"So... why did Elder stop you there?"
As soon as Mo Zhiran made his way down the peak and somehow found the Internal Affairs Pavilion, he spotted both Xiao Lan and Mei Xuan waiting right outside.
The moment Xiao Lan saw him, she immediately came forward and asked with pure curiosity. It seemed she hadn't entered the pavilion at all and had instead waited for him here with Mei Xuan.
Whether that was out of good faith or just to satisfy her curiosity was up for debate.
"Hmm? Isn't it because she wanted to reward me? Why are you still outside, though?"
Mo Zhiran raised his eyebrows and asked back, equally curious.
"Tsk... reward? Who are you kidding with? It's good that she didn't punish you for looking at her like that."
Before Xiao Lan could answer, though, Mei Xuan clicked her tongue and muttered in annoyance as she saw Zhiran return in one piece. She thought he was done for.
Although she mumbled in a low voice, since all of them were cultivators, Zhiran heard her loud and clear.
"Heh... why would Elder Yan Yue punish me? Are you jealous or what, little girl?"
Zhiran smiled at her rebuke, finding it quite funny, and quietly took out the mana ring the Elder had given him.
"Thirty middle-grade spirit stones. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."
He signaled toward the ring on his hand with a smirk. In truth, even he was surprised to find so many spirit stones inside. He hadn't expected Elder Yan Yue to be that generous.
Although it also showed just how dangerous the task inside that secret realm must be.
"Whoa... it really is thirty middle-grade spirit stones. You're so lucky!"
Xiao Lan quickly scanned the Spirit Ring on Zhiran's hand and let out a gasp. Even for her, at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, that many spirit stones was no small amount.
As for Mei Xuan, after seeing that he had really received so many spirit stones as a reward, her face immediately darkened as she didn't know what to say.
But Xiao Lan was clearly excited for Zhiran,
"With the twenty more you'll receive as a reward from the sect, you'll have fifty middle-grade spirit stones in total. Junior Zhiran, with that much, you could even afford a Foundation Establishment Pill or a peak Xuan-grade sword. Really lucky."
Fifty middle-grade spirit stones were equivalent to five thousand low-grade ones; enough to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill on the outside.
"Foundation Establishment Pill?"
When Zhiran heard Xiao Lan's words, he raised his eyebrow but shook his head.
"Let's not talk about this. Instead, let's complete the procedure to enter the inner sect. You two haven't entered the pavilion, right?"
Zhiran changed the topic and asked while wearing the ring on his finger.
Unlike others, he felt no excitement at being able to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill this early.
He was someone who had reached the Gold Core realm in his previous life after all. He knew the importance of the Foundation Establishment realm more than anyone else.
If he rushed to build a foundation like this, there was a high chance he would have difficulty in reaching the Gold core realm in the future. As for a Nascent Soul realm...
"Cough... yeah, we haven't. We were waiting for you."
Xiao Lan coughed to hide her embarrassment as she couldn't just admit she stayed out of curiosity, right?
So, she immediately stirred the topic while signalling them to follow her at the same time,
"Anyway, Junior Zhiran, I wasn't lying when I said you can do so much with these spirit stones. In fact, even if you don't want to buy Foundation Establishment pills, I suggest you use them to increase your strength."
She spoke sincerely, and as if remembering something, she immediately turned and asked,
"In fact, if I recall correctly, there's a huge auction being held at Azure Flame City by the Mystic Exchange Alliance tomorrow. I happen to have a few invitations with me as well. Do you want to go with me?"
Xiao Lan suddenly asked, smiling at Zhiran.
"Auction?"
Mo Zhiran raised his eyebrows at Xiao Lan's invitation. For a moment, he thought this cute girl might be after his spirit stones. After all, she was already a Foundation Establishment expert while he was just a Qi Condensation weakling.
If she found him alone...
'What am I thinking?'
Zhiran quickly shook off the thought and accepted Xiao Lan's offer with a smile.
"Senior Lan, thank you for the invitation. Then let's do as you suggested."
The Mystic Exchange Alliance was the top merchant organization on the Azure Star Continent, active in every corner of the land.
Even their lowest-tier auctions always had items that could excite cultivators at any level.
In fact, Zhiran had already planned to attend this auction, even without Xiao Lan's suggestion.
For one, he wanted to find some fresh corpses and extract their brains with his system. And for another...
'Mo Tianyu's fiancée, Yan Xi... isn't she associated with the Mystic Exchange Alliance? Tch... tch... I remember something happened to her at this auction because Tianyu offended someone powerful.'
Zhiran's eyes flickered as he recalled the incident from his previous life, and a faint smile tugged at his lips. He felt he had finally found a way to take his first revenge on Tianyu.
After all, he never thought of defeating him in the arena today as revenge. Only when Tianyu reached true desperation would he regard it as such.
"Really, then that's good. Let's go together. By the way, you don't need to say 'Senior' each time you address me. You can just use my name."
Xiao Lan was visibly elated after hearing Zhiran's agreement, but quickly asked him to address her by name.
After all, someone even Elder Yan Yue looked highly upon must be a genius. If she could get on his boat...
Even though she was in a higher realm than he was now, her talent wasn't that good. She didn't know how long she would be stuck in this realm before making any progress.
Of course, she would take the chance if given one, not to mention she had a good impression of this guy.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Mo Zhiran raised his eyebrows at her enthusiasm and nodded lightly.
"Okay then. Xiao Lan, you can also address me by Zhiran from now on, how about that?"
He asked with a smile, readily accepting her offer. He wasn't stupid enough to deny such a beautiful girl.
"Cough... Senior Xiao, we have arrived."
Mei Xuan, who had been silent the whole time, finally couldn't stand their fluffy conversation any longer and coughed lightly to remind them she was still there.
She honestly didn't understand why such a strong senior would be interested in this obnoxious guy.
"Hmm? O-oh... right..."
While Zhiran didn't care about Mei Xuan's presence, Xiao Lan was thin-headed. She immediately realized her gaffe and stuttered embarrassingly.
"O-okay, t-then let's register you two first. M-Mei Xuan, right? If you want, you can also come with us tomorrow."
Maybe Xiao Lan felt she had seemed too enthusiastic toward her junior in front of others, so she lightly invited Mei Xuan as well before taking them inside the main room of the Internal Affairs Pavilion.
After all, if a disciple of the Divine Cauldron Sect wanted to leave the sect casually, he had to be at least an inner sect disciple.
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