Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 128: The Day of Going Out with the Beautiful Senior Sister

After inviting Ji Yuan into the room and listening to him speak, Dong Qian finally came to a realization.

“So that mission was actually issued by you—”

Dong Qian seemed both amused and exasperated as she said, “If I had known earlier, you could’ve just come to me directly. There was no need for all this trouble.”

“Well, I didn’t know at the time.”

Ji Yuan spread his hands with a helpless smile.

“It’s fine, it’s not too late to find out now.”

Dong Qian stood up to pour some more tea for Ji Yuan, smiling slightly. “Speaking of which, we’re both from Zengtou Market, yet since you came to the Water Dragon Sect, you’ve never come to see me.”

The reproach from the mature woman made Ji Yuan feel a bit overwhelmed.

“Well, I didn’t know where Senior Sister Dong’s cave dwelling was before.”

“Now that you do, you must come often in the future.”

“Rest assured, once this matter is settled, I’ll definitely come knocking even if there’s nothing important—” Ji Yuan quickly nodded. “Of course, as long as Senior Sister Dong doesn’t find me annoying, I’ll definitely visit often.”

“How could I find you annoying? It’s usually so quiet here. If you’re willing to come, I’d be more than happy.”

Dong Qian covered her mouth with a soft laugh.

“By the way, why didn’t you go to Liancheng Mountain, Senior Sister Dong? I heard Brother Han went.”

Ji Yuan was a bit puzzled. He remembered that when they had last met, Dong Qian had been discussing frontline matters with Han Feiyu.

“Oh, me?”

Dong Qian brushed back her drooping hair and tucked it behind her ear, revealing her jade-like earlobe.

“I’m not good at combat techniques. Ever since I joined the Water Dragon Sect, I’ve mostly been focused on alchemy over at Sifang Island. A place like the frontlines? I wouldn’t dare go.”

Not good at combat techniques… Ji Yuan chuckled to himself.

Two things came to mind, both from the time at Yunyu Marshlands.

The first was something he had heard. Back when Dong Qian had married into the neighboring Tai’an District, shortly after breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining, she had once killed a cultivator of the same realm head-on without sustaining any injuries herself.

The second was something Ji Yuan had witnessed personally.

That was when Dong Qian had just joined the Water Dragon Sect and returned to Zengtou Market after participating in the beast battles on Shanyu Island.

Even Han Feiyu had suffered some light injuries, yet she hadn’t been hurt at all.

And she claimed she wasn’t good at combat techniques?

Not a word from her mouth was true. Unlike himself—when he said he wasn’t good at combat, he truly wasn’t. He was only good at killing.

“Alchemy is great. It’s safer to stay in the sect and focus on refining pills.”

After saying that, Ji Yuan quickly steered the conversation back on track.

“I wonder if Senior Sister Dong happens to have any Illusion Heart Flowers? If so, I’d be willing to trade spirit stones for them.”

“Since you were able to post a mission on Thousand Mechanisms Island, I assume you know a thing or two about Illusion Heart Flowers. If you had come six months earlier, I did have a few left. But now they’ve all been sold through the black market to Medicine King Valley.”

Dong Qian likely saw Ji Yuan as one of her own, even disclosing such things.

“Then, by Senior Sister Dong’s words—do I need to go to the black market?”

Ji Yuan asked cautiously.

If he truly had to go there, he’d need to seriously reconsider. That place was lawless and far too dangerous.

“No, that place is too dangerous.”

Dong Qian shook her head with a smile. “If you were heading there, you wouldn’t need me to give you any information.”

“What I know is a place where Illusion Heart Flowers grow. It’s one of the source locations. Not only is the price a bit lower, it’s also much safer.”

That sounded promising—Ji Yuan immediately asked, “Where is it?”

“In the west, within the territory of Medicine King Valley, there’s a place called Old Locust Valley.”

