"You're right, talisman books are useless to me. Let's see what else you have—Dharma Treasures, Spirit Tools, or anything else you can trade..."
"Dharma Treasures, Spirit Tools..."
Qin Xiu muttered, only now remembering belatedly.
Aside from his sword, he also had the Mystic Ice Mirror, some pills, and his talisman-making tools. He couldn't bear to part with any of them!
The Mystic Ice Mirror was a gift from an elder in his family, capable of seeing through any disguise without fail. And those Spirit-Returning Pills were hard-earned treasures he had collected specifically to give to Junior Sister Ning. His talisman-making tools were things he used every day—how could he give those away?!
After hesitating for a long time, Qin Xiu slowly produced a bottle of pills and said, wincing as if in physical pain, "These are Spirit-Returning Pills. A single one is worth a High-grade Spirit Stone. I'll trade with these."
Out of the six Spirit-Returning Pills in total, he was only parting with one for the trade. Junior Sister Ning shouldn't blame him for that...
To his surprise, Su Luo shook her head without a second thought.
"I don't need these."
"What?! You're turning your nose up at Spirit-Returning Pills? Do you even know what these are for?! Even if spiritual energy is completely depleted, a single Spirit-Returning Pill can instantly replenish it!"
The louder Qin Xiu got, the more contemptuous his gaze became as he looked at Su Luo. "To think you've spent over a dozen years in the Tianyiji Sect without even knowing this! Truly ignorant..."
Without even lifting her eyelids, Su Luo produced two Healing Talismans and waved them in front of him, her tone laced with mockery.
"I have Healing Talismans. Why would I need your pills?"
Healing Talismans not only replenished spiritual energy, but they could also instantly heal wounds! They were far more convenient than Spirit-Returning Pills, and best of all, she could draw them herself without having to spend spirit stones to buy them.
While Su Luo remained completely unruffled, Qin Xiu was already too shocked to form a coherent sentence, his finger pointing at Su Luo shaking like he had Parkinson's.
"A-A Healing Talisman...?! You! You actually have one! How could you possibly have—"
After a moment, he completely broke down. "Just how many talismans do you have?!"
God-Speed Talismans, Teleportation Talismans, Healing Talismans—the talismans Su Luo had on hand were all exceptionally rare and precious! Where on earth was she getting them from?! He wanted to go there, too!
"Not many left."
As she spoke, Su Luo produced yet another Protection Talisman. "I only have this one Protection Talisman left."
In truth, she still had two offensive talismans remaining, but Su Luo was not about to sell those to Qin Xiu. Those were reserved for saving her own life.
Qin Xiu: "..."
He was exhausted; he didn't even want to speak anymore.
What kind of ungodly luck did Su Luo have to possess so many powerful talismans? He wanted them all! But he didn't have enough spirit stones!
Just as Qin Xiu was wondering what to do, the sound of a flying sword humming suddenly rang out from the distance. The flying sword sped closer and closer, and then a man in azure robes leaped down from it.
"Junior Brother."
Qin Xiu's eyes instantly lit up as if he had seen the light of hope, and he scrambled over, crying out with deep affection.
"Senior Martial Brother~"
Startled by this honeyed cry, Ye Danqing gave a shudder, nearly losing his footing as he hopped off the sword.
Su Luo couldn't help but shudder at the goosebumps breaking out over her skin, either. She turned, narrowed her eyes at Ye Danqing, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
Another fat sheep had arrived—let's call this one Fat Sheep Number Two!
Unaware of this, Qin Xiu took a few large strides forward, grabbed Ye Danqing by the arm, and blurted out urgently,
"Senior Martial Brother, you have spirit stones, right? Lend me some!"
Ye Danqing was bewildered. "...What?"
After a good long while, Ye Danqing finally grasped what had happened. He cast a complicated look at the calm-faced young woman not far away.
As the disciples of the same master, the three of them had spent decades together, though their relationship with Su Luo was truly less than stellar. As the Senior Martial Brother, he knew he ought to look after this junior sister more, but deep down, he simply could not bring himself to approve of Su Luo.
This young woman had merely been lucky enough to be taken in as a disciple by Master; she lacked any real talent and had an unlikable personality.Compared to Su Luo, he much preferred the naturally gifted, gentle, and lovely Ning Wanshuang.
Yet even so, he had never once thought of casting off this junior sister. That was why, when he received Master's message earlier stating that Su Luo had actually taken the initiative to request expulsion from the sect, he simply couldn't believe it.
It was entirely beyond his expectations.
Who didn't know that their master was a rare cultivation genius in this world, and currently the person with the highest hope of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage? People wanting to become Master's disciples could fill the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and everyone coveted their positions, even going to great lengths to try and pull them down.
Yet Su Luo was actually voluntarily giving up this position and even leaving the Tianyiji Sect? He was utterly baffled.
That was why he had given chase, wanting to ask for an explanation, only to discover that she actually possessed so many rare talismans—and was even planning to sell them all in exchange for spirit stones.
Ye Danqing was finding it increasingly difficult to recognize the young woman before him.
The timid young woman in his memories, the one who used to obediently trail behind him, now looked at him with eyes and a face completely devoid of ripples, as if he were nothing more than a total stranger.
