Her little junior sister's background was so outstanding that it actually gave her a subtle sense of helplessness.
As the Eldest Senior Sister, looking after her fellow disciples was her duty. But when it came to Shen Qingci, everything was already so well-handled and perfectly arranged.
Sitting upright in her chair, she couldn't find a single thing she could help with.
She couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.
Just as this thought arose, Shen Qingci put away the storage bag and stopped refusing. If she kept being polite, her eldest senior sister might think she was being too tedious.
“What are your plans next, Eldest Senior Sister?”
“Enter secluded cultivation and break through to the Nascent Soul realm.”
Shen Qingci waited quietly for a while.
Her eldest senior sister sat upright in her chair, her hands resting on her knees and her lips pursed, showing no intention of speaking further.
Was that it?
Just like that?
She really was a woman of few words.
She knew her eldest senior sister was a woman of action whose personality took after their master—both master and disciple were tight-lipped, like closed gourds. She didn't find it awkward, but she couldn't help but count in her head how many sentences her eldest senior sister had spoken since entering the room.
Not counting that “Yes, I'm back,” they could probably be counted on both hands.
Come to think of it, this was the second time her eldest senior sister had brought her a meeting gift.
On the day she first met her wife, her eldest senior sister had asked her senior sister to pass along a Sword Intent Talisman.
She had kept it hanging around her neck ever since, never taking it off.
And this time, it was a whole bag of lightning-attribute spiritual materials that she had spent several years gathering in the secret realm, all dumped right in front of her.
In interactions between fellow disciples, reciprocity was highly valued.
Shen Qingci pondered for a moment before speaking softly, “Eldest Senior Sister, you spent several years training in the secret realm, yet you prepared so many spiritual materials for me as soon as you returned to the sect. I've also been wearing that previous Sword Intent Talisman close to my heart.”
She stood up, walked over to Ji Lanyi, and bowed solemnly. “I haven't been on Wanjian Peak for very long, yet even while you were far away in the secret realm, you still thought of me twice. I will always remember this care.”
Ji Lanyi nodded slightly.
Shen Qingci straightened up and swept her divine sense into her storage ring. Her personal treasury was packed to the brim, with spirit stones, pills, artifacts, talismans, and spiritual materials neatly organized into categories.
Her divine sense rummaged through the pile of jade slips and wooden boxes at the very bottom, pulling out a jade slip. She levitated it with her spiritual energy and sent it floating before Ji Lanyi.
“Eldest Senior Sister, this is a copy of 《Cold River Snow Invitation》, an Earth-grade Low-rank cultivation technique.”
Ji Lanyi's eyes wavered slightly.
An Earth-grade cultivation technique was enough to serve as a sect-protecting treasure in any sect. Wanjian Peak's Seven Styles of Awakening was only Earth-grade Mid-rank, and that was their master's most prized, bottom-of-the-chest inheritance.
Yet her little junior sister had casually pulled out an Earth-grade Low-rank one!
She received the jade slip and sank her divine sense into it, flipping through a few pages. The sword momentum was intricate and long-lasting, freezing and solitary...
If a technique of this grade were sent to a Southern Region auction house, the starting bid would be in top-grade spirit stones, and the final transaction price would be enough to buy half of Wanjian Peak.
Seeing her accept it, Shen Qingci breathed a small sigh of relief.
Keeping this technique was indeed a bit awkward for her.
Once her senior sister reached the Soul Transformation realm in the future, she would ask System Mom for a Heaven-grade technique to switch to.
Her aunt and Hanzhou had cultivation techniques suited for the Shen family, so they had no use for it.
This 《Cold River Snow Invitation》 was neither too high nor too low, making it perfect for her eldest senior sister. The copy could be taken to an auction, and the resources exchanged would last her eldest senior sister a very long time.
At the same time, it would lighten their master's burden.
Thinking of it this way, Shen Qingci felt she was quite filial. She hadn't even held a grudge over her master writing fanfiction about her.
Ji Lanyi tucked the jade slip into her sleeve, her fingertip gently rubbing against its edge.
Her little junior sister's generosity made her think of the way her martial mother had pulled out a pseudo-Earth-grade artifact in the side hall earlier.
