After realizing what had happened, Feng Qingyun looked a little confused for a moment. Long Yin vaguely saw his strangeness, making him frown and ask: “What’s wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable?”
Well… There was no way for Feng Qingyun to admit he was so excited to finally bloom because he had taken in the Demon Lord’s “essence”, right?! Fortunately, the flowers that appeared inexplicably on his main vine were now only small, fragile buds, and it may take some time for them to open fully. Therefore, Feng Qingyun could only suppress the shiver in his heart and say after a moment: “…It’s nothing. When shall we leave?”
“There’s no need to hurry. That little realm is famous for trade and in a few days, they’ll be opening the city’s gates again. However, I’m afraid the news of that ancient battlefield has already reached many people’s ears. Since we don’t want to attract attention, it’s better not to sneak in and just wait in line with everyone else.” After explaining, Long Yin paused before adding: “But as far as I know, the new City Lord of that little realm just earned his title, so the city should still be in a state of chaos. Be prepared to bring enough spirit stones and magic stones with you, just in case we need to buy our way out of trouble. And one more thing–” Reaching this point, Long Yin gestured to Feng Qingyun with his chin before continuing: “With your appearance, no amount of spirit stones could make demons not want to bring trouble for you. So it’s better if we both come up with a cover[mfn]I smell a conspiracy, I smell Long Yin messing around with his wife again :))[/mfn].”
…A small demon realm that was in political upheaval still managed to turn the discovery of an ancient battlefield into an opportunity for trade. Were there really that many cultivators who still dared to come and spend spirit stones amidst a civil war?! Feng Qingyun couldn’t help but feel scornful. However, he never questioned Long Yin’s comments about his appearance, asking instead: “Can spirit stones still be used in the demon world?”
“Most of the so-called righteous cultivators who come here are not the good kind, killing people left and right every day. Naturally, there are many blood-stained spirit stones in their storage bags–” Long Yin looked at Feng Qingyun’s expression halfway through his explanation, only to see that it was the former Second Palace Master of the Xiān Gōng Sect who acted like the one who practiced the Ruthless Path, devoid of any reaction to hearing how cruel people could be. After a long pause, he continued to explain: “So spirit stones could be used as currency in the demon world, but since they are so easy to come by, their price is lower than what demons usually use to trade. Most people simply exchange them for magic elixirs and the like.”
Hearing this, Feng Qingyun nodded with relief: “It’s good that spirit stones can still be used here. It’s not a problem if the price is lower.”
Seeing how relieved he was, Long Yin raised his eyebrows before asking: “I thought your entire sect was just as poor as your good brother. Do you need me to help you?”
“The poor one is Mu Hanyang, not me.” Feng Qingyun had no intention of protecting his Senior Brother’s reputation at all. “There’s no need to help. As a reward to Your Majesty for bringing me into the demon realm, we can use my spirit stones from now on since providing enough of them is not a problem.”
“…Will that make me your male pet then?” Long Yin mumbled to himself. “All of this is so new for me, maybe soon I’ll have to call you Palace Master as well…”
Feng Qingyun: “…”
………………
After that, Feng Qingyun stayed in the Demon Palace for a few days, basically cooped up inside Long Yin’s bedroom all the time, looking through the massive bookcases filled to the brim with jade slips. Among them, he actually found a few words about the collapse of the sky, but unfortunately, most of them came from unknown sources and only a few pointed directly to the ancient war.
Specifically, it was simply better to go and see the ruins of that ancient battlefield in person.
To the day they departed for that small demon realm, the fragile little buds on Feng Qingyun’s main vine did not show any signs of blooming. However, Feng Qingyun was actually relieved because of that. On the day the demon realm opened its city’s gates, he disguised his cultivation according to Long Yin’s plan, even going as far as covering half of his face with a veil, revealing only a pair of eyes that had undergone subtle changes.
By the time they arrived at the gate of the small demon realm, there was already a considerable line of cultivators waiting to gain entry, complete with two guards who were collecting entry fees. In the end, what Long Yin said turned out to be the truth. The more people killed and died in the demon world, the more spirit stones became abundant. At the very least, Feng Qingyun saw that the female cultivator in front of them directly paid the entry fee by dumping a bag full of spirit and magic stones into the guard’s outstretched hands and deep storage bag… And it must have been enough since the guard said nothing after counting the inventory.
It’s just that the guards liked to keep everyone guessing. Every time they collected an entry fee, they didn’t let the people behind see the specific amount. Therefore, Feng Qingyun had no idea how much the female cultivator paid to gain entry into the city.
When it was their turn, the guard almost subconsciously thought that Long Yin, who was half a head taller than Feng Qingyun and with much wider shoulders, was the one who had the right to speak among them. Without further ado, he simply shoved his storage bag in front of Long Yin, saying with a slightly impatient attitude: “Two people. That’s 200 magic stones and 300 spiritual stones.”