Before Ji Yuan could respond, Dong Qian added, “We’ll pretend to be rogue cultivators and just spend a few more spirit stones to buy a few flowers. Interests move people—there’s always someone willing to sell. As long as you’re not buying in bulk, Medicine King Valley won’t investigate too thoroughly.”

Ji Yuan was about to speak but suddenly thought of something.

Looking at the beautiful woman before him, he smiled slightly. “Senior Sister Dong, it seems you’ve gotten your hands on Illusion Heart Flowers through this channel before, haven’t you?”

Dong Qian playfully blinked.

“You guess.”

“I won’t guess.”

Ji Yuan shook his head. “Senior Sister, just tell me.”

“If I hadn’t used this channel before, I wouldn’t dare tell you about it.” Dong Qian rolled her eyes—just a simple gesture, yet brimming with charm.

Hearing this, Ji Yuan felt a bit more at ease.

“You’re the only one I’d tell this to. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t say a word.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister Dong.”

Ji Yuan said sincerely.

It seemed coming here in person and revealing his true identity had indeed been the right move.

“Look at you being all polite again. Coincidentally, I’ve also run out of Illusion Heart Flowers for pill refining, so let’s take this trip together.”

Dong Qian’s voice carried a trace of sultriness, making Ji Yuan feel that she wasn’t really out of Illusion Heart Flowers—she just wanted to take him along.

Indeed, the methods of mature women were many… he sighed internally.

The fact that Dong Qian was willing to personally guide him had truly exceeded Ji Yuan’s expectations.

He had thought just getting the location from her would be enough. He hadn’t expected she would offer to lead him there herself.

“In that case, I thank you, Senior Sister.”

Ji Yuan stood and gave a formal bow.

His way of addressing her also changed from “Senior Sister Dong” to simply “Senior Sister.”

“You’re being overly courteous again. Alright, go prepare yourself. Let’s head out in an hour.”

Dong Qian was eager to leave early, and Ji Yuan couldn’t have asked for more.

There wasn’t much to prepare—Ji Yuan’s cave dwelling on Hatchling Dragon Island had nothing in it besides some decoy items.

Still, he had to allow time for Dong Qian to get ready, so he returned and waited a while.

His neighbor, Pi Fangzhi, still hadn’t come back—most likely he had indeed been caught by the Water Dragon Sect for something and was being held there.

As for whether he would be able to come back—that was another matter.

After waiting for a moment, Ji Yuan once again piloted the Red Dawn Boat to Dong Qian’s courtyard.

Compared to earlier, Dong Qian had now slightly concealed her appearance and figure. She was well aware of how eye-catching her looks were. Within the Water Dragon Sect, that wasn’t much of an issue, but once outside, it could become problematic.

Seeing this, Ji Yuan felt even more reassured—Dong Qian appeared to act with caution.

“Let’s go.”

Dong Qian gave Ji Yuan a once-over.

At this time, Ji Yuan had also done a bit of disguise himself—at the very least, he was no longer wearing the standard-issue Water Dragon Sect robe.

But when he instinctively took out the Red Dawn Boat, he realized right away—using this flying boat would be no different from announcing his identity.

“Let’s take mine. Junior Brother, your flying boat is too conspicuous.”

Naturally, Dong Qian assumed Ji Yuan didn’t have another one.

In her view, that was normal. For most Qi Refining cultivators, a top-grade flying boat wasn’t cheap. Since the sect already provided decent ones, there was no need to spend extra spirit stones to buy another.

“Then I’ll trouble Senior Sister.”

Ji Yuan’s Red Dawn Boat was conspicuous, and the top-grade Thunder Gather Boat wasn’t any less so—especially after it had been hammered a few times by the Iron Hammer Island Lord. Just from its appearance, one could tell it wasn’t ordinary.

So he might as well hitch a ride with Dong Qian.

Her flying boat even had some damage at the rear. Using it wouldn’t draw much attention.

Thus, the two rode the same flying boat, departing from the Water Dragon Sect and heading west.

