Volume 2 Chapter 38

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Volume 2 Chapter 38: Chance Encounter

A month ago, Xu Qingfan flew from Jiuhua Gate to the edge of the Southern Wasteland, taking a full seven days of non-stop travel day and night.

Now, as Xu Qingfan was bringing Ting’er back to Jiuhua Gate, their journey was naturally slower. This was partly because he now had Ting’er and a young Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast with him, and his current skills were not yet sufficient to fly effortlessly with extra passengers. Ting’er, though her body was modified by a magic pearl, still had the needs of a mortal and required food, drink, and rest. Unlike Xu Qingfan, she couldn’t travel without eating or drinking, so Xu Qingfan had to stop every few hours to find her food and a place to sleep at night.

Compared to Ting’er, the young Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast was even more troublesome. Perhaps because it was used to roaming freely on land, it became anxious and uneasy when flying high and dared not look down. If Xu Qingfan quickened the pace, it would start howling, and Ting’er couldn’t calm it down. Thus, Xu Qingfan had no choice but to slow down and fly leisurely.

However, there was an advantage to this—the little beast’s respect for Xu Qingfan grew, and it no longer showed hostility towards him, perhaps fearing it might be thrown from the sky.

But more than its fear of heights, what troubled Xu Qingfan even more was how much the beast could eat. Though it was only slightly larger than a house cat, it could devour half a stag in one sitting and still act as if it had been greatly wronged.

After discovering that the Millennium Lingzhi was with Xu Qingfan, the little beast tried to snatch it whenever Xu Qingfan meditated. This forced Xu Qingfan to summon a Chomper to guard him during meditation, finally bringing peace.

The Xu Family Village Lingzhi fully matured the day before Xu Qingfan left. Gazing upon the golden, Spirit Qi-filled Lingzhi, Xu Qingfan felt overwhelmed. Many from Xu Family Village and the Southern Wasteland desired it, but all met unfortunate ends. Xu Qingfan had never sought it, yet it matured before him—was this an irony of fate?

Originally, Xu Qingfan wanted to store the lingzhi in his "Sleeve Space," but after doing so for two hours, he was surprised to discover that the lingzhi seemed to be gradually losing its Spirit Qi. When he took it out, it took a long time for the lingzhi to regain its original appearance. It was then that Xu Qingfan remembered that a spiritual herb like lingzhi must always be in harmony with the world’s Spirit Qi, so he had no choice but to tuck it into his bosom, unaware that this would lead to continuous attacks by a small beast.

As for the small beast, it was named Little Green because of its blue eyes, a name given by Ting’er. On the second day after Xu Qingfan and Ting’er left the Southern Wasteland, Xu Qingfan casually asked Ting’er if she ever thought of naming the small beast. He expected her to remain silent as usual, but to his surprise, Ting’er thoughtfully pondered for a moment and then softly said the name "Little Green."

This was the second time Xu Qingfan heard Ting’er speak. At that moment, he felt a surge of happiness, thinking that his efforts had finally brought about a change in Ting’er’s personality. Unfortunately, since then, Ting’er hadn’t spoken another word.

With Little Green’s constant mischief and their stop-and-go traveling, it took Xu Qingfan ten whole days to cover less than half the journey. However, Xu Qingfan was in no hurry, as there was nothing urgent for him to attend to at the moment.

On this day, Xu Qingfan was leisurely strolling through a town with Ting’er. Ting’er wore a veil to cover the violet-blue flame pattern on her face. Although it seemed a bit inappropriate for a little girl to wear a veil, it was better than letting people see the unusual flames on her face. Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan introduced some of the common customs and rules of the mortal world to Ting’er. To be honest, Xu Qingfan wasn’t very knowledgeable about these things himself; most of what he shared was learned from books.

No matter what Xu Qingfan said, Ting’er just held Little Green close, keeping her head down and silently following beside him, never responding to his words or acknowledging the bustling mortal world around them.

