Volume 1, Chapter 39 – Summoning Yun Yun

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her still-racing heart before bowing deeply once more.

“This disciple was foolish. Thank you, Master, for clearing away my confusion.”

“This disciple understands now. From this day forward, I will diligently temper my state of mind and no longer allow such external matters to disturb me.”

Seeing that Liu Ruyan had finally understood, an almost imperceptible smile flickered through Gu Han’s eyes.

At least she was perceptive enough not to stubbornly trap herself in a dead end.

“It is good that you understand.”

Gu Han nodded slightly and brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.

“Your previous ideas concerning the Internal Affairs Hall were already quite sound. Put them into practice as you proposed.”

“Should you encounter any difficulties or lack resources, you may report them to me at any time. Also…”

“You have been in Yaochi Immortal Palace for several days now. It is time for you to return home and let your family know that you are safe.”

Gu Han’s words made Liu Ruyan pause in surprise.

Return home?

That was right. Several days had already passed since she entered Yaochi Immortal Palace. She truly ought to go back and visit.

Although the Liu family of Qingyang City was only a small cultivation clan, it was still where her roots lay, and where her parents and relatives lived.

In this life, she had been fortunate enough to receive such an immortal opportunity. She should put her parents’ minds at ease and repay her family to the best of her ability.

“This disciple obeys.”

Longing welled up in Liu Ruyan’s heart, along with a trace of nervousness at the thought of returning home. She respectfully accepted the order.

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“It is only that this disciple’s cultivation was still shallow when I left home. Now that it has suddenly… changed so much, will it arouse unnecessary suspicion?”

She was now at the peak of the middle stage of Foundation Establishment and had also cultivated the Samsara Dao Scripture. Even her bearing was completely different from before.

Such a tremendous transformation in only a few days would likely cause a major stir in Qingyang City.

“There is no need to worry.”

Gu Han seemed to have already considered this. With a flash of spiritual light at her fingertip, a storage pouch flew toward Liu Ruyan.

“Go and make your preparations first. Later, I will send a new elder to accompany you home.”

“The storage pouch contains ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, as well as a few little trinkets refined by your Master. Take them with you. They may provide your family with some assistance.”

Holding the storage pouch, Liu Ruyan walked out of the main hall. Her heart was filled with warmth, together with an indescribable mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

She felt warmth at her Master’s thoughtfulness and generous gifts, and nervousness about the journey home that lay ahead.

As for her anticipation, it centered on the “new elder” who would soon accompany her.

Anyone whom her Master called a “new elder” and personally assigned to escort her home could hardly be an ordinary person.

She gently stroked the smooth surface of the storage pouch and swept it briefly with her divine sense.

She immediately sensed the surging spiritual aura emitted by the mountain-like piles of mid-grade spirit stones within, as well as several “little trinkets” wrapped in gentle light whose exact forms she could not make out.

For the Liu family of Qingyang City, these resources were enough to raise the family’s overall strength by several levels.

“Home…”

Liu Ruyan murmured to herself as countless thoughts churned in her mind.

In her previous two lives, she had cared only about herself. Not only had she failed to repay her family, she had even brought them a great deal of trouble.

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This time, she would put her parents’ minds at ease and ensure that her family rose to prominence in this life.

She took a deep breath, suppressed her tangled thoughts, and turned toward her residence.

Inside the main hall, silence returned after Liu Ruyan’s departure.

Gu Han once again sat cross-legged upon the cloud bed and immersed her consciousness in her sea of consciousness.

“System.”

[Ding! I am here, Host. Did you miss me?]

Gu Han automatically ignored the System’s teasing and went straight to the point.

“Yaochi Immortal Palace has only just established its basic framework, but daily management, external negotiations, resource coordination, and countless other matters all need attention. I cannot possibly handle every single task personally as the Palace Master.”

“I need someone who can help me manage these affairs, someone with a grasp of the overall situation who is also sufficiently reliable.”

