The morning light was faint, and the early dawn had just begun to peek through.
Jiang Lingsu wore a long green dress with fluttering gauzy ribbons, resembling a green serpent maiden.
A trace of weariness still lingered in her lively eyes. She brushed aside the stray hair by her temples and murmured to herself, "I seem to have lost a piece of Jinyuan Jade yesterday. Sigh, unfortunately, it's not sold anywhere in the Divine Light Sect. I can only make do."
Jinyuan Jade was originally a type of spiritual jade. When burned, it released a profound fragrance that brightened the eyes and refreshed the spirit.
Yesterday, when her puppet cleaned the room, it tossed an unfinished piece into the trash heap.
Had it been in the past, she wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
But this was the Divine Light Sect, and replacements could not be bought here.
She decided to go to the trash heap and retrieve it.
Arriving by the trash heap, she covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve, preparing to summon her puppet to dig out that piece of Jinyuan Jade.
However... that trash heap.
"Who rummaged through this?"
She stared at the trash heap in a daze.
In the trash heap, there was usually her daily garbage and some leftover scraps of spiritual materials.
For instance, the Jinyuan Jade.
To her surprise, the pile outside her quarters had been rifled through.
A thought struck her, and a talisman appeared in her hand.
This talisman was called a Sensing Talisman, one of many in Jiang Lingsu's possession, crafted by a Divine Infant realm cultivator.
She usually placed it by her bed as an early warning.
Now that the trash heap had been disturbed, she immediately brought out the Sensing Talisman to see if there were any clues on it.
A faint pattern could be seen in the center of the talisman.
"Last night during the hour of the Ox? A creature lingered outside my house for the time it takes an incense stick to burn?"
From the residual impressions on the Sensing Talisman, Jiang Lingsu knew that some living creature must have lingered outside her house for quite some time last night.
However, because there was no malice, the talisman hadn't raised an alarm—otherwise, how could anyone ever get any sleep?
Jiang Lingsu looked at the trash heap with furrowed brows. "On Seven Colors Peak, there are only Master, Eldest Senior Brother, and me. Ordinary animals wouldn't trigger the Sensing Talisman. It has to be something spiritual at the very least."
"Could it be..."
Suddenly, Jiang Lingsu turned her gaze toward the thatched cottage next door.
She remembered the way Eldest Senior Brother had wolfed down the spiritual food last time, and an inexplicable emotion welled up inside her.
*Sigh...*
After thinking it over, she returned to her room.
Half a shichen later, Jiang Lingsu arrived outside Qi Yuan's courtyard.
"Eldest Senior Brother, are you awake?" she called out softly.
"Junior Sister, is something the matter?" Qi Yuan had changed into a fresh white robe and looked rather handsome and dashing. Today was the Foundation Establishment Grand Gathering, so he had gotten up earlier than usual.
Looking at Qi Yuan's appearance, Jiang Lingsu felt refreshed and relaxed.
Indeed, looking at pleasing things always put one in a good mood.
"Eldest Senior Brother, could I trouble you with something?" Jiang Lingsu asked.
"Oh? What is it?" Qi Yuan was quite enthusiastic. He was very grateful to his junior sister for the cultivation jade slip and the spiritual food she had given him last time.
"Eldest Senior Brother, do you know if there are any unusual people in our sect? Or rather, mysterious people?"
As for the person capable of staving off the impending disaster, Jiang Lingsu had initially set her sights on Seven Colors Peak's Peak Master, Ruan Yixi.
However, she felt she could broaden her search to include a few more candidates.
"An unusual person?" Qi Yuan pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "I know someone very unusual."
"Who?" Jiang Lingsu's heart skipped a beat.
"Me!" Qi Yuan pointed at himself.
Hearing that, Jiang Lingsu froze.
Senior Brother was indeed quite unusual. After all... cultivators of the Obsession lineage were all somewhat abnormal in the head.
Jiang Lingsu felt a bit deflated, realizing that asking Eldest Senior Brother about this was terribly unreliable. Yet when she thought of what happened this morning...
