Returning to Rainfall Pavilion, Wang Yu stood at the gate of his own courtyard and said with a smile, "Once I've tidied up, I'll take you around for a tour."
With that, he strode inside, humming a tune as he went, seemingly in good spirits.
Shen Xian remained standing where he was, lost in thought.
Although this person's behavior along the way had been proper, even frequently expressing goodwill, his origins were still unknown. It was necessary to remain cautious.
Putting aside his thoughts, he returned to his residence and unpacked the items he had brought from home.
Among them was Xiao Bai.
The little creature leaped and landed on a soft cushion on the nearby meditation platform. Hugging a spirit beast stone, it absorbed the spiritual energy within, its expression one of pure enjoyment.
Ever since Shen Xian gained status within his family, Xiao Bai's treatment had also improved dramatically, and it had grown increasingly satisfied with its current life.
After glancing at it, Shen Xian walked out of the room and went to the spirit spring in the backyard.
Now that he had arrived at the sect and there happened to be a spring here, it was the perfect place to settle the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise.
Shen Xian looked into his system space and directly chose to claim it.
With a flash of spiritual light, the bluestone ground beside the spirit spring trembled slightly, and dense ripples appeared on the water's surface.
The form of the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise gradually solidified. When its four feet touched the ground, not a single sound was made, as if it had merged with the earth's veins.
Its entire body was pitch black like ink. The Bagua patterns on its tortoise shell shimmered with dark golden light under the setting sun. Its dragon-whisker-like feelers swayed gently, stirring up wisps of spiritual mist.
Its pair of amber vertical pupils slowly opened. First, they swept over the spirit spring, then settled on Shen Xian. Its gaze was as deep and serene as an abyss, revealing a trace of human-like scrutiny.
Boom—
The moment the spirit tortoise appeared, rippling waves suddenly appeared on the protective formation set up in the courtyard.
The Bagua patterns on the tortoise shell and the formation runes actually resonated subtly. Dark golden light flowed along the veins of the formation patterns, merging with the entire courtyard's grand formation in the blink of an eye.
Shen Xian keenly sensed that the aura of this fourth-order spirit beast—which would normally make even Nascent Soul cultivators take notice—was now perfectly concealed.
Under the cover of the formation, to outsiders, this appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary first-order Mystic Water Turtle. Even the Bagua patterns on its shell became blurred and indistinct.
The spirit tortoise slowly paddled its limbs, crawling clumsily toward the springhead.
But Shen Xian noticed that each place its claws landed happened to be precisely on a node of the formation.
The spiritual energy rising from the spring water was drawn into forming a vortex. Yet, just as an unusual phenomenon was about to manifest, a flick of its tail scattered it, restoring calmness once more.
Most remarkably, those spirit sparrows that should have been startled into flight by the appearance of a high-order spirit beast were still chirping on the branches.
Clearly, this spirit tortoise not only concealed its rank but also perfectly restrained its natural pressure on lower-order creatures without a single leak.
Watching it leisurely sink to the bottom of the spring, Shen Xian saw how the patterns on its shell perfectly overlapped with the Dust-Avoiding Formation secretly engraved on the pool's bottom. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly: Truly worthy of being an ancient variant species. This innate talent for manipulating Heaven and Earth's primal energy is practically comparable to a grandmaster formation expert.
Meow—
Suddenly, Xiao Bai arched its back and darted out from inside the house. Its snow-white fur stood on end all over its body, and its tail puffed up into a fluffy ball.
It nimbly leaped onto a plum tree branch. Its amber vertical pupils narrowed into slits as it stared fixedly at that colossal figure by the spring.
Its front claws unconsciously scratched at the tree bark, leaving several deep claw marks on the branch.
A trace of aura revealed by the spirit tortoise earlier had still been detected by Xiao Bai—the Thunder Pattern Spirit Cat—also a fourth-order spirit beast.
The Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise remained motionless by the spring; it didn't even lift an eyelid.
On its thick shell, the Bagua patterns emitted a faint glow. Its dragon-whisker-like feelers swayed slightly with each breath.
A drop of water slid off its shell and fell onto a bluestone with a soft "tap," unusually clear in the quiet courtyard.
Mrowl—
Xiao Bai squeezed out a threatening growl from deep in its throat. The thunder patterns on its back flickered faintly.
Yet its four furry paws trembled honestly, betraying inner fear.
Although both were at the same cultivation stage, there was a world of difference in their bloodline grades.
The Spirit-Seeking Tortoise finally reacted.
It slowly raised its head. Its amber vertical pupils glanced sideways at the little creature in the tree. From its nostrils, it exhaled a puff of water vapor mixed with spiritual mist.
The water mist spread out like a gauze curtain, precisely enveloping Xiao Bai.
Meow-ow!
Xiao Bai instantly turned into a drenched cat. Its snow-white fur clung wetly to its body, looking utterly disheveled.
Furious and embarrassed, it paced back and forth on the branch. Its tail slapped against the tree trunk repeatedly. Yet it never dared to actually pounce down.
The Spirit-Seeking Tortoise lazily withdrew its gaze and slowly turned its head toward the direction of the spirit spring.
Its demeanor was exactly like an elder who disdained to bother with childish antics.
"Alright now, both of you behave." Shen Xian's voice turned stern.
Perhaps sensing its master's mood, that Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise immediately concealed its aura again.
Xiao Bai felt resentful but didn't dare act recklessly. In frustration, it simply jumped back into the room instead.
"You stay here and cultivate. Do not reveal your aura." Shen Xian then looked at the Black Mystic Spirit-Seeking Tortoise and tossed over a Jade Marrow Crystal.
The spirit tortoise opened its mouth and caught the Jade Marrow Crystal. A low hum resonated from its throat as if in response.
It slowly sank into the spirit spring. The Bagua patterns on its shell flickered faintly, intertwining with the spiritual energy in the spring to form a subtle barrier.
Shen Xian nodded in satisfaction and turned to head back inside, but suddenly felt an unusual fluctuation from behind.
He paused mid-step and glanced sideways.
A few blurry runes had actually surfaced on the spirit spring's water, vaguely pointing toward a certain location deep within Green Bamboo Peak.
"Interesting..." His eyes glinted thoughtfully.
Since this spirit beast could seek treasures, it seemed there must be something good there.
However, this was within sect grounds, after all. Even if there were treasures, they likely already had owners.
Shen Xian did not covet them.
Knock, knock, knock.
As evening approached, a knocking sound came from outside.
Shen Xian went to the courtyard and opened the gate.
He saw Wang Yu standing there smiling broadly, swinging two wine gourds in his hand.
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere interesting." Wang Yu grinned, revealing two canine teeth.
"Senior Brother Wang is truly enthusiastic." Shen Xian did not move, looking directly at him, intending to lay things out plainly.
Because he understood clearly that this person also had ulterior motives. Rather than engaging in pretense with him, it would be better to speak directly.
"You asked me earlier why I've been so attentive, didn't you?" Wang Yu discerned his thoughts and got straight to the point.
Shen Xian raised an eyebrow, quietly waiting for his answer.
"That's right, just as you suspect, I do indeed want to curry favor with you." Wang Yu met those clear eyes directly, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Cultivation isn't just about aptitude; connections matter too. If I can establish ties with you, a direct descendant of the Shen Family, it would naturally benefit me."
Such blunt words made Shen Xian's expression falter momentarily. But soon, a faint smile appeared. "That makes sense."
He wasn't averse to such behavior; it was human nature. On the contrary, if the other party continued hiding his true intentions while scheming otherwise, it would make him more wary.
"However..." Shen Xian changed his tone, looking at Wang Yu with a half-smile. "Since Senior Brother Wang wants to curry favor with me, shouldn't you show some sincerity?"
Hearing this, Wang Yu laughed heartily.
He pulled out a jet-black iron lump from his robes and tossed it over. "Here, this is an ordinary refined iron imitation of Profound Pattern Steel I made. The quality is a bit lacking, but the cheap cost makes up for it. Don't look down on it."
Shen Xian caught the iron lump; it felt heavy in his hand. The surface patterns were somewhat rough, but it indeed captured some essence of Profound Pattern Steel.
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. "You know smithing too?"
"Just dabble in the basics." Wang Yu scratched his head, rarely showing a bit of embarrassment. "Those ten years at Reflection Cliff weren't idle. I spent every day pondering smithing techniques against stone walls."
As he spoke, he untied the wooden sword at his waist and handed it over. "This Green Bamboo is my thirty-seventh improved version. Better at channeling spiritual power than regular iron swords."
Taking the wooden sword, Shen Xian noticed fine intricate carvings on the blade. Seemingly chaotic, they actually followed a certain profound pattern.
He suddenly understood something. "You practicing swordplay at the back mountain daily is actually you testing smithing materials?"
Wang Yu showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes then readily admitted, "Correct. My cultivation is mediocre, so I can only focus efforts on smithing."
Shen Xian nodded slightly and returned the wooden sword. "I already have a sword, but I'll keep the iron lump."
Not that he coveted the item; he just found the person before him interesting. Plus, being alone at the Divine Wood Sect was inconvenient at times; having a companion wouldn't be boring.
So, he tacitly allowed the other to continue "currying favor."
"Haha, then let me show you around?" Wang Yu laughed heartily.
Shen Xian nodded.