The inside of the Heaven-Reaching Device went silent for a moment, then instantly exploded.
"Good grief! To earn spirit stones, Book Study dares to make up any nonsense! Be careful, otherwise Young Master Pei will blow up your Book Study's Heaven-Reaching Device."
"Huh?? Making it up on the spot??"
"Wait, I'm kind of shipping this. This combo looks good. I'm in!"
An Alchemy Peak disciple inserted an out-of-place message: "Just produced a batch of top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills and Meridian Supplementing Pills. One bottle only ten top-grade spirit stones. Those interested, voice-transmit to contact Alchemy Peak's Du Zichen. Bulk orders get discounts."
"Is Young Master Pei really not watching? Then I'm really shipping this."
"Just entered Heaven-Reaching Device and saw Book Study chirping about Young Master Pei behind his back. You don't want to live!"
Just then, a young man's hoarse, clear voice came through the Heaven-Reaching Device, carrying anger: "All of you shut up! What does this have to do with the Immortal Venerable? Don't speak nonsense!"
After this shout, the inside of Heaven-Reaching Device fell silent.
Gu Changhuai held his forehead. It was over. Based on Book Study's nature, they'd probably start writing nonsense overnight again. He'd only been at Xinnan Immortal Sect a few days and his reputation was already destroyed.
Before long.
A recitation voice came from Book Study: "Young Master Pei angrily rebukes scholars. Pen-wielders fearlessly brave power and fight. 'Young Master Pei attempts to monopolize Attendant Gu, angrily scolds what kind of man is the Immortal Venerable.' Is this the extinction of humanity or moral decay!"
Gu Changhuai was shocked: "..."
What a mouth that inverts black and white!
Applause came through the Heaven-Reaching Device. "Good poetry, good poetry."
"There's a reason Zhao of Book Study has lived this long. With that mouth of his, he absolutely must participate in next year's Immortal Sect Grand Competition. I won't watch without him."
"Newly picked Scarlet Vermillion Fruits from Heavenly Sound Valley have arrived! Highest bidder wins!!"
Pei Tianyi sneered coldly: "Zhao of Book Study, don't move. This young master is coming right now to tear you apart! Wait for it!"
Book Study: "Leaving now. Don't miss me."
The Heaven-Reaching Device returned to quiet. Everyone went their own way—those selling things sold things, those spreading gossip spread gossip. Gu Changhuai breathed a sigh of relief and smoothly transmitted: "One Fire Lotus stalk, starting at five hundred top-grade spirit stones."
After releasing the message, he exited the Heaven-Reaching Device, rubbing his temples with a new understanding of cultivation world major sects. All he could say was—eye-opening.
Just then, the door was knocked. Gu Changhuai stood and went out. Hua Mei was still holding yesterday's pot of porridge at the door. "What do we do with this thing?"
Gu Changhuai said strangely: "I thought you'd eat it as a midnight snack yesterday. If I'd known you wouldn't eat it, I would have eaten it myself."
Hua Mei said worriedly: "How would I dare sleep dead in Xinnan Immortal Sect? Eating that would be suicide, wouldn't it?" After finishing, he glanced at Gu Changhuai. "You actually thought about eating it?"
Of course, he couldn't eat it now. Gu Changhuai wouldn't eat a bowl of poisoned porridge in broad daylight, especially when Rong Ye was awake.
He was also afraid Rong Ye would figure it out. He could only destroy the evidence.
Just then, he heard Rong Ye's low, cold voice from the corridor, inquiring: "What's wrong?" His tall figure gracefully approached, stopping beside Gu Changhuai.
Gu Changhuai feigned composure. "Nothing, Immortal Lord. The porridge just got cold."
The five-colored porridge, after settling overnight and through the morning, had formed a thin film of rice on the surface. A faint mushroom fragrance could still be smelled.
Rong Ye looked down at Gu Changhuai. "Are you hungry?"
