Embracing the Beauty

The forest was quiet.

Chehou Yan froze.

Why hadn't it exploded?

He had clearly sensed that the jade slip was right up ahead.

"Brother Che Hou, what are you hoping for?" Shen Yue asked, looking over with a faint, amused smile.

If this had happened before, it might really have exploded.

But now he had mastered the Heavenly Cauldron Refining Technique. He had long since erased the restriction hidden inside the jade slip.

Black Longyu also looked at Chehou Yan in confusion, her ugly face crinkling into a frown.

Chehou Yan jolted, hurriedly reached to the side, and plucked two wildflowers. He offered them eagerly. "Madam, you'll look absolutely beautiful wearing these."

"What kind of wildflowers could possibly match this peerless beauty?" Black Longyu smacked Chehou Yan on the head. "Get on with what we came here to do!"

Stars danced in Chehou Yan's eyes, but he still looked hopelessly smitten.

"Fellow Daoist, you're probably here to buy spiritual supplies in the city, right?"

"Unfortunately, some time ago, True Lords Xuanyang and Yinsha discussed the Dao in the immortal city. The city has been closed ever since, and no one knows when it'll open again."

"But don't worry, fellow Daoist. I know a place guarded by several Foundation Establishment experts. It has plenty of spiritual supplies and treasures, too."

Chehou Yan looked utterly sincere, though he had already worked everything out in his mind.

Black Longyu had a younger sister who was said to be hideously ugly, but extraordinarily gifted and deeply cherished by the Black Soil Fortress master.

If he couldn't blow you up, then he'd make you marry an ugly woman—one uglier than Black Longyu—and suffer day after day.

That would satisfy his grudge and win him Black Longyu's favor, too.

Shen Yue fell silent for a moment.

He knew Chehou Yan was up to no good.

But he couldn't come all this way for nothing. Chehou Yan seemed like a lucky star; every time they crossed paths, Shen Yue came away with a great haul.

Besides, he could return whenever he wanted. There was no harm in taking a look.

"I'll trouble you to lead the way, Brother Che Hou."

Fallen Leaf Valley was a naturally formed basin, surrounded by mountains on all sides and wreathed in mist.

As soon as Shen Yue and the others reached the valley entrance, a woman in a purple dress and veil came to greet them.

Black Longyu cheerfully took the woman's hand and exchanged affectionate greetings with her.

Chehou Yan leaned over and whispered, "The Black Soil Fortress's number-one beauty, the master's precious daughter, and the fortress's future heir. What do you think, Brother Shen? Interested?"

Shen Yue looked at Black Longyu's prominent buck teeth, then at the woman's veiled face. She was probably even harder to look at, so he didn't take the bait. He simply said,

"Let's go into the valley first. I'll treat you to a good drink, Brother Che Hou."

"Sure."

The valley was a world of its own.

Spiritual trees shaded the paths, while fallen leaves carpeted the ground in gold. Stalls of every kind lined both sides.

Spirit talismans, pills, magical implements, spiritual materials—everything was on offer. Vendors called out, and customers haggled back and forth.

The four of them settled into an inn, where spiritual wine and meat were soon served.

"Let me introduce everyone to Brother Shen. You've already met my wife. This is Miss Long Ying." Chehou Yan could hardly wait to play matchmaker.

"Dear sister, we're all family here. Take off your veil and have a drink with Brother Shen." Black Longyu joined in to help.

Long Ying hesitated, then removed her veil and raised her cup. "Brother Shen, a toast."

She had willow-leaf brows and apricot-shaped eyes, a straight, delicate nose, and lips as red as rouge. Her skin was fair as snow.

Her eyes were clear as water, and when she smiled, they sparkled with a bewitching radiance. She looked otherworldly.

How could she possibly be ugly?

She was clearly a peerless beauty.

Seeing Long Ying's face, Black Longyu sneered inwardly.

What peerless beauty? There wasn't a single natural embellishment on her face, and her teeth were so clean and white they were completely ridiculous.

Unlike Black Longyu, with her thick lips and dark teeth—perfectly suited to the Black Soil Fortress's aesthetic.

That made her the true peerless beauty, the fortress's darling.

At the thought, she looked at Chehou Yan and gloated inwardly: You're the one who lucked out.

But Chehou Yan was staring at Long Ying, unable to tear his eyes away.

This damn woman was supposed to be the Black Soil Fortress's ugliest girl?

Then he looked again at Black Longyu's face...

He couldn't help remembering when the Black Soil Fortress had captured him. The master had said he had two daughters and could marry either one to save his life. But before he could choose, Black Longyu had dragged him into her room by force...

Heavens above, if you want me dead, just say so. Don't toy with me like this!

Chehou Yan ground his back teeth to dust.

"Cheers." Shen Yue was also a little surprised. This woman wasn't ugly at all; she had a beautiful face.

Were she and that bucktoothed woman really sisters?

"Where are you from, Brother Shen?" Long Ying asked in a clear voice.

"I'm a Rogue Cultivator."

"You don't seem like one, Brother Shen." Long Ying's smile grew even more captivating.

Chehou Yan couldn't stand watching anymore. "Brother Shen, weren't you here to buy treasures? The market's about to close. You should hurry."

He absolutely couldn't let his enemy end up with the beauty!

He racked his brains.

Got it! Grafting Flowers onto Trees Technique, Wife-Swapping Life-Borrowing!

"Right, Sister Ying, you know Fallen Leaf Valley well. Why don't you show Brother Shen around?"

Black Longyu was trying to bring them together. If Long Ying got involved with some Rogue Cultivator, the Black Soil Fortress would be hers!

"That's not appropriate..." Chehou Yan's face turned green with fury.

