The Tianzi Suite was extremely spacious, with two bedrooms and a guest room. In the center, there was an incense burner, and a delicate fragrance wafted through the room. Behind it was a screen embroidered with a scene of a lotus pond in early rain, with lotus flowers appearing tender and fresh. The screen was narrow and separated the front and back; walking around it revealed two bedrooms on either side, veiled with thin gauze.
Tang Muxi hadn’t stayed in a proper house for a long time. Sitting on the smooth and exquisite quilt, she thoroughly enjoyed herself: “This place is really nice. Let’s enjoy it while we can before heading into the mountains.”
Jiang Yin was still holding a food box. Seeing a small table in the bedroom, he simply put down the food box, set up the spoons, and beckoned to her: “Come over.”
Tang Muxi smelled the aroma of wontons and immediately jumped off the bed, happily sitting at the table. In the process, she knocked over a stool, which Jiang Yin bent down to pick up.
“So clumsy.”
Tang Muxi giggled, picked up a spoon, scooped up a wonton, and put it into her mouth along with the soup. The fresh meat flavor soaked in the refreshing soup brought her taste buds unprecedented satisfaction.
“Delicious!” Bai Ling watched from the side, also craving some, so Tang Muxi shared some from her food box.
“I have something to do tomorrow. Stay in the room and don’t wander around,” Jiang Yin suddenly said as they were happily eating.
Tang Muxi was taken aback and felt a bit disappointed: “Huh? You’re not taking me with you?”
“I’ll be leaving very early, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to get up,” Jiang Yin, knowing she wouldn’t agree, used a prepared excuse.
“How early is very early?” Tang Muxi asked.
“Around the first hour of the Mao period. I’ll be back before noon.”
“Hmm… that is quite early.” The first hour of the Mao period might not even be light yet, and Tang Muxi would probably still be in a deep sleep. Perhaps due to losing too much blood recently, Tang Muxi had a great appetite and was very sleepy, often not waking up until almost noon.
Fortunately, they had a carriage for the journey, so even if she slept, Jiang Yin could handle it alone.
Tang Muxi roughly calculated and decided not to force herself, obediently nodding: “I’ll wait for Senior Sister.”
After all, Jiang Yin would be back by the time she woke up, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Out of curiosity, she still asked: “What is Senior Sister going to do?”
“To buy some items for cultivation,” Jiang Yin replied vaguely.
She wasn’t lying, but what she needed to buy wasn’t ordinary elixirs, but essence blood and soul. The Resurrection Grass wasn’t at the ninth transformation, and its power was insufficient. Jiang Yin feared an accident when breaking the curse and needed to prepare some highly pure “supplementary items” in advance.
Having inherited the corpse cultivation technique and possessing a unique ghostly root, nothing was more suitable than essence blood and soul.
These items were too bloody and could only be bought on the black market. Jiang Yin didn’t want Tang Muxi to know.
“I see, I understand,” Tang Muxi seemed uninterested and didn’t ask further.
Jiang Yin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “When I come back, I’ll bring some delicious food. After dinner, shall we go look for a house?”
Tang Muxi was surprised. “Look for a house?”
“Yes, Jubao Pavilion sells courtyard houses. They can be stored in a storage ring and are very exquisite. You don’t like staying in the cave, right? Let’s pick one as our home.”
When they heard the word “home,” both of them felt a strange emotion. Tang Muxi was purely happy, while Jiang Yin was mixed with disbelief.
She never thought that one day she would say the word “home” to someone else, and that person would be someone she hated in her previous life.
“Ah, home! Great, a home for me and Senior Sister!” Tang Muxi’s eyes sparkled as if they contained the stars in the sky, bright and dazzling. But she didn’t stay happy for long before she hesitated and slowly said, “But I don’t have any money…”
A delicate courtyard that suited her taste would at least be as expensive as a small house on Juling Peak. It was obvious that it wouldn’t be cheap.
Jiang Yin’s expression softened. “I have money.”
Although she was touched and happy that someone would pay for her, Tang Muxi wasn’t the type to take advantage of others. After her initial joy, she earnestly promised Jiang Yin, “Senior Sister, don’t worry. When I have money in the future, I’ll definitely spend it on you too!”
Jiang Yin smiled. “Really?”
“Of course.”
