After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 26

At the peak of Cloud Elixir Peak, the figure of Reclusive Elder Mu Yun melted into the mist and quietly vanished, as if he had never been there.

Ye Li stood alone before the secluded small courtyard’s entrance, looking around. The spiritual energy concentration here was far superior to the cold spring behind the Ye family’s mountain, and it was even several times purer and more concentrated than the overall spiritual energy of the sect she felt during the Azure Cloud Ladder assessment! The dense spiritual energy had nearly solidified into a thin mist, swirling amongst the mountain forests and bamboo houses. Taking a breath instantly made her feel refreshed and invigorated throughout her limbs and body.

“As expected of the Profound Cloud Sect, a single peak possesses such spiritual endowment,” Ye Li secretly praised. Cultivating here would certainly be much faster than outside.

She pushed open the bamboo fence gate of the small courtyard with a soft “creak.”

The courtyard was small and extremely simple. Three bamboo houses stood side by side, with a small patch of open ground in front. In the corner grew a clump of emerald green spirit bamboo, swaying gently in the breeze and rustling softly. The bamboo houses looked a bit old, but they were kept spotlessly clean.

The middle one was the main room, furnished with a bed, a table, a chair, and a meditation cushion, all made of bamboo—simple to the point of being spartan. To the left was the quiet room, with simple spirit gathering array patterns laid on the floor; this was the place for cultivation. To the right was the storage room and a small washroom.

The conditions were indeed plain, not even comparable to the residences of some favored illegitimate sons in the Ye family. However, Ye Li was quite satisfied. This place was quiet, rich in spiritual energy, and free from disturbance, which was exactly what she needed. As for luxury and enjoyment, she never cared about them.

She stood still in the small courtyard, carefully sensing the flow of spiritual energy here. The spiritual energy of Cloud Elixir Peak seemed different from elsewhere. Besides the inherent spiritual source energy between heaven and earth, it was mixed with a faint medicinal fragrance and a gentle hint of fire, which was likely related to the disciples on the peak constantly refining elixirs and crafting talismans. This environment would be greatly beneficial for her to comprehend the ancient rune notebook obtained from the Ye family’s treasure vault and to attempt refining elixirs.

Not long after, there were faint footsteps outside the courtyard.

A young man, about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing the gray cloud-patterned outer disciple uniform, stood cautiously outside the fence and respectfully called out, “Ye… Senior Sister Ye, are you there? This disciple has been ordered by Elder Mu Yun to deliver the inner disciple supplies.”

Ye Li opened the door. When the young man saw her, his face immediately showed nervousness and reverence, clearly having heard the prestigious name of this newly advanced senior sister who had topped the assessment. He held a tray, on which lay a stack of clothes, a token, several jade bottles, and a small cloth bag, all neatly arranged.

“Come in,” Ye Li said calmly.

Only then did the young man dare to walk into the small courtyard, placing the tray on the stone table. He respectfully said, “Senior Sister, these are your three sets of inner disciple robes, which can be changed according to the season. This is your identity token; you need to drip blood to bind it. With this token, you can freely enter most areas of Cloud Elixir Peak and also exchange resources and accept missions within the sect. These two jade bottles contain this month’s ration of ‘Spirit Gathering Pills’ and ‘Concentration Pills,’ ten pills each. The small bag holds fifty low-grade spirit stones.”

Ye Li’s gaze swept over the items. The clothes were light blue, cloud-patterned silk, made of good material, subtly shimmering, and seemingly inscribed with simple cleansing and dust-repelling runes. The identity token was cast from profound iron, cold to the touch. The front was engraved with the two characters “Profound Cloud,” and the back had smaller characters such as “Cloud Elixir,” “Inner Disciple,” and “Ye Li.” The Spirit Gathering Pills and Concentration Pills were both Grade 1 elixirs, and the quality was quite pure. Fifty low-grade spirit stones were considered a considerable fortune for a newly admitted disciple, which was presumably part of the “best treatment.”

“Thank you,” Ye Li nodded.

“Senior Sister, you are too kind!” The young man was flattered, quickly waving his hands. “If Senior Sister has no other instructions, this disciple will take his leave. If Senior Sister needs anyone to run errands in the future, you can always ask this disciple. My name is Zhao Xiao Yi, and I live in the outer disciple dormitory down the mountain.”

“Hmm,” Ye Li responded.

Zhao Xiao Yi then bowed and retreated from the small courtyard.

Ye Li picked up the identity token, forced a drop of fresh blood from her fingertip, and let it fall onto the token. The blood was quickly absorbed, and instantly, a subtle connection formed between her and the token. Some basic information about the sect also flooded into her mind, mainly the rules and regulations.

“All disciples of the Profound Cloud Sect must abide by the sect rules, must not betray their master or ancestors, must not harm fellow disciples, and must not collude with the Demonic Dao…”

“Disciples must complete sect missions on time to earn contribution points…”

“Disciples may spar, but must not maliciously cause fatal injuries…”

“Sect contribution points can be exchanged for cultivation methods, elixirs, weapons, talismans, and more at the Hall of Merit…”

The rules were quite complicated, but the core was nothing more than maintaining sect rule, encouraging competition while limiting internal friction.

She put away the token and then picked up the jade slip given by Reclusive Elder Mu Yun, sinking her spiritual sense into it.

