Chapter 12 Part 1

Lin Yu excitedly emerged from seclusion.

He laughed heartily, his laughter brimming with the joy of success.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance to the Pill Room. After Lin Yu came out, he completely ignored the other alchemists of the sect and looked straight at Shen He, who stood at the back of the crowd.

Lin Yu beckoned to Shen He with satisfaction. “Come here.”

Shen He’s heart raced with unease. Was this True Person Lin Yu in front of him truly himself, or was it his Jade Pendant Master, who would seize the body without a second word?

The crowd parted to make a path, and Shen He hurried over to Lin Yu, speaking with utmost caution.

“Greetings, Shizun. Congratulations on your successful refining and breakthrough.”

“Shen He, that heirloom jade pendant of yours was of great use to me. From it, I obtained the pill refining experiences of an ancient pill dao powerhouse, which allowed me to break through my pill refining level. I even refined several furnaces of perfect-grade pills.”

Lin Yu sized up Shen He’s cultivation. “You’ve reached Foundation Establishment? Not bad, but your foundation is unstable. Take these pills to consolidate your cultivation.”

He handed Shen He a gourd seemingly made of yellow jade and also gave him a Storage Bag.

“Your Shizun will be quite busy next. I might not have time to protect and guide you. Here are some protective demonic treasures and some cultivation methods. Go back and cultivate diligently.”

At this point, Lin Yu’s tone grew heavier, and a trace of terrifying pressure emanated from him, as if to intimidate everyone present.

“Also, I’ve left a spell talisman inside you. If you suddenly perish, everything that happened in the three days before your death will fall into my hands. While I can’t protect you in real time, sending your enemies to report to the Underworld together is no problem at all.”

Hearing this, Shen He felt greatly reassured.

With Lin Yu’s words, at least within the sect, he should have a safe environment for cultivation.

He kowtowed sincerely. “Thank you for your protection, Shizun.”

But… the jade pendant wasn’t returned to him?

Was the Jade Pendant Master still there? What exactly was going on?

Lin Yu nodded. “You helped me break through in pill dao, which counts as a contribution to Silent Night Palace.”

After all, the safety of Silent Night Palace rested on the Silent Night Demon Lord, and that Demon Lord was currently just a bird chick waiting for him to feed it pills.

With that, he waved his hand, dismissing Shen He.

As soon as Shen He stepped back, True Person Lin Yu was surrounded by a group of people.

Seeing that his newly minted Shizun was temporarily too busy to pay him any mind, Shen He quickly stowed away the Yellow Jade Gourd and the Storage Bag.

Pang Sanxian very astutely blocked the other Foundation Establishment fellow disciples and sisters who tried to cozy up to him. Shen He gave Pang Sanxian a grateful look and hurried away.

As soon as Shen He returned to his room, he immediately activated the Protective Formation. He took out the Yellow Jade Gourd and the Storage Bag.

He first opened the Storage Bag and found inside a spirit sword that was entirely emerald green and a white bone bell.

The Storage Bag also contained two scrolls: one recording an escape technique for fleeing, and the other a concealment technique from the Night Sea Birthing Light Illusion Technique, suitable for low-level disciples’ cultivation. It allowed him to hide his demonic qi and divine sense in places with light.

Overall, this apprenticeship gift was perfect for Shen He. It had offensive and defensive spirit tools, as well as secret arts for fleeing and hiding, which alleviated his predicament of having just advanced to Foundation Establishment with no savings or reserves.

But Shen He still frowned tightly. He hadn’t found any trace of the Jade Pendant Master on the Emerald Jade Sword or the White Bone Bell, so he turned his attention to the last item, the Yellow Jade Gourd.

As soon as he uncorked the Yellow Jade Gourd, a refreshing fragrance that soothed the soul nearly burst forth.

Xie Linlang’s voice rang out. “Does a single whiff make you feel like your soul is leaving your body and your cultivation is perfected?”

Shen He had been intoxicated by the fragrance, feeling light-headed and euphoric, but Xie Linlang’s words struck him like a morning bell or evening drum, snapping him awake.

He exclaimed in delight. “Shizun!!”

“It’s me.”

Xie Linlang sensed Shen He’s joy and softened his tone somewhat.

“That’s great. I thought…”

“You thought I was dead?”

“Uh, no.” Shen He answered honestly, his voice a bit muffled. “This disciple thought Shizun would stay with Senior Lin Yu. After all, he’s a Nascent Soul cultivator, while this disciple has only just reached Foundation Establishment, and even my foundation is unstable…”

Xie Linlang’s voice grew even gentler. “How can he compare to you?”

Shen He felt both moved and invigorated. “This disciple will work hard!” He asked urgently, “Shizun, how are you now? What about Senior Lin Yu…”

“Oh, him? He doesn’t remember me.”

Xie Linlang said lightly, “He only thinks that your jade pendant contained many pill refining insights. After comprehending them, the jade pendant vanished on its own, so he prepared some compensatory items for you.”