Chapter 15: Emerging from Seclusion

The young girl sat cross-legged upon a bed of warm jade, her long, ink-black hair cascading freely down her back.
Her Daoist robe traced the graceful lines of her slender figure.
Lin Lingshu slowly opened her eyes, faint streaks of lightning flashing through her pale-blue pupils.

She clenched her delicate fists, feeling the power coursing within her veins, and murmured:
“I finally understand what the protagonist in the original novel felt when he broke through Foundation Establishment.”

The might of heaven and earth gathered within her body—what a wondrous sensation.
Opening her palm, a deep-blue arc of lightning leapt and crackled across her skin.

The difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment was but a single step, yet it spanned a heavenly gulf.
First, lifespan: Qi Refining could last two hundred years, Foundation Establishment five hundred.
Second, quantity, quality, and precision—each on an entirely different level.

Lin Lingshu controlled the lightning in her hand, splitting it into countless strands of electric light.
Each transformed—into galloping thunder-horses, soaring thunder-birds, darting thunder-fish, rolling thunder-apes…
All manner of changes flowed wordlessly through the air.

“It’s time… to leave seclusion.”
Lin Lingshu gazed at the lightning in her palm.
At her thought, the thunder-horses, thunder-birds, thunder-fish, and thunder-apes ceased their movements, dissolving into rays of light that returned to the core lightning.

From her storage ring she drew out a command token and pointed it at a corner of the chamber.
The defensive formation shrouding the entire room dissolved in an instant.

During breakthroughs, no disturbance was permitted.
One misstep and—boom—the cultivator could be obliterated.
This formation had been specially laid down by a Golden Core master of formations at the request of Lady Shuiyue herself.

Yes, at her request.
Though Lady Shuiyue was a Nascent Soul cultivator, the rules were established by the Purple Sword Patriarch, a Primordial Spirit powerhouse.
He allowed factions to form and compete within the sect, but never to the point of harming the sect’s greater interests.
Had Lady Shuiyue forced the formation master to comply, that would have violated those rules.

Lin Lingshu pushed open the chamber door.
The floor was thick with dust.
She flicked her finger.
A thread of lightning became a breeze that swept across the ground.
Though faint, the wind gathered all the dust into a small lump of clay.

“Foundation Establishment~” Lin Lingshu sighed softly.
Half a year in seclusion—according to the story, by now the male lead should have taken third place in the sect competition.
The plot had already deviated far from the original, its reliability severely diminished, though it still served as a rough reference.

Summoning Hanli, Lin Lingshu mounted her sword and prepared to depart.

“Senior Sister Lin, are you there?”
A voice carried from outside Shuiyue Peak.
If the great array were still active, it would have been blocked automatically.

“Junior Sister Ye?”
Lin Lingshu’s mind stirred.
She activated the peak master’s talisman and opened the hall doors.

A figure rode her sword straight into the grand hall.
Lin Lingshu followed as a rainbow streak of swordlight, landing inside.

“Junior Sister Ye.” Lin Lingshu gave Ye Danxiang a slight nod.

“Senior Sister Lin.” Ye Danxiang sat at the side seat of the hall, while Lin Lingshu naturally took the main seat.

“Since you’ve come from afar, tell me what brings you here.”
Lin Lingshu produced a pouch of spirit tea, placed leaves into cups, and poured hot water over them in one smooth motion.

Two cups of tea were ready.
One floated over before Ye Danxiang, who caught it and took a light sip.

“Senior Sister Lin, what exquisite tea skills.
Even a single sip of this spirit tea equals a whole day’s cultivation at the second layer of Qi Refining.”

“A mere skill from the mortal world.
If not for this pouch of good leaves, it would be nothing more than ordinary tea.”

The original Lin Lingshu had never learned tea arts, but she had.
Her father had planted several tea trees in her childhood, passing down methods from her grandfather.
Their ancestors had once been masters of the tea ceremony.
Her father had even applied for national intangible cultural heritage status.
Thus, Lin Lingshu had learned enough to prepare tea with elegance.
Now, she simply downplayed it as a trivial mortal craft.

“Senior Sister Lin, how was your breakthrough to Foundation Establishment?”

Lin Lingshu said nothing.
Instead, she released the pressure of her new cultivation, then withdrew it again.
Ye Danxiang’s face paled, but she met Lin Lingshu’s gaze—no further words were necessary.

“Senior Sister Lin truly deserves to be called the pride of our Lingjian Pavilion.” Ye Danxiang praised.

“Junior Sister Ye, you’ve also reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining. Your future is bright.” Lin Lingshu sipped her tea calmly.

“Senior Brother Chen has also entered seclusion for Foundation Establishment, yet I still haven’t found the chance for my breakthrough.” Ye Danxiang sighed.

“Man proposes, Heaven disposes.
You must simply continue striving, Junior Sister Ye.”

“Then I’ll borrow Senior Sister’s auspicious words.”

Lin Lingshu set down her teacup.
“This time, Junior Sister Ye, what matter brings you here?”

“In the recent sect competition, your Shuiyue Peak disciple Wang Shuheng won first place.”

“I originally came to congratulate you, Senior Sister, but when I sent messages earlier, you did not reply.
I assumed you were still in seclusion.
Now that you’ve emerged, and even broken through Foundation Establishment, this is double joy for Shuiyue Peak.”

Damn!
Lin Lingshu’s hand tightened on her teacup.
The plot had shifted again.
In her heart, she further downgraded the original story’s credibility.

Huang Wuyan, Zhang Wendao—what are you two doing?
We’re only in the early stages, and already the protagonist is being beaten down?
This is supposed to be a mortal struggle plotline, not a genius cheat one!

Outwardly, however, her expression didn’t change.
She even adopted a faintly delighted tone:
“This is indeed a blessing for Shuiyue Peak.”

“But such news hardly warrants you coming in person, Junior Sister.”
She lifted her teacup and took a sip, calming her mind.

“Senior Sister Lin is perceptive.
Your disciple Wang Shuheng also won first place in the Pill Dao sub-competition.”
At this point, Ye Danxiang hesitated, embarrassed to continue.

Lin Lingshu understood at once.
They were here to poach him.

First place in the Pill Dao sub-competition almost always went to Danlü Peak.
On rare occasions it went elsewhere, those disciples were immediately recruited away.
In the original story, Wang Shuheng had also taken first place, but at that time he was already a disciple of Danlü Peak.
With his extraordinary talent, he refined a supreme-grade pill, and was accepted as a personal disciple of a Pill Dao master.
From there, he rose legitimately through Danlü Peak—and that was when the “isolated man and woman on one peak” subplot with Ye Danxiang unfolded.

But now it was awkward.
Had Wang Shuheng only won the Pill Dao sub-competition, it wouldn’t matter—Danlü Peak would claim him as usual.
But he hadn’t just won that.
He had also taken first place in the entire sect competition.
That complicated things.

Lin Lingshu took another sip of tea.
“Junior Sister Ye… this is difficult for me as well.”

Ye Danxiang opened her mouth to apologize, but Lin Lingshu cut her off.
“Still, Wang Shuheng’s talent in Pill Dao is undeniable.
I will ask his opinion directly regarding this matter.”

“Then I must thank you, Senior Sister.” Ye Danxiang rose, bowed, and departed on her sword.

She did not see that, as she left, the corner of Lin Lingshu’s lips lifted ever so slightly.

Lifting her teacup, Lin Lingshu drained the last of the tea.
At last, she thought, a chance to steer the plot back on course.