Chapter 34

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Chapter 34

Yun Chuyou took out the turtle shell from her pocket. Before setting off, she decided to read the fortune. She did not have any personal belongings from her younger martial brothers and sisters, and the secret realm would affect the reading. This kind of precise locating fortune she could read was actually not very good; she could only get a vague general range.

The turtle shell tilted towards her left, "Go east."

East is the most favorable direction; just encountering a disciple from the gate would be considered good luck.

If I walk on my own two legs, I won’t be able to go far even if I break them. Besides, there are many areas divided by cliffs and deep gaps. It would be a waste of a lot of time to go around the mountain paths with great effort.

Enduring hardship does not mean training. Yun Chuyou was not going to do something so foolish. She took out her mini Cloud Boat from her storage bag. The flying boat was custom-made in advance to save spirit stones and spiritual power, and it had many of Yun Chuyou’s thoughtful designs.

She climbed onto the winding and narrow Cloud Boat, where Hu Xiaobai sat at the front, proudly taking up most of the space.

Yun Chuyou said, "The Cloud Boat can’t fit more passengers. If you want to follow me, you’ll have to find your own way."

It didn’t matter whether the other person was riding a sword or using a flying spirit tool; if they couldn’t keep up, it was of no concern to her. Once she calmed down, her gaze towards Xie Qi still held a hint of caution and scrutiny.

Sharing the ride was absolutely impossible; she wasn’t that kind-hearted, nor did she want a stranger to take advantage.

"Ah… Yuzu, you set the Cloud Boat to go so slow on purpose. If I can’t keep up, I’ll be useless."

Xie Qi said this while putting his fingers to his lips and letting out a loud whistle. A white eagle that had been circling in the air swooped down rapidly and landed in front of the boy.

The boy in the black robe sat atop the white eagle, the strong contrast of black and white was quite striking.

Yun Chuyou looked at the very beautiful bird. The white eagle was much larger than a regular eagle in the Mortal World. Its sharp eyes were bright and focused. When it saw Xie Qi, it let out a sharp cry, clear and loud.

This was a very strong-looking eagle. Based on the spiritual power it radiated, it seemed to be at the Golden Core Stage, much stronger than Hu Xiaobai.

Yun Chuyou said with a hint of envy, "What a magnificent eagle! Is this the spirit beast you have contracted?"

What an outstanding eagle! It looked very intelligent, and the key point is that it could hunt and fly, saving a lot of spirit stones.

Hu Xiaobai, who shared a deep connection with its owner, puffed up with anger, "Just a worthless bird, how can it compare to us fox demons?"

Moreover, the eagle’s feathers were stiff and rough; they looked fluffy, but they didn’t feel nice at all, unlike him, who had four big tails. Besides the tails, its ears and belly were also nice to touch.

Xie Qi shook his head, "I don’t have a contracted spirit beast, just a little magic to control beasts. If you want to try, Yuzu, I can call another eagle for you."

The phoenix is the crownless king of birds; it holds the power to suppress all lower beasts due to its Mythical Beast bloodline, so there is no need to contract a spirit beast.

He knew that the first impression he had given Yun Chuyou was not good. Therefore, to change the light and careless impression he had left, he did not boldly invite Yun Chuyou to ride with him.

It turns out to be the little rule of beast mastering, so this white eagle is completely free labor, and there’s no need to feed it. Yun Chuyou put away her secretly envious gaze and shook her head to refuse Xie Qi’s kindness, "No need, I have enough with the Cloud Boat."

She slowed down the speed, partly to make it easier to find someone, and partly to not worry about going too fast and missing precious spiritual plants.

After all, controlling a flying sword requires constant attention to the direction of the air, and it also consumes her Spirit Qi, which is definitely not as cost-effective as using a magic tool. Although the Cloud Boat is small, it holds great treasures inside, with tables, chairs, and a protective shield; apart from consuming spirit stones, it is no worse than riding an eagle. Riding an eagle is just more impressive; it surely can’t compare to her travel experience.

Yun Chuyou sat in the middle of the flying boat, while Hu Xiaobai transformed into human form and sat at the back of the boat, with a pair of light-colored beast eyes fixed closely on Xie Qi riding the eagle, wary of him causing trouble.

