Chapter 8: Chapter 8 The Major Property Plan Falls Through
Many had their minds set on Xie Jiuniang and Xie Siniang the moment they appeared in the courtyard of Youth Martial Hall, attracting much attention.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xie Jiuniang found a clean corner and laid out her vestment robe and jewelry one by one.
Then, she hollered at the top of her lungs!
"Come on, goods for sale! Brothers and sisters, little bros and little sis, don't miss out as you pass by!"
"Prime vestment robes from Xianling Pavilion, exquisite jewelry from Exquisite Pavilion, all at half price! First come, first served!"
"Those with Spirit Stones, bring out your Spirit Stones, those without can exchange with Elixirs, Spirit Plants, or anything else of equal value!"
"Selling goods, a rare opportunity..."
"Hurry up! If you're too slow, even eating shit, you won't catch the hot stuff!"
Xie Jiuniang's clear and pleasant cries for selling echoed across the large square in front of the Youth Martial Hall.
"Pfft—"
Ha, ha ha!
Those cultivating have sharp eyes and ears, and Xie Jiuniang's last statement genuinely shocked many of them.
Some people gathered around jesting, "Xiaojiu, where did you strike it rich? Such a treasure trove of good stuff."
Xie Jiuniang giggled, "Heh, I have to thank my eldest sister for leaving behind things she no longer wants. You want to buy?"
"Me, a grown man, buying girls' stuff? What's that about?"
"That's where you're naive. Even if you don't have sisters at home, you can always buy them for a girl you fancy," Xie Jiuniang enthusiastically pitched.
The man chuckled, "Really half-price?"
"Genuine goods at a fair price, the old and the young won't be deceived," Xie Jiuniang's asking price was indeed reasonable.
These vestment robes were clearly not ordinary, sporting designs not found in Yunmu City. At half the price, many people were happy to buy them.
It doesn't matter if they have been worn by others.
As long as the vestment robe's functions are intact, you can wear them for a hundred or eighty years without issue. The question of newness really isn't a problem, so...
Xie Jiuniang's business was booming!
Xie Siniang quietly helped by the side, realizing for the first time that her sister had a talent for business.
By the time the members of the Chen Family's main branch hurried over after hearing the news, all they found were a few empty wooden crates.
Xie Jiuniang said with a regretful look, "If I'd known Aunt would come, I would have saved a couple of pieces."
Although Chen Shi was fuming inside, she still maintained her amiable demeanor, "Xiaojiu, if you wanted to get rid of some items, why didn't you come to your own family? You weren't afraid that your aunt wouldn't give you Spirit Stones, were you?"
"Oh my, listen to you, Auntie! Even if I believe Uncle is short on cash, I wouldn't think you are. The Chen Family runs a big business!" Xie Jiuniang's eyes twinkled as she flattered Chen Shi.
Xie Da Bo caught the tail end of this insinuating remark as he hurried over, cursing his luck inwardly.
Sure enough, Xie Jiuniang then said, "Aunt, I kept a magic artifact commonly used by my eldest sister without selling it. Do you want to buy it? I won't take advantage of you; we'll go by the market price."
"Isn't it half-price?" Chen Shi blurted out, questioning.
Xie Jiuniang smiled mischievously, "You're an elder, you surely wouldn't want to see your junior at a loss, right?"
Chen Shi: "..."
How did her straightforward third-brother and his wife end up with such a sly little niece?
Xie Jiuniang rummaged through her belongings.
She took out a Frost Sword and a Defense Jade Amulet.
Then, Xie Jiuniang said, "The Frost Sword is a top-notch magic artifact, with a market value of four thousand eight hundred. This Defense Jade Amulet is an incredible life-saving magic artifact that can withstand a full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. I'm not sure about the market price, so let's say ten thousand is fair. Aunt, a sincere offer of fourteen thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones."
Hearing this, the people around sucked in a breath of cold air, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
This girl really dared to ask for a price, doubling the original.
