Chapter 32: Crooks Preying On Crooks

 

Su Jingzhen had simply fulfilled his courtesy, doing what he thought was right.

 

He then brought Shuang Jiang along, continuing towards the direction of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

 

“Heh heh, you’re not picky at all, are you?”

 

“But it’s also true, with a broken Dantian, it’s indeed a blessing in eight lifetimes to have a woman with spiritual roots willing to follow you.”

 

Just as Su Jingzhen and Shuang Jiang turned around, Yan Xia’s voice suddenly sounded from behind them.

 

After seeing Su Jingzhen and Shuang Jiang’s backs outside the Treasure Gathering Pavilion yesterday, Yan Xia’s curiosity got the better of her, and she intentionally inquired about Su Jingzhen’s Dao Companion.

 

However, she discovered that his Dao Companion, although with a broken Dantian, had lost her cultivation and her appearance had become twisted and ugly.

 

But it was indeed true that she had spiritual roots, and they were even quite impressive.

 

This sparked a hint of jealousy in her heart.

 

Yan Xia had always been the most outstanding child of her parents, yet she was only a pseudo-spiritual roots holder.

 

Even if she wanted to marry into a good family, the cultivators who were willing to take her as their wife were mostly only willing to take her as a concubine.

 

Those who were willing to take her as their main Dao Companion wife were all defective goods.

 

This was something that not even her parents, who were cultivators, could change.

 

After all, it was Yan Xia who had to live with the person she married, not her parents.

 

To be honest, if Su Jingzhen’s Dantian hadn’t been broken, Yan Xia would have been quite satisfied with him.

 

Upon hearing this, Su Jingzhen and Shuang Jiang’s footsteps paused slightly.

 

Su Jingzhen turned around to glance at her, his mouth still curved into a warm and gentle smile.

 

He then bowed to Yan Xia and her family, saying, “To be able to form a Dao Companion bond with my wife is indeed a great fortune for me in this life.”

 

He only said this one sentence before leaving with Shuang Jiang, not showing any anger or losing his composure.

 

He didn’t want to continue arguing with Yan Xia either.

 

From that day on, they were destined to be strangers who had only met by chance.

 

A simple greeting was already the most they could exchange.

 

And for Su Jingzhen, being able to form a Dao Companion bond with Shuang Jiang was indeed a great fortune.

 

Even a nominal, fake Dao Companion bond was already a great blessing.

 

So, his previous words weren’t meant to provoke Yan Xia or anything like that.

 

As Su Jingzhen and Shuang Jiang walked away, Yan Xia suddenly felt a bit stifled in her heart.

 

Her original intention was to mock them with a few words, but instead, she was left looking foolish.

 

A sense of resentment brewed in her heart, but she didn’t know how to vent it.

 

“Let’s go, even if you can’t awaken your spiritual roots this time, you won’t be any worse off than a mid-stage Qi Refiner as a pseudo-spiritual roots holder.”

 

Regarding this matter, Yan Xia’s parents didn’t express any opinions.

 

They simply followed in the direction of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

 

On the other hand, Su Jingzhen and Shuang Jiang didn’t express any views on the matter either.

 

Su Jingzhen’s mentality remained calm, and Shuang Jiang wasn’t someone who liked to gossip.

 

As the two of them entered the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, they were once again wearing the black robes from yesterday.

 

However, when they headed towards the second floor, all the people queuing in the first-floor hall of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion turned their gazes towards them once again.

 

Just like yesterday, some were envious, while others were shocked.

 

However, after having experienced it once before, Su Jingzhen was able to take it in stride.

 

On the second floor, Feng Qingya had changed into a new outfit.

 

However, the fabric of her clothes was still as revealing as ever.

 

Every movement of hers still exuded endless charm.

 

She sat on a chair at the staircase, waiting quietly for a while.

 

Today’s transaction wasn’t a big deal for her, but she was looking forward to seeing Shuang Jiang, a strong cultivator.

 

Generally, people in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion were very willing to interact with professionals and powerful individuals.

 

When she heard the footsteps on the stairs, Feng Qingya’s eyes suddenly lit up.

 

She then stood up directly.

 

“Ah, the two of you are indeed men of your word.”

 

“I thought you wouldn’t show up today.”

 

As she spoke, Feng Qingya led Su Jingzhen and Shuang Jiang to the same private room as yesterday.

 

On the table in the room, a jade tray had already been placed.

 

On the tray were two exquisite, transparent jade bottles.

 

The bottles weren’t very large, and from the outside, one could see that they contained a murky, emerald-green liquid.

 

“Masters, the Body Tempering Liquid has been prepared.”

 

“Not many, just two bottles, and I’ve brought them all here.”

 

Feng Qingya’s smile still carried that charming, flirtatious air.

 

“Price.”

 

Shuang Jiang’s tone remained icy cold.

 

As they discussed this topic, Su Jingzhen’s heart began to feel a bit anxious again.

 

“For our first transaction, one bottle of Body Tempering Liquid will cost five mid-grade spirit stones, a friendly price for our new friendship.”

 

Feng Qingya’s words were quite sincere.

 

And in fact, that was indeed the case.

 

Five mid-grade spirit stones was equivalent to five hundred low-grade spirit stones…

 

The liquid was only worth one thousand low-grade spirit stones.

 

For Feng Qingya, this was not a profitable deal at all.

 

In fact, she would even have to take a loss.

 

However, when Su Jingzhen heard the price, his heart skipped a beat.

 

He had originally thought that his three hundred plus low-grade spirit stones were already a lot.

 

But he never thought that he couldn’t even buy one bottle.

 

It was a bit embarrassing.

 

Before Su Jingzhen could ask if he could buy half a bottle, Shuang Jiang spoke up.

 

“We don’t have that many spirit stones.”

 

“Give me the Body Tempering Liquid, and I’ll give you something even better.”

 

“I guarantee you won’t lose out.”

 

As soon as Shuang Jiang said this, Su Jingzhen’s gaze unconsciously turned to her.

 

He was a bit curious.

 

Meanwhile, Feng Qingya’s eyes lit up again.

 

Spirit stones were nothing to her.

 

What Treasure Gathering Pavilion liked most was bartering.

 

This method often brought unexpected surprises to Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

 

Feng Qingya immediately spoke up: “If you want to barter, then Treasure Gathering Pavilion is more than happy to oblige.”

 

After experiencing Shuang Jiang’s ‘aura’ yesterday, Feng Qingya wouldn’t doubt anything Shuang Jiang said.

 

Although, in her opinion, not having one thousand low-grade spirit stones was a bit unimaginable for a strong cultivator like Shuang Jiang.

 

But she still chose to believe.

 

Shuang Jiang shook her head again: “We can’t take out something of equal value either.”

 

After being with Su Jingzhen for a while, Shuang Jiang seemed to have learned to be sincere as well.

 

However, as soon as she said this, Feng Qingya’s smile froze.

 

Was this a case of crooks preying on crooks?

 

Treasure Gathering Pavilion had stood tall in the cultivation world for a long time, and it wasn’t afraid of encountering such situations.

 

When Feng Qingya saw Shuang Jiang’s expression, she seemed to smile lightly.

 

“Don’t worry, I know Treasure Gathering Pavilion’s capabilities, and I won’t bother to quarrel with you over two bottles of Body Tempering Liquid.”

 

“But if I were to offer a registration opportunity for a future high-level alchemist, would you be willing to exchange it for these two bottles of Body Tempering Liquid?”