Having paid for her shiny new sword, Xiao Hong left the Purple Cloud Treasure Pavilion with Qiao Guiying.  

As they stepped out into the streets of Purple Cloud City, Qiao Guiying's face lit up with enthusiasm. She eagerly embarked on a tour of the city, pointing out various landmarks, special areas, and places of profound significance. 

Soon, they had toured most of the Outer City. Yes, the Outer City. After all, it would hardly be a Xianxia Universe if they did not divide everything according to cultivation levels. Their life wouldn't be complete without meticulously dividing every nook and cranny based on status! Imagine that: a Xianxia Universe where cultivators all didn’t have big egos with their heads beyond clouds in the 33rd Heaven, pfft~!

One needs to give it only a few moments of thought before one can say just how likely that is. You’re more likely to find a Phoenix that is allergic to fire!

Anyway, the Inner City catered almost exclusively for the high-level members of the Purple Spirit Sect. This city was built in the territory of the Purple Spirit Sect after all, the Qiao Family had to give them face.

The Inner City was not actually very special, other than the fact that buildings were even larger, more majestic and obviously made of more expensive materials.

When Xiao Hong learnt about the rent for a day of living in the Inner City, she nearly vomited blood! 

‘Hundred spirit stones per day?! Per DAY?!! What is this made of? Heavenly Spirit Cement? Divine Golden Bricks?!’ she wanted to crack open the head of the person who set this price with the very Divine Golden Brick! Then she suddenly realised that it would be the City Lord, who was also Qiao Guiying’s father, a Celestial Bridge expert. She quickly stopped complaining.

Luckily, she was with Qiao Guiying. 

As the overbearing ‘Young Miss Qiao’ of the Qiao Family, she got to use all the services of the Inner City for free! It also included her companions. So Xiao Hong happily enjoyed the benefits without a care in the world. 

***

Xiao Hong sat opposite Qiao Guiying in a cafe-like establishment - which was a surprise in itself. But the real kicker was that they had coffee! Unlike what she expected, these people weren’t always high on tea!

She was sipping on a glass of Azure Spirit Fruit Juice - the colour of which suspiciously resembled the copper sulphate solution. 

She had decidedly stayed away from coffee - Heavens knew how overpowered the caffeine would be after being beefed up by the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth! She didn’t want to experience the cultivation equivalent of jittery hands.

Qiao Guiying looked at her with a peculiar glint in her eye and began, “Sister Hong, I heard from Little Cai that they’ve built something called a Spirit Spa a few years back. Apparently, their Nine-Treasured Flower face mask is all the rage among the girls in the Sect! It’s so popular that one has to reserve it months in advance! I have a free Full VIP Treatment reservation for two. How about we go check it out?” 

“Pfft!” She nearly spat out her drink upon hearing about a spa. A xianxia universe was the last place where she thought she would hear about spas.

‘Nine-Treasured Flower face mask? What’s next? Thousand Hands Flowing Water Massage? Divine Jade Stone Foot Scrub? Phoenix Feather Rejuvenation?’ Xiao Hong ridiculed inwardly.

“What else do they have?” she sensed Qiao Guiying’s interest. 

“Oh there’s Thousand Hands Wave Flowing Massage, Multi-spirit herb Oil Massage…” she looked at Xiao Hong with a strange gaze.

‘Fuck! There really was!

‘Also, Sister Ying, Why do you keep mentioning full body massages only? I see right through your intentions! And they are not pure at all!

‘But… I like it!’

“Mh-hm, they sound very interesting! Let’s go in the evening!” acting very innocently.

‘Yes!’ Qiao Guiying did a guts pose under the table. At the same time, she squashed the slight guilt she felt for fooling this ‘innocent’ Junior Sister. ‘I’ll make it up to Junior Sister later! Even if I can’t, I can always use my body as compensation!’ She pointedly ignored the fact that she would still benefit even if she did use her body as compensation.

Thus, she dragged away the ‘innocent’ Xiao Hong to the so-called Spirit Spa.

