Twilight filled the stone steps of Wanjian Peak. Shen Qingci trod upon the fragmented gold of the setting sun as she walked toward Chi Yuan's cave dwelling.
The purple bamboo forest receded past her side as her divine sense plunged into her sea of consciousness. The Belief Value on her system panel had accumulated to over thirty-two thousand four hundred. She hadn't spent a single point in three months, waiting exactly for this very moment.
【One hundred consecutive pulls. Let's do this.】
The phantom of a wheel spread out with a whoosh, its needle spinning into a blur. Gray, white, blue, and purple lights flashed in rapid succession, with an occasional dazzling streak of pale gold mixed in.
White cards accounted for nearly half: fifty Peiyuan Pills, thirty sticks of Mind-Focusing Incense, eight hundred mid-grade spirit stones, a thousand catties of spiritual grain, five Yellow-grade High-rank robes...
The items were neatly stacked in the system space, but they weren't of much use. For her current self, the medicinal effects of the Peiyuan Pills were already negligible. It would be perfect to throw them to Yin Ruozhuo and the others later.
There were over a dozen blue cards: a Mystic-grade Mid-rank storage ring, fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones, three Mystic-grade High-rank robes, the 《Encyclopedia of Spiritual Materials Identification》, six sets of Tier 3 array plates...
Six purple cards: the Earth-grade Low-rank cultivation technique 《Cold River Snow Invitation》, a Heavenly Secret Pavilion intelligence token, three sets of Tier 4 trapping and killing array plates, five thousand high-grade spirit stones, an Earth-grade Low-rank soft armor, and two Tier 5 substitute talismans.
She stared at the substitute talismans a bit longer. They could block a fatal blow once. Having two was just right—she would keep one for herself and find a way to slip the other to Chi Yuan.
Gray light flashed twenty-eight times, all of them "Thank you for playing." She didn't even bother to look.
On the eighty-fifth pull, a deep purple beam of light suddenly shot up. It was far more intense than the previous purple cards, and its edges were even outlined with a thin ring of pale gold.
【Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Deep Purple Card · Shadow Division Secret Guard x100】
Name: Shadow Division Secret Guard (Shadow One to Shadow One Hundred)
Age: A secret guard's little secret
Realm: Ranging from early Nascent Soul to late Nascent Soul stage
Identity: Exclusive secret guards of the Shen family's direct line, handpicked and trained by the Family Head since childhood. Previously, they were dispersed and lay dormant across the Southern Region on the Family Head's secret orders. Upon receiving the activation command from the direct lineage, they will immediately assemble toward the Azure Cloud Sect.
Spiritual Roots: Mostly dual spiritual roots, combinations like Metal-Earth, Fire-Wood, Water-Lightning, etc., with high-grade spiritual roots being the majority
Cultivation Techniques: 《Shadow Kill Art》 (Earth-grade Low-rank), Breath-Concealment Spell
Personality: Absolute obedience, taciturn, each has their own strengths, fiercely loyal to the heir of the direct line
Special Abilities: Proficient in stealth, assassination, intelligence gathering, and coordinated combat. One hundred people can form the Shadow Kill Array, which can trap and kill an early Soul Transformation cultivator.
Remarks: These characters possess complete intelligence and emotions and cannot be resurrected after death. Please treat them well, Host. The secret guards are branded with the soul imprint of the Shen family's direct line. They only need to be triggered by a divine sense of the same bloodline to acknowledge their master. This is not restricted by the host's cultivation level, and commands can be issued directly through the sea of consciousness.
Shen Qingci's throat felt dry, and her breathing slowed by half a beat.
One hundred Nascent Soul stage secret guards who could slay a Soul Transformation cultivator when forming an array. This was the kind of foundation a daughter of the Shen family should have. This single pull had hit the ultimate jackpot.
She steadied her mind and continued looking at the last dozen or so pulls.
On the ninety-third pull, a pale golden light lit up.
【Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Gold Card · High-rank Artifact Refiner】
Name: Shen Nanxing (Alias: Nanzhu, known as Mr. Nan)
Age: A man's secret
Realm: Early Soul Transformation stage
Identity: A branch member of the Shen family, Shen Qingci's distant older cousin. Many years ago, he traveled to the Southern Region and lived incognito as an artifact refiner. He was ordered by the Family Head early on to hide and lay groundwork in the Southern Region. Having recently received the signal from the direct lineage, he has confirmed the Eldest Young Lady's identity and is settled in Qinghe County, awaiting deployment.
