CHAPTER 16: Shameless and Beastly

The results of the inner sect examination were announced the next day.

Among the roughly five hundred outer sect disciples who participated, only about thirty passed. By comparison, Yu Youyou’s batch had it especially rough. In the end, only she, Qi Nanfeng, and Su Yizhi made it through.

Su Yizhi’s success was expected. But Qi Nanfeng…

Yu Youyou recalled the charred, oversized lump he pulled out of his pill cauldron and still couldn’t comprehend how that thing managed to satisfy the elders.

Regardless, entering the inner sect together was worth celebrating. The two friends tacitly agreed to take a trip to the black market for the occasion.

Qi Nanfeng said, “Moving into the inner sect means I need to get new things. I’ll buy more talismans and magical tools, and I can’t go without a good pill cauldron either.”

The words of a rich man were suffocating. Meanwhile, Yu Youyou slung her small bundle over her shoulder. “I’m broke. I want to set up a stall in the black market to earn some spirit stones.”

Qi Nanfeng, ever the generous one, offered, “What kind of pills are you selling? I’ll just buy them. I can hand them out as gifts to the storekeepers in various cities at the end of the year.”

Low-grade Qi-nourishing pills weren’t expensive—one spirit stone was enough for a bottle.

But how should she tell him, her dear friend, that each of her pills cost a hundred spirit stones?

Yu Youyou’s expression turned slightly complicated. Though Qi Nanfeng practically had “rich and gullible” written all over his face, she still couldn’t bring herself to scam him.

“Forget it. I’d feel guilty taking your money,” Yu Youyou rubbed her nose. “Let’s bring Su Yizhi along and go to the black market together.”

“Why him?” Qi Nanfeng asked, baffled. Since when were those two so close?

“He rented a stall in the black market. I want to freeload off it.”

…

In the end, Su Yizhi actually agreed to let Yu Youyou use his stall. Surprisingly, he didn’t even charge her a rental fee.

Such an unfamiliar version of Su Yizhi made Yu Youyou wary. “What do you need me to do?”

Su Yizhi’s face flushed slightly, and he hesitated before finally making his request: “I want to buy some magical tools… Can you help me haggle?”

Yu Youyou was puzzled. “Haggle? I’m not good at that.”

Qi Nanfeng and Su Yizhi immediately turned to her with accusing eyes.

She still tried to argue, “That wasn’t haggling—I was just reasoning with them.”

But the two victims refused to listen. On the way to the black market, they even started sharing their tragic experiences with each other. By the time they actually arrived, they were already acting like sworn brothers, arms slung around each other’s shoulders!

The stall was located in the most run-down corner of the black market, where vendors had carelessly spread out their wares. Most were selling spiritual herbs, but even those selling pills had bloodstains on them—looking as though they had just been looted from somewhere.

Su Yizhi, unfazed by the sight, retrieved an oiled cloth from his storage pouch and laid it out, then placed down the newly exchanged medicinal ingredients. Finally, he carefully took out several jade bottles filled with spiritual pills and lined them up in front.

The two who had never run a stall before stretched their necks to watch curiously.

When it came to pill refinement, he was undoubtedly the best.

Feeling a rare sense of pride after being overshadowed by them for half a year, Su Yizhi took out a pill and placed it in his palm. “I made some Tranquil Mind Pills last month while practicing pill formulas. They help with cultivation.”

The pill was smooth and round, its surface glowing with spiritual energy—clearly of top quality.

Qi Nanfeng clicked his tongue. “So small, not imposing enough.”

Yu Youyou, on the other hand, praised it. “Looks nice.” Then, she started setting up her own stall.

She hadn’t even bought proper jade bottles, using only plain wooden pill boxes instead. Of course, these were special-made, ensuring the pills’ medicinal properties wouldn’t dissipate. More importantly…

They were free from the Pill Cauldron Sect’s supply. No cost at all.

Even though he was used to Yu Youyou’s pills, when Su Yizhi saw them all lined up in front of him, he still found them utterly blinding.

What made it worse was that Yu Youyou even pulled out a cloth banner and unfurled it, revealing bold and flamboyant calligraphy:

“Saving the World with Alchemy!”

He hadn’t expected Yu Youyou to be this shameless. Both he and Qi Nanfeng shared the same thought.

“You should change your slogan,” Su Yizhi, drawing from his experience running a stall, pointed at the banner and started offering her advice.

“Change it to what?”

“Just change it to: ‘Clearance sale on pills, two spirit stones per pill, five for three.’ That should still sell.”

