Wanxiang

As soon as Li Nanzhu and Duan Xianxing returned to the sect, she received a transmission from Feng Yi.

She had no choice but to let the blacklisted Duan Xianxing carry her over again; otherwise, she had no idea how long it would take to climb up to Sovereign Peak.

Feng Yi was already waiting in the main hall.

"Master."

The two of them bowed respectfully. Only then did they notice Mu Wenyan was also present, likely having already briefed Feng Yi on their trip. She wondered why she had been called here as well.

"You've broken through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation?"

Feng Yi arched an eyebrow. It seemed his youngest disciple was even more hardworking than his eldest had described.

"Come here, let me see."

Li Nanzhu obediently stepped forward and felt a gentle surge of spiritual energy envelop her.

"Your foundation is solid, but your actions on this trip were a bit too aggressive. You need to rest and recuperate now; otherwise, damaging your foundation will make it very difficult to advance in the future. For the next month, do not continue your cultivation. After using your qi, wait for your body to absorb spiritual energy automatically—do not actively draw it in."

As the words fell, Mu Wenyan and Duan Xianxing turned to look at her, their eyes filled with a clear message: 'See? Happy now? Still want to fight so recklessly?'

Li Nanzhu gave two dry coughs to quickly change the subject.

"This disciple understands. Um, Master, this disciple obtained a strange pen from a rogue cultivator during this trip. Could Master help me take a look at what it is?"

She took out the object and handed it to Feng Yi.

Feng Yi didn't pay much attention at first, but the moment he held it, he cast a glance at it, suddenly straightened up, and began to examine it closely.

The three of them, seeing Feng Yi so uncharacteristically serious, thought something was wrong and grew nervous.

"This item... it seems to be a yellow-grade spirit tool?"

"A yellow-grade spirit tool?!"

The trio's eyes widened in disbelief.

Magic tools in the cultivation world were ranked from tier 1 to tier 9. Tiers 1 through 3 were low-grade, 4 through 6 were mid-grade, and 7 through 9 were high-grade. Above those were the Yellow, Profound, Earth, and Heaven grades. Generally, items at these levels were referred to as spirit tools rather than magic tools, as there was a high possibility of them developing a tool spirit.

As for the even higher-ranking immortal tools and divine tools, they were the stuff of legends; no one had ever seen them.

In the current cultivation world, there were only a handful of high-grade magic tools, mostly crafted by the elders and sect master of the Water Moon Sect, and even they didn't succeed every time.

Spirit tools of the yellow or profound grades were already the kind of treasures used to guard the foundations of the Eight Sects.

And now he was telling her that this item she had looted was that powerful?

"If this thing is so powerful, perhaps it should be kept with Master for safekeeping. This disciple doesn't feel at ease holding onto it."

Feng Yi glanced at Li Nanzhu, seeing right through her little scheme.

"Enough. It's just a yellow-grade spirit tool; did you think I'd steal it from you? Rest assured, I have no use for such a thing. However, there seems to be a seal on it. I'll need to break the seal first, which should take about three or four days."

After all, Feng Yi was the great antagonist, and Li Nanzhu wasn't that familiar with him yet, so she couldn't fully trust him.

Knowing the item was of such high quality, she decided it was better to hand it over to ensure her own safety.

What she never expected was that Feng Yi wouldn't even care about a yellow-grade spirit tool.

Just what was Feng Yi's background?

But one thing was certain: since Feng Yi said so, he likely truly didn't care. This meant she now possessed something akin to a sect-guarding treasure. Even in the original story, it seemed Cang Dongqing had never obtained such a spirit tool, right?

"I didn't expect Master to see through it. Then this disciple thanks Master for helping to break the seal! Master really is the best master in the whole world!"

"Wow, Little Junior Sister, you really hit the jackpot!"

"Congratulations, Little Junior Sister."

Mu Wenyan and Duan Xianxing were genuinely happy for Li Nanzhu. After all, she was their little sister, and she had obtained the item through her own ability.

