Chapter 131: Chapter 129: Meeting an Old Acquaintance

’Just as I thought. No easy scores to be had.’

Su Qing sighed and turned to leave.

The Spirit Fruits here were ridiculously expensive—one Spirit Stone for a single fruit.

’What’s the damn point?’

’It’s a total ripoff.’

Finding a real bargain was tough. A decent Spirit Fruit would set you back over fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

The Spirit Fruits here, while sold relatively cheap, were completely useless.

’They’re nothing compared to Chao Yuan Fruits.’

Su Qing started to wander around the Marketplace, hoping to find something useful. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He passed a stall.

Su Qing came to a halt.

Deep Sea Pearl Fruit: A fruit nurtured by the Deep Sea Pearl Belt. Small and exquisite, it contains a small amount of Spiritual Qi and provides a minuscule boost to one’s Cultivation Talent.

The entire stall was filled with these fruits.

They were small, like individual transparent grapes.

"How much for these fruits?" Su Qing asked, suppressing his excitement. There were hundreds of them here.

"The small ones are one Spirit Stone each. The large ones are two," said the stall owner. It was a female cultivator with her face concealed; Su Qing could only tell by the sound of her voice.

"I’ll try one first."

Su Qing casually tossed her a Spirit Stone, then picked up a Deep Sea Pearl Fruit and ate it in one bite.

The skin was a bit salty, but the inside had a faint sweetness, and a small wisp of Spiritual Qi was absorbed into Su Qing’s Dantian.

"Not bad," Su Qing said. "Tastes decent. I’ll take everything you have here."

"Ah!" The female cultivator was stunned. ’I’ve run into a rich Cultivator!’

"Of course! I’ll count them all for you right now."

"Mm." ’What I’m really after is the Cultivation Talent boost, not the Spiritual Qi.’

Once she had counted them all, Su Qing paid her nine hundred Spirit Stones.

’To think there were so many!’

In reality, there were just over seven hundred fruits, but a good number of them were the larger ones that cost two Spirit Stones each.

Su Qing simply paid a round number and turned to leave.

Just as he turned.

He saw a familiar face.

Xu Ningying.

’What a fucking coincidence. Of all the places in this huge world, how did I run into her here?’

Xu Ningying’s Cultivation was still at the Qi Cultivation stage. She didn’t have his Synthesizer or some heaven-defying Golden Finger, so it was only natural.

Su Qing was wearing a Black Cloak, so she didn’t recognize him.

"Xu Ningying, long time no see."

Su Qing blocked her path, his voice calm yet tinged with a hint of amusement as he spoke.

’Just a simple reunion between old friends.’

"Hm?" Xu Ningying looked up; the voice was somewhat familiar. ’But I really don’t know what friends I have left anymore.’

It wasn’t convenient for Su Qing to remove his wide hood.

"My surname is Su."

The moment Xu Ningying heard him say his surname was Su, a face flashed through her mind, followed by an illustrious name from the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect—a name belonging to someone she knew.

"Su—mmph?"

Su Qing immediately used his Magical Power to clamp her mouth shut.

"Shhh," Su Qing whispered, raising his index finger.

"Let’s go to a private room in an inn."

"I can’t show my face."

Xu Ningying, though filled with questions, nodded eagerly. She hadn’t expected Su Qing to still consider her a friend...

’He could have just ignored me entirely.’

「Inside the Inn.」

Su Qing rented a private room to be more discreet.

He ordered six or seven dishes and two jugs of wine.

"Su Qing! What are you doing here?" Xu Ningying blurted out.

"Just browsing, of course. Looking to buy a few things your Zhengxuan Sect has to offer," Su Qing chuckled, not yet taking off his black hood.

’Someone still has to bring the food.’

Xu Ningying could feel the joy of their reunion.

But an Elder had once told her that every person has their own infinite opportunities. You must not covet another’s fortune, or it will backfire and bring you harm.

Although Xu Ningying was curious how Su Qing had become the second-ranked on the Celestial Pride List of a Demonic Sect...

...she knew it was a question she couldn’t ask. Asking it would mean their friendship was over.

"How have you been lately?" Su Qing asked with a smile.

