Huang Ying began to communicate with him using sound transmission. Only then did Zhang Ling learn her purpose from her words, but he was somewhat surprised by it.
It was actually for a treasure on his body.
Tu Fei, however, was now looking at the girl in the lotus flower, no longer paying attention to Zhang Ling and the other.
"Okay, if you really want that thing, then come with me."
After pondering for a while, Zhang Ling said this in a muffled voice, and then, with wind beneath his feet, he headed in one direction.
Huang Ying smiled wryly and said to Tu Fei, "Please take care, Brother Tu, I'll be back soon." After speaking, she followed closely behind Zhang Ling.
...
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ling and the other arrived at another mountain forest more than ten miles away.
"Fairy Huang, would you mind answering a few questions for me?" Zhang Ling stood next to a large tree, looking at the woman a few dozen feet away and speaking.
"Of course, I can. I wonder what Fellow Daoist wants to ask."
"How did you recognize me? If I remember correctly, I only met you once decades ago, yet you were able to recognize me a few days ago. This is probably not a coincidence, is it?"
Zhang Ling asked the question that had been in his mind all along.
Both times he had contact with this woman, he had either changed his appearance or wore a hat and other concealing items. However, at the Lan Cao Hall, she recognized him without using her divine sense, which made him feel uneasy.
"So, Fellow Daoist is wondering about this matter. There's no need to be puzzled. It's because I have a treasure that is sensitive to the aura. When I first met you, I sensed a demonic aura on your body and used this aura to determine your identity."
"Speaking of the battle against Elder Chen, the four-colored orbs you sold me earlier were very useful. Fellow Daoist Tu's feigned death was accomplished using this treasure."
Huang Ying not only answered Zhang Ling's question but also explained Tu Fei's feigned death earlier. Only then did Zhang Ling understand. Although he was surprised, he didn't show it.
"Fairy has good plans."
After hearing Huang Ying roughly explain the matter of rebelling against Elder Chen, Zhang Ling couldn't help but praise her. However, he was wondering about the demonic aura. Could it be the strange vines on his left arm?
Huang Ying shook her head, a helpless look on her face.
Zhang Ling didn't say anything more. After pondering for a while, he reached into his clothes and took out a necklace pendant.
It was a gray-black wooden tag tied with a red string. The wooden tag was only the length of a thumb and the width of two fingers. It was smooth and without any carvings, seeming like just an ordinary wooden tag.
"Fellow Daoist said earlier that you wanted to trade with me for this item, right? Do you know its value?" Zhang Ling asked calmly, rubbing the wooden tag in his hand.
"As I sensed, you really have a piece of soul-nurturing wood. This item is a divine wood, so I naturally know its value."
"Since Fairy recognizes it, what will you use to exchange for this treasure?"
Zhang Ling asked directly, getting straight to the point.
"Soul-nurturing wood is a rare divine wood in the world. I'm afraid all my possessions combined wouldn't be enough to exchange for this piece of divine wood. However…"
Huang Ying suddenly changed her tone, and the jade bottle containing three Cold Jade Pills, along with Elder Chen's black storage bag, slowly flew towards Zhang Ling.
Seeing this, Zhang Ling didn't make any movements. Only when the items were about to approach him did he shoot out a spiritual force from his hand, wrapping up the storage bag and jade bottle in front of him.
Without any politeness, he opened the jade bottle, took out an ice-blue pill, and carefully examined it.
After a while, Zhang Ling had examined all three pills, confirming that there were no problems. Then, he began to examine the black storage bag.
This storage bag was a high-level storage bag with a large space. It was filled with a variety of items. It took a full fifteen minutes before Zhang Ling withdrew his mind.
"Fairy has taken out these things, which shows that you really need the soul-nurturing wood. The entire wealth of a Golden Core cultivator is quite valuable, but compared to the soul-nurturing wood, it's probably not enough, right?"
Zhang Ling still shook his head. After examining Elder Chen's storage bag, he was naturally quite tempted, but as he said, the soul-nurturing wood was not just any spiritual wood.
If this woman hadn't discovered that he had this item on him, Zhang Ling would never have let anyone else know that he had this spiritual wood in his possession.
At this moment, although Zhang Ling was expressionless, his mind was full of thoughts, and he felt somewhat conflicted.
Looking at the Cold Jade Pills and storage bag in front of him, Zhang Ling even had the thought of killing and seizing the treasure. However, looking at Huang Ying not far away, this woman was weaker than him but very calm, seemingly not worried about such a thing. He wondered if she had any backing.
This made Zhang Ling not dare to act rashly. He didn't have the confidence to kill this woman instantly. If he attracted Tu Fei from not far away, his chances of winning would probably not be great.
