"Ahem, not at all. I was just thinking about what you said, Fairy, and got a little distracted. Please, come in."
Lin Changheng immediately ushered the female cultivator inside and served her fragrant tea.
Tantai Feiyue picked up the tea without the slightest ceremony and savored it. Nobility radiated from her every gesture. As expected of a commandery princess from a mortal dynasty, her bearing was elegant and dignified.
Lin Changheng waited beside her for her to speak, eager to learn how things had gone.
He had asked this princess to find a source for Demon Beast essence-blood used in talisman crafting. Of course, he had disguised his purpose as research into pill formulas and would not readily reveal it.
Yet the more eager he grew, the slower Tantai Feiyue became, taking her leisurely time as though she had truly come only to enjoy the tea.
She showed no intention of speaking.
Lin Changheng ground his teeth inwardly, but there was nothing he could do about her. As his gaze wandered, he noticed that her seated posture had exposed a stretch of fair, slender leg. An idea struck him, and he began admiring it without the slightest attempt to hide his interest.
Tantai Feiyue seemed absorbed in her tea, but she had been watching Lin Changheng's reactions all along. Seeing that she had the male cultivator dancing in the palm of her hand had delighted her.
Then she noticed his perfectly earnest, appreciative gaze resting on her legs, savoring them as carefully as she savored her tea...
Her legs.
At once, she felt as though ants were crawling over her calves...
Shameless...
Tantai Feiyue silently spat the word. Her heartbeat quickened, and a blush spread across her lovely, fair face and delicate neck like the morning glow.
She hurriedly set down her cup and pulled her skirt down, firmly covering her exposed legs as she stared at Lin Changheng with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
"Heh, Fairy, finished your tea at last? Good tea, isn't it?"
Lin Changheng naturally shifted his gaze away, his expression unchanged. He asked with a faint smile, as though none of what had happened had anything to do with him.
"You!"
Faced with Lin Changheng's sheer thick skin, Tantai Feiyue could do nothing but silently curse him as a lecher.
Then she forced her feelings down and began discussing the essence-blood in earnest.
She had originally been a commandery princess of a mortal dynasty. Among those who had sought immortality alongside her was the grandson of the Right Vice Director, a man named Jin Liyue.
They were around the same age, but their lives had originally been worlds apart, with little interaction. After being selected as promising cultivation seedlings, however, they had become acquainted. Since both came from the capital, they had become friends and remained in contact to this day.
Tantai Feiyue had a relatively poor low-grade spiritual root, while Jin Liyue had a mixed spiritual root. One had joined a cultivation lineage; the other had refused to marry into one and become a rogue cultivator instead. Apparently, he was doing quite well.
Thus, when Tantai Feiyue heard that Lin Changheng needed Demon Beast essence-blood, she naturally thought of Jin Liyue and sent him a letter asking about it.
A reply had arrived very quickly.
"Fairy, you mean this friend of yours, surnamed Jin, has stockpiled some Demon Beast essence-blood?"
Lin Changheng felt a flicker of excitement, though his expression remained unchanged as he asked.
"That's right, and he has quite a few varieties. The [Rockmountain Tortoise] and [Greenwood Snake] essence-blood you mentioned before, for instance-he has all of them," Tantai Feiyue said, recounting the reply.
"Excellent!"
Lin Changheng could no longer fully suppress his delight, and it showed on his face. "What would the price be? Could he deliver it to the Xu Family's grounds?"
Tantai Feiyue's expression shifted slightly. "The price would be the going market rate, but Fellow Daoist Jin said that things are chaotic outside and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. He hopes you can make the trip yourself..."
Hearing this, Lin Changheng instantly grew wary and fell silent.
Only after a long while did he say with a bitter smile, "I'm merely a Pill Master, with little skill in combat. Outside, I'd struggle to take a single step, and my chances of encountering danger would be even greater."
"Could you speak to Fellow Daoist Jin, Fairy, and trouble him to make the trip instead? I can pay the escort fee as well. I certainly won't shortchange him."
Tantai Feiyue shook her head. "You mentioned that before, and I made a point of passing it on. But Fellow Daoist Jin was quite firm. He will only agree if you go there yourself."
