After trying to hold both jade pendants at the same time, Chen Xiao temporarily put one down and tried cultivating with just one Ice Spirit Jade.
However, his cultivation speed was exactly the same, with almost no difference compared to using two.
In other words, going from nothing to something was a huge breakthrough, but accumulating quantity was meaningless.
"That's not bad. I can give this extra one to Old Hai."
Among the group of people around Chen Xiao, only Hai Bo Dong had the same ice attribute as him. The others couldn't use this Ice Spirit Jade, including the Medusa Queen beside him.
Therefore, it could only be used on Hai Bo Dong.
That was the logic, but the Medusa Queen couldn't help but laugh when she heard his muttering.
"Don't you think it's a bit too much for you and that Hai Bo Dong to wear a pair of jade pendants like this..."
The Medusa Queen didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Chen Xiao thought about it carefully, and it did seem a bit ambiguous.
Fortunately, cultivators didn't bother with trivial matters. As long as Hai Bo Dong hid it well and didn't let others discover it, it wasn't completely unacceptable.
"There's nothing I can do. I would have liked to give it to you. After all, we owe this harvest today to your reminder, but unfortunately, you can't use it. After we go back, I'll let Old Hai grind it into different shaped jade pendants. This is the only way to handle it. It would be too wasteful to leave such a good thing unused."
"This Queen has no interest in this jade pendant."
The Medusa Queen's eyes flowed, and she said in a casual tone.
Although she said that, Chen Xiao's consideration for her as a participant still made a faint, uncontrollable smile appear at the corner of her lips.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly, his gaze looking towards a city at the end of the mountain range in the distance.
"They say you split things in half when you meet. Thanks to you today, I got such a big benefit, but it's too unfair that you got nothing. Cai Lin, shall we go and wander around that Rakshasa City?"
The Medusa Queen glanced at the twilight sky, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Chen Xiao chuckled, immediately understanding her thoughts, and pulled her towards Rakshasa City.
"This Queen can walk by herself!"
The Medusa Queen's red lips parted slightly, and a cold voice sounded, making it impossible to feel any emotion.
At the same time, the aura of a Dou Zong expert around her was revealed, appearing even more sharp and domineering than half a month ago, seemingly several times stronger.
"You broke through?" Chen Xiao turned back in surprise.
"If I hadn't focused all my energy on merging with the Little Heaven Swallowing Python's soul, this Queen would have broken through long ago."
The Medusa Queen's ink-black eyebrows lifted slightly like a crescent moon, and as her bright eyes flowed, her innate arrogance and certainty flowed freely between her brows and eyes, her confidence clearly displayed.
After her successful evolution, her talent also soared, and she could no longer be viewed with the same eyes as before.
Her current potential and talent were no worse than anyone else's.
"This is a great thing. Your strength has reached a new level, and our chances of facing that Earth Demon Old Ghost will be even greater."
Chen Xiao nodded with a smile, his eyes full of joy.
The Medusa Queen proudly raised the corner of her mouth, until her body was uncontrollably pulled towards Rakshasa City. Only then did she realize that after Chen Xiao's interruption, she seemed to have forgotten the purpose of revealing her aura in the first place.
She struggled with her wrist, but couldn't break free. Her delicate red lips parted, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Forget it...
Rakshasa City.
This was a city governed by the old-established power, Rakshasa Gate, in the Black-Corner Region. Its scale was naturally not small, and it was also extremely prosperous and lively.
When Chen Xiao and the Medusa Queen entered the city, night had already completely fallen, but even so, the streets were still bustling with people, and the shops on both sides were brightly lit with candlelight.
Completely concealing their auras, Chen Xiao pulled the slightly stiff Medusa Queen, walking slowly step by step like the leisurely crowd in the city.
Although the Black-Corner Region was chaotic, cities with old-established powers presiding over them were relatively more orderly.
"Relax, no one here knows us."
Hearing this, the Medusa Queen gave him a roll of her eyes.
This guy was pretending to be confused when he clearly understood.
When had she ever cared about the eyes of others? The current unnaturalness was entirely Chen Xiao's doing.
However, seeing that he didn't mention the matter at all, the Medusa Queen was too lazy to say more.
"What are we doing in this Rakshasa City?"
"To get you a few outfits. Zi Yan and Little Fairy Doctor often bought things in the city when they were in Purple Cloud City. We've known each other for so many years, but I've never seen you wander around. Occasionally relaxing is actually not bad."
"When this Queen first saw you back then, I should have slapped you to death regardless of the consequences. Then there wouldn't be so many troublesome things now."
Such a threat had no deterrent effect whatsoever.
Chen Xiao didn't care at all and pulled her into a shop selling robes and shoes on the side of the street.
"Welcome, two esteemed guests. Our shop sells a wide variety of robes, with excellent quality and reasonable prices. We can meet any needs you have." The shop assistant enthusiastically greeted them.
"Go play somewhere else, we'll look ourselves."
