The Great Philanthropist

Xie Xuanyi looked once more at his palm, then slowly clasped his hands together.

He calmed down.

There were two pieces of news now.

The good news was that surviving a great calamity surely brought later blessings: his great fortune had arrived. Though he still did not know what had caused it, this body could contain Golden Qi while still in the Qi Refinement stage. If he could truly continue cultivating like this, he would only grow stronger than he had been in the past!

Qi was the source of power behind every move.

When two cultivators of the same realm fought, the gap between them might not be great. But if one side possessed higher-quality Qi... then even if they used identical techniques, the latter's attacks would carry far greater power!

That alone was not enough to move Xie Xuanyi.

What he was truly curious about was this.

If he began condensing "Golden Qi" during the Qi Refinement stage, then how was one supposed to cultivate in the Grotto-Heaven Realm, which required Golden Qi?

Those all counted as good news.

But the bad news was fatal!

Relying on the natural Qi drifting between heaven and earth, he would have almost no chance of advancing!

"There are two ways to break this deadlock."

Xie Xuanyi sank into thought.

"Either find enough Qi pills and consume them in vast quantities, refining them as I go. Or find a blessed grotto where the Qi purity is exceptionally high and cultivate there."

Neither of these ways to break the deadlock would be easy.

The latter was even more difficult. Blessed grottos were exceedingly rare, and those capable of helping him cultivate Golden Qi were rarer still!

Pills could at least be traded for... but his pockets were empty now.

Neither possibility could be realized at present.

Thinking of this, Xie Xuanyi gave a bitter smile. Misfortune leaned upon fortune, and fortune concealed misfortune. Was this an opportunity or a trial?

"The most urgent matter... is to go to Carp Tide City in Azure Prefecture and find clues about my Lifebound Flying Sword."

Having made up his mind, Xie Xuanyi entered meditation again.

Condensing Golden Qi was extraordinarily difficult.

But grains of sand piled up into a tower. So long as he was willing to put in the effort, he could eventually light up one or two acupoints.

Before he found pills or a blessed grotto, this was the only clumsy method Xie Xuanyi had.

"Whoa!!"

With a sharp shout, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

Deng Baiyi, who had only just entered meditation and drawn fewer than three talismans, was forcibly startled awake from her sitting.

She could not help but snap, "Why are you making such a fuss?"

"Miss..."

The carriage driver spoke with some difficulty. "There seems to be someone ahead."

"Someone?"

Deng Baiyi lifted the curtain and looked outside. The Deng Estate convoy had already entered a resting state. Many people had gotten out of their carriages, while Deng Chicheng personally supported a young woman whose face was streaked with tears, offering her constant comfort.

Deng Baiyi froze for a moment.

At first, she merely felt that the girl's face looked familiar. But when she saw the pitiful little tabby kitten in the latter's arms, she immediately understood why.

This was the young lady from a wealthy household who had called for help in the woods earlier!

The girl was indeed beautiful, and now she was crying so pitifully, her face covered in tears and looking utterly helpless... Earlier, with the bandits entangling them, the people of the Deng Estate had not dared rescue her. But now things were different. Several people were comforting her, especially the men.

And the most attentive among them was her good-for-nothing father.

"Miss Shen, stop crying. We aren't bad people."

"It is only a broken axle. It is nothing serious."

"Miss Shen just said she is heading to Azure Prefecture. What a coincidence, we happen to be going there as well... If Miss Shen does not mind, why not travel with us?"

"Don't worry. I am the household head. If I say one, who would dare say two?"

Deng Chicheng's words drifted into her ears.

Deng Baiyi's pretty face turned white with rage.

Just as she was boiling with anger and preparing to get out of the carriage to raise hell, a hand gently settled on her shoulder.

That hand was warm.

Though it did not exert any force, it calmed Deng Baiyi down in an instant.

Xie Xuanyi, who had been feigning sleep by the carriage window, opened his eyes with interest.

"Heh, I told you before... this matter isn't over yet."

If what had happened earlier had merely been a small coincidence,

then the contrivance behind this second encounter was far too obvious.

"Tu Fei was right. My father really is becoming more muddleheaded with age!"

Deng Baiyi felt deeply humiliated. Gritting her teeth, she said, "He dares bring just anyone into our carriage. Wait here, I'll make her get lost right now!"

Xie Xuanyi laughed.

"No rush."

He shook his head and glanced outside. "What is meant to come will always come. Rather than deliberately avoiding certain things, it is better to go with the current... Stay in the carriage, wait obediently, and do not come out."