***

“Welcome, dear customers!” a rather handsome-looking young man greeted the two of them cheerfully. Even Xiao Hong, who was attracted to girls and girls only, had to admit this fellow was pleasing to the eyes.

‘Harmonious Flow Spirit Spa sure knows its customers.’ Xiao Hong idly noted. The ‘Spirit Spas’ were frequented almost completely by female cultivators, so the staff at the reception was always a really handsome male. The kind that would make most male cultivators suffer Qi Deviation from jealousy. These “Spirit Spas” had a particular flair for suiting the clientele's preferences - in more ways than one.

 “Are you here to book a reservation?” the young man continued. His eyes paused for a bit on Qiao Guiying before he turned to look at Xiao Hong, upon whom his eyes stayed longer than normal. Xiao Hong remained unbothered - she had gotten quite used to stuff like this.

Xiao Hong had heard from the Qiao Guiying that these receptionists, attendants etc. were quite frequently discussed among the female cultivators in the sect. And since most of these attendants were disciples of the sect who wanted to earn some more Spirit Stones for their cultivation resources, there was no lack of Senior and Junior Sisters who wanted to take them as their Dao Companions. 

Plus, the payment for this position was quite generous. So, there was often quite a competition for these jobs. And which male cultivator would refuse a chance to work here? They got to watch and interact with jade beauties all day long! It was impossible to be bored! 

In conclusion, anyone who could land one of these jobs was quite talented.

Of course, they were all still limited to the Sky Spirit realm. Divine Sea experts had far better opportunities for obtaining cultivation resources.

“No, I and my Junior Sister would like the Full VIP Treatment,” Qiao Guiying said coolly, her cute nose slightly turned up and her tone was somewhat arrogant. She obviously did not put the receptionist in her eyes at all. She deposited two tokens onto the table with a casual flick of her wrist and glanced at the receptionist, “Will these be enough?”

Xiao Hong raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘Huh? How come I never noticed this?’ Qiao Guiying was normally rather easy to talk to. She had never come off as arrogant while talking to her. 

“Of course, Senior Sister Qiao.” He did not even look at the tokens. After all, a member of a prestigious family like the Qiao wouldn’t do things like faking tokens. With a smooth motion, he slid a slender booklet toward them. “Here. Please select any of the treatments.”

Qiao Guiying nodded and started flipping through it casually.

Before Xiao Hong could even form a sentence, Qiao Guiying confidently pointed to an entry, “We’ll take the Grade 3 Spirit Moxibustion Treatment for two.”

The young man nodded, “Great choice Senior Sister Qiao! It is one of the best treatments we have for Divine Sea realm cultivators It has immense benefits in Zhenqi Circulation and Meridian health. 

“It is the best treatment for newly ascended cultivators of the Divine Sea realm, as it helps in easing the burden liquid form Zhenqi has on the meridians. It helps the meridians quickly adapt to the stronger liquid form Zhenqi!

“For veteran early-stage Divine Sea cultivators, it even has a slight effect of strengthening the cultivator’s physique! 

“By the end of the treatment, your Qi and Blood Flow will have increased by leaps and bounds!”

What he spoke wasn't a mere sales pitch; their treatment really had the above-mentioned effects. They would not gain a foothold in the Inner City otherwise.

Xiao Hong looked at Qiao Guiying and was touched for the second time today. The token obviously allowed better treatment for a Water Disaster expert like her, yet she gave it up to accompany her. Although Guiying had a lot of money, she could not really spend it on high-level treatment for the Disaster realm. Those were really expensive and not as good as pills which had the same effects and weren’t as expensive. The Qiao Family was rather strict in the upbringing of their children and did not allow them to spend money on frivolity. 

It was nothing amazing but it touched her nonetheless.

The young man then handed the two of them another token and called over a mature-looking lady who guided them to a wide room. 

