Chapter 223   News!

On this day, when Hua Qiyue had just emerged from her cultivation trance, Xuanji came over and handed her a vial.

Hua Qiyue took it and looked. “Top-grade Magic Pellet again? City Master Bai seems to refine this pill as easily as cooking rice. Is it that simple?”

Hua Qiyue asked in surprise.

After all, this was the world’s foremost divine pill. Not everyone could refine one.

“Of course not. It takes seven days to refine one Top-grade Magic Pellet. After a high-level alchemist has refined it, he will take two months or so to recover his energy. And some alchemists might not succeed and will explode and die!” Xuanji said quietly.

Hua Qiyue heard him and her face color changed a little. She had not expected the world’s foremost pill to be so horrendously difficult to refine.

No wonder even those alchemists who could refine such pills would not do it for others.

“It looks like refining a Top-grade Magic Pellet is very troublesome and risky... ” Hua Qiyue remarked quietly. “Please thank City Master Bai for me. He’d better refine fewer of such dangerous pills.”

Hua Qiyue felt somewhat guilty. She had not expected Bai Qianxue to treat her so well. What if there was danger? Hua Qiyue would not feel at ease even if she gave up her life.

Xuanji lightly pursed his lips, not saying anything.

Hua Qiyue accepted the Top-grade Magic Pellet and glanced curiously at the stationary Xuanji. “By the way, which level has City Master Bai reached in his rune art?”

“Probably Lvl 1. He is very gifted. You don’t have to worry.”

Xuanji said and stood erect in the wind indifferently, gazing into the near distance.

Hua Qiyue gave a start. Although this man seemed quite cold, he had treated her rather well.

Yet his identity was still so mysterious. Although everyone had been around here for over a year, he was still so secretive and would not reveal any news.

Hua Qiyue sighed, remembering herself and Yun Shimo out of the blue.

She was too trusting. Now, she had lost even Tianci.

Under the Bodhi Tree, the clear breeze was provocative.

From somewhere drifted in a woman’s singing voice, plaintive and bitter.

Hua Qiyue felt a slight twinge in her heart. She immediately started to channel her Qi flow and tried to fight that hard-to-suppress grief.

For over a year, whenever she felt despondent, she would practice madly. She would not allow her thoughts to run wild.

At this moment, a group of intruders arrived outside the Ten Thousand Spirit Cave, barking for Hua Qiyue to come out and meet her death.

Ji Feng saw that Hua Qiyue was holding her breath and concentrating. He went out with Ji Jing and Huangfu Xuan to deal with those troublemakers.

It turned out that they were Qi Artists in love with Murong Mengshi. Their Qi Art level was around the medium level of Dragon Diagram.

These Qi Artists had never seen Hua Mengshi before and had fallen in love with her great name. When they heard that Hua Mengshi’s two personal maidservants had been slain by Hua Qiyue, they took the opportunity to create trouble.

In more than a year, more than two of these Qi Artists had come in provocation for the same reason. Hua Qiyue could not quite remember how many had come. Anyway, they were all dolts.

After Hua Mengshi killed her maidservants personally, she lied to the Murong Family, claiming to her elders that Hua Qiyue had slain them for some minor reasons.

The Murong Family realized that Bai Qianxue had valued Hua Qiyue highly in Spirit Heaven City and feared her. They did not allow any of their family members to come in provocation.

However, there were a few brainless Qi Artists from outside their family who wanted to win Hua Mengshi’s heart. They were all beaten away by Hua Qiyue.

Hua Qiyue’s name started to spread. None of the provoking Qi Artists could counter even one strike of hers.

Yet, many Qi Artists still proceeded to her place. They believed that their prowess exceeded those before them and they would surely not lose.

Hua Qiyue had to hand it to Hua Mengshi. She had managed to get so many male Qi Artists to trouble her without lifting a finger. The moment Hua Qiyue fought them, she would again offend more people.

Ji Feng and rest went out, using one move to knock those three Qi Artists out.

When they returned to the Bodhi Tree, Hua Qiyue was eating grapes.

Xuanji had brought many fruits and titbits from Bai’s Mansion. Bai Qianxue had very likely instructed his servants to prepare them for Xuanji to bring over.

“Well, well, I didn’t expect City Master Bai to treat Sister so well. He knows that Brother cannot make such titbits, so he got his man to bring it here. He’s so considerate!” Ji Jing also raced back, picking an osmanthus cake and started munching it by the large mouthfuls.

Hua Qiyue gave a light smile. Xuanji had indeed brought back many things from Bai’s Mansion this time.

Bai Qianxue must be a thoughtful man. He would send them these snacks, making Hua Qiyue most grateful.

“City Master Bai is indeed a considerate man!” Ji Feng also smiled slightly, glancing at Xuanji. “Brother Xuan, you’re quite good friends with City Master Bai. But we don’t know your identity yet.”

So Ji Feng was also curious about Xuanji’s identity.

Xuanji slightly raised his eyebrows, a strange light gliding across his eyes. He said indifferently, “I can’t tell, I can’t tell. The time’s not right.”

Everyone heard him and was instantly extremely disappointed.

Hua Qiyue glanced quietly at Xuanji. If he would not tell, it would be impossible to make him.

In the evening, storm clouds started to loom. Thunders began to rumble loudly.

Hua Qiyue’s heart gave a slight start. For nearly half a year, there had been many thunderstorms, with peals of thunder and lightning. Yet nothing so bizarre had happened like the last time. This time, her heart could sense a vague uneasiness.