The Cloud Boat came to a stop and quickly descended. Yun Chuyou threw a pair of special gloves and a jade box to Hu Xiaobai, "Xiaobai, help collect these Seven Star Color carefully."

It is no wonder it is the Sword Tomb Secret Realm. These Seven Star Colors are one of the essential main materials for refining the Soul Changing Pill and are very rare in the outside world; the spiritual fields of Qingxu Sect simply cannot grow them.

The Soul Changing Pill, as the name suggests, is a pill that can increase the success rate when breaking through from the Astral Projection Stage to the Soul Changing Stage.

A breakthrough in a greater realm has a much lower success rate than a small realm, making a pill that can increase the success rate by one percent very precious. After all, if a breakthrough fails, one’s cultivation level will greatly regress. If the injuries are serious, it will take even more time to recover than before.

As a high-level pill, the Soul Changing Pill is already extremely valuable, and combined with the rarity of Seven Star Color as its main material in the spiritual world, it is worth more than other pills of the same grade and is considered a high-quality item that can enter the auction house.

Crafting advanced pills is not just about having the pills and materials; the Pill Master must always control the Spirit Qi infused in them. For breakthrough pills like these, if one’s level is not high enough, even with a pill furnace and materials, they cannot be made.

The Soul Changing Pill is only a fourth-grade pill, but due to its special nature, Yun Chuyou must have at least Nascent Soul Stage cultivation to create it. She is currently suppressing her level, but in the secret realm, she will definitely break through to Nascent Soul and, with the materials ready, she will start crafting it right away.

There is still a long way to go from Nascent Soul to Astral Projection. Normally, she won’t need the Soul Changing Pill for a long time, but her master, as an Astral Projection Stage cultivator, will surely find it useful!

Even if it’s not for profit, to ensure her master can smoothly reach the Soul Changing Stage in the future, she must gather all the precious Seven Star Color.

After all, the Sword Tomb Secret Realm opens only once every hundred years. Once it is claimed by a new master, it will turn into that master’s private secret realm, and no other cultivators will be able to enter.

What does this mean? It means that for Yun Chuyou, all the resources in front of her are one-time resources; she must gather and take as much as possible to maximize her gains this time.

The boy in the black cloak who was riding the white eagle also jumped down. Everyone shares the spoils; Yun Chuyou wouldn’t stop Xie Qi from collecting his share, but her movements became even faster than before, almost leaving behind an afterimage.

"Can you give me a pair of gloves and a box?" Xie Qi had not come for the resources in this secret realm, and he didn’t bring a case to store them.

Yun Chuyou was shocked and looked up, clearly not understanding how someone could be so shameless. Not only was he taking her things, but he was also asking her for tools. Did she look like someone easy to bully?

Just when she was about to have a brief argument with the person in front of her, they spoke up in time, "Didn’t you say you wanted to find your fellow disciples? It’s too slow to do it alone. Let me help you gather."

The boy said shyly, "The things you gathered are for making pills, right? I’m not good at alchemy, so I don’t need these. I see you working hard alone, so I’ll help you finish and we can set off sooner to find someone."

Yun Chuyou had many storage tools related to this, but she didn’t take them out. Instead, she reminded him, "These materials are very valuable; they can be sold for a lot of spirit stones once we leave the secret realm."

The rarer the materials, the more careful one must be with the picking and preservation methods.

The quality of the finished pill is related to the age and freshness of the herbs. Special ages can lead to higher prices. After all, the pills they create can vary greatly in price, from ordinary to heavenly grade.

Yun Chuyou felt a bit troubled; she didn’t like taking advantage of others, nor did she enjoy being taken advantage of, especially when the other person was so friendly.

The boy clearly noticed her discomfort and suggested, "If you think it’s not right, how about you consider hiring me? You can give me a reward based on how much spirit stones a task like gathering spiritual herbs is worth in your sect."

He rested his chin on his hand and said, "I have nothing to do anyway. If you hadn’t found these herbs, I wouldn’t have stopped for them."

