Chapter 12: The Generous Dog Cultivator (1/2)

The entire night, Ye Qingning didn’t sleep well, even dreaming about learning to draw talismans.

When she woke up, she quickly packed up, ate a bit of dry rations, and hurried off to the Spirit Herb Garden.

Before leaving, she had made an appointment with Bai Wei to go to the Talisman Hall in the afternoon to attend a class.

It was said that today a direct disciple would be giving the lecture, focusing on either talisman drawing or an introduction to drawing talismans, which was perfect for her.

But she had something else to attend to at the Spirit Herb Garden this morning—gathering spiritual stones.

Without spiritual stones, how could she get talisman paper, talisman brushes, cinnabar, and spiritual ink?

Though it was said that a grandmaster-level talisman master could draw talismans using the spiritual energy of the heavens and the earth, with their hand as the brush and all things as the paper, even using blood from the fingertip or heart to create powerful talismans, that was completely unrelated to her current situation.

She needed to figure out where to get spiritual stones.

It is said that even a hero could be stumped by a little money, and she was a woman, so she certainly couldn’t be held back by spiritual stones.

[Ning Ning, I think you can go find that dog cultivator, Jiang Shaoling!]

[Direct disciples are usually quite wealthy! Especially alchemists, weapon cultivators, and talisman cultivators—they are all rolling in riches! He will definitely be able to help.]

Ye Qingning agreed with the system’s suggestion. This was the outer sect, and it was rare for a direct disciple to visit often. Even the wealthiest outer sect disciples couldn’t compare to the direct disciples.

Though she didn’t want to approach her former enemy to borrow spiritual stones, she couldn’t think of anyone more suitable for the task. If it didn’t work, she could try negotiating, maybe offer more interest. He probably wouldn’t refuse, right?

But it wasn’t guaranteed, who knew when that person’s dog-like temper would flare up.

When she arrived at the Spirit Herb Garden, Ye Qingning noticed that whether it was the servant disciples or the outer sect disciples, the way they looked at her had changed.

There were looks of envy, but more often than not, there were looks of disdain.

It was probably because she had just arrived and been promoted to outer sect disciple in a day, making others think she had taken the back door.

Just as she was about to ask where Jiang Shaoling was, an outer sect disciple came to deliver a message, telling her to go to the back courtyard, saying Jiang Shaoling wanted to see her after she arrived.

The back courtyard was originally a resting place for Xuanyangzi when he came to the Spirit Herb Garden. Since Jiang Shaoling started coming frequently, it became his resting place in the outer sect.

The entire small courtyard was surrounded by a fence, with bamboo casting shadows. The flowers and trees inside were lush, and a pool of clear water rippled gently, elegant and peaceful.

Since the courtyard door was open, Ye Qingning immediately spotted Jiang Shaoling lying under a tree on a reclining chair.

Sunlight filtered through the treetops, casting dappled shadows. Jiang Shaoling, dressed in green, had a book covering his face. Ye Qingning suddenly thought—if only his dog-like temper could keep that face hidden.

He hated fragile, sickly people, and she also disliked him, so they were equally matched.

Just as she was about to sit cross-legged on the ground and wait for him to wake up, he removed the book from his face and sat up on the reclining chair.

Taking the book away—instant bad review. A 10,000-word essay on how to criticize him.

But instead, he smiled at her: “Jiang Shishu has such a good nap. Waking up from a deep sleep is truly enviable.”

Great, she couldn’t bring herself to flatter her former enemy, but she was more suited to cooking some horse hooves in a stew pot.

Jiang Shaoling squinted slightly, his tone especially irritating: “Which of your eyes saw that I was napping?”

Ye Qingning really wanted to roll her eyes, but considering she still hadn’t borrowed the spiritual stones, she held back.

Seeing that Ye Qingning didn’t respond, Jiang Shaoling smirked and handed her a stack of books.

“These are the books Old Master wanted me to give you. He said you should study them yourself first. The outer sect academy holds alchemy classes every fourth and seventh day, and you can also attend those. In the outer sect, no one will interfere with you. How you cultivate depends on yourself.”

Ye Qingning took the books and looked at them.

Good heavens.

