Chapter 114: The Trio

Lin Congcong had a good background, good talent, and good luck. Ever since entering Yonglu Mountain, he had cultivated diligently and strived hard to comprehend the Dao. If there was anything he was unsatisfied with, it was that he felt a lazy bum named Bian had snuck into the sect.

A Water-Fire Spiritual Root was something even a third-rate minor sect on the outside would think twice about accepting. Since he was lucky enough to be accepted into Yonglu Mountain, he should cultivate honestly. Why did he have to seek attention like this? As if making friends with top geniuses was that simple!

Lin Congcong felt sour inside, but his mouth was the stubbornest of any disciple in Yonglu Mountain. Even though he had been the very first to snatch up the Shadow Retention Stone showing the trio’s fame at the Five Sects Conference and had watched it over a hundred times, asking him to praise that guy named Bian? No, absolutely impossible!

“Junior Brother Lin, here is the Transmission Talisman from your door. I grabbed it for you on my way in.”

Lin Congcong had a youthful face and a sweet tongue. Aside from his inability to hold back harsh words toward a certain disciple named Bian, his reputation was actually very good. Oh, speaking of reputation, Lin Congcong’s face twitched uncontrollably. God only knew why he… forget it. Anyway, hardly anyone brought it up anymore, so it had finally died down.

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Senior Sister thought to herself how cute Junior Brother Lin was, and that the guy named Shi really had no taste. Well, Junior Brother Chunzhou was also very nice. She stroked her chin; it really was a tough choice. Luckily, she wasn’t the one who had to make it.

The Senior Sister quickly departed on her sword. Lin Congcong held the Transmission Talisman and was just about to sit down when the talisman blared, “Hey, Lin! Help! I’ve been captured by a Foundation Establishment senior brother! Can you hear me? If you hear this, reply with a Transmission Talisman. Waiting online, it’s kind of urgent~”

What the hell was this?! Was that guy named Bian possessed by a vengeful ghost?! That tone didn’t sound like a cry for help at all; it sounded like someone summoning a soul!

Lin Congcong couldn’t help widening his eyes. Furious, he grabbed his sword and rushed outside. If it was a Foundation Establishment senior brother, he needed to find backup. “Junior Brother Lin, what makes you in such a hurry?” Shi Yijian rubbed his shoulder, which throbbed slightly from the collision, wondering whether to extort a small sum or…

Lin Congcong glanced at Senior Brother Shi Yijian, then grabbed him and ran with a look of slight disdain. “No time to explain! Senior Brother, come with me!”

Shi Yijian let himself be dragged along by Lin Congcong. Since they were inside the sect anyway, he simply let his junior brother have his way.

“Huh, isn’t that Junior Brother Lin and Shi… hiss, they…”

“Ah, this… Junior Brother Chunzhou…”

“Hey, the direction they’re running toward, isn’t that where Junior Brother Chunzhou was just…”

Suffice it to say, the gossip-loving disciples of Yonglu Mountain caught the scent and swarmed in. Lin Congcong had no idea that his absurd rumors had actually gained a sequel because of this, and it was even wilder than last time.

Of course, he had no time to care about that right now. He was super angry!!

“Senior Brother Shi, don’t stop me! Today, I’m going to fight him to the death! It’s either him or me today!” Bian Chunzhou was hiding behind Wen Xuxu. He had to hide; after all, he was in the wrong. Who knew that guy named Lin would actually believe it? What was going on? His conscience throbbed with a touch of guilt. “Um, I’ll treat you to a meal, so calm down, okay?”

“Huh? Who wants to share a table with you! In your dreams!”

“…I didn’t say I’d eat with you. Didn’t I open a shop down the mountain? You can just give my name, free of charge!”

“Who cares about your food! I’m going to kill you right now!”

Shi Yijian was thoroughly amused, but as a fair and impartial senior brother, he gave a light cough. “Junior Brother Bian, that is where you’re in the wrong. Doing this can easily harm fellow disciple bonds.”

“Who has fellow disciple bonds with him?!” both of them yelled at once.

“Look how synchronized you two are. Just now, Junior Brother Lin dragged me along so fast it was faster than me flying on a sword… Hey, hey, hey, Junior Brother Lin, don’t swing that! Blades have no eyes!” Shi Yijian was noticeably more cheerful now. Whether it was due to a breakthrough amidst battle or his Dao Heart becoming truly refined, he looked even more like a smiling tiger than before.

Bian Chunzhou used to dare approach people, but now he avoided them whenever possible. He thought to himself that Lin Congcong was definitely seizing the chance to get revenge on him. Out of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators on Yonglu Mountain, he had specifically picked Senior Brother Shi. He truly harbored sinister intentions!

“So why on earth did you send me a Transmission Talisman like that? If you can’t give me a proper explanation today, I’ll fight you to the end!” He had genuinely thought Bian Chunzhou was acting too high-profile and had gotten picked on by a Foundation Establishment senior brother.

Lin Congcong was practically bursting with anger, furious at both the other guy and himself for falling for it so easily! It was so embarrassing!

“Well, as for that… you might not believe it if I tell you, but I was just… testing something out.”

“Testing what?”

It was a bit troublesome to explain, so Bian Chunzhou simply demonstrated it inside the Foundation Establishment formation set up by Wen Xuxu. “Like this. I want to send transmissions across realm barriers so that when I’m out in the world, if I ever get trapped by higher-realm cultivators, I won’t be left with no way to call for help. So, you did receive the Transmission Talisman, right?”

After repeatedly watching that clip on the Shadow Retention Stone of the guy named Bian hand-crafting water spheres, Lin Congcong knew the guy had some actual skill, but he hadn’t expected this. Still, asking him to admit that the guy was a true genius? No way, he’d rather die.