Furthermore, both were sword cultivators with their own life-bound swords, so they weren't particularly interested in other types of spirit tools.

"And thank you both as well, Senior Brothers. If you hadn't taken me out for experience, I wouldn't have had the chance to get it!"

"Alright, alright, go celebrate somewhere else. I'll break the seal for your little sister as soon as possible. If it's suitable, this might even serve as her life-bound treasure."

Feng Yi waved them off irritably. In the end, he was the one doing the hard work while these youngsters were all happy. They were always so formal with him—was he really that strict? Didn't he just like to sleep?

Was he really getting that old? Was he out of touch with his disciples' thinking?

"Understood!"

The three of them scampered off in a flash.

Feng Yi: "..."

...

After returning, Duan Xianxing went into seclusion, saying he felt his mastery over sword qi was insufficient and needed more diligent practice. He was determined to make his First Senior Brother and Little Junior Sister look at him in a new light.

"Seventh Senior Brother, you really don't have to because of—"

"By the way, if First Senior Brother takes you to beat up Li Nanyi, you must remember to call me! You must!"

Li Nanzhu's unspoken words got stuck in her throat. Based on her First Senior Brother's personality and her current understanding of Duan Xianxing, she knew he wasn't the type who enjoyed seclusion.

But after returning from the Flowing Cloud Secret Realm, he had proactively requested seclusion, which was definitely related to her being injured in the sneak attack.

However, Duan Xianxing's sentence made Li Nanzhu swallow her words back down.

Fine, she shouldn't have worried about him brooding over it.

She should be more worried about herself. Even Feng Yi said she needed to rest, so she certainly couldn't do anything else for now.

But it worked out. She was only one level away from breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Condensation. Once she took the jade marrow pill, she could begin her push toward the Foundation Establishment stage. She wasn't in a hurry.

Besides, the one who should be in a bigger hurry was Cang Dongqing.

Since she had time this month, she could finally visit the Library Pavilion she had been thinking about to properly learn the basics of the cultivation world.

However, because Mu Wenyan had seen her reckless side, he made a point to check on her every day to see if she was secretly cultivating.

It was only after Li Nanzhu repeatedly guaranteed she wouldn't gamble with her future path that Mu Wenyan finally let it go.

Still, he would visit her daily without fail, bringing spiritual fruits that could nourish her meridians.

She had to admit, spiritual fruits were delicious.

After spending three days in the Library Pavilion, Mu Wenyan took her to see Feng Yi.

"Wow, this pen turned out to be so beautiful!"

The pen looked completely different than it had three days ago. Originally, it had been gray and dusty, looking almost like trash. But with the seal broken, the body of the pen had become as translucent as real crystal-glaze.

Upon closer inspection, there were faint gold threads entwined around it, and even the tip of the pen shimmered with a weak spiritual light. It was impossible to tell what material it was made of.

If not for the patterns on it being exactly the same, Li Nanzhu would have thought Feng Yi had swapped it.

"I don't yet know the purpose of the patterns on it, but when spiritual energy flows through them, it further strengthens the output. It can amplify the power of an attack several times over. However, it scales with your cultivation level. With your current power, you can probably only amplify it by about double."

"Double! And it can grow?"

Li Nanzhu was beyond pleasantly surprised. Wouldn't that mean she could unleash more powerful attacks with the same amount of spiritual energy?

"At the very bottom of this pen are the two characters for 'Wanxiang.' That should be its name."

Hearing this, Li Nanzhu looked at the end of the pen but only saw two strange symbols.

"The script does not belong to this realm; it's normal that you can't read it. Your fortune in the Dao is truly excellent this time. This is quite a grand opportunity."

Feng Yi remarked with some emotion.

Doesn't belong to this realm? Could it be something from the upper realm?

Li Nanzhu was startled. Feng Yi actually knew the origin of this item. He hadn't praised it like this when he called it a yellow-grade spirit tool, but now that he said this, the pen's origin was likely extraordinary. Just what was the background of this cheap master of hers?