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The candles in the room’s lighting had long since gone out. Everything was dark.
“Qing Wan, light the lanterns,” ordered Su Yi.
The red-dressed Qing Wan emerged from the Soul-Nurturing Gourd and was just about to light the lanterns when a somewhat nervous voice rang out. “Don’t!”
Yue Shichan clutched the hems of her clothes and lowered her head. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to hide.
Su Yi couldn’t help but find it amusing. “We’re just treating your wounds, that’s all. Is there any need to be so nervous?”
Qing Wan chimed in too. “That’s right! Big Sister, you don’t have to be shy! My master is a proper gentleman! When he treated you last night, his mind was clear and pure as a venerable monk in meditation. He’s nothing like those perverts.”
“.....” Su Yi didn’t quite know what to say to that. Did I really seem that much like an enlightened bald donkey?
Yue Shichan said sheepishly, “I’m not worried about that, but
”
Before she could finish, Su Yi said directly, “Let’s get right to it. No more of this hemming and hawing. Qing Wan, help her take her clothes off.”
“Ah?” Yue Shichan hurriedly waved. “No need, I can do it myself. Um
. Brother Su, might you
 Might you look away for a moment?”
Su Yi nodded, then turned and left. In his heart, he thought, I might not be able to see it now, but I’ll see it in a moment, won’t I?
Shortly afterward.
When Su Yi pushed open the door and re-entered the room, he saw Yue Shichan lying on the bed covered in a thin quilt.
Although the room was dark, Su Yi could still clearly sense that this picturesque, extraordinary beauty’s delicate frame was as tense as a bowstring. Her pink lips were pursed, her starry eyes were tightly shut, and her eyelashes quivered faintly, revealing just how nervous and awkward she felt on the inside.
Su Yi suppressed the desire to tease her, then shot Qing Wan a meaningful glance.
Qing Wan, however, looked baffled. “?”
Su Yi said helplessly, “Don’t just stand there! Lift the blanket and hold down her legs, just like you did last night.”
“Oh!” said Qing Wan. She hurriedly did as she was told.
When Qing Wan lifted the blanket, Yue Shichan couldn’t help but cover her face. Her breathing sped up, and her jade-like feet arched.
If not for Qing Wan immediately holding her smooth, slender, ivory legs down, Yue Shichan might well have already curled up like a shrimp.
He could see a faint pinkness rise on her fair, smooth skin.
Su Yi’s gaze landed on her collarbones, then traveled downward, passing over the ample, curvy scenery concealed beneath her thin bodice
.
There was a difficult-to-disguise admiration in his gaze. She really is the best the human world has to offer.
“Brother Su, hurry up and get started,” said Yue Shichan, her voice as quiet as a gnat but carrying a hint of a rebuke.
As a cultivator, when Su Yi’s gaze swept across her figure, Yue Shichan felt thoroughly uncomfortable and uncomfortable, as if she were prey.
“Alright.” Su Yi set his other thoughts aside, walked up, and pressed his hand on her abdomen.
That soft, smooth sensation made his heart pound.
Yue Shichan’s delicate frame went rigid, and a faint “eep!” escaped her glossy lips. She felt as if searing heat and an electric current were attacking her flank. Her heart and body shook, and her mind went blank.
Her heart was in chaos as all manner of emotions arose within her.
In all her years of life, this was her first time experiencing this. Awkwardness, embarrassment, shyness, nervousness, bewilderment
 All kinds of sensations mixed together. She didn’t know how to separate them, much less how to put them into words.
She wasn’t sure how long her daze lasted.
Suddenly, Su Yi’s voice reverberated throughout the pitch-black room. He sounded as if he’d just set down an enormous burden. “That’ll do it.”
A weight lifted from Yue Shichan’s abdomen; that slender, powerful hand was no longer there.
Yue Shichan immediately scrambled for the blanket and covered herself up, hiding even her head beneath the covers; she seemed too scared to face anyone!
When Qing Wan saw this, she couldn’t help but find it amusing. This big sister is even shyer than I am!
Su Yi, however, just lay down on the couch on the other side of the room. His entire body went limp, his eyes closed, and before long, he was fast asleep.
A look of pity appeared on Qing Wan’s face. She grabbed a blanket and carefully placed it over him.
“Th-thank you
 Brother Su, I
” Yue Shichan’s grateful voice emanated from underneath the quilt.
“Shhh!” Qing Wan hurried toward her and transmitted, “Big Sister, Master’s already asleep. You don’t know this yet, but he overcame a brutal battle earlier tonight, then treated your wounds as soon as he got home. He still hasn’t rested yet.”
Yue Shichan suddenly sat up and, heedless of the quilt slipping off her body, appeared beside the sofa.
When she saw Su Yi’s familiar, handsome face fast asleep, this icy immortal beauty of a young woman couldn’t help but feel stunned. Wordless gratitude and faint guilt welled within her heart. Her beautiful, starry eyes misted over, and the rims of her eyes dampened.



Morning the next day.
Wisps of sunlight drifted in through the window lattice, bathing the sofa in their gentle glow.
Su Yi awoke from his slumber, stretched lazily, and got up.
Shortly afterward, Yue Shichan’s clear, pleasant voice emanated from outside the room. “Brother Su, breakfast is ready. We’re just waiting on you.”
Su Yi was stunned. He keenly sensed that her voice was like ice melting beneath the springtime sunlight; it had a new and refreshing warmth to it.
When he arrived at the first floor of the pavilion, he saw that the table was already laden with piping-hot dishes.
