~~~~~~With Jiang Mengxue~~~~~~
The Young Mistress gave two purifying pills to her father and grand uncle. That left her with two, so she decided to give them to her strongest followers.
With that in mind, she returned to her manor.
While her followers were Inner Sect Members, she made them her followers; such privilege allows them access to the Core Sect Grounds.
In the Core Grounds, they could cultivate in the mountain area where the Qi was thickest.
"Mistress, you called us?"
Wu Bingyun, Yunyan and Shi Xueji walked over to see her. They assumed Jiang Mengxue was cultivating the whole time, but it turned out she was running errands on her own.
"I have two Foundation Pills and two Purifying Pills." The Young Mistress showed the pills to them.
The trio looked at these two types of pills with wide eyes.
"M-Master Ming can already make these pills!?" Shi Xueji exclaimed in surprise. The girl was from a Merchant’s Clan—one of the four major sects of the city.
The Shi Clan is an opportunistic clan. They started by selling pills and cultivation resources to the Cloud Sword Sect, which they had brought from different Provinces many generations ago.
All those profits enabled them to establish their clan in the southwestern mountain chain, just south of the Cloud Sword Sect.
They grew in size as their business opportunities expanded and more Clans emerged, such as the Wei Clan.
The Wei Clan was a family clan. Everyone carries the name Wei. These family clans have a strict hierarchy.
People can only marry into the clan; however, there are exemptions, like how it is for the Shi Xueji. The girl was part of the Cloud Sword Sect, and she was here to make connections and build ’bridges’.
And thankfully for her, she did the right thing by coming to Cloud Sword Sect.
An Alchemist has appeared in the Sect, not associated with the Alchemist Association! That alone made her greed and ambition surge.
If she can make him interested in her...
Though Jiang Mengxue already knows that Shi Xueji is here to make friends and connections, that is why the Young Mistress didn’t offer her to Ye Ming. Instead, she went with Liu Li.
Though it was Ye Ming’s choice in the end, Liu Li brought the Storage Ring. They’d already talked, so it made sense that he would pick Liu Li.
Or at least that is what Shi Xueji is thinking.
"I can assume that I won’t be getting a pill." The well-developed beauty sighed, saying her talent, compared to Yuyan and Wu Bingyun, was mediocre; she was still at Stage Six of Qi Gathering, while the other two were at Stage Seven.
"Well, Master Ming only gave me these." Jiang Mengxue said with a strained smile.
"...Then... Can I visit him?" Shi Xueji asked with a smile.
"..."
"If you think that you can do something about it. Why not. Just remember that you are with Cloud Sword Sect and not your Shi Clan." Jiang Mengxue reminded her with narrowed eyes.
"Don’t worry, my clan rules are quite strict, and I doubt he would be interested in marrying into my Shi Clan.
I could help him sell things and get a good spot in the Su Family’s Grand Auction House." Shi Xueji casually suggested what she could offer.
"...Fine."
Jiang Mengxue couldn’t keep these girls on the leash forever anyway. If Ye Ming noticed something off, he could get suspicious.
~~~~~~Next Day~~~~~~
Bai Lingxi slowly opened her eyes, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face as she recalled what had happened to her.
Ye Ming made sure she felt loved, and that made her heart race.
He spent hours doing things to her, and he did so vigorously.
Sadly, he needed to go; she wouldn’t have minded if he stayed and never left.
With a sigh, she left her bed and went to wash herself in the bathroom before dressing up in Inner Sect clothes.
Eventually, she left the room and recalled something.
"Oh...right."
She walked over to the side room, where she saw Jian Long lying in the same position as before.
Bai Lingxi walked over to him, pulled out the pill, and fed it to him.
"I don’t know if you can hear me. But leave; I don’t know who you are, or if Long’er can return, I no longer care.
I have more important things to do than babysit you."
With that said, she got up and left the house. She has work to do.
’Wait! I work for Jiang Mengxue, collecting the ingredients. What if I go to Master Ming and ask him!’
The Fallen Heroine was still a woman, and she still wanted his attention. Why should she work for Young Mistress? She could work directly for him!
While it sounded great, she was making Jiang Mengxue even more annoyed with her. But it was fine in her eyes, as she would have Ye Ming’s protection.
This was no different from before; she was just upgrading her protection.
"Hehehehe~~"
With a hum, she disappeared with her Lightfoot, rushing towards the Outer Sect Grounds.
From her house, a man emerged, his eyes empty as he slowly walked toward the Outer Sect Grounds and out of the Sect Grounds entirely.
While the Houtian Pill fixed his body and his wounds, it didn’t fix his mind or his pride.
By this point, he no longer cared about anything; he was a broken man. He would leave this false sect to its fate. Jian Long doesn’t care anymore.
Funny enough, Ye Ming will never know who this Jian Long was, or what he did, or what he wanted to do.
Nothing; to him, he was just Bai Lingxi’s unlucky friend. A friend that he would never see again; he never even learned what he looked like, as he was lying on his side, or what his name was.
~~~
Bai Lingxi appeared at the edge of Ye Ming’s house territory. She slowly walked over. Moments later, Ye Ming left the house, and Liu Li followed.
The follower of Jiang Mengxue walked awkwardly; the Fallen Heroine already knew what had happened to her.
And that realisation made the girl jealous, to say the least.
"Master Ming, good morning." Bai Lingxi smiled brightly, her eyes gleaming with desire.
