Fish take the bait
Ruan Qingyu, who had been resting with her eyes closed, sighed inwardly. This person's patience was worse than she had imagined. In her previous life, she had been hunted down by such a person, which was somewhat humiliating.
But since I still need to use him, I naturally have to accept that.
"I've never heard of it before. Fellow Daoist Zhang, do you have a solution?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zitao knew she had taken the bait. If he went along, he would naturally find a way to make this person court death.
"Yes, I've been there twice, the most recent time being in three days. If you're interested, bring your spirit stones and come with me." As he said this, he thought of the large sum of spirit stones that Ruan Qingyu had just received.
He couldn't help but feel genuinely envious, saying, "It seems Fellow Daoist Ruan is not short of money now. You might get quite a few good things at this trade fair."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingyu waved her hand and said, "It was also good luck. I have to thank Liang Ke and Fellow Daoist Zhang for allowing me to come to this secret realm."
The three of them arrived at the sect and rushed off to the affairs hall, while Zhang Zitao was in no hurry. After confirming the timeline with Ruan Qingyu three days later, he returned to his residence with a sense of satisfaction.
Disciple residence.
Ruan Qingyu pushed open the door and looked at the empty courtyard. She couldn't help but think of how Yun Yin used to love to lie in the courtyard.
The low mood lingered for a while, but was interrupted by a message from within the contractual consciousness.
Although it was still intermittent, the sense of contract was much more stable than before. Delighted, Ruan Qingyu tried again to communicate with the other side of the contract, and once again received a vague response.
"Don't worry... everything's alright."
With her heart finally at ease, Ruan Qingyu blinked and held back the sudden surge of tears.
Fortunately, he is an ancient demon beast, and he has survived all these years. He will surely survive this time when he is lost in the spatial rift.
"How should I find you?" Ruan Qingyu asked again.
"No... need... wait... for... me... to... find... you." After these words were transmitted into the contract consciousness, Ruan Qingyu could no longer sense any further messages.
Ruan Qingyu clenched her fist to calm herself down.
Now that they've gradually made contact, they should be able to communicate normally again soon. Although Yunyin told her to wait for him to return, she's willing to try to find him directly in the future if there's a way.
Reassured for the time being, Ruan Qingyu patiently waited for Zhang Zitao to come find her three days later.
However, an unexpected event suddenly occurred during this time.
In the Liaohai Secret Realm, Wutongqin suddenly asked her to use the Wutongqin as the main means of attack. At the time, she thought that even if the Wutongqin could not completely destroy the monster, she could make up for it later.
Unexpectedly, the Wutongqin not only defeated the demon beast, but also began to hum in Ruan Qingyu's dantian the day after she returned to the sect.
Ruan Qingyu thought she had made a mistake in her cultivation, and only after the Phoenix Divine Fire conveyed a consciousness to her did she take out the Wutong Qin with some doubt.
As soon as it was taken from her dantian, the Wutongqin suddenly transformed into a circle of cyan light, which circled around Ruan Qingyu.
Then it was re-formed into the shape of the Wutongqin, but this time the Wutongqin was even more exquisite than when it was first made with blood to recognize its master, as if it were newly made.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu hesitated for a moment before reaching out her hand.
"So it was you. But what is your relationship with Yunyin?" The voice sounded gentle, but somewhat weak.
The sudden sound startled Ruan Qingyu, causing her to withdraw her hand from the zither she was about to reach for.
"Are you the spirit of the Wutong Qin?" After thinking it over, since the source of this voice was the Wutong Qin, then the Wutong Qin must have developed a spirit.
However, after asking, Ruan Qingyu received no reply. A long silence followed, until Ruan Qingyu, preparing to reactivate the Wutong Qin, heard that voice again.
"The world has changed so much, so many years have passed."
"Now that I have acknowledged you as my master, you are the master of my phoenix tree."
"I am the divine tree, the Nine Nether Wutong, which has taken shape over ten thousand years. The Wutong Qin was originally transformed from my original form."
Although Wutongqin's voice was still weak, she still managed to recount her origins in detail. Only at the very end did Wutongqin express her heartfelt gratitude to Ruan Qingyu.
"If it weren't for your nourishment, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to recover even after many more years. Although the Phoenix Divine Fire is fierce and difficult to control, as your natal divine fire, it unconsciously helped me restore my original form."
Finally, the Wutongqin emitted a faint blue light once more, and a blue figure appeared directly in mid-air.
Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down her back, and her blue robe gave her an extremely gentle appearance. Her gaze towards Ruan Qingyu held both affection and curiosity.
Sensing the friendly intent emanating from the other party, Ruan Qingyu felt at ease. She had indeed been surprised to hear the Wutongqin begin to speak, as she had initially thought it was merely a powerful magical artifact.
But now, seeing that this wutong zither has come to life, and even the ancient divine tree named wutong, is quite remarkable.
“I signed a contract with Yunyin, and we are friends. He mentioned you before, and I thought the Wutong Qin was just a magical artifact you left behind.” Looking at the Wutong Qin, which still emitted a faint glow, Ruan Qingyu recounted what had happened.