"Naturally, I know that these things are not enough. I have another item here, which is also a treasure."
Huang Ying said at this time. She lightly patted her storage bag and took out a half-person-high, earth-yellow object.
Zhang Ling took a closer look and saw that it was actually a huge clod of earth. Strangely, there were many holes of different sizes densely packed on it.
"What is this?"
"This is a spirit-devouring insect nest, called Earth Spirit Bees. The honey they produce is a treasure for cultivators. Long-term consumption can compress the true essence in the body, especially for cultivators who practice earth-attribute techniques. The effect is best, and it can increase the success rate of breaking through to the Golden Core stage."
"Spirit insects, increasing the chances of forming a core?"
That half-person-high clod of earth really looked like a huge beehive. Huang Ying pointed at the clod of earth, and suddenly a buzzing sound rang out.
From the large and small holes on the clod of earth, a whistling sound came, and instantly many bees rushed out.
Each of these bees was the size of a finger, flying around quickly. At the end of their tails, there was a dark and shiny stinger, looking very unapproachable.
In a short few breaths, hundreds of spirit insects appeared around them.
Zhang Ling scanned these spirit insects with his divine sense, and then stretched out his hand, grabbing one of the spirit insects in his palm.
Looking at the spirit insect in his hand, which was exactly the same as an ordinary bee, except that the spiritual power on these spirit insects was not strong. For Foundation Establishment cultivators like him, killing these spirit insects was not a difficult task.
Zhang Ling didn't quite believe that these spirit insects could help in forming a Golden Core.
"Fellow Daoist, don't underestimate these Earth Spirit Bees. These are just the larvae of the spirit bees. Speaking of which, these spirit insects are not raised by me, but are Elder Chen's spirit insects. According to Elder Chen, he relied on these spirit insects to enter the Golden Core stage."
"Fellow Daoist Wang can search in that storage bag. There must be some remaining honey. As long as you look at the honey, you can verify whether what I said is true or false."
Seeing that Huang Ying didn't seem to be lying, Zhang Ling's divine sense once again invaded the black storage bag.
After a while, he found a palm-sized white jade bottle, which contained some golden viscous liquid.
Zhang Ling sensed a lot of earth spiritual power on it. With a thought, the white jade bottle was taken out, and with a gentle tap on the bottle, a drop of golden liquid floated out.
Zhang Ling carefully examined it a few times, and seeing that there was nothing unusual, he threw the drop of liquid into his mouth. The next moment, he sensed a sweet taste, and at the same time, a strand of condensed earth spiritual power appeared in his body.
After savoring it carefully, Zhang Ling was overjoyed. Although the earth spiritual power contained in the golden liquid was not much, it was condensed.
"This liquid is the honey of the Earth Spirit Bees," Huang Ying said softly. When Zhang Ling opened the jade bottle, the Earth Spirit Bees around him also sensed it, and each one became a little irritable.
Seeing this, Huang Ying quickly released her spiritual power to summon most of the Earth Spirit Bees back into the hive.
"These honeys contain a lot of spiritual power. Whether it can increase the chances of earth-attribute cultivators forming a core, as Fairy said, remains to be verified." Zhang Ling glanced at the somewhat irritable spirit insects and put the jade bottle back into the storage bag.
Although Zhang Ling had been checking the things in the storage bag, he had always left a part of his divine sense to observe Huang Ying and those spirit insects. Seeing this scene, he believed seven or eight points of what this woman said.
However, this matter was not easy to verify, and only long-term consumption of the spirit peak's honey could see the effect. Now there was no time to check whether what this woman said was true or false.
However, the jade bottle containing the Cold Jade Pills was in front of him, and there were as many as three pills, as well as the storage bag of a Golden Core cultivator.
If this woman couldn't take out anything else, Zhang Ling could only give up trading with this woman. However, the Cold Jade Pills were already in his hands, and he would not give up.
Originally, this pill was the reward for hunting monsters this time, not to mention that he had also killed a Golden Core cultivator.
And these things seemed to be nothing to Huang Ying. This woman had always been very calm, and Zhang Ling couldn't help but admire this woman a little. These things were enough to drive any Foundation Establishment cultivator crazy.
Did this woman really intend to exchange for the soul-nurturing wood in his hand?
Zhang Ling had a whole plant of soul-nurturing wood. This piece of soul-nurturing wood worn on his body was dispensable to him, but this item must not be easily sold, so as not to attract some trouble.
"It seems that Fellow Daoist is still not very satisfied with these things. Then let's see how this item is."
Seeing that Zhang Ling stopped talking for a while, Huang Ying frowned, and once again patted the storage bag, a black pot appeared in her hand.