"Lingxi, what can I do for you? Did your unlucky friend play with something dangerous again?"
"No such thing. I told him to leave and never come back. I am here for another thing." The girl brushed aside Jian Long. In her eyes, he was already dead; that other thing had caused something that made him die. While she would... most likely miss him... or not, her attention was here and now.
"Oh?"
"Yes, I was instructed to gather ingredients for pill making by Jiang Mengxue. I believe they are for you, so it would be for the best if I bring them directly to you." She explained in a smooth voice.
’Damn this girl... she is already thinking ahead.’ Liu Li realised how quickly Bai Lingxi was moving.
"That is a good suggestion. Do it. If you can bring something fascinating, I could make some pills for you as well."
"Wonderful~." The Fallen Heroine smiled brightly at his decision.
"Liu Li. I want you to find Mengxue, tell her about the ingredients I learned, and that Bai Lingxi is working for me now... oh, and get those stockings."
"...Understood." She nodded at him before walking over and smiling smugly at Bai Lingxi. That smugness got the Fallen Heroine confused.
The reason was that Liu Li made sure he was drained and incapable of doing anything naughty for a while!
With that said, once Liu Li was gone, the girl saw a perfect opportunity to have him all to herself... but...
"Once you bring me some ingredients, I will make something for you. You can return to your job, Lingxi." He motioned for her to move as he walked to his training.
’That Liu Li! Damn her!’
With an annoyed nod, she rushed away with her Lightfoot.
Once she was gone, Ye Ming walked to his training area. He pulled out a wooden box from his storage ring and took the sword out.
He unsheathed it and tried to practise with it.
But at that moment, he felt something; visions began to assault him!
He saw stances, moves, and how to wield the blade.
’Cloud Sword Style!’
However, then he saw extra moves!
The hidden intent and meaning!
’Jian Heavenly Cloud Sword Style! A Xiantian Realm Martial Art!’
As he tried to practise and understand, he felt his Qi surging, trying to deliver what his mind desired.
Practising Xiantian art drained his Qi swiftly, but he popped several Gathering Qi pills into his mouth, refined them quickly, and added them to his growing Qi pathways.
He repeated the process as the pressure kept building on his cultivation base.
A couple of hours later, Liu Li had already returned; she went to cultivate as well. Seeing him working hard made her focus on her cultivation as well.
Eventually, Ye Ming experienced a breakthrough, reaching Stage Six of Qi Gathering.
He used six pills in total and needed to practise the Xiantian Realm Technique, but he did it.
Another breakthrough in a matter of a few short days.
"Congratulations, Master Ming." A foxy voice caused Ye Ming to turn around and look at who it was. It was that Shi girl.
The Alchemist immediately smirked. Of course, it was the Shi Clan. He showed he could use the Foundation Pill and, most likely, the Xiantian Awakening Pill, too.
So she moved immediately.
"You are one of Mengxue’s girls." The Alchemist replied.
"You can call me Shi Xueji." She slightly bowed. Her impressive bust jiggled with her movement.
"Why are you here, Xueji?" Liu Li immediately appeared next to Ye Ming.
"Relax, Liu Li. I doubt I can take your place. After all, it depends on Master Ming, yes?" Shi Xueji asked with a knowing look.
"Of course. She is living here, and I like her company."
When Liu Li heard that, she immediately got flustered!
"Fufufu. It would seem Master Ming broke through that ice." The Shi girl commented with an amused tone. Seeing Liu Li like that amuses her.
"I am here to propose a few things." The Foxy beauty smiled, showing a crafty look.
"I can be your middle girl with my clan. While I am with Cloud Sword Sect, I still have my contacts.
You can have access to them. I sell things for you outside the Sect. I can arrange for you to attend an Auction organised by the Su Family.
You can do that anonymously." She smirked while saying that.
"...Oh? Is that so?"
"This is the reason why Jiang Mengxue added me to her ranks. I am simply extending the same courtesy. Though I do believe we could make quite a profit, since you could sell things cheaper than the Alchemist Association."
"Isn’t that dangerous? We would be provoking the Alchemist Association." He asked her, realising that he would be directly clashing with the Alchemist Association.
"Yes, it is, but we use the Su Family’s influence; the Duan Dynasty backs them." The Shi girl smirked at him.
Her family had been playing both sides for years.
While this sounded great and all. Ye Ming wasn’t as keen on doing that.
The Alchemist inherited a mountain of Qi Stones; there is no need for him to risk it unless he wants to do it on purpose.
Besides, this girl isn’t hiding her greed.
"Hmm, in that case, show me what your clan can do. I need a bulk of Heavenly Qi Grass. Get it for me for a reasonable price, and we’ll start trading."
Shi Xueji expected him to jump boats, but it would seem he was in no hurry.
’Hmph, fine, then let’s play it your way.’
With a nod, she turned around and left.
"Elder Jiang is already gathering them for you. Is there a reason to ask her?" Liu Li asked as she approached him. Her eyes were glistering with happiness.
"Yes. I know this is a test; I want to see the price she would offer." Ye Ming shrugged at her.
"I see..."
’I do hope this doesn’t spiral out of control. But then again, the Shi clan doesn’t reveal their sources. They are a proper merchant clan.’ Liu Li wasn’t that worried. But the more people know, the greater the chances of Ye Ming’s identity spreading.