Could the speed at which A-Yuan and her little junior sister got together have been brute-forced by her little junior sister throwing spirit stones at her?
The stray thought was suppressed the moment it arose.
A-Yuan wasn't that kind of person!!!
But this level of wealth was truly terrifying, even more formidable than a heart demon tribulation.
Her fate was a solitary star, her connections to children and marriage both severed, so it didn't matter to her.
But if it were a cultivator with an unstable mind, this sheer financial power alone would be enough to shake their Dao Heart.
Ji Lanyi collected her thoughts and looked up at Shen Qingci.
Her little junior sister was standing before her with a polite smile, completely unaware that the Earth-grade technique she had just handed over had almost shaken her eldest senior sister's Dao Heart.
“Thank you,” she said flatly.
Shen Qingci shook her head, performed another Daoist bow, and then walked over to sit on the daybed.
“Senior Sister won't be out of the Sword Tomb for another four years.” She paused. “And Master probably won't be on Wanjian Peak anytime soon either. I want to go out and gain some experience. Does Eldest Senior Sister have any recommended places?”
Ji Lanyi lowered her eyes and began to calculate.
She pondered the options, not simply choosing dangerous lands, but selecting places where her junior sister could temper her sword dao without risking her life.
Her little junior sister had only just established her foundation yet could casually pull out an Earth-grade technique, so she certainly wouldn't lack secret guards.
Still, as the Eldest Senior Sister, she had to worry about what she ought to worry about.
“The outskirts of the Desolate Ancient Ruins can be entered by the Foundation Establishment stage, and the demon beasts there are mostly between Foundation Establishment and early Golden Core. There are a few abandoned mine pits in the outskirts where you can occasionally dig up fragments of various elemental spiritual marrow.”
“The Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Southern Region. The mountain range near the Azure Cloud Sect has early Golden Core demon beasts roaming around. If you go too deep, there are Nascent Soul demon beasts, so you must be extremely cautious.”
“Falling Star Gorge. There are wild spiritual plants on the cliffs on both sides of the gorge; their grades aren't high, but there is a complete variety. There is an underground river at the bottom of the gorge, and you can often find Mystic-grade star-fall iron along the riverbanks.”
She listed three places in succession, then paused, as if hesitating whether to continue.
“The Soul-Severing Cliff of the West Sea,” she finally said. “It lies at the border of the Western Region and the Eastern Region, a very long journey away. There are many sea beasts there, and those at the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages move in groups, rarely alone.”
“But the spiritual energy there is denser than in the Southern Region, and the cliffs are covered in thunderclouds year-round. You have a Lightning Spiritual Root, so training there will allow you to achieve twice the result with half the effort.”
Shen Qingci compared the locations one by one in her mind.
The first three places held no novelty, and only the Soul-Severing Cliff of the West Sea was most to her liking.
The thundercloud environment perfectly matched her own spiritual root, making it the perfect opportunity to see if she could touch the threshold of the Golden Core stage during the years her senior sister was in secluded cultivation.
She looked up. “Eldest Senior Sister, I will go to the Soul-Severing Cliff of the West Sea.”
Ji Lanyi nodded.
She had already given all the necessary warnings; it was fine for her little junior sister to make her own decision.
She stood up from her chair, paused for a step when she reached the door, and turned back.
“Be careful in everything.”
Shen Qingci was startled for a moment, then curved her lips. “Don't worry, Eldest Senior Sister. A-Ci hasn't waited for Senior Sister to come out of the Sword Tomb yet; I can't bear to die out there.”
Ji Lanyi's gaze fell on her, and she turned to leave the quiet room.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded down the corridor, steady and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
Shen Qingci watched the figure disappear at the end of the corridor, retracted her divine sense, and began to plan her itinerary.
The journey to the Western Region was long; even a cross-border Earth-grade flying vessel would take at least two months to fly.
In any case, she didn't lack spirit stones, so there was no need to suffer.
Aunt Shuyan had been back in Qinghe County for some time now. Having fought so thoroughly last time in the Floating Light Dragon-Prisoning Array, her hands must be itching for action.
The Western Region was filled with high-rank cultivators, making this a perfect win-win situation.
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