“Ningyun, keeping three thousand Blue Lake Scallops and the blue sea coral in the portable herb garden requires an extra supplement of about thirty low-grade spirit stones every day.
“The portable herb garden is yours, and you're the one putting in the effort to care for them.
“We’ve discussed it, and the four of us will split the cost of the spirit stones for raising the scallops this year.”
Wen Xuan, Mu Chenze, and Jun Luo each handed over a storage bag as well. Every bag contained three thousand low-grade spirit stones.
In their eyes, while raising Blue Lake Scallops was expensive, they could easily earn back those spirit stones by selling a few more pills, arrays, talismans, or artifacts. It was a small price to pay.
To them, the most precious thing was that travelogue.
The Book Peak library was filled with countless jade slips, and travelogues were even more numerous.
Finding something useful in those travelogues was a matter of fate and chance.
Without that fate, they might not have found it even if they had searched specifically for it.
If Gu Ningyun hadn't shared the travelogue, the four of them would never have had the chance to eat Blue Lake Scallops and improve their ability to break through illusions.
Spirit stones were valuable, but they could always be earned. Certain opportunities only came with fate.
None of the four said anything more about the travelogue.
They simply held a silent thought in their hearts: if they encountered such an opportunity in the future, they should also share it among the five of them.
Gu Ningyun looked at the four storage bags surrounding her in a semi-circle and was momentarily stunned.
As the saying goes, one lie requires countless more to sustain it.
After she had moved the rank one Blue Lake Scallops and that single rank two scallop into her space's ocean, she had studied the environment.
The space seemed to have its own source of spirit energy. After adding these sea beasts, the concentration of spirit energy in the space hadn't changed at all.
It remained significantly higher than in Yanlin Town, though slightly lower than the concentration in Ruiyu Pavilion.
Naturally, it didn't need extra spirit stones like a portable herb garden would.
However, the space was one of her greatest trump cards. She wouldn't tell anyone, including the four companions before her.
It wasn't a lack of trust, but rather the principle that a man's only crime is the treasure he carries.
There were countless powerful cultivators in the cultivation world. If any accident occurred, the four companions knowing about her space could put them in grave danger.
She didn't want to harm them, and there was no need to tell them about the space.
Furthermore, once a secret is shared with a second person, it is no longer a secret.
When a second person knows, the heavens and earth know. Who could guarantee a third wouldn't find out?
Everyone had their trump cards and secrets. All they could do was respect and understand each other.
Don't speak of what you see through, and don't ask about what you don't.
Thinking of this, Gu Ningyun smiled slightly.
Since she couldn't explain it, she would accept it. It was, after all, a gesture of goodwill from her friends.
She transferred the spirit stones into her storage ring and returned the empty bags.
Storage spaces could not be placed inside one another, and since she couldn't reveal her space, those four storage bags would have to be hung from her waist or stuffed into her inner pockets.
Carrying four storage bags on her person would make her look like a prime target for robbery.
At this point, only four days remained of the ten days the Four Symbols Shipping ship would be stationary.
The spirit boat had defensive functions but lacked concealment.
Gu Ningyun placed the array plate in the center of the spirit boat. After activating the array, she maneuvered the boat a bit further away.
Once everything was ready, she took out the travelogue and began studying the cooking methods for Blue Lake Scallops with her friends.
Since Blue Lake Scallops were poisonous, they weren't sure if the toxins would seep into the cookware during the process.
To be safe, Jiang Yao spent an entire day specifically refining five sets of yellow-rank top-grade soup pots, steamers, iron woks, and stoves.
Wen Xuan was so impressed by his efficiency that she called him the greatest stove manufacturer, claiming that artifact refiners of the same rank couldn't even hope to catch up to him.
Jiang Yao was speechless. “What do you mean, stove manufacturer? Are you praising me or insulting me?”
They were just ordinary yellow-rank kitchenware. They didn't require numerous artifact patterns or the balancing of many materials like magic tools did.
Any yellow-rank refiner with solid fundamentals could produce two sets in a day.
As for him, making five sets in a day...
Ahem. Jiang Yao couldn't hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Well, it’s naturally quite good. It’s a pass, I suppose.”
With one day left, the five of them had mastered the cooking methods and the accompanying spells for handling the toxins during the process.
They only needed more practice to skillfully control the residual toxin levels.
Wen Xuan, as an alchemy cultivator, had a certain stock of spirit herbs like Stream-Return Grass, which was enough for the five of them to use for two months.
The five of them practiced for several more hours, each preparing thirty Blue Lake Scallops with a toxin content of only one-thousandth—enough to last them for a while.
