scroll. As long as you are within the Five Continents and Four Seas, opening this scroll will immediately teleport you to the Peak Master's hall of Punishment Peak."
"Next is a pair of jade slit-rings. The one engraved with the character for 'Defense' should be bound to you and worn against your chest. It can recognize the old Daoist's aura. As soon as it senses an attack from him, it will automatically trigger a protective shield capable of withstanding an attack from a cultivator of his level."
"The one engraved with the character for 'Attack' contains a single strike from Daoist Lord Zhi Zhuo. Your spirit energy is insufficient before the Nascent Soul stage, so do not use it. After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, if you encounter the old Daoist, you can choose whether to use the jade slit-ring's attack from within the protective shield, depending on the situation."
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