The snowy Yue Shichan had casually tied up her long black hair, and her little face had a new sweetness and gentleness.
She was still as cold and aloof as ice, but now, she had a touch of softness too.
“Brother Su, dig in!” Yue Shichan rolled up her sleeves, revealing arms as fair as lotus roots as she personally filled Su Yi’s bowl with congee.
Su Yi looked at her strangely, then wondered out loud, “Why are you
”
Yue Shichan pressed her lips into a smile. “I made all this food myself. Try it and see if it suits your palate.”
“Oh?” said Su Yi. He couldn’t be bothered to give the matter any further thought, so he dug right in.
The food was extraordinary. The congee was made of boiled spirit grains, and all of the dishes were delicacies emanating spiritual energy. Everything looked, smelled, and tasted great.
Shortly afterward, Su Yi said, “Not bad! Not bad at all!”
Yue Shichan couldn’t help but smile. “Back in the Great Zhou, when I wasn’t immersed in pursuing the Dao of the Sword, my only hobby was cooking for myself. Brother Su, if you’d like, I can cook for you whenever I’m around.”
Su Yi couldn’t help but feel surprised. It was hard to imagine that such an ethereal beauty, a woman like a fairy or immortal, liked to cook

“In that case, I’m in for a treat,” laughed Su Yi.
Yue Shichan was obviously different than in the past, like thousand-year-old ice bathed in the light of spring. She was extraordinarily moving.
After eating his breakfast, Su Yi stood beside the lotus pond and practiced the Great Emptiness Origin-Calming Sutra once more.
When he finished his drills, he sprawled out in his wicker chair, tossing moon clams to the fish as he pondered. Should I make another circle around the city today and see if I can find Ge Qian?
Before he reached a decision, someone knocked on the door. The middle-aged man in simple cloth robes and his servant, Weng Jiu, had come calling.
“Fellow Daoist Su, these are the cultivation resources my master has prepared for you. Please, accept them with a smile.” Weng Jiu immediately took out a bag of holding and proffered it with both hands.
He was already fully aware that Su Yi had never enjoyed exchanging pleasantries, so it was better to be direct.
Su Yi accepted the bag and glanced at its contents. He couldn’t help but feel surprised.
There were a full thousand tier-six spirit stones and one hundred absolute-grade spirit stones!
He feared that even if the Jade Bottle Province’s Zuo Family sold off all their spirit mines, they couldn’t come up with such an enormous sum!
Even in Nine Tripod City, this was a fortune.
The reason was simple. Tier-six spirit stones were rare treasures, resources only the most powerful and influential people in Nine Tripod City could enjoy.
But absolute-grade spirit stones were priceless. In the modern Azure Continent, they were absolutely rare and precious, the type of treasure that could be found by chance but not sought.
At the capital’s current going rate, one absolute-grade spirit stone was worth over one hundred tier-six spirit stones, but it was hard to find anyone willing to make the trade.
The crux of the matter was that the spiritual energy contained within absolute-grade spirit stones contained traces of the presence of the Grand Dao. This was enormously beneficial to a Spirit Dao cultivator’s training.
Ordinarily speaking, even Spirit Dao cultivators would only use absolute-grade spirit stones while attempting a breakthrough. This increased their odds of success.
Yet now, the middle-aged man was giving him a hundred of them at once.
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How could Su Yi not be surprised?
Of course, what surprised him was the other party’s generosity, not the rarity of the spirit stones themselves.
After all, what heavenly materials and earthly treasures hadn’t Su Yi seen in his past life?
“You really held nothing back,” said Su Yi ruefully. When he first entered Nine Tripod City, he pondered how best to earn a quick fortune and purchase suitable cultivation resources for himself.
Who’d have thought he’d get his hands on such an enormous fortune today?
“Fellow Daoist, how could any number of spirit stones equal what you’ve done for us?” said the middle-aged man with a burst of hearty laughter. When he saw that Su Yi seemed satisfied, he inwardly sighed in relief.
He had no lack of money, but he didn’t have many treasures as rare or precious as absolute-grade spirit stones. Giving away a hundred all at once was no different from opening up a vein.
Su Yi took a jade slip from his sleeves and tossed it over. “I’ve recorded a method for repairing the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation in this.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up. He accepted the slip, then hurriedly skimmed its contents before bowing deeply to Su Yi. He said solemnly, “Fellow Daoist, thank you for your benevolence!”
Weng Jiu hurriedly bowed as well.
He was well aware of what a method of repairing the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation meant to his master.
Su Yi was indeed worthy of such a display of gratitude!
“You’re not going to look?” asked Su Yi.
The middle-aged man in simple cloth robes laughed. “I’ll take my time to look through it after I get back.”
He paused, then said, “Fellow Daoist Su, I already know what happened last night at Cloudcomb Lake, and I’ve already sent people to seal and suppress word of what happened. At least for a little while, no one will know that you’re the one who killed Huo Tiandu. Cloudsky Divine Palace and the Huo Family fell flat on their faces. After suffering such a setback, there’s no way they’d announce it to the outside world.”
The middle-aged man paused here and smiled. “In summary, at least for now, you needn’t worry about yesterday night’s duel bringing you trouble.”
When he heard this, Su Yi sighed in relief and admiration. “Not bad, not bad! I was just worrying about what I’d do if the Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators of the Qingyi Dao Sect heard about this and got too scared to avenge Li Miaohong. This is great! So long as we can keep them in the dark, they won’t be able to resist delivering themselves right to my doorstep!”
His voice carried a hint of anticipation.
“....”
“.....”
Both Weng Jiu and his master were at a loss for words.