He led her deeper into the Formation Pavilion, where they met one of his senior brothers—a tall, composed man radiating quiet authority. His name was Orion, a Nascent Soul cultivator and Jade’s eldest disciple. Word was, his talent surpassed even Jade’s, and he was expected to overtake his master within a few years.

  “Senior Brother!” Nash called cheerfully. “This is the Immortal Master’s disciple—the one I told you about. She’s my friend.”

  Orion’s expression straightened immediately. He clasped his hands in respect. “Orion greets Ms. Lauren.”

  Lauren nearly choked. “No need for that,” she said quickly, waving her hands. “Nash brought me here to buy a defensive formation.”

  “What kind of formation are you looking for?” Orion asked, his voice polite but firm.

  Lauren glanced helplessly at Nash—she wasn’t exactly an expert on formations.

  Nash stepped in and explained the situation. The two discussed power thresholds, stability layers, trigger arrays, and a bunch of other technical jargon that made Lauren’s head spin.

  After some time, Orion nodded and retrieved eight pitch-black stone pillars and a matching eight-trigram control plate. The pillars shimmered faintly with spiritual runes—complex, intricate patterns that pulsed with restrained power.

  “This set should meet your requirements,” Orion said. “It’s easy to install—just embed the pillars according to the eight trigrams. It has both offensive and defensive capabilities, and its activation method is simple.”

  He infused a jade pendant with a sliver of spiritual energy, then handed it to her.

  Lauren examined it carefully. The structure, the inscriptions—the formation was far better than she’d expected. It wasn’t just defensive; it could retaliate.

  “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “How much?”

  Orion smiled faintly. “For you, I’ll only charge the material cost. One hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones will be enough.”

  Lauren blinked in surprise. That was cheap.

  Almost too cheap.

  But she didn’t argue. She simply smiled, nodded, and produced the payment.

  Lauren hesitated, feeling uneasy about taking advantage of such generosity. After thinking it over, she decided to pay what she believed it was truly worth: one million low-grade spirit stones.

  Since she didn’t have that many on hand, she made up the amount with a mix of mid-grade spirit stones and two high-grade ones.

  She’d learned something from Drake—never owe a favor when money can settle the debt. Favors were far harder to repay than spirit stones.

  Lauren accepted the formation pillars, then handed Orion a storage pouch heavy with spiritual energy.

  He glanced inside, then froze. His eyes widened. “Ms. Lauren… I think you misheard. It was one hundred thousand, not one million.”

  Lauren smiled, shaking her head. “I heard you. I also know your time isn’t cheap. This must have taken you at least a year to craft. Your skill is worth more than the materials.”

  “It’s a favor for you. I can’t—”

  She pushed the bag back toward him firmly. “Honestly, even a million isn’t enough for what this is worth. If you keep being polite, I’ll be too embarrassed to ever buy from you again.”

  The air hung thick with polite stubbornness until Nash stepped in with a sigh and a grin.

  “Brother, just take it. You’ll lose face if you keep refusing.”

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  Orion hesitated, then finally accepted the pouch with a wry smile. Ms.Lauren’s got guts, he thought. No wonder she’s the Immortal Master’s disciple.

  Lauren, however, walked away feeling a bit broke.

  That formation had practically cleaned her out.

  Should she borrow from Nash? Or go crawling back to Starfell Summit and shamelessly ask her master for more spirit stones?

  Ugh, how embarrassing. Maybe she could sort through Master’s so-called “junk” and take it to Jasper for appraisal. Knowing him, some of those “scraps” might actually fetch a fortune.

  Nash didn’t seem to notice her inner turmoil. He turned to her cheerfully. “By the way, Brother Dante and the others are planning a trip to the South Sea for training. They told me to ask if you wanted to come along. But now that you’re heading home, I guess that’s a no?”

  Lauren looked up sharply. “The South Sea?”

  “Yeah. We’ve been discussing it for a while. It’s supposed to be a great place to train.”

  Lauren’s mind turned immediately to her readings. Outside the South Sea, between the Blue and Black Waters, there was said to be a source of Weak Water — and if her memory was right, a Weak Tree growing nearby.

  Her pulse quickened. Since Indiana wasn’t leaving the mountain anytime soon, this could be the perfect opportunity.

