Han Yunzhi, the Little Cutie

"Did you all buy them?" Qingwen shook his head and sighed.

"What exactly do you mean, Daoist?! Stop being so mysterious!"

Wu Pinggu was so anxious that she was a bit angry. She had spent a fortune—six Spirit Stones!

"It's not a big deal. Just consider it a lesson bought at a loss. After I tell you the truth, don't even think of taking revenge on the seller, and don't spread this matter around. Look carefully. This should be the talisman you bought."

Qingwen held up a Water Bullet Talisman, made from Yellow Talisman Paper and traced with cinnabar, between two fingers for everyone to see.

With his other hand, he formed an incantation seal. Two breaths later, a water ball condensed.

"The power of the Water Bullet Technique I used corresponds to that of an ordinary Water Bullet Talisman."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qingwen activated the talisman between his fingers. The rune pattern flashed for an instant, and then a water ball several sizes smaller condensed.

Now everyone understood. These cheap talismans were far weaker than ordinary talismans.

"Damn it, they actually dared cheat me! Dali, come with me and smash that hidden shop!"

Heartbroken over her Spirit Stones, Wu Pinggu immediately forgot Qingwen's warning and grabbed her husband, about to head out.

"Black Gold and Black Wood brothers, stop them! You two aren't the only ones who were deceived. Plenty of people must have realized it afterward. Why has there been no reaction at all until now? Haven't you thought about that?"

The Black Gold and Black Wood brothers had also bought cheap talismans. It was already good enough that they could suppress their anger; they had no intention of stopping anyone.

In his urgency, Qingwen quickly Took Out Again two talismans and connected them end to end.

"One Stroke, Two Talismans!"

Little Monk Kusang, who had remained calm all along, widened his eyes and cried out in shock.

"Everyone understands now, right? Only the Seven Great Sects can afford to support a talisman-making master like this. Sigh, Rogue Cultivators like us can only swallow our broken teeth." Qingwen sighed and shook his head.

"Are we really just going to let this go?! Brother Huang, where are you going?" Wu Pinggu collapsed weakly into her seat.

"Going back to sleep!" Huang Xiaotian tossed out those words and slammed the door behind him as he left.

Han Li silently drank his tea, making himself seem almost invisible, yet he missed not a single word of Qingwen and the others' conversation. He thought to himself:

The scheming and survival of the fittest in the Cultivation World are even more dangerous than in the secular martial world!

And this Qingwen Daoist seems to be deliberately guiding everyone to hate the Seven Great Sects. I wonder what his purpose is. I must be on guard.

As the lanterns began to glow, Luo Hong stood before a stall, carefully examining a cute young girl.

She wore a light green gauze dress, with fair skin, willow-leaf brows, phoenix eyes, teeth like pearly shells, and lips painted vermilion. Whenever those bright eyes met Luo Hong's gaze, they darted away like a startled rabbit. She was utterly delicate and adorable.

Looking again at the scattered talismans, various low-grade spiritual items, and a complete copy of the Evergreen Technique displayed at her stall, there was no doubt about it. This girl was Han Yunzhi.

While Luo Hong was sizing Han Yunzhi up, the young girl was secretly observing him as well.

Why does this man keep staring at me?

Goodness, why is this Yellow Maple Valley disciple uniform worn so indecently? His chest is even exposed.

The instant their gazes met, Han Yunzhi felt an indescribable heat. After hastily looking away, she felt a little regretful.

My brother and I need Spirit Stones to buy pills and improve our cultivation if we want to pass the Ascension Competition. This man looks rather wealthy. Perhaps... I should make a small sacrifice.

After hesitating for a moment while pinching the corner of her clothes, Han Yunzhi gathered her courage and wanted to greet Luo Hong first. But when she turned back, she discovered that Luo Hong had already gone to the neighboring stall and was chatting merrily with its young owner. She could only awkwardly lower her raised fair wrist.

