Chapitre 19: Fen Wudao's Visit To The Lower Valley
Lan Hui was startled by this message. It was no wonder Shin Sumi had seemed so easier to learn how to communicate with privately. Unless a really powerful expert interfered with his divine sense, nobody would be able to hear what she told him.
Lan Hui was clever, and apart from a slight slowing down of his steps, he perfectly hid his surprise at what Shin Sumi had told him.
She resumed the situation and what information she had gathered from the traps that had almost killed her.
After sending a brief message back, Lan Hui left swiftly.
"I will try my best to investigate Elder Zhu, Sister Shin. In the meantime you should be relatively safe, he wouldn't dare do a thing in the middle of the sect. The training grounds are also fine, Elder Zhu never leaves the lower valley and he is not the kind of man to send disciples do his job."
Shin Sumi was relieved. For now, her only way to become stronger involved her farm of Yin type spirit plants in the dark chasm out of the sect.
She stayed a little while more at the Cultivation Plaza, seemingly cultivating before leaving the area.
Coincidentally, she disappeared from the busy place right before Liu Qing showed up. The shy girl with the red robes had been tasked again to follow Shin Sumi and was currently gnashing her teeth, unable to locate her target.
As soon as she passed the western gates, Shin Sumi pushed forward with the higher speed she was capable of at the moment. As a fourteen years old girl half a step into Shinsoo Gathering, it wasn't much. Nevertheless she advanced through the ever-changing jungle.
Maybe it was the few drops of remaining adrenaline coursing through her veins but her progression was smoother than usual, seemingly avoiding most dangers.
Only once did the nut have to protect her, from a crow the size of a boar, prompting her to duck.
She was now used to walking long distances, and the trip that had taken her more than six hours the first time was done in only two.
Shin Sumi couldn't know that but her repeated attempts at cultivation using high grade spirit stones had refined her physical body slowly.
It made sense, considering that even the blades of grass in her courtyard had grown lusher, that she too would have undergone changes. As of now her body was comparable to that of a Liquid Realm disciple, with the corresponding stamina.
Shin Sumi reached the entrance to the chasm. As per usual nobody was around. In fact in more than a dozen years, nobody had attempted to get close to it.
The black ravine and its mysterious darkness was to be avoided at all cost by all cultivators under the Core Development Realm. No one but an Elder would even think about it, and even then there were few Elders that wanted to try.
But Shin Sumi didn't know that. Besides, the copper bell was on her person at all times. In the entire Blue Fire mountain range, maybe she was the only person that could remain safe in the scar shaped chasm.
Shin Sumi climbed down the familiar slope with ease, jumping the last meter. It had only been over half a day since she left her crops to grow but the tiny seed had already sprouted into small trees thicker than her arm.
Shin Sumi's eyes bulged out of their socket when she saw the results of her last farming experiment.
"How am I going to get them all in my bag of holding?!" she thought.
The question didn't really need an answer. After all the mysterious bags of holdings worked with a magic that she didn't understand, and that the crops would all disappear inside the bottomless spatial artifact. A more accurate question would have been "How am I going to dig them all up by myself?!".
Shin Sumi let out a long sigh as she fumbled inside the pouch at her waist. A forty centimeter long white bone in the shape of a shovel emerged from the grey bag.
Shin Sumi had found what was a beast's shoulder bone in one of her first trips to the chasm. The bone had been cleaned white by the snakes and had undergone a certain Yin energy tempering in this abyss.
Just like the primitive humans must have done countless eons ago, Shin Sumi started to work, crafting tool from bone and digging the earth for resources.
About halfway through the stalks, Shin Sumi took a short break. Her red robes were completely soaked and her hair stuck uncomfortably to her neck and forehead due to the sweat.
Panting, she sat down in the middle of the crops and closed her mouth, forcing the Yin Shinsoo filled air to enter her nostrils.
Under her jade colored eyelids, her eyes were calm and her mind was slowly calming down as well.
"Cultivation is great" thought the fourteen year old girl that was just starting to understand that she was now on the path to becoming an Immortal.
She had undergone lots of things, feeling more fear and pride and pain and joy than ever before in her past. Although her life had been in danger and somebody had even tried to kill her recently, the bubble of Shinsoo accompanying the spark inside her dantian was enough to make Shin Sumi feel better.
She spent close to two hours lost in the subconscious feeling that was brought by cultivation. When she finally emerged and opened her eyes, she felt refreshed and back to her peak condition.
Digging up the remaining half of the crops, Shin Sumi didn't think about anything other than the unimaginable amount of high grade spirit stone she would soon obtain.
At this rhythm, even her unusual need for cultivation resources would be eventually satiated. Her progression was assured, as long as she could evade all attempts to end her life.
***
In the marketplace of the lower valley, Shin Sumi closed up her little shop.
