Chapter 36
The next day, Wen Wan slept in late, which was rare for her, as the results of the sect competition had already been announced.
Liu Qingqing came out on top, Mo Qingyin came in second, He Si came in third, and Wang Jinyan, like Wen Wan, failed to make the top three.
The top 8 also include Fan Kaiyu, Zhu Jianbai, and Yu Liang. The group will travel together to the Burial Ground for a new trial.
Logically speaking, given their strength and ability to rank among the top in the sect competition, they should naturally be admired by all the disciples. However, many disciples are also very dissatisfied with this.
The winner of the previous competition was Mo Qingyin, and the winner of this competition is Liu Qingqing. The female cultivators have won the championship for two consecutive rounds, which makes the male cultivators feel very unwilling. They secretly vowed to avenge their previous defeat in the next competition!
Wen Wan finally had time to move and relocate to Lan Xuefeng.
Lan Xuefeng and her disciples totaled ten people. She had originally thought that she could meet her senior brothers and sisters today and get to know their faces, but it seemed that no one was there? Apart from her master, her eldest senior brother Luo Zifan, and her second senior brother Yan Xingchen, there was only one unfamiliar face left. He looked refined and gentle, not like a sword cultivator.
"Hi~ Junior Sister, we meet again. Did the gift I gave you last time meet your expectations?"
The first person to greet her was the outgoing Yan Xingchen, who called her "Junior Sister" one minute and "Tenth Sister" the next. Well, what can you do when she's the tenth ranked disciple of Lan Xuefeng? It's just a title, after all. Wen Wan, on the other hand, was easygoing and didn't care what he called her.
Seeing him raise his sinister-looking bone finger, she raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
From Liu Qingqing's description, it was not a good thing. It just so happened that it had no effect on her for some unknown reason, while others kept their distance from it.
"Senior Brother Yan, the gift is quite unique."
Wen Wan directly took out her bone finger. After a day apart, the evil aura surrounding the bone finger had become even stronger, startling the senior brother and the remaining disciple.
"But what is the meaning behind this gift being given to me?"
She disliked suspicion and asked questions directly, her gaze towards Yan Xingchen quite sharp.
"Hey? Little Shi, don't be angry, this is a good thing."
Yan Xingchen calmly explained, using expressive body language: "With this, those low- to mid-level monsters won't dare approach you. You made it into the top eight in the sect competition, and this year you'll be going down the mountain to the Burial Grounds for training. This bone finger comes from the Burial Grounds."
"This trip was practically tailor-made for you," Yan Xingchen assured, patting his chest.
"Tailor-made? Junior Brother Yan, this thing looks strange. It might affect the cultivator's state of mind. Don't do something good but end up disturbing Junior Sister's mood."
Luo Zifan questioned, "If it weren't for our shared sect and the fact that our master was also present and hadn't made a statement, I would have already started cursing."
The master on the throne had already seen through the item: "It is indeed a good thing, little Wenwan, you should keep it with you."
"Master..."
Luo Zifan wanted to say something more, but his master waved his hand to stop him: "Everyone's physique and cultivation method are very different. Since Xiao Wenwan was not affected by it, then let her take it. It is indeed a good thing, and it is also a token of your second senior brother's good intentions."
The following sentence was said to Wen Wan.
Knowing her special constitution, her master assumed she wouldn't be affected. With Luo Zifan looking on with worry, her master added a seal to the bone finger to prevent the aura from leaking out, which reassured her even more.
"This is a painting brush." With a wave of his hand, the master conjured a brush out of thin air. The brush was mainly white and green, and it landed in front of Wen Wan. It was small and exquisite.
“Our Lanxuefeng sect primarily practices the art of talismans. This is a gift from your master to you as we meet.”
As he spoke, another scroll appeared out of thin air in front of Wen Wan: "This is a 'Genius Handbook for the Path of Talismans' that I personally fabricated. Study it carefully. If you don't understand something, ask me. There are so many senior brothers and sisters that you can keep yourself busy. Or you can come and bother this old man."
Wen Wan glanced at the "so many" senior brothers and sisters around her, nodded cautiously in agreement, and then looked longingly at the senior brother who was trying to poach her.
Master and Senior Brother Yan both gave gifts when we met, so Senior Brother Luo should receive one too.
Seeing this, Luo Zifan smiled slightly and took out a bottle of spirit ink from his pocket: "Azure ink, smooth in texture, is perfect for junior sister to practice drawing talismans in the future."
Qingmo is indeed a superior spiritual ink, and it is very smooth to draw with. It is not only the first choice for beginners to practice, but also for experienced talisman cultivators. However, it is expensive, and it is a waste for beginners to use it. After all, the success rate of beginners in drawing talismans is not high, and the quality is even lower, which is easy to waste.
Wen Wan happily accepted Qing Mo and thanked him. Luo Zifan pushed the last person in front of him: "Junior Sister, this is your third senior brother Wu Sinian. He is a puppeteer. He is timid and doesn't like to talk. Don't mind him."
"Junior Sister".
The other person had a young, baby-faced appearance. He greeted her with a shy smile, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Greetings, Third Senior Brother." Wen Wan returned the smile and asked generously, "Third Senior Brother, I've collected all the necessary brush, ink, and 'finger' (a type of ancient Chinese writing implement), you won't give me an inkstone, will you?"