  “When are you leaving?” she asked.

  “In a few days,” Nash said.

  “Good. Go ahead without me. I’ll catch up once I’m done at home.”

  His grin returned, bright as ever. “Perfect! I’ll let them know you’re joining us.”

  “Who’s going?”

  “Just me, Senior Brother Dante, and Westin. And now you.”

  “Oh, only four of us? I thought Sebastian and the others were going too.”

  “They’re heading out to train as well, just in another direction. Heard Sebastian and Veronica are going east.”

  “Splitting into smaller teams, then,” Lauren said thoughtfully. “That’s better. Too many people just slow you down.”

  After confirming their meeting point, Lauren descended the mountain, her steps light but her mind busy calculating.

  As for spirit stones—she already had a plan.

  She’d take some of her third-grade Explosive Spirit Talismans to the black market. Selling the entire batch should bring in a tidy sum.

  Just as Lauren was leaving the Thunder Sect, she spotted Tarot waiting near the mountain gate.

  She paused, blinking in surprise, then walked over. “Brother? What are you doing here?”

  “I was waiting for you,” Tarot said. “Didn’t you say you were coming down the mountain? I came out to find you, but you took so damn long at the gate I thought you’d changed your mind.”

  Lauren scratched her head sheepishly. “Oh, Nash and the others said they’re heading to the South Sea for training. I was arranging a meeting point with them.”

  “That’s fine,” Tarot said with a nod. “It’s better than running around by yourself. We’d all worry if you went alone.”

  “By the way, Brother—”

  “By the way—”

  They both spoke at the same time, then stopped.

  “You first,” Tarot said.

  Lauren hesitated before mumbling, “Can I… borrow some spirit stones, Brother?”

  Tarot’s expression went flat. “Didn’t we split half the spirit stones we took off Yusuf? Don’t tell me you’ve already spent them all.”

  Lauren coughed lightly. “My… expenses were a little high.”

  A little high? Tarot thought darkly. You’ve barely left the mountain, and you’re already burning through spirit stones like a sect elder. What the hell are you planning to do once you’re out in the world?

  Still, he sighed and tossed her a pouch. “Here. Three hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, and two thousand mid-grade. Don’t go near any auctions and this should last you a while.”

  Lauren’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Senior Brother.”

  She wasn’t planning to go to any auctions anyway—not until she became rich enough to throw her weight around.

  Tarot then pulled something small from his sleeve and handed it to her. “This is for you.”

  Lauren blinked. “What’s this?”

  “A Magical Pearl,” Tarot said simply. “You were too shy to ask Master for it, so I got it for you.”

  For a moment, Lauren couldn’t speak. She held the tiny, shimmering bead in her palm, emotions flooding her chest—gratitude, warmth, guilt, all tangled together.

  Tarot patted her shoulder. “Take it. All you have to do is imagine someone, and you’ll become them.”

  “Okay,” she said softly.

  “It’s getting late,” he said, stepping back. “Go on, get going.”

  Lauren bowed slightly. “Thank you, Senior Brother. And… thank you, Master.”

  ......

  Once she was far enough from the Thunder Sect, Lauren activated the Magical Pearl and changed her face—back to her modern-day appearance.

  She traveled first to Hogwarts, then used the teleportation array there to reach Elderpeak. Following Flower Wife’s instructions, she performed the memorial rites in her honor.

  From there, she took another array to Prague and boarded a flying boat headed toward the remote Mistvale. By the time she arrived, night had already fallen.

  The cultivation level in Mistvale was pitifully low—the strongest cultivator there was only at Foundation Establishment. For a Core Formation cultivator like her, slipping through unnoticed was child’s play.

  She made her way straight to the Evercrest estate.

  Preston was in his study when she appeared silently before him.

  “Who are you?” he barked, instinctively reaching for his weapon.

  Lauren quickly tucked the bead away, her features shifting back to her real face.

  “Grandpa, it’s me.”

  Preston froze, eyes wide with disbelief. “Lauren…?”

  Lauren smiled faintly. “It’s me, Grandpa.”

  Preston trembled as he stood, his voice thick with emotion. “Why are you here? How have you been all these years?”

  “I’m fine,” Lauren said, smiling softly. “I joined the Thunder Sect. I even sent a letter back a while ago—did you get it?”