Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 70 A Secret Rendezvous by the Pool

Time flies, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

As time passed, the heated discussions within the Luoyun Sect about the previous Sword Trial Tournament had long since subsided, and the disciples returned to their usual routine—working hard to earn spirit stones and diligently cultivating.

On the edge of the Luoyun Sect, in a place rarely visited by people.

Between two steep peaks, a clear mountain stream meanders down, eventually flowing into a bottomless, turquoise pool. Within a ten-foot radius of the pool's edge, a thick layer of ice has formed, adding to its secluded and chilly atmosphere.

A streak of azure light swept across the horizon and landed in the valley in the blink of an eye; it was Lin Jingchu, piloting the Azure Winged Boat. His aura grew increasingly solid and profound.

Lin Jingchu pressed down on the bow of the boat, and the descending flying boat seemed to pass through an invisible water film. The scenery in front of him was slightly distorted, and an exquisite bamboo house built against the pool appeared.

A slender figure dressed in a moon-white dress sat quietly on a stone bench in front of a bamboo house, holding an ancient book in her hand and reading it carefully with her eyes lowered.

This place is a secret spot created by Lin Jingchu and Song Yu. The two often meet here to exchange ideas on alchemy and formations, and to discuss difficulties in cultivation.

In addition to verifying his experience, Lin Jingchu also adhered to the principle of "mutual assistance and progress" and repeatedly suggested that they could cultivate together here at night. This was naturally for the other party's benefit, using the moonlight to help them improve their cultivation.

He also put a lot of effort into building and decorating this bamboo house, which is fully furnished with beds and other furniture.

However, Song Yu never appreciated her kindness and always responded with a disdainful look. As soon as it got a little dark, she would get up to say goodbye, which was a pity that the bamboo house was never used.

"Senior sister, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Lin Jingchu put away the Azure Wing Boat and quickly stepped forward.

Upon hearing this, Song Yu raised his head, put down the book in his hand, smiled serenely and elegantly, and said, "I have only just arrived."

However, this seemingly ethereal and serene fairy touched the storage bag at her waist with her delicate hand, and a flash of spiritual light appeared. Two pieces of meat from beasts and birds, gutted and cleaned, with a faint spiritual aura, appeared on the stone table.

One is a snow-white rabbit; the other is a pheasant whose feathers have been plucked.

The Jade Fleece Rabbit and the Colorful Brocade Pheasant are both low-level demonic beasts raised in the sect's spirit beast garden, and they have a wide range of uses.

Jade rabbit skin is soft and delicate, making it an excellent material for crafting low-level talismans; the colorful pheasant's tail feathers contain a faint fire elemental energy, often used to refine certain decorative or auxiliary magical artifacts, and its eggs are even used as an auxiliary ingredient in some elixirs.

"I've prepared all the ingredients." Her eyes brightened slightly, revealing a hint of anticipation.

[Task Discovered]

[Task Name: The Temptation of Delicious Food]

[Posted by: Song Yu (Favorability Rating: Obsession)]

[Task Description: Fairy Song Yu has been longing for the delicious food you've cooked and is looking forward to feeding you.]

[Quest Reward: Song Yu's Formation Experience]

Recalling the past, Song Yu initially refused to eat such an adorable rabbit. But when Lin Jingchu presented her with the first roasted rabbit leg, perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an irresistible aroma... she silently accepted it.

"Alright!" Lin Jingchu replied, then his expression turned solemn. He formed hand seals and began chanting obscure incantations. An extremely cold and eerie spiritual energy surged from his body.

Immediately afterwards, he pointed his fingers like a sword and pointed at the white rabbit on the stone table.

laugh!

A condensed purple spiritual light shot out from his fingertip and disappeared into the beast's flesh.

A bizarre scene unfolded. The flesh of the jade rabbit began to twist and writhe unnaturally, as if an invisible hand were pulling it out from within.

In the blink of an eye, a complete and undamaged snow-white rabbit skin was "peeled" off by an invisible force and fell limply to the side, while the meat inside was intact and showed no signs of damage.

It is the preliminary technique of the second level of the "Great Luo Thousand Illusions Technique"—"Peeling Skin".

Song Yu witnessed this somewhat horrifying scene, but her expression remained largely unchanged, simply because she had seen it many times before.

Previously, Lin Jingchu had told him that after defeating the demonic pursuers, he found a secret technique of the Thousand Illusions Sect among their belongings. The method of changing one's appearance was quite useful, so he practiced it.

Song Yu herself learned the first level, "Thousand Appearances," through Lin Jingchu's sharing. As for the second level, "Painted Skin," she hesitated repeatedly before finally giving up. This method was too sinister and bloody, incompatible with her temperament, and forcibly practicing it might breed inner demons.

