All cultivators, more or less, had sustained injuries. Hua Ling Shan Zhu's divine sense had also been severely damaged in his early years. It was just that he possessed more means than Qi Yuan Dao Jun, concealing it better in normal times, so no one had discovered it.
Hua Ling Shan Zhu did not know if Bai Sheng Yi had known about his injury all along or if it was a coincidence. However, at this moment, he had no time to dwell on such matters.
According to the Song's Auction House regulations, one needed a purchase card to buy the Yang Shen Dan. Each card could only buy a maximum of five pills, and the cards were issued by people from Shen Qi Mountain.
It wasn't that Hua Ling Shan Zhu hadn't considered borrowing a card from someone else. However, he didn't know if Shen Qi Mountain had anticipated this situation, as they strictly stipulated that the purchase cards were for personal use only.
Not to mention, purchase cards were now hard to come by.
Everyone wanted to buy some Yang Shen Dan to keep on hand, as anyone could injure their divine sense at any time. Moreover, the efficacy of Yang Shen Dan was comparable to high-grade Han Shen Dan!
Each of those high-grade Han Shen Dan required either trying one's luck at an auction or preparing a large number of rare raw materials, not to mention humbling oneself before alchemists to procure them.
How could they compare to the high cost-effectiveness of Yang Shen Dan?
Hua Ling Shan Zhu was deeply tempted, so he had to seek out Qin Si.
"Little Friend Qin..."
"Hua Ling Shan Zhu, when did Hua Ling Mountain become acquainted with Shen Qi Mountain?" Bai Sheng Yi strode in from outside, smiling as she looked at the other party. "Have you forgotten? You are deeply acquainted with the Wu Shang Sect."
"We still need to discuss matters concerning the Shen Qi Grand Assembly. Could you please excuse yourself for now?"
Bai Sheng Yi smiled and made a gesture of "please."
The gentle smile on Hua Ling Shan Zhu's face stiffened.
There was a curse word he didn't know whether to utter.
When did this woman arrive?
"Bai Sheng Yi, didn't you return to Qian Xiao Peak?" Hua Ling Shan Zhu almost spat out each word.
He had specifically sent people to monitor the An Ping City imperial palace, choosing a time when Bai Sheng Yi was absent to seek out Qin Si.
Bai Sheng Yi felt it was quite an accomplishment to have forced the usually amiable Hua Ling Shan Zhu into such a state.
Her smile became even brighter. "I went back to handle some matters, and here I am again."
Actually, Daoist Zhu Xiao had a new idea regarding the summer night plum blossom forest and wanted to discuss it with Bai Sheng Yi, so he had summoned her.
Hua Ling Shan Zhu simply couldn't bear to look at Bai Sheng Yi's smile, fearing he might lose control of his facial expression.
He said dryly, "Since that's the case, this venerable one shall take his leave and return another day."
Before his words had fully faded, he had vanished.
"You've driven him away, are you satisfied?" As Qin Si lowered his head, he saw Bai Sheng Yi with her eyes curved, smiling like a fox.
He couldn't help but reach out and poke Bai Sheng Yi's cheek.
It was soft and bouncy.
He then couldn't help but caress it.
"Stop fooling around." Bai Sheng Yi batted away Qin Si's hand and huffed, "Don't think that by saying that, you can cover up the fact that you were watching from the side and allowed all of this to happen."
"Yes, yes, yes." A faint smile dyed his sharp phoenix eyes.
Too many things had happened recently, and there were many matters pending that needed to be dealt with. Therefore, after a brief moment of playful banter, the two redirected their attention to serious matters.
"The rules for the martial competition of the Shen Qi Grand Assembly have changed again. Do you know about the Huan Yu Small Secret Realm?" Qin Si frowned. "The martial competition has been changed to an experiential training within the Huan Yu Small Secret Realm. Points will be awarded based on what each major sect brings out from the secret realm."
