A mortal cultivating immortality can nurture spirit beasts.

The woman in blue was of medium height with a small nose and bright, clear eyes. Although her appearance was ordinary, even less attractive than the pretty maid beside her, she possessed a composed demeanor that far surpassed that of the maid.

"Shopkeeper, is there any special story behind this Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea?"

The woman in blue spoke with a clear, pleasant voice, displaying a gentle and polite demeanor. The shopkeeper quickly smiled and explained.

"Sir, you may not know this, but this Purple Mansion Spiritual Spring Tea is made by combining the essence of a hundred-year-old divine tree with the water of a spiritual spring. It is then refined for three days and three nights with the innate true fire of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, sealing all the spiritual energy within. Once brewed, it immediately overflows with spiritual energy and has an incomparably refreshing fragrance. Qi Refining cultivators can also slowly improve their cultivation by drinking it. Although it is slow, one cup a day will accumulate into something extraordinary over time."

The shopkeeper immediately began promoting the product. Upon hearing that it could improve one's cultivation level, both the woman in blue and the pretty maid were excited. However, after inquiring about the price, they suppressed their desire to buy it.

The shopkeeper's expression darkened upon seeing this. He naturally knew that the price of this spiritual tea was a bit high for Qi Refining cultivators, and many customers who came today had to give up because of the price.

Just then, Lin He walked in. He made no attempt to conceal his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. The shopkeeper glanced at him, noticed Lin He's cultivation level, and immediately became excited, rushing forward to greet him.

"Senior, are you here to buy spiritual tea? I'm not bragging, but if my family's spiritual tea is second to none on this street, then no other shop would dare to claim to be number one."

Lin He smiled slightly and said, "I came here because I've heard so much about it, and I'm eager to see for myself. I wonder if the shopkeeper has these kinds of spiritual teas here?"

Lin He named the various spirit teas that Elder Cai had mentioned, including the Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea. Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper became even more excited and exclaimed, "Senior, you clearly understand spirit teas. You might be able to find one or two of these spirit teas elsewhere, but to find them all, this shop is the only place that can do it."

Lin He's month-long journey wasn't wasted. Aside from wandering around, he spent his time learning the art of tea tasting from Master Cai, and now he can be considered to have entered the door.

He casually described the wonderful uses of these spiritual teas and how to brew them, earning the shopkeeper's high praise. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed...

"It seems you are also a person who has devoted yourself to the study of tea ceremony. How about this, I'll give you a 20% discount on all the spiritual teas you bought? What do you think?"

Lin He smiled. He was actually buying on behalf of Elder Cai, so a discount wasn't important to him. Elder Cai, being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had already given him enough spirit stones. However, since the shopkeeper himself offered a discount, he naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to refuse. So he nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something and added,

"Shopkeeper, how about we do you a favor and give these two young ladies a 20% discount as well?"

Lin He's purchasing list also included this Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea. This tea is only useful for Qi Refining cultivators. Elder Cai probably bought it for his juniors to drink. However, this spiritual tea is not cheap and needs to be drunk many times, so it will cost a lot in the long run.

The woman in blue and her pretty maid were both delighted to hear this. The woman in blue even stepped forward obediently, saying, "Thank you, senior!"

He then looked at the shopkeeper and said, "This senior has bought so many kinds of spiritual tea on his first visit to your shop. The shopkeeper wouldn't refuse such a big customer, would he?"

"This..." The shopkeeper, who had been helped up, felt quite pressured when he saw Lin He looking over, and quickly said...

"Since this senior has spoken, what else can I say? Let's settle it like this. But young lady, you mustn't spread this around today, or I won't be able to do business with you in the future."

The woman in blue smiled slyly and quickly said, "Don't worry, we'll keep our mouths shut."

After finishing their shopping, the three left the shop. Lin He was about to leave when he suddenly saw the woman in blue step forward and bow.

"Senior, I will remember what happened today."

The pretty maid nodded in agreement, "Yes, Xiaomei remembers too."

Lin He was stunned when he heard this. He suddenly felt that all of this was too coincidental. He had come here to look for Xin Ruyin. He was still thinking about where to start when he actually ran into her.

At this time, Xin Ruyin was only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and Xiao Mei was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Their strength was so low that they could not attract attention. However, Lin He knew that Xin Ruyin could not be judged solely by her cultivation level. Her mastery of formations was simply amazing. In the original work, even after Han Li became a Nascent Soul cultivator, the ancient formation manuals and the second Nascent Soul cultivation secrets left by Xin Ruyin were still in use.

Seeing Lin He staring at her blankly, Xin Ruyin frowned, seemingly having misunderstood something, and immediately spoke up to remind him.

"Why are you looking at me like that, senior? Is there something wrong with my face?"

Lin He then realized his rudeness and shook his head, saying, "I was impolite, Miss Ruyin. It's nothing to mention. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

Lin He moved swiftly, quickly transforming into a black dot and disappearing before the two of them, surprising Xiao Mei who couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Such speed! No wonder you're a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Xin Ruyin's voice was somewhat cold, "I thought he was a decent person, but it turns out he's just another lecherous rogue. Xiaomei, let's leave here quickly. We might run into this person or someone from the Fu family in this market."

"Miss, I really don't understand. You keep saying that the Fu family is wicked and that you don't want to help them set up formations to kill people, but which of the families we helped set up formations before didn't use these formations to kill their enemies?"

Seeing Xiaomei's puzzled look, Xin Ruyin sighed and patiently explained as she walked quickly, "In this world without any order, might makes right. As long as you're strong and have powerful backing, you can wipe out an entire family without any punishment. I'm just a lowly Qi Refining cultivator; I can't control this corrupt world. I only want to study the Dao of Arrays, which requires purchasing a large number of array flags, array plates, and various array manuals. All of these require spirit stones, a lot of spirit stones. For this reason, I have to set up arrays for others. But I also have a bottom line—freedom!"

"Freedom?" Xiaomei listened thoughtfully, while Xin Ruyin simply said it directly, "The Fu family is too greedy. They don't just want me to set up one or two formations for them, but they want me to stay in the Fu family for the rest of my life to set up formations for them. This is something I absolutely cannot accept."

Hearing this, Xiaomei finally understood and immediately expressed her support firmly, "Miss, you are absolutely right. Xiaomei supports you. You absolutely cannot be locked up in the Fu family for the rest of your life. Just thinking about that kind of life is terrifying."

Xin Ruyin nodded and quickly left the market with Xiaomei. However, what the two did not know was that a group of people were following them suspiciously not far behind. The leader was a short and fat young man, Liu Ming.