“Then why is it that when I asked for a storage ring, you wouldn’t give me one?”
Tang Muxi’s expression froze, feeling as if she had been poked in the spine. Her grand ambitions were instantly drowned out, and she mumbled, “That’s… that’s different…”
Feeling that her explanation was unconvincing, she promised again, “When I have money, I’ll definitely give you not just one, but even a hundred storage rings if you want.”
She spoke hastily, as if afraid Jiang Yin wouldn’t believe her.
Jiang Yin chuckled and didn’t tease her further. “I’ll be waiting.”
From that moment on, Tang Muxi had another goal besides becoming stronger—becoming rich.
After dinner and a bath, there was a knock on the door.
Tang Muxi, puzzled, went to open the door and saw a familiar girl. After a moment of scrutiny, she remembered it was Wen Mingyu’s maid. “Is there something you need?” The girl was holding a plate of fruit.
Yun Xue’s face looked better when she saw it wasn’t Jiang Yin who opened the door. Following her mistress’s instructions, she handed over the spiritual fruit. “I’m Yun Xue, a maid. This is a gift from my lady to you and your friends.”
Tang Muxi happily accepted it. “Thank you.” Thinking it wouldn’t be right to accept a gift without giving something in return, she took out a soul jade from her storage ring and handed it to Yun Xue. “Consider this a return gift.”
Yun Xue didn’t expect a return gift and her impression of Tang Muxi improved. Seeing that she couldn’t refuse, she thanked her and accepted it.
Tang Muxi closed the door and turned to see Jiang Yin watching her intently. She shook the plate in her hand with a smile. “Senior Sister, that Wen Mingyu is quite nice. Not only did she give us a room, but she also sent us spiritual fruit. Do you recognize this fruit? I’ve never seen it before.”
Jiang Yin pursed her lips, picked up a fruit and looked at it, then said coldly, “It’s a fruit from the demon realm. It enhances comprehension and can aid in transformation. It’s probably meant for Bai Ling.”
“Huh?” Tang Muxi was a bit disappointed. She thought it was for her. “Why would she give Bai Ling fruit?”
“She’s a demon,” Jiang Yin said indifferently.
“A demon?”
“Yes, make sure to keep an eye on Bai Ling and don’t let anyone take her away.” Jiang Yin didn’t want to say more and gave a final reminder before returning to her room.
Tang Muxi pursed her lips, looked at the plate of delicious spiritual fruit, and gloomily took it to Bai Ling.
Before dawn the next day, Jiang Yin got up early.
She quietly walked into Tang Muxi’s room and saw that she was still deeply asleep, so she left reassured.
“You’re up early, sir. The kitchen is still preparing breakfast, so you’ll need to wait a bit,” said the accountant, who was organizing the ledger at the counter since the innkeeper was not around.
Jiang Yin shook her head. “Do not disturb the guest in Room Three.”
“Understood.”
Seeing his prompt response, Jiang Yin strode out.
At the break of dawn, the sky was still dark. Many shops in the city were starting to prepare for opening, with warm lights faintly illuminating the quiet streets, adding a touch of life.
The silver moon had not yet set, and the faint sounds of sweeping and tidying could be heard. Jiang Yin did not linger, but stood on the street to get her bearings before heading to a familiar location.
She had been to this town in her previous life and knew where the black market was.
In her past life, she bought essence blood and soul essence to cultivate the Resurrection Grass, but unfortunately, even after becoming a Demon Lord, she never saw it fully mature.
In this life, she planned to buy more, using some for herself and saving some to nourish the Soul Jade Marrow.
Currently, the Soul Jade Marrow was of top-grade earth level. Unless absolutely necessary, Jiang Yin did not want to use it and needed to constantly nourish it with essence blood and soul essence.
Wearing a mask, she arrived at a familiar street corner. There was no one around except for two cultivators guarding a wall. Jiang Yin tossed them a small bag of low-grade spirit stones and, after receiving a token, entered without any hindrance.
The sky was still dark, but it was at this time that the black market, which shunned the light, was most bustling.
The black market was crowded, but most people concealed their identities to avoid being recognized.
As soon as Jiang Yin entered, more than a dozen gazes fell on her. However, her aura was restrained, and the mask blocked divine senses, making her appear as a vague figure that was easily forgotten.
