The person approaching brought a sour taste to Jin Shu's mouth. Every interaction they'd had so far had gone poorly for everyone involved. He had almost ended up indebted to her during the tournament—so it was almost a relief that his true identity had been revealed.

"Now that Ling Shi is here, everyone has gathered," Chen Ai Yun said.

Ling Shi stopped a few steps away, her gaze sweeping over the group. Her eyes lingered far too long on Tian Li, then narrowed sharply when they fell on Jin Shu. She scowled before turning to Chen Ai Yun and giving a respectful bow.

"Greetings, Sect Master."

Sun Mei'er cut in before Chen Ai Yun could speak. "How's that bitch doing?"

Ling Shi blinked. "…Who?"

"Your master," Sun Mei'er said, smirking as she twirled a strand of hair. "How's she doing after that beating I gave her?"

Jin Shu resisted the urge to sigh. His mother really gave off mean girl energy. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was the real green tea bitch… well, she might be.

"My master is fine," Ling Shi said through clenched fists. "She has entered closed-door cultivation to attempt a breakthrough to the Adept Realm."

"Oh—?"

"That's enough." Chen Ai Yun cut in before Sun Mei'er could escalate. "Let's move on to official business."

She turned to Jin Shu.

"The reason we've gathered you all is to establish a blessed cultivation land that will also act as a retreat in case of danger."

"A blessed land? Don't we already have the Phoenix Springs?" Tian Li asked, glancing toward the steaming pool behind Chen Ai Yun's mountain.

"We do," Chen Ai Yun said, "but the Springs only suit those who practice fire-based methods. This new blessed land will eventually support all cultivators."

"But first, we need Jin Shu to open the way," Sun Mei'er added.

Jin Shu pointed at himself, baffled. What did a blessed land—whatever that was—have to do with him?

"We need you to open a gateway to the hidden realm you found," Chen Ai Yun said. "Can you do that?"

"Uh… yeah. I think so." He nodded uncertainly. "Now?"

"No. A formation must be prepared first," Feng Lian said, nudging her sleeping panda spirit with her foot.

"Don't wanna…" the panda mumbled, rolling over.

Feng Lian's brow twitched. "When you give your spirit its seed, make sure you don't give it laziness."

"You can control that?" Li Xue asked.

"No."

Li Xue blinked, double taking in confusion.

"You should use a folding rune there," Jin Shu said.

Feng Lian's sleepy panda spirit glanced up at him curiously. "You know this formation?"

"No." He shook his head. "But my aunt taught me the basics."

"Who's your aunt?"

"A sealed immortal, I think? But also a silver dragon of the Azure Dragon lineage. Plus she's a master of formations. She even turned a tree into a palace that fooled two peak Sage Realm patriarchs—one a dragon, one a roc."

The panda spirit blinked slowly. "You know… if I hadn't seen that dragon myself back then, I'd call bullshit. But… sure. I believe you. Which rune did you want me to swap again?"

Once Feng Lian, her spirit, and Chen Ai Yun completed their formation, they had Jin Shu step into its center.

"Alright, Jin Shu, could you open the gateway now?" Chen Ai Yun asked.

Jin Shu hesitated, glancing at the runes beneath his feet.

"I know I helped build this formation and it's definitely safe, but… I still feel like I should ask—because things tend to go very wrong when I'm involved. Are you sure this is safe? I'm not going to end up stranded on an alien planet or something… am I?"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You might," Feng Lian's spirit said.

"…Really?"

"No."

"I liked you better when you were pretending to be Elder Feng… and asleep."

"I am Elder Feng," the panda protested, shifting into Feng Lian's human form.

Jin Shu shook his head, ignored her, and focused on opening the portal to the hidden realm.

The formation under his feet lit up in an explosion of colors, turning the surroundings into a kaleidoscope of shifting shapes. A single water droplet materialized before him—the portal, compressed to a thousandth of its size by the formation.

The droplet spun rapidly, then split into two, three, six, thirteen, twenty-seven, fifty-four, and finally stabilized at one hundred and eight droplets orbiting Jin Shu like tiny moons.

