On the way back home.
Xie Siniang looked around, saw no one spying, and asked with an odd expression on her face, "Xiaojiu, what do they mean by making such a scene on purpose?"
"It's a gesture of protection, I guess," Xie Jiuniang said, her feelings quite complicated.
Xie Haozhi and Xie Yue stepped forward to meddle, one declaring that anyone who dared to compete could tell him, the other clearly stating he would purchase at a high price, fair competition.
This was to prevent others from playing tricks.
The issue with the Foundation Establishment Pill had settled down before it even caused much of a stir.
Xie Jiuniang's spiritual soul wasn't that of a child, so she naturally saw through the underlying intention of protection, which was a good thing for her current state of weakness.
She owed them a favor today.
Xie Jiuniang and Xie Siniang parted ways, each returning home.
...
Once home, Xie Jiuniang immediately activated her formation and happily began to take stock of her gains for the day.
She had made a huge profit today!
Just the Spirit Stones alone amounted to twenty thousand, turning her from a poor little girl with only four Spirit Stones into a little rich lady.
A pile of various other things, which were used to offset the debt when she lacked enough Spirit Stones to pay.
Over ninety percent of them were first-tier Spirit Plants, Talisman Paper, and Beast Blood; there were also Beast Bones and mineral materials.
The remaining ten percent consisted of blank Array Plates along with a large stack of blank Talisman Paper, at least a thousand sheets.
After taking inventory, Xie Jiuniang wanted to roll her eyes.
Are all members of the Xie Family so shrewd? Everything they gave had some value but was also common; selling them wouldn't fetch a good price, and she could only use them for practice. Only finished products would sell better.
Fortunately, she had spent two hundred years in the Great Sect in her previous life, and she had been exposed to the Four Arts of Cultivators: alchemy, artifact refining, formations, and talismans.
In her previous life, without the pressure of resources and lacking a bit in motivation, she learned the four arts only to an average level. The one she was best at was artifact refining, which she only studied diligently because a cultivator at the Golden Core Stage needed to refine their Exclusive Magic Treasure; even at death, she had barely reached the level of a third-tier Artifact Refiner.
The other three arts, she lingered around the first and second tiers.
But, that was enough for the Qi Cultivation Stage!
Since she needed to make use of all these miscellaneous items, she also needed to prepare quite a bit. For instance, making talismans required a Talisman Brush, Talisman Paper, cinnabar, and beast blood. She currently only had the Talisman Paper and beast blood, and needed to buy a Talisman Brush and cinnabar. And how could alchemy be done without a Pill Furnace? For artifact refining and engraving formations, a set of specialized tools was necessary too.
As for the Earthfire needed for alchemy or artifact refining, there were places outside that rented it out.
The family did have free Earthfire Rooms available but Xie Jiuniang didn't dare to use them.
Otherwise, if a child who had always been aloof for the past few years suddenly knew how to refine pills and artifacts, wouldn't that be an obvious suspicion? A powerful member of the family would likely suspect soul possession, her spiritual soul might be examined over and over again, and the secret of her rebirth would be tough to hide.
Before she grew strong, she'd better keep developing inconspicuously.
Xie Jiuniang went into seclusion again, besides the maid delivering one meal a day, she didn't leave the house for seven or eight consecutive days.
One or two persistent family members who had set their sights on Xie Jiuniang's Foundation Establishment Pill also had to give up.
Moreover, Xie Ying had emerged from her seclusion.
Rumors circulated within the family that Xie Ying's Spirit Root had mutated, changing from Dual Spiritual Roots to a Single Fire Heavenly Spiritual Root, and her cultivation had reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root!
After hundreds of years, the Xie Family finally saw the emergence of a Single Spiritual Root again!
With Xie Ying's affair drawing attention, who would spare a thought for the insignificant Xie Jiuniang at this point?
What was said outside couldn't affect the one in seclusion.
Xie Jiuniang cultivated to consolidate her cultivation base, and at the same time, she studied the Time Leaf.
At the fifth level of Qi Cultivation, she could foresee seven breaths, with Time Retrospection lasting for three quarters of an hour.
