82: Chapter 82. The Entrustment.

"Now that matters here are concluded, I shall return immediately."

Lin Yi turned around, seemingly prepared to leave.

"Great, hurry up and leave."

Gu Changsheng muttered silently in his heart; this walking source of immense pressure made him feel uncomfortable for every second he stayed.

He could not wait to properly study this foundation establishment pill to see if there were any insidious traps hidden inside.

However, as Lin Yi reached the courtyard entrance, his footsteps suddenly paused.

Gu Changsheng's heart also jumped violently.

"What's going on?"

"Could it be that he wants to go back on his word and take the foundation establishment pill back?"

Lin Yi did not turn back, only tilted his face, leaving Gu Changsheng with a sharp, well-defined profile.

"Oh, right."

Gu Changsheng didn't respond, only waiting quietly for what was to come, his muscles tense all over.

"I am going to the Northern Plains afterwards; it could be a few years, or perhaps I don't know when I'll return."

Lin Yi's voice was very flat, devoid of any emotion.

"The Northern Plains? That godforsaken, frozen wasteland?"

A flash of confusion crossed Gu Changsheng's mind. What did this have to do with him?

Before he could figure it out, Lin Yi threw something over his shoulder.

Gu Changsheng subconsciously reached out and caught it. It was a most ordinary grey Storage Pouch.

He clutched it in his hand but did not immediately inspect it with his Divine Sense.

"If you successfully achieve Foundation Establishment in the future and return to the Sect, if you have the chance to go to Black Iron Peak, please take this to my parents. They are Mortals, and their Lifespan is limited."

"Parents? Black Iron Peak?"

That's right. This Prodigy's roots were also with him in that filthy, chaotic mine slave camp.

Immediately after, another small bag was tossed over, landing at Gu Changsheng's feet, making the crisp sound of colliding Spirit Stones.

"This is your reward. I won't let you make this trip for nothing."

Gu Changsheng was completely bewildered.

He looked down at the Storage Pouch in his hand, then at the money bag at his feet, and finally at the tall, upright figure at the courtyard gate. His mind was in chaos.

"This script is wrong! This is all wrong!"

Having the future successor of the Sect personally run an errand to deliver a foundation establishment pill to him was already absurd enough.

Now, this Prodigy was actually asking him, a "small captain stationed in a remote area," to deliver things to his Mortal parents? And offering a reward?

If Lin Yi were to call out within the Sect, the Disciples wanting to run errands for him could line up from the mountain gate to the foot of the mountain.

Why him, of all people? A "Junior Brother" whom he had nominally met for the first time today?

However, the "Risk: None" clearly stated on the daily intelligence made him unable to refuse.

"What on earth was going on?"

"Senior Brother, you are too kind. It is but a small favor; why speak of a reward?"

Gu Changsheng suppressed the raging waves in his heart, bent down to pick up the money bag, and handed it over.

"This matter, Junior Brother shall certainly see it done."

Regardless of anything else, agreeing first was never wrong. A favor from a Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root, especially one after Foundation Establishment, was of immeasurable value.

"Take it."

Lin Yi's voice brooked no argument.

He did not say another word. With a slight movement of his body, he transformed into a streak of sword light, shot into the sky, and vanished into the horizon in an instant.

Leaving only Gu Changsheng alone in the courtyard, clutching a Storage Pouch and a money bag, standing in the breeze, feeling messy.

He stood in place for a full cup of tea's time, scanning the surroundings repeatedly with his Divine Sense to confirm that Lin Yi's aura had completely vanished, before suddenly turning and rushing back into the house.

With a bang, he closed the door, and several rays of light from the Formations he had set up in advance flashed and vanished, completely isolating the entire Listening to Rain Pavilion from the outside world.

"Safe."

He let out a long breath, and only then did he begin to inspect the items in his hands.

Inside that money bag were exactly one hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Stones.

Ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

Gu Changsheng gasped.