Those pitch-black eyes clearly reflected his own face, making Yun Chuyou think of the Cold Pool under the night sky, shimmering with light. Some people’s eyes sparkle, while others’ hearts ripple.

Are these words meant to make herself feel less guilty about taking advantage? Yun Chuyou thought for a few seconds; she really did need to save time, "Please, pay ten medium spirit stones all at once."

Normally, such a simple task of picking herbs would only be worth one medium spirit stone, but considering the value of the Seven Star Color itself, she had multiplied it by ten times.

In fact, one Seven Star Color is worth more than ten medium spirit stones, so in this case, holding onto these items feels a bit risky.

Xie Qi thought for a moment, "You must have a master alchemist behind you for these materials. If the master can produce the Soul Changing Pill, I would like to have the right to buy it first."

So, he wanted to curry favor with her, the master alchemist. Yun Chuyou breathed a sigh of relief and quickly agreed, "Alright, ten medium spirit stones for helping to pick these herbs, plus the right to buy the Soul Changing Pill first."

"Here is a box; you should first take the amount inside. Follow my lead as you work, and try to keep the herbs intact."

She first gave him a box and a pair of protective herb-picking gloves. This way, even if he changed his mind, she wouldn’t lose much, and it would just be a matter of using a not very valuable box to know this temporary partner better.

As for the agreed reward of ten medium spirit stones, of course, it would only be given after completing the picking task.

"Okay."

The hardworking herbalist moved quickly and skillfully, even better than the trained Hu Xiaobai. Before long, the small gilded box had reached its limit.

"It’s full. Here, you can have these."

The boy handed over the box, while Hu Xiaobai, who was distracted, messaged, "He hasn’t done anything tricky with the box."

Yun Chuyou, wearing gloves, took the box and checked Xie Qi’s work. The plants were all intact, and every item in the box was of the highest quality.

"Well done. Keep going."

This time, she provided two boxes. There was a large patch of Seven Star Color, and picking all of it could fill at least a hundred boxes, enough for her to make thousands of Soul Changing Pills. Taking the failure rate into account, she could still have nearly a thousand.

If all of these are sold, it would be a huge amount of spirit stones.

Yun Chuyou became more and more excited as she picked, her eyes seemingly turning into the shape of spirit stones.

Xie Qi didn’t cause any trouble from start to finish. With his and Hu Xiaobai’s help, she successfully cleared this patch of wild Seven Star Color, taking only two hours.

Yun Chuyou stood up and stretched her body. She had been holding the same position for a long time and felt a pain in her waist and back, while her joints made cracking sounds.

Noticing that Hu Xiaobai seemed a bit down, Yun Chuyou asked him, "Xiaobai, what’s wrong? Are you still okay? Do you need to rest when we get on the spirit boat?"

Although the spirit boat was a bit narrow, it could easily fit two people, especially since Hu Xiaobai had turned back into his original form and greatly shrank his body as a small fox.

Hu Xiaobai shook his head and bravely asked, "Master, am I really useless? You trained me, but I still can’t run as fast as him."

If only he were fast enough, he wouldn’t have to worry about this outsider watching him. Hu Xiaobai longed to grow stronger; only by becoming powerful could he protect Yun Chuyou, the master of this world.

Yun Chuyou understood that it was the outsider’s skills that made Hu Xiaobai feel a sense of crisis.

"Xiaobai, you don’t have to compare yourself to him. He is just a stranger I met by chance. Once we leave the secret realm, we will part ways. You are my spirit pet, and you will be with me for a long time. You see, I need to pay him for help, and I have to be polite to outsiders. Everything must be counted clearly."

Hu Xiaobai’s dull eyes brightened a bit, and Yun Chuyou encouraged him further, "Besides, who says our Xiaobai isn’t good enough? You are already helping me a lot just by being here."

"Really?" Hu Xiaobai repeated the words "our Xiaobai" in his heart. The master referred to him as "we!" He felt joyful and couldn’t help but wag his big tail behind him.

Yun Chuyou smiled and nodded, "Of course it’s true, when have I ever lied to you?"

The fox spirit’s tail swirled like a propeller; its joy was that simple.