“I received it, but haven’t talismans like this existed for a long time? If a low-realm cultivator carries a spiritual talisman or jade slip gifted by their master, they only need to chant an incantation to summon their master to save them.” This wasn’t anything rare. What had he thought it was? Hmph, caught him!

Bian Chunzhou popped out, wagging a finger. “No, no, no, this is different. Granted, as you said, inner disciples have the protection of their masters and carry spiritual energy jade slips for self-defense. But there are far more outer disciples and rogue cultivators out there. Besides, not every emergency requires calling your master. You can think of it as me making an upgrade to Transmission Talismans.”

As for how far Yonglu Mountain’s Base Station could go, well, he would have to wait until he gathered solid data from testing before seeking approval from the big boss, Sect Master Gu. After all, if you wanted to expand and grow strong, securing funding was essential.

“The ideal scenario is that even ordinary people can use this Transmission Talisman. For example, say an evil cultivator wants to harm someone. Naturally, the evil cultivator won’t let anyone leak the news. But if the victim has this Transmission Talisman, they can rip it apart to call for help from the nearest major sect. Whether help arrives in time is one thing, but that evil cultivator definitely won’t get away.”

Bian Chunzhou thought it over and felt he could also add a “Self-Preservation Talisman.” That way, with a two-piece set for messaging and life-saving, things would be completely foolproof.

“Mundane mortals? Do you have any idea how expensive talismans are to regular people?” Lin Congcong could hardly believe his ears. This was far too delusional.

“I know, but human effort dictates the outcome. If you don’t do something just because you think it’s impossible, why cultivate in the first place? Ascension itself is making the impossible possible. Lin Congcong, you’re pretty weak.”

“Weak my foot! Don’t you run! I’ll hack you to death!”

…

Before they could exchange more than two serious sentences, the pair were fighting again, chasing each other around with no more maturity than three-year-old children.

Shi Yijian glanced at Wen Xu, who sat upright and composed. “I haven’t yet congratulated Little Grand-Uncle Master on reaching Foundation Establishment smoothly.”

Sigh, comparing oneself to others really is infuriating. He had worked so hard to push himself into late Foundation Establishment, only for the new wave to achieve Foundation Establishment merely three years after joining the sect. He had almost been slammed dead on the beach by the incoming tide.

Fortunately, he had reached Foundation Establishment first.

Wen Xu didn’t have much of an opinion of Shi Yijian, or rather, he simply disliked chatting with people of his own kind. “Senior Brother Shi is too polite. It was merely a stroke of luck.”

Shi Yijian spoke as if he hadn’t noticed. “Little Grand-Uncle Master is far too humble. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you can enter the Back Mountain Secret Realm. When will you be going?”

“Hmm?”

“So I can stagger my trip to avoid you. After all… the elders inside hit quite hard.” He had only gone after reaching late Foundation Establishment, so the Secret Realm Elder assumed he had been slacking off by avoiding the realm and cranked the difficulty to the maximum. “To tell you the truth, I only recovered enough from my injuries today to walk around.”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself, Senior Brother Shi.”

“Really? Is it that obvious?” Shi Yijian touched his face, then remembered that Little Grand-Uncle Master couldn’t see, and dispiritedly lowered his hand. “What a pity. Because of my secluded cultivation, I couldn’t attend the Five Sects Conference. I didn’t expect so much to happen this year. Had I known, I wouldn’t have made up an excuse to skip it.”

There really is a reason I hate talking to people like him, Wen Xu thought. First Bushi, now Shi Yijian. Are these two brothers from different parents or something? “Why did you make an excuse to skip it?”

“Because… I didn’t want to go.”

Wen Xu remained composed. “Is Senior Brother Shi learning nonsense literature from Chunzhou too?”

Shi Yijian, who had also bought that famous Shadow Retention Stone, thought to himself: …How should I put it? Nonsense literature might be boring, but blabbering like this feels quite nice. Junior Brother Bian really is a very interesting person.

“Are you two talking bad about me behind my back? You’re not allowed!” Bian Chunzhou pounced over. “Senior Brother Shi, you’re not allowed to corrupt my Wen Xuxu!”

Hearing this, Shi Yijian began to wonder whether Junior Brother Bian was blind, or if Little Grand-Uncle Master was.

As if I could corrupt him, Shi Yijian thought, feeling deeply wronged. “Junior Brother Bian, you can send Transmission Talismans to me in the future. Your senior brother here guarantees to be at your beck and call!”

What’s going on? Someone is actually competing for such a miserable job? Lin Congcong’s composure shattered completely. “Isn’t Senior Brother busy with cultivation? As Qi Refining disciples, we should handle our own affairs.”

“Well, Little Grand-Uncle Master is entering the secret realm to cultivate, and your humble senior brother is merely at late Foundation Establishment…”

Wen Xu stood straight up. He reached out, grabbed Chunzhou who was hiding behind him, and dragged him out. “I will take my leave first. You… do a good job.”

He then rapidly flew away on his sword. The speed was so fast that Bian Chunzhou reasonably suspected he had cast a Wind Riding Spell on top of it. Even when Chen Zuizui took his saber and left, he had never been this fast.

No way, is our friendship really this fragile? He really didn’t want to face Senior Brother Shi Yijian and Lin Congcong alone. “Um, I…” Can I leave too?

“Junior Brother Bian, didn’t you say you wanted to research…”

As the saying goes, one fights for pride just as a steamer cooks with steam^[1]. Lin Congcong had originally intended to leave, but he felt leaving now would make him look too weak. Thus, the three of them didn’t part ways until night fell. When he woke up the next morning, he once again found himself topping Yonglu Mountain’s hot gossip headlines.