The jade slip contained a lot of information. The most important part was the cultivation method, Cloud Water Art, a low-grade Profound Tier water-attribute cultivation method. It was balanced and peaceful, and the spiritual power cultivated was relatively long-lasting, suitable for refining elixirs and crafting talismans, but its offensive power was slightly weaker. It was clearly the main cultivation method of Cloud Elixir Peak.

Another part consisted of basic knowledge of the Dao of Elixirs and the Dao of Talismans, such as Basic Introduction to Hundreds of Herbs, Basic Rune Diagram Explanation, and Essentials of Fire Control, all entry-level content, but the system was complete, which was exactly what Ye Li urgently needed at the moment.

“Cloud Water Art…” Ye Li pondered slightly. This cultivation method was not of high grade, and its attribute did not match her Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture. She naturally would not major in it. However, as a surface disguise, cultivating it occasionally wouldn’t hurt, and it might allow her to understand another spiritual power attribute and gain insights by analogy. As for the basic knowledge, it was a timely help.

Putting away the jade slip, she changed into a set of the inner disciple’s light blue robes. The clothes fit perfectly, adding a touch of otherworldly elegance to her originally somewhat slender figure, and her pale complexion had also become a little rosy under the nourishment of the spiritual energy.

She did not immediately start cultivating or studying the texts but walked out of the small courtyard and slowly strolled along the bluestone path on Cloud Elixir Peak.

Cloud Elixir Peak was quite large, but the disciples were indeed scarce. Along the way, she only occasionally encountered a few outer disciples rushing by, all respectfully bowing before quickly leaving. Occasionally, she could see some cultivated herb gardens, where various spiritual herbs and medicines were planted and specially cared for.

The peak area seemed to be the reclusive cultivation spot of Reclusive Elder Mu Yun and the location of important elixir rooms and talisman chambers. It was covered by faint array fluctuations, and ordinary disciples were not allowed to approach easily.

Halfway up the mountain, there was a relatively grand building with a plaque that read “Scripture Pavilion,” which housed mostly texts on the Dao of Elixirs, the Dao of Talismans, and various other miscellaneous studies, available for disciples to borrow. Next to it was a “Hundred Refinements Hall,” filled with abundant ground fire, serving as a place for disciples to practice refining elixirs, crafting talismans, and forging artifacts.

The entire Cloud Elixir Peak was permeated with a quiet and focused atmosphere, completely different from the fighting and killing outside.

Ye Li generally familiarized herself with the environment and made a mental note. The Scripture Pavilion and the Hundred Refinements Hall would be her frequent destinations in the future.

Returning to the small courtyard, she activated the simple protective array of the quiet room and sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion.

She did not immediately cultivate the Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture but first picked up the ancient rune notebook obtained from the Ye family’s treasure vault. The paper was rough, and the handwriting was ancient and incomplete, but at this moment, it seemed to contain endless treasures in her eyes.

Combined with the Basic Rune Diagram Explanation she had just received, those originally obscure ancient runes seemed to gradually become traceable.

She immersed herself in it, and unknowingly, the sky outside the window had gradually darkened.

Only when a faint hunger pang came from her stomach did she suddenly snap back to reality. Her cultivation had not reached the Spirit Mansion Realm, so she could not yet achieve complete bigu (abstinence from grain).

She took out the lunch box given by Zhao Xiao Yi (it had been placed by the courtyard gate at some point), which contained simple spiritual rice and two light side dishes. Although simple, they contained a trace of spiritual energy.

After eating, the night was deep.

She finally calmed down and prepared to start cultivating.

However, what she cultivated was not the Cloud Water Art, but—the Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture!

As soon as the cultivation method circulated, the spiritual energy in the quiet room instantly surged into her body as if drawn by a huge force! It was a hundred times more violent and rapid than cultivating the Cloud Water Art!

The simple spirit gathering array even emitted a humming sound of being overwhelmed!

Ye Li was shocked and quickly forced herself to suppress the speed of the cultivation method’s circulation, cautiously controlling the intensity of spiritual energy absorption.

“Although the spiritual energy here is concentrated, the overbearing nature of this Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture…” she secretly smiled wryly. If she operated it at full power, it would likely cause a spiritual energy anomaly across the entire Cloud Elixir Peak very quickly, making it difficult to keep a low profile.

She could only maintain her cultivation speed at a level slightly faster than average, but not so shockingly prodigious.

Even so, the feeling of the extremely pure, icy spiritual power surging and flowing through her meridians was far beyond what any Profound Tier cultivation method could offer.

While cultivating, she also diverted a part of her attention to circulate spiritual power according to the Cloud Water Art’s route, simulating a faint water-attribute spiritual power fluctuation for disguise.

The night passed without incident.

When the first ray of sunlight in the early morning of the next day shone through the bamboo window into the quiet room, Ye Li slowly opened her eyes. The sharp light in her eyes was contained, and her aura became increasingly profound.

Although she had suppressed her cultivation speed, the gains from this night still far exceeded her time in the Ye family.

She pushed open the door, faced the morning light, and took a deep breath of the fresh air.

Her life of cultivation in the Profound Cloud Sect had officially begun.

She knew that beneath this tranquility, challenges and turmoil were inevitably hidden.

But she was fearless.