Otherwise, with how ugly these pills look, no one would want to buy them.

Yu Youyou was puzzled. “Is this how you sell yours too?”

That price barely covered the cost of refining the pills. She didn’t think Su Yizhi was the charitable type.

The latter straightened his chest slightly, prideful. “I’m different. I sell each pill for ten spirit stones, and they’re still in high demand.”

Sure enough, not long after setting up the stall, a large group of masked men walked straight toward them.

However, these people exuded an exceptionally strong killing intent. The patterns on their masks were twisted and rough, and the pressure radiating from them made it difficult to breathe even from a distance.

Su Yizhi instantly remembered that this was the black market, a place filled with ruthless individuals.

Just from the few bloodstained pills at the stall next door, it was clear that robbing spirit pills was just another part of daily life here.

When the group of burly men stood in front of the stall, their looming shadows covering him, Su Yizhi nearly bolted on the spot.

But…

Qi Nanfeng and Yu Youyou had even lower cultivation than him. If he ran, what would happen to them?

Su Yizhi gritted his teeth and, with great reluctance, handed over a white porcelain bottle. “Here, take them all!”

“This? No thanks.” Ba Dao glanced at it with disdain. They were just ordinary first-grade spirit pills—he really had no interest in them.

Su Yizhi panicked. “Then what do you want…?”

Please don’t say the storage pouch he just spent one hundred and fifty spirit stones on!

Ba Dao ignored him, instead subtly gesturing with his blade, comparing heights. Finally, he confirmed that the one standing farthest to the right was the person he was looking for.

His attitude instantly improved. He squatted down enthusiastically and said, “My leg is fully healed, all thanks to Master!”

The group behind him echoed in unison, “Thank you, Master!”

Yu Youyou cringed at the sudden outburst. “How did you even know I was here?”

She had been avoiding the arena lately. Every time she went, someone would discreetly size her up with a blade or sword, and once they confirmed her identity, they’d rush forward asking her to treat all kinds of knife wounds, sword wounds, and internal injuries.

She was clearly an alchemist, but they had forcibly turned her into an orthopedic doctor.

To make matters worse, the arena was full of fully grown men. Even though she had grown quite a bit taller, she was still recognized every single time.

“One of my men saw this, so I hurried over.” Ba Dao pointed to a cloth banner that read “Save the World”—a gift from a one-armed brother who had won ten consecutive matches in the arena.

“I even prepared a banner for Master!” He proudly took out a red cloth, on which three crooked characters were scrawled—

“Great Philanthropist!”

A subordinate beside him dutifully explained, “Master not only healed Big Brother’s leg, but is also willing to sell us such incredibly effective spirit pills. This title is well deserved!”

“I took Master’s pill and endured thirty-two slashes in the arena without retreating a single step! I won over two thousand spirit stones!”

…It’s a miracle you’re still alive.

After delivering the banner, Ba Dao and his group generously bought up all the pain-relief pills. Without Yu Youyou even needing to speak, each of them respectfully handed over a hundred spirit stones.

To soothe her conscience after fleecing these fat sheep, she threw in a complimentary box of fasting pills—all leftover practice batches, with over ten different flavors.

Qi Nanfeng and Su Yizhi, having witnessed the entire transaction, didn’t dare say a word.

Su Yizhi, still clutching his pile of perfect-grade pills, looked utterly devastated. “One hundred per pill…”

He couldn’t accept that such ugly pills were selling for one hundred spirit stones each!

“You’re thinking about it all wrong.” Yu Youyou patiently imparted her wisdom. “Appearance is secondary to efficacy. Instead of wasting spirit energy making them look nice, it’s better to maximize their potency.”

“I-Is that so?” This was the first time Su Yizhi had ever heard such reasoning.

He came from a family of alchemists and had only ever seen smooth, glossy pills stored in exquisite containers.

“Yes.” Yu Youyou gave him a firm nod. “True beauty comes from within!”

That day, Su Yizhi’s entire aesthetic understanding of alchemy was shaken.

….

After finishing their stall business, Yu Youyou took the lead in buying a large number of items from the magical treasures street for the other two, ensuring they returned fully stocked.

As for herself, she generously spent all her spirit stones on spiritual herbs. First-grade medicinal baths had become ineffective for her—she was now purchasing second-grade spiritual herbs.

Yu Youyou had never dealt with second-grade herbs before and couldn’t distinguish their quality. Fortunately, Qi Nanfeng finally proved useful. Perhaps due to his exceptional wood affinity talent, he could identify the most potent herbs with just a glance.