Feeling the struggle in his hand getting stronger and stronger, Chen Xiao glared at the shop assistant in annoyance.
Although the shop assistant's eyesight wasn't great, it had to be said that this shop sold a complete variety of robes. Looking around, there were all sorts of colors, both proper and improper.
"This red brocade robe is nice, it suits you well."
"I don't feel it," Medusa Queen said expressionlessly.
"Alright, then I'll buy it."
"..."
"These shoes will definitely look good on you."
"I don't think so."
"Bought!"
Medusa Queen seemed a bit rebellious. Every time Chen Xiao asked for her opinion, the answer was negative.
Chen Xiao also let it go in one ear and out the other, which made Medusa Queen's forehead covered in black lines. In the end, she was too lazy to even reply. Anyway, no matter what she said, Chen Xiao didn't care.
After staying in this shop for a quarter of an hour, the two of them left and headed to the next shop.
Besides buying clothes for Medusa Queen, Chen Xiao also bought quite a few things for himself. He even bought things that he thought would suit Zi Yan and Little Fairy Doctor.
They strolled for a full hour, and the flow of people on the street became sparse. Medusa Queen finally couldn't help but speak.
"Should we go back now?"
Shopping was a completely new experience for her, especially being dragged around by a man.
Being able to endure this long was already her limit.
Her personality wasn't the type to be clingy. The frequent envious glances from the people around towards Chen Xiao made her quite uncomfortable.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly, "Alright, then we'll find another opportunity to come next time."
"There is no next time!"
On the way back to Purple Cloud City, it was the same as when they came.
Without the gaze of others, Chen Xiao could clearly feel that Medusa Queen had relaxed a lot.
A journey of over a thousand li, at their speed, would quickly be completed. Even though Chen Xiao intentionally slowed down, after a quarter of an hour, Purple Cloud City was still in sight.
The familiar struggle came from his hand, and Chen Xiao released her as she wished.
Medusa Queen visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately, she quickly put on a serious expression.
"Don't let it happen again!"
Seeing Chen Xiao's somewhat perfunctory nod, Medusa Queen took a deep breath, her expression rarely serious.
"Chen Xiao, this King knows what you men are thinking, and I am also aware of my own situation. When I evolved, I felt that I was nine deaths and one life. The biggest oversight was not being able to drive you far away, which resulted in you seeing things you shouldn't have seen. It was from that moment on that this King had an improper entanglement with you."
"What's done is done. This King doesn't regret it and doesn't want to try to change it in vain. In fact, I'm occasionally a little fortunate. At the very least, this King doesn't dislike you."
"However, as of now, you do not have the qualifications to make this King willingly commit herself. This King's man must never be weaker than me. When you have the ability to defeat me..."
"We will then discuss the matter of the Little Heaven Swallowing Python reappearing!"
As the last sentence fell, Medusa Queen's pretty face flushed slightly, looking extremely alluring under the moonlight.
After all, how to make the Little Heaven Swallowing Python see the light of day again was something she and Chen Xiao both knew clearly.
She liked to be straightforward and dared to love and hate, but talking about such private matters so directly still made her cheeks burn.
Meeting Medusa Queen's gaze, Chen Xiao nodded frankly and agreed.
"Actually, even if you didn't say it, this is what I planned. I have many things to do, but without exception, they all require sufficient strength. Your promise at this moment has given me more motivation to cultivate!"
Hearing his words, Medusa Queen's usually icy cold face quietly thawed, blooming with a smile brighter than usual, her eyes and brows filled with unconcealed joy.
She didn't like beating around the bush. Being able to speak so directly and openly like this, saving countless back-and-forths, undoubtedly made her feel more comfortable.
"When your three-year agreement arrives, if the Jia Ma Empire is stable, this King can accompany you."
"Uh, alright!"
...
Purple Firmament Pavilion.
Since returning from Rakshasa that day, Medusa Queen had not returned to Jia Nan Academy.
According to her, the influence of the Little Heaven Swallowing Python on her was already minimal, and the remaining bit no longer required the help of the Fallen Heart Flame.
Although Zi Yan and the others found this a bit strange, they didn't tactlessly press for details.
On the other hand, that Protector Xuan also hadn't come to bother Chen Xiao during this time, which made Chen Xiao much quieter. Every day, besides cultivating, he was stationed at the Purple Firmament Pavilion.
Just like that, clouds rolled and unfurled, and another ten days passed.
On this day, after Chen Xiao finished cultivating his Dou Qi and soul, he came to the window where Hai Bo Dong personally sat, responsible for selling information.
Because the value of these messages was extremely high, and those who were received were all experts above Dou Wang, the specifications were very high, and he didn't dare to entrust it to his subordinates.
Fortunately, under such high specifications, there weren't many people who came to buy information on weekdays, and it wouldn't affect Hai Bo Dong's cultivation.
"Old Hai, how was the harvest today?"
