Chapter 57

"It was the money they used to buy the pills from me."

"Nonsense! You're just a young girl who doesn't know how to make pills. You lie without even thinking. Do you think we'd believe you? Stop trying to fool us."

The senior sister was convinced that Wen Wan was lying, and angrily stood up for her: "Senior Brother Zhu, don't be fooled by her."

Wen Wan shrugged indifferently: "How do you know I can't refine pills? Besides, I'm just collecting my payment as agreed."

The senior female student wanted to argue further, but was interrupted by the two parties involved who rushed over.

"Here you go, take it, take it."

With debt collectors harassing him at his doorstep, Wang Jinyan was losing face.

Although Liu Ruotong and Junior Sister Wen didn't get along at first, it was a promise they had made beforehand, so they naturally kept their word. They had saved up their savings over the years, and although it hurt, they could still afford the spirit stones. Of course, it would be even better if Junior Sister Wen didn't want them.

Wen Wan happily accepted the spirit stones, leaving the other disciples in shock.

"Alright, I'll accept the spirit stones. We're even now." Let them be surprised; I'll accept my spirit stones.

After saying that, Wenwan left on her own.

"What happened?" Zhu Yubai asked his younger brother.

Zhu Jianbai scratched his head, unsure how to answer.

"We're trapped inside a magic array and can't get out. The evil energy inside is terrifying. We're relying entirely on pills to move around, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. We're using her pills to cope, and she promised to give us spirit stones after we get out," Wang Jinyan answered for him.

This was the explanation given to them by Sect Leader Mo. As for how they ended up getting out, it was Sect Leader Mo who brought them out.

Zhu Jianbai wasn't good at lying, so he nodded in agreement, while Zhu Yubai looked on with suspicion.

The senior sister, having been presumptuous and repeatedly embarrassed, was about to leave in a huff.

"Stop right there." Zhu Yubai looked at her with displeasure.

Lan Xuefeng's junior sister only came to ask for directions, but she happened to pick such a person of bad character. Today's situation has turned out like this, and this junior sister deserves the most credit.

"You shall go to the Discipline Hall to plead guilty and accept your punishment for what happened today. If it happens again, I will report it directly to Elder Meng."

"Yes, thank you for not punishing me too severely, Senior Brother Zhu." After saying that, he lowered his head and left quickly.

With things having come to this point, the crowd dispersed.

"Brother." Perhaps it was the bloodline between brothers that made Zhu Jianbai feel uneasy when facing his elder brother, especially after losing so many spirit stones today.

"Alright, the truth isn't important, as long as you're safe." After so many years of brotherhood, he could tell from Zhu Jianbai's expression that his younger brother was hiding something from him: "Do you have enough spirit stones? Here, take these."

————————

Meanwhile, Wen Wan, with a bulging purse in her pocket, disguised herself and went to the black market.

She gave most of the pills and talismans in her space to Senior Brother He last time, so it's time to stock up on some more.

The items in the black market vary greatly in quality, and it's easy to get ripped off. You have to be able to tell the difference yourself. She can make the basic pills and talismans herself. She mainly spends money to buy some raw materials so that she doesn't have to go through the trouble of finding them herself.

After purchasing the necessary items, they left.

She is a very goal-oriented person. Once she decides what she wants to buy, she goes straight to the point, buys it, and leaves without wasting too much time on it.

On the way back, Wenwan passed under a bridge and saw someone selling puppet dolls. Driven by curiosity, she went over to take a look.

"Come and take a look, everyone! Don't miss out!" The vendor, wearing a straw hat, enthusiastically promoted his wares to passersby: "Fellow Daoist, would you like a puppet steward? Just inject a little spiritual energy into it, and it will serve you tea and water. You can just lie down and enjoy yourself. Not 98,000, not 9,800, just 998."

"Yes, you heard me right, and I didn't misspoke. Puppet masters are rare these days, and this puppet steward made by a puppet master can be taken home for just 998 mid-grade spirit stones!"

The person being pestered by the street vendor waved his hand: "No, no, it's just serving tea and water. I'm not paralyzed, I don't need it."

“Fellow Daoist, you are mistaken. We cultivators often travel far and wide, facing all sorts of dangers. If we accidentally get injured one day, wouldn’t this come in handy? The puppeteer who made it even upgraded its language system, so it can chat with you to relieve boredom when you’re bored.”

"In short, it only costs 998. Consider it buying a little housekeeper. You won't lose out or be cheated!"

The vendor's words made the people around him itch with curiosity.

Having that kind of spare money to buy a puppet like this and keep it at home as a little housekeeper certainly makes one look good, and it even has a language system.

Many people around were tempted.

Wen Wan took a closer look and saw that the little puppet was about three feet tall, human-shaped, with hands and feet, but... it was too crude.

