Spirit Cultivation

Wuying looked at the card in shock.

"What? Is it that good?" he asked her confused. He played with the golden card, but it looked normal to him. 

"Do you know what this card is? Trade Union has shops all over the world. It literally means that wherever you go, you will have twenty percent off every purchase. Normally, you need to spend like a million spirit stones to have a card like this," Wuying explained excitedly. 

"Why did she give it to me then?" 

"They probably guessed that you healed your dantian. A cultivator needs a lot of resources throughout his life and you, as a Liu Clan Young master have deep pockets. Why would you buy at a different shop, when you have twenty percent off in another? They probably treat you as an investment," Wuying speculated. 

"Haha, look how awesome I am," Xuefeng laughed. 

Wuying just rolled her eyes at his comment. 

"Young master, how about we get going? It is getting late," Wuying proposed. 

"Sure, but don't call me Young Master, it's weird. You can call me by my name when we are alone," he suggested, unable to get used to people calling him like that. 

She blushed hearing his sudden words. Even though she was a killer with high cultivation powers she was still a young woman. 

"Okay, Xuefeng," She called with her quiet as a mouse voice. 

"Much better, let's go. I still want to visit that Spirit something Pavilion," Xuefeng hurried, getting up while helping her stand up too. 

"It's Spirit Artefacts Pavilion, and it's also owned by Trade Union, so you can use your golden card there in the future," Wuying explained as she regained her usual composure and led the way. 

Xuefeng gazed at her attractive slender body as they descended the stairs. 

'Her back looks very similar to my Tianshi's…' he thought with his girlfriend in front of his eyes. It was like a mirage. 

Sigh... 

'It's not like I can see her ever again...' 

It didn't matter what he did, he wouldn't escape from the fact that the old Xuefeng is gone. 

"Xuefeng?" He heard a familiar voice calling to him. 

"Tianshi?" he said subconsciously as he came back from his restless thoughts. 

"Who is Tianshi?" Wuying asked with a frown. 

"Eh?" Xuefeng looked around and found out that he was already outside the restaurant. He looked at Wuying's questioning gaze and gulped. 

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Let's go," he tried to cover up his mistake and stepped forward in a random direction. 

Wuying looked at him suspiciously but didn't say anything. 

"We are going this way," She pointed in another direction and went ahead. 

Xuefeng scratched his head and followed her. 

'Damn, I have not been here for even a day and I already almost exposed myself. What if they find out I'm not the real Xuefeng? I need to be more careful from now on.'

———

Sun began to set, but as their destination was close enough, they still decided to continue their walk. It took them another ten minutes to reach it. 

Spirit Artefacts Pavilion was one of the most important shops for everyone on the Cultivation path. Because of that, there were still many people lingering around the area despite the late hour. 

As you could deduce from the name, in the Spirit Artefacts Pavilion you could buy, sell and even lend Spirit Artefacts. You could even post missions for others to hunt a specific kind of Spirit Artefact you want. Of course, for high enough price.

As they got closer to the Mission board, Xuefeng started reading some of them with curiosity. 

"Rank 3 Mission, 

Type: Hunting for a Spirit, 

Beast: Rank 3 Scarlet Butterfly, 

Spirit Artefact: Rank 3 Aura Spirit - Scarlet Moon, 

Group Skill: 3-5 peak Spirit Masters, 

Reward: 200 Spirit Stones." 

"Rank 2 Mission, 

Type: Bodyguard during hunting, 

Beast: Rank 2 Green Wolfs, 

Group Skill: 1-2 advanced Spirit Masters, 

Duration: 1 week 

Reward: 10 Spirit Stones a day" 

"Rank 4 Mission, 

Type: Expedition into the depths of Desolate Mountains, 

Beast: Unknown, 

Group Skill: 10+ Spirit Grandmasters, 

Duration: Unknown, 

Reward: 100 Spirit Stones a day." 

Many missions were posted every day and for many cultivators, this was the only way to earn money. Not everyone was a part of a large clan with boundless resources. 

When they entered the Pavilion, he saw different things than he had imagined. He thought it will be just like any normal shop where he can walk around and watch the things for sale on shelves or cabinets. To put it simply, he was disappointed. It looked like sales took place in many of the private chambers, to which buyers went in separately and had the items presented to them. 

He asked Wuying about it and got his answer. Every Spirit Artefact was the remains of a beast spirit. It needs to consume Spirit Qi to survive. If you leave a Spirit Artefact without any Spirit Qi it will simply dissipate so shopkeepers were responsible for storing them. 

As they were here just to take a look, he didn't want to bother anyone if he wasn't even buying anything. 

He decided to return to the clan before sunset. It didn't take long before they were back inside Xuefeng's courtyard. 

———

They did not notice but while they were walking towards Xuefeng's quarters, one youth was looking at them through the window. A young man was gritting his teeth as he shot daggers at them. 

His right hand was wrapped in bandages and blood was still visible on his shoulder. It looked like someone cut off his arm and then it was reattached.

"Father, you have to take revenge for me!" He suddenly turned around and said to the person standing behind him. 

"Do you know what you did?" The person slapped him in anger. 

"But that bitch cut off my arm!" The youth shouted. 

A crisp sound resounded again in the air. 

"Calm down! Be happy she didn't cut off your stupid head. Even I can't match her, but you had to go and provoke her." 

After two solid slaps, the youth did not explode in anger anymore and calmed down. 

"Who is she? I thought she is just a servant of that trash," he asked confused.

"Well, it won't do much harm if I tell you the secret. Do you know why I didn't become a Clan leader a few years ago, even though I was stronger than Liu Xiaobei?" he asked bitterly. 

"Why? Isn't it because that's what grandfather wished?" 

"No, that was just an information released to the public, so we do not lose face. The real reason is the girl you just offended. Although she looks sixteen, she is actually a twenty years old Spirit King. He once saved her life, so she decided to stay and serve him. With her help, he created Shadow Guard, which later suppressed every clan in the area." 

The man looked at his son and said "Liu Zexi… If you still think that losing one arm was too much, then I don't know what to say." 

"How was I supposed to know that…" Liu Zexi's face paled. If everything his father said was the truth, then he really escaped death. "What a monster." 

"At least now you understand. Do not be your worst enemy and offend Xuefeng. Your Uncle was telling everyone today that his son's dantian recovered. With Wuying protection, you can't do anything to him," he reminded. 

"He is 6 years late, even if he gets all the resources in the clan, he will still lag behind everyone," Liu Zexi commented sarcastically. 

"If you want to join a Sacred Institute in a year then you have to work harder. To increase our status in the clan, you must get that spot. Your arm will heal in a month, try not to overexert it." 

"Yes, father!" Liu Zexi nodded. 

After his father left the room, Zexi's face changed into confusion. 

He didn't show that earlier, but he was shocked when he heard that Xuefeng is still alive. 

'I used Nine Flower Poison. There is no way he is still alive… Even though the cut was shallow, it was enough for the poison on the blade to enter the wound,' He analyzed yesterday's fight with Xuefeng in his thoughts, but he was hundred percent sure he should be dead! 

'Unless the poison was fake… Fuck,' He cursed under his breath. 

———

Xuefeng was lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling. It has been a day since he died and reincarnated into the cultivation world. As he was finally left alone for a long moment, he realized how crazy it is. 

'If I want to stay alive in this world, I need to set some rules for myself,' He thought. 'Rule number one: stay away from cliffs. Well, I guess that's enough for now.'