He raised his hand, spiritual power wrapping around the edge of the pot. Before long, the porridge began emitting steam. Rong Ye withdrew his hand, saying indifferently: "It's hot now. Eat."
Hua Mei held the pot, not daring to speak.
Gu Changhuai: "..."
Cold sweat broke out.
"Not very hungry." Gu Changhuai deflected. "I just went to Ten Directions Court marketplace this morning. They had fruit there that I ate." Little did he know, his expression was like that of an agitated cat forcibly maintaining composure.
As soon as the words fell, he seemed to hear a light laugh from the person beside him. Gu Changhuai suspiciously raised his eyes to look, meeting Rong Ye's pair of indifferent amber eyes, his complexion normal.
Rong Ye nodded. "That's fine too." After a pause, he said: "I won't be here these next few days. Cultivate diligently. Don't run around."
Gu Changhuai looked at Rong Ye again, a trace of strangeness rising in his heart. Did this really need to be specially mentioned? Who exactly was the attendant...
Though he said this, he still smiled warmly, lowering his eyes to respond: "Yes, Immortal Lord."
______
The preciousness of Fire Lotus in the cultivation world was evident. Gu Changhuai had only released the news two days ago when it was bought by a neighboring alchemy cultivator to use for pill refinement.
Five hundred top-grade spirit stones, crystal clear, were stacked pile by pile on the table.
"You get two-fifty, I get two-fifty." Gu Changhuai divided the spoils, splitting the spirit stones in half and tossing a pouch to Hua Mei.
Hua Mei caught it, looking at the thin pouch in his hand, sighing: "Two-fifty ah, two-fifty. My entire fortune, two-fifty. I must use the most expensive cosmetics and hook up with the hottest cultivation juniors."
Gu Changhuai said lovingly: "Don't blame you for being two-fifty. Go play."
Hua Mei looked in the mirror, touching his face. "Qing Lian Immortal Lord has been elusive these past two days. What about your assassination plan? Has the Demon Venerable been rushing you?"
"Sort of?" Gu Changhuai thought of the cold crow he'd seen at the mountain gate when he first entered, but since coming to Supreme Peak, it had disappeared.
Just as he was thinking, a small black shadow suddenly dropped before Gu Changhuai. Then came a muffled "thud" sound. He instinctively looked—on the long table, a jade-green bead about thumb-sized was rolling, stopped by something at the edge.
The bead presented a jade-green color with what seemed like flowing water faintly surging inside, surrounded by spiritual energy—everywhere unusual.
"Spiritual treasure fell from the sky??"
Hua Mei looked up in shock toward where the thing had fallen from. The pitch-black cold crow had somehow perched on the beam, still holding another red bead in its mouth.
After attracting their attention, the cold crow seemed triumphant, raising its beak. Its wings spread as it flew down to land on the long table, opening its mouth to spit out the bead.
Gu Changhuai silently looked at the red and green beads. Looking closely, the beads had small holes for thin strings to pass through. He looked at the cold crow again.
Seeing Gu Changhuai's gaze, the cold crow puffed out its chest as if sharing in the glory.
Gu Changhuai broke the silence: "...Whose hair crown did you pluck these from? You're just wandering around the immortal sect like this? The Demon Venerable doesn't care?"
These two beads were clearly magical artifacts, usually paired with hair crowns. This morning when browsing the marketplace, he'd encountered people from other immortal sects. Among them, one or two had magnificent hair crowns with long silk ribbons hanging from the hairpins at both ends, with these types of spiritual treasures refined from heavenly materials at the ribbon ends.
However, the uses depended on the refiner. Some were offensive, some hid lethal moves, some were defensive formations—all kinds, cultivation world had many variations that Gu Changhuai couldn't distinguish.
The cold crow was very unhappy, cawing with its hoarse, unpleasant voice: "Who told you to be useless? Taking so many days just to kill one person. I found these magical treasures from elsewhere. Heard they can kill with one strike. Try them out."