Hua Qiyue pushed open the window. When she saw the aggressive forks of lightning tearing through the night sky, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

She quickly shut the window and sat down on her bed. She channeled her Qi flow and urged it up. Gradually, her entire body was shrouded in a thin, white anima energy.

“Rumble—”

A muffled thunder. Another fork of lightning streaked in and immediately struck Hua Qiyue’s body. But she seemed to feel nothing.

Hua Qiyue could only sense the strange power within her body suddenly getting bigger.

Fortunately, she could still keep that power under control. She breathed an inward sigh of relief.

“Creak—”

The door had been gently pushed open. Xuanji was leaning against the door. Each time there was a thunderstorm, Xuanji would appear outside her room. Was he afraid something bad might befall her?

Hua Qiyue was slightly shutting her eyes. Even though she could hear the door creak, she was too lazy to open her eyes and watch.

Because she knew that person was surely Xuanji.

“Zzzzz...”

A few more forks of lightning crept in from the outside, blinding the eyes when they lit up the room. It was so bright that no one could see anything.

The lightning bolts crept into Hua Qiyue’s body again. Her entire body trembled slightly, her face turning pale. But she managed to forcefully control that strange energy transformed from the lightning bolts.

Slowly, she changed those strange energies into something she could muster.

Xuanji saw everything happening. Time and again, Hua Qiyue would turn the lightning bolts into her own energy. His face showed great astonishment.

“I didn’t expect... everything Father had said to be true.” When he thought about this, he could not help revealing a complex look in his eyes.

He glanced at Hua Qiyue as if sizing up a new continent and trying to discern something unique in her body.

Xuanji remembered that when he was 10, the Bai family, which was as powerful as the Xuan family, had tried to engage their daughter with him. But Xuanji’s father had refused. He allowed Xuanji to be ordained as a Taoist priest to prevent the match.

After all, Xuanji was only 10 that year, but so extraordinarily gifted in both Taoism and soothsaying. Even his famous father could not quite match him.

Soothsaying was the art of divination and foretelling a person’s life destiny. In Tianyuan Continent, few practiced such an occupation.

Few were good in it. And there were far fewer of them than Qi Artists.

Since then, Xuanji had been a Taoist priest. Whether he liked to or not, his father had made him take the tonsure and part with the laity. His mother had bitterly broken up with his father over this.

Xuanji’s father made him roam everywhere... what happened later made him feel very strange each time he thought about it.

“Oh... how comfortable! These lightning bolts... I wonder what kind of a strange power they were. Why have they all crept into my body...? Hmmm, each time I received the energy from these lightning bolts, I feel my cultivation rise to a whole new level!”

Hua Qiyue said joyously. The thunders had stopped rumbling and the lightning had also ceased.

Hua Qiyue’s face was ruddy. She no longer felt the slight discomfort she had felt earlier.

Xuanji pursed his lips, turning and striding to his bedroom. His body of teal robes fluttered in the breeze, so supremely elegant and carefree.

Hua Qiyue stared baffled at his silhouette and was even more curious about his identity. For some strange reason, Hua Qiyue felt that he was protecting her.

Otherwise, why was he so tense when she was absorbing the power of the lightning bolts?

Was he in love with her? Ha—

When she thought of this, even Hua Qiyue started to laugh. How could a Taoist priest fall for a woman?

The following day, the weather was fine after the storm.

However, when Hua Qiyue had just finished her breakfast, an visitor came to the entrance and yelled. “Excuse me, is Hua Qiyue—Princess Jinghua—in?

Well, what a respectable form of address!

Hua Qiyue recalled that no one had called her Princess for a long time. The man outside could not be an intruder to the Ten Thousand Spirit Cave. He must know this place was occupied.

The moment he stepped in, he would be punished by Bai Qianxue’s laws. An ordinary person would have his Qi Art downgraded, or might even die.

So, cultivating within Spirit Heaven Mountain was very peaceful and safe.

“Please wait for a moment, eminent guest!” Hua Qiyue immediately transmitted out her voice. She executed Mourning Steps and instantly arrived at the entrance of the valley. Huangfu Xuan and the rest did not know what had ensued and followed closely behind.

Standing outside the entrance was a burly man in mercenary attire. He was at the Great Completeness of Cultivation Dimension. When he saw Hua Qiyue suddenly appear before his eyes, he had a great fright.

He sized the woman up before his eyes. She looked almost 18 and was a peerless beauty. Her expression was indifferent, but there was an expectancy in her beautiful eyes.

“I am Hua Qiyue. Are you the agent who has accepted my mission for the Mercenary Agency?”

“Yes, indeed. I am the mercenary who has accepted the mission, Tiehan. 15 days ago, I was passing through Xuanyuan City in the north and inquired about that boy, Tianci. It seemed that quite a few had seen the boy, one year three months ago, in Xuanyuan City!”

The mercenary Tiehan said, his eyes full of sincerity. “If you don’t believe me, Princess, you can ask those around there. If you hear the same news, please inform the Agency and let me earn some living expenses!”

Whenever these mercenaries inquired about the news, they would need their boss’s agreement before they could claim rewards.

But generally, those who advertised for such agents were not too miserly themselves. In other words, most mercenaries would still earn their rewards.

“Haha, I thank Young Master Tie for informing me. If it is true, I will surely inform the Agency!” Hua Qiyue cupped her fists.

Tiehan chortled loudly, his laugh full of candid heartiness. “I’ve long heard of Your Highness’s great name. Well, I’m indeed impressed today! I have something I need to see to. So long!”

Hua Qiyue waved her hand and bid him farewell. She prepared to pack her things in the cabin and leave. She was going to Xuanyuan City to search!