Wen Li assumed he wanted some but felt too embarrassed to ask, so she bought another skewer and held it out in front of his lips.
“Come on, if you want some, just say so. Your parents gave me a fortune to look after you. If they found out I wouldn't even let you have a candied haw, their hearts would break.”
Since it was already right at his mouth, Gu Linshu—abiding by the etiquette that one should never refuse a gift from an elder—had no choice but to reach out and take it. Staring at the bizarrely shaped confection before him, he furrowed his brows and took a curious bite.
The sweetness of the sugar coating combined with the tart tang of the hawthorn brought a novel burst of flavor, making the youth's eyes light up slightly.
“Good, isn't it?” Wen Li raised an eyebrow.
“I-It is,” Gu Linshu nodded repeatedly.
Seeing his delighted surprise, Wen Li couldn't help asking, “Don't tell me you've never had one before?”
“Mm. Dedicated staff always p-prepare my meals. My p-parents don't... don't let me eat street f-food,” Gu Linshu nodded honestly with a dazed expression.
“...” The candied haw in Wen Li's mouth suddenly lost its charm. Turns out he was just used to living on delicacies and banquets every single day.
Munching on her treat, she asked, “Do you remember the tenth rule of our sect?”
Gu Linshu had an excellent memory. “T-To... to learn how to cook, and... and it has to taste good.”
“Good, as long as you remember.” Wen Li patted his shoulder, speaking with heartfelt earnestness, “Starting tomorrow, you will learn to be self-reliant. You're only at Early-Stage Foundation Establishment and haven't achieved inedia yet. If you ever get trapped somewhere or lost in the deep wilderness, you'll starve to death. All the money in the world won't buy you food out there.”
“Okay.” Hearing the logic in that, Gu Linshu agreed immediately.
The two continued strolling down the street. Wen Li treated him to various delicious street snacks until the moon hung high and the night deepened, by which time the street vendors had packed up and gone home, leaving almost nobody outside.
After renting a room at an inn, Wen Li led Gu Linshu stealthily toward the headquarters of Yunyi Fort.
Dressed in black robes and masks, the two hid atop a nearby hilltop to scout.
The seven cultivators guarding the main gates of Yunyi Fort were at most at the Tenth Level of Qi Refinement.
Yet Wen Li did not recklessly venture inside; she simply turned on her heel and left.
Gu Linshu hurried after her. “E-Eh, Master, where... where are you going?”
Wen Li waved a hand dismissively. “The array I'm looking for isn't here.”
Only after retrieving a compass and calculating the direction did she continue forward.
Guided by the compass, they made their way deep into the dense forests between several towering mountains. The terrain here was desolate, with weeds growing almost as tall as Gu Linshu. Wen Li led him forward on flying swords, skirting around the mountain ahead.
The needle of the compass pointed steadily toward the tallest mountain in the center, ceasing its rotation.
“This should be the place.”
Putting the compass away, Wen Li glanced at the chaotic thicket below, where one could neither find footing nor see the ground. She formed an incantation gesture and hurled down a fireball.
Whoosh!
The wild weeds were instantly set ablaze.
As the flames flared across the mountainside, Wen Li raised a hand to erect a barrier; the fire burned only until it reached the perimeter of the barrier before dying out.
“Follow me, and watch your step. This place holds a massive compound array; if triggered, even a Soul Formation cultivator would die trapped inside.” Even the fire earlier had been guided by her spiritual energy to avoid touching any mechanisms.
At her warning, Gu Linshu immediately focused his attention on Wen Li's footsteps, which appeared crooked and haphazard yet followed a deliberate pattern.
Still, he couldn't help asking, “M-Master, how did you know th-there was an array here?”
“Because your ancestor, Xiang Chongming, and I laid it down together.”
Wen Li kept her head lowered so Gu Linshu couldn't see her expression, but a faint light flickered across her inky eyes. Beneath each of the five surrounding mountains lay a massive array; combined, they formed a lethal slaughter array.