Only then did they pack up the array plate and spirit boat, returning from the depths to the blue sea coral area before surfacing and heading back to the Four Symbols Shipping spirit ship.
The sailors on the ship were busy, already preparing to set sail.
Just as Gu Ningyun parted from her companions and returned to her cabin, she felt the restriction on her door being triggered.
She opened the door to find Jiang Yao rushing in, followed closely by Wen Xuan, Mu Chenze, and Jun Luo.
Gu Ningyun was completely bewildered. What was going on? Did they get poisoned by the scallops?
Once Gu Ningyun closed the door and they sat down inside, Jiang Yao suddenly pressed his lips together and fell silent.
Gu Ningyun's brow furrowed, and her heart skipped a beat.
Could it really be an issue with the Blue Lake Scallops?
Was the travelogue unreliable?
But weren't the jade slips in the library all verified, tested, and strictly audited by Book Peak?
“Ningyun, you must have suffered so many grievances before the sect recruitment.”
Jiang Yao's voice rang out like a sudden explosion.
What did that mean?
Why bring this up all of a sudden?
How did Jiang Yao know?
Wait, she wasn't the one who suffered; it was the original owner of this body.
Ever since she transmigrated, she had only experienced narrow escapes from death. If she had made one wrong move a month after arriving, her spirit root would have been dug out, her divine tool stolen, and her life ended.
But those were things that would have happened only if she had been careless.
In reality, she had used a few tricks from the «Art of War» she’d read back in Huaxia to escape the Gu family in Yanlin Town.
Gu Ningyun thought calmly, yet her chest felt inexplicably tight, making it difficult to breathe.
“Ningyun...”
Gu Ningyun suddenly looked up, her gaze crashing straight into a pair of watery, bloodshot eyes.
Those eyes seemed to hold endless sorrow and worry, making Gu Ningyun's own eyes sting.
She closed her eyes and looked away.
When did Jiang Yao become so sentimental?
It was as if he had shared a similar experience and was feeling deep empathy for her.
While her heart was in turmoil, someone took hold of the hand resting on her knee.
Wen Xuan's tone wasn't overly solemn, but every word was clear.
Gu Ningyun immediately sensed the sincerity behind them.
She gripped her hand tightly. “Ningyun, no matter what happens, we are always on your side.”
The way they were talking...
She hadn't originally felt much about the mess she’d dealt with in Yanlin Town before joining Xiaoyao.
But after these few characters pulled this stunt, her heart felt heavy and uncomfortable.
She tried to steady her breathing and control her aura. “Did something happen? Why are you all acting so strange?”
“Let me explain.”
Looking at Jun Luo, who was radiating cold air in anger; Jiang Yao, whose eyes were so red he looked ready to wail; and Wen Xuan, who was silently holding Gu Ningyun's hand, Mu Chenze let out a long sigh.
He hesitated for a moment and cleared his throat. “Ningyun, as you know, I have a habit of checking the forum every day.”
Gu Ningyun nodded, her almond-shaped eyes blinking as she stared at him.
She was dying of curiosity. Mu Chenze usually got straight to the point; why was he being so long-winded today?
“There is a forum post that might be related to you. I’ve sent it to the group.”
Gu Ningyun pulled out her alt account. The latest message in their group chat was indeed a forum post.
【A Missing Person Notice】
Searching heavily for my sister who has been missing for three years.
My sister’s name is Gu Ningyun. She is nine years old and has a single wind spirit root. At the age of six, due to a conflict at home, she stole a family treasure and ran away. She has not returned since.
If anyone knows my sister, please tell her that Father has already forgiven her for making Mother sick with anger. We don't care about the stolen family treasure anymore; we only hope she is safe and well.
Please tell her that we miss her very much and hope she comes home.
If there is any news of my sister, please contact me as soon as possible. There will be a heavy reward.
Poster: Pure as Water
Under this post were tens of thousands of comments, pushing it directly to the homepage of the World Forum, where almost every cultivator browsing could see it.
Drunken Blade: Pure as Water is truly kind. To have such a thieving, unfilial, and disrespectful sister and still spend so much to find her. If I had a relative like that, I’d wish they died outside so they wouldn't pollute the family reputation.
Lone Soul: Bumping this so everyone sees.
Blank: Plus one.
Grey Pupil: Plus two.
Thinner Than a Yellow Flower: Running away from home just because of a conflict and even stealing a family treasure? What a temper.
Lonely and Lucid: If someone made my mother sick with anger, I’d have to beat them to death!
...
There were many similar comments. Gu Ningyun was thoroughly disgusted and retracted her divine sense without finishing them.
The post didn't just 'seem' related to her—single wind spirit root, nine years old, Gu Ningyun.
