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Qin Shu followed behind Wen Chi and toured her new cave dwelling, feeling quite satisfied.

This place was at least a two-bedroom apartment with a practice room, much more spacious than the small wooden house she had before.

"This place is engraved with a Spirit Gathering Array to assist your cultivation," Wen Chi explained.

Upon hearing this, Qin Shu immediately concentrated and sensed the dense spiritual energy in the air. She almost shed a tear out of gratitude.

The inner sect was already close to a spiritual vein, and with the Spirit Gathering Array, even someone like her with a three-spirit root, considered a useless physique, wouldn't have to rely on spiritual pills during the day anymore.

Wen Chi noticed the emotional shift in her and chuckled, "Alright, take a look around for now. Tomorrow, at the hour of Chen, make sure to visit your Master next door."

Qin Shu nodded obediently, and Wen Chi raised an eyebrow, adding, "I'm sure your Master has prepared a gift for you as well, right?"

Hearing this, Qin Shu's blood surged with excitement, and she almost felt intoxicated.

The gifts from these high-level figures could easily make someone like her strike it rich. She looked up at Wen Chi, her eyes sparkling like a little treasure hunter. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother! I'll make sure to go early tomorrow."

After sending Wen Chi away, Qin Shu opened the restrictions on her cave dwelling and took out her personal items from her Qiankun bag to tidy up. Then she took out a communication jade slip and sent a message to He Xin.

"Sister, I've become a disciple of Master Lingxu."

He Xin's reply came almost instantly. When Qin Shu opened the message, she was greeted by an excited scream.

Startled, Qin Shu quickly read the barrage of messages that followed.

"No way? That's too amazing!"

"Didn't Master Lingxu accept Chi Yu from the Sword Sect?"

"Where are you now? Could it be that your spot was replaced? Ask if you can still join the inner sect!"

...

Worried that He Xin might overthink things, Qin Shu quickly replied, "No, don't worry. Master Lingxu took in two disciples, and I'm one of them. But I'm probably just an accompanist for Chi Yu, since we're similar in age."

He Xin finally relaxed and replied, "If you're just an accompanist, it's still way better than being in the outer sect. Although it'll be hard for us to meet up again, sigh..."

Hearing a trace of loneliness in her voice, Qin Shu comforted her, "There's a sect competition next year, right? Your talent is far better than mine, you're one of the best in the outer sect. If you work hard, entering the inner sect will be just a matter of time."

He Xin couldn't help but laugh at her childish yet wise words, "I know, little girl. Take care of yourself in the inner sect."

Though He Xin was already working hard, she was still a 12-year-old girl, and sometimes her playful nature would show. But this event had truly motivated her, and she was determined to focus on her cultivation from now on.

Qin Shu put away the jade slip and walked outside. The area surrounding her cave was filled with roses. Thanks to the nourishment of spiritual energy, the roses bloomed in vibrant shades of purple and red.

Behind the cave was a pond, and when Qin Shu got closer, she was surprised to find that it was fresh water! This meant she could bathe here!

The surrounding area had formations drawn by the sect, and as long as she activated the restrictions, it would be her little world.

Qin Shu was very pleased. Being a cultivator had given her a two-bedroom apartment, complete with a pond and a small garden.

If she were in her past life, she didn't know how many years after graduating from university it would take to afford even a small house.

She happily returned to the practice room in her cave. The room had a skylight in the ceiling, and the moonlight filtered in. Everything seemed perfectly arranged.

She sat down in the Spirit Gathering Array to meditate and relax, and the night passed quickly.

The first ray of sunlight on the next morning had just entered when Qin Shu had already finished washing up and was heading to the nearby peak.

She gathered spiritual energy under her feet and ran swiftly toward the neighboring peak.

However, by the end of the Chen hour, neither Master Lingxu nor Chi Yu had seen any sign of Qin Shu.

Wen Chi casually asked, "Master, could it be that this little girl overslept?"

Cheng Yan frowned as well. For someone on the path of immortality to be so lazy, they'd have to give her a good lesson later.

"No worries, she's young, being lazy is normal. She'll grow out of it," Master Lingxu replied, his face showing no sign of anger, and instead, he was laughing.

He was always lenient with children who showed talent.

Standing next to Cheng Yan, Chi Yu, dressed in a fiery red outfit with waist-length braided hair, had a red feather on top of her head.

Hearing their conversation, she furrowed her brows and seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Noticing her discomfort, Master Lingxu called her name, "Chi Yu, do you have something to say?"

Chi Yu, being called out, stepped forward respectfully, clasping her hands in a salute. "Master, I was thinking, maybe she took a long time to come from her mountain? The two peaks are far apart, and I was lucky to be able to fly over because I'm a Fire Spirit Bird."

Master Lingxu understood now. His disciples came from prestigious families, and even when their cultivation was low, they had family gifts to assist them, so they didn't need to walk on foot.

As for Qin Shu, she was from a common family, had no spiritual tools, and couldn't fly on a sword, so she had to make the journey on foot.

Wen Chi laughed lightly, then disappeared in a flash. "Master, I'll go meet the little girl."

Cheng Yan was about to go meet her but was beaten to it by Wen Chi.

He could only stop, listening to his Master saying with curiosity, "What's with Wen Chi today? He's not usually so nice to everyone."

Cheng Yan shook his head, "Second Junior Brother is straightforward and does whatever he likes. I can't figure him out."

Master Lingxu didn't press the matter. As long as the disciples got along well, he was happy to see that.

Qin Shu had already climbed halfway up the mountain and paused to catch her breath.

It was truly absurd. There were no roads on her Master's mountain, so she had to blaze a trail herself.

Luckily, she had left early; otherwise, she'd probably still be climbing by nightfall.

She touched her face, which had been scratched by branches, and winced at the pain.

It really hurt!

She used her spiritual energy to transform it into Wood Elemental Energy and circulated it around the wound, which eased the pain slightly.

"Turns out you're here," a familiar voice came from above her head.

Qin Shu looked up and saw Wen Chi floating in the air, looking down at her. Today, he wore white, his clothes spotless, one hand behind his back and the other resting on his chest.

When he saw Qin Shu's face, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a poor little thing. Look at your face, it's all smeared like this."

Qin Shu felt like he was just here to watch her suffer, and she wiped her face with her sleeve again.

Unexpectedly, as she wiped, the blood, dirt, and grass juice on her face got smeared even worse.

Wen Chi couldn't bear to watch anymore. He waved his sleeve, and Qin Shu was lifted up, flying toward the peak.

Then, as the spiritual power around her faded, she dropped straight into the pond.

"Plop."

Great, Wen Chi. Beautiful girls never forget.