Chapter 51: Catching a Little Loli: Xin Ruyin

"Then many thanks."

Yan Taibai nodded and smiled.

"Fellow Daoist is too polite, please wait a moment," Xiyun Xianzi said, rising and bowing with a delicate voice.

After saying this, she stood up and left the main hall.

Exchanging four thousand low-grade Metal Attribute Spirit Stones for intermediate ones resulted in only thirty-six.

Although a bit disappointed, Yan Taibai also knew this was already quite good; other places might offer even less.

After leaving Sanyuan Lou, Yan Taibai wandered around the marketplace again, inquired about the list of Demonic Path evil cultivators within Yuanwu Country, and only then left, feeling satisfied.

Compared to the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World, Yuanwu Country had many more Demonic Path evil cultivators due to the presence of three major demonic sects.

Moreover, there was no shortage of Foundation Establishment Stage Demonic Path evil cultivators, which was a good thing for Yan Taibai.

After all, compared to Qi Refining Stage Demonic Path evil cultivators, the progress value for 【Slay Demons and Eliminate Devils】 brought by Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators was much greater.

Especially those at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Naturally, he could not miss them.

In reality, the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World also had Foundation Establishment Stage evil cultivators that met the criteria, but they were either elusive or were themselves cultivators of the Seven Sects.

Under such circumstances, it was truly difficult for him to take action.

Therefore, Yan Taibai chose Yuanwu Country.

As for whether he would offend the three major demonic sects of Yuanwu Country, Yan Taibai did not care at all.

In any case, even if he were discovered, he could at most return to the Yanyue Sect and hide.

Furthermore, with his current divine abilities and strength, there should not be many Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators below the Golden Core Stage who were his match.

Therefore, there was even less need to worry too much.

Baichi Shan is a gathering place for many rogue cultivators and cultivators from cultivation families in Yuanwu Country.

At the same time, there is also some gossip from the Yuanwu Country cultivation world, as well as opportunities to trade items; this is a common occurrence for cultivators of any country.

And the reason Yan Taibai headed to Baichi Shan was because he had heard a piece of news from a marketplace opened by the three major demonic sects.

A Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator from the Yin-Yang Demon Gate, one of the three major demonic sects, would be heading to Baichi Shan.

And that Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator had quite a fierce reputation, clearly belonging to the category of Demonic Path evil cultivators that met his requirements.

Naturally, Yan Taibai could not miss this rare opportunity.

This Baichi Shan is not a single mountain peak, but three peaks in total—one large and two small—with the gathering place being the most dangerous and highest one, the West Peak.

At the summit, an ancient temple and over a dozen stone pavilions of various sizes were built.

Furthermore, there were already cultivators chatting and exchanging ideas within them, and at the same time, outside the pavilions and the temple, there were also scattered cultivators walking back and forth.

However, a sweep with his divine sense revealed they were all just Qi Refining Stage cultivators; there were no Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators.

But Yan Taibai was not in a hurry; after restraining his aura, he quietly headed toward the various stone pavilions.

And when Yan Taibai passed the third stone pavilion, the sound of a conversation between a large and a small person made him stop his steps.

"Ruyin, do not speak too much later, just watch quietly. If you encounter something you don't understand or something you want, then tell your master."

The speaker was a hunched old man with a withered face and white hair and beard; although he was a cultivator, he began to pant heavily right after speaking, looking as if his days were numbered.

This made the little one beside him—or to be precise, the little girl in cloth clothes—redden her eyes, and she could only gently pat the old man's back, a sight that made one's heart ache.

And what Yan Taibai was focused on was not this pitiful pair who looked like "grandfather and granddaughter," but the little girl's name.

"Ruyin!"

After whispering the name to himself and pondering it, Yan Taibai looked the little girl up and down; her bright, watery eyes seemed like stars in the night sky, revealing a light of intelligence and wisdom that made it hard for one to look away.

At this moment, the little girl named "Ruyin" also discovered Yan Taibai.