Wutong smiled slightly, her eyes filled with a mixture of nostalgia and helplessness.
"A contract, a contract is good. Yunyin used to be a loner, no one could control him, but now he is destined to meet you, it is also a kind of opportunity." Otherwise, he would not have had the chance to be reborn.
Thinking of this, Wutong looked at Ruan Qingyu with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
"Although I am the spirit of the Wutong Zither, I am also the Wutong Zither from ten thousand years ago. Once my soul is repaired, I will automatically detach from this Wutong Zither, and it will still be yours."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wutong clearly saw a hint of relief flash across Ruan Qingyu's face. His already gentle eyes brightened even more; this master was indeed a person of pure heart.
After thinking for a moment, Ruan Qingyu finally voiced her thoughts: "Since you are parasitizing this zither, can I still put it away?"
If it were just an ordinary magical artifact spirit, it wouldn't be a problem. But this person is clearly in a divine soul state. If he were to put it into his dantian, Ruan Qingyu lowered her eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Perhaps guessing Ruan Qingyu's thoughts, Wutong smiled calmly: "It's alright. Now that I've been reborn through the Wutong Zither, I can naturally come out, and the Wutong Zither will still be the Wutong Zither."
After a pause, Wutong added, "I just need to trouble you, Master, to find me another thing to live on."
After a long while, Ruan Qingyu finally heard her own voice.
“I can find you something to parasitize. I’m going to an underground trade fair the day after tomorrow. See if you can find anything useful there.” Ruan Qingyu glanced at Wutong’s expression cautiously and said, “Also, you can call me Qingyu or Fellow Daoist Ruan.”
Facing a living, ancient demon beast, it's hard to imagine what it would be like for it to become the spirit of one's natal magic weapon, not to mention that it clearly has all the memories and experience, making it a senior to one's own.
Before Zhang Zitao even got close to Ruan Qingyu's courtyard, he saw her appear from the mountain path where the disciples' residences intersected.
Seeing how quickly she acted, Zhang Zitao felt even more confident in his plan.
Inside a quiet little house in an underground transaction.
"You really agreed to set up a trap for that brat from the Xuantian Sect?"
"You've already received the payment, why not do it?"
"However, I see that the woman's cultivation level is quite good. If she really makes a move, we must be absolutely sure of success, otherwise it will become a life-or-death feud."
"Don't worry, we'll take action after we get out, so we won't disturb the lord of the underground black market."
The first person to speak was draped in a black cloak, his entire being enveloped in a long black robe. Even his voice was disguised; in their line of work, no information could be easily revealed.
After seeing the people off, the man in black robes muttered to himself, "Late-stage Golden Core cultivators, three people are enough."
Along the way, Zhang Zitao intermittently explained the rules of underground transactions. Ruan Qingyu responded from time to time, occasionally glancing at the miniature version of the paulownia zither pendant at her waist.
Since a suitable vessel has not yet been found, the only option is to display the Wutong Qin (a type of zither) as a waist pendant.
"Fellow Daoist Ruan, please conceal your aura later and follow behind me without saying a word." Zhang Zitao had been waiting for three days, and now that he saw his prey approaching the trap step by step, he was overjoyed.
The two had already arrived at a town outside the Xuantian Sect. The streets were bustling with people, mostly cultivators. Only a few ordinary people could be seen among the restaurants and shops on the streets.
Avoiding the bustling crowd, Ruan Qingyu nodded as she listened to Zhang Zitao's words. The next moment, she put on a black dress, her figure and head completely concealed by a black cloak.
When she spoke again, her voice had changed, becoming low and hoarse, making it impossible for anyone to tell that the person under the black cloak was a woman.
Seeing this, Zhang Zitao was somewhat satisfied, but also hesitant. This woman was so well-prepared; how could she not have participated in underground transactions?
However, thinking of the high rewards that would follow, Zhang Zitao stopped worrying and led his men toward a secluded alley.
Around the corner was a secluded courtyard with black lanterns hanging at the entrance. The silent courtyard suddenly opened its gates, and Zhang Zitao's expression turned serious.
He reached out and produced a black token, and soon a faint light flashed at the entrance of the courtyard.
If an unsuspecting person were to come and see, they would only see an ordinary courtyard, without a single person in sight.
Ruan Qingyu, who was taken away by the formation, was calm and composed, because in the blink of an eye she found herself in a different place.
The zither at his waist flickered faintly with a blue light, and Wutong's gentle voice rang out: "Fellow Daoist Ruan, this place is still the same as before, only it has moved underground."
The sudden voice startled Ruan Qingyu, because after Yun Yin left, no one had been able to communicate with her directly in her consciousness for a long time.
His face, hidden beneath the cloak, tightened slightly, and he nodded gently: "Okay, I understand."
It seems this place is just a blind spot; even in towns around the Xuantian Sect with the strictest regulations, such underground transactions still occur, which is perfectly normal.
The inexperienced Ruan Qingyu may not have participated, but Ruan Qingyu, who has been given a second chance at life, has heard about it.
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