Xiao Hong immediately smelt the thick aroma of Spiritual Herbs intermingling with each other. “Seven-Petal Red Spirit Flower, Spirit Lily extract, Golden Astragalus...” She muttered as her inner Alchemist immediately classified all the Spiritual Herbs just by their smell.

The mature lady looked at her in surprise, “Are you an Alchemist, young lady?”

“Of course! Junior Sister Hong is one of the most talented Alchemists in the Sect!” Qiao Guiying said proudly. It was almost as if it was her who was the Alchemist. 

Xiao Hong couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at her Senior Sister's antics, finding it cute. Yet again. 

***

A while later, the both of them lay down on comfortable beds, face down.

“Eh, it’s so difficult to pierce your acupoints! Young lady, do you practise some sort of Physical Cultivation technique?  Your skin is so smooth and soft despite that!” The middle-aged lady named Mu Qing, who was responsible for carrying out Xiao Hong’s Spirit Moxibustion exclaimed. 

It is a well-known fact that Physical Cultivation - at least in the initial stages leads to rough and hard skin. Which was one of the reasons the majority of the female cultivators stayed away from it. In fact, even male cultivators stayed away from it. After all, they could gain just as much power from practising their normal Essence Cultivation; why would they brave such horrible pain and deteriorating looks for more power - power they could gain by simply practising more Battle Techniques? 

Many cultivators depended on their looks to further their cultivation! If they could catch the attention of some rich young lady or master and become their Dao Companion, they would be set for life! 

Plus, the resource consumption for Body Tempering methods was so disgustingly large, that only really powerful factions could afford it. Xiao Hong was probably the only outlier - since her system converted Spiritual Energy into the required essence. Of course, the cost would also rise like a rocket! It was probably cheaper to directly get the resources instead!

Mu Qing blurted out in surprise, “What kind of Cultivation Technique do you practice?”

Before Xiao Hong could even say anything, however, a horrendous aura slammed down on the lady, forcing her to her knees! As if plunged into the fathomless depths of the ocean, the lady found herself gasping for air, her movements restricted, her thoughts ensnared. It felt as if the weight of the Heavens bore down on her, poised to obliterate her.

The lady almost fainted before the pressure disappeared.

“Know your place, servant.” Qiao Guiying’s normally cheery look had disappeared, replaced with a stone-cold expression. Her eyes had a steely glint in them as they glared down at Mu Qing. She was sitting up, ignoring the quivering mess that was her masseuse. Her deep blue eyes glowed like miniature stars as she intoned, “How dare you-?”

“Sister Ying,” Xiao Hong’s voice cut in, her tone soothing. “The lady just made a mistake. She did not intend to ask me about my techniques. She was just wondering how I had such smooth skin despite practising Body Tempering.”

It was taboo, in the world of immortal cultivation, to ask someone about their cultivation technique - questioning someone about their cultivation technique was akin to prying into the most guarded chambers of their soul. 

Even the relationship between Master and Disciple didn’t allow for one to ask about it - unless they inherited the same cultivation technique. 

The reason behind this secrecy was straightforward - if a cultivator knows the cultivation technique you practise, he can, with enough preparation, render your cultivation ineffective.

For example, a cultivator practising a Yin-Wood type cultivation technique can be severely weakened under a Yang-Fire type Array Formation. And, if the enemy somehow sneaked the Yin-Wood cultivator some sort of Fire attributed Poison, they would further weaken them. Then, with the help of a Yang-Fire type Battle Technique, they would deal bonus damage when attacking the Yin-Wood cultivator.

As a result, the Yin-Wood cultivator would not be able to unleash even a tenth of his true power, while his enemy would deal 2x damage. The end was easily imaginable.

Of course, this was only an example. The majority of the Cultivation Techniques were multi-attributed, containing all 5 elements or parts Yin or Yang - they were just biased towards one or the other. 

