When the gathering wrapped up, several of her elders stuffed plenty of fine items into Shi Yu's hands—some as meeting gifts, others to celebrate her trip to Hengze Prefecture.
It was hard to decline the elders' goodwill, and since these items were all of great value, Shi Yu mentally calculated what return gifts she should give after accepting them.
“With the presidents and elders having reached such high cultivation levels, they inevitably have lingering ailments that are hard to dispel. The Ailment-Clearing Pill would be exceptionally suitable.”
Things like pill toxicity and turbid Qi were difficult to clear on one's own. Accumulating too much would affect one's state of mind and cultivation, making it essential to regularly extract them to maintain a clear mind and body over the long term. However, methods to purge pill toxicity and dispel turbid Qi were very rare, and their effects were usually limited.
The Ailment-Clearing Pill was a pill formula Shi Yu had researched and developed herself, and it was remarkably effective. Consuming a single pill could resolve most, if not all, of one's accumulated ailments, depending on how much pill toxicity and turbid Qi had built up.
Although similar pills existed in this realm, they were either too high in tier and difficult to concoct, or lacked sufficient potency. Within the same tier, it would be difficult to find a pill of the same kind that worked better than the Ailment-Clearing Pill.
“I previously produced four pills in total. President Song used one when breaking through, leaving three.”
That was not enough to go around.
“Concocting the Ailment-Clearing Pill isn't too difficult, but the main ingredient, Ice Marrow, is hard to come by... I'll ask the auction house to keep an eye out for it.”
Having made up her mind, Shi Yu thought no more about the matter.
She strolled along one side of the broad street, her gaze drifting across the orderly buildings on either side. Glazed roof tiles shimmered with brilliant colors, and vivid spirit beast totems were carved into the exterior walls of some buildings. Emerald vines swayed softly from pillar support, while curling incense smoke occasionally drifted up from neighboring shops alongside the melodious tolling of bells... all exuding an enchanting charm.
When she had first arrived in Lingtai Prefecture, she had marvelled at the grand, exquisite scale of this city. But coming back after visiting Hengze Prefecture, she realized Lingtai Prefecture truly was just a “desolate backwater” in the eyes of outsiders. Neither its scale nor anything else could compare to the prefecture cities in those bustling lands.
Yet walking through the city now, Shi Yu felt an indescribable sense of peace.
Lingtai Prefecture was her first stop after arriving in the Origin Realm. Here, she had gradually gained a firm foothold and revealed her talents. Here, she had met many friends and elders who treated her with sincere affection and looked out for her best interests. Naturally, her feelings for this place were special.
In fact, it was slowly starting to feel a bit like home.
“Though... I probably won't be able to stay much longer.”
Earlier in the association, President Cui of the Array Association had agreed with her to set her entry into the Xuexiao Spirit Node for five days from now. The sensation of an impending breakthrough was growing stronger by the day. Once inside the spirit node, she would definitely seize the opportunity to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
And once she established her foundation, she would likely have to prepare to leave. Traveling to Shiyan Academy alone would take half a year to a year, and gaining meaningful knowledge there would require at least a few years.
By then, who knew how long it would be before her next return?
The sorrow of departure did not weigh heavily on Shi Yu; it merely drifted lightly in her heart, gradually blowing away with the breeze. Such was the path of cultivation—seeking the road ahead, onward and upward, never lingering.
“Once I leave Lingtai Prefecture and Changyuan Prefecture for even more prosperous places, I suppose Hengze Prefecture will be considered a ‘desolate backwater’ in others' eyes as well.” Shi Yu shook her head gently with a smile as she reached the end of the long street and turned into an alley.
Twisting and turning through several alleys, she finally arrived in front of a modest shop.
This place was remote, with few pedestrians passing by. The few shops in the alley were quiet, with hardly any customers.
Shi Yu stepped into an elegant little shop tucked inside. There were no customers within, only two youths—one older, one younger. The older youth held a brush, head lowered as he went over the account book, while the younger one leaned back lazily, happily munching through a basket of melon seeds and pastries.
These two youths were Mo Tong and Ji Yu, who had stayed behind to manage the shop for her.
Mo Tong was born from Qingzhou. Since Qingzhou had formed a pact with Shi Yu, Mo Tong could sense her presence as well. The moment Shi Yu stepped through the shop door, Mo Tong felt a stir in his mind and raised his eyes.
Aside from hair and eye color, his features were identical to Qingzhou's. A subtle lift of his brows conveyed an overwhelmingly striking charm.
“Ah Yu!” Surprise and joy lit up his eyes. Setting down his brush, he hurried out from behind the counter.
