When did it start?

"So you're fellow cultivators from the Divine Firmament Sword Sect. My apologies!"

Xu Yaoyang kept smiling and was perfectly courteous to Ying Huaixu and the others.

Ye Ningshuang looked at Xu Yaoyang, her brows drawing together slightly.

For some reason, she felt an inexplicable aversion to the man before her.

So much so that she barely wanted to speak to him.

Still, she was reluctant to give up the medicinal herb glowing with an eerie blue light before them.

But he had found it first, so Ye Ningshuang could only leave.

Seeing that she was about to go, Xu Yaoyang hurriedly said, "Please wait, miss!"

Ye Ningshuang frowned again.

Xu Yaoyang picked up the spirit herb and offered it to her.

"I originally wanted to invite you to my home so my younger brother could give you a proper apology, but you declined. Now that we've met again, please accept this spirit herb as compensation!"

Ye Ningshuang's expression was cold. "No need!"

With that, she returned to Ying Huaixu's side.

Ying Huaixu found this rather curious.

From the looks of things, Ye Ningshuang and Xu Yaoyang hardly seemed likely to end up together.

He could even clearly sense her dislike for Xu Yaoyang.

What on earth happened later to make these two a couple?

Ye Ningshuang's attitude did not upset Xu Yaoyang in the slightest.

He remained impeccably polite.

When she refused the herb, he offered it to Ying Huaixu instead.

"Fellow cultivator, this is a token of goodwill from the Xu Family. I want nothing in return. I simply hope we can resolve our differences. Consider this spirit herb a way to settle our karmic debt!"

Ying Huaixu looked at the spirit herb and ultimately decided to accept it.

Mostly because Xu Yaoyang genuinely seemed to have no ulterior motives.

At least, not for now.

Of course, Xu Yaoyang probably thought little of this spirit herb anyway.

He was the Holy Son of the Great Sun Sacred Ground. An herb like this really was beneath his notice.

Seeing Ying Huaixu accept it, Xu Yaoyang's smile deepened.

Then he began chatting with them.

"The Divine Firmament Sword Sect rarely ventures out, and whenever it does, it's to quell unrest. Have you come out because trouble has arisen somewhere?"

Ying Huaixu looked at He Xiuyuan.

His meaning was clear: Senior He, you handle this!

He Xiuyuan looked awkward, even covering his face.

Xu Yaoyang also turned to look at him.

Suddenly, a fascinating succession of expressions crossed Xu Yaoyang's face.

"Senior Brother Xiuyuan?"

He Xiuyuan was speechless.

Now Xu Yaoyang was confused.

"Senior Brother Xiuyuan, you joined the Divine Firmament Sword Sect?"

He Xiuyuan nodded.

Xu Yaoyang's expression was quite a sight. "Does Master know?"

He Xiuyuan nodded. "Of course he does. We've already fallen out over it!"

Xu Yaoyang finally understood why his master spent every day calling his son unfilial, an abomination, and lamenting whatever sin he had committed to deserve this.

Apparently, Senior Brother Xiuyuan had abandoned the Great Sun Sacred Ground's cultivation arts to become an outer disciple in the Divine Firmament Sword Sect...

That was a little insane.

Meanwhile, Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang sat side by side, enjoying the drama.

"Old He, you're from the Great Sun Sacred Ground?"

He Xiuyuan nodded.

"The Great Sun Holy Lord is my father!"

That revelation left Ying Huaixu and Ye Ningshuang thoroughly stunned.

Holy shit, he was a top-tier cultivation heir!

But wait, that didn't add up.

Ying Huaixu asked, "With your background, why did you come to the Divine Firmament Sword Sect to be an outer disciple? And there's no way the sect didn't know who you were. They still agreed to take you as an outer disciple?"

He Xiuyuan shook his head.

"It's a long story!"

Then He Xiuyuan began telling them about his background.

Essentially, his father complained every day about how poor his aptitude was. His mother had a heavenly spiritual root, his father was the Great Sun Holy Lord, yet He Xiuyuan only had a supreme spiritual root.

His father also frequently told him that without the Great Sun Sacred Ground, he was nothing.

In short, he belittled He Xiuyuan in every way possible, even comparing him to the sacred ground's other disciples.

Unable to bear it any longer, He Xiuyuan had destroyed his entire cultivation in a fit of anger and left for the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.

He was determined to see whether he could accomplish something on his own without relying on the Great Sun Sacred Ground, starting at the very bottom as an outer disciple.

After hearing his story, Ying Huaixu couldn't help liking him even more.

Back when Ying Huaixu played the game, He Xiuyuan had never mentioned his background. From beginning to end, he had simply been their senior brother in the Divine Firmament Sword Sect.

