Grandpa, times have changed.

Chapter 556 Xu Xing, an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire back then

After several boxes of those bean-sized puppet avatars and paper figures were bought, it seemed to trigger a chain reaction.

One after another, puppet avatars appeared in front of the stall.

However, they seemed to have observed the previous two transactions, so the puppet avatars that appeared later didn't utter a single word.

They simply drop off a jade card with just enough to pay the price listed on the sign, then collect the refining materials they need and disappear.

The various kinds of strange and wonderful puppets, some sophisticated and some crude, even gave Chi Jiuyu a sense of having his eyes opened.

In less than ten minutes, only the last two boxes of the 'Qi of Heaven and Earth' she brought out today were left.

“After this, our reputation should be established. For the rest, we can raise the prices by another 30% from where they are now,” Zhao Ruohan said from the side.

"Huh?!" Chi Jiuyu was taken aback.

They're going to raise it by another 30%?
Isn't this... a bit too unscrupulous?

“You’re not a magic cultivator, so you don’t understand how rare high-quality magic-refining materials are,” Zhao Ruohan explained. “Even if the price increases by another 30%, considering the quality of the magic-refining materials you have, the price is still relatively low.”

If that weren't the case, how could those conservative cultivators who would rather live a life of quiet desperation be willing to 'take the risk' and come to a place with so many people!

Chi Jiuyu scratched her head; she really didn't have much of a concept of this kind of thing.

"Isn't it said that sword cultivators have a hard time making money?"

It doesn't seem particularly difficult to make money now.

“First of all, there aren’t many sword cultivators with your foundation,” Zhao Ruohan said earnestly.

"Secondly, do you think you really made a lot of money this time?"

"..."

She sensed a powerful pressure from those words, a pressure called 'money'!
I hate rich people!
The fairy maiden knows nothing of the suffering of ordinary people!

Chi Jiuyu silently shed tears of envy.

Zhao Ruohan, however, did not take it to heart.

As one of the top Dharma practitioners among his peers.

She could easily create a set of formations, cultivate some spiritual herbs, or refine a few puppets or something...

The profits are far above that!

Comparatively speaking, sword cultivators are more lethal.

However, due to the nature of their own magical power, the magical artifacts and formations they create are generally inferior to those made by cultivators in terms of auxiliary functionality and adaptability.

Sword formations are a separate matter.

at this time.

Another figure arrived at the stall and picked up one of the two remaining jade boxes.

"Excuse me……"

Chi Jiuyu paused, then looked at the figure in front of the stall with some curiosity.

The newcomer was dressed in the uniform of a disciple of the Supreme Dao Sect, a light blue Daoist robe printed with a yin-yang fish pattern, and his aura was that of someone in the late Nascent Soul stage.

They could actually tell his cultivation level directly.

Moreover, it doesn't look like the puppet avatars from before.

emm...

Could it be some kind of puppet with the same size as a normal human body, or an avatar used to deceive others?
Thinking of this, she tore off a black bag and handed it over.

Unexpectedly, the person paused for a moment, did not reach out to take it, but said, "I'll take both of these last ones, can you give me a discount?"

Yo ho!

This person actually tried to bargain.

"This is already a discounted price."

Can you issue an invoice?

"Small-scale business, can't open, can't open."

The fact that this person dared to linger here for so long suggests they're not actually a cunning old fox...

Chi Jiuyu was somewhat surprised to realize this, but quickly came to her senses.

After all, there are so many people in the Supreme Dao Sect. As the saying goes, "A large forest has all kinds of birds," and among a bunch of oddballs, there are one or two normal people...

It doesn't seem so strange, does it?
Mudd!

It's all those old sly bastards' fault. Now that I finally see a normal person, I feel like they're not normal.

"Ok."

The man had no choice but to take out his jade card to pay the bill.

He didn't have any need for refining techniques.

Having a lot of spare cash on hand, and seeing so many 'steady' senior brothers personally buying from this stall, I guessed that the refining materials at this stall must be really good!

Why not just buy it now and resell it later? You might make a profit!

The brave ones will be starved to death, and the timid ones will be starved to death!
Half a minute later.

Take care!

Watching the only normal customer he encountered during this stall walk away, Chi Jiuyu looked at the gleaming jade card in his storage ring, feeling extremely satisfied.

"Let's pack up and go! It's on us today!"

He raised his hand with great bravado, but accidentally hit his own phone, which was lying on the stall.

The phone spun around and flew into the air, about to fall to the ground after a few spins.

Chi Jiuyu reacted quickly and grabbed him.

However, because it was set to 'always on' mode, and because of the appearance of those puppet avatars, she didn't turn off her phone screen.

Even if it was just a brief moment, it was enough for Zhao Ruohan to see the contents of the phone screen.

The Annotated Edition of "Yanxu Chandao Fushu" by Hong Qianqian.

She had read the book, and although she hadn't studied it in depth, she remembered its contents.

Zhao Ruohan: "..."

Well, it turns out that I wasn't the only one working hard; Chi Jiuyu was also secretly putting in the effort!

Unmoved by her questioning gaze, Chi Jiuyu maintained his playful smile.