Ji Yu raised his head right after, his face beaming with excitement. “Sister!”
Shi Yu's expression softened as she smiled at Mo Tong, then patted Ji Yu's head. “It's been hard on you two while I was away these past two years.”
“It is no hardship at all to work for you, Ah Yu.”
“Heheh, not hard at all! We eat well and live well every day—it's super fun!”
“You've grown quite a bit taller.” Shi Yu tousled Ji Yu's hair. “By the way, I bumped into your master in Hengze Prefecture. Uncle Mo gifted me a technique slip that was immensely beneficial to me. I really owe that to you.”
Ji Yu grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. “I told you the old man would definitely like you once he met you, Sister.”
Shi Yu pressed her lips together in a smile, then turned to Mo Tong. “Did anything happen with the shop over the past two years? Has everything been going smoothly?”
Mo Tong's eyes flickered with clear ripples as he shook his head. “With the Alchemist Association looking out for us, naturally no one dared to cause trouble.”
“It's just that since you were gone for so long, Ah Yu, our inventory wasn't restocked. We could only try our best to source goods with decent quality and fair prices, so business wasn't as good as before.”
Shi Yu had expected this.
Her shop had built its reputation entirely on the pills and spirit talismans she refined herself, which were far superior to standard market goods and fairly priced.
Before heading to Hengze Prefecture, she had worked overtime to leave behind plenty of goods, which should have lasted a month or so. But who could have foreseen that she would be gone for two whole years? Once those goods sold out, business naturally regressed.
She nodded in understanding. “It's fine. Once I have some free time, I'll refine more and bring them over.”
Even so, over the past two years, the shop had still generated a respectable income of spirit stones, which added up to a sizeable sum.
Pausing, Shi Yu sighed softly and finally asked, “Where is... Qingzhou right now?”
Although the life scale allowed her to sense that he was safe, she couldn't determine his exact location through it. Thus, her only option was to ask Mo Tong, who was Qingzhou's snake-molt avatar.
Back then, Qingzhou had departed without bidding farewell aboard the cloud boat, venturing deep into the ancient forest mountain ranges to seek a breakthrough method. By leveraging the life scale's feedback pact, he boosted Shi Yu's cultivation so that her spiritual energy and spiritual sense would be strong enough to support alchemy.
Shi Yu had felt the feedback several times, indicating that Qingzhou's cultivation was rising. She couldn't imagine what battles and hardships he had endured to achieve such rapid progress.
Though she rarely spoke of it around others, she kept him in her thoughts constantly.
Mo Tong blinked and smiled. “Ah Yu, he will be back in less than a month.”
Hearing this, the lingering worry in Shi Yu's heart gradually melted away. She nodded softly. “That's good.”
After the three chatted for a bit longer, Shi Yu prepared to leave under the reluctant gazes of the two youths.
“Is there anything else you need us to handle, Ah Yu?” As she turned to leave, Mo Tong watched her closely and asked softly.
Shi Yu thought for a moment. “Head to the Xie Clan Auction House and the major shops. Ask them to keep an eye out for Ice Marrow. If any is available, don't worry about the price—just buy it directly.”
“Understood.”
She bid them farewell and returned to her Chilie Cave Dwelling.
...
Inside the cave dwelling, familiar sights came into view.
The few pairs of spirit chickens and spirit ducks that Qingzhou had raised were regularly fed by Mo Tong and Ji Yu. Now plump and sturdy, they preened their feathers and held their heads high. The eggs and duck eggs in the coop had accumulated faster than they could be consumed, forming a small pile.
In the spiritual spring, several spirit fish swam joyfully, several times larger than when Shi Yu had left.
The only thing missing was the spiritual field, which stood empty with no spiritual rice planted. After Shi Yu's departure, without a supply of Life Spring water, the growth rate and quality of the spiritual rice had dropped significantly. Since Mo Tong and Ji Yu were not skilled in cultivation and farming, they had no choice but to give up planting.
Shi Yu walked deeper inside. None of the furnishings or arrangements in the cave dwelling had been changed; everything remained exactly as it was when she left.
Dust-Repelling Talismans were placed around the area; when she brushed her fingers across the surfaces, not a speck of dust was to be found.
She took a walk through the cave dwelling, feeling waves of serene tranquility in her heart. Sitting on a stone bench, she gazed at the scenery inside for a long time without feeling the slightest bit bored.
“Once Qingzhou returns, everything will be just as it was before.”
Standing up, she stretched. “Over the next few days, I'll concoct some pills and draw some talismans to restock the shop, and then prepare to head to the Xuexiao Spirit Node for my breakthrough.”
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