Shi Lei couldn't help feeling a twinge of regret for not being able to "take away" his little martial aunt. Nevertheless, he dared not delay.
After all, without cultivation, his little martial aunt was now a mere mortal. For mortals, even a lifespan of a century was fleeting—far too short in the eyes of cultivators like them, who had reached the Great Ascension stage. To them, it was but the blink of an eye.
Frankly, even the ants in the sect might outlive his little martial aunt.
Thus, Shi Lei resolved to act immediately, determined to help her rebuild her spiritual foundation.
Before departing, Shi Lei introduced the "Eighteen Disciples of Yunlan" to Ji Wushuang.
Ji Wushuang met with each of them and asked them to wait a moment.
Then, to the astonishment of the gathered elders, they witnessed their freshly minted little martial aunt bustling about with brush and ink, diligently writing something down. Only after a great deal of effort did she finish her work.
"This is my gift to you all as my nephews."
When Shi Lei and the others took a look, their eyes twitched. The paper was covered in incomprehensible scrawls—practically gibberish.
They wanted to say, "Little Martial Aunt, we can't read this!"
But when they saw Ji Wushuang's earnest and serious expression, their hearts melted. The elderly cultivators quickly accepted the gift with both hands and carefully stowed it away.
"Thank you, Martial Aunt."
"Thank you, Martial Aunt."
Ji Wushuang smiled at last. In her previous life, she had reached the Semi-Saint realm and amassed countless techniques and treasures. Though she no longer cultivated herself, she had spent much of her leisure time poring over books.
Her divine sense was unparalleled, and any technique she read once was etched into her memory. Thus, her mind housed a veritable library of cultivation methods.
The techniques she selected for her nephews were the ones she deemed most suitable for them.
Seeing her smile, the group resolved that even if her gift was nothing but a child's scribbles, they would treat it as a priceless treasure.
After putting away his gift, Shi Lei chose ten disciples to join him in a treasure hunt, while the remaining eight stayed behind to protect Ji Wushuang.
However, Ji Wushuang declined. She solemnly addressed the group, "The insights my second master brought back from the Divine Tomb should benefit you all greatly. You should seize the opportunity to refine and advance. Time waits for no one. The techniques I've given you should provide additional assistance. As for me, I'll be safe in the sect under the Sect Master's protection."
A startled Lian Xing: "…"
Who could understand his feelings? He had thought he and this little girl were fated, even considering taking her as his disciple.
And yet, she had transformed into the martial aunt of their patriarchs?!
How was he qualified to protect her?
What if something happened to her under his watch? He'd likely be skinned alive by the patriarchs.
Seeing Lian Xing hang his head in silence, Shi Lei cuffed him lightly. "What are you dazing off for? Little Martial Aunt is speaking to you. Doesn't her trust move you?"
Lian Xing: "…"
Moved? He was terrified!
Clearing his throat, Lian Xing replied respectfully, "Rest assured, Patriarch, I will take good care of Little Martial Aunt."
Upon hearing this, Shi Lei and the Eighteen Disciples emptied their treasure vaults, piling an assortment of treasures in front of Ji Wushuang, nearly burying her under the offerings.
If they were to leave their little martial aunt in the sect, they needed to ensure her absolute safety.
Ji Wushuang hastily stopped them and said helplessly, "Nephews, it's not that I reject your goodwill, but without spiritual energy, I can't activate any spiritual treasures, talismans, or pills."
Shi Lei and the others slapped their foreheads in unison. "Then what should we do?"
"Just give me ordinary items that don't require spiritual energy."
This left the mighty cultivators of the Great Ascension and Tribulation stages scratching their heads. Ordinary items? Such things were nonexistent in their collections.
Finally, an elder with a snowy beard spoke up. "It's a coincidence, but I recently picked up a… uh… modest stone and discovered it was a Space Stone."
This Space Stone, used for forging life-space artifacts, had natural spatial attributes. It didn't require spiritual energy and allowed for the simple storage and retrieval of items through divine sense—a perfect fit for Little Martial Aunt.
Ji Wushuang accepted the stone with a smile. "This stone is just right for me. Thank you, Nephew Meng."
Meng Wangya beamed with joy, clearly delighted that Little Martial Aunt had remembered his name.
"No thanks are necessary."
Seeing Meng Wangya take the lead, the other disciples became competitive. They scoured their treasures but found few suitable items for Ji Wushuang. In the end, they each presented her with several top-tier self-activating defensive artifacts.
These one-time-use treasures relied on supreme-grade spirit stones as power sources and required no activation by their bearer. While effective, they were extravagantly wasteful—absurdly so. Only a handful of such treasures existed in most collections.
Yet Ji Wushuang had eighteen Tribulation-stage nephews.
"Little Martial Aunt, here's a hairpin for you."
"This robe as well."
"And this necklace."
"Earrings!"
"Rings, rings…"
In no time, Ji Wushuang was armed from head to toe, her nephews adorning her as if she were a walking fortress. They even considered fitting rings on every single toe.
Ji Wushuang felt like a sudden windfall had turned her into a nouveau riche.
"Thank you for your generosity, Nephews, but this is truly enough."
"No, it's not. These are one-time-use. Once they're used, they're gone. Ugh, I'm out of treasures. Next time, I'll rob the old geezers from the neighboring sect for more."
"I'll join you next time."
"Count me in."
Ji Wushuang: "…"
That won't be necessary.
Meanwhile, Lian Xing stood to the side: "…"
He kept his envy and heartache to himself.
After much effort, Ji Wushuang finally saw her nephews off and immediately stashed away all her "nouveau riche" gear, leaving only a necklace hidden under her clothes.
Anything visible might make her a target for thieves.
Feeling unburdened, Ji Wushuang handed a piece of paper to Lian Xing. "Sect Master Lian…"
"No, no, please call me Xiao Xing."
The gap in seniority between Ji Wushuang and Lian Xing was so vast that being addressed as Sect Master felt like a death sentence. He was certain his master—Daoist Feng Li, one of the Eighteen—would slap him into oblivion if he heard it.
"Very well, Xiao Xing. This is a gift for you."
Lian Xing, pleasantly surprised to receive a gift, quickly accepted and stored it. "Thank you, Patriarch."
Ji Wushuang paused and said, "Xiao Xing, calling me Patriarch in public might not be appropriate."
Lian Xing understood. Given Ji Wushuang's extraordinary seniority and unique condition, if their enemies learned her true identity, she could be in grave danger. Targeting a mortal was far easier than facing Tribulation-stage patriarchs.
"Then how should I address you, Martial Aunt?"
"Let's say I'm your disciple," Ji Wushuang suggested.
Lian Xing froze, stammering, "B-but… I wouldn't dare…"
He could already imagine his master's wrath.
"It's fine. If Daoist Feng Li reprimands you, I'll take responsibility."
"…"
There was no other choice. He could only hope his martial aunt's influence would be enough to shield him from a beating.