Chapter 42 Part 1

“What are you doing?”

A voice sounded from behind him, and Lian Yunzhi whipped his head around.

It was Fu Qing, who had returned after paying the fine.

Fu Qing’s gaze passed over him and landed on the little paper man on his shoulder. He asked in confusion, “Why did you make a divided soul paper man?”

Lian Yunzhi gave a light cough, his movements somewhat stiff as he placed the paper man on his shoulder to lie down. “I just saw a book and thought it looked fun, so I tried it out.”

Fu Qing shrugged. “Fine, whatever. You have plenty of spirit stones anyway.”

Fu Qing walked past Lian Yunzhi toward the exit of the Scripture Pavilion, but Lian Yunzhi suddenly felt that the Scripture Pavilion had too few windows and was quite stifling. He cast a Cooling Technique on himself and then swallowed a Clear Heart Pill.

It wasn’t quite enough.

But just as he prepared to swallow the entire bottle of Clear Heart Pills, he stopped.

These Clear Heart Pills were ones he had brought from Xiaoze State. They could turn into black mist or Qi Refining Bird feathers. The thought that he might have just eaten spirit stones worth tens of millions made Lian Yunzhi’s fingertips tremble with heartache. He hurriedly tossed the entire bottle of Clear Heart Pills, porcelain jar and all, into the Pure Bottle. He watched as it turned into black mist, then quickly caught up to Fu Qing and asked, “Where’s the nearby market?”

.

The outdoor markets weren’t safe, so Fu Qing took Lian Yunzhi and Fang Tianxin to the Treasure Pavilion inside Lin Xian Sect.

Lin Xian Sect’s Treasure Pavilion had been hollowed out from an entire mountain peak, with eight floors in total. The top five floors sold official treasures from Lin Xian Sect, while the bottom three floors were a free trading market for Lin Xian Sect disciples.

Fu Qing said it was their first time and suggested they start from the first floor.

Fang Tianxin nodded, then asked, “But where’s the door?”

Lian Yunzhi also looked at Fu Qing, waiting for his answer.

Though the mountain peak was tall and massive, and the large characters “Treasure Pavilion” on it were very conspicuous, they truly hadn’t seen a door.

Fu Qing smiled at them. “This peak uses a spatial formation. No matter where you enter, it’s a door.”

With that, he took the lead and flew into the peak on his sword, vanishing from sight.

Fang Tianxin and Lian Yunzhi exchanged a glance. Lian Yunzhi clutched the little paper man inside his robes and slowly approached the spot where Fu Qing had disappeared, tentatively stepping inside.

Darkness fell before light returned, and the trio finally beheld the true splendor of the Treasure Pavilion.

They saw bricks paved with jade, railings woven from golden cords. They looked up to see moon-disc-like pearls hanging from the mountaintop, golden ribbons draping down from the pearls and folding into staircases for cultivators to ascend and descend. They looked down to see a silver river flowing at a seeming near-far distance, with treasures openly priced on its surface.

They saw cultivators sitting cross-legged on the first floor as vendors, and on the second floor, shops rising from the ground once spirit stones were placed in square enclosures.

They saw a golden giant bird soaring through the air—that was the shopkeeper of the demon beast stall displaying newly arrived goods. They saw spiritual light flashing in a certain corner—that was a cultivator gambling on hidden stone treasures who had opened a Heaven Tier treasure…

The two men and one paper man all lifted their heads in shock, unable to recover for a long time.

“Where did these bumpkins come from…”

Someone snickered as they passed by.

The “bumpkins” turned their heads slowly.

The man’s expression had originally been one of utter contempt, but upon seeing Lian Yunzhi’s face straight on, his body stiffened. He hastily adjusted the mask on his face and hurried away with his head down.

“It’s best to wear masks on the lower three floors,” Fu Qing said as he walked over with several masks he had bought from somewhere. “After all, the vendors and customers here are all fellow disciples. It’s awkward to haggle, so wearing masks makes everyone strangers. It’s an unwritten rule.”

Lian Yunzhi and Fang Tianxin each picked a mask and put it on. The masks were oddly shaped, and seeing each other made them both chuckle. Lian Yunzhi even cut a piece of paper to make a mask for the little paper man, who tilted its body obediently to let him put it on.

“What’s this?” Fang Tianxin leaned in curiously and reached out to poke it. “It moves? So cute…”

Slap!

Lian Yunzhi smacked his hand away.

Fang Tianxin clutched his reddened hand and looked at Lian Yunzhi with an injured expression.

“It’s Lian Yunzhi’s divided soul paper man,” Fu Qing explained as he walked over. “You can’t touch it randomly. The Primordial Spirit resides in this thin sheet of paper, so touching it is no different from touching the Primordial Spirit directly.”

“Is it dangerous?” Fang Tianxin asked.

Fu Qing paused, choosing his words carefully. “No, it’s just… very sensitive.”

Fang Tianxin: “…”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Fang Tianxin awkwardly apologized to Lian Yunzhi and walked ahead silently.

Lian Yunzhi froze in place, unsure whether to withdraw the fingers that had been propping up the paper man’s lower back to put on its mask.

[It’s fine. It feels much milder than Divine Soul fusion.]

Mu Cheng’s voice sounded in his mind.

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

He didn’t feel comforted at all.

.

The three wandered through the first floor together. Lian Yunzhi was there to buy things, so he walked quickly. Fang Tianxin and Fu Qing chatted and asked questions here and there, so they walked more slowly.

Before long, they had pulled apart quite a distance.

When Lian Yunzhi bought a large bottle of Clear Heart Pills, he overheard Fang Tianxin and Fu Qing mentioning his name. His Divine Soul Force was powerful, so even without eavesdropping intentionally, he heard their conversation clearly.

“A Qing, have you noticed Yunzhi’s mood is much better today? Coming out really helps… If only we’d brought him here a couple days earlier…”

“He seemed possessed, like that black mist of yours…”

“Huh?”

“Shh, he doesn’t want us to know. And unlike you, he still has some awareness. He should slowly purify and recover, though it might be tough.”

“Oh…”

“Just pretend you don’t know.”

“Okay…”

“Wipe your tears.”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

He found it amusing, yet also felt a twinge of guilt.