A cactus. It looked just like a cactus!
She widened her eyes slightly. Calling it a cactus wasn’t entirely accurate. The plant was a reddish-brown hue, its stems long and layered, waving in the wind with a somewhat ferocious flair.
A flower bloomed amid the stems: white petals, yellow stamen. Yet at the flower’s heart lay a wisp of spiritual light. Upon closer inspection, it was high-grade sword qi.
The plant bristled with thorns throughout—dark, sharp ones gleaming coldly. They clashed incessantly with the flying sword qi, ringing out with clinks, never finding a moment’s peace.
Though Li Yin hailed from Myriad Beasts Sect, the spirit beast illustrations she perused in her free time mostly depicted animals. Plant spirits were a rarity.
She watched with great curiosity for a while. The Seven Star Sword Flower’s stems whipped about, colliding with sword qi. For some reason, it struck her as terribly irritable.
Oddly, it had clearly developed spiritual intelligence and should possess cultivation, yet she couldn’t sense it.
After a moment’s thought, Li Yin pulled out the Golden Bell Talisman Senior Sister Mo had given her. She strode straight toward the plant spirit.
Sensing her approach, one of its stems lashed out unceremoniously like a whip, aiming to strike her.
Her protective talisman flashed. At the same moment, Li Yin seized the “whip” precisely. She then invoked Myriad Beasts Sect’s Equal Contract, forcibly binding it to her.
It was a spiritual plant, after all. Unaware of her intent yet instinctively wary, the entire plant shuddered in an instant, seemingly desperate to retract the stem and keep her at bay.
As the contract progressed, Spirit Communication triggered successfully.
【Go away—】 The plant spirit’s voice was childish, sounding like a girl not yet ten. Its intelligence surpassed that of her kitten and mouse by a touch.
【Go away!】 It shouted again, lashing out with another stem. Li Yin blocked it effortlessly.
【If I go away, others will come to beat you.】 Li Yin stated plainly. 【Are you fighting with those sword qi?】
Under the effect of Max-Level Charm, the spirit plant calmed. 【Annoying!】
【They’re so annoying!】
【Noisy. So noisy.】
【Not quiet.】
The curt phrases came like accusations. Li Yin grasped its meaning swiftly.
Likely, after developing spiritual intelligence, it had endured years without peaceful cultivation, harassed daily by sword qi. That must have sparked its sudden outburst, churning the local sword qi and spiritual energy.
【It’s simple. I’ll take you out of here. How about that?】 The girl soothed gently. 【I can find you a quiet place with no disturbances.】
The spirit plant fell silent.
Li Yin caught faint, tiny mutterings: leave or stay.
Annoying as it was, this plant had sprouted from the soil here. Li Yin waited patiently as it wrestled with the decision, until its voice sounded again.
【Okay. Go out.】
The words fell just as the contract sealed completely.
【Unlocked new tamed beast: Mutated Seven Star Sword Flower】
【Achievement Reward: Directed Random (1)】
A mutated spiritual plant. Li Yin felt a jolt of surprise before setting to work digging it up.
But suddenly, she paused.
With the contract complete, the spirit plant bestowed an innate skill upon her: Breath Concealment.
She hadn’t perceived its cultivation because of its natural Intent-Hiding Breath Concealment. In truth, it stood at Orifice Exit Late Stage—half-step Soul Formation.
The player glanced at her own cultivation. She was merely at Golden Core Realm.
Li Yin finished reeling in shock and resumed digging.
At that moment, Hidden Sword Mountain’s eldest senior sister arrived. Seeing the girl beside the spirit plant, she silently lowered her raised sword.
Sensing the gaze, Li Yin halted.
“Can I dig it up?” Myriad Beasts Sect’s little junior sister gazed at Hidden Sword Mountain’s eldest senior sister with clear eyes.
“You—” An Shanyue’s lips moved. She had never encountered anything like this before.
She paused once more, then said, “Go ahead and dig.”
“Got it.” The little junior sister flashed a brilliant smile.
The player came prepared this time, carrying several Spirit Beast Boxes. She settled the excavated spirit plant inside one, tossing in some pills and spirit pearls for it to absorb while resting quietly.
With the storm’s source—a plant spirit—now subdued and taken, the surrounding winds and sword qi gradually dissipated. Everyone peered toward the wind eye, beholding only a pit. They had no idea what had transpired.
Myriad Beasts Sect’s little junior sister quietly clapped her hands, brushing off the dirt.
After all, it was a mutated spirit plant, nothing ordinary. It was best to keep it hidden. Only the chief disciples from the two sects and Hidden Sword Mountain’s senior sister had seen her secretly stashing away the treasure.
Li Yin glanced at the Black-Clothed Sword Cultivator, then at the green-robed law cultivator.
The former paid no mind to such things. He simply met her gaze with a questioning sidelong look. The latter, meanwhile, smiled amiably as he watched her furtively wipe her hands.
