Ye Jingyun

Back in his residence, Chen Lin found the woman from Water Moon Pavilion standing in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky.

Seeing Chen Lin enter, she scrutinized him for a long time but didn't speak.

Chen Lin rubbed his nose, unsure what to say, and simply returned to his room.

Upon entering, he began refining the Enlightenment Pill.

His alchemy talent had already been exposed, so there was no need to hide it any longer.

After failing ten times in a row, he obtained a black, unappealing pill.

After finishing, he continued to refine a few more times, naturally still failing.

The purpose of doing this was to conceal his Ten Times Certain Hit ability. If he succeeded exactly once every ten attempts, it would be too obvious.

By mixing up the order, he could pass off his successes as luck, making others believe he was merely fortunate.

Even so, the woman from Water Moon Pavilion outside the courtyard wore a look of astonishment.

"Is there truly someone in this world with such luck? This one is a treasure. No wonder Senior Brother Yu asked me to protect him secretly and bring him along."

Chen Lin was unaware that although Yu Yuehai had lifted his house arrest, he had instructed the woman from Water Moon Pavilion to follow him secretly. On one hand, he was afraid Chen Lin might encounter danger; on the other, he wanted to further observe the source of his 'luck'.

Or perhaps it wasn't luck at all, but something else entirely.

Chen Lin knew nothing of this. Even if he did, there was nothing he could do. After the pill was refined, he eagerly began to test it.

This time, he chose to cultivate the Vajra Shield, the only defensive spell in the Introduction to Basic Spells. It was a low-grade first-tier spell, with average defensive power.

Of course, "average" was relative to cultivators. Against mortals, even the most formidable martial arts experts would be unable to break through it.

Defensive spells were the most difficult to cultivate. Even though the Vajra Shield was low-level, it was still profound and complex. Chen Lin had studied it for a long time before but couldn't grasp it.

While his progress with the Object Manipulation Technique and Wind Control Technique was slow, he could at least understand them somewhat. This one, however, left him completely clueless.

He couldn't help but doubt his own intelligence again.

With such talent, he figured he'd be at the bottom of the barrel in his previous life, a bane to teachers.

However, he wasn't a bad student in his past life; he'd managed to get into a third-tier university. So, he blamed this on the original host, lamenting that he hadn't chosen a better target for transmigration.

After a moment of self-pity, he collected himself and swallowed the Enlightenment Pill.

A profound sensation washed over him, and Chen Lin immediately began to comprehend the contents of the Vajra Shield.

His eyes immediately lit up.

As expected, eating the pill made a difference.

Looking at the spell's description now, his mind was filled with understanding; the feeling of reading gibberish was gone.

Fifteen minutes later, he finally had a general grasp of the spell's operational principles, but he was still a little short of mastering it.

The profound sensation faded, and sharp pain immediately followed.

Just as Chen Lin clutched his head, cursing Yu Yuehai for deceiving him, a cool sensation suddenly emerged from his dantian and surged towards his brain.

Then, his mind cleared, and the pain significantly lessened.

Although it still hurt a bit, it was within a tolerable range. He didn't have to curl up on the ground clutching his head anymore.

It actually worked!

Chen Lin was overjoyed.

Even though having a worm in his stomach was disgusting, he couldn't care less at the moment. His priority was to learn more spells to improve his survival capabilities.

In good spirits, he tidied up, brewed a pot of Spirit Rice Porridge, and after eating, began refining the Enlightenment Pill again.

Since he had already "practiced" a few times, he succeeded this time after only six attempts.

The woman from Water Moon Pavilion, who had been monitoring Chen Lin's actions with her senses, frowned slightly, appearing puzzled.

Then, she glanced at Yu Yuehai's room before slowly walking to Chen Lin's doorway.

"Knock, knock."

She tapped twice on the door with her slender fingers.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, I'm coming in!"

With that, she pushed the door open without waiting for Chen Lin's reply.

Chen Lin immediately got up, not bothering to dwell on her rudeness.

Given the disparity in their current status, her knocking was already considered quite polite.

"Is there something you need, Fellow Daoist?"

Chen Lin, unsure of her intentions, asked proactively.

The woman scanned the room, her gaze finally landing on the iron pot serving as a pill furnace. Her eyebrows rose slightly.

"Fellow Daoist is truly a gifted genius. To refine the Enlightenment Pill with such a rudimentary pill furnace is truly astonishing!"

Chen Lin remained silent.

The more you speak, the more mistakes you make. The more you say, the more problems arise.

Seeing that Chen Lin didn't reply, the woman didn't mind. Instead, she smiled and said, "Speaking of which, we are companions now. Fellow Daoist Chen probably doesn't know my name, right? My surname is Ye, and my given name is Jingyun. I've been cultivating for over twenty years, and my cultivation is at the ninth level of Qi Refining."

Chen Lin's face showed surprise.

He hadn't expected this woman's cultivation to be so high, already reaching the final level of the Qi Refining Stage.

These two were definitely not ordinary Rogue Cultivators. He just didn't know which faction they came from.

Ye Jingyun didn't continue introducing herself. Instead, she changed the topic, stared into Chen Lin's eyes, and said with anticipation, "I heard that Fellow Daoist is also skilled in making talismans?"

Chen Lin was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "I know a little, but currently I can only refine low-level talismans."

He had lived in the same courtyard as Yu Yuehai for several years; his Senior Brother knew everything he could do, so there was no way to hide it.

Ye Jingyun gave Chen Lin a half-smile.

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to be modest. My Senior Brother told me that you can even refine a Soul Capturing Talisman, which is a special talisman that even I can't refine."

Chen Lin's mouth opened, and he inwardly cursed.

So all his secrets were not hidden at all; they had figured everything out.

He had thought he was being very discreet and cautious!

He gave a wry smile, "It seems nothing can be hidden from Fellow Daoist Yu's dharma eye. But that time was purely luck. I don't know why, but I just managed to refine it instantly."

Ye Jingyun looked him over again, sighing enviously, "Luck is also a form of strength. I just lack this kind of luck."

Chen Lin fell silent again.

He didn't know what else to say. After all, they weren't close, and if he said something wrong that angered her and led to a fight, it would be asking for trouble.

Now that the Blood Demon Pill was refined, his role was negligible. He needed to know his place.

Ye Jingyun just sighed to herself and didn't expect Chen Lin to comfort her. Noticing Chen Lin's attitude, she couldn't help but smile.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you don't need to worry. Although my Senior Brother's methods are a bit ruthless, as long as you don't resist, he won't make things difficult for you."

After speaking, she reached out and lightly touched the Storage Bag at her waist. A Jade Slip appeared in her hand.

Under Chen Lin's puzzled gaze, she handed it to him.

"What does Fellow Daoist Ye mean?"

Chen Lin asked, confused.

"This is a method for refining a talisman. I'd like to ask Fellow Daoist Chen to take a look and see if you can refine it."