Song Yu had no doubt that his lover had learned this art—he would never use it to do anything immoral or immoral.

After peeling the skin, Lin Jingchu took out several jade bottles from his storage bag, which contained various spices, sesame oils and other seasonings that he had carefully prepared.

Song Yu disregarded her fairy-like image, squatted down, and rolled up her sleeves to help.

The two worked together seamlessly, first carefully coating the pheasant with several kinds of spices, marinating it inside and out, and then wrapping it tightly with a large, spiritual lotus leaf.

Finally, it was covered with wet mud dug from the cold pool, buried in a pit, and slowly simmered with hot spiritual charcoal.

As for the plump and tender jade rabbit, it was placed directly on the grill next to it and slowly roasted, occasionally brushed with sesame oil and spices.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the crackling of firewood and the gradually intensifying aroma.

Half an hour later, a rabbit and a pheasant were both eaten by the two men.

Lin Jingchu licked the oil residue from his fingertips and sighed contentedly, "This is one of life's greatest pleasures. After a period of arduous cultivation, I can invite my beloved and close friends to cook delicious food in the mountains and fields, and feast to my heart's content. All my troubles can be temporarily forgotten."

Upon hearing this, Song Yu smiled slightly, made a hand gesture to summon a pool of water to wash herself, wiped the oil stains from her hands and lips, and in the blink of an eye, she returned to her pure and otherworldly fairy appearance.

"Junior brother, I've found a solution to that problem you mentioned last time."

"Really? There's actually progress on the final hurdle to transforming the 'Inverted Five Elements Formation' into a magical artifact?"

Song Yu handed over the ancient book she had just been reading on the stone table.

Lin Jingchu was overjoyed. He took the ancient book and eagerly began to carefully read through it.

Their trysts over the past two and a half years have certainly not been limited to mere sensual pleasures. More often, they have been exchanging insights on array formations and discussing difficult questions in alchemy.

In particular, the concept of turning the "Inverted Five Elements Array" into a magical artifact has been the focus of their research in recent years.

Lin Jingchu sometimes frowned in deep thought, and sometimes clapped his hands in sudden realization, completely immersed in the profound ideas recorded in the ancient book.

After a long while, he closed the ancient book, his eyes gleaming: "Brilliant! Brilliant! So this is the crux of the matter! Now the last hurdle has been overcome. When I return, I can begin to attempt to refine this set of array plates and flags!"

Song Yu sat quietly to one side, watching Lin Jingchu, who was radiant and eloquent, and his admiration for him grew even stronger.

Her junior brother was truly exceptionally talented. He was proficient in array formation, weapon crafting, and alchemy, achieving remarkable mastery in each.

What's even more remarkable is that, despite having only ordinary spiritual roots, his cultivation progress is comparable to that of someone with heavenly spiritual roots, showing no signs of falling behind.

How much unseen sweat and effort did he put in behind the scenes? Thinking of this, a faint pang of heartache flashed across Song Yu's eyes.

Lin Jingchu was unaware of what Song Yu was thinking. He suddenly sighed again, a hint of regret on his face: "Unfortunately, even if this method can be successful, after the 'Inverted Five Elements Array' is refined into a portable array plate, its power will probably only be about a quarter of the original array."

Upon hearing this, Song Yu couldn't help but smile: "You really are insatiable. This 'Inverted Five Elements Formation' is a sect-protecting formation. Even with only a quarter of its power remaining, it's enough to trap an ordinary Core Formation cultivator. How can it be underestimated?"

"Senior sister is right, I was greedy." Lin Jingchu smiled, then stood up, looking impatient. "Then I'll go back and start preparing!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already summoned the Azure Winged Boat, soaring into the sky and transforming into an azure rainbow, disappearing into the horizon in an instant.

Song Yu watched him leave, shaking her head and smiling wryly, her eyes filled with a gentle tenderness.

Lin Jingchu returned to his cave in Qingzhu Creek Valley. However, after entering the quiet room, he did not immediately begin refining. Instead, he summoned the mission panel with a thought.

The board was filled with unclaimed rewards for completed tasks, totaling more than twenty.

These are all magical artifacts, elixirs, spiritual materials, and other physical items that are not currently needed; they were all obtained by completing tasks.

Besides Song Yu's belongings, Elder Feng also took a magic weapon that was unusable by Foundation Establishment cultivators and an unknown monster horn.

Lin Jingchu would visit his master every two or three months to pay his respects or bring gifts, and also try to take on missions. With such frequent visits, he had already raised Elder Feng's favorability to the level of "close friend".

Lin Jingchu quickly found what he was looking for in these tasks.

[Task: The Temptation of Delicious Food (Completed)]

Claim your reward!!!

Lin Jingchu focused his mind, quickly absorbing the experience that Song Yu had painstakingly studied in his research on formations.