In this area, besides Seven Star Color, there was nothing else that Yun Chuyou liked. It was still about two hours until dusk, and they could set off again to find a good place to rest.

Yun Chuyou shook the wind chimes at her waist, but the other end did not respond.

It seemed that the younger martial brothers and sisters were still not in the nearby area.

She was not in a hurry. It was only their first day, and they had already made so much progress. It looked like she was quite lucky. There was no rush to find her younger martial brothers and sisters; everyone would head in the same direction once the Sword Tomb Secret Realm’s Sword Tomb Palace appeared.

Before setting off again, Yun Chuyou looked to see which direction to go next.

This time, the turtle shell pointed south. The girl packed away her divination tools and turned her gaze to the boy in the black cloak, "Xie Qi, have you found your fellow disciples?"

He said he was looking for his fellow disciples, but she hadn’t seen Xie Qi use any method to search for them.

The other shook his head, "I will travel with you."

Yun Chuyou took out the tiny spirit boat again, but the white eagle that Xie Qi had called before had long since flown away. There were no trees here, just a stretch of dark red rocks, which were the spiritual world’s commonly found fine iron ore. This stuff was everywhere outside and not valuable, so it wasn’t worth wasting her time.

She hesitated for a moment, "Do you still want to summon a bird?"

The other replied with some worry, "There are no suitable spirit beasts nearby."

He looked at Yun Chuyou’s spirit boat, "Can I not sit in the boat and tie my sword to the back to save some Spirit Qi?"

Xie Qi clearly knew how to play the pity card, "I didn’t notice it while picking, but now I’ve almost used up all my Spirit Qi."

Harvesting high-level herbs requires special techniques because most precious materials are very delicate. Special gloves can prevent the medicinal properties from contaminating. Each plant must be carefully covered with Spirit Qi during the harvesting process to lock in the medicinal effects.

After hearing this, Yun Chuyou handed over a round spirit replenishing pill, "This should help you regain your Spirit Qi."

The pills she made were high quality, over thirty percent more effective than those sold in stores. One was enough to replenish the Spirit Qi Xie Qi had just used.

As for the suggestion made by Xie Qifang, "If you really can’t manage, I actually have a similar spirit boat that I keep as a backup. I can rent it to you, and you can pay me with spirit stones."

She wasn’t used to leaving her back to strangers, having someone use a sword to tie her to the spirit boat felt very strange.

When she said this, she sensed the other person’s gaze was quite subtle, a bit disappointed and somewhat relieved. The disappointment was understandable, but why was there relief? It was really strange.

Xie Qi felt disappointed, of course, because Yun Chuyou didn’t cooperate. The relief was because his precious disciple wasn’t swayed by the beauty of a stranger. She remained alert even in front of a beautiful male cultivator like Wanwan.

He didn’t plan to summon a new bird demon beast, "Then I’ll rent your spirit boat."

Xie Fuzhi actually had more and better flying tools in his storage bag, but he wanted Yun Chuyou to earn this money. He knew that one of his apprentice’s interests was counting spirit stones, and he wanted to make her happy.

Besides, this time they were side by side, and next time they would probably be able to share a ride. Xie Fuzhi was very confident in his appearance.

The ten middle-grade spirit stones that Xie Qi had just transferred to someone else returned to him, and Yun Chuyou’s attitude softened a bit.

She gave Xie Qi a thumbs-up: a generous and handsome customer, he was a good person.

Two tiny spirit boats flew side by side for about half an hour, when Yun Chuyou finally saw the other cultivators entering the secret realm.

She lowered her height slightly and shook her head in disappointment, "Not them."

Most of the disciples from various sects wore their sect’s uniforms, making it easier for them to gather after they spread out.

Today, Yun Chuyou wore the latest version of the Qingxu Sect’s uniform, while the five or six cultivators below clearly came from different sects.

"Are there any disciples from your Tianyuan Sect down there?"

Xie Qi shook his head, "No."

The few cultivators below were fighting, and the one who was losing spotted Yun Chuyou and quickly called out for help, "Friend, help me! I am a disciple of the Beast Control Sect! If you save me, I will surely repay you!"