“Alchemy for Beginners,” “An Introduction to Immortal Pills,” “Alchemy Basics,” “Alchemy Simplified Guide,” “Types of Flames and Temperature Control”…

There were also “Building the Foundation Spiritual Pill Classic,” “Key Points in Foundation Establishment Cultivation,” and even a “Beginner’s Talisman Manual.”

Her eyes lit up—finally, something useful—but she still accepted all the books.

She wouldn’t refuse Old Master’s kindness. Any books she wouldn’t need, she could always return later.

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Chapter 12: The Generous Dog Cultivator (2/2)

Xuanyangzi was someone who knew how to let disciples learn and grow on their own.

If she carefully studied these books, it would be hard not to learn alchemy.

Moreover, there were other books, including “Building the Foundation Spiritual Pill Classic,” “Key Points in Foundation Cultivation,” and a “Beginner’s Talisman Manual.”

Ye Qingning’s eyes brightened. Finally, there was something useful, and she took all of them.

She wouldn’t turn down Old Master’s kindness. Any books she didn’t need, she could return later.

“By the way, Jiang Shishu, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Jiang Shaoling glanced at Ye Qingning in surprise, his expression seeming to say—“We don’t have anything to talk about.”

But he still asked, “What is it? Go ahead.”

“I want to buy talisman paper and talisman brushes. Could I borrow 1,000 high-grade spiritual stones from you? I’ll pay you back 1,200 high-grade spiritual stones in three months. Would you be willing to lend me the stones?”

Ye Qingning’s tone was quite serious. When borrowing spiritual stones, the amount, repayment time, and terms should be clearly stated. Of course, it also depended on whether the other party agreed.

[You’re asking for 1,000 high-grade spiritual stones? In your past life, you wouldn’t even look at such a small amount.]

Ye Qingning didn’t respond to the system’s comment.

In her past life, it was indeed true, but she hadn’t saved much in spiritual stones back then. Most of it had been spent on the strategy for getting close to Xie Ji, completely used up.

After all, compared to being erased, if spending spiritual stones could increase affection points and help her complete the task, she was willing to spend the stones.

Looking back now, it was really painful. How many spiritual stones had she used? She could have supported so many young disciples with those.

There was also the matter of building Luoyun Sect. Didn’t she need spiritual stones for that? In her past life, even if she had them, she didn’t keep them for herself. She was a complete fool.

This time around, she swore she’d save up a fortune—otherwise, where would she get money to hire ten young cultivators, ahem, just for fun. Not that she had the courage for that.

Jiang Shaoling stared at Ye Qingning. He hadn’t expected her to ask him for spiritual stones.

But when he remembered she had come to the Spirit Herb Garden with a bag on her back, without a storage pouch, it was obvious she hadn’t had an easy time at the Ye family. She probably couldn’t even take out a single spiritual stone.

Speaking of it, it was quite pitiful. Not only was she poisoned by the Ye family, but she hadn’t been given any resources.

Wait, why was he feeling sorry for this fragile sickly girl? He hated people like her!

But when he realized she wanted to borrow spiritual stones to buy talisman paper and brushes—not for alchemy?!—he thought, “Good! This is perfect!”

Old Master wanted to take her on as a disciple. But if she became a talisman cultivator instead of an alchemist, Old Master wouldn’t be able to teach her anything!

Although Old Master knew a bit about talismans, he wasn’t a master. What was the point of taking a talisman cultivator as a disciple?

But if she practiced both alchemy and talismans…

Forget it, I won’t think about it so much. Since she wants to buy talisman paper and brushes, I should lend her the stones. Maybe she’ll fall in love with talismans and decide not to pursue alchemy.

“1,000 high-grade spiritual stones? That’s not enough. I’ll lend you 2,000. Just return 2,000 when the time comes. These stones are nothing. You don’t need to pay extra.”

Ye Qingning was taken aback.

He was this generous? In her past life, he had fought with her tooth and nail over the Jade Dew Immortal Fruit. He wasn’t this nice.

It seemed like his dog-like temper was just because he didn’t care about these 2,000 high-grade spiritual stones. He just threw them out casually without even asking for interest.

Fine, she promised herself she wouldn’t call him a dog for at least three days.