Chen Shi seethed inwardly, "Xiaojiu, these two items were birthday gifts Haoran sent to Yingying, they have different significance. Perhaps..."
Xie Jiuniang immediately jumped into drama mode, dodging the question, "My sister is so fortunate, having a big brother who often buys her gifts. Xiaojiu is so envious..."
Xie Siniang chimed in at just the right moment, "I envy her too, having never received any gifts."
"Mm-hmm, I've never received any either," Xie Jiuniang added fuel to the fire.
The clan members around them looked on with strange expressions.
It was well known within the clan that Xie Haoran sent gifts home every year, and the main branch often bragged about it. But it turned out he had only given them to his sister, never to his cousins?
Really?
In the family, that seemed incredible.
To be sure, cousins are one step removed, but they still share the same bloodline.
You can give weightier gifts to your sisters and lighter ones to your cousins; as long as you give, it signifies affection.
To give nothing at all, what does it mean?
Don't you consider your cousins part of the family?
"We'll buy! We're buying!"
Squeezing through the crowd, Xie Da Bo had a slightly stiff smile. It wasn't that his son hadn't sent gifts; he'd diverted them privately as gifts for others. But if he let the girls continue, aside from his son's reputation being tarnished, his affairs with his mistress would be impossible to conceal.
Still, Xie Da Bo didn't want to be taken for a fool, "Xiaojiu, give us a fair deal, round up the two items to ten thousand, how about that?"
"This..."
Good heavens! Straight down to four thousand eight?
Xie Jiuniang's big eyes blinked, and with a foxy smile hiding a blade, she said, "Uncle, rounding up means fifteen thousand. You buying?"
Xie Da Bo's smile froze.
A hint of threatening vibe?
Lately, this girl has been acting weirdly possessed, speaking in ways that are quite frightening.
In front of everyone, he didn't want to become a laughingstock, "Ah Guan, make the payment."
Chen Guan was not too pleased about it.
It was a needless loss of fifteen thousand Spirit Stones.
Xie Uncle, fearing any further delay would bring more disgrace to his branch, warned with a look in his eye, "Hurry up, Yingying is about to come out of seclusion, and these two items would make a perfect surprise for her..."
A sense of alarm struck Chen Guan's heart.
Yingying's reputation was at stake, and he couldn't tarnish it.
The transaction was successful.
Xie Jiuniang entered a credit of fourteen thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones.
That's right, the agreed amount was fifteen thousand, but Chen Guan had shorted her by two hundred.
After counting, Xie Jiuniang generously decided not to point it out.
Chen Guan was still thinking about the Foundation Establishment Pill, but before she could ask, she was pulled away by Xie Uncle.
After the two of them had left.
Xie Jiuniang also wanted to go back.
In front of her, suddenly a haughty young girl blocked the way.
Xie Siuniang, protective of her cub, stepped in front of Xie Jiuniang, "Second Sister, what do you want?"
"Xiaosi, step aside, I'm here for Xiaojiu," Xie Yue said, lifting her pretty little chin slightly.
Xie Siuniang crossed her arms, "What do you want with Ninth Sister? The goods are sold, there's none left!"
Just as Xie Yue was about to state her purpose, suddenly another voice intervened.
"Xie Yue, are you planning to bully Xiaojiu by picking on the weak?" Xie Haozhi stood not far away with his arms crossed, his expression a mix of amusement and mockery.
Xie Yue gave him a disdainful glance, "Third Brother, are you itching for a fight on the sparring stage?"
"Hah, let's go for it, you think I'm afraid of you." Xie Haozhi assumed an undaunted attitude.
The crowd automatically steered clear of the madcaps, except for their respective entourages.
Their status in the clan was second only to Xie Ying, and their grandfather was the blood brother of the Clan Leader. They were first cousins and loved to bicker; squabbling was a daily routine.
In her previous life, Xie Ying was hailed as a peerless genius, but before she became a cultivator with a Single Spirit Root, her talent was not even comparable to these two.
