Chapter 80 – Luring the B*tch Lotus Over! Time to Fight!

Not only was the system confused, but Shen Xuanli, Lu Linyuan, and the other two also narrowed their eyes slightly.

The diviner looked even more puzzled and asked, “Fellow cultivator, you brought out this box—are you hoping to divine something?”

Ye Qingning nodded. “Diviners can find not only things, but people too. This box was given to me by someone else. Can you divine where that person is now? And whether the contents of the box are harmful or beneficial to me? Can I open it?”

“If you give me an accurate reading, we can talk further. You might earn far more than fifty mid-grade spirit stones.” The divination was just the appetizer—what she wanted him to do later was the real deal.

The diviner’s expression turned serious.

He truly excelled at locating people and objects.

Whether it was for locating a person or an item, the core was all in interpreting the hexagram—through analyzing the reading and deducing its transformations, he could find either lost items or missing people.

He solemnly took the box in both hands, closed his eyes, gently stroked the box with his fingers, and began chanting under his breath.

After setting the box down, he took out a tortoise shell and some copper coins. Placing the coins in his palm, he closed his eyes in focus and then suddenly opened them wide, tossing the coins into the air.

The coins spun with a clear, ringing sound before landing on the tortoise shell. He then flipped the shell quickly to observe where the coins had landed.

Only after collecting the coins and shell did he look at Ye Qingning with a serious expression and say, “The item inside the box may not be inherently harmful, but to you, fellow cultivator, it’s nothing but harm with no benefit. The further you throw it, the better. Whatever you do, do not open it out of curiosity!”

“As for the one who gave you the box, they’re within a hundred-mile radius. The clouds are descending from the west. If you want to find them, head that way.”

Ye Qingning’s gaze sharpened. Within a hundred miles and clouds descending from the west—wasn’t that precisely the Falling Cloud Sect?

So this person, like in her past life, really did have some skill.

While the system had assessed the box’s contents as harmless, that only applied to others.

She’d been extremely curious, but had restrained herself from opening it all this time precisely because she didn’t believe the Ye family would kindly gift her anything.

Turns out she was right. Who knows—whatever’s in the box might hasten the process of turning her into a living puppet.

“Do you have a spirit jade slip? Let’s add each other. I’ll find you again if I need a divination in the future.”

“Yes, yes, I do! You can just send me a message through it and I can divine for you! No need to make a trip!”

The diviner was thrilled and, after becoming friends, still remembered what she’d said earlier. He asked with a cheeky grin, “Didn’t you say if I gave an accurate reading, I could earn more spirit stones?”

Ye Qingning nodded, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “Send out a message on your jade slip. Say you’ve got a rare Ziyang Flower for sale, and you’re currently in the Western Continent’s black market. Anyone interested should hurry to contact you—first come, first served.”

“If you have any friends from Falling Cloud Sect, send the message to them too. Then, send another post saying: ‘Just now, I met a weirdo who handed me a box and asked if it could be opened. Seriously, you meet all kinds of strange people in this black market.’”

“Follow my instructions, and I’ll pay you thirty high-grade spirit stones.”

Ye Qingning didn’t have Ye Hanyue as a friend on the spirit jade slip, and she couldn’t just yell out and call her over. If she had Shen Xuanli or the others send the message, it wouldn’t be nearly as convincing as someone like a diviner who was always posting about their divinations.

Spending these thirty high-grade spirit stones was all to lure the lunatic woman to the black market.

As for the second message mocking the “weirdo with the box,” it was meant to catch Ye Hanyue’s attention.

That lunatic was probably dying to see her open the box. If she saw that message, she just might not be able to hold back and come looking for her.

Ye Qingning wasn’t worried that Ye Hanyue would connect her to the Ziyang Flower. Sometimes, the truth mixed with falsehood stirs up greater curiosity. Besides, she was certain Ye Hanyue wouldn’t miss the opportunity if it might help Xie Jibai.

The male diviner’s eyes instantly lit up.

Just posting a couple of messages for thirty high-grade spirit stones? That was basically free money! Where else could he find such a good deal? He had to post those messages!

“Okay! Just wait—I’m sending them now!”

The diviner was a man of action and immediately began posting the messages on his jade slip.

