After parting with the two elders, only Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue remained on the journey.
Jiang Mo was quite pleased with this arrangent. Although the feeling of clinging to elders and being carried along was nice, always staying with her future mother-in-law would be rather uncomfortable—she couldn't exactly court soone's daughter right in front of her mother, could she? So during normal tis, it was better for everyone to go their separate ways, allowing her and Senior Sister more private ti together.
Yun Qingyue had no complaints about this either; or rather, in her heart, she was just as eager to part with those two. Not for any other reason, but because much of her embarrassing history had been exposed, and she now preferred to avoid contact with those involved whenever possible.
As for Jiang Mo... regardless of their relationship, they both had leverage over each other, so what was there to worry about?
Indeed, Yun Qingyue didn't believe that Jiang Mo had handed over all the retention stones, though she wasn't sure how many remained. Since that was the case, further pressure wouldn't be effective, so she might as well record the other's unsightly appearance herself, essentially exchanging "leverage."
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After leaving the two elders, there was actually less awkwardness between them.
After checking the resources Qingyu had left, Jiang Mo said to Yun Qingyue: "Senior Sister, these won't last long. Let's quickly find a city to sell those minerals we collected earlier."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue felt montarily strange—her Master had been truly generous, leaving resources that definitely couldn't be considered ager. In the past, they would have lasted her a long ti. But after nirvana, she had beco like a bottomless pit. Judging by Jiang Mo's tone, she seed accustod to her gold-devouring ability. It seed that growing up would indeed be quite difficult for her.
After setting out again, having recovered her mories, Yun Qingyue could no longer treat Jiang Mo's head as a nest like before. She even felt embarrassed standing on Jiang Mo's shoulder, so she spread her wings and flew ahead.
Hearing Jiang Mo's words, the phoenix circled back, and after so hesitation, asked: "How much have you spent on
these two years?"
Jiang Mo hadn't really calculated this, but she didn't mind and instead said: "It hasn't been two years. Senior Sister, have you forgotten? I was in the inheritance space for a year, and it was Peak Master and the others who took care of you."
Yun Qingyue felt sowhat helpless faced with this response that missed the point, and just as she was about to ask again, she suddenly realized that Jiang Mo wasn't missing the point, but rather didn't want to be so precise in her accounting with her. She paused, ultimately not persisting with this question, and instead said: "Alright, let's go find a city. I just saw several cultivators heading southeast, I wonder if there's a city in that direction."
Jiang Mo nodded. Their speed while flying wasn't slow, and after flying southeast for about half an hour, they indeed sensed the presence of human activity.
Flying a bit further, when they vaguely saw the outline of a distant city, Jiang Mo stopped.
Yun Qingyue also stopped upon noticing and turned to ask: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Mo didn't answer imdiately. She took out a piece of ore, one of those they had picked up in the battlefield ruins. The reason Yun Qingyue could recognize its origin at a glance was because the mineral was surrounded by obvious death energy and killing aura. In the broader environnt of the ruins, this wasn't noticeable, but when taken out elsewhere, even a mortal without cultivation would sense its ominous nature.
Of course, cultivators weren't so fastidious and had many thods to dispel the death energy and killing aura from the mineral. However, with the presence of these energies, the quality of the mineral was significantly reduced, which would greatly affect its selling price.
A dignified White Tiger shouldn't concern herself with such matters, but Jiang Mo was very poor. So she held out the mineral to Yun Qingyue and said: "Senior Sister, why don't you burn it a bit with your fire to see if you can remove the death energy and killing aura?"
The phoenix's true fire was one of the most yang elents in the world and a high-grade spiritual fire. In the past, artisans from the phoenix clan were highly sought after. As a white phoenix, Yun Qingyue naturally possessed this racial talent.
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue didn't refuse. After a mont of preparation, she waved her wing and released a large sheet of flas.
However, Yun Qingyue had previously possessed an ice spiritual root, and her ancestral return and nirvana didn't seem to have changed this, so the fire she released was still Ice Fla. The only difference from before was that the Ice Fla's color beca more transparent, and even from a distance, one could feel the deep cold approaching—she hadn't been able to produce the phoenix true fire in the conventional sense, but the Ice Fla had clearly undergone another mutation.
Jiang Mo felt the approaching deep cold and couldn't help taking a step back. anwhile, the mineral left in place was engulfed by the Ice Fla. Within a few breaths, through the flas, the volu of the mineral could be seen rapidly shrinking by half.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue quickly withdrew the Ice Fla, and Jiang Mo promptly caught the falling mineral.
Unlike a normally calcined mineral, this one, just separated from the Ice Fla, was perated with cold. Even the thick-skinned White Tiger shivered from the cold. She switched it from left hand to right hand, then back again, several tis before barely adapting to the temperature of the mineral. Looking closely, not only had the death energy and killing aura been removed, but even the impurities were significantly reduced, elevating the quality of the entire mineral.