Just for running an errand, he gave ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones? Was this Lin Yi crazy, or did the Sect have so many resources that they had nowhere to spend them?

He felt the grey Storage Pouch becoming increasingly hot to the touch.

He did not inspect it immediately, but instead first circulated the mana of the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture, carefully wrapping the Storage Pouch and washing over it repeatedly to confirm there were no tracking marks or Divine Sense imprints on it.

After doing all this, he carefully probed inside with a wisp of his Divine Sense.

There was no Restriction on the Storage Pouch.

The contents made Gu Changsheng freeze again.

There were no Magic Treasures for cultivation, precious herbs, or Cultivation Technique Jade Slips.

There were only some Medicinal Pills for Mortals, brand-new cotton clothes, some cured meat and pastries wrapped in oiled paper, and a thick stack of banknotes exchanged for gold and silver.

Beneath these items lay a stack of letters.

Gu Changsheng's Divine Sense swept over the envelopes; the handwriting on them was vigorous and powerful, exuding an aura of sharpness.

"To Father."

"To Mother."

He fell silent.

A decisive Prodigy Sword Cultivator, whose sword light could sweep across a hundred miles, had a Storage Pouch filled with winter clothes and family letters for his Mortal parents.

This huge contrast caused the image of Lin Yi—aloof and untouchable—in Gu Changsheng's heart to instantly collapse.

"What kind of person was this guy, really?"

Gu Changsheng shook his head, temporarily casting aside these incomprehensible matters.

He properly stored away the two bags, then focused all his attention on that foundation establishment pill he had just obtained!

He took out the white jade box and opened it.

A Medicinal Pill the size of a dragon's eye, perfectly round, emanating a strange medicinal fragrance, lay quietly inside. On the surface of the pill, cloud patterns faintly flowed, full of dao rhyme.

"It's real!"

The excitement in his heart was almost impossible to contain.

But he forced himself to calm down and began a process of inspection that could only be described as insane.

Divine Sense probing, mana washing, testing with silver needles, and he even used a low-grade poison-detecting talisman.

After tossing and turning for a full hour, confirming that this foundation establishment pill was pure and had no issues, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With this, plus that piece of "thousand-year green wood heart" in his own Storage Pouch.

With the support of these two Foundation Establishment spiritual items, his chances of Foundation Establishment this time were almost certain!

"No, it's not stable enough yet."

A flash of brilliance crossed Gu Changsheng's eyes.

It is now late autumn, everything is withered, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is blocked; it is not a good time for a Breakthrough.

Wait until next spring, when all things revive and the first wisp of vital Qi surges between Heaven and Earth, then he would use the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture to draw upon the vitality of Heaven and Earth, combined with these two great spiritual items, to make a Breakthrough in one go.

By then, it would be a true ninety-nine percent chance of success!

Just as Gu Changsheng felt satisfied with his perfect plan.

Far away, thousands of miles up in the high sky, that speeding sword light slowly came to a halt.

Lin Yi stood upon the clouds, looking down at Wuyin City below, which had turned into a small black dot. In his calm, unruffled eyes, a trace of complex emotion was revealed.

This person's Heart-Nature was cautious, and his actions were meticulous—far surpassing any of his peers he had ever met.

Perhaps only by handing things into the hands of such a person could he truly avoid those omnipresent eyes in the Sect and safely deliver them to his parents.

"I hope he, in the future, will not be like me, acting as a canary in a cage."

Lin Yi sighed softly, then turned his head to look towards the distant and bitterly cold North.

On his face, there was no longer any warmth, only a cold sense of determination.

The sword light rose again, faster and more resolute than before, tearing through the clouds and charging unflinchingly into that unknown snowstorm.

[Dear readers, it's really hard for me. I've been getting bad reviews for the past few days. No matter how I write, people criticize me. If I write about being careful, people call me a turtle; if I go out and advance the plot, people say I'm showing off. It's so hard to write. What do you guys actually want to see? Leave some suggestions.]