After traveling for over a day and leaving the Water Dragon Sect, Ji Yuan took the chance to ask, “Senior Sister, do you know what lies west of Shang Mountain?”

“West of Shang Mountain? Isn’t that the territory of demonic cultivators? Why are you asking about that area?”

Dong Qian, seated in the front, turned her head and asked in puzzlement.

Looks like my guess was right—Ji Yuan followed up, “Oh, it’s just that I’ve heard a lot about demonic cultivators lately, but I don’t know much about them. So I wanted to ask Senior Sister.”

“We’re active east of Shang Mountain, and with the mountain itself as a barrier—plus the Sword Ruins further blocking the way—low-level disciples like us don’t know much about the demonic sects. I only read about them in an ancient text.”

“In the East of Shang, we have the Six Immortal Sects. In the West, there are only three demonic sects—Demonic Flame Palace, White Bone Sect, and Blood Luo Mountain.”

“But the strength of these three demonic sects is enough to rival our six immortal ones, so you can imagine what that’s like.”

“I see.”

It was Ji Yuan’s first time hearing about the Three Demonic Sects.

“But Junior Brother, you don’t need to worry. Our Water Dragon Sect is located deeper in the rear. The real pressure lies at the frontlines—at the Sword Ruins.”

Dong Qian smiled, trying to reassure him.

No, Senior Sister… you don’t know this, but there’s already a demonic sect spy in our Water Dragon Sect, and he lives right next door to me—Ji Yuan nodded. “Senior Sister is absolutely right.”

Then the two chatted about Du Wanyi joining the First Water Hall and about how Dong Qian had no desire to join the Fourth Hall. As the conversation flowed, it somehow shifted to Dong Qian’s family.

She fell silent, and Ji Yuan tactfully kept quiet.

“My husband actually died a long time ago. Less than a year after I married into the family, he passed away. It’s just that they’ve kept it under wraps all this time.”

Dong Qian said this with a calm expression, as if recounting someone else’s story.

“My condolences, Senior Sister.”

Ji Yuan didn’t know what else to say, so he offered the only thing he could.

“No need for condolences. You know how things were in Yunyu Marshlands. I had no feelings for him, and the same goes for the Zhu family. They only took interest in me for my talent, so they didn’t dare do anything to me. Once I broke through to late-stage Qi Refining, they had to listen to me.”

“You’re amazing, Senior Sister.”

Ji Yuan said this with genuine sincerity.

“Now that I’ve joined the Water Dragon Sect, they don’t dare disturb me at all. Our ties are basically severed.”

After saying this, Dong Qian turned and smiled at Ji Yuan. “But Junior Brother Ji, with a face like yours, I bet quite a few senior and junior sisters are secretly sending you signals of affection.”

“You don’t understand. Most of our female cultivators at the Water Dragon Sect practice water techniques…”

“Ahem!”

Ji Yuan’s face turned red. He straightened up and said seriously, “This junior is focused on the path of cultivation and never dares to entertain thoughts of romance.”

At those words, Dong Qian suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, she finally said, “I think the same way. I want to live—and live for a long time. I don’t want to die early.”

“You might laugh, but since joining the sect, several disciples from cultivation families have expressed interest in me. I turned them all down. I don’t want to be bound again.”

“Exactly. Before we cultivated, we were already bound by all sorts of things. If, after cultivating and joining a sect, we’re still bound—then what’s the point of becoming immortals?”

Ji Yuan spread his hands.

Dong Qian burst into laughter, shaking with amusement.

The two continued chatting casually as they traveled, taking well-trodden roads along the way, which helped them avoid attracting any attention.

After nearly ten days, Dong Qian finally said that they were close to Old Locust Valley.

Ji Yuan had been keeping track of the route along the way, occasionally checking his geomantic map, so he now knew they were near the border between the Water Dragon Sect and Medicine King Valley.