"Let's go! I'm tired of eating at the Sword Sect's cafeteria. You lead the way, and it's on me today!"

Zhao Ruohan began to doubt her own guesses again because of his calm and composed demeanor.

Could it be that she was actually playing on her phone at first, and only took it out to look at it when she got bored?
Then I remembered that I was actually secretly rolling them up too...

She was too embarrassed to ask, and simply nodded:
"Ah."

…… ……

Sword Sect Inner Sect.

Deep within a secluded bamboo forest, there sits an old courtyard with a winding, meandering bluestone path.

Two figures walked across the cobblestone path and arrived at the door.

The door is carved with auspicious cloud patterns, and the mottled marks tell the story of the passage of time.

As you push open the door, a faint scent of sandalwood wafts into your nostrils.

Then you see a landscape painting hanging on the wall, its ink colors blending and spreading.

A delicate incense burner sits in the corner, its wisps of smoke rising slowly, mingling with the sandalwood fragrance in the air, creating a sense of tranquility.
The room was softly lit, with a few simple futons placed in the center.

Sunlight streamed through the paper window, creating dappled light and shadow. A spirited woman with sharp eyes sat with her eyes closed on a futon.

A long, pure white sword rested on his knees, with a winter plum blossom tied to its pommel.

It was Ji Yue.

Seemingly sensing someone push the door open, her tightly closed eyes trembled slightly before she opened them.

Her eyes were misty, but after looking up and seeing who it was, a smile appeared on her face.

"Yuanjun, Sword Ancestor."

Yuan Jun nodded slightly, then walked forward with Xu Xing and sat down opposite Ji Yue.

Looking at her spirited and youthful friend, Yuanjun couldn't help but sigh softly.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

"Long time no see." Ji Yue didn't seem to mind, smiling and nodding gently. "Now that I'm like this, you're just laughing at me."

In ancient times, the two belonged to tribes that lived very close to each other, and they practically grew up together.

However, their relationship cannot be described as good.

She was competitive as a child and had a strong will to win, so she always wanted to beat Yuanjun in everything, but she always ended up falling short.

This also caused Yuanjun to be a psychological shadow for her for a long time, and at the same time, she was the goal she tried hard to catch up with.

"I always wanted to beat you, but in the end I'm still not as good as you."

"..." Yuanjun remained silent.

When her brother came out of seclusion last time, she came to the Sword Sect and wanted to see Ji Yue, but Ji Yue avoided her.

"Back then, I was young and impetuous, and many things I did and said went too far..."

Xu Xing paused for a moment, then suddenly glanced at Yuan Jun.

Why does this sound so familiar?

Yuanjun, however, looked at Ji Yue in front of her.

Ji Yue was competing with her, but she was also competing with Ji Yue.

"It's natural to be impetuous when you're young," Ji Yue said with a light laugh.

"However, over the years, I've been quite curious. Back then, when we were exchanging sword techniques, the Sword Ancestor defeated me with his swordsmanship, but you learned his swordsmanship and defeated him. Was that also because..."

What the hell!

So that’s it!
Xu Xing suddenly realized.

He then asked why Yuanjun did what she did back then, since he didn't seem to have offended her.

So there's another reason behind this? You two are arguing, and I'm just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire!

He almost became depressed after being beaten by Yuanjun back then!

“That’s all in the past, let’s not bring it up again,” Yuanjun quickly interrupted.

Although at that time I did indeed harbor some resentment towards Ji Yue...

Then, she directly changed the subject:

"Speaking of which, why didn't you avoid me this time?"

"I was so ugly before, I always felt inferior to you when we met," Ji Yue said frankly.

Having failed to pass the test, I am now old and frail.

The person I've always wanted to beat is now incredibly talented...

"So, I'll just avoid you to avoid making things more difficult for myself."

"..." Yuanjun paused, "You are quite frank."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yue simply chuckled and shook her head, sighing:

"After going through so much, I should be able to let go of things a bit."

"So you've decided to stop competing with me?" Yuanjun asked curiously.

"That's not the case."

Yuanjun: "..."

Ji Yue smiled and said, "After persisting for so many years, we should continue to persist."

It was because she saw that the Sword Ancestor surpassed Yuan Jun in his later cultivation that she chose to switch to becoming a sword cultivator.

Even her sword intent, 'unyielding,' was honed through this process.

How could we possibly give up now!

"Of course, I probably won't have the chance to compete with you now."

The last time I forced my way through, the backlash from the failed attempt to break through the barrier was much worse, and I don't know how long it will take to fully recover.

“That’s not necessarily true,” Xu Xing suddenly said.

Seeing that Yuanjun turned to look at him, he explained again.

"What I mean is, Senior Sister Ji's injuries might not need to be delayed for so long."

"Ok?"

She was somewhat surprised as she recalled some things that had happened in the past.

"Brother Dao, could you perhaps directly remove Ji Yue's negative status effects?"

Ji Yue paused, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes.

"That's not the case."

This is the backlash from failing to reach the Immortal Gate, an injury that can be described as the most intractable, and it is closely related to Ji Yue's own Dao.

If she were to actually intercept it, Ji Yue herself would also perish.

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(End of this chapter)