This also harmonized with one of the major philosophies in the world of Immortal Cultivation: Nothing in the world existed by itself; everything was interconnected. The Five Elements relied on each other to grow: Wood feeds Fire, Fire produces Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal collects Water, and Water nourishes Wood; Yin and Yang coexisted in a living being, there was no Death without Life and Life was meaningless without Death.

And no one cultivated pure Wood or pure Fire cultivation techniques. Such a technique is too extreme. A Cultivation Technique affects the cultivator. So extreme Cultivation Techniques would lead to extreme cultivators.

The enemy cultivator would also have to truly understand the Cultivation Technique - enough to cultivate it to the same Realm as their opponent. Simply knowing the name and a few attributes would not be helpful. 

However, the point still stands - knowing and understanding your opponent’s cultivation technique would give you a massive advantage over them.

This was why Qiao Guiying was so enraged. 

And actually, her reaction was quite tame. Some cultivators with a lower tolerance would directly start a fight to death.

Qiao Guiying was still angry, “But Sister Hong-!”

“It’s okay Sister Ying.” Xiao Hong smiled gently, “I know you are angry for me, and it makes me very happy. But I don’t want to see you make such a scary face.”

After a bit more soothing from Xiao Hong, Qiao Guiying finally calmed down, but not before complaining, “Sister Hong, you’re too kind! It will get you in trouble one day if you stay like this!”

Xiao Hong just chuckled, “Don’t worry. I’m not that kind.”

All she received was a sceptical look, causing her to roll her eyes in exasperation.

“By the way, Senior Sister, what do you eat?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Qiao Guiying’s eyebrows raised a little and tilted her head lightly to the right.

“What do you eat to make them so big?” she asked, staring at Qiao Guiying’s chest. And Xiao Hong could have sworn it was the biggest pair she’d seen in both her lives! Well, not the biggest, but definitely the biggest pair she’d seen that was not weird.

Qiao Guiying looked at her Xiao Hong, whose face was flushed red, her eyes unblinking as if wanted to imprint the scene permanently.

“Eh? Eeek!” She quickly covered her chest and lay down, flustered. Then, she turned to Xiao Hong, making a pouty face, “Junior Sister, why didn’t you tell me before?!”

“It’s not my fault! Senior Sister looked too beautiful so I admired the view for a while.” Xiao Hong shamelessly put the blame on her companion’s head. While Qiao Guiying’s face flushed from the praise and pressed her face deep into the pillow muttering something.

“{Oi,}” Xiao Hong called Qiao Guiying’s masseuse through qi transmission, “{Get someone else to do her job.}” She nodded her head towards Mu Qing who had now curled up into a ball. 

“{R-r-right away, miss!}” she quickly leapt into action.

***

“Nghh~!” Qiao Guiying stretched, torturing the poor Qipao she’d changed into to the point it almost gave up on life, “That was unexpectedly good!”

Xiao Hong nodded absentmindedly, sensing her Qi Flow that had become significantly smoother since before. ‘The effect is equivalent to nearly a month of effort! And for the next few days, my cultivation will be exceptionally smooth!

‘Sadly, it’s too expensive…’ Xiao Hong lamented. If she didn’t have Qiao Guiying, this treatment would’ve cost her nearly 3500 Spirit Stones! That was enough resources to nurture a powerful Nirvana expert, while also arming them!

This was something only the rich could enjoy.

‘Well, it’s not that useful; with the system, the effects of this treatment is negligible.’

Qiao Guiying grabbed Xiao Hong’s hand, “Come, let’s go home for today! The auction starts quite early in the morning.”

Xiao Hong nodded in assent.

***

The next morning.

Xiao Hong was sitting on a chair in one of the courtyards in the City Lord’s mansion, holding a jade slip in one hand and wistfully staring at the Flying Sword she’d bought yesterday in the other hand.

She sighed.

The Divine Sea Realm was a rather special Realm in terms of cultivation. It was agreed upon by most cultivators that only in this Realm can one be called an Immortal Cultivator. The Divine Sea was a benchmark that separated the wheat from the chaff.