She took out a storage bag. "Eldest Senior Brother, there are a thousand spirit stones in here as your compensation. Please keep an eye out for any unusual people for me, and there will be more rewards later."
Qi Yuan looked at the storage bag, blinking his eyes. "Junior Sister, what is the meaning of this?"
Jiang Lingsu hadn't expected Senior Brother to ask that.
Then again, those of the Obsession lineage were merely obsessive, not stupid.
She gave the excuse she had prepared in advance: "Before coming to the Divine Light Sect, I met an expert diviner who told me that there is an extraordinary figure in the sect destined to be my benefactor. That's why I want to find out who it is."
Upon hearing Jiang Lingsu's words, Qi Yuan blurted out, "I'd sooner believe I'm the First Emperor of Qin than believe that."
Jiang Lingsu: "???"
Qi Yuan continued, "I'll take the job."
Qi Yuan took the storage bag.
His eyes could see hidden information.
Finding an unusual person couldn't be more suited to him.
"Does that person have any other characteristics?" Qi Yuan asked again.
Jiang Lingsu lowered her head. "They should be extremely powerful, or have exceptional talent. Oh, right—it's possible they might not even be human! I'm counting on you, Senior Brother!"
Having said that, Jiang Lingsu left Qi Yuan's courtyard.
Holding the storage bag, Qi Yuan looked at the thousand spirit stones inside.
Truth be told, this was the first time he had ever seen such an enormous sum of money.
Even so, he felt little agitation in his heart.
Instead, he murmured, "Why would Junior Sister give me spirit stones?"
Her asking him for help seemed genuine.
Yet these spirit stones looked like an outright gift.
"Could it be that Junior Sister saw through my brave front, wants to tear away my disguise, and be my sugar mommy?"
A bizarre thought crossed Qi Yuan's mind.
In the end, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the kitchen cleaver tied up in the courtyard.
"Junior Sister saw my stubborn pride. Did you see it, Cleaver?"
The cleaver lay on the ground, completely still.
"Tell me, what kind of name should I give you?"
The cleaver remained motionless.
"Cleaver?"
"Kitchen Cleaver?"
"Caicaizi?"
"Daodaozi?"
"Demon Blade?"
"Heaven Blade?"
The cleaver finally showed some reaction, shivering visibly.
Qi Yuan grabbed the cleaver, a puzzled look flashing across his eyes. "Is this what passing for sentient looks like? It's not even as smart as my Xiao Ai smart assistant at home."
If you told Xiao Ai to fart, she at least knew how to tell Xiaodu next to her to do it.
This cleaver might seem sentient, but it was practically no different from an inanimate object.
Though thinking about it, that was only normal.
Yet holding the cleaver, Qi Yuan felt that his combat prowess had jumped up a notch.
"With my 'Summer Eight Slashes'—wild, blind hacking—could I hack a few Origin Core cultivators to death?"
Unfortunately, this was Seven Colors Peak, not a good place to practice with a blade.
Besides, he still had to attend the Foundation Establishment Grand Gathering on behalf of the Divine Light Sect and had no time to practice.
...
Within the Divine Light Sect.
The Foundation Establishment Grand Gathering finally commenced.
Because a first-grade Foundation Establishment spiritual item, the Yellow Flower Fruit, was up for grabs, none of the participants sent by the various sects across Great Shang were weak.
"Elder Feihua of the Demonic Desire Sect has arrived!"
"Split-Light Sword Master of Floating Mountain has arrived!"
"The Commandery Prince of Changshan has arrived!"
"Patriarch Baiji of the Black Mountain Sect has arrived!"
Following the announcing boys' heralds, multicolored clouds converged outside the mountain gates of the Divine Light Sect.
One spirit boat after another halted in midair and descended before the gate.
Clad in his white robe, the wind snapping through his clothes with rustling sounds, Qi Yuan watched the arrivals from the various sects, a refined smile in his eyes. "I welcome you all to our Divine Light Sect to attend the Foundation Establishment Grand Gathering!"
In this moment, he actually appeared quite dependable.
Chapter 25