“Okay, okay. Just put it on my tab!” Wanli Mingxuan hastily kept the pills away. He was a little strapped for money recently and could not afford to incur a greater debt now.
“Young Master, you still owe us 900 Spiritual Stones,” Shopkeeper Jin reminded.
The Master of the Wanbao Building would personally collect a debt himself once it exceeded 1,000 Spiritual Stones.
“Don’t worry. I’ve received a piece of information regarding the Zhong Province Ruins. I’ll definitely have enough Spiritual Stones to pay for all my debts once I sift through that place once,” Wanli Mingxuan said confidently.
“That’s marvelous! I wish Young Master the best of luck on your trip. I’m sure you’ll come back with a lot of treasures,” Shopkeeper Jin immediately started with the bootlicking.
Yun Jiuge was not aware that Wanli Mingxuan also had his eyes on the Zhong Province Ruins.
After she left the Wanbao Building, she kept going around in circles in a noisy alley nearby.
“Stop walking about aimlessly. There’s no one on your tail,” Zi Shang said coldly.
“That Wanbao Building’s a pretty decent place!” Yun Jiuge expected the employees of the Wanbao Building to follow her to find the Dark Alchemist who refined the pills. Yun Jiuge was worried that they would use coercion and other unscrupulous means to make the Dark Alchemist work for them.
“He probably knows doing that won’t get him anywhere. It’d be easier if he just left a good impression on you. That’d give him a higher chance of doing business with you again in the future,” Zi Shang said. Shopkeeper Jin looked like a sensible man after all.
“Alright then. Let’s take a walk around and see if we can find a good quality Demonic Pill for the Liu Sisters.” Yun Jiuge began to walk around Ze Yun Street excitedly.
Zi Shang followed next to her quietly the whole time, and he would get her to buy some good items when he noticed them.
Yun Jiuge bought a Grade Two Three-eyed Monkey Demon’s Demonic Pill and a cheap Paper Crane before she left Ze Yun Street reluctantly.
The sun had already risen by the time she got back to her Cave Dwelling. Zi Shang noticed straightaway that the Protective Barrier he had cast around the Cave Dwelling had been tampered by someone while they were away.
Needless to say, Elder Mo Hua and Elder Bai Gu must have been behind it.
They did not dare to stir up trouble at the Sect Leader’s Peak themselves, so they constantly sent their underlings over to harass Yun Jiuge in their stead.
Their plan was to make Yun Jiuge live in constant fear by creating the impression that she was constantly under surveillance.
Sadly, their plan backfired on them.
Yun Jiuge could not care less about whatever they did.
Once she entered her Cave Dwelling, she took out the Black Magic Dagger that she had obtained at the Bloodthirsty Sect previously.
The dagger was wider and longer than the four other knives that she had purchased at the Wanbao Building, and there were a lot more red rust stains on its blade as well. It was very clear that this was the main knife.
Yun Jiuge placed the main knife alongside the four other knives. In the next second, the four smaller knives immediately made a buzzing sound before all five knives floated upwards into the air in unison. Thereafter, they merged into a one-meter-long, blood red sword that reeked of blood.
“This is a fine sword.” Yun Jiuge knew at first glance that the sword before her was exceptional. She had really hit the jackpot this time round.
“Be careful!” Zi Shang suddenly pushed Yun Jiuge away.
The stool that she had been sitting on was instantly sliced into smithereens by the blood red sword.
The sword did not give up after failing the first time. It continued to chase after Yun Jiuge and attack her. However, it was quickly stopped by Zi Shang.
“What’s going on?” Yun Jiuge was immensely taken aback by the sudden change in events.
“It thinks your cultivation is too low to be its owner. It wants to get rid of you and find a new owner,” Zi Shang said as he extended a hand out and grabbed the hilt of the sword before he flicked his fingers at the blade.
Buzz!
The sword immediately led out a cry of pain. The dark red color of its blade faded away significantly, and it looked like it was in its last moments.
“How dare it try to kill me? Destroy it right now,” Yun Jiuge said between gritted teeth.
The sword began trembling immensely before it split up into five small knives once again. The main knife stood upwards on the table and the tip of its blade was slightly bent downwards. It seemed to be apologizing to Yun Jiuge.
“I brought you out of that deplorable Bloodthirsty Sect, and I even found your brothers and sisters for you! Is that how you intend to repay me?” Yun Jiuge placed her hands on her hips and pointed at the main knife with her right index finger while rebuking, “I treated you kindly for nothing! If that’s how you’re going to repay me, then I’ll just destroy you right now. Do it, Zi Shang.”
