Chapter 7: Trading Revitalizes the Cultivation World (7% progress)
In the mustard seed space.
Jun Feibai exclaimed in surprise, "His luck really does seem to be rising when he's reciting the words."
Jun Huilian held a novel with the protagonist named "Long Aotian" in his hands, and read it with great interest: "The people in Fang Tieyan's original world were very thoughtful."
"Could it be that Xiao Tingyuan's fate is the same as those 'prodigal son' types? In my opinion, the standard setup for a 'prodigal son' is a good-for-nothing, a broken engagement, a remnant soul, plus the fixed line 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, never underestimate a young man'." Jun Feibai counted on his fingers whether Xiao Tingyuan's conditions matched. "Xiao Tingyuan also accidentally dripped his blood on his ancestral ring, awakening the dormant soul inside. But his luck is only slightly higher than that of an ordinary person, not enough to turn everything around. If you hadn't passed by a few days ago, he probably would have already died in the mouth of a demon beast."
“He’s extraordinary.” Jun Huilian closed the book. “You should compare him with his contemporaries.”
Jun Feibai recalled: "If Shen Qirui's luck is at the level of an ordinary person, then his luck can be described as abundant."
Jun Huilian objectively commented: "Given his spirit of not being discouraged even after his meridians were severed and he started over, he would definitely have made a name for himself in the cultivation world when his fortune had not yet dissipated. It is a pity that he was born in the last era, and under the flawed Heavenly Dao, he broke through the heavens and cultivated to the Great Ascension of the Integration Stage."
"But he just happened to arrive when you woke up, so there was no stopping him." Jun Feibai clasped his right fist and struck his palm. "In that case, his luck is truly exceptional. Although he encountered danger a few days ago, you saved him, which allowed him to join the ranks of mission takers. He abandoned his original incomplete cultivation method and started cultivating from scratch, rebuilding his foundation. His spiritual energy is now purer, and he has an extra culinary god to assist him compared to other mission takers. His path to immortality is far smoother than others. That culinary god is a lonely ghost. Even if he has some petty thoughts like possession, he can't do anything with the system around him."
"That's why luck is such an unpredictable thing," Jun Huilian sighed.
She sensed the message from the Heavenly Dao, glanced at it casually, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "This God of Cookery is quite interesting."
Tiandao shared the life story of the God of Cookery with her.
"Tell me about it?" Jun Feibai leaned closer.
Jun Huilian recounted, "The God of Cookery was the ancestor of the Xiao family. Initially, he lacked the aptitude for cultivation but refused to accept his fate and insisted on entering the Dao through cooking. He lingered in the mortal world because he was ambushed and perished. His resentment ran deep, so he sealed himself in a family heirloom ring. After waking up, he learned from Xiao Tingyuan that no one in the cultivation world had ascended since two thousand years ago. He firmly believed that if he were still alive, he would become the last cultivator to ascend. He pitied his descendant for his broken meridians yet still diligently cultivating, and felt that he had the same stubbornness he had shown in his youth. Therefore, he took him as his disciple, saying that since he himself could not ascend, he would train a disciple to ascend, thus proving that he had the ability to ascend, and incidentally, he would also help Xiao Tingyuan strengthen his family and avenge him."
"Wow, that old ghost is quite inspiring. It seems Xiao Tingyuan is no longer in danger of being possessed." Jun Feibai pondered, "Having no obstacles on the path of cultivation is not necessarily a good thing. We should arrange more trials."
As he spoke, he took out a notebook and wrote it down.
He didn't like these humans, but Jun Huilian wanted to nurture them, so he would do his best.
Jun Huilian relaxed her hands and placed them on her lap, tapping them rhythmically—a sign that she was thinking.
She slowly began to speak: "The dissipation of the cultivation world's fortune has probably been foreshadowed for some time. The Contract-Untying Talisman is a practical talisman, and it is often sold on the market. Logically speaking, a Mahayana cultivator should not say that he has lived for two thousand and eight hundred years and has never seen a Saint-grade Contract-Untying Talisman. The scarcity of Saint-grade talismans indicates that before the cultivation ceiling of cultivators was compressed, the first sign was the reduction in the production of Saint-grade spiritual artifacts and talismans."
