Chapter 23

Lin Du always considered herself a contradictory person. On the surface, she seemed carefree and easygoing, but in reality, she could tolerate her own shortcomings but couldn’t stand anyone else saying she was incapable.

She appeared to be “lying flat” (giving up), but in truth, she wasn’t completely passive. She kept getting back up, like doing sit-ups repeatedly, which was even more exhausting.

One might not always want to strive, but one must never admit defeat.

Aside from her relationships with her parents, there was nothing in this world that Lin Du couldn’t achieve or anyone she couldn’t win over if she set her mind to it.

Yan Ye noticed that his disciple, who usually retreated to her cave dwelling for personal cultivation after dinner, had returned to sit across from him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Master, you practice swordsmanship as a means of self-defense for an formation master. As your disciple, how should I compensate for my own weaknesses?”

This was the first time Lin Du had ever asked to learn something on her own initiative.

Yan Ye found it so surprising that he half-expected the sun to appear in the night sky.

Although Lin Du had been his disciple for less than a year, he believed he understood her fairly well.

She shared a similar attitude to his—a playful approach to life. Despite her being an Ice Spirit Root, her personality wasn’t cold at all; instead, she was remarkably easygoing.

Yan Ye was curious about what could drive such a carefree person to suddenly become so determined to improve herself. He wondered which deity might have inspired this change.

He asked her about it directly.

Lin Du replied, “One cannot allow oneself to be seen as incapable.”

Yan Ye thought to himself, *What kind of answer is that?* “Do you think I’ve been making you soak in Luo Ze just for the fun of it?”

What other reason could there be? To strengthen her lungs and body, of course.

Lin Du didn’t even bother to put on her usual lazy smile, sitting there on the ice with a weary expression.

“Lin Du, your ice-breaking palm strike—right now, no one below the Cloud Ascension stage could withstand it.”

Yan Ye chuckled softly and couldn’t resist ruffling the hair of his usually unflappable little disciple.

“Your body isn’t suited for intense physical activity. Swords and other heavy weapons are out of the question. As for those flashy spells, it’s not that you can’t learn them, but they require equally flashy gestures, so you…”

Yan Ye paused, then continued, “One good move is enough.”

“But you shouldn’t neglect physical training altogether. When your body recovers, you can still practice it. It’s never too late.”

He suddenly thought of something and added, “If you’re really desperate for self-defense, why not ask Jiang Liang for some poison powder?”

Lin Du rolled her eyes and stood up to leave.

Yan Ye suddenly called out to her, “Actually, there is a method that could work.”

Setting up an formation typically takes time, but there is a type of formation that possesses lethal power even while it’s being set up.

Lin Du paused in her steps.

“But, are your hands agile enough?” His voice was teasing, almost mocking. If Lin Du weren’t still considered a child here, she might have thought there was something off about his words.

With a blank expression, Lin Du turned around. “How about I show Master a flower hand trick?”

Yan Ye was puzzled. “Flower hand trick? What’s that?”

Lin Du extended her slender hands. Even though this body was only thirteen years old, the bones were perfectly formed, just like in her past life—long and well-defined, like bamboo.

Those were hands that seemed more suited for preservation in formalin, to be displayed in a museum or turned into specimens after the bones were exposed.

Then, she overlapped the bases of her palms, letting her ten fingers loosen slightly before she started rapidly twirling them.

Yan Ye: …

What kind of ghost had possessed his little disciple? He had sensed something was off today!

Lin Du didn’t forget to ask, “Is it fast enough? I can go even faster if it’s not.”

Yan Ye covered his forehead with his hand.

Lin Du withdrew her hands, thinking to herself that the older generation couldn’t keep up with the tricks of the younger generation.

She then earnestly placed her hands together in front of her, clenched them into fists, and after blowing a breath over them, she obediently unfolded each of her fingers one by one from the side, then neatly folded them back. They were exceptionally nimble.

Yan Ye finally gave up the idea of “exorcising a demon” from her. “Give me some time, I’ll have a tool specially crafted for you.”

Lin Du politely thanked him, showing none of the mischievous behavior she’d displayed earlier.

Yan Ye was somewhat exasperated. It was his first time taking on a disciple, and he lacked experience. He wondered if other disciples were as cheeky as Lin Du.

As Lin Du turned to leave, Yan Ye suddenly asked, “Did someone say you were weak and useless?”

“No.” Lin Du didn’t look back, her voice as soft as falling snow. “I just don’t want to be helpless when it really matters.”

Formation masters are even more fragile than the squishy mages in games. They spend a tremendous amount of effort calculating and pouring their energy into setting up formations or crafting tools. In the end, it’s all preparation work, making them unsuitable for combat or surviving in the wild.

This had been true for millennia, but Yan Ye didn’t believe in following tradition.

And now, Lin Du didn’t believe it either.

The first ancient incomplete formation she chose from the ten great ancient formations was a killing formation.

The sect’s treasure vault, long sealed, was finally about to see the light of day again.

The vault was difficult to access because it was protected by twenty-one different formations, each with a unique method of activation. But within the vault lay the sect’s greatest treasures.

Lin Du had overheard Feng Chao complaining about how the Demon Lord had stolen the sect’s most prized treasure.

…

Who ever heard of a sect’s prized treasure being stolen from an herb storage room? That’s no prized treasure—it’s more like a hammer.

Were the twenty-one formations guarding this treasure tower just for show?

Lin Du glanced at them. She could roughly identify the first eleven formations, but the last ten left her completely clueless.

In the storyline, how did the Supreme Sect end up in decline?

Oh, right, most of the people were wiped out by the demons, and the few remaining powerful figures sacrificed themselves to the Heaven.

Lin Du silently complained about the plot. *If this place collapses, it’s definitely on me.*

“We’ve arrived,” Feng Chao suddenly said.

The four youths simultaneously looked up at the nine-story tower before them.

It was undoubtedly a treasure tower, built with glazed tiles that were intricately adorned with various symbols, birds, beasts, and insects. In the autumn sunlight, it gleamed with brilliant colors, radiating a majestic aura.

Standing beneath it, one could feel an overwhelming spiritual pressure, making it impossible to look directly at the tower. If they stayed too long, they might even begin to see golden dragons, phoenixes, and fierce tigers roaming across the glazed tiles.

Only at the foot of a great mountain can one truly understand the difference between man and nature; only before a treasure tower can one comprehend the gap between mortals and immortals.

“You may go in. I won’t be joining you. Inside this tower are the spiritual treasures that disciples of our sect have collected from various places over the generations. These treasures were donated because they were not personally useful, but were preserved for the benefit of future generations. This is the true foundation of our great sect.”

“The treasure tower is protected by restrictions, and each of you can only choose one item. Once inside, close your eyes and sense it. The treasure will choose its own master.”

In the cultivation world, items are ranked from lowest to highest as magical tools, spiritual tools, magical treasures, and spiritual treasures, each category further divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.

The rarest are ancient spiritual treasures, and there are also the legendary celestial tools that have fallen from the upper realms, though they mostly exist as dust-covered relics in the lower realm.

According to Feng Chao, anything qualified to be housed in the sect’s treasure tower would be at least a top-grade spiritual treasure.

The Supreme Sect was indeed extraordinarily wealthy.