Although the little girl showed a timid expression, she still shielded the old man behind her.

For a moment, their eyes met, and neither of them spoke.

The little girl "Ruyin" did not dare to, while Yan Taibai was filled with curiosity.

Suddenly, the old man's voice broke the silence.

"Is the fellow Daoist also here to exchange items?"

"You could say that. May I ask, is the fellow Daoist a formation master?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Taibai strode into the stone pavilion and said something that caused the old man's expression to change suddenly.

Yet it only lasted for the blink of an eye before it vanished, and he hurriedly shook his head to deny it.

"Fellow Daoist has mistaken me; this old man is just a Qi Refining Stage rogue cultivator, how could I be a formation master?"

"Haha! Is that so? Then I must have mistaken you. However, is this little girl named Xin Ruyin?"

Before the words had even faded, the old man's expression changed completely; he hurriedly pulled Xin Ruyin into his arms and was about to leave.

"Fellow Daoist, do not worry, I have no ill intentions; it is just that, does the fellow Daoist not care about this little girl's constitution?"

Seeing this, Yan Taibai immediately spoke to block him.

And as soon as these words were spoken, the old man's expression turned gloomy and uncertain, but he stopped and his eyes flickered as he said.

"What constitution? This old man does not know what the fellow Daoist is talking about."

"This little girl has the Dragon Chant Constitution, right! If she were to be a mortal for her whole life, that would be fine, but you, fellow Daoist, chose the path of cultivation for her; isn't this going to kill her?"

Seeing this, Yan Taibai said in a flat tone.

Hearing this, the old man's hunched body trembled, holding Xin Ruyin—who was confused but glared angrily at Yan Taibai—and after a long silence, he finally returned to the chair in the stone pavilion, shaking his head and explaining with an extremely ugly expression.

"This old man originally did not know that Ruyin had the Dragon Chant Constitution; by the time I discovered it, it was already too late."

"Moreover, the fellow Daoist must be a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, and one who has practiced a spirit-eye divine ability. Otherwise, it would be impossible to see through Ruyin's constitution at a single glance."

The old man raised his eyes to stare at Yan Taibai and said in a deep voice.

"That is correct, I am indeed a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. You must have also been a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator in the past, right, fellow Daoist?"

Yan Taibai recalled Xin Ruyin's talent for arrays and the master she spoke of, who was at least a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

"This old man is not a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, but a Golden Core Stage cultivator. It is just that I encountered a powerful enemy, my Golden Core shattered, my vitality was severely damaged, and I do not have much lifespan left. That is why I took in this child, Ruyin, as she is the child of a close friend of mine. However, I can only look after her for a few more years. I will pass on all my knowledge of arrays to her so that she has a skill to settle down and make a living, and perhaps one day she will find a way to resolve her Dragon Chant Constitution."

The old man shook his head and transmitted his voice bitterly.

A shattered Golden Core does not necessarily mean one will pass away on the spot; if one is lucky, it is possible to retain a portion of one's cultivation.

There is also another situation, where one is so severely injured that one must dissolve the Golden Core into pure essence energy to save one's life.

But the consequence is that it is difficult to recover one's cultivation, unless one eats medicinal pills like candy.

Does the old man belong to the second situation nine times out of ten?

"I just did not expect that my identity would be seen through by you, fellow Daoist."

"Does the senior hail from the Heaven Star Sect?"

A Golden Core Stage array master in Yuanwu Country, the Heaven Star Sect is the most likely possibility.

"That is not the case. This old man hails from another country and is not from the Heaven Star Sect. However, Ruyin's parents were both Heaven Star Sect cultivators, but they met with an accident, and it took quite a bit of effort for me to bring Ruyin out of the Heaven Star Sect."

The old man continued to transmit his voice.

As for whether it is true or false, there is no way to know.

And this also explains why Xin Ruyin later possessed Ancient Arrays and the cultivation method for a second Nascent Soul.

(End of this chapter)