Rong Ling's Aid

After crossing mountain paths all the way, Xu Yuan entered Biyou Market and headed toward the Merit Hall.

Of the three who had gone down the mountain this time, only Xu Yuan returned. All the rewards and merit points for this mission thus fell into his hands.

A total of fifty low-grade spirit stones, along with an equal fifty merit points, were all credited to his account.

With his pockets bulging, Xu Yuan walked through Biyou Market with his back unconsciously straightening a little.

Selling blood, selling flesh, selling oneself, selling labor—none of it compared to completing a single mission.

His eyes swept over the disciples around him, then could not help drifting toward the tall buildings on either side. A poor man suddenly grown rich, he actually found himself wanting to splurge a little.

Naturally, the place he wanted to spend money was not the Desire Immortal Pavilion. That gold-devouring den not only drained one's money but also damaged one's body. He still needed to preserve his pure yang body to break through to Foundation Establishment.

The place he truly wanted to visit was one of Biyou Market's restaurants. As the saying went, food came first in all things; even immortals who dined on wind and drank dew still possessed appetites.

Grains and livestock flesh were mostly impurities, however. Eating too much would inevitably taint the physical body. Thus, truly wealthy immortals drank spirit wine and ate spirit food—this was the purpose of Biyou Market's eateries.

The chefs in these establishments were immortal cooks, and their ingredients were all immortal delicacies.

For cultivators, eating them was not merely harmless, but greatly beneficial.

His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, but in the end Xu Yuan silently withdrew his gaze. How could he be thinking of spending money the moment he earned some? He still had no lead on his second entry.

This time, he had merely gathered enough spirit stones. The other five-element spiritual materials and the heart's blood of a qi-refining-perfection demon beast would be even harder to obtain.

The five-element spiritual materials could at least be bought, costing roughly three to four hundred low-grade spirit stones in total.

But the heart's blood of a qi-refining-perfection demon beast—even if he only needed a single drop—was not something one could buy in the marketplace.

Born with formidable sinews and bones, along with innate demonic arts, demon beasts were generally thirty percent stronger than Daoists of the same realm. This could only be reversed after Foundation Establishment, once cultivators had more tricks at their disposal.

Therefore, the bunch of rotten fish and spoiled shrimp in Biyou Market would not dare provoke one even if tied together. If Xu Yuan wanted it, he could only exchange merit points and spirit stones for it at the Merit Hall. That might cost him a hundred low-grade spirit stones and also require sufficient merit points.

"I'll still need to grind away for a while."

Returning home, Xu Yuan closed his eyes slightly. His return to the sect did not mean everything was over. Nan Yun was dead, but Zhu Zihua was not.

That fellow had an uncle who was a Hidden Moon Sect steward and an elder sister who was an inner mountain disciple of the Hidden Moon Sect—two great mountains looming over him.

Though the other man's death had nothing to do with him, he had traveled with him after all. Those two great mountains might well take out their anger on him.

This was Hidden Moon Sect territory, so they would not dare kill him openly and casually, but it was still a hidden danger.

Just as worry stirred in Xu Yuan's heart, he suddenly heard the sound of wings beating beside his ear. Startled, he looked up and saw that a black crow had somehow flown into his room.

"Xu Yuan... Hm? You've broken through to the third layer of qi refining?"

The black crow spoke in surprise, then landed on Xu Yuan's shoulder.

"Greetings, Senior Rong Ling." Xu Yuan saluted, while inwardly mocking the privacy of Hidden Moon Sect housing. To these inner mountain disciples, it was truly like a latrine—they came whenever they wished and left whenever they pleased.

"I encountered a small fortuitous opportunity some time ago and happened to break through."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan quietly concealed his qi and blood. He did not believe Rong Ling, without coming in person with her true body, could see through his true condition.

Sure enough, she did not pursue the matter, instead turning to look at the storage pouch Xu Yuan had yet to hide.

"Was this also part of that fortuitous opportunity?"

There was a trace of amusement in Rong Ling's voice as her scarlet pupils fixed on Xu Yuan, waiting for his answer.

"No."

Xu Yuan shook his head, then told Rong Ling about accepting the mission and going down the mountain.

Of course, what he told Rong Ling was nine parts truth and one part lie. In the details, he greatly emphasized Zhu Zihua's role while downplaying Nan Yun's terror, doing his best to portray himself as a lucky fellow who had picked up the scraps.

But whether Rong Ling believed it, and how much she believed, was her own affair.

"Oh, so that's how it was."

Rong Ling looked at Xu Yuan with great interest. She had not expected this boy, who had only entered the mountain a little over three months ago, to stir up such a huge commotion.

"May I ask, Senior Rong Ling—now that this has happened, how should the aftermath be handled? Will Zhu Zihua's blood relatives come looking to make trouble for me?"

Xu Yuan asked. The crow housing Rong Ling seemed to roll its eyes at him before replying as though it were only natural.

"If your own younger brother died while on a mission with others, wouldn't you, as his elder sister, at least ask about it?"

Thinking about it, that was true. No matter how devoid of human feeling the Hidden Moon Sect was, when blood relatives were involved, they would at least make inquiries.

"And," Rong Ling's tone turned amused again, "that little bitch Zhu Yan cultivates the Chamber Formation Art. To her, her younger brother was not only blood kin, but also a supplement. Now that her toy is gone, she won't let this go so easily."

Xu Yuan: "..."

"I ask Senior Rong Ling for guidance."

"Guidance?" The black crow continued staring at Xu Yuan, and this time it truly rolled its eyes. "I can't tell whether you're genuinely stupid or pretending to be clever. No matter how formidable Zhu Yan is, she only barely broke through to late-stage qi refining this year. In the mountain, she must pay her respects when she sees me. Now that you work for me, are you still afraid she'll make things difficult for you?"

Joy surged in Xu Yuan's heart. This was precisely what he had been waiting to hear. He hurriedly saluted. "Many thanks to Senior Rong Ling for your protection."

"Hmph. In truth, it would be difficult for her to harm you within the mountain anyway. But with me behind you, she'll be more wary when doing anything else."

With that, the black crow suddenly took flight. "Still, you should go down the mountain less often for a while—stay put for at least half a year. After all, I don't know whether that little bitch, who cultivated so quickly she damaged her brain, might suddenly go mad. My true body is still in seclusion, so I cannot go straight to her door and threaten her."

At this point, the black crow seemed to recall something and said regretfully, "In that case, I'll have to abandon a mission I originally intended to give you."

"May I ask, Senior Rong Ling, what is it?"

"A small matter." After smoothing her feathers, the black crow raised her head again. "You still remember Tu Fang, right? His superiors think he's been slipping out of their control lately. And some elders seem to have discovered the problems with the mining area and intend to intervene, so... he has to die."

With a few casual words, Black Crow Rong Ling decided Tu Fang's fate. Then she looked at Xu Yuan again. "I originally meant to send you over to see whether you could fight for a position in the mining area below. But now, it seems there's no need."

Xu Yuan recalled the manager sitting at the entrance to the mining area—shrewd with every calculation, crafty as an old fox.

Yet at this moment, Xu Yuan felt strangely little satisfaction. Instead, a faint chill seeped into his heart.

"Tu Fang is going to die..."