Chapter 107: Toxic Thoughts

"Hmph, you ungrateful dog thief!" Mei Xuan said angrily.

"…", Wei Yuning didn't know how to respond.

"Young Master Yuning, let me tell you, Red Plum Villa does indeed have a wood spirit, and the wood spirit is on my body, but you also know that a wood spirit is a rare earth treasure that cannot be sold casually!" Mei Xuan said.

"Then what are your conditions?" Wei Yuning asked.

"As long as you are my destined person, that's enough!" Mei Xuan said naturally.

At first, hearing the term "destined person" from the bull, Wei Yuning naturally assumed the owner of Red Plum Villa was a marriage fanatic or a lovesick woman, but in reality there was probably no one calmer than this young lady.

"How can you know whether I am your… destined person?" Wei Yuning asked.

Mei Xuan did not answer Wei Yuning's question, but instead took from her sleeve a round, palm‑sized transparent magic sphere, its appearance somewhat like the Cloud Hidden Sect's Corona Sphere; however, unlike the Corona Sphere's regenerative vines used to indicate time, her sphere contained a luxuriant plum blossom tree.

The plum blossom tree inside the sphere was vivid, growing on a patch of black earth, with fine snowflakes drifting down from an unseen sky, and a thin layer of snow covering the branches and ground.

What should have been a monotonous, dull scene became lively thanks to the bright petals.

Some blossoms hung on the branches, some were falling, along with fallen flowers on the ground and soon‑to‑rot flower mud; the simple picture exuded a sense of endless life‑death cycle.

"Young Master Yuning, place your hand on the Plum Blossom Divination Sphere; it will give me the answer!" Mei Xuan handed the magic sphere to Wei Yuning.

Wei Yuning extended his hand halfway, then pulled it back, saying, "Miss Mei, let's go inside and sit down first; we can talk later!" Finished, he entered the shop first, regardless of whether she consented.

Mei Xuan had no choice but to follow him inside; Hai Yan and Xue Ying, seeing this, quickly stepped out of the house and arrived at the shop entrance.

Wei Yuning first sat on a chair by the counter and pointed to another chair beside it.

Mei Xuan smiled helplessly, lifted her skirt, and sat down as well.

"Young Master Yuning, ask whatever you wish!" Mei Xuan was the one to speak first.

Wei Yuning silently praised her cleverness and smiled, "Whether I am your destined person may be important to you, but not to me. If you don't mind, I'd like to know what grudge you have with Nie Ziqing."

Hearing Nie Ziqing's name made Mei Xuan's body tremble; she remained silent for a while before saying, "You knew Nie Ziqing before; would you believe what I say?"

"I believe you, and I know Nie Ziqing isn't a good person, but his virtue or vice has nothing to do with me. However, Miss Mei, if you're willing to sell me the wood spirit, then he becomes my enemy!" Wei Yuning said.

"Is it really that simple? To turn someone into an enemy or a friend so easily! If Nie Ziqing gave you more, would I become your enemy again?" Mei Xuan was unmoved by Wei Yuning's words; she sat upright, looking ready to leave, and said, "Moreover, whether I sell the wood spirit to you depends only on whether you are my destined person. Even if you now help me kill Nie Ziqing, I may still sell or not sell! So your question to me is completely unnecessary."

"Alright, you're right; it's my fault." Seeing her so determined, Wei Yuning felt his nerves were a bit oversensitive; Mei Xuan had risked traveling far to his territory, and his actions were indeed somewhat aristocratic.

More importantly, in that instant he suddenly recalled the Cloud Hidden Sect's sect rule that says, "Do many good deeds to help others, and commit few evils to harm others." In his nasal perception, Nie Ziqing, though not a demonic cultivator, was certainly not a good person.

His earlier friend‑or‑enemy argument stemmed from a terrestrial viewpoint: there are no eternal enemies nor eternal friends, only eternal interests. The seductive nature of this view lies in its basis on human selfishness, which can deceive many, including Wei Yuning himself.

However, the world still distinguishes good from evil, with a generally accepted standard for good and bad people. Even a low‑key, reclusive sect like the Cloud Hidden Sect writes good and evil into its rules, making his words extremely contradictory.

Realizing this, Wei Yuning felt his Dao heart suddenly enlightened, his sense of merging with the earth grew stronger, and the sea of spiritual liquid inside him became denser.

"Mid‑stage of the Stirring Heart!" Wei Yuning thought. The spiritual liquid grew heavier, yet its volume shrank considerably, so he needed to replenish some Qi.

It seems Uncle Hongzhi was right; the former Nine Continents world truly was a fallen place, and many of its circulating ideas are poisonous!

Although Mei Xuan found it strange why Wei Yuning suddenly admitted fault, she didn't yield easily; the eyes behind her veil fixed on Wei Yuning, awaiting further explanation.

"Miss Mei, although your travels are fraught with danger, you still have a protective treasure, making you far luckier than I am. I also have a great enemy who lies beyond the Cloud Hidden Sect's protective mountain formation; if I step out, I could meet death and dissolution, even the sect cannot shield me. Besides this great enemy, I have several other foes that I cannot currently deal with!" Wei Yuning said.

"And then?" Mei Xuan asked.

Seeing Mei Xuan unmoved, Wei Yuning awkwardly continued, "So I'm worried your Plum Blossom Divination Sphere might be unfavorable to me!"

"Then will you test or not?" Mei Xuan sneered, "A proper Immortal Sect disciple, yet you act like a river, like a mouse!"

"Test, I will test!" Wei Yuning replied hastily.

Beneath the Plum Blossom Divination Sphere lay Mei Xuan's flat, delicate white palm; the moment Wei Yuning's hand touched the sphere, the scenery inside began to change instantly.

Each petal seemed to become a living thing, moving in a complex manner; the magic sphere's brightness gradually shifted—from light gray to gray‑white, then to platinum, and finally to white. The light grew brighter and brighter until, after an intense blaze, the Divination Sphere turned blank.

When Wei Yuning opened his eyes and looked at the sphere again, all the plum blossoms had vanished, leaving only a single tiny plum blossom sapling, the black earth, and drifting snowflakes.

"What is going on?" Wei Yuning asked in surprise.

Mei Xuan also wore a shocked expression; after a long pause, she helplessly said, "My Plum Blossom Divination Sphere cannot compute you; it has been destroyed!"

"What does that mean?" Wei Yuning asked curiously.