He won't agree even to that? He insists on getting me outside?
The warmth in Lin Changheng's heart instantly cooled, and a thought sprang into his mind.
Could Fellow Daoist Jin be using the essence-blood as bait?
Since arriving in the cultivation world, he had heard plenty of rumors and stories about rogue cultivators moonlighting as bandit cultivators. He had no qualms about assuming the worst malice in others.
Then he simply stopped agonizing over it. For now, he would not take so much as a step beyond the gates of the Xu Family's grounds.
He smiled faintly and cupped his hands toward Tantai Feiyue. "Then sorry for the trouble, Fairy, but please tell Fellow Daoist Jin that my purchase of Demon Beast essence-blood will have to wait."
Tantai Feiyue blinked her bright eyes and nodded in wholehearted agreement. "No problem. I would advise the same. Our early Qi Refining cultivation is still too low. We can hardly protect ourselves outside. We should at least wait until mid-Qi Refining before considering it."
"I'll write him a polite refusal later."
Clearly, with Lin Changheng's Aura Concealment Technique, she could not detect that he had long since broken through to mid-Qi Refining.
"Sorry for the trouble."
Lin Changheng thanked her, but inwardly thought, Mid-Qi Refining? Without an expert accompanying me or some powerful means of preserving my life, I'm not setting foot outside until late Qi Refining.
Then, looking at the slightly dispirited Lin Changheng, the female cultivator suddenly gave a mysterious smile.
"But there's no need to feel disappointed, Brother Lin. I found these in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. Take a look."
As she spoke, she swept her hand over the stone table, and four bottles of talisman ink appeared.
Lin Changheng immediately picked one up, removed the lid, and brought it to his nose for a light sniff. "Talisman ink made from [Rockmountain Tortoise] essence-blood?" he asked in surprise.
"Exactly."
Then Tantai Feiyue took out a page of notes and handed it to Lin Changheng. Written on it was, astonishingly, "Talisman Ink Essence-Blood Reverse Extraction Method."
"If you need essence-blood, Brother Lin, you can extract it back out of this. It's an adaptation of a method from my Talisman Dao Inheritance. I've already tried it, and it really works."
Tantai Feiyue had thought everything through so carefully!
Looking at her smiling face, Lin Changheng's opinion of her rose considerably once again.
Although the method was useless to him, it could serve as a smokescreen. "Thank you."
"Could I go buy some myself?"
Tantai Feiyue shook her head. "The lineage's stock is limited. This is reserved for Talisman Masters, and there's a monthly quota. But I can buy it for you."
"Then sorry for the trouble. How many spirit stones did it cost?"
"No need..." Tantai Feiyue changed tack. "Do you happen to have any more premium-grade [Wood Origin Pills], Brother Lin? To tell you the truth, I'm about to break through to the middle stage and need premium pills to give me a push."
"Easily done."
Lin Changheng took out two pills and pushed them over, a knowing half-smile on his face. "As it happens, I picked up a few by chance while working outside. I still have some left."
Hearing those somewhat familiar words, Tantai Feiyue instinctively brushed aside a lock of hanging hair, only to reveal her reddened, jade-like earlobe. She examined the pills to cover her reaction.
"This is too much..."
Seeing two premium pills, she realized they were worth at least six spirit stones. With land clearing now in full swing, plenty of people would pay eight. Her four bottles of talisman ink, on the other hand, were worth only four spirit stones.
Tantai Feiyue immediately reached for spirit stones to make up the difference, but Lin Changheng stopped her. "Consider it a deposit. I'll be troubling you to put more thought into my affairs in the future, Fairy."
"All right, then."
After seeing off the female cultivator, whose delight faintly showed through, Lin Changheng thrust his hand into the bottles of talisman ink one after another.
"Spirit seizure!"
Whoosh!
The ochre treasure seed representing the [Rockmountain Tortoise Treasure Seed] immediately grew a little more solid.
[Rockmountain Tortoise Treasure Seed · Spirit-seizing transformation in progress] [Spirit seizure: 13/100]