Xie Yue was born with a Water Spirit Body.
When the family discovered this, they were more alarmed than pleased and immediately imposed a gag order, only publicly claiming she had a Water-Wood Dual Spiritual Root. This was because the Water Spirit Body had a fatal flaw; it was an excellent cauldron constitution, easily targeted by Evil Cultivators.
In her previous life, up until Xie Jiuniang's death, Xie Yue had remained in the family to cultivate, protected by the family, and her Water Spirit Body had not been exposed.
Xie Haozhi had a Gold-Thunder Dual Spiritual Root and was a promising candidate for a Sword Cultivator.
In about half a year, he would be noticed by a passing Nascent Soul stage Sword Cultivator from a certain Sect and taken as a personal disciple to the Southeast Sea Region.
In her previous life, she heard that he had made a big name for himself in the Southeast Sea Region, rising to fame, but unfortunately, the Tianxu Sect was far away from the Southeast Sea Region, and Xie Jiuniang never saw him again before she died.
Seeing that the two were arguing fervently, Xie Jiuniang seized the opportunity to try and slip away with Xie Siuniang.
Just a few steps away, Xie Yue shouted, "Stop! Xiaojiu, I just want to ask one question, are you selling the Foundation Establishment Pill?"
"I want to buy it too," Xie Haozhi followed swiftly.
Xie Jiuniang stopped, "Do you really lack Foundation Establishment Pills?"
Descendants that the family cultivates in secret wouldn't possibly be short of Foundation Establishment Pills.
"Hah, who wouldn't want a surplus of Foundation Establishment Pills," laughed Xie Haozhi in response.
Xie Yue gave Xie Haozhi a sidelong glance, "My family lacks them, severely lacks them."
Suddenly, the surroundings went quiet.
Whose family didn't lack them?
It wasn't just the Xie Family; the entire Cultivation World was in the same situation.
Xie Jiuniang spread her hands, "Not selling, my family lacks them too."
"That's right, my third uncle and aunt also need them," Xie Siuniang interjected with some concern, wary of Xie Jiuniang offending others, "They will return in a few days, and those who don't believe can go ask the Clan Leader."
That remark was rather pointless.
Who among the younger generation would dare to question the Clan Leader?
But it did remind everyone that Xiaojiu was the granddaughter of the Clan Leader. It was impossible for there to be forced buying and selling, even the notable figures among the juniors, Xie Haozhi and Xie Yue, dared not apply force.
This discouraged those who were in urgent need of a Foundation Establishment Pill, leaving them with no choice but to back down.
All of a sudden, Xie Haozhi raised his hand and ruffled Xie Jiuniang's hair.
He messed up her hair completely!
Xie Jiuniang's little face turned serious, her expression saying that she was very angry and the consequences would be severe.
Xie Haozhi's smile grew even more radiant, "Jiuniang, since you say you're not selling, then take good care of it. If someone steals it, remember to let me know so I can swoop in and reap the benefits."
"That day will never come!"
Even Xie Jiuniang, slow as she may be, felt the goodwill behind Xie Haozhi's words.
Seeing the situation, Xie Yue didn't press the matter, "What a pity, Xiaojiu, if you change your mind and want to sell, don't forget about me. The price will be higher with competition."
"Sure, sure, sure."
Xie Jiuniang agreed very readily.
She was never going to sell anyway; a simple acknowledgment would cost her nothing.
Chapter 9: Chapter 9 This is very strange
On the way back home.
Xie Siniang looked around, saw no one spying, and asked with an odd expression on her face, "Xiaojiu, what do they mean by making such a scene on purpose?"
"It's a gesture of protection, I guess," Xie Jiuniang said, her feelings quite complicated.
Xie Haozhi and Xie Yue stepped forward to meddle, one declaring that anyone who dared to compete could tell him, the other clearly stating he would purchase at a high price, fair competition.
This was to prevent others from playing tricks.
The issue with the Foundation Establishment Pill had settled down before it even caused much of a stir.
