Chapter 111: Chapter 46: Could the Senior Female Disciple Be the Female Lead?
Ling Yunpo rapidly propelled the Sword Light, his Divine Sense sweeping over the treasures in the surrounding caves, so thrilled that his heart almost surged.
The Fire Element Cave contained numerous treasure caves, and the one they were in at the moment was the third cave deep within.
The rare treasures inside were much more uncommon than those in the first and second caves.
For example, there were almost countless Tenth Rank Flying Swords, Magical Treasures, and various Elixirs and strange objects, and so on.
Ling Yunpo even saw a fragment of a scripture on Purple Mansion Thunder, which was the Seventh Thunder among the ten types of Thunder Method that Qiu Changtian was collecting.
If it weren’t for the Mercurial Elixir Liquid, he almost couldn’t help but exchange for it.
Continuing to lower his Sword Light for a moment, Ling Yunpo then saw a candlestick placed inside another cave, with a tiny flame flickering upon it.
This was a sliver of the Great Sun True Yang Fire, one of the Innate Five Elements True Veins! An essential for the ascension of the Five Elements Divine Light!
“No, restrain yourself! You have to restrain yourself!” Ling Yunpo repeatedly brainwashed himself, forcefully suppressing the urge to take the Innate Fire, and continued to lower the Sword Light.
Only one’s own cultivation level is the foundation! All external objects and external methods are illusory!
As he thought this, he suddenly heard Senior Sister An calling out to him below:
“Junior Brother!”
Ling Yunpo hurriedly turned into Sword Light and rushed over, arriving next to An Zhisu.
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Indeed, in the cave next to her, he saw the Mercurial Elixir Liquid contained in a small bottle, about the size of a spoon.
“Senior Sister, you…” Ling Yunpo was just about to say something when he was interrupted by An Zhisu, “You go take it first, I’ll keep looking.”
“Okay.” Ling Yunpo didn’t hesitate, reasoning that if Senior Sister didn’t find a second bottle of Mercurial Elixir Liquid, he would just exchange this one with her—it was all the same.
Having taken the Mercurial Elixir Liquid, he then steered the Sword Light in a circle, noting the locations of the previously seen Purple Mansion Thunder and Great Sun True Yang Fire, before finally soaring up quickly to rejoin the Golden Core True Person.
Even though the Golden Core True Person was positioned high in the sky, resting with eyes closed, in reality, he monitored everyone’s movements below through the Xuanguang Ruler.
Seeing Ling Yunpo’s Sword Light returning, he knew the other party had taken the Mercurial Elixir Liquid, but he just nodded slightly without making a sound.
Soon after, Lin Duanshan and Duan Fenhai, one after another, also returned.
About ten minutes later, An Zhisu also rose into the sky on her Flying Sword, nodding and smiling at Ling Yunpo from afar, indicating that she had also found it.
With only seconds left in the quarter hour, Guan Shanyue still continued to search below, her Sword Light flying extremely fast, circling in a flash, then swiftly spiraling down another level.
Suddenly, she reached out like lightning and grabbed something from a certain cave, then immediately merged body with sword, transforming into a streak of light rapidly ascending!
Stopping abruptly before the Golden Core True Person, Guan Shanyue’s fatigued face emerged, smiling and asking:
“May I ask True Person, am I out of time?”
“A few breaths short.” The Golden Core True Person said calmly, wavering the Xuanguang Ruler again to split light into flowers, covering everyone’s bodies, then pulled up the Sword Light and left.
After a series of twists and turns inside the Fire Element Cave, as they followed the Golden Core True Person’s left and right turns according to the colorful light of the Xuanguang Ruler, they finally went through a long vertical passage, leaving the deep underground and returning to the valley.
“Three days later, at chen hour, gather on the cliff top of the Thunder Cave Flat, to enter the Demon Locking Tower for the trial!”
Leaving these words behind, the Golden Core True Person’s Sword Light shot up into the sky, heading towards the direction of the Emei Golden Summit.
The rest also quickly activated their Sword Lights, eager to leave, except for An Zhisu and Ling Yunpo, who leisurely went side by side, chatting and laughing all the way, slowly returning to the daoist convent on Qingluo Peak.
“Senior Sister, did you get the Mercurial Elixir Liquid?” Right after entering the convent, Ling Yunpo confirmed.
“Yes, I got it.” An Zhisu took out a transparent Purifying Bottle from her sleeve, within which was a sphere of golden liquid, rolling and bouncing at the bottom of the bottle as if endowed with sentience.
