Putting down 《Thunder Brake Sword Art》, Wen Jingshu began to circulate her mental mantra.
Drawn by her technique, the surrounding lightning spiritual energy circulated through her body for three full cycles, constantly nourishing and tempering her meridians before finally entering her dantian.
Tempering her body with lightning spiritual energy achieved the same result as drawing heavenly tribulations to temper her body, just through a different path.
A mental mantra was the foundation of a cultivator. If compared to soil, then a technique was a great tree growing upon that soil.
The more extraordinary the mental mantra, the sturdier the tree, and the more powerful the executed technique would be.
The same technique would exhibit different power and aura under different mental mantras.
Just like 《Abyssal Lightning Decree》 which Wen Jingshu cultivated, its core lay in infinitely transforming oneself into lightning. The overbearing, swift, and violent nature of lightning was fully manifested in 《Abyssal Lightning Decree》.
Even if Wen Jingshu learned other, relatively gentler techniques in the future, her execution would still carry a trace of her mental mantra's shadow.
Identifying a sect by a cultivator's moves was done by recognizing their mental mantra.
In the latter half of the night, Wen Jingshu put down the lightning-attribute jade slip and took out her cauldron to refine pills.
Throwing the spiritual plants into the cauldron one by one, her refining speed was elegant, casual, and fast compared to three years ago. Within fifteen minutes, a batch of first-grade mid-tier Qi-Gathering Pills was finished.
She was using an ordinary cauldron, yet she barely managed to produce one pill that was nearly supreme-grade.
If she had used the Qingshuang Tripod, she could have refined at least three supreme-grade pills.
Wen Jingshu held the pill and fell into deep thought.
The purpose of a cauldron was to assist in alchemy, increasing the success rate and improving the quality of the pills.
But what if she didn't need these boosts? Did that mean she wouldn't need a cauldron at all?
An idea flashed through Wen Jingshu's mind, and she felt as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
It was a pity she wasn't at the Pill Sect, so she couldn't ask her sister.
Sending voice transmissions always felt a bit detached and unsatisfying.
Forget it. She would figure it out first. It wouldn't be too late to discuss it with Wen Shuyi once she had grasped some of the intricacies.
As dawn approached, Wen Jingshu finally allowed herself to lie down on the bed and pretend to sleep for a bit.
Today, a Fourth-Grade Alchemist was giving a lecture at the Lecture Hall on the Miscellaneous Peak. Wen Jingshu certainly didn't doubt Wen Shuyi's level; she was just curious since she hadn't met other alchemists yet.
After the lecture, Wen Jingshu also wanted to take a stroll to the Library and the Mission Hall. She wanted to find someone to make a talisman brush for her.
She also wanted to get some Yingxing Grass seeds to cultivate, so she could make her own talisman paper in the future.
In that case, she would also need to buy some cinnabar, as well as the blood of spirit beasts and demon beasts...
Ah, there were so many things to do every day. She was truly busy.
By the time Xu Zhizhi arrived at Little Spirit Peak to do her chores, Wen Jingshu had already finished swinging her sword. This time wasn't bad; she had only consumed ninety-nine Rejuvenation Pills.
“You've arrived at just the right time.”
“I'm going to the Lecture Hall on the Miscellaneous Peak later to attend a lecture. Once you're done with your chores, you can head back.”
Upon hearing Wen Jingshu's words, Xu Zhizhi's eyes lit up for a moment before returning to normal. She replied, “Yes, Senior Sister.”
The Lecture Hall was open to all disciples of the Qingyun Sect.
Personal disciples could go whenever they pleased, while other disciples had to exchange contribution points to attend.
Contribution points had to be earned by completing missions issued by the Mission Hall.
Of course, the contribution points required varied depending on the cultivator lecturing at the Lecture Hall.
Take alchemists, for example: a lecture by a First-Grade Alchemist only required twenty contribution points, while a lecture by a Fourth-Grade Alchemist required two hundred.
Xu Zhizhi wanted to attend as well, but unfortunately, two hundred contribution points was too expensive.
Serving Wen Jingshu on Little Spirit Peak earned her one hundred contribution points a month. She had saved up a thousand contribution points by now, but with cultivation techniques, spiritual artifacts, and weapons all requiring contribution points, she didn't dare waste two hundred on a lecture.
Personal disciples could actually bring a servant into the Lecture Hall, but she had only been on Little Spirit Peak for two days and didn't dare bring it up.