He said it just like that as if it were a well-known thing.
However, Feng Qingyun didn’t really have any idea about money, so when he took out three hundred high-quality spirit stones and planned to hand them over, all the cultivators around the city gate were stunned. In the demon world, the currency in use was usually stolen from the cultivators of the righteous path. However, there were simply not enough cultivators like Feng Qingyun who could easily take out such high-quality stones. For a moment, the audience was stunned. As for Long Yin, he held back a smile before saying deliberately: “Mistress, it’s three hundred low-quality spirit stones…”
When that bunch of demonic cultivators heard those words, they finally looked at Feng Qingyun with different eyes. It turned out he was the one in charge, and the one next to him… Despite looking tall and handsome, was nothing more than some rich lady’s little boy toy!
In the end, Feng Qingyun took back his exquisite spirit stones, replacing them with 300 low-grade spirit stones and shutting the mouths of everyone present. However, before entering the city, he hesitated for a moment before throwing a few fine spiritual stones he did not have enough time to take back into the guard’s storage bag, asking: “Sir, is there any good place to live?”
The city guard immediately said with a happy smile: “Yes, yes, you can see the Tiangong Pavilion[mfn]天宫 Pavilion, where 天 (Tiān) means sky and 宫 (Gōng) means palace[/mfn] at a glance after entering the city. That’s the best inn in here. Please, Miss.”
Feng Qingyun nodded very politely: “Thank you.” His style seemed to be out of place within the demon world, but the stronger his temper was, the more strange and mysterious he looked. Anyway, the poor guards did not dare to neglect them, respectfully making way to allow entry into the city.
This time around, Long Yin really believed Feng Qingyun’s sentence that “providing enough spirit stones was not a problem”, which left him quite impressed for a moment. In fact, there were plenty of both dirt-poor and extremely rich cultivators. For example, the only Nascent Soul cultivator, Mu Tingwan, was very rich, but as a medical practitioner, she needed a huge amount of spiritual stones to buy spiritual herbs and elixirs. Therefore, her actions of spending her wealth were never ostentatious.
Not to mention Mu Hanyang, who was so poor that before Feng Qingyun left him, he still had to take care of all his needs. In fact, among the nine powerful Golden Core cultivators, the only one who could be called extravagant was Long Yin… And yet, he could have never believed that today, someone else finally suppressed him in momentum.
After entering the city, Long Yin couldn’t help but ask using his divine consciousness: “Where did you get so many spirit stones?”
Feng Qingyun didn’t even raise his eyes before answering: “The Xiān Gōng Sect has a big treasury, and there are always some savings.”
“Did you empty your sect’s treasury before leaving?!” Long Yin raised his eyebrows.
“That’s not it.” Feng Qingyun answered lightly. “I am a sword practitioner, so I don’t have expenses such as elixirs and talismans. Unlike Mu Hanyang, who likes to spend money on saving the world, the spiritual stones I can save are naturally more and more.”
The two of them chatted along the way. Since there was no third person who had as high a level of cultivation as they did the whole city, there was naturally no third person who could hear their conversation[mfn]So the cultivation stages in this novel are: Qi Condensation, Foundation-Building, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. There could be something above that, but no one reached that stage yet. Long Yin is a Golden Core cultivator, alongside Mu Hanyang and 7 other so far unnamed characters -there are 9 in total-, while Mu Tingwan, the medical practitioner, is the only one who reached Nascent Soul. Feng Qingyun is still stuck on the upper level of Foundation-Building, not yet at Golden Core, but since he could fight against Mu Hanyang and draw a tie with him, it can be interpreted that his cultivation is just as high, possibly the 10th Golden Core cultivator. Since there is no other Golden Core cultivator in the city with them, other cultivators who have a lower level of cultivation can’t spy on their conversation[/mfn]. However, after entering the city, a chaotic and turbid qi mixed with blood permeated the air, making Feng Qingyun frown while chatting. That type of dirty qi was completely different from the pure one he was used to inside his Xiān Gōng Sect and as a spiritual plant, Feng Qingyun was naturally sensitive to blood qi. However, he couldn’t use his spiritual power to try and dispel it, otherwise he might face exposure. As for using some spiritual or magic weapon to dispel it… All they had was of the highest quality, or even the best in the entire cultivation world. Taking any of them out would signal the irrefutable end of their disguise.
Long Yin seemed to notice his discomfort, so he pulled him to the nearest stall that seemed to be selling magic potions, knocked on the table, and said: “Give us a magic potion that prevents poisoning by blood qi.”
The stall owner was a demon whose lower body was shrouded in a layer of mist. Hearing Long Yin’s rude tone, he raised his eyes with a little contempt, only to come face to face with a little beauty wearing a veil, too delicate to even lift their own hands. In the end, his expression became even more contemptuous. After all…
… This was the demon world and he had never heard of a demonic cultivator who could get poisoned by blood qi!
