Perhaps it was due to her foundation in ancient script and talismans, or perhaps the senior's recorded explanations were simply excellent.
Even as a beginner, Gu Ningyun managed to learn two gold-attribute offensive array patterns that morning, successfully inscribing them onto a blank array plate and earning praise of “superior aptitude” from the female voice.
As a beginner, it was unwise to be greedy, so once she mastered the second array pattern, she left the Array Hall and returned to Pine Wind and Water Moon.
Branches of the Xiaoyao Chamber of Commerce were spread across the Five Continents and Four Seas, and the daily demand for talismans was considerable.
Aside from a small portion available externally, most talismans were acquired through missions posted within the sect.
Mission rewards came in two forms: spirit stones and points. Spirit stone rewards matched the prices of major merchant associations, and point rewards were also quite reasonable.
Gu Ningyun accepted a pile of missions and spent the afternoon drawing yellow-rank high-grade, yellow-rank top-grade, and mysterious-rank low-grade talismans according to the mission requirements.
As the sun set, she rushed to Governing Peak, submitted them at the Mission Hall, and watched 12,630 points instantly credit to her account.
The Detailed Explanation of Arrays was hers.
Current point balance: 12,856.
After purchasing the textbook, Gu Ningyun spent her days immersed in the Array Hall, studying with the recorded guidance in the materials. If she encountered anything she didn't understand, she would ask the female voice in the Array Hall.
The day she returned to Spirit-Attuning Peak after accepting the missions, Gu Ningyun asked her Master what the voices in Preaching Peak's various halls were.
She learned that these halls on Preaching Peak were actually a set of immortal artifacts passed down from the Xiaoyao of the Immortal Realm.
Each hall possessed an artifact spirit with a cultivation base at the peak of the Mahayana stage.
The female voice she heard in the Array Hall was the artifact spirit of the Array Hall.
When the artifact spirit heard her questions, it would sometimes answer them directly, and other times it would retrieve jade slips to broaden her knowledge and provide extended explanations.
Any information available in the library was also backed up in the various halls of Preaching Peak.
Gu Ningyun stayed in cultivation chamber 666 daily, gaining much benefit.
After tasting the sweetness of success, she decided that she would also go to the Talisman Hall for her future talisman studies.
The Detailed Explanation of Arrays seemed to have been co-authored by multiple seniors and updated several times.
Different array patterns had different instructors.
The artifact spirit said that each array pattern was recorded and explained by the senior who understood that specific array pattern best.
Gu Ningyun even encountered a recording where the instructor's tone sounded very young, seemingly not much older than Senior Sister Kong.
Yet, their explanation of that array pattern was in no way inferior to other instructors.
...
On the twelfth day, at dusk, Gu Ningyun left cultivation chamber 666 early for the first time.
There was no other reason; today was the day she had arranged to meet her friends.
Jun Luo's Cloud Residence was located on the north side of Punishment Peak. When she arrived, Wen Xuan was standing at the entrance, looking up at the plaque.
“The Cloud Residence is named Frostfall.”
Wen Xuan rubbed her arms, her hands wrapped around herself. “Jun Luo, I suddenly realized your place might not be very friendly to my spirit energy.”
Jun Luo glanced at her, as if choked by her words, and paused before saying, “You’re Foundation Establishment... not Qi Refining.”
Gu Ningyun let out a soft laugh and entered the Cloud Residence with her friends.
As soon as they passed through the array, a blast of cold air rushed towards them.
Looking around, heavy snow fell, green pines stood tall, and frost turned into needles of ice.
It truly lived up to its name, Frostfall.
They walked past pines with ice-needle leaves, passed the Sword-Training Platform, and went around a pavilion.
On the side of the pavilion, in a world covered in ice and frost, there was a small stream that remained unfrozen.
Seeing her curiosity, Jun Luo explained, “To the north of Punishment Peak, there’s a cold pond with unique water. It’s rich in ice spirit energy, and its temperature is extremely low, yet it doesn’t freeze. But if an external object, say a rank one demon beast, were thrown in, it would freeze solid in just three breaths. This stream draws its water from that cold pond.”
