“What is Senior Sister Jian Chou thinking about?”

Seeing Jian Chou’s face show a knowing smile, Nie Xiaowan didn’t understand and couldn’t help asking.

Jian Chou didn’t tell the truth, only saying: “Nothing, just wondering if Master will be alright.”

After all, it was such a dangerous place.

Nie Xiaowan widened her eyes: “You mean Fudao Shanren?”

“Yes.”

After Jian Chou finished speaking, she saw a dreamy expression appear on Nie Xiaowan’s face.

She couldn’t help being curious: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… It’s just…” Nie Xiaowan didn’t know how to say it. She glanced at Jian Chou with unsolvable confusion in her eyes. “Don’t you know that Yashan has very high thresholds for accepting disciples? In the entire Central Domain, only Kunwu can compare with it.”

Nie Xiaowan didn’t finish her words, but Jian Chou already understood.

She smiled slightly: “The threshold for accepting disciples is high, but how do you know my talent isn’t high?”

In that instant, Nie Xiaowan stared at her blankly, with a feeling as if she was truly meeting her for the first time.

Over there, the three people who had been meditating couldn’t help but turn to look at Jian Chou upon hearing this sentence.

The meaning of this sentence…

Seemed not so simple.

In their view, this was just a mortal with extremely low cultivation who had been taken as a disciple by Fudao Shanren. Yet now, she dared to boast shamelessly that her talent was good?

Xu Lan’er was stunned for quite a while, then let out a scornful laugh, directly turned her head away, closed her eyes, sealed her five senses, and was too lazy to listen to another word.

Though the other two were curious in their hearts, they couldn’t ask more and had to forcibly restrain themselves, continuing to meditate.

Only Nie Xiaowan’s gaze toward Jian Chou gradually brightened.

Jian Chou winked at her, rarely showing a somewhat mischievous appearance.

Nie Xiaowan became somewhat excited, tugging at Jian Chou’s sleeve: “Senior Sister, Senior Sister, come here, let’s chat.”

Jian Chou smiled and let her drag her aside, finding a relatively clean rock where they sat side by side.

This night was already at the edge of ending.

Light gradually appeared on the horizon, shining on Nie Xiaowan’s face with an innocent beauty.

“Senior Sister…”

She hesitantly began to speak.

Jian Chou raised an eyebrow: “Want to ask about my talent battle disc?”

“Yes.”

Nie Xiaowan nodded repeatedly, as if little stars were about to emerge from her eyes.

“Before asking others, one must first introduce oneself. You ask about my battle disc, so what about yours?” Jian Chou turned her head to look at her.

Nie Xiaowan hesitated for a moment, then leaned close to Jian Chou’s ear and whispered: “Five chi and six cun!”

Hearing this, Jian Chou said nothing for a moment.

After Nie Xiaowan finished speaking, her eyes showed satisfaction and pride, both eyes narrowing like beautiful crescents: “In our Wuwang Study, among this generation of disciples, I have the highest talent. I successfully established my foundation in just six months. I heard that even my master only had a six-chi battle disc back then!”

“…”

Five chi and six cun, the highest talent of this generation.

Jian Chou pondered the meaning of these words, then thought about her battle disc…

She showed a somewhat strange expression: “Your master has a six-chi battle disc?”

“Yes.” Speaking of her master, Nie Xiaowan’s originally somewhat shy expression immediately became animated. “My master is also a very powerful cultivator in the Central Domain. He has been cultivating for one hundred sixty years and is now the only Nascent Soul cultivator in our sect.”

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul.

Jian Chou counted on her fingers and asked: “Is Nascent Soul very powerful?”

“…”

For a moment, Nie Xiaowan didn’t know how to talk to her.

“So you don’t understand anything…”

Jian Chou felt no embarrassment at all and still nodded like an honest person, saying: “Indeed, I understand nothing, which is why I’m asking you.”

“…Alright.”

Nie Xiaowan was speechless.