Compared to the lifelike Ling Yue, this little puppet is obviously a puppet at a glance. Its mechanical expression and rough workmanship are far inferior. It can even sell for 998 mid-grade spirit stones. How much more valuable must Ling Yue be?

"Achoo—" Wu Sinian, who was replicating the Eye of Xuanming on Lanxue Peak, sneezed.

After returning to Lanxue Peak, Wen Wan immediately resumed refining pills. She would not touch the things left behind in her master's cave unless absolutely necessary, and she would leave some for others in case someone had the chance to find that place in the future.

Being self-reliant is the best thing.

After all, what you have in your own hands gives you the greatest sense of security.

Perhaps due to her improved cultivation, her alchemy went exceptionally smoothly. Even drawing talismans didn't require much effort. As her proficiency increased, she could even draw talismans in mid-air using her qi as a guide, something that many powerful figures in the cultivation world couldn't do.

Wen Wan looked at the cleansing talisman she had drawn in the air without needing a brush, ink, paper, or inkstone, and was overjoyed. In the future, she would no longer have to worry about not having enough talismans during battles. As long as she had enough spiritual power, she could make as many talismans as she needed!

It wasn't until a week later that she emerged from her little dark room and finally replenished her small storage room.

After glancing at the message from the contact spirit pattern, Wen Wan frowned: Brother Chu still hasn't replied. Has he disappeared again?

She was both worried and angry.

It seems that they have never had any regular contact. Every encounter seems to be a coincidence. Are there really so many coincidences?

It's so easy for someone surnamed Chu to find her, but she can't find anyone surnamed Chu at all and can only wait passively. She really dislikes this feeling.

Ignoring my discomfort, I checked the message Qingqing had sent via the contact spirit and told her to meet at the main hall after I finished my work so we could discuss something.

The two quickly arranged a time to meet.

"Wan'er, are you alright?"

Upon meeting her, Liu Qingqing inquired about her health, assuming that she had been staying home due to health reasons.

"It's alright. I was in seclusion practicing some pills. Senior Sister Liu, is there something important you need to tell me?" Wen Wan went straight to the point.

Liu Qingqing nodded solemnly: "Next month is the sect competition. The top eight in our sect's internal competition must participate. Winning or losing is not important. For your safety, Sect Leader Mo hopes that you can hide some of your strength at that time."

This is also to prevent Wan'er from being targeted by people with bad intentions. Although her cultivation level, which hides her spiritual power, is suspicious, many scions of large families also deliberately hide their strength, so it's not too abrupt. As long as no one notices that the spiritual artifact Wan'er uses to hide her strength is the Linglong Heart, it's fine.

After all, if the fragments of the Linglong Heart were exposed, it would lead to a fierce competition, and Wan'er would become the target of everyone's anger.

Wen Wan naturally understood their concerns, but since she didn't care about those empty titles anyway, she readily agreed: "As long as it's a normal competition, I'll try my best to hide my true abilities."

With the grand competition just around the corner, the two chatted briefly and learned that Sect Leader Mo was undergoing her fourth breakthrough. Wen Wan silently prayed for her. Soon after, the two went into seclusion to cultivate and prepare for the upcoming sect competition.

One month later

"Wow! This is Qingyun City! The spiritual energy here is so abundant!"

Historically, the sect competition has always been held in Qingyun City, the core city of the Qingyun Continent.

Qingyun City is located at the convergence of spiritual veins on the Qingyun Continent. The entire city floats in mid-air, anchored to the ground below by Xuan Iron, which is covered with complex ancient runes. Each piece of Xuan Iron is enormous and contains extremely domineering spiritual energy, making it inaccessible to ordinary cultivators.

The only way to reach Qingyun City is by using a fixed formation, and many of these disciples are visiting Qingyun City for the first time.

The city walls are over a thousand feet high, and the buildings inside are densely packed, all made of precious materials such as spirit wood, floating stone, and glazed gold.

A little girl riding an enormous mythical beast in a suspended pavilion is nothing new to the locals, but it's an eye-opening experience for the disciples who are visiting for the first time.

Of course, a small number of them were disciples from prominent families who had lived here since childhood and were unmoved by the situation.

"Alright, let's go to the registration office first. After you've registered your accommodations, you can form groups and explore around here on your own. But remember, don't cause any trouble. After all, this is Qingyun City, and we can't afford to offend anyone here. Understand?"

The team leader gave instructions.

In every competition, some disciples would cause trouble in Qingyun City. Those who were capable of handling the situation would escape unscathed, while those who were not would often end up with missing limbs.

During the departure ceremony, the disciples' master had repeatedly given them instructions, and upon hearing the elder speak again, they all responded in agreement.

After registering, they were all like wild horses, running faster than each other.

The elder shook his head helplessly and let them go. After all, there were many things in Qingyun City that they couldn't usually see, so he decided to let these young people broaden their horizons.