Upon emerging from seclusion, Xie Jiuniang didn't alarm anyone. Using the techniques she learned in her past life to disguise her face and then changing into a set of boys' clothes, she seemed to transform into an ordinary young boy and calmly walked out of the Xie Family residence.
First, she went out to buy everything on her shopping list, spending a total of eight thousand Spirit Stones. Mainly because neither the alchemy furnaces nor the artifact refining stations were cheap, and also included were all kinds of tools needed for engraving the Array Plates.
The expense pained her for quite a while, but wanting money to generate more money, the initial investment was unavoidable.
Then, she went to a place called the Pill and Artifact Pavilion and rented an Earthfire Room.
Not until three days later did Xie Jiuniang emerge from within.
The common Spirit Plants had all been refined by her into several kinds of elixirs commonly found on the market, such as Qi-Induction Pill, Revitalizing Pill, and Qi Nourishing Pill, as well as a small amount of Essence Nourishing Pill, and the remaining low-grade Spirit Plants had been made into Hemostatic Powder.
Then there were the Beast Bones and ores, which, after refinement, were forged into Bone Knives and Magic Swords.
When she went back home, with a Talisman Brush and Cinnabar on hand, she could make Talismans. Additionally, the dozen or so Blank Array Plates could be engraved with basic Formations.
In her previous life, the subject she was worst at was Formations; she had studied for over a year and only learned the basics of the Protective Array and the Spirit Gathering Array.
She approached the counter, returned the rented Earthfire Room, and was just about to leave when she suddenly saw a haughty-looking youth walk in.
The young man was handsome and stood tall and straight, with sharp phoenix eyes, and wore an eye-catching bright red robe with dazzling lotus and golden edges, which made him seem unrestrained and flamboyant. A restrained and clearly powerful Protector followed him.
Xie Jiuniang discreetly turned her body away, keeping her back toward the other party.
Wu Yu from the Minghua Sect?
This person was the direct disciple of Lord Yuanhua from the Minghua Sect, a top ten contender on the list of prodigies—a ruthless character known for killing without shedding blood. Rumors had it that in a training Secret Realm, he crippled all the Sect Disciples of the Minghua Sect's rival forces.
That's right, he crippled them—none were killed.
Had this person visited Yunmu City in her previous life?
After entering the Pill and Artifact Pavilion, Wu Yu directly went to the second floor, where he was personally attended to by the shopkeeper.
Xie Jiuniang did not foolishly inquire about his whereabouts; she pretended nothing was amiss and walked out of the Pill and Artifact Pavilion.
Walking alone on the streets, she was surrounded by numerous small vendors hawking their wares.
The hustle and bustle surpassed her memories of prosperity.
Passing by a bun shop, she even spent a dozen Spirit Pearls to buy two Spiritual Food Pastries.
Eating as she went, she looked around and explored.
As she passed the largest restaurant in the town, Xianlai Residence, Xie Jiuniang suddenly paused.
Up on the second floor near a window sat a young man wearing a veil hat, apparently conversing with someone.
Lin Wangchen?
Xie Jiuniang recognized him at a glance.
It had been a month since Lin Wangchen went to the Xie Family.
A month had passed, and he still hadn't left Yunmu City? According to him, he was on a training journey and passed by Yunmu City along the way, conveniently delivering something for Xie Haoran; he should have left long ago under normal circumstances.
Yet there he was, still in the city, wearing a veil hat, obviously not wanting to be recognized.
This matter seemed very strange.
Xie Jiuniang subtly took another glance at the second floor.
She saw Lin Wangchen stand and walk away, his figure disappearing from the window. Then another man's silhouette flashed past the window.
Xie Jiuniang thought for a moment and entered Xianlai Residence; the main hall was filled with a few diners.
"Honored guest, welcome to Xianlai Residence." The waiter greeted her with a smile.
"Open a private room on the second floor for this young master," Xie Jiuniang said indifferently.
The waiter apologized, "I'm sorry, young master, there are temporarily no available private rooms on the second floor, would you like to first..."
Just then, the door of a certain private room on the second floor opened, and Lin Wangchen walked out from inside.
A man with grizzled hair also followed out of the private room.
Xie Jiuniang raised her delicate eyebrows, "Isn't that one available now?"
As she spoke, she headed toward the second floor, brushing past Lin Wangchen on the stairs.