“Good, Senior Sister, go to the inner chamber to refine it quickly. I’ll stand guard for you outside.” Ling Yunpo immediately said.
An Zhisu hummed in agreement; after all, her junior brother’s words had no issue, so she turned and walked toward the secret chamber inside the mountain where Su Jian was in seclusion.
Ling Yunpo stood guard outside, took out the Mercurial Elixir Liquid he had obtained, and silently began to ponder.
Common sense dictated that an item capable of enhancing the pill formation grade should naturally be consumed at the earliest opportunity, to avoid unforeseen complications.
However, Ling Yunpo’s own level had yet to reach the Refining Mansion stage.
With his Purple Mansion still unformed, taking the Mercurial Elixir Liquid would harden his Dantian, turning what should be a panacea into poison instead.
Therefore, he needed to find a secure place to store it.
After much thought, the only suitable place seemed to be the secret chamber within Qingluo Peak. Any other location appeared to bear the risk of theft…
He fretted over this for a long time, until finally An Zhisu finished refining the medicinal strength and gracefully emerged from her seclusion.
Senior Sister An had changed into a light yellow dress, her hair pinned up with a jade hairpin, with the excess hair woven into a braid that fell from the side of her neck to her chest, adding an especially soft and enchanting charm.
Seeing that Senior Sister An’s divine light was subdued and her eyes were profound, Ling Yunpo knew that she had perfected her Purple Mansion and had greatly advanced her realm, equivalent to an added sixty years of arduous cultivation.
“Senior Sister, how was your refinement?”
“Very good,” answered An Zhisu with a smile, “The Mercurial Elixir Liquid truly deserves its reputation as a Foundation Establishment strange object. With each thread refined, my Purple Mansion became a bit more rounded and perfect.”
“In the end, the inner wall of the Dantian became nearly as white as snow and as bright as jade, and my Daoist Foundation was also much more stable than before.”
“Senior Sister,” Ling Yunpo said with a smile, “If I remember correctly, this means your Purple Mansion is approaching perfection, stepping into what is known as the ‘Jade Mansion’ realm.”
“Based on past experience, those who establish the Jade Mansion before you form the core have about a seventy-percent chance of forming a Third Grade Golden Core.”
“If the core is of high grade, then the Nascent Soul might have the prospect of forming an Immortal Infant; with an Immortal Infant formed, there is a chance to become a saint in the flesh, and then a Daluo Golden Immortal… doesn’t that mean I would be the junior brother of a Daluo Golden Immortal?”
“Don’t be silly,” said An Zhisu with a radiant smile, “Do you think reaching Daluo Golden Immortal status is that easy? Every step must be flawless, only then there’s a minuscule chance of achieving it… Anyway, you won’t need your Mercurial Elixir Liquid for now, just keep it in the secret chamber for the time being.”
“Understood,” Ling Yunpo immediately responded.
The two once again passed through the inner hall, secret chamber, and tunnel, ultimately arriving in front of the stone wall where Su Jian was in seclusion.
An Zhisu opened the secret compartment underground and carefully placed the Mercurial Elixir Liquid inside.
Seeing her solemn and earnest demeanor, Ling Yunpo couldn’t help feeling moved. He suddenly recalled what Guan Shanyue had said about the Sentiment Inquiry Path.
“Senior Sister,” he asked cautiously, “I heard that our Shushan has three different routes of cultivation doctrines, right?”
“Cultivation doctrines?” An Zhisu appeared slightly surprised, “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Because most of us Sword Immortals are of profound sentiments, we’re far more susceptible to falling into demonic states due to emotions and love than those of the Kunlun and Penglai sects.”
“For this reason, our sect has three distinct attitudes towards handling mortal love and affections: one is to exterminate emotions and desires, another is to forget emotions and achieve tranquility, and the third is to inquire into feelings with the sword.”
She explained the three schools of thought in detail, which were similar to Guan Shanyue’s explanations.
The path of exterminating emotions centers on oneself, eradicating love;
The path of forgetting love is to experience passionate love followed by separation, seeing through the mortal world;
The Sentiment Inquiry Path is about knowing and staying by someone’s side, never leaving nor forsaking.
To draw a parallel with web novels, the path of exterminating emotions has no female lead, the forgetting love path is like literary romance, and the Sentiment Inquiry Path entails feeding dog food (romance).
“So, Senior Sister, which path do you plan to follow?” Ling Yunpo finally asked the crucial question.
An Zhisu paused for a moment before lowering her head and saying:
“I… of course I plan to continue our master’s teachings.”