Unable to see through her, those divine senses quickly withdrew. No one wanted to provoke an unknown trouble.
Along the way, there were many forbidden shops selling slaves, precious demonic beasts, and even internal organs. Everything that was morally and ethically wrong could be found here.
Jiang Yin was unfazed. After all, the cultivation world was always a place where the strong preyed on the weak. She didn’t want to tell Tang Muxi about this because she didn’t want to see her frightened and panicked by these filthy and dark matters.
She walked into a secluded and unremarkable shop at the west corner.
Jiang Yin entered and saw a familiar face—Hun Er.
He was a human cultivator, but his methods were bloody, relying on devouring blood and souls. At this moment, he sat at the front, his face pale, cheekbones protruding, looking quite terrifying.
He was ruthless and often targeted his customers. In his previous life, he met a tough opponent and ended up dead without a complete corpse.
As soon as Jiang Yin entered, he noticed a glint in Hun Er’s eyes. With a cold laugh, she released the murderous aura of the Imprisoning Demon Blade, enveloping Hun Er in an instant.
Although her cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, with the mask on, no one could tell. The domineering and fierce aura of the Imprisoning Demon Blade naturally frightened others.
The fear of death spread in a few breaths. Hun Er was drenched in cold sweat, almost unable to breathe. He quickly restrained his aura and urgently pleaded, “Spare me, Your Excellency…”
Jiang Yin sneered, knowing well the cunning nature of this person, and did not let him off. With a thought, she pierced his arm.
This strike was a warning, not too heavy, but definitely not light.
Jiang Yin’s cultivation was low, but her divine weapon was powerful. She suddenly struck, and Hun Er didn’t even see it clearly.
Sensing Jiang Yin retract her aura, Hun Er clutched his arm, still in shock. “Thank you for showing mercy.”
However, before he could feel relieved, he heard Jiang Yin coldly say, “A pool of Peacock Essence Blood and a soul.”
Hun Er was stunned.
Peacock Essence Blood was not real peacock blood but a superior essence blood refined from various spiritual bloods, extremely rare. Even Hun Er had very little of it and never sold it.
How did this person know? And with such certainty, asking for a whole pool, they must have come prepared.
He knew he was no match for Jiang Yin and didn’t dare to deceive her, but he was also reluctant to part with the essence blood. He could only speak tactfully, “Your Excellency, Peacock Essence Blood is precious, I’m afraid…”
Before he could finish, trying to gauge Jiang Yin’s attitude, Jiang Yin suddenly changed the subject, asking, “I heard you have been devouring souls for years, causing your own soul to be unstable?”
Hun Er clenched his hand, his face darkening.
The instability of his soul was something he had never told anyone, yet this person seemed to know his secrets as if reading his mind. If he weren’t outmatched, he would have wanted to eliminate her immediately.
Over the years, walking on the edge of a knife, he had made many enemies. If this were known, he might not survive the day.
Hun Er didn’t answer, and Jiang Yin didn’t care. She took out a bottle of Soul Condensing Pills.
These were pills she had refined from leftover soul jade last time, of the highest Xuan grade, capable of stabilizing the soul. Although not of the Di grade, they were very rare due to the essence of soul jade.
This bottle of Soul Condensing Pills couldn’t completely cure Hun Er’s unstable soul, but taking them regularly could ensure his safety for twenty years.
When the Soul Jade Marrow evolves into Earth-grade Soul Jade… it can basically ensure that the person will not have any episodes for the rest of their life.
However, Jiang Yin does not intend to cure him completely. Earth-grade Soul Jade is a priceless treasure and cannot be wasted casually.
Hun Er did not recognize this bottle of pills, but based on what Jiang Yin had said earlier, he vaguely guessed its purpose. He widened his eyes and asked excitedly, “Can we test its effect?” Seeing that Jiang Yin did not refuse, he boldly took one out.
The moment he swallowed it, he felt his vision clear and his hearing sharpen. The sharp pain in his sea of consciousness instantly disappeared, and his three souls and six spirits also settled down.
Hun Er was shocked, but his expression could not hide his excitement. “How long can this pill last?”
“Two years.”
When Hun Er poured out the pills earlier, he found there were ten inside, which meant he could be worry-free for twenty years.
A gleam flashed in his eyes, and he said with great satisfaction, “Deal!”