Xie Jiuniang's spiritual soul wasn't that of a child, so she naturally saw through the underlying intention of protection, which was a good thing for her current state of weakness.
She owed them a favor today.
Xie Jiuniang and Xie Siniang parted ways, each returning home.
...
Once home, Xie Jiuniang immediately activated her formation and happily began to take stock of her gains for the day.
She had made a huge profit today!
Just the Spirit Stones alone amounted to twenty thousand, turning her from a poor little girl with only four Spirit Stones into a little rich lady.
A pile of various other things, which were used to offset the debt when she lacked enough Spirit Stones to pay.
Over ninety percent of them were first-tier Spirit Plants, Talisman Paper, and Beast Blood; there were also Beast Bones and mineral materials.
The remaining ten percent consisted of blank Array Plates along with a large stack of blank Talisman Paper, at least a thousand sheets.
After taking inventory, Xie Jiuniang wanted to roll her eyes.
Are all members of the Xie Family so shrewd? Everything they gave had some value but was also common; selling them wouldn't fetch a good price, and she could only use them for practice. Only finished products would sell better.
Fortunately, she had spent two hundred years in the Great Sect in her previous life, and she had been exposed to the Four Arts of Cultivators: alchemy, artifact refining, formations, and talismans.
In her previous life, without the pressure of resources and lacking a bit in motivation, she learned the four arts only to an average level. The one she was best at was artifact refining, which she only studied diligently because a cultivator at the Golden Core Stage needed to refine their Exclusive Magic Treasure; even at death, she had barely reached the level of a third-tier Artifact Refiner.
The other three arts, she lingered around the first and second tiers.
But, that was enough for the Qi Cultivation Stage!
Since she needed to make use of all these miscellaneous items, she also needed to prepare quite a bit. For instance, making talismans required a Talisman Brush, Talisman Paper, cinnabar, and beast blood. She currently only had the Talisman Paper and beast blood, and needed to buy a Talisman Brush and cinnabar. And how could alchemy be done without a Pill Furnace? For artifact refining and engraving formations, a set of specialized tools was necessary too.
As for the Earthfire needed for alchemy or artifact refining, there were places outside that rented it out.
The family did have free Earthfire Rooms available but Xie Jiuniang didn't dare to use them.
Otherwise, if a child who had always been aloof for the past few years suddenly knew how to refine pills and artifacts, wouldn't that be an obvious suspicion? A powerful member of the family would likely suspect soul possession, her spiritual soul might be examined over and over again, and the secret of her rebirth would be tough to hide.
Before she grew strong, she'd better keep developing inconspicuously.
Xie Jiuniang went into seclusion again, besides the maid delivering one meal a day, she didn't leave the house for seven or eight consecutive days.
One or two persistent family members who had set their sights on Xie Jiuniang's Foundation Establishment Pill also had to give up.
Moreover, Xie Ying had emerged from her seclusion.
Rumors circulated within the family that Xie Ying's Spirit Root had mutated, changing from Dual Spiritual Roots to a Single Fire Heavenly Spiritual Root, and her cultivation had reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root!
After hundreds of years, the Xie Family finally saw the emergence of a Single Spiritual Root again!
With Xie Ying's affair drawing attention, who would spare a thought for the insignificant Xie Jiuniang at this point?
What was said outside couldn't affect the one in seclusion.
Xie Jiuniang cultivated to consolidate her cultivation base, and at the same time, she studied the Time Leaf.
At the fifth level of Qi Cultivation, she could foresee seven breaths, with Time Retrospection lasting for three quarters of an hour.
Upon emerging from seclusion, Xie Jiuniang didn't alarm anyone. Using the techniques she learned in her past life to disguise her face and then changing into a set of boys' clothes, she seemed to transform into an ordinary young boy and calmly walked out of the Xie Family residence.
First, she went out to buy everything on her shopping list, spending a total of eight thousand Spirit Stones. Mainly because neither the alchemy furnaces nor the artifact refining stations were cheap, and also included were all kinds of tools needed for engraving the Array Plates.