[Has the Host finally discovered the joy of being a hands-off leader? A mature Palace Master should spend every day drinking tea, admiring flowers, cultivating, and comprehending the Dao while leaving all troublesome matters to her subordinates!]

“Enough with the jokes,” Gu Han said irritably.

“I remember you saying that a Special Character Summoning Card randomly summons a cultivator between the Mahayana and Tribulation Transcendence realms.”

“And that the summoned person is shaped into a ‘conceptual incarnation’ based on my memories and impressions, just like Li Hanyi?”

[Correct! The Host may understand it this way: the System extracts your understanding of a particular ‘character concept,’ combines it with the laws of this world, and creates the most compatible ‘incarnation.’]

[She possesses that character’s core traits, certain memories, and an emotional template, but her life form is entirely real and independent.]

“Very good.”

A sharp gleam flashed through Gu Han’s eyes.

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“I need someone who is not only powerful enough, but also skilled in management, coordination, and diplomacy, someone capable of commanding the room.”

“Preferably, she should be steady without lacking decisiveness. She must be able to make up for the gap left by Li Hanyi’s aloof and taciturn nature.”

Images of the many novel and television characters she had seen in her previous life rapidly passed through her mind.

A woman skilled at managing a sect, possessing a commanding presence and outstanding intelligence…

“System, exchange for one Special Character Summoning Card.”

[Ding! 5,000 Master Dao Points consumed. Successfully exchanged for Special Character Summoning Card x1! Current remaining Master Dao Points: 17,650.]

[Host, please concentrate and envision the ‘character concept’ you require. The System will capture and match it.]

Gu Han closed her eyes and concentrated.

What she needed was not merely a fighter, but someone capable of overseeing the entire situation.

It would be best if the person were also a woman. Women tended to be more attentive and considerate, and most importantly, they were pleasing to the eye.

“System… begin the summoning…”

As Gu Han gathered her thoughts, the summoning card in her hand, which shimmered with profound starlight, silently shattered and transformed into countless specks of light.

Buzz.

Spatial ripples spread through the main hall. They were similar to those that had appeared when Li Hanyi was summoned, yet subtly different.

This time, the ripples in space were gentler, like a spring breeze brushing across the surface of a lake, carrying an air of grace and serenity.

A slightly hazy, elegant figure dressed in a plain moon-white gown slowly took shape within the spatial ripples.

She was tall and slender, with an elegant, otherworldly bearing. Her face was exceptionally beautiful, yet there was not the slightest hint of vulgar allure about her. Instead, she possessed the graceful dignity of someone long accustomed to a position of authority.

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Her skin was as fair as jade, her brows and eyes as exquisite as a painting, and her long black hair was styled into the form of a phoenix in full cry, lending her an indescribably noble air.

At this moment, her eyes were closed, as though she were still asleep.

When she slowly opened them, a trace of confusion first flashed through those clear, autumn-water eyes.

It was quickly replaced by deep wisdom and composure.

Her gaze swept across the unfamiliar surroundings before finally settling on Gu Han, who sat upon the cloud bed with silver hair as white as snow and an unfathomably profound aura.

She could sense that the cultivation realm of the woman before her was so lofty that it far exceeded the limits of her understanding.

At the same time, a faint yet steadfast connection seemed to exist in the unseen, tightly linking her to this woman and to this place.

Suppressing the discomfort and bewilderment of arriving in an unfamiliar land, she inclined her body slightly toward Gu Han with elegant composure.

Her voice was gentle and pleasant, carrying the natural bearing of one long accustomed to authority while remaining respectful.

“This junior is Yun Yun. Greetings, Senior. May I ask where this place is…?”

The instant Gu Han heard the name “Yun Yun,” the fingers resting against the edge of the cloud bed moved almost imperceptibly.

An extremely complicated look of astonishment flashed through the depths of her eyes.

Yun Yun?

Yun Yun, the sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect from Battle Through the Heavens?

The Misty Cloud Sect’s master who was gentle on the outside but strong within, and who once shared a complicated entanglement with the young Xiao Yan?

The System had actually “molded” her into existence?