“Nascent Soul cultivators… anyway, they’re very powerful. Though our Wuwang Study is small, among all the Left Three Thousand sects in the Central Domain, we can rank in the top hundred. My master is the sect’s number one expert. Generally speaking, it’s remarkable if one Nascent Soul emerges from a hundred thousand cultivators. Foundation Establishment allows artifact flight, Golden Core allows void flight, but a Nascent Soul cultivator’s primordial spirit looks like a little person. If the physical body dies, it doesn’t matter, but if the Nascent Soul exists, one cannot be considered dead. Do you understand now?”

The physical body could perish, but if the Nascent Soul remained, one couldn’t be considered dead.

This was what they called “longevity,” wasn’t it?

Perhaps there were still some differences, but not far off.

Jian Chou understood.

She nodded, thinking of Xie Buchen’s demands for immortality, the Dao, and longevity, and inexplicably smiled: “Now I understand. Your master is indeed very powerful.”

“Of course.”

Having explained things clearly to Jian Chou, Nie Xiaowan felt a strange sense of achievement, but immediately thought of her previous question.

“So what about Senior Sister Jian Chou? How big is your battle disc?”

“This…”

Actually, after knowing how big Nie Xiaowan’s battle disc was, Jian Chou no longer wanted to say. She now understood why Fudao Shanren didn’t even want his goose anymore after seeing her battle disc.

For a moment, Jian Chou hesitated.

Seeing her like this, Nie Xiaowan thought she didn’t want to say, and became even more persistent.

“I already told you, and I even told you about my master’s battle disc, but you won’t say. That’s not fair! Say it, say it, it won’t hurt anything.”

“Alright.”

Sighing helplessly, Jian Chou knew she couldn’t outlast Nie Xiaowan.

She looked at the several people who seemed to be concentrating on cultivation, extended her hand, and said: “Give me your hand.”

“So mysterious…”

Nie Xiaowan felt this was making a big deal out of nothing, but still extended her hand as requested, placing it in Jian Chou’s palm.

Jian Chou held her hand and lightly traced a few strokes in her palm.

Nie Xiaowan immediately widened her eyes: “You, you, you…”

“Shh.”

Jian Chou raised a finger to her lips.

Nie Xiaowan looked at her, then at her palm, suspecting she had seen wrong. She felt like she was dreaming.

How was this possible?

How could this be possible?!

Senior Sister Jian Chou looked completely ordinary, not at all like a genius!

Thinking of the battle disc size she had written in her palm, Nie Xiaowan felt terrified.

This was crazy, truly crazy…

Her five chi and six cun battle disc had caused quite a stir in the entire Central Domain!

That Xu Lan’er, still cultivating outside, had once relied on her five chi and one cun battle disc, thinking her talent was good, and went to seek an apprenticeship at Yashan. Unexpectedly, the Yashan elders at the time didn’t even glance at her.

Everyone said Yashan’s threshold was high, but she hadn’t expected it to be this high!

No, no, no, it wasn’t like that…

She should say, wasn’t Jian Chou picked up to make up the numbers?!

Such a casually picked-up cultivator had a one-zhang battle disc…

Indeed, this was Yashan?

“Central Domain without crown, Yashan one sword, spanning nine heavens!”

Nie Xiaowan thought of those ancient stories about Yashan circulating in her sect and couldn’t recover for a long time.

Seeing her look so devastated, Jian Chou didn’t know what to say and could only pat her thin shoulder: “You should also go meditate and cultivate, right?”

“Yes…”

Nie Xiaowan finally came to her senses with great difficulty, her voice weak and ethereal.

She slowly got up to go meditate and cultivate, but after taking three steps, she stopped and suddenly turned back to look at Jian Chou: “Senior Sister Jian Chou!”

“Mm?”

Jian Chou looked up at her.

Nie Xiaowan’s eyes were bright: “You’ll go to the Left Three Thousand Small Gathering in three years, right?”