"Lethal?" Hearing this, Hua Mei curiously leaned forward, picking up a bead to examine for a long while. Looking left and right, he couldn't figure it out. "Nothing special about it. Were you deceived?"
The cold crow scoffed coldly. "Ignorant waste."
Hua Mei's face lengthened as he glared at the cold crow. "Dead crow."
Gu Changhuai was also examining the bead, poking it twice with no reaction. Tentatively injecting a thread of demonic energy, instantly a chilling killing intent spread across his face. He immediately withdrew the demonic energy, and the activated killing formation returned to quiet.
The lingering aura hadn't dispersed, blowing the indoor hanging decorations so they swayed and collided with crisp sounds. Hua Mei's pupils constricted. After quite a while, he found his voice again, patting his chest affectedly with lingering fear: "...Such powerful intent. This slave almost thought he was going to die."
"Truly formidable." Gu Changhuai praised, pinching the bead and holding it up to the light. This way he could see more clearly—inside the thumb-sized jade-green bead, what seemed like flowing water was actually small, complex characters, filled with lethal moves.
He reached out and took the one in Hua Mei's hand as well. Placing the two together, he could see—red was a protective formation. After careful examination, he roughly understood it could withstand a full-force strike below Tribulation Crossing stage. Green was a killing formation, triggered with a target after injecting spiritual power.
The more Gu Changhuai looked, the more alarmed he became. "Such exquisite craftsmanship. These things look insignificant but are enough to protect lives and dominate in the cultivation world. Not something ordinary families could make."
Those he'd encountered at Ten Directions Court marketplace had many variations but couldn't cause much threat. Most were more decorative, their uses optional extras.
He furrowed his brows, asking: "Where exactly did you get these? You've provoked trouble."
Such exquisitely decorative yet highly useful things mostly came from major immortal sects or families with deep resources, definitely not ordinary. At least they should avoid trouble if possible. Better to return them.
The cold crow spread its wings and flew to the screen without making a sound.
"Hey, hey." Hua Mei went to poke the cold crow. "My big brother is asking you a question. Speak!"
The cold crow, annoyed beyond endurance, used its wing to swat at Hua Mei's poking hand, its hoarse voice saying: "Stole them on the road, stole them!"
Gu Changhuai said helplessly: "Stole from whom?"
The cold crow flew up circling, saying repeatedly: "Don't know, don't know. The Demon Venerable urges you to act quickly. If you don't act, he'll send someone else to clean house."
Hearing this, Gu Changhuai was greatly shocked: "He's sending people not to help, but to deal with me? Is he sick?"
Calming down and pondering for a moment, he said: "Like this—help me pass a message to the Demon Venerable. Tell him I'm working hard but Qing Lian Immortal Lord is a bit hard to kill."
"Can't go." The cold crow stopped on the beam, its black feathers seemingly glowing, its hoarse voice saying: "Caw caw, I've defected. Now you're my master, not him."
Gu Changhuai: "?"
Gu Changhuai looked up, expression confused. "...Me?"
Hua Mei couldn't stand it and questioned: "Dead crow, do you even hear what you're saying?"
The cold crow's head turned, eyeballs emitting crimson light. "I am the Ancient Magic Crow. Whoever is supreme in the Demon Realm, I recognize as master."
Even more absurd.
If he were stronger than the Demon Venerable, who would need to be threatened into coming to the cultivation world as an unwelcome assassin, carrying a worm in his stomach that could act up anytime, constantly on edge fearing his identity would be exposed? How ridiculous.
Besides, surely the cold crow wouldn't recognize him as master just because he scattered it with one little stone throw?
He and Hua Mei exchanged glances.
Gu Changhuai's expression was kind and smiling, only saying six words: "Get the pot, build the fire, boil water!"
Let the bird taste some barbecue!