She had sold all of the stalks for two spirit stones each. The price was considerably low for this type of plant, even more so considering that all the plants presented some variations. Shin Sumi kept quiet about it, pretending to keep her secrets but attributing the changes to the nut's refining.
More people had gathered around 'Yan Yan's shop' as she called it herself. Under her disguise Shin Sumi praised the nut's abilities as well as the dense Yin Shinsoo from the chasm.
The Yin type spirit plants were the most common type in the market. This was due to the fact that the Dark Sky Starry Sect was always covered by dense clouds, limiting the sunlight to a minimum. Apart for certain plants that could only be of the Yang type and could be even more valuable, Shin Sumi as Yan Yan had probably broken a record for the most valuable plants sold in high quantity in the market.
A lot of people had started wondering where this Yan Yan came from and how she could produce so many plants at once. Another question often raised in silence was why she would only sell them at such a low price.
Nevertheless nobody could really complain. The alluring Yan Yan even sold her products to other shop owners, as long as they agreed to not sell them at a higher price.
Asking too many questions could sometimes be detrimental and since everybody was beneficiary, then everything was fine.
The identity of the mysterious girl with the sparkling red lips and the deep black eyes was also something of little importance. Confusion Pills were common, and after obtaining so much spirit stones it was only normal to use every way possible to ensure the seller's real identity was hidden.
Shin Sumi had come back from the dark chasm already hidden by the features of Yan Yan. The handful of disciples that actually recognized her from her previous time selling plants accompanied her towards the market area.
This was the safest that Shin Sumi could actually be, under another girl's traits and surrounded by people eager to see what she had come to sell.
As Shin Sumi turned randomly in a forest for a few minutes, shaking off potential pursuivers while the Confusion Pill dissipated, she laughed for herself.
Lan Hui had come to her shop and bought one of the first stalks she had taken out.
"If only he had known it was me!" Shin Sumi mused. "I would have given him as many as he wanted for free!"
The red robed boy with an Affairs Pavilion insignia knew everything there was to know about the sect's lower valley. Yan Yan's shop was something he had heard of, obviously.
Something else that Shin Sumi hadn't predicted was the visit of someone else to her shop.
"Big Brother Fen..." she thought.
As Shin Sumi's face reappeared instead of Yan Yan's, on the way to her courtyard, she recalled the interaction she just had with Fen Wudao.
"Junior Brothers, may I?" a voice had said behind the wall of customers observing the shining blue-green plants on the white piece of cloth.
Instinctively, the crowd had parted, as if something deep inside their dantian had prompted them to do so. This was the pressure that a Liquid Realm cultivator emanated naturally.
Fen Wudao was wearing a simple white unadorned daoist robe that for some reason seemed to make him look like an Immortal saint.
Some of the Honorary Disciples in the crowd didn't know who he was and started asking questions around, to only be silenced quickly by the others.
All noise had died instantly, waiting for the Liquid Realm prodigy to speak. His presence was unexpected and many disciples saw it as a chance to benefit from his wisdom.
Shin Sumi had lifted her head because of the sudden silence as well as the pressure following the youth's voice. She was facing the person whom had brought her to the sect, to the Immortal world.
"Senior Brother Fen? What can this Yan help you with?" she had asked with a soft voice, almost in a whisper.
Fen Wudao responded, his enigmatic smile never leaving his face, "Oh, you know who I am? You will have to excuse me Junior Sister but I am not yet aware of your name."
"It is Yan Yan's greatest pleasure to meet the Senior Brother Fen that everybody always talks about."
"So you are Yan Yan. I have heard about your little shop. Maybe you can help me with something."
Fen Wudao's words radiated the proudness that came when a strong person talked to people from a lower realm, but his tone was still gentle and warm.
Without waiting for another round of praise and paying respects from Shin Sumi as Yan Yan, he continued "I have come to the lower valley to see friends of mine, but I heard about your supposedly incredible stock of Yin type plants. I feel lucky to be able to see it for myself."
Shin Sumi felt her spine shiver. It wasn't because of fright though.
"Did he just wink at me?" she pondered over his behaviour. His words of praise were totally unexpected but would be sure to have an important effect on whoever was listening to him.
Indeed, Fen Wudao did have these intentions. That was the power that a Liquid Realm cultivator could have on people. Whomever he praised would see their reputation change radically, and in the same way he could bring down anyone with just a few words.
Shin Sumi didn't have time to think much further about why he would do that to a red robed girl he knew nothing about because Fen Wudao suddenly bent down to look at the plants all over the square cloth.
He extended a hand above one randomly chosen stalk and closed his eyes.
A wave of excitement came from the flabbergasted crowd as the air blurred slightly under his hand. The space between the plant and his hand changed in a manner that Shin Sumi had never seen before while the youth used his own Shinsoo to ascertain the quality of her merchandise.
Fen Wudao observed the spirit plants for an incense stick's worth of time, taking his time in front of the crowd of disciples whose numbers had tripled since he arrived.