What was that again?

Jian Chou didn’t understand and hadn’t had time to ask when Nie Xiaowan clapped her hands: “Someone as amazing as Senior Sister will go. Mm, I must cultivate well and not be too embarrassing!”

Jian Chou was stunned.

But Nie Xiaowan didn’t mind her anymore. After finishing her self-talk and encouraging herself, she directly nodded to herself and walked away.

So among the group, four Foundation Establishment cultivators all sat cross-legged.

Jian Chou sat at a moderate distance, propping her chin and watching them with interest.

Each person had a faint battle disc beneath them—Tianyuan, Kunxian lines, dao pieces arranged according to mysterious patterns…

Between the dao pieces that were relatively close together, Kunxian lines connected them, with flowing light occasionally passing through—truly pleasing to the eye.

These were dao seals.

Her thoughts suddenly stopped.

The images in Jian Chou’s mind were triggered at this moment.

The mysterious golden seal she had seen while standing on the precipice, and when standing in the mountain belly before that enormous five-colored sphere, the five-colored light beams she had discovered shooting toward all directions…

Unconsciously, Jian Chou recalled their shapes.

In front of her was the ground covered with fine sand. Jian Chou pondered, raised her hand to grip the nine-section green bamboo, and gently traced in the sand.

Horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical…

One dot, two dots, three dots…

Jian Chou patiently recalled. She was grateful that she had been very close to that seal at the time and had seen it quite clearly. After sketching the initial outline, she added all those dots.

Time passed unknowingly.

A red sun slowly leaped out over the surface. The slightly red light fell on the entire island, and snow-white seabirds flew out from the small island, diving into the sea and splashing up white foam.

Jian Chou had stopped her hand. By now, the ground in front of her was covered with dense patterns.

These patterns were all like star charts.

Dots connected by straight lines—some square, some circular, some like ladles, even some like trees with spreading branches…

One, two, three…

Jian Chou counted. Including what she had seen later in the mountain belly, there were exactly six.

“Senior Sister, we need to set off.”

Footsteps approached.

Hearing the voice, Jian Chou quickly looked up. Zhou Kuang and the others had finished their meditation and stood up, standing there with Xu Lan’er and Nie Xiaowan, looking at her.

Zhang Sui, who had the highest cultivation, walked toward her, stopped not far away, and spoke to her.

Jian Chou stood up, awakening from her contemplation. She casually lifted her foot and swept away those patterns on the ground, making them unclear.

She smiled at Zhang Sui: “Thank you for the reminder, Junior Brother Zhang.”

Zhang Sui looked strangely at the various patterns beneath her feet that had suddenly become broken, but didn’t think much of it and nodded.

Nie Xiaowan waved at her from afar: “Senior Sister, come quickly, let’s go together!”

Jian Chou smiled and walked over.

In her plain clothes with hair like a waterfall, slender figure, and indescribable elegance, her porcelain-white fingers resting on the green nine-section bamboo had a jade-like luster.

As she walked over, Nie Xiaowan felt her eyes were dazzled.

Xu Lan’er snorted coldly: “Stop talking nonsense. If we set off now, it’ll be deep night when we reach Dengtian Island. We can’t afford delays.”

Having said this, she directly flicked her sleeve, and a water-blue sword light flew out. Xu Lan’er’s body rose and landed gracefully on that water-blue, elegant long sword.

With a sword’s cry, the water-blue long sword shot directly from the sea island, leaving a faint trail of light.

Seeing this, Nie Xiaowan frowned tightly: “Running so urgently, yet not flying that fast.”

“Hahaha…”

Zhou Kuang, who was shouldering the great axe, immediately burst into laughter.

Zhang Sui had no particular reaction. He drew the sword from his back and threw it into the air with its sheath, then stepped onto it: “Let’s go too.”

Nie Xiaowan nodded and raised her left hand, revealing a white wrist with a silver bracelet carved with various patterns, somewhat old.