Several cyan spirit symbols were affixed to the black pot. Huang Ying tore off the symbols, and suddenly the black pot instantly turned crimson red. A ball of hot fire spiritual power then emerged from it.
"This is…"
Zhang Ling was immediately attracted by this item, and then the two exchanged a few words.
Finally, Zhang Ling nodded and agreed to the transaction. With a wave of his hand, he threw the soul-nurturing wood plaque that he had worn for a short time to Huang Ying. At the same time, he also collected all the treasures that this woman had taken out.
"Thank you, Brother Wang." Huang Ying showed great joy, took the soul-nurturing wood, and bowed to him.
"Since this matter is over, then Wang will take his leave." Zhang Ling put the black storage bag in his arms, clasped his fists, released his magic weapon, and prepared to leave.
"By the way, Brother Wang, although this monster hunting was Elder Chen's private matter, it has little to do with Lan Cao Hall. However, Elder Chen is, after all, a guest elder of Lan Cao Hall. Brother Wang should still be careful."
Hearing this, Zhang Ling glanced at Huang Ying, didn't say anything, and drove the magic weapon, a yellow light, and fled towards the horizon.
Watching Zhang Ling leave, Huang Ying stood in place, wondering what she was thinking. After a long time, she carefully examined the soul-nurturing wood again.
Suddenly, Huang Ying's face turned red, and her complexion became ugly. She quickly sat down cross-legged, and with a mouthful, a delicate white lotus flower flew out.
The lotus flower shook and reached the top of Huang Ying's head, rotating. The white lotus flower flashed a few times and became several times larger, with cyan, white, and pink spiritual light flowing on it.
The three different spiritual lights overlapped, turning into a group of three-color film and covering Huang Ying in it. After a while, Huang Ying stood up again, and her complexion improved a lot.
"Chen Fatty's restrictions are really troublesome. If my current cultivation hadn't fallen back, this restriction could be resolved in an instant." Huang Ying waved her hand, and the lotus flower above her head shrank and disappeared into her body.
"Three Treasures Quiet Heart Lotus" This is her natal magic weapon, this treasure has three kinds of spiritual light, and its wonderful use is not small.
It is also ironic to say that she and Xi'er were not originally living on Tianmen Island.
In a fight with other high-level monks, she was seriously injured, her cultivation fell to the Foundation Establishment stage, and she met the short and fat man surnamed Chen, who captured her, and then followed Elder Chen to Tianmen Island.
Naturally, she was placed under restrictions, but fortunately, Elder Chen did not know that she was originally also a high-level monk, and did not even think that there was a spiritual object such as the Three Treasures Quiet Heart Lotus, which could remove most restrictions.
Relying on the Three Treasures Quiet Heart Lotus, she dared to rebel against Elder Chen. Thinking of this, Huang Ying's face also showed a look of exhaustion.
At this moment, she and Xi'er have both regained their freedom. However, Huang Ying's face is not good.
...
After a while, Huang Ying returned to the previous rubble area again.
"That kid is gone."
"What, are you interested in that person?"
"That's natural. You said before that that kid was a bit special. I wonder what is so special about him. Tu is very curious."
"Oh, Brother Tu, as a true disciple of Tianxin Zhenren, are you still interested in a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" Huang Ying looked at Tu Fei's smiling face and asked strangely.
"Tu will naturally pay attention to any monk with strength, especially those with the same cultivation level as me. It seems that you are a little afraid of that kid."
"It's okay to tell Brother Tu, the technique I practice can sense special spiritual energy. There is a strong demon aura on this person."
"Demon aura, do you mean he is practicing both demon refining techniques and immortal cultivation techniques at the same time?"
"That's right, and his skills are not shallow. Brother Tu, you used forbidden techniques before, and I'm afraid you don't have much strength left at the moment. If we really fight, our chances of winning are not great."
"Humph, that's interesting. It seems that I still underestimated this kid surnamed Wang. This person was still hiding his strength when fighting Elder Chen before." Tu Fei patted the sword box next to him, looked up at the sky, and there was some coldness in his eyes.
Glancing at Tu Fei, Huang Ying's eyes also flashed a few times. One of the reasons she dared to rebel against Elder Chen this time was because of this disciple of Tianxin Zhenren. This person's goal was also Xi'er.
Tu Fei is a disciple of Tianxin Zhenren, then it can be determined that this person has no threat to them. After all, Xi'er has a relationship with a senior behind her.
But she didn't want to see the person behind her, but it seems that there is no other way now, she can only go back with this person first, and for a while, the thoughts in Huang Ying's heart turned a few times.
"Alright, let's leave this place quickly. Xi'er's condition isn't good."
Looking at the girl trapped in the lotus flower beside her, Huang Ying's face was full of concern. Then, they left as well.
...
