"You all, in the next few days, come to my place to cultivate. I'll teach you for a while," Shui Huanmeng said to her eight disciples as soon as she dreamt of Chen Jinshu's return.
"Yes, Master!" they all responded, raising their hands in unison.
She then tossed a jade bracelet, inlaid with golden patterns, into Chen Jinshu's arms.
"This is the Spirit Beast Bracelet I used during my Foundation Establishment stage. It's far better than that low-grade one you had before. Since the Sect Leader promised to compensate you, he won't go back on his word. Most likely, it'll be combined with your reward for capturing the demonic cultivator and bringing back a living witness."
"Thank you, Master," Chen Jinshu said softly.
The bracelet felt cool and light in her hand, and once she put it on, it merged with her body temperature, as if it wasn't even there. Though it hadn't been refined yet, she could sense with her spiritual consciousness that it was five times larger than her previous spirit beast pouch, and its internal space was vast.
"Spirit Beast Bracelets are for storing spirit beasts. If you try to store cultivators in them, they'll be destroyed."
"I understand, Master."
"Alright! It's getting late—we should leave," Shui Huanmeng said, flying onto the back of a Fire-Feathered Crane and heading toward Biyi Hall.
Chen Jinshu noticed that disciples all around were being led away by their respective Peak Masters—only a few, like her, were taken personally by their master.
A thought rose in her mind:
The Xuanyin Sect is preparing for a major move.
Disciples like Chen Jinshu, who had already passed the Demon-Illuminating Mirror test, had essentially been cleared of suspicion of being demonic cultivators.
Of course, there were still some cultivators colluding with demons whose techniques weren't demonic in nature and couldn't be detected.
As for the elders and disciples from visiting sects, they had all been detained by the Sect Leader. No one knew what private discussions were taking place, but they'd all been gathered in one place. With the captured demon disciples as evidence, those visiting elders and disciples would have a hard time escaping responsibility.
What Chen Jinshu was most curious about now was: what kind of compensation would the sect demand from them? Having demonic cultivators appear among disciples participating in a secret realm was no small matter.
"Junior Sister, it's time to go. Things are about to get chaotic around here," Senior Brother Zheng Shaosi quietly reminded her.
"Got it."
Chen Jinshu withdrew her gaze, took out the Gale Gourd from her hair bun, and flew toward Biyi Hall.
Zheng Shaosi and the others also departed using their own methods.
…
A while later, at Biyi Palace. All eight of Shui Huanmeng's disciples were now gathered. She was already seated serenely in the center of the main hall on a cushion, with tea prepared.
"Sit down. Do you know why I've summoned you to cultivate here for a while?"
"Master wants us to stay away from the sect's upcoming purge of demonic cultivators. Among the hundreds of disciples who entered the secret realm, ten or so from the Xuanyin Sect fell to demonic cultivation. Who knows how many are still hidden among the thousands in our sect?" Huai Jingyi answered after seeing Senior Brother nod at him.
"Correct—but that's not the only reason," Shui Huanmeng nodded with satisfaction, then paused slightly.
The disciples seated in two rows looked toward her.
"I've sensed a bottleneck. I'll be entering closed-door cultivation soon to break through. It could last two or three years—possibly even five or more. So before that, I want to give you all some final guidance. Especially you, Jinshu—this is the best time to lay a strong foundation. Aim to establish your Foundation within five years!"
The others were surprised. They knew their master had been at the peak of the Golden Core stage for a long time, but breaking into the Nascent Soul stage was no trivial matter. Most cultivators at the peak of Golden Core would cultivate for over a decade before attempting a breakthrough—yet their master had only been at it for less than five years.
"No need to be surprised. I've laid a solid foundation, so it'll be a bit faster for me than most Golden Core peak cultivators."
"When will Master go into seclusion?" Zheng Shaosi asked.
"Within three months—after the sect finishes cleaning up the demonic cultivators."
Huai Jingyi could only pray for her successful breakthrough. Though he was skilled in divination, attempting to divine something about a Nascent Soul stage cultivator like his master could bring severe backlash—possibly even affect his own fate.
Chen Jinshu simply felt that her time with her master had been too short—less than a year. If her master secluded herself for five years, the questions she'd accumulate in cultivation would be many.
"Don't worry. Five years will pass in the blink of an eye," Shui Huanmeng said, handing each disciple a cup of bright orange spirit tea.
"This is Body Tempering Tea. It will purge impurities from your body, strengthen your foundation, and significantly accelerate your cultivation."
"Thank you, Master!"
Chen Jinshu raised her cup and drank it without hesitation. A warm sensation quickly filled her abdomen.
"Alright! Once you've had your tea, go pick a room. In the coming days, bring any cultivation problems to me."
"Jinshu, stay behind," Shui Huanmeng said, smiling at her.
Chen Jinshu had expected this and remained seated. Once the other disciples had left, Shui Huanmeng closed the door.
"Master! I've lived up to your trust—I obtained a mysterious stone!" Chen Jinshu quickly brought out a wooden box from her storage pouch and handed it over.
"Do you know what kind of stone it is?"
"I don't."
"You may need it in the future. This is a Calamity Stone—it can help someone facing a tribulation avoid a deadly trial."
"A Calamity Stone?" Chen Jinshu frowned slightly. She had never heard of such a rare item.
"Do you know that when a Golden Core cultivator breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, they must pass three tribulations and five disasters?"
"Please enlighten me, Master."
"You're still inexperienced, so it's better not to know too much yet. I'll give you a rough idea. The three tribulations are: the Lightning Tribulation, the Flesh Tribulation, and the Karma Tribulation—also called the Heart Demon Tribulation. The lightning and karma ones are the deadliest. Failing them means death. This Calamity Stone can cancel one of them."
"How miraculous…" Chen Jinshu blinked.
"I tried to track it down back then, but ultimately didn't take it. First, because my cultivation was still shallow, and revealing it would cause too much trouble. Second, the snake demon guarding it had only lost its body, but retained its soul. Easy to break its formation—hard to destroy it. Without killing the snake, the stone couldn't be taken..." Shui Huanmeng's gaze turned distant as she spoke.
"Master, when I got there, everyone in the village had already been eaten by another snake demon."
"Sigh… those people couldn't escape their fate after all."
"Master knew them?"
"That was over 300 years ago. The village survived by growing spirit mushrooms—I even obtained quite a few strains from them. You've seen them; they're the ones growing in our front and back yards. Those villagers were punished by the secret realm's creator—left in a land filled with beasts to suffer. The secret realm was their prison."
"In the end, they still perished in the belly of a snake… Fate cannot be avoided."
Shui Huanmeng's eyes reflected sorrow.
"Oh right, Master—we also found a blood-red jade pendant in the snake's cave. The blood aura it released made any cultivator who touched it lose control."