The stall owner just wanted to mock the weak lady and her extremely spoiled male pet, but before he could say anything, he stiffened.
“Don’t you understand my words?” Long Yin pulled out a slightly dangerous smile before continuing. “My wife is weak and can’t stand the blood qi here. If she can’t deal with it, she’ll deal with you.”
Feng Qingyun: “…”
Faced with that hardly-concealed threat, the stall owner rolled out a small bottle filled with green juice. After Long Yin casually threw a magic stone at him, he held the bottle in front of Feng Qingyun. However, the smell made Feng Qingyun frown slightly. Finally, he endured nausea, planning to reach out his hand and pick it up, but Long Yin pulled back and smiled, before handing it to his mouth again: “Mistress, please drink it.”
Feng Qingyun: “…”
That was the disguise method they discussed before coming[mfn]Ha, I knew it:))[/mfn]. When Long Yin called him “Mistress” at the gate, Feng Qingyun thought that was the end of it, and there was no need to continue with the play after entering the city. And yet, he never thought that there were more embarrassing things waiting for him just down the road.
Well, it was what it was. Anyway, that bottle of suspicious liquid looked quite disgusting. In the end, Feng Qingyun simply lifted his veil and drank it from Long Yin’s hand.
The scene was seen by several cultivators next to them. After a pause, they immediately started mocking them using their divine consciousness:
“What’s wrong with this little demon realm?! How can any cat or dog just come in?!”
“Even this kind of shameless male pet can enter the city in such a grand manner… What else could you expect from dirty demons?! Their audacity it’s really bottomless.”
Of course, both Feng Qingyun and Long Yin heard those words. In fact, it would have been better if those cultivators have never tried to communicate because… As soon as they started, the spiritual fluctuations of their divine consciousnesses exposed them in an instant – it was actually a group of righteous cultivators disguised as demonic cultivators, just like Feng Qingyun.
Moreover, Feng Qingyun didn’t even need to probe them and investigate since those people revealed their identities in less than two words of chatting. Unexpectedly, they were acquaintances:
“Let’s not talk about that, Senior Zhang. Does this place really have that Lingsai incense that Brother Mu wants?”
“Lingsai incense was originally produced in the demon world, and this city is the most developed trade center. According to probability, it should be here.”
“But what does Lord Mu want that Lingsai incense for? Isn’t it usually used to track the breath of another person? That traitor who just left… Is it possible that Lord Mu really wants to find him–“
At this point, a female cultivator among their group could no longer maintain her face. The fluctuation of spiritual power suddenly increased, and her voice exploded in Feng Qingyun’s ear: “Feng Qingyun crushed the face of the entire Xiān Gōng Sect! My eldest brother went blind in one eye, and my second brother is completely ruined! Now the whole world says that Master forced him to run away because he coveted the position of Sect Leader! My Master is such a good person, how could he treat the sect and my Master so cruelly?!”
The several cultivators next to her seemed to be used to her temper since they quickly comforted her before continuing the conversation: “In fact, Sister Hua is right. Finding that Lingsai incense is secondary. After all, our main purpose for this trip is to find Tianshan Jade and Baimu fruits.”
After a few words, the identity of those cultivators was completely confirmed – a few of Mu Hanyang’s friends and his youngest disciple, Hua Ying. It seemed that after getting slapped by Long Yin, Mu Hanyang’s eldest disciple Liu Wu lost sight in one eye. As for his second one, even though his body was intact, his cultivation was completely shattered after he forcefully fell back to the Qi Condensation level.
In order to find a way to save these two people, this group of righteous cultivators had no choice but to pinch their noses and come to the demon world.
Long Yin listened with interest and joked with Feng Qingyun: “It seems that your ex-husband is looking for you all over the world.”
However, Feng Qingyun said coldly: “He’s not my ex-husband.” He simply had no intention to engage further with those people and after saying that, he raised his feet and planned to leave. Yet, when he happened to pass by a random stall, Feng Qingyun was suddenly pulled back by Long Yin once again. Turning his head in surprise, he saw an ordinary stone placed on top of the stall, as big as two mortal people’s fists.
Long Yin seemed to be extremely interested in that stone, saying directly: “Old man, how do you sell this?”
The man behind the stall raised his eyes and glanced at him before answering: “One hundred middle-grade magic stones. However, I do not guarantee that there’s anything good inside it.”
Hearing that such an ordinary stone had such an exorbitant price, passers-by looked at their side one after another. And yet, Long Yin was not unfazed by that answer, turning the stone upside down before saying: “It doesn’t matter. I’ll go back and carve a hairpin for my wife if it’s a good one, or crush it for her to play with if it’s a bad one.” He then raised his hand and threw a storage ring over, taking that unassuming stone with him. The eyes of the people around him changed in an instant, acting as if they were looking at a fool.
