The gray-robed elder looked at the jade slips and ancient books on the table, just glanced at them, his face as calm as an ancient well.
"These few items of yours are all free. Come forward," he said, looking at Li Yan.
Li Yan took a step forward and stood there respectfully. The gray-robed elder picked up a jade slip shining with a faint green light. His other hand quickly slid over the jade slip, and a dot of green light shot out from the slip and towards Li Yan's forehead.
Li Yan only felt a dot of green light rapidly enlarge before his eyes. Before he could react, the dot of green light had already entered his forehead. The next moment, he felt a coolness on his forehead, but he also knew that this was an imprint being made. So he looked inward with his divine sense and saw that a green dot was already flashing in a corner of his sea of consciousness. Before he could withdraw his divine sense, he felt another coolness, and then he saw another flashing green dot in his sea of consciousness.
After just a moment, Li Yan's divine sense withdrew from his sea of consciousness. He saw that the gray-robed elder had stopped his actions and was looking at him.
"Alright, the jade slips and ancient books you wanted have been sealed in your sea of consciousness. If you need them, you can just touch the green dot with your divine sense to get simple information, and then pierce the green dot with your divine sense to see the contents inside. Since that's the case, you two can leave. I, an old man, still need to rest."
The gray-robed elder only gave a few simple instructions and then began to send the two of them away. At the same time, with a wave of his sleeve, the few jade slips and ancient books on the table disappeared without a trace. Then he yawned, didn't even look at the two of them again, and fell asleep on the table.
Li Wuyi and Li Yan looked at each other, then had no choice but to bow to the old man lying on the table and retreat. Just as they left the small bamboo house, the door closed on its own with a soft click. Li Wuyi released his flying magical artifact, and the two of them leaped onto it.
After a while, the two landed in front of Li Yan's bamboo courtyard. But to Li Yan's surprise, there were two people standing at the gate of the courtyard, two people he didn't know, or more accurately, two women.
These two women were both tall. One was in a red dress, about twenty years old, with a red gourd hanging from her waist. Her figure was fiery and full, with high breasts. She was dressed rather boldly, with a large expanse of snow-white skin exposed below her fair neck, with a faint cleavage visible. The hem of her red skirt only reached her calves, revealing a section of snow-white skin above her boots. A charming air lingered at the corners of her mouth and eyebrows. Her pair of phoenix eyes were constantly moving, and she was smiling at the two who had just landed.
The other young woman was in a white dress, about eighteen or nineteen years old, with skin like white porcelain, glowing with a smooth luster. Her face had the three-dimensional quality of a statue, but her lines were soft and round. Her crimson lips were slightly closed, and above her fine nose was a pair of thick, beautiful eyebrows. Her calm eyes seemed as deep as the ocean. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail that hung down her back. She had a tall and straight figure. The white dress was cinched at the waist, and the hem swayed gently in the wind, occasionally revealing the tight, straight legs underneath. Her beauty was different from that of the young woman in red. The young woman in red had a soft, charming, and captivating beauty, like a ripe peach. The young woman in white, on the other hand, had a hint of fortitude in her gentle beauty, leaning towards a neutral, alternative beauty. A sense of nobility and cold arrogance emanated from her bones. She stood there, seeming to be a little taller than the young woman in red. Her expression was calm, and her eyes were also looking at Li Wuyi and Li Yan with a faint gaze.
Li Yan was stunned when he saw these two. He didn't know what these two excessively beautiful women were doing standing in front of his courtyard. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Li Wuyi.
Li Wuyi was also looking at the two with some embarrassment. When he had flown over in the sky just now, his divine sense had already discovered the two of them, but they must have also discovered him. At this moment, seeing Li Yan's questioning gaze, he had no choice but to give a dry cough. "Hehe, Little Junior Brother, these two are Junior Sister Li Changting and Junior Sister Zhao Min from Never-Parting Peak."
He pointed to the young woman in red and the young woman in white respectively and introduced them to Li Yan.
Li Yan quickly stepped forward and cupped his hands to the two of them. "The newcomer, Li Yan, greets you, Senior Sister Li, Senior Sister Zhao."
After hearing this, the young woman in red raised her jade-like hand to cover her small mouth and giggled. "So you're the one who cultivated the Fragmented Poison Body. You look quite well-behaved. But you need to work hard on your cultivation, hehe..."
The young woman in white, however, just had a calm expression and didn't speak.
Li Yan could feel a faint pressure from these two. He guessed that this was with them having already restrained their presence. Since they were addressed as fellow disciples by Li Wuyi, they must be Foundation Establishment stage masters. This made him quite speechless.
