Chapter 73 – Why Isn’t He Leaving? Two Fruits!

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(1/2)

Holy crap, I’m soaked halfway down my undies!

Ye Qingning never expected this—she had clearly already sent a message to Shen Xuanli telling him she was fine and that he didn’t need to come looking for her, and yet he still came! And so quickly, too!

She’d just been washed up here by the current, and her clothes were still damp when Shen Xuanli arrived—his speed left her truly awestruck.

She quickly used her spiritual power to dry her clothes, then looked down at the Starring Ring on her hand and promptly took it off.

She strung the ring onto the red cord she wore around her neck and tucked it inside her collar.

The reason she wore that red cord around her neck was because, back when she was still in the spiritual plant garden, Jiang Shaoling was constantly picking fights with her. She figured she needed to ward off bad luck. Coincidentally, she had transmigrated during her zodiac year, so she had made a red thread to wear around her neck.

As for putting the Starring Ring on it—it wasn’t because she was afraid Shen Xuanli would see it, but rather, she preferred no one to see it. Especially Ye Hanyue.

After all, Ye Hanyue was also a reborn soul like her. There’s no way she wouldn’t recognize the ring that had been worn by Xie Jibai in their previous life.

Even though Ye Hanyue already suspected her of being reborn, that didn’t mean Ye Qingning had to outright admit it herself. If that crazy woman saw the ring in her hands, who knows what kind of chaos she’d stir up.

Luckily, even though Ye Hanyue could recognize the Starring Ring, she had no idea where Ye Qingning got it. Otherwise, just for the sake of Xie Jibai, that lunatic would probably tear apart every mountain in this secret realm.

Aside from the Starring Ring, Ye Qingning also packed away a bunch of bottles and jars emanating unusual energy, along with books and manuals, all into her mustard seed pouch to study later.

All of this stuff had gone to Xie Jibai in her previous life. She never knew what it was for, and he never told her. She never asked, either. After all, her mission was just to win him over, not to care about the things she gave him.

Once she confirmed she had taken everything worth taking, Ye Qingning didn’t immediately leave the hidden space. One, because she was curious—this was the male lead Shen Xuanli, after all—could he find this place?

And two, because she hadn’t planned to leave yet.

Blackwing gryphons were incredibly intelligent flying beasts. Even though she had snuck in through the underground river and the gryphons had left the cave, she had pissed them off—who knew if they were still lurking above, waiting to ambush her?

Plus, it was still nighttime, and those gryphons were especially stealthy in the dark. Even if they were circling the sky, they’d be hard to spot. The safest option would be to wait until dawn.

Just as she had this thought, she sensed a ripple of energy. Looking up, she saw Shen Xuanli being pulled into this place by that strange force.

The system was absolutely ecstatic, like some crazed fanboy. Since Shen Xuanli couldn’t see him, he was flapping his little wings like he wanted to dive into the man’s face.

Other people might do a “wall slam”—this bird was going for a full-on “face slam.”

Ye Qingning stifled her laughter and stood up to greet Shen Xuanli properly, “Greetings, Senior Brother. I did send you a message earlier—I’m unharmed, there’s no need for you to come looking for me.”

Shen Xuanli’s expression remained as cool and calm as ever. His eyes swept over her briefly, clearly checking whether she was injured.

He had indeed seen her message. Knowing she was safe, he could’ve chosen not to come. But then he remembered the night before leaving the sect, when Pei Yin had personally instructed him…

To take good care of their newly accepted little junior sister.

Though she said she was fine, those blackwing gryphons had Nascent Soul-level strength—her Foundation Establishment cultivation wouldn’t be enough to handle them. To ensure her safety and not betray his master’s orders, he ultimately decided to come in person.

“Mn.” Shen Xuanli nodded lightly, his face still devoid of emotion.

Ye Qingning wasn’t the least bit surprised by his cold demeanor. He had an ice spirit root—expecting warmth from him would be like asking a glacier to smile. Just think of him as an ancient, unmeltable iceberg.