The expense pained her for quite a while, but wanting money to generate more money, the initial investment was unavoidable.
Then, she went to a place called the Pill and Artifact Pavilion and rented an Earthfire Room.
Not until three days later did Xie Jiuniang emerge from within.
The common Spirit Plants had all been refined by her into several kinds of elixirs commonly found on the market, such as Qi-Induction Pill, Revitalizing Pill, and Qi Nourishing Pill, as well as a small amount of Essence Nourishing Pill, and the remaining low-grade Spirit Plants had been made into Hemostatic Powder.
Then there were the Beast Bones and ores, which, after refinement, were forged into Bone Knives and Magic Swords.
When she went back home, with a Talisman Brush and Cinnabar on hand, she could make Talismans. Additionally, the dozen or so Blank Array Plates could be engraved with basic Formations.
In her previous life, the subject she was worst at was Formations; she had studied for over a year and only learned the basics of the Protective Array and the Spirit Gathering Array.
She approached the counter, returned the rented Earthfire Room, and was just about to leave when she suddenly saw a haughty-looking youth walk in.
The young man was handsome and stood tall and straight, with sharp phoenix eyes, and wore an eye-catching bright red robe with dazzling lotus and golden edges, which made him seem unrestrained and flamboyant. A restrained and clearly powerful Protector followed him.
Xie Jiuniang discreetly turned her body away, keeping her back toward the other party.
Wu Yu from the Minghua Sect?
This person was the direct disciple of Lord Yuanhua from the Minghua Sect, a top ten contender on the list of prodigies—a ruthless character known for killing without shedding blood. Rumors had it that in a training Secret Realm, he crippled all the Sect Disciples of the Minghua Sect's rival forces.
That's right, he crippled them—none were killed.
Had this person visited Yunmu City in her previous life?
After entering the Pill and Artifact Pavilion, Wu Yu directly went to the second floor, where he was personally attended to by the shopkeeper.
Xie Jiuniang did not foolishly inquire about his whereabouts; she pretended nothing was amiss and walked out of the Pill and Artifact Pavilion.
Walking alone on the streets, she was surrounded by numerous small vendors hawking their wares.
The hustle and bustle surpassed her memories of prosperity.
Passing by a bun shop, she even spent a dozen Spirit Pearls to buy two Spiritual Food Pastries.
Eating as she went, she looked around and explored.
As she passed the largest restaurant in the town, Xianlai Residence, Xie Jiuniang suddenly paused.
Up on the second floor near a window sat a young man wearing a veil hat, apparently conversing with someone.
Lin Wangchen?
Xie Jiuniang recognized him at a glance.
It had been a month since Lin Wangchen went to the Xie Family.
A month had passed, and he still hadn't left Yunmu City? According to him, he was on a training journey and passed by Yunmu City along the way, conveniently delivering something for Xie Haoran; he should have left long ago under normal circumstances.
Yet there he was, still in the city, wearing a veil hat, obviously not wanting to be recognized.
This matter seemed very strange.
Xie Jiuniang subtly took another glance at the second floor.
She saw Lin Wangchen stand and walk away, his figure disappearing from the window. Then another man's silhouette flashed past the window.
Xie Jiuniang thought for a moment and entered Xianlai Residence; the main hall was filled with a few diners.
"Honored guest, welcome to Xianlai Residence." The waiter greeted her with a smile.
"Open a private room on the second floor for this young master," Xie Jiuniang said indifferently.
The waiter apologized, "I'm sorry, young master, there are temporarily no available private rooms on the second floor, would you like to first..."
Just then, the door of a certain private room on the second floor opened, and Lin Wangchen walked out from inside.
A man with grizzled hair also followed out of the private room.
Xie Jiuniang raised her delicate eyebrows, "Isn't that one available now?"
As she spoke, she headed toward the second floor, brushing past Lin Wangchen on the stairs.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
344 Power
stone 
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