Shin Sumi was about to open her mouth after the prolonged silence when Fen Wudao's eyes opened, looking directly at her.
"I wasn't misinformed! These specimen are all of incredible quality! Junior Sister Yan's eyes are good for picking up plants!" he said with a big warm smile.
"I can't receive such praise, I had no idea of their worth until Senior Brother Fen enlightened me" Shin Sumi responded with a bow.
Fen Wudao flicked his sleeve in the process of standing up straight again. His hand flashed above his bag of holding and a dozen of low grade spirit stones appeared in his palm.
Yan Yan's alluring smile had disappeared as soon as the Liquid Realm youth spoke. Her eyes turned sideways, reluctant and full of hesitation.
"Senior Brother... I... Well I am sorry but I have to refuse" she had said, still not looking him in the eyes.
A small blast of pressure overtook her for a moment before disappearing. The surprise was visible on Fen Wudao's face and even caused him to forget to reduce his presence for an instant.
Shin Sumi immediately bowed down until her forehead almost touched the ground, apologizing profusely.
"I am really sorry Senior Brother. When I opened my shop I stated openly that I would give a chance to anyone to buy my plants. I can't go back on my word and sell you more than one stalk."
The Honorary Disciples that had been present since the beginning of the scene opened their eyes wider than they thought was possible. A big surge of respect for Yan Yan grew in their hearts.
Fen Wudao relaxed, his slight smile returning to his thin lips. He sighed almost exaggeratedly and put the spirit stones back in his bag in one swift movement.
Shin Sumi stayed in her low position for a while longer until Fen Wudao encouraged her to raise.
"I see. Your sense of moral is strong. It's a shame that I can't buy any more" he said while looking around quickly. "I really need these plants. Here, take my medallion imprint. If ever you get your hands on more plants of this quality, send me a message!"
Taking out a silver winged arrow that Shin Sumi knew of, he jumped on it. A second later he was already high in the sky.
On the white piece of cloth, a stalk had disappeared, replaced by three low grade spirit stones.
Shin Sumi recalled his leaving as she closed the gate of her courtyard after her. Her features were now back to normal, nothing of Yan Yan's alluring appearance remained.
People would argue that she was prettier as she was, but less provocative.
Shin Sumi thought about her appearances. The Confusion Pill as it was should have been powerful enough but after the nut had refined it, it had become even more potent.
"Did Senior Brother Fen see through my disguise?" she asked herself right before suddenly lifting her head, pupils dilated by a realization.
"Oh no, the identification medallion!"
Shin Sumi took out her jade inscribed with the character for 'green'.
Now that she was into Shinsoo Gathering, she had access to a little bit of Shinsoo. She had used almost all of it to send a sound transmission to Lan Hui earlier but reading a jade inscription wasn't a tiring process.
Sending a sliver of divine sense to the jade pressed against her forehead, Shin Sumi read her own medallion.
"Shin Sumi, Honorary Disciple of the Dark Sky Starry Sect, green talent."
She stayed quiet for a long while. Fen Wudao had exchanged his jade imprint with hers. What would happen if he tried to communicate with Yan Yan? What would happen when Yan Yan would send him a message about Yin type spirit plants?
Shin Sumi wasn't sure how to answer her questions. When she had sent a message to Lan Hui, she didn't get anything besides the profound sensation of connecting with him.
But Fen Wudao was a Liquid Realm prodigy! Would his divine sense reveal more about who was on the other side of the communication?
Shin Sumi had no way to ascertain the truth.
She took a long bath until way after the end of the day. Looking at the sky, she was full of questions.
The nut had left her wrist after she had given it almost all of the low grade spirit stones and was now nowhere to be found.
Shin Sumi could have encountered it easily by following the leaf pattern under her skin, but she didn't. She was enjoying a quiet moment to reflect upon her life and cultivation.
She fell asleep naturally at some point, not knowing when she stopped looking at the clouds, imagining the stars above it.
She woke up at dawn, her tiredness having dissipated totally. After a certain point in cultivation, sleep became unnecessary. When Shinsoo would gather naturally from Heaven and Earth, the body would replenish its energy by itself.
After soaking in spring water all night, Shin Sumi's skin was soft and smooth, nothing like the wrinkly leather that would be the norm for mortals.
She dried herself quickly and put her robes back on. The nut appeared on the stone bench next to her.
"Twelve hours" Shin Sumi thought.
The nut started spitting out high grade spirit stones one after the other. The beads the size of a nail fell out for what seemed like a long time. Shin Sumi's worries all dissipated.
She was used to see the nut's miracle but every time it would still have an effect on her.
The spark in her dantian bubbled at the Shinsoo concentration that was mounting up but Shin Sumi refrained herself from sitting down.
"It would be a waste to use it all now. I have to go back to the chasm."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone