Chapter 63: Is Three Hours Enough?

A second-tier magical beast was instantly cleaved in two. Goldenfur’s eyes lit up at the sight of the beast core; it darted forward, snatched it up, and with a flick of its head, sent the core sailing straight into Yan Shu’s collar as she was running at full speed.

Yan Shu was at once overwhelmed by embarrassment—not only did the beast core land inside her collar, wedged against her chest, but she also felt as though she’d taken advantage of Yu Wenche. After all, it was Yu Wenche who had slain the beast; even if she wanted to claim the core, she ought to do so with his permission. Yet Goldenfur, that rascal, had simply helped itself without so much as a by-your-leave. It wasn’t really appropriate for her to retrieve it now: there was no time, and the location was far too awkward.

But Yan Shu wasn’t the only one feeling mortified. Yu Wenche, who had glanced back at Goldenfur’s antics, also felt his ears flush red and quickly averted his gaze. Even Xiao Jihan, though keeping watch at the rear, had been observing the front all along and now narrowed his phoenix eyes at Yu Wenche, his look cold.

Only Goldenfur seemed positively exuberant, circling the three of them. To call its behavior protective would be generous—it was far more intent on snatching up whatever spoils it could.

Yan Shu could hardly bear to watch; she had no desire to acknowledge that this creature was her own creation.

As the magical beasts attacked, Yu Wenche proved his prowess—though his cultivation was suppressed to the Golden Core stage, his strength as a Nascent Soul cultivator shone through. He dispatched second-tier magical beasts with a single strike; as for the first-tier ones, they hardly warranted mention.

The higher up the mountain they climbed, the fewer magical beasts there were, but those that remained grew in rank. After last night’s teamwork, Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan moved with practiced coordination. When beasts closed in from behind, Yan Shu would unleash a lightning strike—those of lower rank were instantly paralyzed, while the stronger ones had their speed crippled. At that moment, Xiao Jihan would follow up with a sword slash, cutting them down.

Goldenfur completely abandoned its original purpose, gleefully gathering beast cores. It had intended to deposit them all at Yan Shu’s feet, but after receiving a deathly glare from her, it obediently kept them in its mouth.

Yu Wenche, Xiao Jihan, and Yan Shu were all late-stage Golden Core cultivators; working together thus, they safely reached the mountaintop.

From afar, the summit had appeared as a sharp peak, but upon arrival, they discovered a flat plateau. At its center stood a massive stone, nearly twice the height of a man.

The three of them pressed their backs to the stone. Yu Wenche produced a sash, which, when tossed into the air, unfurled and burst into golden light. In an instant, what was once an ordinary sash became a colossal curtain, dropping down with a thunderous crash. Using the stone as an anchor, it enveloped the trio within its bounds.

As soon as the sash fell, the magical beasts stopped in their tracks, snarling and baring their fangs at the barrier.

The sash was peculiar; though it appeared to be white jade, it allowed a clear view of everything happening outside, as if it were utterly transparent.

Yan Shu couldn’t help but feel curious and examined the sash closely.

“This is the sash of Master Kongwu of the Brahma Heaven Sect. It has the power to ward off evil and repel demons,” Yu Wenche explained, his usual severity replaced by a relaxed demeanor. Leaning against the stone with his sword in his arms, he continued, “Master Kongwu gifted it to the imperial family of Yu Wen, and later, my father bestowed it upon me.”

Master Kongwu was a grandmaster said to have long since ascended; his sash was naturally a rare treasure. With its protection, Yan Shu finally relaxed. She transformed Goldenfur back into a thunder whip and held it in her hand; all the beast cores the creature had been hoarding fell to the ground.

She gathered the beast cores and asked, “How long will the sash’s power last?”

“It should hold for three hours,” Yu Wenche replied in a low voice as he observed the swelling number of beasts outside. “After that, the sash will lose its deterrent effect. You should restore your spiritual power quickly—there will be a fierce battle before dawn.”

At these words, Yan Shu turned to Xiao Jihan and asked, “Is three hours enough?”

Xiao Jihan nodded. “It will suffice.”

Hearing this, Yan Shu was finally at ease and smiled at Yu Wenche. “Within three hours, Xiao Jihan will be able to fully refine the Hao Yuan Pill. By then, the number of magical beasts will have diminished considerably. With the three of us, eliminating the rest will be no trouble.”

Xiao Jihan…

Yu Wenche noticed that, despite being master and disciple, Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan showed none of the usual deference between such pairs. She addressed him by name, and their conversation was that of equals—intimate and familiar. Neither seemed to find this odd; evidently, this was their normal way of interacting.

A pseudo-spirit root of four attributes, yet taken in as the sole personal disciple, the master suppressing his own cultivation to enter the secret realm for protection, and the Hao Yuan Pill… Piece by piece, the facts assembled themselves into a possibility Yu Wenche was reluctant to contemplate.

He was silent for a while, then, as if by chance, smiled and said, “It’s rare to see a master as devoted as Sister Yan, personally attending to every matter for her disciple. Truly, it inspires envy.”

Xiao Jihan glanced at him upon hearing this.

Yu Wenche acted as though he hadn’t noticed, keeping a gentle smile on his lips as he gazed at Yan Shu.

Yan Shu, for her part, suspected nothing. She thought Yu Wenche was simply expressing his feelings—after all, compared to the other sect master who treated him like a mere enforcer, her attitude toward Xiao Jihan was worlds apart.

She naively believed Yu Wenche was simply envious.

In truth, Yan Shu herself had little choice in the matter. If she could, she would have preferred to be an ordinary master.

Seeing the favorable impression score of nine above Xiao Jihan’s head, Yan Shu immediately declared her loyalty, “This is my first time as a master, and he is my only disciple—of course he is special. If he is willing, I will always treat him this way.”

Favorable impression: 8 (Acquaintance)

Yan Shu: ???

Was her way of expressing loyalty wrong? Why had her well-intentioned words caused his favorability to drop?

She truly couldn’t fathom where she had erred and could only look at Xiao Jihan with an innocent expression.

But Xiao Jihan didn’t even glance her way. He sat cross-legged with eyes closed, fully focused on refining the Hao Yuan Pill and recovering his spiritual power.

Yu Wenche, hearing Yan Shu’s words, allowed his smile to deepen.

So, it was simply because she was a first-time master with a sole disciple.

He looked at the nine-section thunder whip in Yan Shu’s hand and remarked with a smile, “I was too curious. Your artifact spirit must be tired—restore your spiritual power quickly.”

“Artifact spirit?” Yan Shu followed his gaze to the thunder whip in her hand. “You mean, the nine-section thunder whip has an artifact spirit?”

“You didn’t know?” Yu Wenche explained, “Although your thunder whip is a postnatal spiritual treasure, it is, after all, still an object—only spiritual treasures with spirits can transform into living beings and obey their master’s commands. Once an artifact spirit awakens, its cultivation depends on the master’s, but in battle, it does not rely solely on the master’s spiritual power—much like a contracted spirit beast.”

Yan Shu truly hadn’t known; in her understanding, only ancient relics from ages past or mysterious treasures fallen from the upper world might possess artifact spirits.

Her nine-section thunder whip, at most less than forty years old, was merely a postnatal spiritual treasure—how could it possibly have developed an artifact spirit?

She’d thought all weapons had minds of their own, just like Goldenfur!

Had she known it was an artifact spirit, she never would have tricked it by giving it such a doggish name.