Uncalled-for favors?

"I want to buy some high-grade, superior-quality mystic beast crystals from you."

"And I need one each of the eight attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and poison."

So said Bu Wuchen.

Earlier, during his pill-making contest with Lin Taoshu, he had triggered a system choice and obtained something called the "Crystal-Devouring Spirit-Transforming Token"-

[Crystal-Devouring Spirit-Transforming Token]: Depending on the user's current realm, consuming the corresponding mystic crystals will greatly advance their cultivation and randomly awaken a mutated mystic power.

The higher the grade and quality of the mystic crystals consumed, the more energy will be converted into the user's cultivation points.

Each cultivation tier has an upper limit to the energy it can withstand.

For the Qi Observation Realm, the limit for crystal-devouring spirit transformation is high-grade, superior-quality crystals.

[Special note]: The user of this token must collect mystic crystals of all eight mystic power attributes of the same grade and quality, then consume them together.

Otherwise, the energies suddenly flooding into the body will be unable to reach a balance, causing the user to explode and die.

That was why Bu Wuchen was looking to buy mystic crystals.

After hearing him out, a flicker of surprise crossed Xia Nuoyi's eyes. "You want to buy high-grade, superior-quality mystic crystals of all eight attributes right off the bat?"

"You certainly have a big appetite!"

"But do you realize that even if you put up every last one of the two hundred thousand or so gold coins you just won, it still wouldn't come close to paying for eight high-grade, superior-quality mystic crystals?"

"Huh?"

Bu Wuchen froze.

He truly hadn't expected high-grade, superior-quality mystic crystals to be so expensive.

After all, the former young master of the Bu Lineage had rarely paid out of his own pocket for things like mystic crystals.

As a stranger who had transmigrated from another world, Bu Wuchen drew almost all his knowledge of this new world from the former young master of the Bu Lineage.

Whatever the other man hadn't known in life, he was naturally in the dark about now, too...

"What's with that look?"

"I never intended to ask you for money..."

With that, Xia Nuoyi lightly waved her delicate hand-

"Hum~"

After a flash of spiritual light, three pebble-sized crystals, each gleaming with a different color, appeared in the hands of the girl in green silk.

"Pulling things out of thin air?"

Bu Wuchen blurted out instinctively, "A storage ring?!"

It was hardly surprising that Bu Wuchen was so astonished.

The original owner of the body he possessed had been a scion of a wealthy imperial-capital clan, so he naturally knew just how expensive storage rings were!

In the imperial capital, where wealthy clans crowded together, they were one thing;

But in a cold frontier city like Blood Dragon City, usually only the city lord or the lofty dean of a Mystic Qi academy had the means to obtain a storage ring.

He hadn't expected the girl before him to have one, too!

Then he remembered that this girl dared call herself "your grandaunt" even to the city lord's face;

For someone like her to have a storage ring hardly seemed worth making a fuss over...

Didn't Lin Taoshu mention something about the Myriad Nations Trade Alliance earlier?

I wonder what connection Xia Nuoyi has to the Myriad Nations Trade Alliance?

While Bu Wuchen was lost in thought, Xia Nuoyi shoved the mystic crystals into his hands.

She said, "For high-grade, superior-quality mystic crystals, I only have wind, lightning, and poison ones."

"You'll have to find a way to get the rest yourself."

Bu Wuchen didn't stand on ceremony. After thanking her, he put the three mystic crystals straight into his sleeve pocket.

Although he had a Portable Warehouse, that was a huge secret connected to a murder case!

Even though Bu Wuchen trusted the girl in green silk a great deal;

If this "little enchantress" discovered that he could use a method with the same wondrous effect as a storage ring despite clearly not wearing one...

With the curiosity she had shown in questioning his identity and origins, she would certainly dig down to the roots!

To spare himself that unnecessary trouble, he would keep it hidden for now.

Just then, Xia Nuoyi's lovely eyes suddenly lit up, and she asked, "Right, you want so many high-grade, superior-quality mystic crystals-could you be planning to refine low-quality Mystic-tier pills?"

"No."

Bu Wuchen shook his head. "With my current pill-making skills, I'm still a little short of the mastery needed to refine Mystic-tier pills."

The girl in green silk said playfully, "Oh~ how rare to hear something humble from you~"

"Uh, I'm a man who knows his own limits, all right?"

Xia Nuoyi couldn't help rolling her eyes at him, thinking, You plan to wage a war of revenge against the entire Lin Lineage single-handedly, and you call that 'knowing your own limits'?

Then Bu Wuchen continued, "To tell you the truth, I'm using these eight attributes of mystic crystals to restore my cultivation."

The girl in green silk looked surprised. "Hmm? Restoring cultivation with mystic crystals?"

"That's a first even for your grandaunt~"

Still, with her breadth of experience, she had long known that the world was vast and held every kind of wonder, so she wasn't too astonished.

She merely said casually, "Once you return to the Qi Observation Realm Ninth Layer, you'll need to plan which mystic power attribute to choose when you break through to the Qi Control Realm."

"Only one mystic power attribute can exist within a cultivator's body;"

"Unless your mystic cultivation is crippled and you start cultivating again from scratch, the mystic power attribute you choose will stay with you for life!"

"As an alchemist, the best choice of Mystic Qi attribute is naturally fire."

"The cultivation technique you practice is fire-based, isn't it?"

"Don't wait until you've broken through to the Qi Control Realm only to suddenly discover that the mystic power you've awakened isn't fire-based..."

In truth, Bu Wuchen didn't care which mystic power attribute he awakened.

With the system backing him, as long as he raised his alchemy realm, he would naturally have a hundred-percent success rate when refining mystic pills of the corresponding grade and quality!

It had nothing to do with which mystic power attribute he awakened.

Still, Bu Wuchen greatly enjoyed the concern that came through in the green-silk girl's words.

With a roguish grin, he said, "Hehe, as the saying goes, 'One who offers uncalled-for favors is either a schemer or a thief';"

"Fairy sister, you're so concerned about me-don't tell me you've fallen for me?"

"Stop flattering yourself!"

Xia Nuoyi spat in playful annoyance and rolled her lovely eyes. "I'm worried you'll be stupid enough to ruin your bright future in alchemy;"

"Then you wouldn't be able to refine pills for your grandaunt for free, would you?"

Bu Wuchen sighed with feigned dejection. "Ah, to think I treated you as a cherished confidante, while you only saw me as a pill-refining slave..."

"Huh?"

The girl in green silk felt an involuntary tug at her heart. "Uh, a-actually, that's not..."

Bu Wuchen suddenly gave a sly grin. "Hehe, actually, rather than being a 'pill slave' to a fairy sister like you, I'd much rather be a sex... slave~"

"What did you say?"

"Ahem, nothing. I said I have something to do, so I'll be off!"

Only after he had vanished like a wisp of smoke did Xia Nuoyi suddenly catch his meaning, both embarrassed and angry. "Bu Wuchen, you scoundrel! How dare you tease me?!"

"Hmph, count yourself lucky you ran so fast this time..."

The girl in green silk didn't realize that two patches of red had quietly risen on her cheeks and lingered for a long, long time.