Tang Yao watched Chu Song leave for a moment, then turned and entered the residence. The instant she stepped into the garden, all the residence's restrictions activated.
On the table inside lay a Jade Slip, direct disciple robes, and an identity token.
Tang Yao examined this "direct disciple uniform." Jiang Yueyan wore the same outfit. She reached out and felt it; it was incredibly silky. The robes were moon-white, with pale purple at the waist, collar, and cuffs, and bore gold-stamped lotus patterns. They faintly radiated spiritual power. They were probably not just attractive, but highly defensive as well.
As expected of a lavish sect-even its uniforms were so classy.
The Jade Slip lay beside the sect robes, emitting a pale blue-green glow. Tang Yao grasped it and fed Spiritual Qi into it. In an instant, the Jade Slip shone blue.
Please enter your name.
Tang Xiaocao.
Beep. Activated.
Tang Yao opened the Jade Slip and discovered that it contained the spiritual signatures of the Profound Heaven Sect's sect master and five elders, as well as Jiang Yueyan's and Chi Wang's. The remaining avatar was gray, probably belonging to Chu Song, who had yet to activate his.
Good grief, it'll probably take him a while to activate his. Who knows how far away he lives...
If she had known joining a sect came with a Jade Slip, she would not have cut off a pound of her own flesh to give Tang Xin one. The one the sect provided was far more advanced than the one she had given away!
Still, if it earned her some goodwill from the female lead, it was worth it. She wondered whether the female lead's opinion of her had improved at all.
At that thought, Tang Yao opened the Jade Slip she had owned before joining the sect, and a deluge of messages instantly swept over her.
"Tang Yao! Where have you been lately? Come out for drinks! Young Master Song's been coming to this tavern a lot recently. I spent ages asking around! Reply as soon as you see this!"
"Brother Tang, I have a way into the Profound Heaven Sect. That pretty boy Jiang Yueyan refuses a toast only to drink a forfeit. You only teased him a little, and look how sour his face got. Let's go in and beat him up. How could two sword cultivators fail to ambush one talisman cultivator?"
Heavens, no wonder Old Master Tang said Tang Yao had a bad reputation. What kind of fox-and-dog friends had she been hanging around with?
Among the messages, Tang Yao spotted one from Tang Xin. The female lead sent me a message? Tang Yao immediately tapped it open.
"An elder of the Azure Cloud Sect asked me to find out when you're coming to report to the sect. The Azure Cloud Sect's new disciple trial is already over. Stop willfully running around outside having fun. Everyone keeps asking me where you are. You're putting me in a difficult position."
Tang Yao could already feel the female lead's displaced anger through the words. She immediately replied, "I'll go back in a month. If anyone asks, tell them I ran away from home! It has nothing to do with you!"
She remembered that, in the novel, the original owner had gone to the Azure Cloud Sect. With her innate sword bones, she had been promised the position of chief direct disciple. Yet at the Azure Cloud Sect, she had been unable to form her core for a long time, unable to break through to the Golden Core Realm. A deep knot had formed in her heart, and later she had suffered Qi Deviation.
Someone with exceptional talent and a high position, only to be overtaken step by step by the junior brothers and sisters behind her while she remained unable to form her core, really could easily develop psychological problems...
Tang Yao could not be sure whether the problem lay with the original owner herself or whether someone else had harmed her. In any case, she would first wisely preserve herself, improve her strength a little, and only then go to the Azure Cloud Sect.
Tang Yao scrolled down the Jade Slip. The more she read, the more outrageous it became, and she wanted to delete all these fox-and-dog friends.
But just as she was about to delete them, she hesitated. Leave them. She wanted to see whether there was anything fishy among them. If someone had deliberately steered the original owner's reputation in this direction, then these people were all in her Jade Slip-not one would escape!
Tang Yao closed her own Jade Slip. This thing really was like a modern cell phone.
Then, feeling a little curious, she opened the Jade Slip provided by the Profound Heaven Sect again.