In recent days, whenever they passed through a town, Xu Qingfan would take Ting’er for a walk and purchase some daily necessities, as he still had plenty of silver left from what he seized from Zhang Long. However, the main reason he did this was to try to use the lively atmosphere of the mortal world to change Ting’er’s cold demeanor, though it appeared to be having little effect.

Seeing Ting’er remain so aloof, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but sigh quietly. He had lost count of how many times he had sighed since Ting’er came into his life.

In truth, Xu Qingfan was naturally a somewhat reclusive person. Whether he was with someone as aloof as Jin Qinghan or as talkative as Bai Qingfu, he rarely spoke much. His current efforts to engage with Ting’er were partly an attempt to alter her personality and partly to improve his relationship with her. After all, he was Ting’er’s Ninth Uncle, but he never felt any familial attachment from Ting’er. Xu Qingfan knew although Ting’er didn’t express it, she harbored resentment towards him for killing her father, a matter beyond Xu Qingfan’s control. All he could do was try to ease the tension, though it seemed to be to no avail.

"Looks like we’ll have to go with the flow and change slowly; some things can’t be rushed," Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

With this in mind, Xu Qingfan said nothing more and quietly strolled through the town with Ting’er. However, Ting’er’s veil that tightly covered her face and Little Green she was holding attracted the attention of passersby. Seeing the people staring intently at them, Xu Qingfan and Ting’er didn’t react much, but Little Green started to become a bit restless.

"Please wait, honored one ahead."

Just as Xu Qingfan decided to leave with Ting’er, a somewhat familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him.

Hearing this familiar voice, Xu Qingfan turned around and saw a person dressed in Jiuhua Mountain’s wide robe walking briskly toward him. This person was tall and thin, with a noticeable scar on their forehead and was at the middle stage of the Inedia Stage. Upon seeing that it was Xu Qingfan, the person’s face also showed a look of surprise.

"Brother Zhao, is it you?" Xu Qingfan said in astonishment upon seeing the person before him. Wasn’t this the disciple Zhao Qingxuan, responsible for procurement for Jiuhua Mountain? Yet Xu Qingfan wondered why he appeared here, as it was several thousand miles away from Jiuhua Mountain.

Generally, disciples responsible for procurement in various sects are those with not high aptitude in cultivation but good at dealing with people. The person in front of him, Zhao Qingxuan, was precisely one such individual. Xu Qingfan had met him once and exchanged a few words during the internal competition of the sect.

"Oh, it’s Junior Brother Xu. I thought it was an elder from another sect. It turns out to be Junior Brother Xu. I didn’t know you had already reached the Lingji Stage. Congratulations."

After the battle in the Southern Wasteland, Xu Qingfan’s Jiuhua robe was in tatters, so he had changed into different clothes, explaining why Zhao Qingxuan hadn’t recognized him from behind.

When Zhao Qingxuan realized the "senior" was actually his junior brother, his face turned awkward. Yet, there was a hint of bitterness in his expression because he knew he could never reach such heights in this lifetime. Seeing his junior, whose talent was slightly inferior, reach the Lingji Stage at such a young age, only added to his sense of regret.

"Forgive me if I made Brother Zhao laugh. But may I ask why Brother Zhao is here?" Xu Qingfan asked with a faint smile.

Zhao Qingxuan was a carefree person and quickly brushed aside his inexplicable emotions. He smiled and explained to Xu Qingfan, "The martial uncle in charge of the alchemy room wants to refine some spiritual pills, but we’re short on some herbs, so I was tasked to find them. But spiritual herbs are hard to come by. There’s a cultivator’s market here, so I came to try my luck, and felt a strong spiritual energy from you, as if you had a spirit herb with you, so I followed to ask."

Xu Qingfan was slightly stunned by Zhao Qingxuan’s words, and he pondered. He had gained much during his trip to the Southern Wasteland, collecting many materials from the Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast. However, these didn’t help him much, as he had knowledge but wasn’t skilled in alchemy and crafting. It might be better to trade them at the market for something more useful for him.

With this thought, Xu Qingfan smiled at Zhao Qingxuan and said, "I’ve heard of the cultivator’s market for a long time but never had the chance to see it. Could Brother Zhao take me to see it?"