Who else could satisfy all three conditions? This was clearly targeting her by name.
Not only was it targeting her, but it was also full of fabricated lies to smear her.
This Pure as Water person... was it Gu Lianxue?
Judging by that previous wind-seeking message from Mr. Fenghua, Gu Lianxue had clearly already stolen someone else's water spirit root.
It had been over three years since she escaped the Gu family, and the Gu family in Yanlin Town had shown no reaction all this time.
Why would Gu Lianxue suddenly post a missing person notice now and fabricate so many rumors to smear her? What was the goal?
Seeing Gu Ningyun finish the message and only frown in silence, Wen Xuan gradually calmed down.
She didn't let go of Gu Ningyun's hand, instead pondering the details of the forum post.
“Look at the posting time.
“It’s only been fifteen minutes since it was posted. How did it get tens of thousands of comments and all of them negative?”
At her words, Mu Chenze also realized. “Ever since the Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens gained the World Forum function, many related organizations have appeared in the cultivation world.
“As long as you’re willing to spend spirit stones, these organizations can arrange for cultivators to comment on a specific post, pushing it to the homepage of the World Forum.”
“Who would spend so many spirit stones on such malicious slander?” Rather than simple smearing, Mu Chenze leaned toward the idea that this was a conspiracy.
Gu Ningyun already suspected there was another motive behind the post, and the conversation between Wen Xuan and Mu Chenze confirmed her thoughts.
She rubbed her Spirit-Attuning Jade Token, thinking about how to respond.
Should she also hire a water army to curse back in the comments?
“A cultivator named ‘A Tiger in the Heart, Sniffing Roses’ has a comment that’s been pushed to the very top. Look at this logical argument; there are still clear-eyed cultivators in this world.”
Jiang Yao had been using his Spirit-Attuning Jade Token to curse at Pure as Water in the comments.
Suddenly, a comment with a distinctly different tone appeared at the top, and he spotted it immediately.
Roses?
For some reason, Gu Ningyun suddenly thought of that gentle scent of roses.
She instinctively put away her alt account and took out her Xiaoyao disciple jade token instead.
Sinking her divine sense in, she saw the first comment at a glance.
A Tiger in the Heart, Sniffing Roses (Kong Lingyan of Music Peak): Logically speaking, this missing person notice is clearly very suspicious.
First: If this ‘Pure as Water’ truly missed their relative, why would they emphasize in the notice that this relative once made their mother sick and stole a family treasure before running away?
Setting aside whether those two things are true, even if they were, think about it.
If you truly missed a relative and were acting out of sincerity, how could you broadcast the mistakes they made in their youth to the entire cultivation world?
This isn't missing a relative; this is wishing them ill.
Second: This ‘Pure as Water’ is an unknown name, unlike Mr. Fenghua or Mr. Xueyue, who have many readers.
How could a missing person notice they posted gain tens of thousands of comments in just fifteen minutes, all of which are identical malicious remarks?
There is only one possibility: these malicious comments were bought by Pure as Water with spirit stones.
If Pure as Water truly missed their relative, would they spend spirit stones to buy so much hate?
Therefore, rather than believing the surface content of this notice, I believe it is a deliberate attempt to spread rumors and maliciously smear someone.
Gu Ningyun's fingertips trembled. It really was Martial Aunt Kong!
Below this comment, hundreds and thousands of others followed quickly, keeping it firmly in the top position.
Rose's Number One Fangirl (Ke Xueqing of Music Peak): It’s clearly full of malice, yet they hypocritically say ‘only hope she is safe and well.’ Pui! I’ve never seen a more disgusting statement.
Secluded Sword Training (Yan Feng of Sword Peak): Any old trash can post on the World Forum now. If you ask me, Xiaoyao should restrict it so only human cultivators can use the Spirit-Attuning Jade Tokens.
Don't let just any monster or demon crawl in and pollute the purity of the World Forum.
Simply Simple: I was originally quite sympathetic toward this Pure as Water, but after reading Brother Rose's comment, I realized something was wrong. This Pure as Water really makes me sick.
Si Hour Looks Like Fourteen: I knew this notice looked wrong everywhere. It turns out it’s just a defamatory message. What a waste of my time.
Craving Grilled Fish: I spent time reading this notice; from now on, all my calamities will be borne by Pure as Water.
Storage Bag is So Cool: After reading this notice, Pure as Water will block all disasters for me. I and everyone I care about will be carefree and prosperous.
Eyes Severely Injured Today (Jiang Yao of Qixia Peak): I spent time reading this notice; from now on, all calamities for me and my friends will be borne by Pure as Water.
END
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