With their new treasures in tow, the three followed their senior sister into the grand formation and stepped into the inner sect.

Before them lay countless floating peaks, with pavilions and corridors winding like a dragon’s spine, connecting each floating mountain. In the misty air, white-robed figures occasionally soared through the clouds, while others hurried along the corridors, clutching spirit pills that exuded an enticing fragrance, drawing celestial cranes to hover nearby.

More importantly, the spiritual energy here was astonishingly dense. Yu Youyou could even feel her spiritual veins naturally absorbing the surrounding energy.

If the outer sect still carried traces of the mundane, then the inner sect was truly an immortal domain!

The three country bumpkins gawked in awe as they followed their senior sister forward.

Qi Nanfeng swallowed hard. “Xiaoyu, look at that crane—doesn’t it look plump and delicious?”

Su Yizhi gazed up at the corridor’s ceiling in a daze. “That decoration… that’s an upper-grade spirit stone, isn’t it?”

Yu Youyou: “…”

Thankfully, the two didn’t actually do anything foolish and obediently followed along. Once they arrived at a floating peak, Yu Youyou discovered that the three of them had been assigned to neighboring courtyards.

Qi Nanfeng stood on tiptoe, peering at the row of residences across from them. His eyesight was exceptional. “Why are all the doors over there sealed shut?”

Their senior sister leading the way hesitated slightly before quickly lowering her gaze with a polite smile. “The disciples there are currently in seclusion. Please don’t disturb them without reason.”

Yu Youyou silently stared at the opposite courtyard.

That scent she had once lost the ability to detect… had returned.

The place across is likely where last month’s sect incident occurred.

However, Yu Youyou disliked getting involved in trouble, so when Qi Nanfeng and Su Yizhi sneakily egged her on to go check it out, she refused without hesitation.

What was there to see? Experience the unpleasant agony of a second-tier medicinal bath?

Yu Youyou locked the courtyard gate and began processing the newly purchased herbs.

Just as she finished and was about to fetch water for a bath, two people suddenly leaped over the high wall and landed in her courtyard.

Holding her bucket, Yu Youyou remained expressionless. “Care to explain?”

This time, however, Qi Nanfeng wasn’t flustered. He hurriedly said, “We discovered something big! We have to tell you right now!”

“Not interested. I’m taking a bath.” Yu Youyou was unwavering as she continued to fetch water. She couldn’t bear to let the freshly chopped herbs go to waste—if she delayed any longer, their spiritual energy would dissipate.

Damn, why did female cultivators love bathing so much!

Qi Nanfeng snatched her bucket and declared, “Wait here, I’ll fetch the water for you right now!”

Even the usually stingy Su Yizhi surprisingly volunteered as well. “I’ll use spiritual energy to heat it up for you!”

“…” Yu Youyou watched, empty-handed, as her bathtub was rapidly filled and instantly heated. “Don’t tell me you two are planning to scrub my back as well?”

“Dream on! I’m already exhausted just fetching the water.”

Qi Nanfeng panted like a dog, then shoved Yu Youyou into the bathroom and promptly shut the door. “Go soak! We’ll tell you everything from outside. We promise we won’t peek!”

Having lived through the apocalypse, Yu Youyou found nothing unusual about this. Back then, it was common for groups to huddle together in cramped underground shelters overnight, and there was no concept of separation between men and women. Besides, she trusted these two.

More importantly, her instincts told her that whatever Qi Nanfeng wanted to say had to do with the empty courtyard across the way.

So, she lay back in the bathtub and pricked up her ears.

Qi Nanfeng and Su Yizhi sat outside with their backs to the door. Since they were worried she wouldn’t hear them through the door, yet also afraid of speaking too loudly, they had no choice but to press their heads against it and whisper.

At that very moment, Qu Qingmiao happened to pass by with several inner sect elders.

What they saw was this:

The courtyard gate was locked, and inside, the sound of bathing water could be heard.

Outside, two young men—who had somehow snuck into the courtyard—were pressing their faces against the door, looking both excited and suspiciously perverted.

Qu Qingmiao’s face instantly darkened.

She suddenly recalled that these two were from affluent families—one from an aristocratic lineage and the other from a wealthy background. If they were secretly bullying an orphan girl like Yu Youyou, she would have no way to resist!

Such behavior was utterly disgraceful!

The two outside were audacious, shameful, and downright beasts!

The little girl inside was weak, pitiful, and helpless!

Fury surging, Qu Qingmiao pulled a pill furnace from her storage pouch and hurled it at them—

“Get out here this instant!”