An inexplicable mix of embarrassment and irritation surged into her heart, and she muttered softly:

"Hmph! Lecher!"

On the Other Side, Luo Hong knew nothing of Han Yunzhi's inner turmoil. He wanted to drive away the young stall owner before him and take his place to wait for the rabbit.

Of course, Luo Hong was not the sort to seize things by force. He would use legitimate means whenever possible, such as buying out all the stall owner's goods.

At a glance, the stall was filled with various low-grade spiritual fruits. Luo Hong recognized most of them, but he had never seen the most plentiful kind: round fruits with mottled skins and an extremely ugly appearance.

He picked one up and sniffed it before his nose, only to catch an enticingly exotic fragrance.

Peeling away the skin revealed thick, milky-white flesh. Luo Hong took a bite and immediately found his mouth filled with a rich milky flavor that lingered endlessly.

Delicious!

He swallowed the rest of the fruit in two or three bites, then picked up another one, still wanting more.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

The stall owner was a young man who looked more like a farmer than a Cultivator. At the moment, he was looking at Luo Hong with a troubled expression.

"What? Afraid I can't afford the Spirit Stones?" Luo Hong swallowed the fruit in a few bites and licked his lips.

Oh no, how could a disciple of a great sect bully a Rogue Cultivator like this? How awful. Good thing I didn't provoke him.

Han Yunzhi quickly and quietly shifted two steps to the side, afraid of drawing Luo Hong's attention again.

"You misunderstand, Brother Dao. These Five Elements Fruits aren't worth much. Even if you ate them all, I wouldn't feel bad. I stopped you just now because although these Five Elements Fruits are very tasty, eating too many will harm your cultivation." The young stall owner hurriedly waved his hands in explanation.

"Harm cultivation? In what way?" Luo Hong had not sensed anything unusual himself.

"The Five Elements Fruits contain chaotic Five Elements Spiritual Qi. If a Cultivator consumes too many, impurities will form in their Magic Power."

"Then how many counts as consuming too many?" Luo Hong's tone grew urgent.

"One a day would not be too many." The young stall owner spoke with a hint of apology.

"Hehe."

Han Yunzhi snickered from the side, feeling that Luo Hong had brought this upon himself and deserved his misfortune.

"Not bad, not bad. How many Five Elements Fruits do you have? Name your price. I'll take them all."

Luo Hong was delighted by the Five Elements Fruit's effects. If something went wrong when he broke through a bottleneck in the future, he would no longer have to worry about being unable to remedy it.

"Huh? Brother Dao, are you serious?" The young stall owner was an honest man and simply could not understand Luo Hong's thought process.

"Of course! Little brother, I can see that we are fated. Take out whatever else you prepared for trade as well! I am a Yellow Maple Valley disciple. I certainly would not damage my sect's reputation just to cheat a Rogue Cultivator like you."

Luo Hong tipped back his head, took a sip of Jade Dragon Wine, and spoke in a deliberately hearty manner.

"Alright! I'll trust Brother Dao this once. These two hundred-year Vermilion Fruits are the spiritual fruits I truly came to trade at this gathering. What do you have that you can exchange with me?"

The young stall owner truly had no guile. With only a small assurance from Luo Hong, he brought out the good items he had kept hidden away.

"They really are Vermilion Fruits!"

"Those over a hundred years old are even rarer!"

The spiritual fluctuations emitted by the Vermilion Fruits drew cries of surprise from many surrounding Rogue Cultivators.

There were countless types of Spiritual Herbs, each with different medicinal properties. Vermilion Fruit was precisely among the most suitable low-grade Spiritual Herbs for increasing cultivation.

It did not even need to be refined. Consuming it directly would bring out its full medicinal effect.

Not bad. At only a hundred years, it already has 30 points of medicinal power, even stronger than the Qi Harmonizing Pill. No wonder these Rogue Cultivators are all staring with eyes as round as bells.

Luo Hong muttered internally.