Ye Lingyu

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to tear your roof off!"

A fair-skinned girl in a purple Daoist robe, her face covered in dust and looking utterly bedraggled, was bowing repeatedly to the somewhat slovenly middle-aged man before her, her voice on the verge of tears as she apologized.

That middle-aged man was, naturally, Wang Ba.

He looked at the ordinary-looking yet youthfully vibrant girl before him, and at the innocent clarity in her eyes, and could not help sighing.

She was obviously a Sect disciple!

Someone he couldn't afford to offend!

Wang Ba forced a smile.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's just as well you tore it off. I was planning to rebuild it anyway. Don't worry about it."

"R-really?"

The purple-robed girl seemed unable to believe him.

"Really! Truer than true!"

Wang Ba assured her.

Whether she was simply innocent or foolish, the purple-robed girl did not seem to hear what Wang Ba meant, and a relieved smile immediately appeared on her face.

"That's good!"

"Uncle, my name's Ye Lingyu. What's yours?"

The corner of Wang Ba's mouth could not help twitching.

Was he already old enough to be called uncle?

"...Wang Ba."

Ye Lingyu's eyes immediately widened. "Wang... Ba? As in 'turtle'?"

Unbelievable. There was actually someone in this world with that name!

"Ba, as in drought demon! B-ah, Ba!"

"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I misheard..."

Realizing her mistake, Ye Lingyu immediately flushed and scrambled to explain.

"It's not your fault. Blame my father for giving me a bad name. Er, was there anything else?"

Feeling the drain on the Yin Spirit Power in his Yin Spirit Mansion, he winced at the cost.

This time, Ye Lingyu understood that Wang Ba was asking her to leave, and immediately blushed as she said,

"N-no, nothing else. I'll be going, then."

Sword in hand, she hesitantly walked out of the villa, but had not gone far before turning back.

"No matter what, tearing off your roof was my fault, Uncle. Please take this as a token of my sincerity!"

With that, she placed a sheet of yellow paper in Wang Ba's hand, then skipped down from the villa, seemingly relieved of the burden on her mind.

Wang Ba watched as she formed a Sword Finger gesture again. The sword in her other hand swiftly leaped up, spun, and settled beneath her feet, then carried her unsteadily into the air and off into the distance...

But before she had gone far, the figure on the sword plunged headfirst again...

"What a clumsy little girl."

Wang Ba watched her stumble away. Despite the headache she had caused him, he could not help finding it funny.

He had never expected to find someone so innocent and carefree-or foolish and stupid-in such a ruthlessly pragmatic Sect.

Sadly, in the Sect's great dye vat, such innocence might soon be crushed into the lofty arrogance, indifference, and pragmatism expected of a Sect disciple...

But honestly, he wanted to be that kind of Sect disciple too!

The yellow paper young Ye Lingyu had given him seemed quite extraordinary.

The Spiritual Qi on it was so dense that it was visible to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, apart from a very small number of talismans, the vast majority required Law Power to activate.

And this sheet of yellow paper was clearly no exception.

Wang Ba wanted to take the talisman to a talisman shop in the Market and ask about it, but feared attracting attention, so he simply gave up on the idea.

By now, most of the sixty Spirit Chickens had gone into his belly. Feeling that he truly could not stomach any more, Wang Ba decided to visit the Market to buy some spirit rice for a change of taste, while also asking around for the latest news within the Sect.

What Wang Ba had not expected was that the Lu Family Grain Shop's sign had been changed at some point, and its shopkeeper had been replaced by an old man with a goatee.

Seeing Wang Ba dressed like an impoverished Servant Disciple, the old man did not come over to greet him.

Wang Ba did not mind. He entered the shop, bought ten jin of spirit rice, and took out a Spirit Stone.

The goateed old man immediately became attentive.

"Dear customer, our humble shop has only just opened. Please do favor us with your patronage!"

"You're too kind."

Wang Ba smiled and nodded, then asked with apparent casualness, "By the way, shopkeeper, wasn't this place called something like the Lu Family Grain Shop before?"

The goateed old man made no attempt to conceal it.