"What are the requirements for cultivators entering the small secret realm?" Bai Sheng Yi directly asked the crucial question.
Originally, the martial competition only had age restrictions for cultivators. However, it was not impossible for the Wu Shang Sect to impose cultivation restrictions to target her from Shen Qi Mountain.
After all, the Wu Shang Sect still held significant influence in this session of the Shen Qi Grand Assembly.
"Of course, it's still the same as before." Qin Si immediately understood Bai Sheng Yi's concerns and said helplessly, "With Senior Uncle and my maternal grandfather here, who would allow the Wu Shang Sect to play any tricks in this regard?"
Qin Si couldn't help but pat Bai Sheng Yi's head again.
He felt quite emotional. He had initially thought that even if he broke free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao, only a greater abyss awaited him. However, he had not expected that because of Bai Sheng Yi, the neutral Yue Qing Mountain would become his backing.
This feeling of relying on his lover's "soft power" was somewhat novel, and also somewhat... joyful.
"A Si? A Si? What are you thinking about?"
Bai Sheng Yi's voice pulled Qin Si back from his thoughts.
"Nothing," he shook his head, his heart growing even softer. He couldn't help but pull Bai Sheng Yi into his embrace. "Let me hold you for a while."
Bai Sheng Yi was stunned for a moment, but she wasn't one to be coy. She leaned against him as he moved.
It was just an ordinary embrace, yet it seemed to make time itself quiet and warm.
Qing Meng Teng sneakily slipped out of Bai Sheng Yi's hand. The spiritual energy within was too sweet, almost cloying to the vine.
"There's a problem. The finals for both the martial competition and the alchemy competition are scheduled to start on the same day. You can only participate in one."
Bai Sheng Yi frowned. "It's not just me; Jing Fei Feng Wu Ya and the others can only participate in one as well."
However, she didn't dwell on it for long. After a moment of thought, she said, "Participating in the martial competition was to help the academy secure a good ranking, and participating in the alchemy competition was to test my alchemy skills. But it's likely that many alchemists will be absent from the alchemy finals, so the alchemy finals wouldn't mean much to me. As for the academy's side..."
"The impact isn't significant either. The weighting of points for the alchemy competition is inherently much lower than for the martial competition, and Feng Wu Ya has already decided to participate in the alchemy competition."
"When did that happen? How come I didn't know?" Bai Sheng Yi couldn't help but feel curious. Wasn't Feng Wu Ya been playing with Luo Fei Hua these past few days?
It was worth mentioning that a certain little fairy who had originally clamored for her to go shopping with her had eventually forgotten her friend for the sake of a romantic interest, happily going around with Feng Wu Ya.
However, Bai Sheng Yi wasn't the most pitiful. Zhu Wu, who had been looking for an opportunity to borrow the "Tian Fu Tong Yang Lu" from Bai Sheng Yi but was dragged by Luo Fei Hua to help search for gourmet food and clothing shops everywhere, was.
"Never mind, this isn't important either. As long as Wu Ya has decided for himself." Bai Sheng Yi wasn't surprised by Feng Wu Ya's decision.
The Feng family was indeed a prominent family in alchemy, and Feng Wu Ya was indeed more outstanding in alchemy than in cultivation.
"By the way, I need to remind you of something. That Xiao Mo from the Wu Shang Sect was barely hanging on to life. I let Bai Yu Yue release him, and this morning he was found murdered in the suburbs," Bai Sheng Yi said with a heavy sigh. "The Wu Shang Sect is truly ruthless."
A disciple who was once of no low status was abandoned as soon as they said so. If that wasn't ruthlessness, what was?
However, neither Bai Sheng Yi nor Li Tingyun, who had given the order to kill Xiao Mo, had expected that Xiao Mo would later trigger such a chain reaction.
In the depths of Xing Han, at the end of the endless ascent of the Void Celestial Stairway, a new world, vast and majestic, mysterious and lofty, unfurled.
This was the Chong Yuan World.