Chapter 212: Chapter 23: Ten-Year Reunion, Adding Points to the Golden Talisman
On the surface of the vast, boundless Daze Lake of the Abyssal Marsh.
A woman in a simple purple dress walked upon the waves.
She was tall and slender, with almond eyes and rosy cheeks. Her aura was like that of a secluded orchid in a deep valley, and her beauty was unparalleled.
She seemed to glide over the water. Frost condensed beneath her feet, forming a layer of ice about a foot wide that held her aloft.
Though she appeared to move slowly, her pace was swift. Traversing the vast lake’s surface, she was hardly any slower than someone flying through the air.
Before long, she appeared outside the decorative archway of the Yinluo Sect Marketplace on Yinluo Island.
Cultivators came and went in the Marketplace, their Escape Lights rising and falling. Many of the male Cultivators couldn’t help but stare at such a beautiful woman.
However, when they saw the Inner Sect Disciple Identity Token hanging from her waist, they quickly averted their gazes, their expressions turning to ones of reverence.
The woman in purple entered the Marketplace, turned from the main road into a small alley, and soon arrived before a shop named "Xuanzhen Studio."
Business was slow. Only a young girl of sixteen or seventeen was at the counter, staring into space out of boredom.
When the purple-robed woman entered, the girl’s eyes immediately lit up. She asked with a smile, "Honored guest, are you here to purchase Arrays? Our Xuanzhen Studio is a century-old establishment with a complete selection of all kinds of Arrays..."
The woman in purple smiled. "I’m not here to buy Arrays. I’m looking for your master."
The girl said, "Oh," then realized. "So you’re a friend of my master. They’re all in the back courtyard right now."
With that, she led the woman in purple to the back courtyard.
In the small, elegantly furnished courtyard, four people—two men and two women—were already seated around a stone table.
The woman in purple gave a curtsy and said apologetically, "Everyone, your little sister has arrived late."
This woman was none other than Chen Yu Yan.
Not long ago, she had finally passed the Earth Abyss trial and become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Yinluo Sect.
As for the four people in the courtyard, she knew three of them: the owner of this place, the Flower-Confidence Young Lady Wen Qianqian;
the True Disciple of Demon Lion Peak, Fang Cheng, dressed in wide-sleeved robes with an aura that had grown even more lofty and unfathomable;
and Wang Xingzhi, a man in fine clothes with gaunt cheeks, sharp eyes, and a hint of untamable pride.
The last person, a beautiful Female Cultivator with a gentle and graceful disposition, was someone Chen Yu Yan had never met before.
Wen Qianqian’s gentle laughter was heard. "Sister Yu Yan, let me introduce you. This is my senior sister, Ning Suyun. She grew up here in the Yinluo Sect Marketplace. Twenty years ago, she left the Abyssal Marsh for Netherworld Valley and only just returned a short while ago."
After that, she introduced Chen Yu Yan to Ning Suyun.
Ning Suyun had indeed returned recently.
Years ago, she, along with Wang Daqian, He Yujing, and others, had been commissioned by the Cao Family to assassinate the Elders of the Wang and Li Families, instigating a conflict between the two clans.
Afterward, to escape the fallout, she used a remnant Teleportation Array in a Cave Mansion to flee and was gone for several years.
It was only after her return that Wen Qianqian learned she had gone to the Jin Country.
Over the years, Ning Suyun had found other fortunate opportunities in the Jin Country, which was why she had only just now returned.
Today’s gathering had been initiated by Wen Qianqian.
Nearly ten years had passed since they first met at the Dragon Elephant Wanderer’s Abandoned Mansion!
Reuniting after ten years, much had changed, and they were no longer the same people.
Fang Cheng had long since soared to the heavens. Now, he was not only the personal disciple of Demon Lion Peak’s Peak Master, a position of great honor and status, but he had also become the Ye Family’s second-in-command, a figure below only one but above tens of thousands.
Wen Qianqian herself had obtained the heritage of the Myriad Phenomena Immortal Sect. A mysterious Array Spirit Maiden followed her, personally guiding her Cultivation. Her progress advanced by a thousand miles a day, and she had now condensed a Life Talisman.
Among the four of them, her Cultivation speed was second only to Fang Cheng’s.
As for Wang Xingzhi, he had been practicing the "Joyful Zen Skill" all these years. His power had grown continuously, and he had long since reached Perception Realm Perfection, but he had been unable to break through to the Life Talisman stage.
His current accumulation of Magical Power was even more formidable than that of veteran Inner Sect Disciples. Looking across the entire Abyssal Marsh, there were few who could defeat him below the Life Talisman stage.
In comparison, Chen Yu Yan’s Cultivation progress was the most ordinary of the four and also the most logical.
She had advanced steadily over the years, progressing from a Servant Disciple to an Outer Disciple, and finally to an Inner Sect Disciple. It wasn’t fast, but it wasn’t slow either.
Among the Outer Sect Disciples of her cohort, Wang Pan, Feng Mo, and the others had also entered the Inner Sect one after another.
As for Dong Qing, it was said the Dong Family had married her off to Fang Cheng early on, making her his concubine as a tool to cement the alliance between the Ye and Dong families.
After Chen Yu Yan sat down, she looked at the friends around her and couldn’t help but feel a swell of emotion.
’Ten years.’
’Back then, we were all just Junior Cultivators at the Mid-Sensing Stage. Now, ten years have passed, and we’ve all become the "great figures" we once had to look up to.’
Old friends reuniting will always have much to talk about.
From insights into their Cultivation to stories of their experiences over the years, the group set aside their differences in Cultivation Realm and status, chatting and laughing just like old times.
Ning Suyun had grown up in this small courtyard as a child and felt a strange sense of familiarity with everything around her.
She had always been a quiet and reserved person, so she mostly listened to the four of them chat, only chiming in with a word or two on occasion.
Among those present, she was the only one who had been to the Jin Country, so naturally, they asked her to describe the scenery of the Jin Country’s Cultivation Realm to broaden their horizons.
A night passed.
The gathering finally dispersed at dawn, as the morning sun began to rise.
Fang Cheng left the small courtyard of Xuanzhen Studio and went to the Ye Family’s Cangshan Pavilion.
...
「In a private room at Cangshan Pavilion.」
Shopkeeper Li respectfully took out a wooden case and a wooden chest, presenting them to Fang Cheng.
"Elder, these are the Dao Pattern Spirit Jades and Geng Metal Profound Silkworm Threads that the Ye Family has spent the last few years gathering with all its resources."
Shopkeeper Li said in a low voice.
Fang Cheng picked up the wooden case and opened it. Inside was a roll of golden silkworm threads, weighing about three jin.
He nodded. ’Not bad. This will be enough for now.’