Xie Xuanyi climbed out of the carriage.

The originally bustling atmosphere immediately cooled, as though someone had splashed a basin of cold water straight into their faces.

Deng Chicheng, who had just declared that he would take someone along, fell silent at once as well.

"It was quite lively earlier. Why has everyone stopped talking now?"

Xie Xuanyi crossed his arms and smiled. "Is the household head planning to bring this young lady along?"

"Ah, well..."

Deng Chicheng coughed dryly, then looked at Xie Xuanyi in embarrassment...

He knew perfectly well that, before Xie Xuanyi, this Deng Estate household head was worth less than dog shit.

Whether they could take someone along was not for him to decide.

"Young lady, what is your name?"

Xie Xuanyi walked straight up to the tear-streaked Miss Shen, clasped his hands behind his back, and gave her a once-over.

The girl exuded an indescribably pitiable air.

She was soaked from head to toe, her hair hanging loose, her face pale.

At a glance, she looked like someone fallen into dire straits, making others instinctively feel sympathy.

"My surname is Shen, and my given name is Yan. I am from the Shen Clan of Lingluo Mountain in Northern Prefecture."

Shen Yan raised her head and bit her lip. Her clothes were damp, and because the temperature was too low, a thin layer of ice had already formed over them. Whenever the wind blew, the young woman trembled all over.

"The Shen Clan of Lingluo Mountain in Northern Prefecture is indeed somewhat renowned. They are famous, and wealthy too."

Deng Chicheng stepped closer and lowered his voice, reminding him carefully, "Immortal Master, we met Miss Shen earlier. She was blessed by fortune and escaped the disaster, but unfortunately her carriage axle broke. She waded through the water and struggled all the way here."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi cast Deng Chicheng a cold glance. The latter was sensible enough to shut his mouth immediately.

"You are alone?"

Xie Xuanyi crouched down and asked his first question.

"Yes..."

Shen Yan paused, and grief surfaced in her eyes.

"Now... I am the only one left."

Xie Xuanyi said gently, "What happened? Tell me."

"The Shen Clan had a shipment to deliver to Great Peace City in Qing Province. We had obtained the travel permit, and everything was ready save the final push, but we never expected to encounter bandits on the road." Shen Yan's voice choked, and her cheeks grew wet again. "The goods are gone. My father, my uncle, and A-Jiu are all dead too..."

The matter was very simple.

But paired with the woman's tears, it became exceptionally moving.

Everyone who heard it was touched.

Xie Xuanyi, of course, was the exception.

He had been staring at Shen Yan's face, examining her closely.

He had to admit that, in terms of looks alone, this girl was indeed first-rate. Her skin was white as lamb fat, as though one could squeeze water out of it with the lightest pinch.

Rarest of all was that current of pitifulness flowing through her brows and eyes.

But those were not what Xie Xuanyi was looking at.

He did not care whether water could be squeezed from Miss Shen Yan's skin.

He only cared whether this seemingly harmless Miss Shen would transform in the dead of night, growing a second hideous face that devoured people.

After watching for a while,

Xie Xuanyi was somewhat disappointed... Shen Yan was not a Demon Cultivator.

Though he had lost all his Primordial Force, his eyesight remained.

When it came to demons, Xie Xuanyi never missed. After roaming the world for so many years, he had never once judged wrong.

Since she was not a demon,

what exactly was Shen Yan's purpose?

After several breaths of silent thought, Xie Xuanyi decided to trust his instincts.

So he asked his second question. "Do you want to travel with us?"

Bang!

Shen Yan bent low, her forehead striking the ground.

This was exactly the sentence she had been waiting for.

She thanked him through tears. "Please save Shen Yan's life, young master. If I can safely reach Azure Prefecture, Shen Yan will repay you a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

Xie Xuanyi smiled. "All right. Get in."

Both answered quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

"???"

The turn of events caught Deng Chicheng completely off guard.

He had thought the Immortal Master had stepped in to drive her away!

Deng Baiyi, who had been ordered to wait inside the carriage, was even more dumbfounded.

What? What? What?

That Miss Shen was getting into the carriage just like that!

Shen Yan kowtowed again, bowing all the way to the ground in tearful gratitude. "Benefactor, your great kindness is beyond repayment!"

"Get up. No need to keep bowing."

Xie Xuanyi rose to his feet and said meaningfully, "Back in the day, I was a great philanthropist known throughout every village for ten miles around. Helping others was what I enjoyed doing most... If you truly wish to repay me, thank me after we safely reach Azure Prefecture."

This is the "squeak" check-in point.