The location on the homepage was set to the Profound Heaven Sect. Perhaps because it showed people nearby, most of the forum posts were from Profound Heaven Sect disciples.
Then Tang Yao spotted an icon labeled "Exchange Pavilion" and tapped it.
It displayed Tang Yao's points balance and the items available for exchange. Each item had a limited quantity available. Medicinal herbs had the most stock remaining, probably because most talisman cultivators did not know how to refine pills, so few people bought them.
There was only one treasure artifact left: the One-Leaf Boat, a flying Law Artifact. It had been left over because most talisman cultivators could draw flight talismans. Flying Law Artifacts were too expensive for them, all effort and no reward.
Another listing was rather interesting: one day of cultivation at a Spirit Vein. After paying the points, one could spend a day at the Spirit Vein. The dense Spiritual Qi surrounding it made it suitable for visits when advancing.
It felt as though there was nothing particularly good left. Just then, Tang Yao noticed "Refreshes in five days" in the upper right corner. Good grief, is this going to be a contest of clicking speed?
At that moment, the Vermilion Bird's voice sounded in her Divine Sense: "Exchange for those fire spirit mushrooms. Their grade isn't high, but their fire attribute helps me."
Tang Yao took a look. Each fire spirit mushroom cost 100 points. With a grand sweep of her hand, she bought twenty, spending nearly all her points.
Seriously, the stronger the Vermilion Bird is, the stronger I am! I have to give him my full support!
After Tang Yao paid the points, an image appeared, covered in intricate patterns. Beneath it were the words: "Please present this pattern at the rear mountain to collect your items."
What's this? A QR code? Tang Yao continued reading.
At the very bottom was another line in even smaller print: "Note: If you don't want to make the trip, you may pay 50 points for home delivery."
Tang Yao: "..." What is this? They won't even pass up this little bit of money! With all that high-tech stuff earlier, I thought the items could materialize right out of the Jade Slip!
Upholding her excellent habits from the twenty-first century, she unhesitatingly selected home delivery.
She quietly paid the 50 points and entered her address.
Before long, the Jade Slip displayed: "Your items have arrived. Please collect them promptly."
That fast? Are those 50 points that easy to earn?
Suddenly, a bold idea popped into her head. Could where we're staying actually be the rear mountain?
After a spell of speechless silence, she went to the entrance to collect the fire spirit mushrooms.
A carrying basket was packed full of them. Tang Yao brought the basket over and set it on the table, calling to the Vermilion Bird through her Divine Sense, "Little Red! Time to eat!"
A golden gleam flashed, and the Vermilion Bird emerged in the form of a cute little boy. "Hold on. Collect the fire spirit mushroom spores first."
"Plant these spores on the spirit wood in the plot outside. This garden of yours is rich in Wood Spiritual Qi. Feed them a tiny bit more Wood Spiritual Qi, then some Fire Spiritual Qi, and these mushrooms will definitely grow."
If that works, won't I never have to buy them again?
No sooner said than done!
Basket in hand, Tang Yao followed the Vermilion Bird to the growing plot and carefully placed the spores on the spirit wood. She circulated her Spirit Root. The instant she released Wood Spiritual Qi, the surrounding vegetation seemed more alive, its color turning a richer emerald green.
Then she fed Fire Spiritual Qi into the spirit wood. Once she finished, she looked at the Vermilion Bird. "Is that all?" The Vermilion Bird nodded, then casually picked up a fire spirit mushroom and stuffed it into his mouth. "Yesh. The shpores are planted, sho I'm taking theshe!" His little mouth was stuffed full.
He was simply heart-meltingly adorable. Tang Yao could never keep her hands off cute creatures like these. She extended her wicked claws and ruffled the Vermilion Bird's soft hair. Yet after just one rub, the Vermilion Bird twisted away, turned, and walked off.
"Hey, you're eating my mushrooms! At least let me ruffle your hair a couple of times!"