Jun Feibai pondered, "No wonder the appearance of the Saint-grade Unbinding Talisman caused such a great stir. It turns out it's because it hasn't appeared for so long. In the past, a few thunderbolts would have been enough."
"Keep an eye on Xiao Tingyuan; he'll be a good mission taker," Jun Huilian said.
Jun Feibai pursed his lips into a straight line: "He has great luck. If he uses his points to draw prizes, wouldn't he be able to draw a top-tier item every time?"
Those were all his treasures that were taken away.
"Not necessarily. A person's energy is conserved. Having abundant luck doesn't mean you'll have good luck on your hands," Jun Huilian said with a smile. "He has a random item in his newbie gift pack that he hasn't drawn yet. We'll see how lucky he is later."
Jun Feibai turned to look at the illusion mirror: "Strange, now that the annulment of the engagement is over, what could possibly make him suppress his curiosity and even forget about the newbie gift pack?"
Jun Huilian was also somewhat curious.
Through the illusion mirror, they saw Xiao Tingyuan enter a restaurant and head straight for a private room, as if he had already made an appointment with someone.
He pushed open the door, and a girl was sitting at the table drinking in the private room.
"A-Lian, who is she?" Jun Feibai habitually asked her when he encountered something he didn't know.
Jun Huilian quickly calculated with his fingers and said knowingly, "She is Xiao Tingyuan's recently annulled fiancée."
Jun Feibai tilted his head, looking puzzled: "Their two families had such a messy breakup of the engagement, shouldn't they hate each other? Why are they so friendly when they meet in private?"
Jun Huilian smiled faintly and pointed to the upper right corner of the illusion mirror: "Look there."
Jun Feibai's gaze was drawn to it.
"Huh?"
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Xiao Tingyuan closed the door to the side room and called out from a suitable distance.
Shen Suqi, slightly tipsy from drinking some wine, glanced at him, tossed aside the wine pot, and waved her hand, saying, "You're here. Sit wherever you like. I ordered a pot of wine and a cup of tea. Which would you like to drink?"
"I'll just have some tea." Xiao Tingyuan sat down opposite her.
Shen Suqi was born into a beautiful family. Her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her face was beautiful, and her eyes, which seemed to be both happy and sad, were bright and expressive. She looked at people with a graceful and generous demeanor.
She said, "You ran into Shen Qirui, didn't you? There were strange phenomena in the sky just now. He probably went out to check, and you just happened to run into him?"
It's a question, but spoken with a confident tone.
"Su Xi's predictions are truly divine." Xiao Tingyuan nodded.
"I wouldn't call him a prophet, but I know he's greedy. With the emergence of a sacred talisman, he won't allow anyone else to get it first. He'll definitely find a clue and use it to offer as tribute to the Holy Prayer Palace," Shen Suqi said with a mocking sneer.
Xiao Tingyuan's expression remained unchanged: "You've decided to break ties with him?"
“If I hadn’t made this plan, why would I have asked you to come out today?” Shen Suqi was too lazy to beat around the bush. “Let’s be frank and make a deal. Shen Qirui is narrow-minded and vindictive. He says nice things like we can settle our scores and go our separate ways, but in reality, you used to be in control of him. Now that he’s in charge, he certainly won’t let the Xiao family off easily. Your clan’s members will probably have limited cultivation resources.”
Xiao Tingyuan was surprised: "You are very familiar with our conversation."
Shen Suqi remained calm and composed: "It's just a guess. I've been fighting him openly and secretly for so many years, I know exactly what he's saying."
Xiao Tingyuan pondered to himself.
The Shen family is different from the Xiao family. The Xiao family has always adhered to internal unity and shared the good fortune, while the Shen family has always prioritized the capable and distributed resources unevenly.