In the past few days, he had only met people with high cultivation. Even that cultivator surnamed Yu from Spirit Insect Peak and his Seventh Senior Brother were at the top tier of the Qi Condensation stage, several times higher than him.
But why were all cultivator women beautiful? The few he had seen, including the few female disciples in the handyman department, although they couldn't be said to be as beautiful as immortals, each of them had a nimble and ethereal temperament.
This Senior Sister Li in red was captivating when she spoke. Li Yan's heart was already pounding and his face was red from listening to her. As for that young woman in white, she was a match for the cold Sixth Senior Sister. They were both tall and slender, with a "don't come near me" air about them.
"Senior Brother Wuyi, I wanted to come find you for a drink a few days ago, but my little darling was advancing in rank. When I came out today, I happened to run into Junior Sister Zhao on the peak, so I came over with her. You weren't in your courtyard. Later, I learned from Daqiao that you should be here. Junior Sister Zhao and I have been waiting here for a while."
Li Changting said, her eyes flowing with charm. As she spoke, she gently tucked a strand of hair, and the white expanse on her chest swayed. Li Yan's heart beat faster. He quickly lowered his head, looking somewhat at a loss.
Li Wuyi seemed to be blind to her charm. He shook his head. "Junior Sister Li, I'm not free today. I have to take my little junior brother to handle other matters right away."
"Oh, is that so? Daqiao said he already familiarized this Junior Brother Li with the situation here yesterday. Today, it seems it was just choosing a cultivation technique and immortal arts. So where did you two come from?"
Li Changting's phoenix eyes held a half-smiling expression as she looked at Li Wuyi.
Li Wuyi was stunned. He secretly blamed his Seventh Junior Brother. His face turned red, and he quickly said, "Oh, Junior Sister Li, it's not that I don't agree. It's just that whether it's reciting poetry or drinking with you, I admit defeat. And... and your wine is not easy to make. It's not good to drink it so casually."
He cleared his throat, his face showing a reluctant expression as he pointed to the red gourd at Li Changting's waist.
"Oh, Senior Brother Wuyi, I still haven't thought of a good next line for your 'The Small Bridge Departs, Also in Sorrowful Rain' last time. How am I not your opponent? Besides, drinking with a confidant is a joy. Although this wine was made with my dear, precious Wind-Listening Gu, Blood-Melting Gu, Bee-Ant Gu, and a pair of Intestine-Twisting Gu Kings, but..."
"Senior Sister Li, Senior Brother Wuyi, you two can chat slowly. I'll go back first. When Senior Sister Li is going back later, just call for me." Before the two could finish speaking, a cold voice came over. It was the young woman in white. It was obvious that this young woman didn't want to continue listening to their conversation, so she said such a nonsensical thing.
This sentence made Li Yan completely bewildered, but the two of them obviously understood. They both nodded at Zhao Min in white.
Seeing the two of them nod, the young woman in white tapped the ground with her toes, and her figure shot into the distance like an arrow, stirring up a wave of wind. When she left, she didn't even look at Li Yan.
Li Yan only felt a wave of wind roll up, and the surrounding bamboo leaves swayed non-stop. He had clearly seen her as if she were untouched by worldly dust, yet she left with such momentum. He didn't know if she was really in a hurry or for some other reason.
Li Yan secretly clicked his tongue. He didn't expect a woman's legs to be able to generate such explosive power.
The next moment, he couldn't help but look at the red gourd at Li Changting's waist. He thought of what Li Changting had said before she was interrupted by the young woman in white. The gourd seemed to contain wine made from a pile of gu-insects.
Li Changting seemed to sense Li Yan looking at her. She turned her head from the direction the young woman in white had disappeared and smiled sweetly. "Li... Yan, little junior brother, right? You're not old. Could it be that you're also a connoisseur of wine?"
Although Li Yan had heard her say that the wine was made from various gu-insects, many hunters in his hometown also often used the body parts of various demonic beasts, large and small, from the mountains to make wine. He wasn't particularly afraid. What was there to be afraid of if it was all soaked in wine? The customs of the Great Green Mountains were open. Although he was young, he would also occasionally drink some. But at this time, he didn't know how to answer. At this moment, Li Wuyi's voice sounded in his ear. He quickly looked up and saw that Li Wuyi was still looking in the direction the young woman in white had left and hadn't looked at him. But from his direction, he could see that the skin at the base of Li Wuyi's ear was a little bluish.