Above the stream, a layer of frost mist hovered. This seemingly thin mist completely obstructed the view of both banks.
Jun Luo led them across the stone bridge. As they passed through the frost mist, perhaps due to an array blocking it on the bridge, Gu Ningyun didn't feel the bite of the low temperature.
The low temperature within the Cloud Residence itself was perfectly acceptable for all four of their cultivation levels.
Once they were off the bridge, their vision suddenly cleared.
A refreshing cold fragrance assailed them, and Gu Ningyun's eyes widened as she couldn't help but gasp.
On the opposite bank of the stream, deep within the snowy white Cloud Residence, there was actually a forest of red plum blossoms!
The petals were a traditional deep red, with ice spirit energy swirling around their stamens—it was precisely the variety of red plum most fond of cold: the Crimson Plum of Frost-Bones.
No wonder Mu Chenze had strongly suggested gathering at Jun Luo's Cloud Residence; it was indeed a beautiful place not to be missed.
Wen Xuan had already let out a cheer and run to the nearest tree, pulling down a red plum branch to sniff it closely.
The color of the Crimson Plum of Frost-Bones contrasted with her fiery personality, and for a moment, the entire plum forest seemed to become bright and lively.
Jiang Yao scratched at the tree bark, exclaiming, “Wow, what excellent artifact refining materials!”
Wen Xuan, who was in the middle of biting a petal, was speechless.
The Almanac of Heavenly Wonders stated that the petals of the Crimson Plum of Frost-Bones were sweet, could be used in alchemy, or eaten directly to enhance a cultivator's cold resistance.
She had just been about to taste how sweet it was when Jiang Yao made that remark.
Immediately, her mind was filled with the image of Jiang Yao swinging a large hammer, loudly smashing it against the plum tree branches.
How was she supposed to eat it now?
Jun Luo gave a helpless smile. “By the cold pond in the back mountains, our ancestor personally planted a Crimson Plum of Frost-Bones. By now, it's about ten thousand years old. All the plum trees here are descendants transplanted from that original tree. If you like them, feel free to pick some when you leave. You can propagate them, use them for alchemy, or artifact refining.”
The ground in the plum forest was covered with thick snow, crunching underfoot.
Deep within the forest, there was an octagonal pavilion, keeping some of the wind and frost out.
The five of them didn't go to the pavilion. Instead, they chose a flatter, wider patch of snow and sat directly on the ground in the plum forest.
They gathered around a stove to brew tea and lit a fire to roast meat.
Looking up, the sky was blue after the snow had stopped, and beneath it, Crimson Plums bloomed on the branches.
Their hands rested on the pure white snow, interspersed with scattered deep red petals.
The spirit energy within the flowers remained, untainted by a speck of dust.
For the sake of hygiene, Gu Ningyun still used the Cleaning Technique to wash her hands, then began pulling items out of her storage ring.
On this trip to Mount Wuji, Fat Duck had brought (snatched) her many good things.
Spirit fruits, a bit of every kind.
Demon beast meat—Fat Duck claimed these few types were the tastiest, so she took half, leaving the rest for Fat Duck.
Wen Xuan and Jiang Yao had already started the fire and assembled the grill. They also took out some ingredients, placing them alongside Gu Ningyun's.
While the three of them prepared ingredients, Mu Chenze had set up a table, placed a stove, and begun the first step of brewing tea: warming the pot.
Not far from them, Jun Luo was flying in mid-air on his sword, carrying a flower basket in his left hand, picking flowers in the plum forest.
On Ximu Peak, there was a deep well containing spirit water, rich in plant life energy, very neutral and gentle, nourishing all living things.
Jun Luo planned to use the tenderest Crimson Plum of Frost-Bones, combined with the spirit water from Ximu Deep Well, to brew a soup using food cultivation techniques.
Before long, the red plum forest was filled with the fragrant scents of roasted meat, fruit, tea, and flowers.
Though distinct, the aromas didn't clash at all; they harmoniously intertwined, making everyone's mouth water.
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