Inside the small pavilion, Wang Chong'an was introducing the identities of the people present to the two girls in red.
"This is Daoist Nie Wen, the youngest son of the Nie family head. He has exceptional talent and is very likely to become our junior brother."
"This is..."
Soon, Wang Chong'an led the two to He Yuntong.
"This is Daoist He Yuntong, the granddaughter of He Dan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Hundred Herbs Hall. She manages the largest pharmacy in the market town and has good talent herself, soon to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refinement."
He spoke gently to the girl in red. He Yuntong looked respectful and greeted them softly.
In the market town, her status was high, and the many alchemists and Spiritual Plant Cultivators in the Hundred Herbs Hall treated her with great respect. She had been practicing high-level techniques since she was young and had a steady supply of pills to boost her cultivation. With her beautiful appearance and excellent abilities, she was very favored by Foundation Establishment alchemists.
But in front of the girl in red, she felt inadequate. Everything she usually took pride in seemed insignificant compared to this girl.
From what she knew, the girl in red was two years younger than her but was already a high-level Qi Refinement cultivator, possibly at the ninth level or even fully refined. It was important to note that each level of cultivation required a lot of resources and time to achieve. Many cultivators with average talent spent their entire lives stuck in the lower levels of Qi Refinement, never reaching the higher levels, let alone touching the Foundation Establishment threshold.
Not only in cultivation but also in looks and background, the girl in red easily overshadowed her. She sighed inwardly, trying to smile and blend in with the group.
"I heard from Chong'an that you come from the Hundred Herbs Hall?" The girl in red asked curiously, having appeared by her side without her noticing.
"That's right, Senior Sister Xu," He Yuntong replied, a bit shyly nodding.
"Your hall is skilled in alchemy and grows many spiritual plants. Do you have any spiritual fruits suitable for spiritual beasts?"
"Um... I'm not too sure about that," He Yuntong hesitated. "There are many types of spiritual plants in the medicinal garden, and I rarely go there. You'll need to ask the spiritual plant cultivators in the hall."
"Last time, while I was searching for traces of malevolent spirits in the market, I unexpectedly met a young man who had a certain spiritual fruit aura. After asking, I learned he was a spiritual plant cultivator from the Hundred Herbs Hall, so I came to ask you, Miss He."
The girl in red smiled brightly.
"A young spiritual plant cultivator? There are indeed a few young cultivators in the hall, but I would need to ask who it is."
For some reason, He Yuntong thought of Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan quickly made his way to the wall of the courtyard.
On the stone wall, there was a strange spirit beast, the four-eyed red monkey he had seen before in the market.
He didn't know how it found him. Inside the courtyard, the Cloud Stepping Leopard with its green eyes was staring fiercely at the red monkey on the wall, occasionally letting out low growls.
The straw puppet made of grayish-black grass had several thin gray ropes twisted around it, moving like snakes, ready to trap the red monkey if it entered the spiritual field.
The red monkey showed no reaction, sitting obediently on the wall with its four eyes fixed on Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan felt a bit uneasy under its strange gaze, unsure of how to respond. Maintaining the second-tier Fog Concealment Array required a lot of spirit stones, so he usually turned it off during the day when he was home, which allowed this unusual spirit beast to sneak in.
He scolded it a few times, but the four-eyed red monkey remained unfazed, leaving Lu Xuan with no choice.
This red monkey was not just any beast; it was a spirit beast raised by the red-dressed girl, and Lu Xuan worried that if he harmed it, it would cause unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, the red monkey was quite special and could easily detect traces of malevolent spirits, and Lu Xuan felt he might not be able to handle it...
"Come down!"
Seeing that the four-eyed red monkey was obedient, he beckoned it with his finger.
The monkey grinned, and its face, which had a ghostly pattern, suddenly became lively.
It leaped down to Lu Xuan and started circling around him. Its four eyes rolled around eagerly, creating a strange contrast with its originally eerie appearance.
"Do you want this?"
Lu Xuan took out a Red Cloud Pine seed from his storage bag. He had guessed that the aura of the Red Cloud Pine seed he had on him was what attracted the red monkey when they met in the market.
Sure enough, the moment it saw the seed, its four eyes lit up. Its long red arms came together, cradling the seed and making gestures as if asking for it.
"This red monkey is much more polite than the mountain monkeys I’ve seen in my past life," Lu Xuan remarked, tossing the Red Cloud Pine seed to the four-eyed red monkey.
The monkey quickly caught it, eagerly tearing off the fish-scale-like skin to reveal the translucent seed inside.
Using its furry fingers, it broke off a piece and popped it into its mouth.
A look of immense satisfaction spread across its face, as if it had just tasted some exquisite delicacy.
Lu Xuan watched with a smile as it devoured one seed after another.
"Now that you're eating something so delicious, you should know it didn't come easy, right?"
After it had eaten about half, he suddenly asked.
The red monkey's intelligence was higher than he expected. Hearing Lu Xuan's question, it paused its movements, and a glimmer of awareness flashed in its eyes as it quickly nodded.
"I spent countless efforts to cultivate this high-quality Red Cloud Pine seed. I originally planned to sell it for a good price, but since we've met, I'll give it to you as a gift."
"However, you come from a sect, and your master is a talented individual. You wouldn't take my spiritual fruit for free, would you?"
Lu Xuan casually tossed a spirit stone in his hand, hinting.
The red monkey tilted its head, a thoughtful look crossing its four eyes. Then it pointed at the spirit stone in Lu Xuan's hand, letting out a call to indicate that it wanted him to wait. It set down half of the Red Cloud Pine seeds and quickly dashed away.
In less than two moments, it returned with the girl in red.
"Daoist friend, we meet again," she smiled.
"My spirit pet is a bit mischievous and sneaked into your courtyard without my knowledge. I hope it didn't disturb you."
"On the way here, I communicated with it and learned it took a high-quality spiritual fruit from you. Growing spiritual plants is not easy, and I will definitely compensate you enough."
With a wave of her spiritual power, the remaining half of the Red Cloud Pine seeds floated into her palm.
"High-quality spiritual fruit, no wonder the red monkey can't forget about it."
"How about this? I'll compensate you with a first-tier artifact and three cultivation pills. What do you think?"
(End of Chapter)