Xu Ningying shook her head. "Sigh... It’s been too difficult."

"Not like you, all carefree as number two on the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect’s Celestial Pride List," Xu Ningying pointedly remarked.

Su Qing laughed, then opened a jug of wine and took a slow sip. The alcohol was potent and burned his throat, but it left a faintly sweet aftertaste.

"It’s just an empty title. We’re all just striving for immortality and Longevity, that’s all."

Su Qing offered a jug of wine to Xu Ningying. "Care for a drink? If not, I’ll just drink it myself."

"I’ll drink. It’s just a little wine." Unconcerned, Xu Ningying opened the jug and took a drink.

"Spirit Stones are so hard to come by! Why are they so difficult to earn!"

"They really are hard to earn." Su Qing could deeply relate. Tier Two Pill Formulas were completely monopolized, leaving him unable to refine Tier Two Elixirs.

But the profit from Tier One Elixirs was minimal and a waste of his time.

"SIGH!!!" Xu Ningying patted Su Qing’s forearm.

"Recently, my fellow disciples and I found a Small Secret Realm. Do you want to go?"

"If it’s possible... could you protect me?" Xu Ningying asked carefully.

"A Secret Realm?" Su Qing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. "You really trust me, don’t you."

"If it were anyone else, they would have definitely forced the location out of you."

Xu Ningying shook her head with a smile. "Of course I trust you, the great prodigy."

"The resources in a Small Secret Realm are limited. I’m just hoping to find some good treasures, and we can split them afterward. How about it?"

Small Secret Realms were also known as Small Pocket Worlds.

’I don’t need anything else, but I really want a Small Pocket World.’

It wouldn’t be like his own Pocket World, which was completely empty.

Plus, all of his Pocket Worlds were now filled with God Demon True Essence. Other than a single Spirit Stone, there was literally nothing else inside.

The Sect’s records mentioned that while many Secret Realms could be brought under control, many others were unstable, prone to collapse, and very dangerous.

"Alright, then. I’ll risk my life to accompany a beauty," Su Qing said with a light laugh, raising his wine jug to clink with Xu Ningying’s.

Once she caught on, Xu Ningying also clinked her jug against Su Qing’s.

"CLINK!"

Soon after, servers began bringing in the dishes. Only when they had all been served did Su Qing finally take off his hood.

"You haven’t changed a bit!"

"Neither have you, have you?" Su Qing smiled. "People don’t change that quickly. It’s only been six or seven years, after all."

"We’re both Cultivators. How could we age so easily?"

"Besides, I remember there’s a Tier Two Elixir called the Beauty Pill, so there’s no need to worry about aging."

Hearing this, Xu Ningying retorted, "A Beauty Pill isn’t something a lowly female cultivator like me can get her hands on. Easy for you to say, Mr. Great Prodigy."

"Hahaha, I can’t get a Beauty Pill either," Su Qing laughed, shaking his head.

"Impossible."

"Why is it impossible? You think I’m going to beg someone to refine one for me?"

Su Qing shook his head. "I won’t age so easily!"

Su Qing had the confidence to make such a claim.

"Hmph. Spoken with all the confidence of a great prodigy. Let’s meet back here the day after tomorrow and discuss the details."

"Sister Ling will be there too—Shangguan Muling! You remember her, don’t you?" Xu Ningying asked.

"Shangguan Muling?" Su Qing thought for a moment, then nodded. "I remember."

"Her Dao Companion will be there, as will one of my junior sisters from the sect."

"When the time comes, don’t show your face. I’ll just say you’re a fellow cultivator I know."

Su Qing nodded. "Right. With others around... my face is probably remembered by most of the people in your Zhengxuan Sect by now."

"Not necessarily, Mr. Great Prodigy. You became a famous prodigy, and you were an acquaintance of mine, so of course *I* would remember you."

"As for other people... they might not necessarily remember you."

"..." Su Qing was speechless.

...

Su Qing and Xu Ningying chatted for a long time. He mostly stuck to the topic of food as they ate the dishes he had ordered.

After all, the dishes were made from spiritual ingredients. While not exceptionally unique or delicious, they were certainly not bad.