Light from the formation rose into the air and shot into the droplets. Their crystal clarity shifted into a rainbow array of hues Jin Shu couldn't even begin to name.

The droplets circled faster and faster as he began to recite the incantation Chen Ai Yun had taught him.

"Dust is the beginning of all. Space is dust. Life is dust. Death is to become dust. Dust reveals that which is hidden!"

The droplets became a rainbow blur before bursting into sprays of colored dust that froze unnaturally in the air.

Jin Shu reached out and used his wind element to draw all the suspended dust into his palm. The vibrant colors merged into a ball of pitch-blackness—so dark it felt like it could tear his soul out if he stared too long. He quickly slapped his other hand over it before it could do exactly that.

Chen Ai Yun, Feng Lian, and the lookalike Feng Lian entered the formation and placed their hands over his. Their qi flowed through one another, then into Jin Shu, and finally into the black dust sealed between his palms.

When they stepped back, he opened his hands.

A sphere of pure white light floated above his palms—so clear and reflective that Jin Shu saw his own image repeated a million times within its shimmering motes.

The white sphere drifted upward and spun, threads of light weaving together until it resembled a cocoon. Slowly, it expanded to the size of a person.

The three women produced blank talisman slips and affixed them across the cocoon until it was fully wrapped. Using their fingertips, they inscribed runes with their qi, each glowing faintly as it settled into the paper.

When they stepped back, Jin Shu pressed his hands to the talismans and injected all four of his elemental affinities. Tiny symbols—water, fire, wind, and a tree—bloomed across the slips, merging seamlessly with the runes.

The talismans peeled themselves away, revealing only empty space behind them. Each slip now carried a soft white glow on its underside as they floated through the air like living things—little fairies made of paper and runes.

Jin Shu reached out and plucked one from the air. It settled in his palm, vibrating faintly with contained power. The others drifted around him, allowing themselves to be gathered one by one until they formed a thick stack that buzzed lightly in his hand.

Chen Ai Yun stepped forward and held out her hand. Jin Shu passed her the stack and exited the center of the formation with her, joining the others.

She divided the talismans into ten equal portions. Nine stacks—each containing one hundred talismans—went to Bing Hou, Biyu, Li Xue, Liu Hua, Tian Li, Ling Shi, Jin Shu, Zhu Ren, and Sun Mei'er. She kept the tenth for herself.

"Use ten talismans," Chen Ai Yun explained, "arranged in a nine-point star with the tenth in the center, to summon a temporary portal into the hidden realm."

"Select one of the four elements," Feng Lian added, "and the formation will take you to the area with the highest concentration of that element."

"If it's an emergency," Feng Lian's spirit chimed in, "you can paste them directly onto your body for an instant teleportation."

"There are only ten uses?" Ling Shi asked, eyeing the slips. "What happens when we run out?"

"For now," Chen Ai Yun said, "Jin Shu will manage access to the hidden realm. Later, we'll make more talismans. But the resources needed are rare and limited, so use them sparingly."

Clap!

"Alright, enough waiting—it's boring!" Sun Mei'er declared with a sharp grin. "Let's go see what that formation did to the hidden realm."

"Oh! I wanna see too!" Li Xue said, matching her energy. "I've never seen a hidden realm before."

""We too!"" Yin'er and Ji Ji chorused, bouncing with their hands high in the air.

Everyone turned to Jin Shu. He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Uh… alright. Give me a second."

"Nano, help me with this," he said inwardly.

"Nano?" When there was no response, he tried again.

"Oh? Yes?"

"I asked if you'd help me open the portal to the hidden realm. Just want to make sure everything opens correctly. What had you so distracted?"

"Apologies. I was in deep analysis of the new changes in your meridians. I have a feeling they'll become… significant soon."

"Significant?"

"Just a feeling."

"Hm… we'll see. Anyway, can you help?"

"Of course."

Together, they opened a large blue portal streaked faintly with Jin Shu's elemental affinities.

"Huh… that's new," he muttered.