Gu Linshu's brow twitched. To be able to set up an array capable of slaughtering Soul Formation cultivators... just how extraordinarily powerful had his master been in the past?
【Host, you're just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How are you so badass?】 The System suspected Wen Li was bragging.
【Cut the crap, of course I'm bluffing him. How else would I seem profound and formidable enough to make him willingly accept a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator as his master?】
The System burst into hysterical laughter. It knew its host was just flexing.
Treading cautiously all the way, the two arrived at the foot of the central mountain, which was encircled by four others occupying the cardinal directions of east, west, south, and north.
Wen Li tilted her head, lost in thought.
“Master, is... is there danger?” Gu Linshu asked, puzzled.
“No, I forgot the passphrase to open the door,” Wen Li sighed, looking up.
“...” This was the first time Gu Linshu had seen this side of Wen Li. He felt a small jolt of shock—or rather, sheer speechlessness.
Wen Li decided to test her first guess. Sticking her rear out, she leaned over a boulder in front of the mountain and muttered in a hushed, furtive whisper, afraid of losing her dignity as a master:
“Stay up all night to cultivate, boundless power will await!”
“...” Nothing happened; only a pair of crows flew overhead.
Wen Li tried again. “To make your cultivation speed take flight, crooked paths and evil ways are right?”
Gu Linshu: “...”
“Slaughter every righteous dog under the sky, refine gu, refine men, and refine fellow cultivators dry?”
Gu Linshu: “...”
Wen Li tested several more of her “exquisite” life mottos, but none worked. A surge of irritation welled up inside her; she felt this damn password was insulting her refined taste.
Having started out furtively whispering, her voice grew louder and increasingly frenetic until she roared:
“Slack on cultivation today, become brothers in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner tomorrow!”
Beside her, Gu Linshu’s expression had frozen stiff. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong with his master. Calling her an evil cultivator didn’t even begin to cover it; she seemed mentally...
Just as Wen Li assumed this one was wrong too and reached for Hold On to pry the mountain gate open, she suddenly heard:
“Ding! Passphrase correct.”
It was music to her ears! Flipping her disheveled hair, she waved her hand with dashing flair.
“Let's go!”
The mountain itself didn't budge, but a swirling cavern entrance of deep blue light abruptly materialized right where they stood. Wen Li led Gu Linshu inside.
The cavern was pitch black. Wen Li had Gu Linshu take out a luminous pearl for illumination. After walking for a stretch, they arrived at a dead end.
Wen Li flipped her wrist, and Hold On instantly appeared in her hand. Gripping the kitchen knife, she slashed wildly at the dead-end wall until the blade marks formed the shape of an array.
Wen Li tossed ten high-grade spirit stones onto it. The array manifested, rotated, and revealed another intangible vortex doorway. The two stepped through. After passing through nine such doors, they finally reached the true center of the mountain.
When the final doorway opened, a cavern resembling an underground tomb unfolded before Gu Linshu's eyes, looking as though half the mountain had been hollowed out.
With a wave of Wen Li's hand, the dim cavern was flooded with brilliant light.
Only then could Gu Linshu see the full picture: below lay a circular cloud altar ten meters in diameter, the surrounding excavated space filled to the brim with glowing, deep-blue spirit crystals.
“Go rotate all eight pillars to face the center of the array.”
Gu Linshu jumped down to obey.
Wen Li cleared the array of debris. With a flick of her hand, an Interprovincial Passage array—somewhat similar to the one in the undersea realm—was revealed.
It truly was somewhat damaged.
Frowning slightly, Wen Li channeled spiritual energy into Hold On—which had transformed into a dagger—and began repairing the missing and damaged sections of the array. When focused on her work, she remained utterly silent, her brow and eyes calm and aloof, radiating quiet confidence and appreciation in her own craftsmanship.
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