Entangled Again

Wei Yunxi adopted the exchange method that senior brother had suggested earlier. She wanted to trade pills she did not need for Blank Talisman Paper, so she politely cupped her hands and said:

"Senior Sister, I don't have any spirit stones. Can I trade pills for your Blank Talisman Paper?"

The stall owner gave Wei Yunxi a glance and asked bluntly:

"What pills are you offering?"

"I have Nourishing Spirit Pills. I saved them up myself and couldn't bear to take them."

"Let me see."

Wei Yunxi was not afraid that the other party would rob her outright, so she handed the bottle containing the remaining five pills to the girl across from her.

The other woman uncapped the bottle and took a sniff before replying with a smile:

"These are Mid-Grade Pills. How much Blank Talisman Paper do you want to trade for?"

After hesitating briefly, Wei Yunxi said:

"Senior Sister, I'm a beginner. I'll definitely use up a lot of Blank Talisman Paper. I want to trade these five pills for all the Talisman Paper on your stall."

The stall owner glanced over her goods. There were ten stacks of First-Order Blank Talisman Paper and one stack of Second-Order Blank Talisman Paper. Each stack contained a hundred sheets. After doing a quick calculation against the price of the pills, she gritted her teeth and said:

"Fine. Since you're sincere about this trade, I'll exchange them with you. Consider it making a friend. But from now on, you have to buy all the Blank Talisman Paper you need for drawing talismans from me."

Wei Yunxi immediately understood. This senior sister wanted to secure a long-term, reliable customer. She promptly agreed with a smile.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, for looking after me. I'll definitely order my Blank Talisman Paper from you from now on."

The stall owner directly stuffed the pill bottle into her Storage Pouch and said with a smile:

"My name is Hua Xuanzi. I've cultivated in the Outer Sect for five years. You can just call me Senior Sister Hua."

"Yes. This junior is Wei Yunxi, and I only entered the sect this year. Senior Sister can call me Yunxi."

After saying that, Yunxi put all the Blank Talisman Paper from the stall into her Storage Pouch.

"Junior Sister Yunxi, this is my Message Talisman. If you can't find me at the Market, send me a message. I can deliver the goods to your door."

Hua Xuanzi was a tall young woman with a forthright manner of speaking. Her cultivation was also at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and she seemed quite promising. Wei Yunxi decided to accept the olive branch she had extended.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Senior Sister Hua. Unfortunately, I don't have a Message Talisman on hand."

Hua Xuanzi immediately patted her Storage Pouch.

"I have some. I'll give you a discounted price—ten Message Talismans for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone. Want them?"

After thinking it over, Wei Yunxi decided to buy them. She could keep them on hand, and they would surely come in useful when she left the sect in the future. So, pretending it pained her greatly, she poured out another Qi Nourishing Pill and handed it to Hua Xuanzi.

The corner of Hua Xuanzi's mouth twitched, but she did not mind. She accepted the pill and gave Yunxi ten Message Talismans, then casually rolled up her mat and said:

"Make yourself at home, Junior Sister Yunxi. I'm going to look around the other stalls."

"Alright, Senior Sister. Please go ahead."

After saying that, Wei Yunxi looked at Wei Yunqing and Wei Zonghao beside her.

"We've bought the Talisman Brush and Blank Talisman Paper. Now we only lack the Cinnabar Ink for drawing talismans. Let's look further ahead."

Wei Zonghao had no objections and casually added:

"I heard that mixing Beast Blood into Cinnabar Ink can increase the power of talismans. Why not buy some Beast Blood and give it a try?"

"That's true. Martial Uncle said the same thing. Let's see if we can find suitable Beast Blood first."

Wei Yunxi then looked at Wei Yunqing.

"Sis, are you done looking at the Talisman Brush? What do you think?"

Wei Yunqing returned the Talisman Brush to Wei Yunxi somewhat disappointedly.

"Though it's old, it's suitable for you to practice with. Make do with it for now!"

Wei Yunxi accepted the Talisman Brush, carefully put it away in her Storage Pouch, and said:

"Mm, that's what I thought too."

