"Ye Dao... Thank you, Elder Ye!" Xu Xiuqing instinctively wanted to call him Daoist friend, but upon feeling Ye Jingcheng's spiritual might, she repeatedly changed her address.

She lowered her head, revealing only the upper half of her delicate face.

It was still as memorable as when she was in Taihang Market years ago.

Only now, there was an inch-long scar in front of her chin.

It wasn't unsightly, but it wasn't attractive either.

"Xu Daoist, long time no see." Ye Jingcheng finished dealing with the old man's corpse, then stored the spiritual ship into his storage bag and looked at her.

"Elder Ye's divine techniques have greatly improved, while I remain the same, causing Elder Ye to laugh at my incompetence."

"I see you are heading to the market too. How about finding a place to drink some spirit tea?" Ye Jingcheng suggested.

Xu Xiuqing wanted to refuse, but seeing Ye Jingcheng take out a Tier Two Spiritual Ship, which, although not the Daoxuan Shadow Ship, was still Tier Two Lower Grade and very fast.

Seeing Ye Jingcheng take out the spiritual ship, Xu Xiuqing nodded and boarded the ship.

There were very few words exchanged, and Ye Jingcheng was also silent.

"Elder Ye, how is Xiaojin doing?" After a long time, as they neared the city gate, Xu Xiuqing finally squeezed out a few words.

"Quite well, now very extraordinary." Ye Jingcheng nodded, turning back to look at her. Her face still seemed a bit unnatural, though he wasn't sure if it was due to the disparity in cultivation or something else:

"If you don't have any good opportunities lately, you can come to the Ye Family Shop to help." As he spoke, they had already reached the city gate.

Ye Jingcheng was the first to jump off the spiritual ship, with Xu Xiuqing following.

As they landed in front of the city gate, she wiped her chin, and the scar fell off like a magical artifact. At the same time, Xu Xiuqing's face seemed even more luminous, her features more refined.

"You can continue to hide it," Ye Jingcheng remarked. With his divine sense, he naturally saw through Xu Xiuqing's trick but didn't reveal it since she didn't wish to disclose it.

Xu Xiuqing smiled but did not reply.

Ye Jingcheng paid the spirit stones, then looked at Xu Xiuqing:

"Zhong's Tavern is nice, want to try it?"

"Sure!" Xu Xiuqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Walking through the alleys of the South District, they reached the North District, where Zhong's Tavern stood.

The five-story tavern was adorned with red lanterns, its red-hued wooden structure making the building uniquely charming.

Outside the tavern, graceful female cultivators served as attendants; Ye Jingcheng deftly led Xu Xiuqing to the second floor.

He chose a private room similar to the last time.

After a simple serving of spirit tea, Ye Jingcheng inquired about Xu Xiuqing's recent circumstances.

"How have things been lately?"

"Alright, but now I'm striving for Foundation Establishment, aiming for the Foundation Establishment Pill a year from now," Xu Xiuqing remarked.

Ye Jingcheng thought Xu Xiuqing might join a sect, but seeing the trend, it seemed she either gave up or lacked talent.

But overall, reaching the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, she wasn't far from Foundation Establishment.

"When you have time, you can visit Chu Ye Pavilion," Ye Jingcheng lifted his teacup, toasting Xu Xiuqing.

Xu Xiuqing also raised her cup, the two seemingly drinking like wine.

The tea's fragrance was faint, which Ye Jingcheng had intentionally chosen.

After drinking tea, Ye Jingcheng didn't know what to say, Xu Xiuqing also remained silent, the two sitting as if savoring tea, finally exchanging a surprising smile.

"Still, thank you, Elder Ye, for saving my life. That old man coveted a treasure in my possession and had been tailing me for ten years," Xu Xiuqing began.

"After leaving Taihang Commandery, I found a Purple Mansion cultivator's legacy cave..." Xu Xiuqing shared a brief account of her experiences over the years.

Listening, Ye Jingcheng felt somewhat wistful, but he was a clan cultivator, she was a loose cultivator, their paths were destined to be different.

Ye Jingcheng also understood why Xu Xiuqing had been pursued for so long, chased from the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer to the Ninth.

The old man had relentlessly pursued her.

In the end, he even conspired with several friends to ambush Xu Xiuqing, but she escaped with an array-breaking talisman she inherited.

"Elder Ye, these gifts are what I currently have in my inventory. For saving my life, I hope you will take a look and take what you need," Xu Xiuqing handed over a storage bag to Ye Jingcheng.

Ye Jingcheng shook his head, not accepting it. He didn't save Xu Xiuqing for any gift.

But seeing her determined gaze, intent on kneeling, Ye Jingcheng hastily used a spirit technique to support her.

"Then I'll choose one," Ye Jingcheng took the storage bag.

Without an owner, Ye Jingcheng could see inside at a glance. There were only four items.

What surprised him was a talisman treasure with a cyan-colored small tower engraved on it.

The tower had seven layers and looked quite mysterious.

This confirmed Xu Xiuqing's inheritance from a Purple Mansion cultivator.

It was even more commendable that she was willing to offer this talisman treasure.

Ye Jingcheng naturally wouldn't take this talisman treasure and looked at the remaining items.

One was a Cyan Rainbow Magical Sword. As Ye Jingcheng's divine sense probed it, he felt repelled and was pushed out.

Ye Jingcheng was momentarily stunned. Such rejection could only be from a magical treasure needing to recognize an owner for refinement.

Ye Jingcheng glanced at Xu Xiuqing once more.

"Xu Daoist, this is too precious!"

"You jest, Elder Ye. Is anything more precious than my life?" Xu Xiuqing shook her head.

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng chuckled and continued inspecting the storage bag. Only two items remained, both known to him: one was Tier Two Secret Silver Profound Rock, a highly prized material in Stone Spirit's Spirit Awakening Square.

The other item was a Tier Two Celestial Spirit Fruit.

This spirit fruit is also one of the main ingredients of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Xu Daoist, consider this life-saving debt settled with the favor of the Golden Scale Beast." Ye Jingcheng suggested.

Among these, the Celestial Spirit Fruit was the least valuable, but it was still worth at least a thousand or two spirit stones.

For families possessing the Foundation Establishment Pill formula, a markup of three to four fold was still acceptable.

"Then how can my grandfather's life be repaid? Elder Ye, there's no need to decline; I still value my life highly. If you esteem me, choose two items."

Seeing this, Ye Jingcheng took out the Secret Silver Profound Rock. This rock, like metal, was extremely firm, categorized as a Tier Two Middle Grade spirit stone.

"This is for you too, Elder Ye!" Xu Xiuqing offered the talisman treasure again, seeing Ye Jingcheng only take one Profound Rock.

"I can't. If you lack the Foundation Establishment Pill, come exchange it with me!" Ye Jingcheng declined.

A talisman treasure was unlike any other, especially with the family providing him talisman and magical treasures this time.

He didn't need Xu Xiuqing's items.

A talisman treasure's price was at least tens of thousands of spirit stones, especially this tower-type, considered normal even at tens of thousands of spirit stones.

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