Lin Yan, after a brief inspection of the room, booked a three-day stay.
Even though it wasn't a long-term accommodation, it made the child very happy. Especially since Lin Yan generously paid the rent in advance without haggling, which made the child even more delighted.
The child's mother called him Da Lang, and Lin Yan also addressed him as Da Lang. As for the child's mother, she asked Lin Yan to call her Sister-in-law Lin.
Such intimate appellations made Lin Yan feel as if she were in a mortal realm, rather than a city of cultivators.
Logically, a woman in the late Qi Condensation stage could easily undertake missions, gather herbs, or collect materials from demonic beasts to support her child, without needing to haggle over rent.
There must be some unspeakable difficulty. Lin Yan was not concerned with the family's situation, as she was merely a passerby. Her stay in this city was only to familiarize herself with everything in this world.
As night fell, the city entered a curfew. Lin Yan also retired to her room.
The spiritual energy in this city was incomparable to that in the sects. Lin Yan abandoned cultivation and instead delved into the original host's memories of cultivation.
She had to quickly master those sword techniques, sword arts, and cultivation methods to avoid arousing suspicion.
The next morning, Lin Yan left the courtyard without bidding farewell to the Lin family.
Her current mission was not far from Lin City. Once outside the city, it would only take an hour by sword.
Her flying sword was withdrawn from the demonic beast's heart, returning to Lin Yan's hand. The blade remained as bright and clean as new, unstained by any blood.
Lin Yan frowned as she looked at the injured demonic beast, dissatisfied with her progress.
There should be other demonic beasts nearby. Lin Yan decided to hunt another one to practice her sword techniques.
She had no choice. She had always been an intellectual worker, and even though she had gotten her hands dirty in the apocalypse world, the systems there were completely different from this one.
Practice makes perfect, she reasoned. By hunting more demonic beasts, she would surely become proficient quickly. With this thought, Lin Yan immediately leaped onto her flying sword to search for her next target.
The new sect competition was about to begin. Lin Yan received this news just after killing a demonic snake.
This was a demonic snake at the late Foundation Establishment stage, just one step away from half-step Golden Core. It had taken Lin Yan considerable effort to kill it. However, the rewards were greater, as she extracted the snake's gall.
She did not neglect the other parts either. Lin Yan was a doctor and knew which parts could be used as medicine. Even if she didn't know which parts of the demonic snake were more valuable, she knew how to process it.
After extracting the snake gall, she received the news about the sect competition. She recalled that the entrance test followed the sect competition.
This was the male protagonist's first appearance. The male protagonist's aptitude was the best among all the new disciples of this batch, hence he received the attention of the elders upon entering the sect.
This also led to him having more interactions with the original host than other disciples. The original host had always guided him, and subsequently, the original host grew to like him, providing him with abundant cultivation resources, nurturing him from Qi Condensation all the way to Golden Core.
The original host poured all her obtained resources into this man. His cultivation progressed remarkably fast, and he soon became the senior disciple of the sect.
As the original host lacked resources, her progress slowed, and she was gradually caught up by other junior disciples, losing her glory as the senior disciple.
Lin Yan's current strength had reached the middle Foundation Establishment stage, just one step away from the late stage. She estimated that upon returning to the sect, she should be able to break through to the late stage.
She planned to attempt a breakthrough to Golden Core during the sect competition, and then go into seclusion to face the Golden Core tribulation. This way, she could avoid encountering the male protagonist.
If she reached the Golden Core stage, she should have more freedom when facing the male protagonist.
Lin Yan sold the items she had hunted in a nearby city. During this period, she had become quite familiar with the local prices, and no one could cheat her.
The items she bought were exchanged for quite a few spirit stones. However, Lin Yan purchased a very basic Alchemy Manual. The original host had a fire spiritual root, and she wanted to try alchemy.
As a doctor, she was very familiar with herbs and medicine preparation. Perhaps she could try alchemy. Perhaps she could.
There was also array formations and talismans, which she could try as well. After all, people in this world had long lifespans, so she could try them all.
After obtaining the Alchemy Manual, Lin Yan used the remaining spirit stones to purchase a pill furnace and some basic medicinal herbs.
The manual also included a few of the most basic recipes. She bought all the necessary herbs and planned to start experimenting upon returning to the sect, striving to find a way to earn money as quickly as possible.
As the senior disciple of a sect, Lin Yan still needed to set an example. Tantai Wangshu took pride in this identity and had a strong sense of belonging to the sect.
From her memories, Lin Yan also knew that this sect was indeed very good, and she wished for the sect to be even better!