The three of them continued wandering through the Market afterward. Wei Yunxi was genuinely there to buy Cinnabar Ink, while Wei Zonghao was simply there for company. Only Wei Yunqing kept a close eye on Wei Yunxi. Whenever Wei Yunxi's gaze passed over something, she would pretend to be interested and pick it up for a look. She even bought two items she could not make heads or tails of.

After watching the protagonist's actions, Wei Yunxi raised a brow. She was once again certain that the novel she had read was half true and half false. The true part was that she, this cannon-fodder female supporting character, really did have good fortune. The false part was that she would never hand over the resources she acquired on a silver platter. The protagonist must have obtained them through trickery, deception, and swindling.

Moreover, whenever she encountered a fortuitous opportunity, Wei Yunqing's Protagonist Halo began to act up, making her cling to Wei Yunxi like a shark that had smelled blood. Fortunately, Wei Yunxi had been on guard. Otherwise, she really might have missed out on her own opportunities.

Take those empty pill bottles, for instance. If Wei Yunqing had said, "I happen to need them for alchemy. Trade me two empty pill bottles," then without knowing the truth, Wei Yunxi would certainly have traded the empty bottles to her. That way, Wei Yunqing could have openly intercepted her opportunity.

But now that she was here, such a thing would never happen.

After spending the entire afternoon shopping, all three of them came away with gains. Wei Yunqing had picked up two pieces of junk that might be treasures, Wei Yunxi had traded for a full set of talisman-making tools, and Wei Zonghao bought Spirit Beast Jerky to replenish his supplies.

Then, satisfied, the three returned to their residence. The moment Wei Yunqing got back, she plunged into her room and began knocking at the things she had bought, trying to discover what was hidden inside them.

After returning to her room, Wei Yunxi first activated the Isolation Formation. Then she took out the six empty pill bottles and lined them up one by one. Picking them up individually for close inspection, she noticed something unusual when she reached the fourth bottle.

The bottom of this pill bottle was thicker than those of the others, as if it had not been made in the same batch. Still, she was certain that the Sky-Mending Pill was hidden within the bottom of this bottle.

Yunxi tried smashing the pill bottle against the floor, but it remained completely unscathed. Its quality was clearly excellent.

Once Yunxi confirmed that physical damage could not open the bottom, she tried attacking it with the spells she had just learned. After trying the Fireball Technique, Water Arrow Technique, and Golden Thorn Technique, she used the Lightning Strike Technique to shatter the pill bottle just before her Spiritual Qi ran out. A pill rolled out from the bottom of the bottle.

Wei Yunxi's face lit up when she saw it. She walked over, picked up the pill, and sniffed it before placing it in an empty pill bottle and transferring it into her space for storage. She possessed a top-grade Mutated Spiritual Root, and her Spiritual Root's Root Value was at its maximum. The Sky-Mending Pill would not do much for her, so she planned to keep it for trading resources later.

Wei Yunxi had just cleaned up the fragments from the floor when she sensed someone knocking on the formation. Sweeping her divine sense over them, she frowned. It was Wei Yunqing again—a real piece of dog-skin plaster.

With a sweep of her sleeve, Wei Yunxi arranged the Blank Talisman Paper and Cinnabar Ink she had bought on the table. Holding the Talisman Brush, she waved her hand to open the formation and asked with a frown:

"Elder Sister, what is it?"

Wei Yunqing seemed to have wanted to enter Wei Yunxi's room, but she was blocked at the doorway. She could only ask with an awkward smile:

"Little Sister, what are you doing?"

With an unhappy expression, Wei Yunxi replied:

"Practicing talisman-making! When you knocked on the formation just now, you ruined a First Order Talisman that was about to take shape. What exactly do you want?"

Wei Yunqing swept her gaze over the table. Seeing the Blank Talisman Paper spread out and that one-third of the Cinnabar Ink had been used, she suppressed the irritation in her heart and said:

"Little Sister, won't you invite me in to sit? Ever since we entered the sect, we sisters have grown distant."

Wei Yunxi rolled her eyes inwardly. Even a blind man could see what their sisterly relationship was like. Why put on this act of deep sisterly affection here?

"Yunqing, Yunxi, what are you two doing?"

Dear ones, once the Lantern Festival is over, the New Year is truly over. Time to settle down and get back to work! Wishing everyone smooth work, promotions, and raises! Feng Ling will work hard at writing too~ See you tomorrow~