From Central Continent to Eastern Wilderness was a journey of several hundred thousand li. Just bringing her here had taken Hu Zhongcheng and his companion nearly four months.
During that time, she had discovered her own golden cheat and even found a tattered cultivation manual hidden beneath a water trough. It was called the Thousand Layer Qi Refinement Scripture.
With an empty head and nothing to her name, she had no reason to hold back. She began secretly cultivating. Even now, she wasn't entirely sure how strong she had become. But dealing with a little ghost mist? That didn't seem difficult at all.
"Benefactor, you are too modest. May I know who your teacher is, and where you come from?" Jiang Shengxiang asked with an eager expression.
Yao Ranyan had no idea why he was looking at her like that. Half-truth, half-lie, she replied, "I'm a loose cultivator from Guling Mountain."
"Guling Mountain? A self-taught genius?" Jiang Shengxiang's hand gave a small tremor.
Grandma Zhang's weathered eyes widened in surprise. "Benefactor, the Guling Mountain you mentioned… is that the one just ten li away?"
Yao Ranyan and Xiao Shu nodded together.
Grandma Zhang and Jiang Shengxiang exchanged glances, and in the end, they believed her words. This woman clearly wasn't ordinary. Her beauty was almost otherworldly. For someone like her to have such fortuitous encounters was not strange.
Their talk continued in turn, words flowing easily back and forth. Before they knew it, the night had passed without incident.
A few days later.
Morning smoke curled lazily from the remaining homes of Longyin Village, the air alive with laughter from the few families still there.
Jiang Shengxiang led the village's only big yellow ox, pulling a small cart, and invited Yao Ranyan and Xiao Shu to sit.
Grandma Zhang and the remaining villagers stood at the village entrance, waving until the three figures vanished from sight. "If not for this benefactor, Longyin Village might never have known peace again!"
…
Jiang Shengxiang was in excellent spirits, humming a cheerful tune all the way.
After half a day of the ox cart swaying and rattling along, they finally arrived at Yanlong County.
"Benefactor, this is the only cultivator's shop in Yanlong County—Baibao Pavilion!"
Parking the cart, Jiang Shengxiang led them along the bluestone road into the central street.
The three characters for Baibao Pavilion were written in bold, dragonlike strokes, flaunting the arrogance of its owner.
Xiao Shu shook his head in disappointment. "Your place is far worse than ours."
"And where might 'ours' be…?" Jiang Shengxiang asked cautiously.
Fairy Ranyan—snow-white skin, unfathomable cultivation, and even a tree spirit servant at her side—surely her identity wasn't as simple as she claimed. A loose cultivator from Guling Mountain? Who would believe that? Jiang Shengxiang stifled a laugh at his own cleverness.
Xiao Shu gave him a strange look.
Yao Ranyan shot Xiao Shu a warning glance.
The banyan spirit had certainly overheard Hu Zhongcheng and his companion's conversations on the road to exile. But speaking of that matter would only make people wary of her.
Realizing this, Xiao Shu quickly changed the subject. "No point wasting time. Let's get inside and trade for some spirit stones!"
He rubbed his little hands together, eyes shining with anticipation.
Jiang Shengxiang hastily ushered them in.
The shopkeeper of Baibao Pavilion barely lifted his eyelids at the sound of customers entering, his fingers moving lazily over the abacus. The clicking beads were a little grating.
Jiang Shengxiang's face darkened, and he raised his voice. "Shopkeeper Sun, I've brought you a big customer this time!"
Shopkeeper Sun's eyelids twitched as he swept his gaze over them.
"Not buying banyan tree spirits. Those things don't sell well these days."
"What? Your grandpa's—! Grandpa Rong is not for sale!!!" Xiao Shu was outraged. He hopped onto the counter, stomping and cursing.
Jiang Shengxiang quickly grabbed him down.
Shopkeeper Sun was dumbfounded. It was the first time he had seen such an arrogant tree spirit.
"If you're not selling the tree spirit, then… the big customer must be this young lady?" His gaze lingered on Yao Ranyan, and he swallowed. If the deal was with her, it could be a huge transaction.
Yao Ranyan felt the unfriendly weight of his stare.
Frowning, she raised a hand to end the ruckus, took out a cloth bag containing bat demon corpses, and dropped it onto the counter.
"Shopkeeper Sun, how many spirit stones for these bat demons?"
"Bat demons?" Shopkeeper Sun blinked, looking at the bag.
He examined them closely, pinching, sniffing, then finally nodded. "Yes, they're bat demons."
"There's quite a pile here. Worth… this much." He raised one finger.
Xiao Shu's eyes lit up. "We made a million spirit stones so easily?!"
Yao Ranyan and Jiang Shengxiang both stared at him in shock.
Shopkeeper Sun stumbled, nearly falling over.
"This means one spirit stone," he quickly clarified. "The whole lot is worth one spirit stone."
Yao Ranyan froze. "Over a hundred bat demons for just one spirit stone?"
That was far less than she had expected.
Shopkeeper Sun sighed with mock regret. "Xiaoyou, you got these bat demons so easily—you should have guessed they aren't worth much."
A first-layer Qi Refinement female cultivator, a third-layer tree spirit, and a fifth-layer old cultivator… hardly impressive.Yet, bat demons were an essential secondary ingredient for third-grade Spirit Nourishing Pills, selling for no less than five spirit stones each on the market.
But now he'd run into three gullible marks. If he didn't fleece them, he wouldn't be Sun the Skinner.
"One spirit stone? Forget it, I won't sell."
She would take them to a bigger city.
This little shop was trying to cheat her.
"Wait, wait—" Seeing her really turn to leave, Shopkeeper Sun pressed a hand over the bag. "Tell me where you caught them, and I'll give you ten spirit stones."
Yao Ranyan still walked away. Ten spirit stones were hardly worth it.
Shopkeeper Sun gritted his teeth. "Thirty! Not a coin more."
She glanced at him.
A smug smile tugged at his lips. "Well? Will you sell now?"
"You're stepping on my robe." She tugged the bag free from his grip.
His face stiffened, and he hastily pulled back his foot.
Without another word, Yao Ranyan turned and left with her companions.
"Fairy, please! Fifty spirit stones! I'll bleed myself dry!" Shopkeeper Sun shouted after their retreating backs.
But the trio's shabby silhouettes didn't even pause.
In the next instant, Shopkeeper Sun's expression darkened.
"Refuse a toast and you'll drink the penalty. Miss! Someone's making trouble at Baibao Pavilion!" He turned and ran for the back door.
The three exchanged puzzled looks.
"What play is he putting on now?"
Moments later, a pretty young woman emerged with several male cultivators in tow.
"Who dares cause trouble in our Baibao Pavilion?"
Jiang Shengxiang quickly hid behind Yao Ranyan, whispering, "Fairy Ranyan, that's Zhou Lili, the daughter of the Biliu Sect's Sect Master, who owns this place."
Zhou Lili's eyes went straight to the most beautiful of the three.
First-layer Qi Refinement.
Weak.
But that face was rare indeed—more beautiful than her own, in fact. The perfect face to charm men.
"So it's you making trouble here?"
Yao Ranyan blurted out a rapid denial, "I'm not, I didn't, it's Shopkeeper Sun making things up!"