“We’ve known each other for so many years, you should know my family’s situation. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, survival of the fittest. But even though our talents are about the same, Shen Qirui is better at currying favor with the Holy Prayer Palace, and my father is pouring cultivation resources into him. He just wants to use my marriage as a pretext, calling it the greater good of the family. What a joke! Why should I be the only one sacrificed for the family?”
A fierce fire of resentment ignited in Shen Suqi's eyes. She hated the so-called "arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers," but her cultivation level was not high enough to break free from the influence of kinship and blood ties, so she was helpless against her father and brothers in matters of marriage.
“Chen Qirui has been unhappy with my competition for cultivation resources for a long time. Once you return the betrothal token, he will definitely encourage my father to send me to curry favor with the Holy Prayer Palace. I don’t want to get involved in such filthy karma.”
Cultivators fear most that the karmic consequences on their path of cultivation are not yet cleared, as they may be affected and develop inner demons when crossing borders.
This is why, no matter how much the Shen family looks down on the Xiao family, they cannot truly pretend that this matter never happened. With the betrothal tokens binding the two families in a karmic entanglement, unless one family is completely wiped out, the party that forcibly intervenes will inevitably suffer a backlash. Therefore, Shen Qirui only stopped at threatening.
Xiao Tingyuan understood what she meant: "You want me to drag out the engagement so that they can't interfere with your marriage."
“Yes.” Shen Suqi readily admitted, “Whether you return the token or not, you can’t avoid Shen Qirui causing you trouble. I have a lot of dirt on him that I can keep him too busy to bother you.”
She had thought it through very clearly. She trusted Xiao Tingyuan's character, but she couldn't be sure about the people in the Holy Prayer Palace. If she were to be bound by the marriage contract, it would take a lot of time and effort to break free. Since that was the case, she would make sure that no one could interfere with her marriage.
Once she reaches the Nascent Soul stage, her marriage and family will no longer affect her, so the most important thing is to focus on cultivation without distraction.
As a friend, and out of consideration for the Xiao family, and with the deal being entirely mutually beneficial, Xiao Tingyuan was naturally willing to help.
“I know you’ve built up influence in Dongyu City and the Shen family. I’ve agreed to this deal, but will the Shen family let you off the hook?” He was a little worried for her.
Shen Suqi shook her head: "I've figured it out. Disobedient pawns won't get any resources, and they'll never get ahead if they stay here. I'm going to go out and try my luck."
Xiao Tingyuan's shoulders relaxed slightly: "It's good that you have a plan."
Although they had been engaged for many years without developing any romantic feelings for each other, and their daily lives consisted mainly of exchanging cultivation techniques and teaching each other cultivation skills, he genuinely admired Shen Suqi.
She is a brave, free-spirited, and resourceful ambitious woman.
Shen Suqi raised her wine glass to him and said, "Thank you."
After chatting for a while, Shen Suqi got up to say goodbye.
After she left with the wine jug, Xiao Tingyuan sat quietly in the side room, remaining silent.
Seeing his sullen expression, 1314 spoke up:
You don't seem very happy.
Xiao Tingyuan expressed his concerns, saying that he was worried about his friend: "The Holy Prayer Palace is a famous sect in the cultivation world. The Shen family is affiliated with the Holy Prayer Palace and dares not make decisions on their own. Therefore, Shen Qirui's arrangement of the marriage is likely due to receiving some instructions. If Su Xi leaves, she may offend the Holy Prayer Palace."
[Should I remind you? A one-time encrypted transmission talisman only costs 1 point!]
1314 took the opportunity to promote the product.
"No need, she understands the implications better than I do."
The failed sales pitch, 1314, wasn't angry. As a good system, it should strive to share the host's burdens. After thinking for a moment, it said:
【Honey, don't worry about her. I see a great opportunity in her】
"Really?" Xiao Tingyuan did not doubt the system's judgment, and his slightly furrowed brows relaxed a little.
【real】
Fake.
It saw the system in her.
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