Chapter 59: The Girl’s Distress.
The morning sun filtered through the window, casting a warm glow. Ye Zhuxian’s robust voice rang out from outside, “You two lazy bugs, time to hit the road!”
Xie Qiyang rubbed her eyes, crawling out of bed with a rosy, vibrant face, brimming with energy like a peach soaked in dew. Beside her, Li Tianxing sported faint dark circles, looking utterly drained, as if his vitality had been sapped.
“Darling~ Let me help you dress~” Xie Qiyang’s voice dripped with honey, her mood soaring.
She could feel that yesterday’s “intense exchange” of “arduous cultivation” had bolstered the warm solar energy within her, even loosening her cultivation bottleneck slightly.
It wasn’t much, but it equaled days of hard training. This “easy win” made Li Tianxing far more pleasing to her eyes.
“No, no, no! Have mercy, my lady!” Li Tianxing jolted, half-awake, waving her off and retreating like she was a wild beast. “I’m truly spent! And Grandma’s rushing us—we gotta go!” His words tumbled out, practically swearing an oath.
Xie Qiyang narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Oh? So I’m that kind of person to you?” She took a step closer.
Li Tianxing nodded swiftly and earnestly.
“Hmph! Fine! Dress yourself!” She tossed her head, ignoring him, and turned to her gear. She grabbed a sleek silver-gray soft armor and struggled to put it on.
“Ugh… why’s this thing so stubborn?” After a few attempts, the chest piece refused to fit. Glancing at her overly “ambitious” chest, she sighed, trying to squeeze it in. “Tch, why doesn’t this armor have a stretch function?”
Li Tianxing, tying his belt, explained irritably, “Give it up. That’s a treasure worn by the Nether Ancient Heavenly Venerate in her youth, refined multiple times. Its spirit’s been dormant for ages. Village elders studied it for decades, barely getting it to recognize a master for basic defense. Stretch? You’d have better luck waking the spirit for a chat. Just make yourself smaller.”
“Smaller?” Xie Qiyang glanced down, a twinge of reluctance surfacing.
But she quickly brushed it off, muttering, “Flat it is!”
In the mirror, a tall, streamlined female warrior emerged, her curves flattened to a sleek plain. The crisp, heroic vibe suited her.
Nodding in satisfaction, she adorned herself with protective jade pendants and rings, clinking softly.
“Wow! What a gallant heroine! Pity, you’ve met this peerless flower-picking bandit!” Li Tianxing sauntered over, teasing in a roguish tone to regain some ground.
Xie Qiyang shot him a sidelong glance, snorting, and poked his firm but frail chest. “All talk, no game. Spouting big words, huh? With your wobbly frame? Hmph, once we’re done with business, I’ll deal with you!”
With that, she strode out first.
The meeting point was close, ten miles north in the woods. They hurried and arrived just as the team was ready to move, though Ye Zhuxian was nowhere in sight.
Leading the group was a striking woman, riding a mountain-sized giant turtle. Over two meters tall, her muscles bulged, two massive axes strapped across her back gleaming coldly.
She clearly wasn’t pleased with their last-minute arrival, huffing loudly through her nose.
“Phew!”
Two thick white plumes shot from her nostrils, a comical sight that nearly made Xie Qiyang burst out laughing.
“Two Acquired Realm kids? Little Leaf, your village isn’t holding back this time,” the giantess boomed, eyeing Li Tianxing and Xie Qiyang with scrutiny. “I’m Cao Dajia. We’ll need your help on this expedition.”
Cao what? Xie Qiyang blinked, startled by the name, but Li Tianxing tugged her along as the group clapped.
Her words were empty pleasantries, about as meaningful as a loud fart.
The twenty-odd members didn’t dare dismiss it, erupting in flattery: “Miss Cao’s might is unmatched!” “The legacy is yours!” “We’ll return loaded!”
Cao Dajia ate it up, turning to a refined, white-robed man beside her. “Leaf, got a direction?”
The man, called “Leaf,” smiled faintly, pulling an ancient turtle shell from his pocket.
His action drew a sour glance from Cao Dajia’s giant turtle.
He held the shell, chanting softly, forming intricate seals. The shell glowed faintly. Moments later, he whispered to Cao Dajia.
Her eyes flashed with excitement. Waving grandly, she bellowed, “Alright, move out!”
The group started moving. Xie Qiyang stood on tiptoe, scanning the crowd, her brows furrowing.
Strange—she didn’t recognize a single person here.
…
Cao Dajia led the way on her massive turtle, her voice like a built-in megaphone, painting grand promises to the twenty-plus “temps” behind her:
“Listen up, folks! If any of you have sharp eyes or dumb luck and spot even a trace of the Nether Ancient Heavenly Venerate’s legacy, or provide solid leads…”
She waved expansively, “Big rewards! Spirit stones, treasures—plenty to go around! Got a talented kid at home? I’ll pull strings to get them into the Mysterious Heaven Holy Land, a top-tier sect people die to enter!”
She paused, adding, “Oh, and if you’re lucky enough to spot spiritual treasures—like ones that temper bones or boost physique—report it, and you’ll be rewarded!”
Li Tianxing’s voice transmission slipped into Xie Qiyang’s ear: “See that? This Mysterious Heaven Holy Land brute knows she’s got no shot at the Venerate’s legacy. She’s lowered her sights to snatching peripheral ‘souvenirs.’ The legacy’s got tons of restrictions. They’re probably here to muddy the waters—if they can’t get it, no one can.”
Xie Qiyang recalled Jiang Ningshuang’s knowledge.
Spiritual items were often refined into elixirs, used by body refiners to strengthen their physique and bones.
With Cao Dajia’s muscled frame and door-sized axes, she was definitely a body refiner.