Zhou Kuang looked enviously: “This is Wuwang Study’s Clear Heart Bracelet, right? Junior Sister Xiaowan is Wuwang Study’s most prized disciple now.”

“It’s just that Master dotes on me.”

Nie Xiaowan smiled somewhat embarrassedly, her cheeks red.

She put two fingers of her left hand together like the beginning of a hand seal. The silver bracelet immediately flew from her wrist, spinning in the air and transforming in the blink of an eye into an ancient silver disc six chi in radius, carved with seven-star formations, with circles of light scattering as it rotated.

Zhou Kuang and Zhang Sui had seen Nie Xiaowan’s magical artifact before, but they were still full of amazement.

Though Wuwang Study was small, its foundation was not shallow.

Though Jian Chou didn’t understand the situation in Shijiu Zhou, she could tell from Zhou Kuang and Zhang Sui’s expressions that the disc transformed from the silver bracelet was probably very powerful.

Nie Xiaowan pointed, and the disc automatically flew over, stopping beside Jian Chou and her.

She smiled sweetly: “Senior Sister Jian Chou, please.”

Jian Chou wasn’t polite and stepped onto the disc. This feeling was different from stepping on Fudao Shanren’s sword last time, quite novel.

Nie Xiaowan also stepped up and simply sat cross-legged on the disc. With a hand seal, the disc flew out, creating a brilliant silver trail.

“Let’s go!”

Zhang Sui, standing on his sword, actually smiled faintly upon hearing this. Glancing at Jian Chou, who was standing and gazing into the distance, he also directly rose from the island and shot out.

“Hey, wait for me!”

A loud shout came from behind, the rough voice carrying far.

Jian Chou looked back in surprise and saw Zhou Kuang behind Zhang Sui, throwing his great axe toward the sky. The axe head suddenly enlarged, and Zhou Kuang leaped up forcefully to land on the axe head, flying rapidly toward them.

Artifact flight seemed quite interesting, too.

Looking at these various magical artifacts, Jian Chou couldn’t help but look down at the nine-section bamboo in her hands. If she could successfully establish her foundation, could this nine-section bamboo also fly?

She fell into wonderful imaginings for a moment.

Jian Chou said nothing.

Nie Xiaowan concentrated on controlling the Clear Heart Bracelet. Zhang Sui stepped on his flying sword, staying alongside them, and Zhou Kuang’s great axe behind them didn’t fall behind at all. Everyone maintained a constant speed, flying over the surface.

Less than half an hour after leaving Zhanye Island, they could no longer see the island’s shadow, only occasional huge schools of fish under the sea surface or reefs emerging from time to time.

Initially, Jian Chou could look around in all directions, but before long, she realized the four seas were vast and looked the same everywhere.

She didn’t know how long they had been flying when the sun was already at its zenith. Nie Xiaowan, in front, suddenly stood up, fully alert: “Why is she coming back?”

Jian Chou looked up and saw a water-blue streak approaching rapidly from ahead, lighter than the deep-sea color.

Wasn’t this Xu Lan’er who had left them behind and was walking ahead?

She was coming back?

“There are people behind her!”

Zhang Sui’s gaze sharpened, and he tapped his foot. The long sword immediately hovered in mid-air.

His brow furrowed tightly as he saw four trails of light closely pursuing Xu Lan’er from behind!

Someone was chasing her!

In just these few exchanges, Xu Lan’er had already flown her sword to their front.

Now everyone could finally see her expression clearly—extremely panicked.

“Save me!”

Xu Lan’er shouted, her voice filled with panic.

The several people chasing her from behind stuck close and followed Xu Lan’er as they killed their way toward Jian Chou and the others.

Zhang Sui’s face immediately darkened, frosty as ice.

Zhou Kuang, standing on his axe, remembered Xu Lan’er’s tricks back at Qingfeng Nunnery and directly cursed aloud: “That bitch is playing this trick again!”