Reward: Beauty-Preserving Pills

It had to be said, second-tier Spirit Cuisine truly tasted incredible.

The dish Lu Yang had ordered was called Four-Way Braised Spirit Tendons. Its main ingredient was the leg tendons of a second-tier Wind Spirit Deer, braised with shredded spirit medicines such as spirit peppers and spirit bamboo shoots.

The venison tendons had been stewed to perfection, soft, supple, and delightfully springy. As he bit down, he could feel the fibers gently parting between his teeth, releasing an intensely savory aroma.

The thick sauce clung to the spoon, its heat and delicate sweetness spreading across his tongue in layers. Lu Yang nearly swallowed his own tongue.

Being able to enjoy food this delicious between bouts of cultivation was truly a blessing.

But Qin Nanyue had been right. The medicinal effects of second-tier Spirit Cuisine were incredibly potent.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Yang felt heat spreading through his body, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. The Spiritual Qi in his meridians churned like a boiling pot.

He couldn't refine much of the Spiritual Qi in time, and it escaped directly through his pores, raising the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the private room by a noticeable degree.

Still, wasteful or not, delicious food was king.

After finishing, Lu Yang put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair, thoroughly satisfied.

He glanced at Qin Nanyue across the table. This Senior Sister Qin had initially looked pained by the expense, but she had apparently come to terms with it later. She had decided that a cracked pot might as well be smashed and had happily dug in herself.

As for Lin Ying, she still hadn't recovered from Lu Yang and Qin Nanyue joining forces to tease her earlier. Even as she ate the second-tier Spirit Cuisine, she would occasionally fall into a daze, holding her chopsticks motionless in midair for ages.

Lu Yang looked at the two women, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

This meal had been worth it.

Just then, a panel suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[The host enjoyed delicious food with beauties and is in a happy mood. Reward: 2,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, Beauty-Preserving Pill ×5!]

Lu Yang's gaze fell on the final words, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

Beauty-Preserving Pills!

And five of them at that!

Two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones were nothing much to him now.

After all, he already had more than twenty thousand Spirit Stones lying in his Storage Bag.

But Beauty-Preserving Pills were a different matter entirely.

The pills themselves weren't particularly high-grade, but the main ingredient required to make the Beauty-Preserving Pill, the Beauty Flower, grew only in special areas rich in Spiritual Qi. It was extremely rare, and there was never any to be found on the market, no matter the price.

Lu Yang had been in the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect for a full four years without ever seeing a trace of one, not even at a sect auction.

Yet the system had given him five at once!

Overjoyed, Lu Yang couldn't help glancing at Qin Nanyue and Lin Ying across the table.

To male cultivators, a Beauty-Preserving Pill might be something they could take or leave, but to female cultivators, it was practically a weapon of nuclear proportions.

What woman didn't care about her appearance?

What woman was willing to watch the face in her mirror grow older day by day?

With these, wouldn't affection be his for the taking?

Qin Nanyue noticed Lu Yang's gaze sweeping back and forth between her and Yingying several times, an indescribable smile on his face.

She frowned and asked suspiciously, "Lu Yang, why are you looking at Yingying and me so strangely? You aren't thinking about something outrageous, are you?"

Lin Ying had actually been stealing glances at Lu Yang too, so she noticed his gaze immediately.

She hadn't wanted to speak—she was afraid Junior Brother Lu would tease her again.

But now that Qin Nanyue had spoken first, she felt as if she'd found someone to back her up. She quickly straightened her back and nodded vigorously. "That's right! Junior Brother Lu, your look is so wicked. You don't look like a good person!"

Far from getting annoyed at the two of them ganging up on him, Lu Yang laughed.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed with feigned sorrow. "I was so touched that Senior Sister Qin went to such trouble to treat me to a meal and celebrate for me. I was even thinking of giving you a gift. But you think I'm being strange? And you too, Senior Sister Lin—what's so wicked about me? Forget it, forget it. No gift, then."

Hearing this, Lin Ying immediately waved her hands, her little face solemn. "Junior Brother Lu, I don't want a gift from you. You've already been good enough to me."

She was still thinking about the Purple Cloud Pill-Nurturing Robe.

Qin Nanyue, on the other hand, had her interest piqued.

She raised an eyebrow, folded her arms, and leaned lazily against her chair, looking at Lu Yang with a half-smile. "What gift? You've always been generous. Don't tell me you're bringing out another supreme-grade Law Artifact?"

Lu Yang shook his head and said casually, "It's not a supreme-grade Law Artifact."

As he spoke, he turned over his hand, and a pale pink pill appeared in his palm out of thin air.

The pill was only the size of a thumb, with a faint glow flowing across its surface and a sweet, delicate fragrance drifting from it.

The scent was exceptionally light, like the first nectar of spring flowers carried away by a warm breeze.

Before Qin Nanyue could react, Lin Ying, sitting beside her, had already widened her eyes.

As an Alchemist, identifying pills was practically ingrained in her instincts.

Lin Ying covered her mouth with one hand, staring fixedly at the pale pink pill in Lu Yang's palm. A short cry escaped her throat. "Ah!"

Qin Nanyue was startled by Lin Ying's reaction.

She looked at Lin Ying's intensely excited expression, utterly bewildered.

This girl wasn't even this excited when Lu Yang gave her a supreme-grade Law Artifact last time, was she?

That was a supreme-grade Law Artifact!

And now she's this excited over a pill?

Frowning, she stared at the pill in Lu Yang's palm for several more breaths. She had the feeling she'd encountered its color and fragrance somewhere before.