Black Longyu shot him a glance, and he obediently lowered his head again.

"I can go by myself. There's no need to trouble Miss Long Ying." Shen Yue cupped his hands.

The more beautiful a woman was, the more dangerous she was. Naturally, he wouldn't let anyone accompany him.

Long Ying smiled and took out a sound-transmission talisman. "Brother Shen, if you need anything, just come find me."

"Very well."

Shen Yue left the inn and headed for the market.

This time, he had brought five portions of Star Flow Sand, two portions of Fire Flowing Sand, and a dozen or so magical implements. He wanted to see if he could sell them, then buy two powerful techniques and some pills to help him break through.

The cultivation arts of Ancient Wei were profound, but troublesome.

Breaking through from the early stage to the middle stage, and from the middle stage to the late stage, both required pills.

At the market, Shen Yue first made a round of the open-air stalls and asked at several booths. Soon, he had a rough idea of the prices.

Fallen Leaf Valley wasn't as grand as the immortal city, but plenty of cultivators passed through. Prices were actually more flexible here.

Star Flow Sand went for sixteen spirit stones per portion, one more than in the immortal city. Five portions brought him eighty spirit stones.

But what truly delighted Shen Yue was the dozen or so magical implements he had crafted.

"This Emerald Ring may be low-grade, but the craftsmanship is excellent. It has a touch of the Chehou Family of Linjiang Immortal City. I'll buy it for thirty."

Before he could finish, another old man stepped forward. "I'll offer thirty-five."

A low-grade magical implement at Chusheng Market usually went for around twenty spirit stones. A good one might fetch twenty-five.

Thirty-five was the price of a premium item.

After that, Shen Yue sold two more magical implements for thirty and thirty-eight spirit stones, respectively.

With the money from the Star Flow Sand and what he'd already had on hand, he now had nearly two hundred spirit stones.

Shen Yue was elated. "If I sell all these magical implements, won't I bring in another three to five hundred spirit stones?"

But he didn't rush to sell them. Instead, he entered a shop called the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

The proprietor was a middle-aged man with a small mustache. As soon as Shen Yue walked in, he greeted him with a broad smile. "What can I get for you, fellow Daoist? Cultivation arts, techniques, pills—we have it all."

"I'm looking at techniques."

"You've come at the perfect time, fellow Daoist. We just got in an excellent technique." The proprietor took a dark green jade slip from the shelf.

"This Profound Yin Spirit-Absorbing Art can draw upon the Yinsha energy between heaven and earth and turn it to your use. At its highest level, you can drain someone's spiritual power with a wave of your hand. It's incredibly overbearing."

Shen Yue was tempted. This technique could make up for the limited range of methods at his disposal.

"Brother Shen, don't listen to him."

Long Ying had been passing by. Seeing what was happening, she hurried inside to warn him.

"This Profound Yin Spirit-Absorbing Art looks impressive, but it's actually a method for refining people into pills."

The proprietor gave an awkward laugh, put the jade slip away, and took out another one glowing with golden light.

"Fellow Daoist, take a look at this Heavenly Stellar Soul-Refining Technique. It's a miraculous method for tempering the soul. Once mastered, it greatly increases your spiritual sense, letting you see every stir within dozens of miles. It comes with absolutely no hidden dangers."

"This technique is one of the Three Thousand Derived Divine Soldiers of True Lord Yinsha." Long Ying interrupted with a smile. "True Lord Yinsha dispersed three thousand jade slips using a secret method. Anyone who cultivates one becomes a Derived Divine Soldier."

The cultivation arts of Ancient Wei were truly bizarre. Traps were everywhere.

Shen Yue cupped his hands toward Long Ying. "Thank you for the warning."

The first golden page of the Nine Heavens Profound Mirror could not only permanently preserve his cultivation progress, but also identify whether cultivation arts were genuine. Fake cultivation arts couldn't be recorded on the golden page.

So he wasn't worried about practicing the wrong cultivation art. The only issue was that trial and error would waste time and spirit stones.

"If you want to buy techniques, Brother Shen, you can look at the shop across the street." Long Ying pointed across the road and smiled slyly. "That shopkeeper is honest, and his goods are decent, too."

"Don't go, fellow Daoist!" The proprietor panicked and hurriedly offered him two golden booklets. "These two are guaranteed quality, with honest prices. Take a look!"

Shen Yue took them and flipped through the pages.

One was called the Earth Origin Sand Condensing Art. It was an earth-attribute technique that drew upon the energy of the earth's veins to condense sand, useful for both attack and defense. It complemented his Star Sand Return-to-Store Technique extremely well.

The other was an Azure Wood Vitality Guide, a wood-attribute technique that was useless to him.

"How much for both?"

"You have a good eye, fellow Daoist. Just one hundred spirit stones for the pair."

"Thirty." Long Ying slashed the price down to the bone.

The proprietor gritted his teeth. "Fifty. I can't go any lower."

"Twenty-five." Shen Yue made as if to leave.

"Consider them a gift, fellow Daoist!"

He was still making a profit.

Shen Yue took the cultivation arts and walked out. He cupped his hands in a salute. "Thank you, Miss Long Ying."

Long Ying smiled. "The market's a mixed bag. Treasures and cultivation arts vary in quality, and there are hidden traps everywhere. What else do you want to buy, Brother Shen? I'll see if I can help."

"I smell... an unusual aura on you."

Just then, an old woman in clothes made of dried grass stopped in front of Shen Yue.

She was stooped over, her white hair tangled. The wrinkles on her face looked like a cracked riverbed. She sniffed the air.

"Rich and intense... like the heat of fire."

Shen Yue's pupils contracted.

There was no fire aura here.

The fire aura on him came from the Refining Lake in another world!