If she displeased Wen Jingshu and got dismissed, the loss would far outweigh the gain.
Unaware of the complex thoughts running through Xu Zhizhi's mind, Wen Jingshu gave her instructions, then took out a lotus-shaped flying magic treasure and departed.
After all, she was currently just the younger sister of a Second-Grade Alchemist, so she couldn't afford a luxurious magic treasure like a carriage.
Besides, it wasn't very far from here to the Miscellaneous Peak; using a carriage would be overkill.
As for flying on a sword? Why stand when you could sit?
Even if she was to become a sword cultivator, she would be one who knew how to enjoy life.
The Library, Lecture Hall, Mission Hall, and Spiritual Dining Hall were all located on the Miscellaneous Peak. Consequently, the Miscellaneous Peak was the largest peak in the Qingyun Sect and had the most foot traffic.
Dressed in her personal disciple robes and riding her lotus flying magic treasure, Wen Jingshu's petite figure instantly attracted the attention of countless disciples when she landed on the Miscellaneous Peak.
It wasn't currently the time for the sect to recruit disciples. A few days ago, Daoist Lord Beili, the peak master of Hidden Star Peak, had suddenly announced that he would take his final legacy disciple, which had caused quite a stir.
The robes of the personal disciples of each peak master were different from those of ordinary disciples. Furthermore, there were only a few dozen personal disciples in total. Since Wen Jingshu was a fresh face, those with keen eyes instantly recognized her as the legacy disciple Daoist Lord Beili had taken in.
“Senior Sister, is this your first time at the Miscellaneous Peak? Shall I lead you to the Lecture Hall?”
A young man in brown robes quickly stepped in front of Wen Jingshu. He had a gentle, harmless face that made it difficult for anyone to feel annoyed by him.
The Miscellaneous Peak was divided into a main peak and several secondary peaks. Since it was Wen Jingshu's first time and she was unfamiliar with the layout, having someone lead the way was naturally a good thing.
Having received her consent, Tang Shaorong beamed with joy as he led Wen Jingshu toward the Lecture Hall.
Seeing this, some of the other disciples looked down on him for buttering up a personal disciple, while others regretted not stepping forward first to make an impression on Wen Jingshu.
“The main peak of the Miscellaneous Peak houses the Discipline Hall. The Spiritual Dining Hall and the Lecture Hall each occupy their own peaks. The Lecture Hall that Senior Sister wants to visit is to the north.”
Tang Shaorong flew ahead on his sword, while Wen Jingshu followed behind on her lotus. It took another ten minutes of travel before they finally arrived at the Lecture Hall.
“Senior Sister, this disciple is named Tang Shaorong. This is my transmission talisman. If you need anything in the future, have any errands to run, or want to inquire about something, you can always come to me.”
Tang Shaorong was very tactful. Although he intended to latch onto Wen Jingshu's coattails, he kept his behavior perfectly measured.
Wen Jingshu took his transmission talisman and tossed a storage bag to him.
“A reward for you.”
Tang Shaorong caught the storage bag and was stunned for a moment before realizing it was a tip.
In the past, when he guided personal disciples, he would only receive one or two spirit stones. This was the first time he had ever received a storage bag as a tip.
Did this also mean her reward was extremely generous?
Tang Shaorong hurriedly put away the storage bag and bowed to Wen Jingshu once more. Before he could speak and take his leave, he heard Yun Xiange's voice.
“Junior Sister, how could you humiliate a junior brother with spirit stones?”
Wen Jingshu paused upon hearing Yun Xiange's words.
Her? Humiliating a junior brother? With spirit stones?
Xie Lanshan, who was with Yun Xiange, chimed in,
“Xiange, this junior sister of yours is so young, yet she is full of arrogance.”
“A cultivator possesses an unyielding spirit, kneeling only to heaven and earth. How could they bow their head for a few measly spirit stones?”
Tang Shaorong's face darkened when he heard their words.
Please, don't. We low-level cultivators don't have unyielding spirits.
Having struggled her way up from the bottom as a talisman cultivator in her past life, Wen Jingshu couldn't agree with their words either.
What was the use of keeping an unyielding spirit? Once your lifespan was depleted and your life was gone, that unyielding spirit would eventually just become white bones.
“Senior Sister, please don't misunderstand. This disciple has never felt that you were insulting me.”
If it really was an insult, then he begged Wen Jingshu to ruthlessly insult him another eight hundred times!
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