Chapter 73: Living and Dying Together

If Li Xueyun's mother had married a Golden Core stage old monster, she naturally would not have needed to worry about anything, as her husband would have shielded her from the wind and rain in all matters.

If there were danger, the husband could take action; if any materials or treasures were needed, the husband could also produce them.

But now, while there was love, her husband's cultivation was actually lower than her own; several times when they encountered powerful demonic beasts, they were beaten until they had not the slightest power to fight back, and it was entirely up to her, a weak woman, to fight the demonic beasts to the death.

As for the Spirit Stones and treasures needed for cultivation, as a mere rogue cultivator, he had nothing at all; originally, by staying in the Hehuan Sect, Li Xueyun's mother had a chance to break through to the Golden Core stage, but in the thirty years since she married, her cultivation had not made the slightest progress.

They were always drifting, and the spiritual pills and medicines they needed were nowhere to be found; sometimes when she thought back to the beginning, her heart was also incomparably complex—she had gained love.

But shielding one's wife from the wind and rain is the minimum duty a husband should fulfill; if the person one marries cannot even do this, it is hard to imagine there would be happiness.

Of course, her husband still cherished her very much; on this point, she was extremely satisfied.

As for whether she regretted this matter, she herself was not clear; only the two of them knew the bitterness and the joy, and the only thing she felt sorry for was her daughter, who had hardly lived a good life while following the two of them.

The dangers of the cultivation world are too many; three years ago, the family of three encountered a Golden Core stage demonic beast—this kind of monster was something they could not possibly resolve.

In the end, the couple perished together; fighting to the death, the two created an opportunity for their daughter to escape.

Before she died, she placed the jade pendant bestowed by her mentor into her beloved daughter's hands, telling her that no matter what, she must return to the Hehuan Sect. She hoped her beloved daughter would be able to go further.

Poor Li Xueyun was only a small Foundation Establishment stage cultivator; fortunately, her luck was not bad, and she was a woman of resilient mind, so after experiencing all kinds of hardships, she finally returned to the Hehuan Sect.

Back when Li Xueyun's mother was in low spirits, she had also told her beloved daughter about the many benefits of the sect.

When Disciples of the Hehuan Sect go out to travel, let alone fellow cultivators of the same rank, even seniors of a higher realm are often incomparably polite.

Hehuan Sect, heaven's proud daughter—listening to her mother's narration, an indelible mark had long been left in Li Xueyun's young heart regarding that sect.

And now that her father and mother were no longer around, where could she, a tiny Foundation Establishment cultivator, go?

She had experienced all kinds of hardships returning to Luanxing Island, but unfortunately, she had no Spirit Stones, and the entrance ceremony was still several days away; staying here, everything required Spirit Stones, so having no other choice, Li Xueyun had to take her few remaining Spirit Materials and Spirit Talismans to the temporary Market, hoping to sell them for some Spirit Stones.

However, some bones and furs of first or second-tier demonic beasts, along with a few tattered talismans, were truly wretched to the extreme; for the entire morning, she hadn't even sold a single Spirit Stone.

……

Up until now, she had unexpectedly encountered a Golden Core stage cultivator.

Although she could not clearly sense Su Zhangqing's specific realm due to the gap in their cultivation, that spiritual pressure was clearly much stronger than her mother's; in other words, the other party was at least a Golden Core cultivator.

Such an expert could not possibly have taken a fancy to the goods she was selling at her stall, so using that as an excuse to approach her was the only explanation.

What should she do? For a moment, Li Xueyun felt extremely uneasy in her heart; she did not want to become the other party's concubine or cauldron, but if she happened to meet a shameless fellow, even if he wanted to use force, she would have no way to stop him.

Although there were many people here, human relationships in the cultivation world are cold; without benefit, who would meddle in other people's business to stand up for a small Foundation Establishment cultivator like her and offend a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

Hero-saves-beauty stories do exist in the cultivation world, but the so-called "hero" is certainly also harboring ulterior motives, with the goal likewise being to covet her beauty.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through her mind, and a look of fear appeared faintly on Li Xueyun's face.

However, things had reached this point, so she could only cope with it; now she could only take it one step at a time.

"S-Senior, are you referring to this?"

"Correct."

Su Zhangqing nodded slightly; with his sophistication, he naturally saw at a glance what the young girl before him was afraid of, and he couldn't help but show a bit of an awkward expression, though he was too lazy to explain anything at this moment. "Correct, it is this. Fellow Daoist, could you open it for me to see?"

Toward a small Foundation Establishment cultivator, Su Zhangqing was quite amiable; after all, he had come up the same way himself.

"Oh."

Li Xueyun nodded, naturally not daring to disobey in the slightest, and with a wave of her jade hand, she opened the small bag.

"This..."

Seeing clearly the items inside the bag, Su Zhangqing couldn't help but be slightly stunned; they looked similar to rice, but were pale purple, emitting a strange and beautiful luster.

Su Zhangqing reached out his hand and took this purple rice into his palm to examine it carefully.

After a full three quarters of an hour, Su Zhangqing slowly spoke: "Little girl, what are these things, and where did you get them?"

"This... I am not sure either." Li Xueyun's expression became somewhat uneasy.

"What, you don't know either?"

"Yes, Senior, please calm your anger; this junior would never dare to deceive you. This item is a relic left behind by my parents; it is said that they obtained it during an adventure, but at that time, this junior was still young, so naturally, I do not know what it is about."

"So that is how it is."

Su Zhangqing's expression shifted slightly, and then he showed a thoughtful look.

"Then, were your parents rogue cultivators?"

"Yes."

Su Zhangqing showed a trace of a thoughtful expression and did not ask anything further; he grabbed a handful of purple rice, and while he showed no strange expression on the surface, he was actually overjoyed in his heart. The reason Su Zhangqing had taken a fancy to this thing naturally had its reasons.

The Heaven-Covering Scripture he cultivated focused on the self; only when the self is strong can one's strength be improved, and there were not many spiritual objects useful to him.

For example, this Purple Spirit Rice before him was one of the spiritual objects that was helpful to him; unfortunately, this woman knew nothing about the origin of this spiritual object, but having such a harvest on Luanxing Island was an unexpected joy in itself.

He would buy this Purple Spirit Rice first.

"I want this thing; I wonder how you intend to sell it, Fellow Daoist?"

Su Zhangqing remained calm and composed as he slowly spoke.

Hearing Su Zhangqing's words, Li Xueyun couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; she hadn't expected the other party to really be here to buy things. A look of hesitation appeared on her face, and she bowed to Su Zhangqing.

"Senior, this is a relic left by my parents; I do not know its specific value, so please just name a price you see fit."

"Oh?"

Su Zhangqing's expression shifted slightly. Selling something without knowing its value—if it were a more shameless fellow, they would have just given one or two hundred Spirit Stones and taken the Purple Spirit Rice away.

Of course, as a dignified Golden Core cultivator, Su Zhangqing would not do such a thing as swindling a low-level cultivator.

"Come with me!"

(End of chapter)