As for Hua Ying, she was in an extremely bad mood because of what happened to her two brothers, so she couldn’t help but directly say with disdain: “What Mistress and wife?! He’s nothing more than a male favorite with poor strength… And her, a demonic cultivator who has to drink magic potions to resist blood qi… Look at him, offering that kind of waste as if it’s a treasure. How stupid.”
Her words were full of both disgust for demonic cultivators and disdain for the weak. Mu Hanyang’s three apprentices might have had different personalities, but they were always the same in terms of emotional intelligence.
As for Feng Qingyun, he knew what was hidden in that stone as soon as he saw it. Indeed, he had said that he did not plan to entangle with them any further, but… When he heard those people treat Long Yin as a fool, he couldn’t help but stop. After taking the stone in Long Yin’s hand, he raised his hand and lightly scratched its surface.
As soon as the bright color inside was revealed, that group of true fools seemed to be strangled, and all the communication between them suddenly stopped – Tian… Tianshan Jade?!
How could a hundred medium-grade magic stones buy such a large piece of Tianshan Jade?! What kind of shit luck did those demonic cultivators have?!
Hua Ying was still shocked and had not yet come back to her senses, but one of them, a young cultivator who looked relatively mentally stable, immediately came forward and said: “Cultivator friends, please stay.”
Feng Qingyun stopped but said nothing, leaving Long Yin to raise his eyebrows and ask: “What’s the matter?”
“There is a younger brother in the family who is injured, and he urgently needs Tianshan Jade to maintain his cultivation,” the man said. “Please cut off a piece of your love token. The price is easy to discuss.”
Feng Qingyun glanced at him and recognized his identity – Wangshan Sword Master, Zhang Quanfeng, one of the best swordsmen outside the Xiān Gōng Sect.
However, Long Yin didn’t care who he was. Hearing his words, he immediately said: “How funny is that? What does your younger brother’s injury have to do with us? Why give it to you?”
Zhang Quanfeng’s expression stagnated, and Hua Ying next to him had already started cursing using her divine consciousness: “Does this little demon know who we are?! It’s really a case of a dog who doesn’t know what to do!”
Fortunately, Zhang Quanfeng was an experienced cultivator, so he knew how to lower his words a little more: “We only need a small piece of it to treat the injury of our younger brother back home. It’s not our intention to take away your token of love.”
This time around, Long Yin didn’t answer, instead turning his head to look at Feng Qingyun: “Mistress, what do you say?” He asked.
Feng Qingyun paid them no attention. He was feeling really sick and weak, but he was used to the lawless arrogance of Mu Hanyang’s disciples. “I need a whole piece,” he said. “A Tianshan Jade that’s too small can’t be carved into a complete hairpin.”
That was a veritable piece of real Tianshan Jade, how could it really be used to carve hairpins?!
Everyone was left flabbergasted by his words, all the way until Long Yin shrugged his shoulders and said: “That’s how my wife is. I can’t help you.”
Hua Ying’s face turned green with anger, prompting her to say indiscriminately: “You two dogs know nothing about carving hairpins with such precious things! My brother is waiting for Tianshan Jade to save his life! Don’t bully people too much!”
“We’re bullying you too much?” Feng Qingyun finally raised his eyes and said. “Why are you here? Is there anything else you need besides Tianshan Jade?”
Everyone was stunned by his question since it sounded like he planned to compensate them with something just as valuable in exchange for it. After Hua Ying gathered her thoughts, she said righteously: “In addition to Tianshan Jade, we also need Lingsai incense and Baimu fruits. If you sincerely compensate us, you can still have your hairpin… But who are you? Are your words even trustworthy?”
“Compensate? You’re making this Excellency laugh.” Feng Qingyun did not accept her contemptuous provocation, his tone was still plain. “This is the stone bought for me by my husband. It has nothing to do with you. On the contrary, it’s you who is aggressively attempting to steal from others.” Reaching this point, he paused for a second and then turned around and said: “But since you said that we’re bullying people too much, this Excellency will show you how that really feels.” Before those people could even try to come back to their senses, Feng Qingyun suddenly used his spiritual power. When he opened his mouth again, his voice instantly resounded throughout the entire city: “From today on, I will buy all the Lingsai incense, Tianshan Jade, and Baimu fruits in this small demon realm. If someone else insists on buying it at a higher price, my husband and I are willing to pay ten times their price. Everyone, please witness it.”
After saying that, he didn’t care about the poor Demon Lord who was stupidly standing next to him, completely stunned by all his “husband this, husband that”. Instead, Feng Qingyun turned his head and looked at the cultivators who were too shocked to react, saying in his still as placid as ever tone:
“Gentlemen, this is too much bullying.”
……………………..
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