Xiao Rong thought for a while, his brows furrowing."You two already knew the spirit fruits were poisonous, yet you still watched me eat so many of them?"
Tang Xiangyin suddenly turned her gaze away, staring at Pu Yehai's corpse in silence.
Yao Ranran stayed quiet for a second, then shifted the topic."Xiao Rong, actually Physician Ye hasn't truly died. His soul was most likely rescued by someone."
As expected, Xiao Rong was immediately fooled, his eyes widening."Really? You actually spared his life?"
Just how ruthless did they think she was in their hearts?
Yao Ranran nodded. "It's true. His soul gathered too quickly. I didn't have time to kill him."
Xiao Rong set down the fruit plate and let out a sorrowful sigh."Boss, your heart is truly cold!"
Yao Ranran: "…"
Two days later.
Gu Ling Mountain.
Golden lotus blossoms bloomed in the skies above the village, dazzling and soul-stirring.
A surge of incomparably rich spiritual energy spread in an instant within the massive formation. Everyone in the village, whether mortal or cultivator, felt their bodies relaxed and their spirits uplifted.
"What a wonderful day again!"
Grandma Zhang leaned on her cane, gazing up at the golden lotus in the sky with a beaming smile.
"You'll all be moving to Xiaoxi Village. The people there were originally from Sanhua Village. When you resettle them, all old registries must be redone. I am Village Chief Jiang Shengxiang. If you run into any problems, you can come to me!"
At the entrance of Longyin Village, the line stretched endlessly.
In just two days, nearly all the people from Shiyan City had fled here. Outside the formation, layer upon layer of people were gathered. No one dared to cause a ruckus, for Jiang Shengxiang had set the rule: anyone who stirred up trouble would lose the chance to ever enter Longyin Village again.
Wherever his gaze swept, he only saw weary but docile people.
"The formation has been upgraded again, huh…"
Jiang Shengxiang sighed as he looked at the golden lotus above his head.
"More and more people want to come to Longyin Village. Besides old friends my mother knows, there are many unfamiliar cultivators too. We've got plenty to keep busy with these days!"
He shook off his exhaustion, straightened his back, and continued inspecting the identity proofs being handed over.
"The formation has been upgraded again! And it looks so beautiful this time. Look at those golden lotuses, this is my first time seeing such a sight!"
Xiao Rong tilted his head back, pointing at each lotus with sparkling eyes full of excitement.
"Mm. Fairy is truly too amazing. From what I can tell, even a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě may not be able to break this formation."
Tang Xiangyin gazed upward in worship.
Meng Xiangxiang admired the lotuses for a while, then drew her gaze back to the closed door of the Taoist temple. "I didn't expect Fairy Sister's skills in artifact refinement to be this extraordinary too!"
In fact, Yao Ranran herself hadn't expected she could upgrade the Invincible Turtle Shell Millennial Shield to the level of an eighth-grade spiritual treasure.
That was purely thanks to an explosion of luck.
She had also refined three new spiritual treasures, and her face was brimming with joy.
The Three-Treasure Jade Ruyi specialized in defense, capable of rebounding enemy attacks.
The Celestial Fire Barrier was also a defensive treasure, but with a much wider range. It could protect at least a dozen people, and anyone who came near its blazing perimeter would be seared by true flames, reduced to living fire-men.
The last one, the Earth-Locking Tower, was even more fascinating.
It was a training-type spiritual treasure.
So long as it was placed on a site dense with spiritual qi, it would sprout and grow into a towering pagoda a hundred zhang tall. Those who entered could leave behind their own phantoms inside and even spar with the phantoms of others. It was a must-have treasure for sects and great clans to temper their disciples.
"The Jade Ruyi and the Celestial Fire Barrier suit Xiao Rong and Xiang Yin best. As for the Earth-Locking Tower, it should be planted inside Longyin Village."
As for herself, she already had plenty of magical garments and spiritual treasures, so these three would not add much more.
"And then these three flying boats…"
Yao Ranran beckoned back the miniature flying boats floating in midair.
Two were commissioned by Nie Rong and the Zhou father and daughter, while the last one she had crafted casually when she saw there were leftover materials. Anyway, they had all said the materials were hers to use as she pleased.
"This last flying boat can be rented to Xiao Jiang."
Yao Ranran quickly decided its destination. She opened the door and tossed the Jade Ruyi and Celestial Fire Barrier to Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin.
"Ah, and Meng Daoyou's antidote is almost ready too!"
Seeing Meng Xiangxiang again, Yao Ranran recalled the matter of Qingshui County.
At that thought, she also remembered the so-called male and female leads who had tracked her.
"What a nuisance!"
She shook her head, trying to fling their images out of her mind.
"Thank you, Fairy Sister!" Meng Xiangxiang looked at her with heartfelt excitement.
"Eighth-grade treasures!"
At that moment, Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin finally realized how extraordinary the items in their hands were and shouted in unison.
"Eighth-grade treasures?" Meng Xiangxiang peered curiously at what they held.
Xiao Rong shook the Jade Ruyi, and a flash of emerald light enveloped him, making his whole body glow. No matter how he pounded on himself, he felt not a trace of pain.
"Let me try too!"
Tang Xiangyin activated the Celestial Fire Barrier. Intense flames surged outward from her as the center, spreading two zhang in every direction before stabilizing.
"These flames look like they could incinerate a whole tribe of tree spirits!"
Xiao Rong shivered a little. He was, after all, a banyan tree. Fire was his natural nemesis—let alone true flames unleashed by an eighth-grade treasure.
"These two treasures are incredible!" Meng Xiangxiang's face brimmed with envy.
How blissful it was to be Fairy Sister's friends!
"As usual, since Xiang Yin contributed a few drops of blood essence last time, she doesn't need to pay spirit stones. Xiao Rong, since you've been tending to the spiritual plants so well lately, the cost of this treasure will just be deducted from your reward."
Yao Ranran gave them a faint smile as she quoted the prices.
Compared to market rates, the discounts she gave them were unbelievably generous.
Tang Xiangyin exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness my whole body is treasure…"
Xiao Rong instantly drooped his head. "Hmph, sooner or later I, Rong-yé, will strike it rich. When that day comes, I'll even buy Boss herself!"
"Pfft!"
Tang Xiangyin and Meng Xiangxiang both burst out laughing.
Yao Ranran also curved her lips into a smile. "I look forward to that day too."
If Xiao Rong struck it rich, it would mean she was rich as well.
Longyin Village.
The Zhou father and daughter, Nie Rong, and Jiang Shengxiang each held a flying boat in hand, their grins nearly splitting their faces.
"A real flying boat! When I was a child, I once followed my master to the Central Domain to pay respects to the elders of Miaoyun Sect. I only caught a glimpse of one from afar, and my master and I were beside ourselves with excitement!"
Zhou Shengqian spoke as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"If my master knew that in the future even Biliu Sect could possess a flying boat of its own, even in the afterlife he might jump out of his coffin in joy!"
Yao Ranran: "…"
Wasn't that a bit exaggerated?
"Fl… flying boat!!"
Jiang Shengxiang's smile froze, his eyes rolled back white, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Yao Ranran blinked.
She realized she had been shallow. There was always a mountain beyond a mountain, a person beyond a person. There were still people who could be even more exaggerated.