As for Hidden Sword Mountain’s senior sister, she clearly seemed like an upright person.
The storm had dispersed, and the jade token had returned to normal operation. Li Yin planned to continue searching for her senior brothers and sisters.
She first said goodbye to Senior Sister Mo from Pill Cauldron Sect. After the sword qi dispersed, the other woman had regained her energy and hurried off to find her companions.
The group of disciples took stock of their supplies. They were probably planning to continue their training. Li Yin looked left and right but realized that the dull gray sword was nowhere to be seen.
It wasn’t her sword anyway.
The Player didn’t take it to heart.
Little did she know, after she left, the dull gray sword hovered hesitantly in midair. In the end, it followed after the Black-Clothed Sword Cultivator before suddenly lunging at him, drilling several moves into him one after another.
Unaware of the sharp sword light flashing on the other side, the Player finally found her fellow sect members moments later and received their concerned questions.
The Player spent quite some time wandering around with her senior brothers and sisters before leaving the secret realm.
Outside the secret realm, the Player ran into Senior Sister Mo again. The woman wore a delighted expression, likely because she had secured some sword qi.
Senior Sister Mo was thrilled to see her and handed over an invitation to the Pill Appreciation Conference.
Li Yin looked at her senior brothers and sisters and asked for their opinions.
Fat Senior Brother pondered for a moment. “The Pill Appreciation Conference is only a few days away. We’ll have to go eventually anyway. If you want to head out now, Little Junior Sister, it won’t make much difference.”
“It’s just the difference between an elder leading the way and making the trip ourselves,” Xia Erruo added. “Pill Cauldron Sect is pretty far, though, and that area’s atmosphere is lively—nothing like the solemn air at Hidden Sword Mountain. Without an elder to watch over us, we should go together if we decide to head there. It’ll be safer with more people.”
After some discussion, they accepted the pill cultivator disciples’ invitation.
For safety’s sake, they also changed out of their Myriad Beasts Sect disciple robes and into casual attire.
Li Yin voiced her confusion about changing clothes, and Fat Senior Brother explained.
“Little Junior Sister, you might not know this, but what Senior Sister Xia called a ‘lively atmosphere’ is just her polite way of putting it.” Zheng Qian shook his head dramatically. “The area around Pill Cauldron Sect—even their markets—are more bustling than anywhere else. It draws in way more cultivators, good and bad alike. It’s a real mixed bag.”
“There are plenty of rogue cultivators among them, and a few of those have shady intentions. They love killing for treasures. To them, disciples from major sects look like fat sheep. Better to stay cautious.”
With that, Fat Senior Brother looked anxious and patted his belly. “Your senior brother here looks like a prime fat sheep.”
Xia Erruo and Zhang Baille: “……”
Little Junior Sister couldn’t help it—her eyes curved into crescents.
Li Yin burst out laughing, but then she remembered the events at Pill Cauldron Sect and slightly reined in her expression.
What she had done in that save file could be summed up in one sentence—
The Player had played the pitiful card, seducing a particularly soft-hearted sect elder and taking him as her master.
Her target was beautiful and kind-hearted. Once her favorability had risen high enough, the Player made her move and boldly confessed to her master. Unfortunately, she was firmly rejected.
Not only did her favorability plummet straight to zero, but because she had offended her superior, the Player was chased down the mountain and expelled from the sect.
With the new save file heading toward a Bad End, she lost all patience for the game. She simply found a corner, logged off, and started over.
A manual Bad End.
Li Yin quietly mulled it over.
Her target had been soft-hearted—extremely so. Plus, at the time of that route, her cultivation was already at the great circle stage, unlike Young Master Shen or Little Junior Brother.
Since she had the chance now, she definitely wanted to go take a look.
To see how that former target was doing these days.
At that thought, she suddenly remembered that she still hadn’t dealt with the spirit plant.
She pushed aside thoughts of the old master from that save file and contacted her new master instead. She told him about the Seven Star Sword Flower and arranged where to plant it once she got back.
The plant seemed perfectly content waiting in the Spirit Beast Box, though. There was no rush.
Li Yin went on to explain her itinerary. “Master, I’m heading to the Pill Appreciation Conference with my fellow sect members first. It might be a few days before I can return.”
A warm, gentle voice came from the Messaging Mirror. “Alright. Stay vigilant on the road and take good care of yourself.”
The girl’s topics jumped around abruptly. “Master, how are Qing Yi and Xinglin doing? My Little Peacock and Little Fish—are they alright? They haven’t been fighting again, have they?”
Yao Guanheng paused for a beat before replying slowly, “They’re… all doing well. They get along great.”
The girl’s clear voice brimmed with delight. “That’s good.”
He suddenly found himself holding his breath, waiting for her to ask about something else.
After all, on Illuminating Water Peak, besides that peacock and that merfolk…
There was also the master.
Unfortunately, she didn’t.
“See you in a few days, Master.”
Li Yin ended the spirit message.