“Just outside Old Locust Valley, there’s a small market town. I happen to have a friend there. We’ll go directly to her—she’ll help us make the arrangements. Currently, Illusion Heart Flowers are selling for five mid-grade spirit stones apiece outside. In Old Locust Valley, two mid-grade stones is enough. Of course, we’ll also need to give my friend one mid-grade spirit stone—she’s taking a risk for us.”

“Naturally.”

Ji Yuan nodded slightly.

Another two days passed, and the terrain below shifted from plains to forested mountains once more.

Dong Qian said they were nearly there. The two disguised and altered their appearances once again, and then she lowered the flying boat, bringing them into a mountain market town.

It was called a market town, but in truth, it was more like a small settlement.

Most of the residents here were cultivators.

Ji Yuan took a look and felt it was quite similar to Zengtou Market—only the former thrived on water, while this one thrived on mountains.

Medicine King Valley was renowned for its alchemy, so most of the markets here were nestled against mountains. Many low-level rogue cultivators made a living by hunting beasts in the mountains or gathering spiritual herbs for cultivation.

Dong Qian didn’t land the flying boat directly in the market town but instead descended far away at the mountain pass leading into the town. The two then walked in on foot.

This action greatly pleased Ji Yuan.

Led by Dong Qian, they entered the market town, made several turns, and finally stopped in front of an ordinary-looking house. She knocked on the door.

Soon after, the door opened, and a middle-aged female cultivator with sunken eyes, looking like someone who cultivated late into the night, peeked out.

When she saw Dong Qian standing outside, her expression showed a flicker of panic.

“Why did you come now?!”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

Dong Qian immediately sensed something was off.

“Come in first, let’s talk.”

The middle-aged woman glanced at Ji Yuan behind Dong Qian.

“This is my Junior Brother Qiu. He’s trustworthy, Sister Zhu, you don’t need to worry.”

Dong Qian introduced him. As for the name, Ji Yuan had provided one on the way: Qiu Qianhai.

“Alright.”

Once the two had entered, the woman named Zhu Yue finally spoke with some relief. “It’s not really anything serious, just that the Foundation Establishment cultivator in Old Locust Valley left for some matters a few days ago. So the entire market has basically been in rest mode. If you want to buy Illusion Heart Flowers, you’ll probably have to wait here a few days.”

“Hm?”

Dong Qian frowned. “Wouldn’t it be more convenient for trading now that the Foundation Establishment senior isn’t around?”

“That’s where you’re mistaken.”

Zhu Yue brought them tea while explaining with a chuckle, “When that senior is here, we can do our business under the radar, and they turn a blind eye. But if we do this while he’s gone, it’s like openly provoking Medicine King Valley.”

“But it’s still not too bad.”

Zhu Yue sighed after speaking. “Here in Old Locust Valley, people know how to follow the rules. Medicine King Valley hasn’t gone too far either.”

“I heard that another market town behind the mountain that produced Black Bamboo went too wild with smuggling. It angered Medicine King Valley, and overnight, dozens of people from that market just vanished.”

Clearly, Zhu Yue was reminded of her own situation while recounting this.

She was involved in smuggling as well, and the risk was extremely high.

Since they were already here, and waiting a few days wouldn’t hurt, Ji Yuan and Dong Qian decided to stay.

It was only after settling in that Ji Yuan learned that Zhu Yue was also originally from Yunyu Marshlands—but not from Zengtou Market. She came from Jing’an District.

The next day came.

Dong Qian and Zhu Yue went out for a stroll around the market street. Ji Yuan didn’t feel like going out and stayed at home to cultivate.

By noon, the two returned.

As Ji Yuan stood up, he noticed Dong Qian was giving him a particular look—as if she had something to say.

He noticed it, but didn’t let anything show on his face. Not until Zhu Yue went to the backyard did Dong Qian seize the opportunity to pass him a slip of paper without saying a word.

Ji Yuan returned to his room and unfolded it.

“I saw Feng Yichen here.”