"Little Junior Brother, this is a voice transmission technique. This Junior Sister Li's wine is made from various gu-insects. Although it has the effect of improving magical power, but... but this method of brewing is very different from ordinary medicinal wine. Just from the appearance, I imagine you won't be able to drink it. Needless to say, the color of the wine is a riot of colors. The main thing is that there will be a layer of fine gu-insects floating on the wine. Some are completely dead, some may still be half-dead. After pouring it into a cup, some are still struggling and floating in the cup. Some may still be biting half a corpse of another gu-insect in their mouths. Some semi-transparent gu-insects can even be seen with other gu-insects crawling in their abdomens..."
Hearing this, Li Yan felt a tingling in his throat, as if countless small insects had crawled over it. His stomach churned and convulsed. He couldn't listen to Li Wuyi's subsequent words anymore. He looked at Li Changting, who was looking at him with a half-smiling expression, his face pale.
"Senior... Senior Sister Li, your junior brother has just entered the sect and still has a lot of homework to do. I won't disturb you two." After speaking, without waiting for the two to reply, he took out his waist token and shook it at the courtyard gate, and disappeared in a flash. The next moment, white mist billowed at the courtyard gate, instantly obscuring the small courtyard.
A string of silver-bell-like laughter rang out, and then Li Changting looked at Li Wuyi with a smiling expression.
"Senior Brother Wuyi, it seems you said something. This little junior brother is really interesting. But I was originally here to find you. This wine of mine is not for just anyone to drink. Hmm, you said you wanted to go to the back mountain bamboo forest to sit and talk about the past and present, with wine to liven things up? Or go to your small courtyard to drink and sing poems? I have recently learned a lot of poetry from my aunt. I imagine it will be difficult for you to win against me."
Li Wuyi's face was bitter, but he knew that standing here was not an option. Once he met her, it was even more difficult to get rid of this lady. He made a decision in his heart. Tomorrow, he would hand over the sect's affairs to his Fourth Junior Sister for a period of time. He had to go into seclusion.
Sighing, he had no choice but to force a smile. "Junior Sister Li, let's go to my small courtyard. I still have two jars of fine wine that Master gave me last time. The taste is very good. One of the jars is even pear blossom flavored."
"Is that so? I can try that. But those wines are often just to satisfy the appetite and don't have the effect of improving cultivation. How about this, one sip of pear blossom brew, one sip of my wine..."
Black lines covered Li Wuyi's handsome, sunny face. Then, the two of them flew into the distance, talking as they went. It was just that Li Wuyi's escaping light seemed weak and dim.
Li Yan plunged into the courtyard, shaking the token in his hand to activate the restriction, as if countless red insects were about to follow him in.
After entering the house, he rested for a while before he could cast aside the nauseating thoughts. He reached out and patted his storage pouch. A white light flashed, and a small porcelain bottle appeared in his hand. This was the Grain Abstinence Pill that his Eldest Senior Brother had given him today. He wanted to know how long he wouldn't have to eat after taking this thing. He uncorked the bottle, and a faint smell of herbs wafted out. He turned the bottle over and gently tapped it on his palm. A light purple pill the size of a soybean appeared in his palm. After putting away the small porcelain bottle, he gently picked up the light purple pill with two fingers and held it up to the sun to look at it.
The pill was semi-transparent in the light, with a smooth and round surface, like a very small purple sweet potato pellet.
After looking at it for a while, he felt that apart from its attractive luster, there was nothing else to see. A pill so small could make people not feel hungry for many days? He put it in his mouth and immediately felt a slightly woody taste on his tongue. The next moment, it turned into a warm current and rushed into his abdomen.
A feeling of fullness instantly filled his stomach, making him burp. There was not a trace of hunger left. It seemed he would have to ask the handyman department to deliver less food.
But in the next few days, he completely understood the effect of this Grain Abstinence Pill. For these few days, he had been continuously cramming knowledge of cultivation. He would sit cross-legged and calm his mind, opening the ancient books in his sea of consciousness to read in detail. When he was tired, he would sleep. When he woke up, he would continue to read the ancient books... After eight or nine days like this, he had unsealed and finished reading several ancient books, but he still didn't feel hungry.
Slowly, he put this matter to the back of his mind. Anyway, if he was hungry, he could just take another one. He figured that the three pills a month were calculated just right. Now his main energy was focused on cultivation. After he had read enough of the basic knowledge like the ancient books, he would put them aside and concentrate on formal cultivation. In the future, when he was resting, he could find some other books to increase his knowledge.