The system asked curiously: 【Ningning, do you really think that b*tch Lotus will walk right into the trap?】

Ye Qingning smiled faintly. After leaving Cloud Mountain Secret Realm, Ye Hanyue had reached the Golden Core stage, while Xie Jibai, just like in the past life, still hadn’t broken through.

In the past, Xie Jibai had obtained the Star Ring, but there had been no legacy in that hidden residence. Though he did find quite a few treasures, his cultivation had remained at peak Foundation Establishment and he even hit a bottleneck.

And this life was the same. What’s more, now he didn’t even have the Star Ring.

To break through and reach Golden Core, he’d need to consume a Ziyang Flower.

The Ziyang Flower was a rare spirit flower that could help a cultivator break through the bottleneck between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.

If Ye Hanyue had her memories from the past, then she definitely knew that during the last Immortal Sect Tournament, Xie Jibai had already become a Golden Core cultivator. That meant, within the next three months, he must have found a Ziyang Flower.

That lunatic liked Xie Jibai and had even taken a sword for him. She’d definitely try to get her hands on the flower to help him break through and compete in the upcoming Immortal Sect Tournament.

So if she saw the message saying someone in the black market had a Ziyang Flower for sale, even if she had doubts, she’d still come running for Xie Jibai’s sake.

After all, she hadn’t taken her blood essence last life, so Ye Hanyue wouldn’t suspect that. As long as she didn’t actively seek her out, Ye Hanyue wouldn’t make the connection.

---

Outside the Black Market

Half an hour passed, and the sky had darkened further. A cool night breeze rustled the dense trees around the black market outskirts, the rustling leaves adding an eerie atmosphere to the already dangerous place.

Two figures silently appeared beneath the dusky canopy.

They both wore black cloaks with only their eyes exposed, yet the sharp-eyed dog system spotted them immediately.

【Ningning, Ningning! It’s the b*tch Lotus and that dog Xie Jibai!】

Ye Qingning curved her lips into a smile. Ye Hanyue really had been careless. Most cultivators only got robbed after leaving the black market. She was about to be one of the rare few to get ambushed before even entering.

“Buzz——!”

A metallic hum rang out as a formation disk lit up brightly. At the same time, an invisible barrier quickly formed and enveloped the entire forest with lightning speed.

Shen Xuanli, who had trained under Pei Yin, had not only entered the sword path but also the path of formations. He’d originally considered laying down a Nine Palaces Dragon-Trapping Formation here.

But Wen Xingshu had only smiled gently and asked, “Does the other party even deserve to be called a ‘dragon’?”

Shen Xuanli had paused at that. Then he dropped the idea and casually pulled out a formation disk.

Formation disks were portable tools pre-inscribed with formations. Once activated, they could instantly deploy a formation—even during battle.

A formation cultivator could also set up arrays manually, which allowed more flexibility and the option to channel their own cultivation or add powerful magical artifacts to enhance the formation’s strength.

In Wen Xingshu’s opinion, with Shen Xuanli here, the disk alone was more than enough.

As long as the enemy couldn’t escape, which fellow disciple of their generation could match Shen Xuanli in a direct fight? But their junior sister had insisted on taking action herself.

Revenge was something one had to carry out personally, after all.

Though their junior sister looked delicate, Lu Linyuan had once said she fought like a body cultivator—and Wen Xingshu was quite curious to see it with his own eyes.

Once the formation was activated, others began noticing the disturbance outside the black market. Some were inexplicably excited, though there was also a hint of dread.

“A high-level formation! Someone’s fighting, huh? Another robbery and murder!”

“Damn, who beat me to it? I was waiting to kill and rob someone myself!”

“No idea who, but this formation’s power… Even if it’s a disk, that thing must be high-grade!”

“Poor soul. Must’ve been a bad day. Didn’t check the calendar before heading out, huh? Should’ve gotten a diviner!”

---

Ye Hanyue was stunned by the sudden change, though she kept a calm face—she had lived a whole lifetime after all.

But the moment Ye Qingning emerged from the shadows and stepped into the center of the formation, her expression shattered. She pulled down her hood and shouted:

“Ye Qingning! You lured me here on purpose! You set me up?!”

“That diviner was your man! You had him post the Ziyang Flower news just to trick me here! What exactly are you plotting?!”