"Indeed. This shop belonged to the lineage of Lu Yuansheng, the Outer Sect's foremost disciple. But a while ago... Lu Yuansheng perished, and the shop was put up for auction."

"What?! Lu Yuansh-Immortal Lu perished?!"

Shock appeared on Wang Ba's face.

He and Shopkeeper Lu had gotten along well over the past while, and could just about be called friends despite their difference in age, so naturally, he knew quite a bit about this foremost disciple of the Outer Sect.

This foremost disciple had displayed a talent for cultivation in his youth. He entered the Eastern Saint Sect at eighteen and reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining after ten years of cultivation. Afterward, he continued advancing with relentless vigor, fought countless magical battles, and defeated fellow cultivators of his generation. Finally, at sixty, with his tenth-layer Qi Refining cultivation and peerless combat prowess, he ranked first among the Top Ten Outer Sect Disciples.

After that, he had held the position of foremost Outer Sect disciple firmly in his grasp for a full ten years!

And according to Shopkeeper Lu, he had even glimpsed the higher realm of Foundation Establishment. With a few more years of arduous cultivation and the aid of Foundation Establishment Pills, he would be able to enter Foundation Establishment directly!

Then, with Foundation Establishment strength, he could enter the Inner Sect as an Inner Sect True Disciple, or serve outside it as the Outer Sect Steward, with even the prospect of becoming an Ordinary Elder.

His authority would reach the heavens.

Wang Ba still remembered Shopkeeper Lu's excitement and pride whenever he mentioned this outstanding member of his lineage.

He had never imagined that such an important figure would suddenly fall midway through his journey.

And with him, the Lu Lineage had fallen as well.

Thinking of his old acquaintance Shopkeeper Lu, Wang Ba could not help sighing at how times and circumstances changed.

"Then, shopkeeper, do you know how Immortal Lu perished...?"

"Rumor has it that he was attacked and killed by villains while out purchasing cultivation supplies. I don't know the details."

The goateed old man explained patiently.

"Then, do you know where the Lu family is now?"

Wang Ba could not help asking again.

"I'm not too sure about that. A while ago, I heard they'd moved over to Eastern Mountain, but there seem to have been further changes afterward. I don't know the details."

The goateed old man looked as though he were trying hard to remember.

"Thank you!"

Wang Ba cupped his hands. "By the way, shopkeeper, do you have any Precious Chickens for sale?"

"Precious Chickens?"

An awkward expression appeared on the goateed old man's face. "I do, but..."

"Please speak freely, shopkeeper. Even if the price is a little high, that's no problem. The more you have, the better!"

Wang Ba put on an air of lavish generosity.

Hearing this, the old man gritted his teeth.

"Why don't you follow this old man inside and take a look?"

Hearing that there were Precious Chickens, Wang Ba was immediately delighted and hurried after him.

The goateed old man soon led Wang Ba to a chicken coop in the rear courtyard.

The furnishings had not changed much since Shopkeeper Lu's time.

Wang Ba had no mind to dwell on that. His gaze had long since been drawn to the Precious Chickens in the Chicken Coop.

"These... are sick chickens?!"

Wang Ba's expression shifted slightly, and he instinctively hurried several steps backward.

"Don't panic, dear customer. This Chicken Plague doesn't spread to people."

The old man hurriedly reassured him.

But Wang Ba's expression was exceedingly ugly.

"I raise chickens myself!"

"Ah, well..."

The old man froze, then came to his senses and apologized repeatedly.

"How muddleheaded of me! How muddleheaded!"

Wang Ba's expression turned furious, and he swept his sleeve and left.

Chicken Plague generally did not infect people, but people might carry it and spread it to other chickens.

Wang Ba could resolve it through Lifespan Breakthrough, but having too many Spirit Chickens would inevitably increase his risk of exposure.

Of course, all that was manageable. The real point was... he had his eye on that batch of sick chickens!

Sure enough, he had only taken a few steps when he heard the goateed old man's anxious voice.

"Please wait, dear customer! Please wait! Our humble shop will certainly make this worth your while!"