Although for artifact refiners, removing impurities from minerals was just a basic skill, the speed and efficiency of Yun Qingyue's burning was rarely matched. After examining the mineral, Jiang Mo's eyes brightened, and she raised her thumb in unreserved praise: "Senior Sister is amazing."
Yun Qingyue saw the sincerity in her praise and felt both happy and sowhat self-satisfied.
According to Yun Qingyue's original temperant, even when praised, she would remain cool and composed. But having just recovered her mories, Little Swan Goose's playfulness and childishness had influenced her, causing her to unconsciously raise her chin slightly, revealing a hint of pride.
Seeing this, Jiang Mo's eyes brightened further, though she didn't point anything out, her slightly curved eyes and brows filled with smiles.
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Before entering the city, Yun Qingyue painstakingly burned all the minerals Jiang Mo had collected. Burning a pile of minerals together didn't take much ti; after about the ti it takes to brew a cup of tea, the two set off again with the processed minerals.
Previously in the wilderness, having just erged from the ruins, they didn't know where they were.
It wasn't until they arrived at the bustling city, standing outside the stream of people entering, that they looked up and clearly saw the three elegant, ancient characters on the city tower—Linglong City.
Jiang Mo didn't think much about it and casually muttered: "What does this na an? Is it saying the buildings in the city are delicate and exquisite?"
However, when Yun Qingyue saw the city's na, her face darkened. Then, for the first ti, she landed on Jiang Mo's shoulder, her sharp talons scratching lightly. Though she controlled her strength to avoid breaking skin, her presence was clearly felt. Then she said: "Let's go, we won't enter this city. We can exchange our resources in the next city."
Jiang Mo wasn't bothered by the slight prickling on her shoulder, but her words surprised her: "We're already at the city gate, why not go in? And the next city—Senior Sister, do you know which direction to go?"
This question genuinely stumped Yun Qingyue, and she fell silent for a mont.
Jiang Mo looked at the phoenix on her shoulder, then at the wide-open gates of the city before them, not seeing anything wrong with Linglong City. People were coming and going through the city gates, the cultivators entering and exiting seed normal, and the atmosphere was more vibrant than in ordinary cities. Even the footsteps of passing cultivators were light and quick, not at all like so dangerous tiger's den.
Despite her doubts, Jiang Mo unconditionally trusted and respected Yun Qingyue, so she suggested: "How about this, Senior Sister, let's enter the city to buy a map, rather than being unable to find our way."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue seed to sigh, then compromised: "Alright, let's leave as soon as possible."
Jiang Mo nodded in agreent and stepped through the city gates with so curiosity. To her surprise, she discovered that the city was pink—though April had passed, the city was filled with peach blossoms, so blooming while others were falling, covering the streets with petals like a pink carpet. People walking couldn't crush this sea of pink, yet the air was perated with a sweet fragrance.
From outside the city to inside, separated by just a wall, it felt like two different worlds.
Jiang Mo curiously looked around, and when no one was paying attention, secretly pressed down hard on the fallen petals under her foot. With her cultivation level, petals that normally couldn't be crushed naturally gave way, but instead of being ground into pulp, they turned directly into powder.
Withdrawing her foot, Jiang Mo let out a soft "Huh?" and looked at the sole of her shoe, displaying a hint of surprise as if she had never seen such a thing before.
A passing cultivator nearby heard this sound and saw Jiang Mo's action, imdiately snickering before walking away with a shake of the head. Though nothing was said, that departing glance clearly viewed her as a country bumpkin.
Jiang Mo was a bit unhappy, but she truly was inexperienced, so she secretly asked the phoenix on her shoulder: "Senior Sister, what's really going on here? These petals are strange, not like an illusion. And the fragrance in the air doesn't seem like peach blossom scent either." Although the sweet fragrance in the air was quite pleasant, making her feel relaxed throughout her body and mind.
Yun Qingyue didn't want to elaborate, so she simply said: "There's a grand formation in this city, and the peach blossoms grown here aren't ordinary ones. But these things don't matter. Weren't you going to buy a map? Once we get it, we'll leave. Don't stay here long."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo gave a confused "Oh" and stopped examining the petals underfoot. Her gaze finally shifted from the peach blossoms to the shops lining the streets. Generally, maps could be found in general stores and weren't difficult to buy. She surveyed the area and quickly spotted a general store in the middle of the street.
Notably, the shop sign had a peach blossom branch carved across it, so lifelike it complented the street full of peach blossoms. Looking around, many shop signs were similarly decorated.
Jiang Mo didn't have any particular love or dislike for peach blossoms; the city full of them only made her feel sowhat dreamlike. As she walked, she couldn't help muttering: "How much do the people in this city love peach blossoms? If they love them so much, why call it Linglong City instead of Peach Blossom City?"
As she stepped into the general store, the shopkeeper, who had just heard her words, replied with a smile: "This place used to be called Peach Blossom City, actually."
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