Chapter Eighty: Senior Brother, Prepare for Foundation Establishment
The marketplace street was bustling with noise, filled with rogue cultivators doing business and merchants’ carriages.
Ye Anping, upon returning to the marketplace, walked along the street, recalling Si Xuanji’s previous words.
Si Xuanji had said he was currently clinging to Feng Yu Die, this Golden Dragon.
This statement was not hard to understand, akin to the zodiac race where a rat clung to the back of an ox. The rat, originally without the ability to compete, gained the capacity to do so by clinging to the ox.
This ability, supposedly, referred to a cultivator’s destiny.
Ye Anping was not a superstitious person. His atheistic education from his past life was deeply ingrained. Even after living in this world for over a decade, he had never truly believed in fate or destiny.
However, upon closer consideration, he and his junior sister seemed to have gained many opportunities because of Feng Yu Die.
If it weren’t for Feng Yu Die, who wounded the Gu Poison Sect’s Grand Tutor Wu You with her Saint Emperor Dragon Body, he and his junior sister would have had almost no chance of winning. The incomplete scroll of “Mysterious Yin Art” would most likely not have ended up in his possession.
And if his junior sister hadn’t had Feng Yu Die, she wouldn’t have entered the Xuan Xing Sect and met Xiao Yunluo. If his junior sister hadn’t met Xiao Yunluo, Si Xuanji would not have paid attention to him.
What was most critical was that Si Xuanji had stated his sudden increase in cultivation was also related to Feng Yu Die.
Ye Anping had initially wished to have minimal involvement with Feng Yu Die, planning todistance himself and his junior sister from her after some time and find a quiet place to cultivate.
However, perhaps Si Xuanji had seen through his intention to “seek personal preservation.”
Si Xuanji’s remark, “If she dies, you will only fall into another pool,” seemed to be a form of persuasion.
If he tried to sever his connection with Feng Yu Die, he would only fall into an even more dangerous and unknown predicament.
Ye Anping had to admit that Si Xuanji’s words held considerable truth.
By following Feng Yu Die, he could anticipate the kind of people he would encounter and prepare himself in advance.
But if he were to leave Feng Yu Die, he would have no way of predicting his future encounters.
With this thought, Ye Anping suddenly felt as if “Feng Yu Die had become his boss.” Even though he and his junior sister were the ones who benefited the most.
Ye Anping shrugged slightly, looked up at the signboard of the marketplace auction house before him, and let out a sigh of relief.
“In any case, I’ll focus on Foundation Establishment first.”
Afterward, he stepped over the threshold and walked in.
“Shopkeeper, do you still have Burial Sand Bone, Dawn Dew, Vermilion Fruit, Jade Dragon Frost, and Sun-Warming Jade? Two sets of each…” Ye Anping hesitated for a moment, “Ah, never mind, make it three sets.”
Hearing the names of these materials, the shopkeeper quickly welcomed him with a smile, “Little Daoist, are you preparing for Foundation Establishment? Do you need Foundation Establishment Pills? I’ve just received a batch of high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills. Would you like to take a look…”
“Hmm… let me see. The quality is indeed excellent. Then, give me three bottles of those as well.”
“Certainly, sir. One set is priced at twelve thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, so three sets will be thirty-seven thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.”
Ye Anping thought for a moment and tentatively said, “I’m the owner of Ye’s Physiotherapy Hall on East Street. Shopkeeper, we’re both business owners, and we’ll interact often in the future. Could you give me a discount?”
“Oh? So you are the Young Master Ye! Senior Bai from the Xuan Xing Sect mentioned you before.” The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, tapped his abacus, “How about this, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount, making it ten thousand per set. What do you say?”
“…Hmm, alright.”
—
In the blink of an eye, General Winter arrived and kicked General Autumn away.
The first snow of the year fell upon the Xuan Xing Sect.
Xiao Yunluo woke up early as usual, sleepily washed up, changed into a t-shirt, and prepared to go out for some sword practice.
