Central Continent.
Wuxiang Sect.
Yiyu Hall.
Flowers bloomed in profusion, delicate smoke curled upward, and the qilin incense burner breathed out a cold musk that lingered in the air, filling the hall with faint fragrance.
Shen Yuefu sat alone at a table of jade and mica. His cold eyes were fixed intently on the object before him… a poisonous mushroom.
To be precise, it was a half-cooked poisonous mushroom. The underside of the cap still held droplets of un-evaporated broth. When pressed lightly with a fingertip, the fleshy stem resisted, still stiff. Everything about it suggested it was not fully cooked, its toxicity potent.
And Shen Yuefu knew this so clearly because ever since his return from Eastern Wilderness, he had been observing this mushroom for ten days straight.
The setting sun spilled golden warmth across his stone-blue robes. He rose, his gaze lingering on the mushroom before lifting toward the sunset beyond the hall.
Why had he lost to that woman across three lifetimes?
This was a failure unlike any he had ever faced.
Since leaving Shu Xi Palace, he had traveled night and day, invoked his elder's authority, and entered the Hall of Fate. There, he offered up this mushroom, hoping to divine its master.
But the oracle of the Hall of Fate spoke only: "It cannot be revealed."
Even the Hall of Fate refused to touch this thread of karma. Shen Yuefu understood then. He had encountered a true rival, perhaps the rival of his lifetime.
It was not fear that filled him—it was a fierce anticipation.
Outside the hall.
A soft yellow bundle leaned against a glazed pillar. Pei Xianqiao peeked out her small face. She had crouched here for ten days, watching Shen Yuefu remain inside for ten days.
She couldn't understand. What could weigh on the heart of her ice-cold, stoic Brother Fu?
-
Eastern Wilderness.
Gu Ling Mountain.
Yao Ranran had spent days studying, consulting several knowledgeable cultivators. In the end, she gave up on the seven colorful rainbow pouches.
"Who would have thought… treasures preserved for tens of thousands of years in Shu Xi Palace turned out to be just seven bags of rainbow seeds…"
Her eyelids drooped as she stared at them. The Ancient Appraisal Mirror in her hand gave a listless shimmer. The words inside never changed:
[A pile of seeds: perhaps a harvest after a thousand years.]
"A thousand years… so this is what being the female supporting character gets me? No wonder that cheap master said I was unlucky. Looking at it now, he was right."
No inheritance. No spirit stones. No treasures. Only a pile of seeds that might sprout in some distant, uncertain future.
She pulled out the Dark Underworld Marrow and glanced at a recent message from Li Luoqi. He was still asking if she had become the disciple of Shu Xi Palace's Palace Master. Her eyes swept over the seven pouches of rainbow seeds, and with mischief she replied:
"Rumor has it that the Palace Master's favor went to a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě."
After sending that, she tucked away the Dark Underworld Marrow. Let Li Luoqi guess as he pleased. For now, she would plant the seeds early. Who knew? Maybe she really would live long enough to see a thousand years.
-
Evening.
Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong returned home.
Yao Ranran stood at the doorway with her arms crossed, blocking their way.
"B-big boss!" Xiao Rong stammered in fright.
"Fairy Ranran…" Tang Xiangyin whispered like a mosquito.
Yao Ranran said, "The two of you have been enjoying yourselves quite a bit lately."
"N-no, not at all! Without Boss here, I haven't had a shred of joy!" Xiao Rong quickly smothered his smile and put on a face of misery.
Tang Xiangyin imitated him, scrunching up her face in a similar pained expression. But when their eyes met, she nearly burst out laughing.
"Shh! Be serious!" Xiao Rong whispered beside her ear.
Yao Ranran shook her head, then raised her hand, pointing around the peaks encircling Gu Ling Mountain, all except the nameless one.
"You see these mountains?"
The two nodded, baffled. "Boss / Fairy Ranran, what about them?"
Yao Ranran weighed the rainbow seed pouches in her hand. "I need you to clear fields on those mountains and plant these seeds.
We've eaten mortal food long enough. It's time we learn from Biliu Sect. Plant spirit grain, spirit melons, raise a few spirit beasts nearby, and finally live the life of real immortals!"
Xiao Rong's eyes lit up. He licked his lips. "Boss, this is brilliant. Long overdue! Back when I was a tree, I overheard people say eating food infused with spiritual energy can replace three days of cultivation!"
Yao Ranran frowned slightly. "That rumor's only true with top-grade ingredients. Here in this little village, you'll be lucky to grow spirit grain and melons that aren't poisonous."
"Ah? Really?" Xiao Rong deflated at once.
But Tang Xiangyin's eyes gleamed with excitement. "I love planting spirit herbs! Don't worry, Fairy Ranran, leave it to us."
Seeing Tang Xiangyin's eagerness, Yao Ranran was surprised, then nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Tomorrow I'll collect more seeds. And this Taoist temple needs a kitchen. We can't keep troubling Grandma Zhang to cook for us."
"Got it!" Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong answered at once.
The mountains rang with their laughter.
That laughter itched at the heart. Lu Ziqian couldn't help pushing open his window, gazing across at the mountain opposite.
He saw nothing.
The twilight was too dim. As a mere mortal, he could not pierce the darkness to glimpse the scene across the ridge.
He lifted his eyes to the stars and moon overhead. Yet even the brightest moonlight paled against the sound of laughter drifting from Gu Ling Mountain.
The scholar had no mood to admire the moon. He sat listening, carefully, to the joy that lingered between the mountains.
…
To speed up Tang Xiangyin and Xiao Rong's fieldwork, Yao Ranran casually forged five azure-gold hoes. The materials came from the demon cultivator who had smashed Biliu Sect's main hall.
After her refining, each hoe was a seventh-grade artifact. They could be used not just for farming but even for slaying Qi Refinement cultivators with ease.
Xiao Rong had known vaguely that Yao Ranran dabbled in refining, but he never expected her to close the door, hammer casually a few times, and hand over seventh-grade artifacts for farming. Carrying his hoe on his shoulder, he looked at Yao Ranran with newfound awe.
Tang Xiangyin traced the sharp edge of the hoe's blade. A single strand of hair fell across it, sliced in two by the faintest breath of wind. Her eyes widened in shock. "Fairy Ranran, isn't using such an artifact for farming… far too extravagant?"
Hadn't Xiao Rong always said their Taoist temple was so poor even mice avoided it? Wasn't Fairy Ranran known as the stingiest Fairy within ten miles? Why then was she giving them seventh-grade artifacts just for tilling fields?
Yao Ranran glanced at the hoe in her hand, unconcerned. "That's because my refining skills have improved. I can't control it anymore. Even the weakest thing I make turns out seventh-grade."
Tang Xiangyin drew in a sharp breath. Hidden in her words was something greater.
If the lowest was seventh-grade, then if she refined seriously, wouldn't she be crafting at the level of spirit treasures?
Watching Yao Ranran's calm expression, Tang Xiangyin shook her head. No. She had to expand her horizons. Fairy Ranran was no ordinary person. For her, spirit treasures might only be the beginning.