Spiritual Roots: Fire and Wood dual spiritual roots (high-grade)
Cultivation Techniques: 《Nine-Forging True Fire Art》 (Earth-grade High-rank)
Personality: Bold and uninhibited, talkative and reliable, obsessed with artifact refining. He has an extremely strong sense of belonging to the Shen family's direct line and puts the Eldest Young Lady first in everything.
Special Abilities: Capable of refining Earth-grade High-rank magic treasures, with a chance to reach Heaven-grade Low-rank. Expert at repairing magic treasures, adding a layer of strengthening inscriptions after repair.
Remarks: This character possesses complete intelligence and emotions and cannot be resurrected after death. Please treat him well, Host. He owns the "Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop," located in the East Market of Qinghe County, which is quite famous among Southern Region cultivators. No one knows of his Shen family origins.
On the ninety-eighth pull, another pale golden light spread out.
【Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Gold Card · High-rank Formation Master】
Name: Shen Tinglan (Alias: Ancestor Tinglan)
Age: Forever eighteen!!! (Inquire and get poked in the eye)
Realm: Late Soul Transformation stage
Identity: A member of the Shen family's direct line, the biological young aunt of the Shen family's Eldest Young Lady. In her youth, she joined the Tianyan Sect of the Eastern Region to study the Dao of Arrays. Due to internal sect conflicts, she left and traveled the Southern Region incognito. Two years ago, she was ordered by the Family Head to hide and lay groundwork in the Southern Region. Having recently received the signal from the direct lineage, she has confirmed her niece's identity and is settled in Qinghe County, awaiting deployment.
Spiritual Roots: Water spiritual root (high-grade)
Cultivation Techniques: 《Heavenly River Array Art》, 《Tianyan Array Insights》 (both are Earth-grade High-rank)
Personality: Gentle and quiet, decisive in action. Usually loves brewing tea and tending to flowers, but employs ruthless methods when her bottom line is crossed. Extremely protective of the Shen family's younger generation.
Special Abilities: Proficient in trapping, killing, illusion, and teleportation arrays, and can set up Heaven-grade Low-rank grand arrays. Carries forty-eight pre-made array plates, which can be triggered instantly.
Remarks: This character possesses complete intelligence and emotions and cannot be resurrected after death. Please treat her well, Host. She has partnered with Shen Nanxing for many years and is quite famous in the Southern Region. No one associates the two of them with the Northern Region Shen Family.
Shen Qingci looked over the two gold cards repeatedly.
A clan uncle and a biological young aunt, both at the Soul Transformation stage, had both gone incognito and taken root in the Southern Region to lay groundwork for many years. The outside world only knew the names of Mr. Nan and Ancestor Tinglan; absolutely no one associated these two surnames with the Northern Region Shen Family.
The background of the Shen family as a hidden powerhouse suddenly became incredibly solid.
The last two pulls were a white card and a blue card, completing all one hundred pulls. In total, there were twenty-eight "Thank you for playing" cards, forty-five white cards, eighteen blue cards, six purple cards, one deep purple card, and two gold cards.
This wave was a complete turnaround. The unlucky player had finally stood up.
She closed the panel, in no hurry to bring out all the secret guards. The Azure Cloud Sect was only a tiny place; a hundred-odd unfamiliar faces suddenly appearing would be too eye-catching. She would activate twenty of them first to lurk around the sect's periphery, leaving the rest until right before they set off.
"Shadow Division, hear my command." Her divine sense condensed into a line and engraved itself into her sea of consciousness. "Shadow One to Shadow Twenty, immediately choose hidden strongholds within a hundred-mile radius outside the Azure Cloud Sect to lie in wait. Do not breach the warning range of the mountain-protecting array. Do not alert anyone."
Twenty responses bounced back in her sea of consciousness, short and crisp.
【Shadow One obeys.】
【Shadow Two obeys.】
...
【Shadow Twenty obeys.】
Having finished tidying up, she lifted her feet and continued toward her senior sister's cave dwelling.
Chi Yuan lived on a cliff on the southern side of Wanjian Peak. Her three stone chambers had been carved out directly with a sword. In front of the door was a green stone terrace, with several clumps of gladiolus planted along the edge, looking quite desolate.
Shen Qingci stood at the bottom of the stone steps, took out a transmission talisman, and flicked it inside. "Senior Sister, are you there? Shen Qingci requests an audience."
After a brief moment, the stone door was pushed open from within. Chi Yuan walked out, wearing a narrow-sleeved long robe, her pitch-black hair casually tied into a bun with a jade hairpin.
The twilight fell upon her profile. Her brow and eyes still held that icy, detached air, but when her gaze landed on Shen Qingci, the corners of her eyes softened visibly.
Rate on N.U.
