Even though Shen Ying was so confident, Ye Qingchen didn't believe that she could easily change Elder Lian's mind.
Rather, it was questionable whether Elder Lian would even see her. The man was reclusive and usually disliked meeting people.
Sure enough, Shen Ying called out upwards, "Elder Lian, are you free now? May I come in and pay my respects?"
The surrounding disciples fell silent. After Shen Ying's voice faded, the entire martial arts training ground was deathly quiet.
As expected, the other party ignored her.
Ye Qingchen turned around and said, "Let's go."
Unexpectedly, Shen Ying didn't seem to care. Then, she slowly took out a book. At first, Ye Qingchen thought it was some kind of cultivation technique manual.
As it turned out, Shen Ying continued, "Elder Lian, I've just finished reading this novel. I think there are quite a few deficiencies in it. I can—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the main door of the mansion on the peak suddenly opened. Shen Ying was like being grabbed by an invisible hand and flew up with a swoosh.
She entered the door, and then the door slammed shut.
Surprised, Ye Qingchen instinctively wanted to grab Shen Ying but stopped himself in time.
Recalling what Shen Ying had in her hand just now, he fell into deep thought.
As he was diligent in cultivation, he had no interest in worldly things, let alone the novels that mortals used to kill time. So he couldn't figure it out for a moment.
On the other hand, after Shen Ying entered the main mansion, the force that had held her captive loosened.
She slowly landed and found herself in a spacious study.
The study was large and elegantly decorated. Countless details revealed the owner's extraordinary aesthetic taste.
The surrounding bookshelves were filled with various types of books, made of different materials.
Clay tablets, bamboo slips, silk cloth, parchment, and paper books all showed the collection value of these books.
The ornaments on the round multi - treasure shelf were also eye - catching.
In the center of the room was a huge desk placed by the window, with simple writing implements and an elegant tea set on it.
A man in a cyan robe was kneeling in front of the desk, with the unparalleled scenery of Lianrou Peak outside the window.
Shen Ying couldn't help but say, "This is really an amazing creative environment."
The man in cyan, Lian Ying, the master of Lianrou Peak, gave Shen Ying a cold look.
Despite his wide experience, he was still surprised by her beauty, and his face visibly softened.
Apparently, he was quite a sucker for good looks.
Shen Ying also took a look at her future master. He was a handsome young man.
Although he seemed cold, he didn't have the ethereal and otherworldly feeling like Ye Qingchen.
It was just a kind of nonchalance and indifference towards things he wasn't interested in. In fact, it was not difficult to see his enthusiasm and concentration on specific things.
Lian Ying said, "Sit."
Shen Ying obediently sat opposite him and said, "Hello, Senior Lian."
What a perfunctory greeting! Lian Ying thought disdainfully in his heart. But seeing her face, he thought simplicity was good.
The cultivators in the sect had this bad habit of being overly formal, with cumbersome etiquette and excessive use of flowery language.
But Lian Ying still looked calm and said, "What did you just say? Point out the deficiencies of this novel? You think you can do it?"
Shen Ying said, "Don't talk like that. Although I'm young, I actually have a fairly high level of story appreciation."
"To be honest, the level of this novel is just average. It lacks imagination, has a rigid plot twist, the characters' personalities are not well - developed, and many details can't stand scrutiny."
"The only redeeming features are the complete system of settings and the rigorous description of the scenes."
Hearing this, Lian Ying looked unhappy. "What a joke. You're the first one to say such nonsense."
Shen Ying spread her hands and said, "Of course. After all, I'm not like the disciples of Lianrou Peak who are only focused on cultivation and have limited knowledge. They've only read a few novels and heard a few stories in their lives, all recommended by their cold - hearted master. Naturally, their reading aesthetic hasn't been improved, and they think these novels are amazing at first sight."
"By the way, is it okay for Senior Lian to use his disciples to create a comfortable environment for himself?"
"I think when a creator is content with the status quo and thinks he can stop making progress, it means his creative life is over."
Lian Ying's face immediately darkened, and black qi seemed to surround him. He stared at Shen Ying with a menacing look.
But then he said, "Why are you telling me all this? This novel wasn't written by me."
Shen Ying secretly laughed in her heart. He still wouldn't admit it.
These days, Shen Ying didn't just chat aimlessly with the people in Xuanji Sect.
The disciples of Lianrou Peak were often organized to buy novels and watch plays and had to write book reviews.
Many people guessed that the peak master was obsessed with the novels written by a poor scholar and was worried that the scholar couldn't sell his works and would starve, so he asked the disciples to support him.
They never thought of anything else. After all, for someone who had lived for hundreds of years, Lian Ying's actions weren't that eye - catching.
But Shen Ying knew what was going on. Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the original work, there were some detailed hints.
Coupled with the information she got from the disciples of Lianrou Peak, it wasn't difficult to figure it out.