However, the moment she opened the door, she saw a vast expanse of white in the courtyard and felt a blast of icy wind.
Her body trembled immediately, and she quickly closed the door, retreating to her wardrobe to pull out her winter clothes.
“It’s snowing. It’s been almost two months… That Ye Anping scoundrel hasn’t even come to find me proactively… Tsk…”
Xiao Yunluo couldn’t help but sigh, then realized something was off.
“Wrong! Why would I want him to come find me! Hmph!”
She shook her head, casting Ye Anping out of her mind, and then went to the bamboo forest next to the Three-Bay House to chop bamboo.
Since their last “spar” at the Physiotherapy Center, Xiao Yunluo hadn’t sought out Ye Anping.
Ye Anping had clearly intended to take her life then, and she wasn’t foolish to seek out someone who wanted to kill her.
But…
*Swish—*
Within the bamboo forest, sword energy flashed.
Xiao Yunluo swung her blunt iron sword in a circle around her, instantly cutting down all the withered bamboo within a ten-foot radius.
Then, she held her breath and controlled her breathing, observing her surroundings.
Undoubtedly, since the time she was nearly killed by Ye Anping, she felt as if she could finally catch up to Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die.
She was confident now that if she encountered that group of Seven Kill Gate thugs in the back mountain again, she wouldn’t panic or be scared as she was before, to the point where she couldn’t even hold her sword and had it snatched away.
However, she didn’t know what had changed about her.
It was just a “spar” with Ye Anping…
And why was it that every time she practiced her sword, Ye Anping’s face would pop into her mind!
Although Ye Anping was indeed handsome…
But…
But…
“I could never like him!!”
With a roar, Xiao Yunluo swung her sword with all her might again, slicing a landscape rock in two, and then panted heavily.
“Hah… Hah… Hoo—”
After a short period of catching her breath, Xiao Yunluo closed her eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions in her heart that were like a mixture of anger and love.
It was at this moment that a sword shadow streaked across the sky.
Xiao Yunluo couldn’t help but look up and saw Pei Lianxue, who seemed to have just returned from outside. She was wearing a red scarf around her neck and looked quite happy.
After a moment of hesitation, she remembered.
It seemed that over the past month or two, she had seen Pei Lianxue fly back from outside every few days in the morning.
Initially, Xiao Yunluo hadn’t thought much of it, assuming Pei Lianxue had woken up early and gone to the Main Peak to buy things.
But…
Who would sell scarves on the Main Peak?
She had never seen Pei Lianxue wear a scarf before.
“…”
After another moment of hesitation, Xiao Yunluo quickly followed.
By the time she reached Feng Yu Die’s Three-Bay House, Pei Lianxue had just landed in the courtyard on her flying sword.
“Lianxue!”
“Ah?!” Pei Lianxue seemed startled by her, her body stiffened, and she looked at her with a panicked expression, “Yun… Yunluo? What’s wrong? Coming so early…”
Xiao Yunluo walked up, looked at the red scarf around her neck, and asked:
“Where did you get this scarf?”
“This… My senior brother knitted it for me. It’s so soft.” Pei Lianxue said happily, even extending the corner of the scarf for Xiao Yunluo to feel, “Do you want to touch it?”
Xiao Yunluo was stunned for a moment and then asked:
“Your senior brother knitted it? When did he give it to you?”
“Just now…”
“Did you go to find your senior brother this early in the morning?”
“Ah…” Pei Lianxue paused, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. After hesitating for a moment, seeing that it was Xiao Yunluo, she decided to tell the truth, “Yunluo, actually… I stayed at my senior brother’s place last night.”
“…”
“Hehe… My senior brother asked me to sleep with him every two days, and it’s been like this for the past two months.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo looked astonished, but at the same time, a pang of discomfort struck her chest.
“S… sleep together? Could it be that you!!”
“Mm…” Pei Lianxue nodded, shyly replying, “Yunluo, I’m only telling you. Actually, my senior brother and I have consummated our marriage for two months already.”
“…What?!!”