Given what he knew now, He Xiuyuan was the Holy Lord's son, after all. Surely he should have had something on him to save his life.

Yet in reality, aside from the things he obtained at the Divine Firmament Sword Sect, he truly hadn't brought a single thing from the Great Sun Sacred Ground.

The man had backbone.

More importantly, despite being the Holy Lord's son, he had still died for his fellow disciples.

Senior Brother He deserved respect.

At the same time, Ying Huaixu finally understood why the Great Sun Sacred Ground and the Thousand Mechanisms Sect had been mortal enemies in the game.

So there was this connection, too!

Once his identity was out in the open, Xu Yaoyang began chatting with He Xiuyuan about things back home.

He told him how the sacred ground had been doing over the years and what the Holy Lord said about him every day.

He Xiuyuan merely smiled.

Afterward, Xu Yaoyang offered to help with their mission, but He Xiuyuan refused.

This was a Divine Firmament Sword Sect mission, and he didn't want help from anyone from the Great Sun Sacred Ground, either.

As the sky began to darken, Xu Yaoyang finally said his farewells.

He Xiuyuan nodded.

And just like that, Ye Ningshuang and Xu Yaoyang's first meeting came to an inconclusive end.

There had been no sign of any budding romance whatsoever.

Ying Huaixu found that rather strange.

Could my presence here have changed things?

That was the only explanation he could think of.

At that moment, He Xiuyuan walked up to him and said, "How about we skip going back and head straight to Falling Radiance City?"

Ying Huaixu had no objections. "Let's go!"

The three of them mounted their horses and set off again.

The horses in this cultivation world really were fast.

They finally reached Falling Radiance City before dawn.

Falling Radiance City was quite prosperous.

It could even rival the royal capitals in historical dramas.

That was mainly because it was one of the locations where cultivation sects recruited disciples.

As a result, independent cultivators gathered here all year round.

With so many independent cultivators around, Falling Radiance City had also become an enormous marketplace.

Shopping here, however, was like opening mystery boxes.

Ying Huaixu knew Falling Radiance City like the back of his hand.

When he played the game, even in the very late stages, he would still come here to talk to NPCs and buy things.

That was because NPCs selling high-level goods and materials really did appear in Falling Radiance City from time to time.

One player had even bought a red-rarity material from an NPC here for a few hundred thousand spirit stones, then resold it for tens of millions in the real world.

That was why players jokingly called Falling Radiance City "Bargain-Hunting City" and "Welfare City"!

Ying Huaixu had come here countless times himself.

After all, the game had Townstones, so he could teleport straight over.

Whenever he had nothing to do, Ying Huaixu would come to Falling Radiance City and talk to the NPCs one by one.

Returning to Falling Radiance City, Ying Huaixu couldn't help feeling nostalgic.

In the past, he would often see players gathered here, riding all kinds of mounts and wearing all kinds of outfits.

Now, he was playing solo instead.

Fortunately, Falling Radiance City itself hadn't changed much.

He Xiuyuan said, "We've only just arrived and don't know the place yet. I suggest we familiarize ourselves with the surroundings first and leave the investigation until tomorrow. What do you think?"

He looked at Ying Huaixu as he finished speaking.

Ying Huaixu shook his head. "No need. Come on, I'll take you somewhere good!"

He Xiuyuan looked utterly baffled.

Ye Ningshuang followed silently behind Ying Huaixu.

After some thought, He Xiuyuan finally nodded. "All right!"

But what happened next left him completely dumbfounded.

Ying Huaixu really knew this place far too well.

He led them straight to one of the finest restaurants.

Ying Huaixu covered the bill.

Mostly because he was genuinely loaded.

Actually, even Ying Huaixu himself was a little surprised.

The spirit stones Lü Qingyi had given him, along with the ones awarded by his system missions, were all fucking Supreme Spirit Stones.

Because of that, he had specifically exchanged ten Supreme Spirit Stones for a million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Of the three of them, Ying Huaixu was unquestionably the filthy rich one.

Ye Ningshuang suddenly found him utterly absurd.

Back in Peaceful Town, he had been penniless, only to turn around and earn five hundred taels of silver.

Now that he had joined a cultivation sect, he could still turn around and produce a fortune of a million spirit stones.

"Senior Brother, the rate you make money would make anyone jealous!"

He Xiuyuan nodded in agreement.

He had lived incredibly frugally in the years since leaving the Great Sun Sacred Ground. As the saying went, you never understood the cost of running a household until you had to do it yourself.

Ying Huaixu, on the other hand, was exceedingly generous.

He gave each of them a hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. "Take these and spend them however you like!"

Ying Huaixu truly didn't care. He still had over a thousand spirit stones in his inventory, and every last one was a Supreme Spirit Stone!