Hearing Lian Ying's denial, Shen Ying didn't say anything.
She just shook her head regretfully and said, "Is it not you, Senior Lian? I originally had a lot of stories and special performance methods to share with you."
"Since you're so cold, it seems I'm offering precious pearls to the wrong person."
Then she stood up and was about to leave, but was forced back to her seat by a wave of pressure.
"Do you think Lianrou Peak is a place where you can act recklessly? You make such bold claims and then want to leave?"
"I'd like to see how good your so - called precious pearls are. If you can't convince me, even if Ye Qingchen pleads for you today, it won't save you."
Shen Ying looked reluctant but took out what she had prepared.
After signing a contract with the game, Shen Ying had preferences for different task worlds.
She was quite materialistic and loved to enjoy life. First of all, she was least willing to go to ancient worlds with low productivity.
Although she could make a fortune anywhere with her skills, the gap in enjoyment brought about by technological productivity couldn't be compensated for by human efforts.
The cultivation world was an exception. This kind of world was quite fragmented. First of all, the mortal world was not much different from the general ancient world, except that because of the abundant resources and the support of the cultivation sects—
For example, in the wars between countries, they generally wouldn't be too fierce, and the cultivation world would come out to mediate.
For example, in the face of natural disasters that humans couldn't resist, powerful cultivators would also step in time to save the people.
In short, there wouldn't be a chaotic world with starving people everywhere.
So the mortal world in this world was relatively prosperous and wealthy, and the abilities of the cultivators could bridge the gap between technology and the times, allowing Shen Ying to create the things she was familiar with.
For example, she had been thinking about how to improve the blood jade talisman, a kind of communication tool, from single - contact to group - contact.
Just imagining the scene where Shen Ying took out the blood jade talisman to contact Ye Qingchen in front of Ji Liantan was quite interesting.
To get back to the point, Shen Ying's current hobby was to create a familiar and enjoyable environment.
Watching movies and TV shows was an indispensable part of it.
It's really true that the conveniences of cultivating immortality give Shen Ying countless possibilities.
For example, there is a technique in the Hehuan Sect that can create an environment and offer temptations, making people lose themselves in it and become puppets.
In Shen Ying's view, this technique is simply the dream ability of an artist.
Moreover, there's no need to painstakingly dig out the weaknesses of cultivators. One only needs to master the simplest and most basic level of this technique.
That is, the creation of environmental scenes and puppets, which only requires a solid foundation and imagination.
Shen Ying had long noticed Lian Ying's creative enthusiasm. It was more about the field of imaging than writing.
However, limited by the era, his understanding of this aspect still remained at creating picture books and staging them as operas.
So, according to his creative style, Shen Ying directly created several movies using illusions.
Just presenting them through illusions didn't involve the cultivation technique and wouldn't expose any flaws. There were also some righteous cultivators who practiced such techniques.
Shen Ying had access to film libraries from several worlds, even from the interstellar era after a thousand - year development of humanity.
Once these movies were shown, Lian Ying was completely stunned.
He never thought it could be done like this. What was the point of his sneaking down the mountain to arrange operas before?
The delicate and realistic pictures, the freely switchable scenes, the beautiful color combinations.
The distinct performances among the characters, the smooth transitions and connections, and the exhilarating rhythm.
And there was even a protagonist who looked exactly like him...
Lian Ying blushed slightly and endured the urge not to look at Shen Ying.
This disciple knew how to please him. It was just a coincidence, but it really hit the right spot.
Of course, this was just his own assumption. Since Shen Ying had seen his real self, how could she not see the enthusiastic performing personality hidden beneath his cold exterior?
His reluctance to meet people was probably because he didn't want to lose his composure in front of the younger generation.
After the movies were over, Lian Ying didn't intend to return the jade slip that Shen Ying had given him.
He directly asked Shen Ying, "How many more of these can you make?"
Shen Ying replied, "As many as you want. Moreover, I plan to travel to the mortal world some other day to promote this new type of opera."
"To be precise, this kind of medium is easier to promote. Just with a specially made talisman paper, a show can be presented."
"Not to mention the prosperous big cities, even the villagers in remote and poor areas can enjoy it."
It was just like an open - air movie, which was extremely novel.
"If someone's work is promoted across the entire continent, they can really become famous."
After saying that, Shen Ying glanced at Lian Ying and said, "I wonder, Elder Lian..."
Lian Ying interrupted, "Don't call me elder. Call me master."
*
Ye Qingchen waited outside for exactly an hour. Then the door of the main residence opened.
Two figures walked out.
Before he could step forward, he heard Elder Lian's voice echoing throughout the Xuanji Sect.
"From today on, Shen Ying is my first disciple on Lianrou Peak and will be under my protection."
The disciples on Lianrou Peak below were all stunned. How could the one who joined the sect the latest become the first disciple?