Yun Chuyou initially did not plan to rescue anyone; she did not want to get involved in someone else’s fight, so she raised the height of the Cloud Boat.

Besides, this person was a disciple of the Beast Control Sect, and she had a very poor impression of them. She did not want to help the Beast Control Sect at all.

The cultivator who was at a disadvantage, feeling anxious, immediately said, "That friend with the moon on your clothes! I have seen your companion! Don’t you want to find him?"

A streak of sword light separated the two other people who were surrounding the cultivator. Yun Chuyou stood on the Cloud Boat, wearing a cold and unfeeling expression.

The cultivator asking for help was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, while the several cultivators attacking him appeared to be loose cultivators.

The barrier of the secret realm does not filter out the bad people; some choose to work hard collecting and mining, while others focus on single cultivators, thinking of killing and stealing treasure.

The loose cultivators looked at Yun Chuyou, noticing her aura of the Golden Core Stage, and their expressions became quite wary.

"This friend, this person stole our things and took our chance first. We are just trying to take it back, hope you won’t interfere."

Yun Chuyou replied, "I have no interest in your troubles."

She looked at the previous cultivator asking for help, "Think carefully before you speak; if you dare to deceive me…"

"It’s true, it’s true!" the cultivator in distress’s eyes were spinning. "But if you want me to tell you, you must help me deal with these troubles, or I can’t remember where I saw them."

"This person is talking nonsense. He is not a disciple of the Beast Control Sect at all." The wandering cultivators are quite perceptive; they wouldn’t easily attack someone from a top major sect.

Another blade of light flashed by, but it did not strike at the other cultivators; instead, it simply cut the person’s hair.

Yun Chuyou showed a hint of disgust on her face, "I dislike greedy things the most, especially liars who speak only falsehoods."

Seeing that Yun Chuyou had no intention of helping, the other cultivators immediately surrounded the person, ready to gang up on him.

They weren’t thinking of killing anyone; after all, they had only just entered the secret realm, and everyone had very little on them. It would be better to mine and gather resources instead.

Moreover, if they truly wanted to seize resources, they should at least wait for a while to let these people grow fat before robbing them; that would be the best strategy.

Additionally, what these cultivators said was indeed true; it was this sneaky little thief who first stole their resources.

In the early stages of the secret realm, it is best to form alliances; otherwise, it is easy to get robbed.

When Yun Chuyou saw that these cultivators were reasonable, she naturally returned to the Cloud Boat.

Seeing her expression was not good, Xie Qi, who had been smiling while watching the show, said, "Yuzu, do you want me to take care of these guys?"

Yun Chuyou shook her head, "It’s none of their business."

She had a good sense of direction. Although her fortune-telling was not very precise, the results were usually not wrong. According to her, going south was very lucky; there was no reason for her to only encounter such troubling matters.

She was about to leave, but was stopped by a cultivator below, "Excuse me, friend, wait!"

After retrieving their own storage bags, the scattered cultivators finally remembered their purpose. They thought Yun Chuyou was a good person, and more importantly, her strength was impressive, so they enthusiastically invited her, "Friend, we have news about the Vermilion Fruit, but it is currently guarded by a Nascent Soul Stage demon beast. We wonder if you would like to join us to take a chance."

Yun Chuyou felt a bit happy; it seemed she had not calculated wrongly. The south was indeed very lucky: the Vermilion Fruit was one of the key plot points in the original story.

This Vermilion Fruit was a fruit that could extend one’s lifespan. At first, only a few scattered cultivators discovered it, but due to the huge commotion it caused, it was soon noticed by other cultivators.

This Vermilion Fruit was not an ordinary one; it was a full ten thousand years old. A ten-thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit could ignore levels and extend life, and just one could add five hundred years. For powerful beings nearing the end of their lifespan, it was a rare treasure for prolonging life.

Whether for personal use or to present as a treasure, its cost-effectiveness was very high, so many people were competing for it, including the main characters from the original story.

The heroine will come, the hero will come, and Meng He will definitely appear in the competition for the Vermilion Fruit. She will guard the fruit and surely won’t miss it; this is called waiting for the crane while holding the peach.