Entering the room, Chen Xiao saw Hai Bo Dong sitting cross-legged on the stone platform below the window, cultivating with his eyes closed. Sensing his entry, he opened his eyes.
"Just this morning, Old Yan from the Thousand Medicine Shop came to purchase a piece of information. He asked where to find a Sixth-Order Magic Core of the water attribute. As usual, I charged him a Fifth-Order Magic Core as payment."
When selling information, the price naturally had to be set appropriately. It was impossible to ask for a Sixth-Order Magic Core as payment just because someone was asking where to find one.
Therefore, a Fifth-Order Magic Core was quite suitable.
This way, the Purple Firmament Pavilion gained resources for free, and others could also accept it.
Listening to Hai Bo Dong's reply, Chen Xiao couldn't help but laugh.
He was actually asking about Hai Bo Dong's cultivation progress. After all, after gifting Hai Bo Dong a piece of Ice Spirit Jade, the latter's cultivation speed had greatly increased.
He hadn't expected Hai Bo Dong to misunderstand.
Not minding the harmless hoax, Chen Xiao smiled, "Old Hai, go rest. I'll sit here for a while."
Since the Purple Firmament Pavilion was established, selling information wasn't always handled by Hai Bo Dong alone. Little Fairy Doctor and Zi Yan also came to help out during their free time.
Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong didn't stand on ceremony, nodded, and gave up his seat.
After receiving the Ice Spirit Jade from Chen Xiao, his cultivation felt unprecedentedly refreshing. Three days felt like five, and this cultivation speed made him extremely engrossed.
After seeing Hai Bo Dong off, Chen Xiao sat on the stone platform.
He had taken over a few times before, but his luck was generally poor. Every time he took over, he would sit for half a day without receiving a single customer.
In contrast, even Zi Yan among Little Fairy Doctor and the others had sold two pieces of information...
Chen Xiao was already numb to this and was prepared to maintain zero performance today.
However, things were unpredictable, just like Murphy's Law. The more you didn't want something to happen, the more likely it was to occur.
Just as Chen Xiao closed his eyes and entered a cultivation state, a blood-haired old man wearing a yellow skeleton robe quietly arrived before the window.
The old man's face was gaunt, almost skin and bones, looking like a skull at first glance. His eyes were deeply sunken, revealing a faint glow, and his gaze was like ghost fire, emitting a strange and eerie aura.
If he suddenly appeared before someone, those with weak nerves would probably be startled.
Clack clack~
The old man knocked on the window, as if asking if someone was on duty.
Chen Xiao opened his eyes, with a hint of anticipation, ready to greet his first customer.
But when he released his soul perception to check, the smile on his face suddenly froze.
What a powerful old ghost!
His strength was such that even he couldn't see through it.
There were only a handful of experts with such strength in the entire Black-Corner Region.
"I've heard that the information sold by the Purple Firmament Pavilion is absolutely reliable, and it's even rumored to be miraculous outside, saying that you know everything and are omniscient. I want to inquire about information regarding Purple Spirit Cold Qi. Does the Purple Firmament Pavilion have any knowledge of it?"
Seeing a figure walk to the window, the old man, hunched over, spoke in a hoarse voice.
Behind the window, Chen Xiao was amused by the other party's words.
Purple Spirit Cold Qi was an ice attribute spiritual object even more precious than Heavenly Cold Qi. It could be called 'Strange Ice'. Refining it could cause the ice attribute Dou Qi to mutate, greatly enhancing the power of Dou Qi.
He wanted such a good thing himself.
Unfortunately, the last time Chen Xiao tried to pre-order it before the Heavenly Demon Puppet, it showed that it couldn't be pre-ordered, just like the Ice Spirit Jade, with not even a trace of aura to spare.
And this old fellow, opening his mouth with Purple Spirit Cold Qi, was most likely also an ice attribute expert.
Combined with the other party's strength, Chen Xiao was already ninety-nine percent certain of his identity.
Earth Demon Old Ghost!
This old fellow probably heard about the Purple Firmament Pavilion selling information and was thinking of getting some benefits before settling scores.
Chen Xiao's soul perception poured out and quickly spread outside Purple Cloud City. As expected, he found more than ten people on a hill outside the city.
The red-haired old man leading them was none other than Fang Yan, whom he had met once before.
In addition, the Second Elder and Third Elder of the Demon Flame Valley were also in the group.
"Purple Spirit Cold Qi, my Purple Firmament Pavilion does have some understanding of it, but I'm afraid you can't afford the price."
Withdrawing his soul perception, Chen Xiao silently circulated the Dou Qi in his body, doing a pre-battle warm-up, and didn't forget to send a message to Cai Lin and the others.
"Heh heh, just say it."
"It's simple, the life of a Dou Zong expert."
"If Your Excellency can bring the corpse of the Earth Demon Old Ghost from the Demon Flame Valley, my Purple Firmament Pavilion will hand over the information about the Purple Spirit Cold Qi with both hands."
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