The big shots over at the Mystic Sky Sect - the current 2nd strongest sect - fancied calling this stage the beginning of Foundation Establishment. From Divine Sea to Transformation Realm, the cultivator established an Immortal Foundation upon which they would build their Dao. 

Thus, all Divine Sea cultivators paid extra attention to honing the basic skills in their chosen path - be it the path of a Sword Immortal, Alchemist, Array Master, or Spellcrafter. Each of these paths required special characteristics. For example - an Alchemist’s Qi would be much more gentle compared to a Sword Immortal’s sharpness, an Array Master would focus on making his Qi more receptible to the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, while a Spellcrafter would train his Qi to be agile. 

Each path induces different Characteristics in their Qi. And these Characteristics appear on their own as a cultivator comprehends their chosen path. 

It doesn’t mean that one can’t learn other paths, it’s just that one would gain a passive bonus while utilising the skills of their chosen path. Plus, there will inevitably be paths that will become incompatible with the cultivator - a Sword Immortal would have a really hard time with Alchemy because their Qi is too sharp and would often destabilise the delicate interactions causing them to fail.

And quite often different paths had overlapping Charaterictics - the agility required by Spell Crafters coincides with the Alchemist’s, as they also require their Qi to be agile enough to handle the extremely fine flame control and ingredient interaction.

It was Xiao Hong’s turn to choose a path for herself. 

She snorted. Choices? Ha! It was more like a one-lane road with giant signs pointing in the direction of Alchemy - it was absolutely necessary for her. Without it, she'd be sucked dry by the Taoties she had for Cultivation Techniques in about no time.

So, for battle, she could only choose a path that had the most overlap in Qi Characteristics with Alchemy - Spellcraft.

That meant no hundred thousand-mile-long Sword Qi for her, no Heaven-reaching sword phantoms, no sword intents, no sword hearts, and definitely no sword domains. 

Nope. She had to make do with fireballs - tsk!

She was devastated! What’s the point of coming to Xianxia Universe if she couldn’t be a Sword Immortal?! She might as well pack her bags and move to the regular old universe next door!

The whole situation caused her to be depressed. “A sword is a woman’s romance!” Xiao Hong sighed.

“Pfft~! Hehehe~” A rather familiar giggle reached the depressed Xiao Hong. “Sister Hong is really special! ‘A sword is a woman’s romance!’ That’s the first time I’ve heard of something like that.” mimicking Xiao Hong’s sigh of lament.

“Sister Ying, don’t tease me!” Xiao Hong pouted towards the voice, where she found Qiao Guiying walking towards her dressed in white, looking like the purest Lily in full bloom. 

Xiao Hong continued while also admiring the view, “I’ve always dreamt of wielding swords, chopping Demons and Gods every step.”

Xiao Hong made a hand seal, controlling the Leiying Sword to slash around as if mimicking her fantasies. “Unfortunately, I’m not fated with such a cool scene!”

“Well, you could burn a Demon with a step and drown a God with every step?” Qiao Guiying said as she sat down on a chair next to Xiao Hong.

“Eh. Sounds lame.”

They chatted for a while before Qiao Guiying brought up the topic of the Purple Cloud Auction, “We’ll leave for the Auction in a bit. Do you wanna see the items and see if any catch your fancy?”

Qiao Guying took out a jade slip.

“Mhm.” Xiao Hong nodded, taking the jade slip and scanning it with her Divine Sense.

‘Hmm… Materials, nothing special, I can always get them from the Sect. Weapons, I already have the Leiying Sword. Thankfully, it is just as effective for an Immortal Spell, otherwise, I’d have spent Sister Ying’s money on something useless. Techniques, also nothing special. Miscellaneous items…

‘Yo, this is where a protagonist finds something special only he recognises, right? I should be a protagonist, right? I might get something awesome, right?!’

Xiao Hong got lost in her unrealistic fantasies until Qiao Guiying forcefully dragged her out to the Auction venue: Purple Cloud Treasure Pavilion.

-x-x-x-