But could he not just say “mn”? What about the rest? Was he going to leave or not? She couldn’t leave yet—the crazy birds might still be waiting to ambush her!

“Um, Senior Brother, are you planning to leave? I picked a Thunderflame Fruit. I want to finish absorbing its energy here before I go. I’m afraid those gryphons are still hovering nearby.”

Hearing this, Shen Xuanli looked at her again. She did seem quite clever—no wonder the Master had praised her more than once.

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(2/2)

When he tracked her location using the disciple token, he had indeed noticed traces of several blackwing gryphons in the area.

Some hovered high in the sky, some hid behind nearby peaks, as if waiting for something. Clearly, they weren’t ready to give up on the Thunderflame Fruit she possessed.

“…Alright.”

After giving that curt reply, Shen Xuanli walked over to a wooden bench under an ancient tree. With calm composure, he lifted his robes and sat down with perfect posture—completely making himself at home.

Not only did he show no intention of leaving, he actually closed his eyes and began meditating right in front of Ye Qingning’s stunned gaze.

Ye Qingning and the bird system exchanged looks of disbelief—neither of them could figure out why he was staying.

The only plausible explanation: those crazy birds were really outside. That’s why he wasn’t leaving either—he was waiting for them to go. But the gryphons weren’t even targeting him! If he could enter this space, surely he could leave too?

Ye Qingning shook her head. Fine, if he wasn’t leaving, then he wasn’t leaving. After all, he’d come to this secret realm to ensure the disciples’ safety, and no one had messaged him saying they were in danger. Where he chose to wait didn’t really matter.

Still, Shen Xuanli’s frosty and taciturn nature made it a bit awkward sharing space with him. Seeing him enter meditation made her relax. She pulled out the Thunderflame Fruit.

To be exact: one Thunderflame Fruit, and one mustard seed pouch.

The system let out a wicked cackle. “Host, you sly fox! Always good at finding loopholes! While the female cultivators from Tianyu Sect and Wuliang Sect were fighting over the Thunderflame Fruit, you swooped in while the crazy birds knocked them down and snatched up the mustard seed pouch that got dropped!”

She’d bolted so fast, even ghosts would’ve struggled to keep up! The other girls didn’t even see who’d taken the pouch!

So, of the three Thunderflame Fruits on the tree, her Ningning had nabbed two. If he were those crazy birds, he wouldn’t give up either.

Normally, low-tier storage pouches didn’t have spiritual sense marks. But mustard seed pouches—higher grade than normal pouches—usually carried a spiritual imprint from their owner.

This imprint existed to prevent others from using the pouch or stealing its contents.

Previously, when Ye Qingning borrowed spirit stones from Jiang Shaoling, he had even handed over a storage pouch that lacked any such imprint.

Later, when she bought her own mustard seed pouch, the first thing she did was add her own spiritual imprint.

These imprints could be erased.

Not only erased—but overwritten with one’s own.

This erasure process was known as the “Spiritual Cleansing Method,” the most common way of removing spiritual imprints.

The method required the cultivator to infuse their own spiritual energy into the pouch, gradually overwriting the existing imprint until it faded away.

Just as Ye Qingning was about to wipe the imprint off the pouch, she realized—there was no imprint at all.

And inside the pouch, aside from the Thunderflame Fruit, there was… nothing. Just air.

She suddenly recalled—the Tianyu Sect girl who picked the fruit had said she was planning to give it to her senior brother.

Likely because it was a gift, she had used an empty mustard seed pouch without an imprint to hold the fruit—so she could give both together.

Ye Qingning had only wanted the Thunderflame Fruit anyway, so whether the pouch held anything else didn’t matter.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she returned the fruit to the pouch—

And took the other Thunderflame Fruit out and popped it in her mouth.

Once it was eaten—it was hers. Even if the other sect’s disciples wanted to fight her for it later, well… it was already in her stomach. Too late!