Ji Qing explained, “Your Second Senior Brother has gone out for training, your Fourth Senior Brother has returned to the mortal world to handle some matters, your Seventh and Eighth Senior Brothers should both be in secluded cultivation, and Elder Qing has to manage the affairs of the entire sect. So right now, in the whole sect, only Master has time!”
You Yu widened her eyes, stunned by the current state of Taiyi Zong.
The entire sect—there really were only a few of them?!
She had thought the novel was exaggerating, but it turned out it was all true!
Even the dignified sect master had to go down and pull weeds. This sect was really scraping the bottom of the barrel!
Ji Qing took out a paper crane, injected Lingli into it, and the crane grew larger. She brought You Yu aboard, and they began to slowly fly toward the other mountain peaks.
“This is my peak, this is your Second Senior Brother’s…” Ji Qing flew past all eight peaks one by one, then hovered in mid-air and asked her, “Which peak do you want?”
You Yu had thought those courtyards earlier were where everyone lived, but she hadn’t expected that here, each person got their own entire mountain peak. Thinking about how other sects described in the novel had hundreds or thousands of people on a single peak, Taiyi Zong really was… extravagant!
She casually picked the one closest to them, convenient for her to drop by and visit—ahem, to seek guidance.
Ji Qing brought her down, then sent out a transmission talisman.
Before long, Third Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, and Sixth Senior Brother all arrived.
“This place is nice. I wanted this peak before, but Master wouldn’t give it to me,” Fifth Senior Brother He Fan said enviously.
You Yu was curious: “Why?”
“Master said I wasn’t suited for a position in the middle.”
“Huh?”
“Haven’t you noticed? This is the most central peak.”
You Yu thought back—indeed, it was the most central position.
Moreover, the peak was perfectly square, with due east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest all aligned exactly.
“Master wouldn’t let you choose this peak. Does that mean I can’t live here either?”
“Master didn’t say anything, so that means it’s fine,” Ji Qing said. “See where you want to set up your courtyard.”
Since Ji Qing said it was fine, she stopped worrying. She circled an empty area on the mountainside where there was a cliff, a pool of water, and a bamboo grove.
Right here.
“So it’s here?” Ji Qing asked.
“Yeah, although the grass is a bit deep, but…”
Before You Yu could finish her sentence, Ji Qing sent a burst of fire over, and the area became completely barren—not even ashes remained.
You Yu: “…” Sorry, reading about it in a book and experiencing it firsthand really were different.
Then she got excited again. This world was truly amazing!
After Ji Qing had dealt with the weeds, she looked at the little one whose mouth was hanging open and smiled. “There should be a courtyard in the Storage Bag Master gave you. Take it out, bind it with your blood, and place it over there.”
Hmm? It was that convenient?
You Yu put her Divine Sense into the Storage Bag and indeed saw a courtyard model. She took it out, dripped blood on it to bind it, and after feeling her connection to the model, she controlled it to enlarge and then placed it on the empty ground in front.
“Is this a Shengqi?” You Yu asked.
Spirit Tools didn’t have the function of expanding and shrinking like this.
“Yes. Every disciple who joins has two sets of courtyards—one to keep at the sect, and one for traveling.”
You Yu looked in the Storage Bag again and sure enough, there was another courtyard of the same style inside.
“Senior Sister, didn’t you say our sect was very poor?”
Poor? Could a poor sect casually use Shengqi?
Moreover, in other sects, a Shengqi would be considered a treasure of the sect, but in Taiyi Zong, it was only fit to be a courtyard?
“Master gave these. It seems he can only refine this kind of courtyard. This is a sore spot for Master, so don’t bring it up in front of him.”
“A sore spot?”
“Master seems to only be able to refine these—he can’t refine any other Shengqi,” He Fan explained.
“Oh. I understand.” You Yu got it. If she could refine Shengqi but could only make courtyards, she wouldn’t like others mentioning it in front of her either.
“The courtyard comes with a Zhenfa. If you don’t want to be disturbed, just activate the formation.”
“Got it.”
“This is a welcome gift from your Senior Sister.” Ji Qing took out a Storage Bag. “Your Senior Sister doesn’t know anything else—I only know Alchemy. Don’t think less of it.”
You Yu accepted the Storage Bag with both hands. “I wouldn’t dare think less of it. Thank you, Senior Sister.”
“This is mine.” Liao Xing tossed over a Storage Bag.
As a Jianxiu, he usually didn’t have many things, so he gave a bag full of Lingshi.
Five thousand Lower-grade Spirit Stones—that was already half of his entire wealth.
“This is mine.” He Fan was the wealthiest among them, so he gave a set of defensive accessories: a hairpin, earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace.
Each piece could block three attacks below the Jindan period.
That meant it could block fifteen attacks at Golden Core Initial Stage!
These were life-saving treasures!
Rong Xuan gave her two Zhenpan—one focused on defense, one focused on attack.
Rong Xuan said somewhat apologetically, “Your Sixth Senior Brother’s gifts are a bit inferior—they can only handle those below Foundation Establishment Perfection.”
“They’re still very good. Thank you, Sixth Senior Brother.” They were all fine things, and You Yu liked them all.
Seeing that You Yu’s expression seemed genuine, Rong Xuan gave a slight smile.
“Alright, you’ve been traveling for two or three months—get some proper rest. If anything comes up, just contact us directly.”
“Understood, Senior Sister, Third Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother—take care.”
You Yu watched them leave before stepping into her own courtyard.
The courtyard was simple: just a surrounding wall, a bare yard, and a few rooms. There was a living room, a bedroom, a cultivation chamber, a washroom, and a kitchen.
Seeing the kitchen made her happy. Back when she was stressed from studying, cooking had always been her way to unwind.
After touring the courtyard, she went to the bedroom. It was plain—just a canopy bed, a table, and two stools. But the bed was made with fresh bedding, so she could rest right away.
You Yu fumbled around for a bit, activated the courtyard’s Zhenfa, then boiled water for a bath. Only after soaking did she throw herself onto the new bed.
She fell asleep instantly.
Though cultivation could dispel fatigue, coming from the modern world, she still wanted to sleep a little.
Ever since arriving in this world and learning of the original body’s fate, she hadn’t dared to rest, afraid she might follow the same path.
Now that she was at Taiyi Zong—small, poor, and low in overall strength as it was—at least she had a Huashen-period master, and her senior sisters and brothers seemed easy to get along with.
The tension that had kept her strung tight finally loosened a bit, and she wanted a short nap.
She slept for three hours—well, one and a half shichen. When she woke, she was hungry.
She rummaged through her Storage Bag and found not a single Bigudan left.
There was no food to eat either.
She circled the courtyard but found nothing edible, so she had to contact Ji Qing.
Ji Qing flew over and saw You Yu crouching by the gate, drawing circles with a wooden stick. Her small frame looked lonely and pitiful in the hazy twilight.