After a moment's thought, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck her from the depths of her mind. She held her breath and stared fixedly at the pill, her voice growing softer, as if confirming a guess she could scarcely believe. "...Is that a Beauty-Preserving Pill?"

Lu Yang was somewhat surprised by how excited the two women were, almost to the point of losing their composure.

He realized he seemed to have underestimated how much women cared about their appearance.

Even Qin Nanyue, a valiant, spirited female sword cultivator who usually traveled with a sword on her back, wore that expression at the sight of a Beauty-Preserving Pill.

The two of them now looked like little pets waiting to be fed, staring unblinkingly at the pill in his hand.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He turned his hand over, put the Beauty-Preserving Pill away, and sighed with feigned disappointment. "It is a Beauty-Preserving Pill. I was going to give you two some. What a pity."

Qin Nanyue and Lin Ying exchanged a glance, both stunned for a moment.

Qin Nanyue was quicker to react.

She sprang to her feet and went around the table to Lu Yang's side. A warm smile spread across her valiant face, and she pitched her voice sweetly. "Oh, Junior Brother Lu, it was my fault just now. I judged a gentleman's heart by my own petty standards. Please don't hold it against me."

Lin Ying wasn't as thick-skinned as Qin Nanyue.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't squeeze out a word for a long time. Her face flushed crimson, and her fingers twisted together beneath the table.

Lu Yang shot Qin Nanyue a sideways glance, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned back in his chair. Drawing out his words, he said unhurriedly, "Oh dear, I don't know why, but my shoulders are a little sore."

Qin Nanyue's smile suddenly stiffened, and Lu Yang faintly heard her back teeth grind.

Then she took a deep breath, put the smile back on her face, and walked gracefully behind Lu Yang. She placed her slender, jade-like hands, accustomed to holding a sword, on his shoulders and began to massage them. "Junior Brother Lu, you must have worked too hard at cultivation. Let Senior Sister massage them for you."

Lu Yang closed his eyes in comfort, but his mouth didn't rest for a moment. "Too light."

Qin Nanyue pressed a little harder.

"Too hard."

Qin Nanyue eased up a little.

"Mmm, good. That's just the right pressure."

The warm smile on Qin Nanyue's face had stiffened like a mask pasted on.

This little brat was infuriating her!!

He was actually ordering her around like this!

But it was a Beauty-Preserving Pill.

Even Qin Nanyue couldn't help herself.

She was confident that, with her talent and her Lineage's resources, breaking through to Foundation Establishment was a nail already hammered into place, and she had a good chance of reaching Golden Core as well.

But even Golden Core True Persons didn't stay young and live forever.

A lifespan of five hundred years seemed long, but once female cultivators reached their three hundreds, their looks would slowly begin to fade.

No matter how little she cared about dressing up, she didn't want to see wrinkles in the mirror one day.

She could only endure it.

Then she began to feel a little regretful.

Why did I have to open my mouth so quickly and say there was something wrong with Junior Brother Lu's gaze?

When Junior Brother Lu had looked at the two of them earlier, he had clearly been considering whether to bring out the Beauty-Preserving Pills.

Yingying was close to Junior Brother Lu. If the two became dao companions in the future, Yingying would surely have no shortage of Beauty-Preserving Pills.

But things were different for Qin Nanyue. She was only Yingying's close friend, and Junior Brother Lu had no obligation to give her something so valuable.

Besides, Junior Brother Lu would never put something like a Beauty-Preserving Pill up for sale.

Giving this pill to any Golden Core female cultivator would earn him a huge favor.

Her only hope now was to appease Junior Brother Lu.

While Qin Nanyue's thoughts ran wild, Lu Yang spoke again. His gaze fell on Lin Ying, and his voice carried an undisguised mischievous smile. "Oh dear, I don't know why, but my legs are a little sore too."

Lin Ying's delicate body trembled slightly.

She raised her head and gave Lu Yang an aggrieved look, her eyes soft and innocent.

Then she silently stood up, went to Lu Yang's side, and squatted down. She reached out with her fair little hands and gently placed them on his calf.

Lu Yang only had to look down to see the whorl of hair on the top of her head and her ears, red through and through.

The faint floral fragrance on her body drifted up intermittently, smelling so pleasant it made his heart itch.

Qin Nanyue massaged his shoulders from behind, while Lin Ying massaged his leg in front of him. Of the two peerless beauties, one was valiant, the other gentle.

Lu Yang swallowed, his chest growing warm as a warm current surged up.

This is bad. If this goes on, I'm afraid I'll embarrass myself.

He abruptly cleared his throat, straightened up, and said in an utterly serious tone, "All right, all right, that's enough."

He took out two Beauty-Preserving Pills and handed one each to Qin Nanyue and Lin Ying.

Delighted smiles bloomed on both their faces at once.

Lin Ying, who had solemnly declared earlier that she didn't want a gift from Lu Yang, now grabbed the Beauty-Preserving Pill without any hesitation, clasping both hands around it and holding it tightly against her chest.

Qin Nanyue was even more decisive. She seized the Beauty-Preserving Pill, tossed it straight into her mouth, and swallowed it with a gulp.

She wouldn't feel safe leaving it anywhere; swallowing it was the surest way to put her mind at ease.

Meanwhile, Lu Yang stole a glance at the affection levels on the panel.

A moment later, an irrepressible smile appeared on his face.

[Beauties: Lin Ying (affection: 88), Qin Nanyue (affection: 60)]

Lin Ying's affection had already been ridiculously high. Naturally, it rose more slowly at that level, increasing by only a few points.

But Qin Nanyue's had actually shot straight up from 30 to 60!

That meant she already regarded Lu Yang as a friend she could confide in!

Most importantly, with her affection at 60, he had another affection reward in hand!