The main knife trembled even more furiously than before, and the other knives behind it all fell to the ground one after the other. It was as though they were trying to beg for forgiveness.
“Forget it. The Black Magic Weapons are devoid of humanness. They don’t know right from wrong. There’s no harm in keeping them as long as we can use them.” Zi Shang was impressed with the Black Magic Weapon before him. They would be able to communicate with it mentally as long as it possessed the Wicked Energy. It was much more useful than an ordinary magical weapon.
Besides, the Black Magic Weapon would not be able to do anything to Yun Jiuge with him by her side.
“You’re right. After all, you’re definitely comparable to them when it comes to being devoid of humanness.” Yun Jiuge nodded her head approvingly.
She spent 300 Spiritual Stones on those knives. How could she possibly bear to destroy them?
“Alright. You should trickle a drop of blood over it so that it will recognize you as its owner from now on,” said Zi Shang as he pricked Yun Jiuge’s finger and dripped a drop of her blood onto the main knife’s blade.
All five knives began to glow red, and a connection was formed. Yun Jiuge was now able to manipulate the knives mentally.
“Go into the sack!” Yun Jiuge commanded, and the set of knives immediately flew into her sack according to her command.
Thereafter, Yun Jiuge began making her final preparations for the trip. Once she was done, she took out the Communication Talisman and left the Liu Sisters a message.
“I’ve already gotten my hands on a Demonic Pill. Let’s meet at our usual meeting place at noon tomorrow.” Their usual meeting place was the cave where Yun Jiuge had helped to remove the source of the curse from Liu Mei’er’s body.
That cave was a safe spot for the Liu Sisters to spend the night at since Zi Shang had already set up a series of Defensive Barriers around it beforehand.
The Liu Sisters replied her quickly. They told her they would wait for her at that location.
The next day, Yun Jiuge made her way over to the cave promptly. When she reached, she saw the Liu Sisters waiting for her inside.
They had last met one another around 10 days before, but the Liu Sisters had changed significantly since then. Yun Jiuge noticed right off the bat that they had managed to raise their cultivation to the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage, and they also looked very different from when she last saw them.
The Vicious Energy between Liu Mei’er’s brows had visibly gotten stronger, and Yun Jiuge was also able to sense a faint trace of Spectral Aura around Liu Tian’er’s body as well. Those were signs that they had killed people and refined their blood.
However, the thing that changed the most was the Puppet Yin Corpse that sat on Liu Mei’er’s shoulders. It looked like a completely different object, and Yun Jiuge nearly could not recognize it.
It used to be dressed in a cheap red rag, but that red rag was now replaced by an intricate red silk cloth that had numerous Yin Gathering Runes sewn onto its helms.
Its rough skin had turned smooth and delicate. It looked just like that of a human’s.
Its raven black hair was now tied up in two buns. There were not much changes to its rotund face. There was still only a small mouth on it, and no other features were present. However, its teeth had noticeably become a lot sharper. It was clear that the Puppet Yin Corpse was on its way to becoming a real human-like puppet.
“Where did you guys go over the past few days?” Yun Jiuge furrowed her brows.
They should have just stayed in hiding! Did they really think they were some kind of all-powerful cultivator who could act as they liked? Yun Jiuge thought to herself furiously.
“We went back home.” Liu Mei’er took out a box of Spiritual Jades from her sack and pushed it over to Yun Jiuge. “Senior, please take a look and see if the amount is correct.”
“Looks like you gained a lot over the past few days!” Yun Jiuge could tell straightaway that there were about 20,000 Spiritual Jades in the box before her. The amount would pay off the costs of the operation and the price of the Demonic Pill.
“They’re just some things that we brought back with us.” Liu Mei’er flashed a smile, but there was melancholy in her eyes.
Their father had doted on them ever since they were kids, and he had told them a lot of things that he should not have shared with them, such as the location of the Liu Residence’s secret rooms and passageways and even their treasure room.
The two of them made their way back home based on their memories alone, and they successfully located the treasure room.
They were not able to get their hands on the most valuable item in the room, but they still made off with quite a lot of valuables.
Of course, they did not forget to hurl a ball of Spiritual Flame at their evil aunt’s house before they left. That should teach them a lesson!
“Well done.” Yun Jiuge could not help but remember how she had fought to get back her things from the Yun Family back then. The Liu Sisters reminded her of her past self, and she became even fonder of them.
“Oh, yes. Senior Yun Jiu. We also found this at the Liu Residence.” Liu Tian’er took out a brown wooden box and presented it to Yun Jiuge.