"No...no." Wu Sinian hurriedly took out a mechanical bird and introduced it: "This is a mechanical bird that I made myself using puppetry. It can transmit information, and distance is not a problem. It's just a little slow."
After saying this, fearing that Wenwan might not like it, he said, "I'll improve this flaw in the future and then replace it with a new one for you."
"Wow!" Wen Wan happily accepted the mechanical bird.
Contrary to its appearance, items made entirely of solid wood feel heavy in the hand, with seamless joints and interlocking layers, making them exquisite and compact.
It's clear that the person who made it was very meticulous and dedicated.
From a young age, she liked things that were pretty but not practical. This mechanical bird was both pretty and practical, and she loved it to bits.
"Third Senior Brother, does it have a name? Can I name it? How far can its voice travel? How long does it take?"
Seeing Wen Wan bombard him with questions, Wu Sinian finally felt relieved. It seemed that his junior sister really liked his gift.
"Junior sister can give it a name you like. The transmission distance is over a thousand nautical miles, which takes about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Once the spirit is charged, it can be used for about an hour."
"It contains a device for absorbing spiritual energy. If the spiritual energy is exhausted during the transmission, it needs to stop to replenish the spiritual energy before it can continue. This process takes about fifteen minutes."
Wu Sinian patiently answered all of his questions.
Luo Zifan felt a pang of envy.
Although the sound transmission talisman can receive messages instantly, even high-level sound transmission talismans have a limited range, unless they are special spirit talismans.
If you need to call for reinforcements during a fight, the time it takes to brew a cup of tea is a bit long, but if you have a lot of magical treasures on you, you can hold out for a while and prolong the time. However, if you can't reach them, you simply can't reach them.
It still has good battery life; I'm so envious.
Seeing that everyone had spontaneously prepared gifts to welcome their junior sister, Zhong Luonan, as the peak master of Lanxue Peak, was naturally pleased.
Wen Wan accepted everything without hesitation, but not for free.
She had quite a few nice things of her own, and naturally returned the favor to the group.
Seeing Yan Shixiong's chattering, she gave him the Illusion Bell that she had asked someone to repair last time.
Although it was a free gift, the quality is quite good after it's been repaired. It can create illusions and becomes stronger when faced with a stronger opponent. As long as the user has enough spiritual power, it can easily pass for the real thing. It's a good item to help stall for time and consume resources.
Soon, the day arrived for them to enter the Burial Grounds for training, and the eight of them gathered together.
Purple Crape Myrtle Mountain is verdant with willows; Silver Moon Peak is graced by Mo Qingyin and Fan Kaiyu; Red Leaf Peak is adorned by He Si and Yu Liang; Green Mountain Peak is graced by Wang Jinyan and Zhu Jianbai; Orchid Snow Peak is gentle and graceful.
The disciples from all five mountains were not left behind.
"When you go out to train, you are all members of the Huashan Sect. Fellow disciples should help each other, and your safe return is the most important thing."
The elder in charge of seeing her off instructed Liu Qingqing that as the team leader who won first place, she must shoulder this responsibility.
Seeing that she agreed, the elder looked at the crowd and signaled them to cooperate and follow Liu Qingqing's arrangements. They were not to act recklessly. The crowd nodded in agreement.
The elder was very concerned about this training trip. There was no other reason than that some of the disciples who won the competition were exceptionally talented. No matter which sect they were in, they would be outstanding talents. The elder was afraid that something might happen to them.
After the elders chatted on and on for quite some time, the group finally boarded the ark that had been prepared in advance by the sect and waved goodbye to everyone. No one noticed a malicious gaze fixed on them from a corner.
"Phew~ I'm finally rid of that old man. My ears are about to fall off." Wen Wan, who was the focus of attention, breathed a sigh of relief.
Mo Qingyin, who was standing to the side, smiled and said, "You naughty Elder He dislikes being called an old man the most."
"Hehehe." Wen Wan changed her usual manner and made a face at her.
"Senior Sister Qingyin." Liu Qingqing came over to find Wen Wan and greeted Mo Qingyin. Her tone was neither warm nor cold, but it was respectful enough that there was nothing wrong with it.
Liu Qingqing didn't have many people she liked. Perhaps it was because she had received Wen Wan's help when she was young, but compared to others, she had a good impression of this junior sister.
Mo Qingyin didn't seem to care much, and nodded with a smile on her face as a response.
The ark would take three days to travel from the Huashan Sect to the burial ground. It was thought that the journey would be uneventful until the destination was reached, but unexpectedly, at noon on the second day, the ark began to shake violently.
"What happened? Has the Ark been attacked by monsters?"
Zhu Jianbai was the first to raise a question.
The group of people managed to regain their balance amidst the swaying.
He Si frowned: "There is no spiritual energy around, which means that the Ark has not been attacked from the outside. The problem lies with the Ark itself. A Liang, go to the control room and take a look."
"How could this be?" As Yu Liang agreed to go and investigate, the others were incredulous.
The Ark is an important tool within the sect. It is not only regularly maintained, but also carefully inspected by elders before departure to ensure that there are no problems, for the safety of the sect's disciples.
"Senior Brother He, there are signs of sabotage at the Ark's transport center. After traveling a certain distance, it started to give out." Yu Liang rushed back to report after checking.
"Moreover, there is still a faint trace of spiritual energy remaining on it, which must have been destroyed by someone before we set off."
Before the group could continue their thought, the ark could no longer hold on and began to plummet straight down, below which lay a misty forest.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