Noticing Ye Danqing's gaze, Su Luo crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and met his eyes with utter indifference.
Being looked at with such uncaring eyes sent an uncomfortable ripple through Ye Danqing's heart, but before he could dwell on it, Qin Xiu interrupted him again.
"Senior Martial Brother! Senior Martial Brother, hurry up and lend me spirit stones!"
Coming back to his senses, Ye Danqing helplessly fished out all the spirit stones he had on hand from his Storage Bag. Combined, their spirit stones amounted to only six hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones and three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.
Qin Xiu curled his lips in utter disdain. "Senior Martial Brother, how do you only have this pitiful amount of spirit stones?"
Ye Danqing's expression darkened. "Did you think alchemists are as wealthy as you talisman masters? I'm always worried I won't have enough to buy ingredients for pill refining..."
Sighing, Qin Xiu turned back to look at Su Luo. His gaze hovered over the few talismans in her hands, completely torn.
If he bought the Teleportation Talisman, he wouldn't have enough for the rest... But the Healing Talisman was also fantastic, perfect for Junior Sister Ning... And the Protection Talisman—having that would give him an extra layer of security when going out to hunt Monster Beasts!
"If you don't have enough spirit stones, trade with treasures or other items," Su Luo urged. "It's getting late, Qin Xiu. Fritter away the time any longer and I'm leaving."
"Don't!"
Stung into even greater panic by this, Qin Xiu gritted his teeth. Throwing caution to the wind, he produced the Mystic Ice Mirror, then scurried over to Ye Danqing and jabbered away at him for a good long while.
Pushed to his limits by the nagging, Ye Danqing had no choice but to pull out a bottle of pills. "This is the Foundation-Solidifying Pill. It can effectively stabilize one's foundation."
Su Luo shook her head. "Not enough. Five hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones can buy the Teleportation Talisman, and the useful Mystic Ice Mirror can buy two Healing Talismans, but this single bottle of Foundation-Solidifying Pills isn't enough to buy my Protection Talisman."
At this, Ye Danqing couldn't help casting a gloomy glare at Su Luo, though in the end, unable to win against Qin Xiu's persistence, he pulled out yet another bottle of pills.
"Add a bottle of Dust-Forgetting Pills. This kind of pill can make people forget the events of the past half-day. It's priceless and virtually unobtainable."
The Dust-Forgetting Pills had unique uses; even though they were only mid-grade, his heart was bleeding. But at the moment, this was all he could scrape together.
Noticing how Ye Danqing's handsome face had turned as dark as ink from heartache, Su Luo finally smiled with satisfaction.
"That will do."
Before long, the two sides exchanged items, and everything ended up in their respective hands.
The moment Qin Xiu got his hands on those talismans, he eagerly lowered his head to inspect them without another glance up.
Stowing all her acquisitions into her Storage Bag, Su Luo gave a wave and prepared to leave. "I'm off. Don't bother seeing me out."
She hadn't taken more than a few steps when Ye Danqing's voice rang out from behind her. "Su Luo, do you not regret this?"
Su Luo paused in her tracks.
Regret what? Regret not being Qingyazi's disciple anymore? Or regret leaving the Tianyiji Sect? She would only regret staying in the Tianyiji Sect any longer!
From the very moment she transmigrated here, she had disliked the Tianyiji Sect.
The so-called Heavenly Dao had disregarded her wishes, forcibly dragging her into a book and assigning her some ridiculous task; the so-called Master paid her no mind whatsoever; and the so-called fellow senior and junior brothers all looked down on her. And let's not forget those outer sect disciples who constantly compared her to Ning Wanshuang—not a single one of them was any good!
Even if there were a handful of cultivators within the Tianyiji Sect whose moral character was upright, like Senior Sister Wan and the others—people who didn't look down on her—they wouldn't help pull her out of this predicament. Simply because she was Qingyazi's disciple!
Add to that the ticking time bomb known as Ning Wanshuang, how could she possibly be willing to stay there a moment longer?
Su Luo turned around, gazing steadily at the two figures not far away. Her habitually detached eyes, completely devoid of ripples, were now brimming with glaring mockery.
"The only thing I regret is not escaping this sea of misery sooner. You two take pride in the Tianyiji Sect, but I don't. I detest this place! Every single moment I wanted nothing more than to leave! Now that I've left the Tianyiji Sect, I even feel like I can breathe freely."
"You!"
Both Ye Danqing and Qin Xiu were dumbfounded.
Never in their wildest dreams had they expected to hear such words from Su Luo's mouth?!
She actually detested the Tianyiji Sect!
"And you, Daoist Friend Ye, stop running your mouth. Putting on this act as if you care about me is rather nauseating. Besides, we likely won't ever cross paths again from this day forward, so let's leave it at that."
Having had her say, Su Luo felt immensely refreshed. Paying no heed to their expressions, she turned and slipped away. "I have business to attend to and need to be on my way, so I won't linger. May we never meet again."
To hell with them! From now on, these people had nothing to do with her anymore...
From this moment on, the vast world was hers to conquer, full of endless possibilities!