Inside a room on the second floor of the Forgetful Dust Inn.
After Gu Xiaoyue enthusiastically recounted her experience during her recent training expedition, she suddenly remembered something and asked with interest, "Oh right, Elder Ye, you still haven't told me why you're here in Fenglong Ancient City? You didn't just come to see me, did you?"
"More or less. If I had to say, finding you was the main reason."
Ye Yun nodded, then his gaze shifted to Lin Xueyan beside him.
"But the most important thing for this trip is to find the Black Demon Sect and avenge Xueyan's family."
"Avenge? What do you mean? What did the Black Demon Sect do to her family?"
Gu Xiaoyue was stunned. She had been out training and was unaware of the Lin family's misfortune.
Ye Yun glanced at his disciple again, as if asking if it was okay to speak.
Seeing this, Lin Xueyan clenched her fists and solemnly recounted the story of her family being massacred by the Black Demon Sect.
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaoyue was not only shocked but also filled with extreme anger.
"Such a thing happened! Damn the Black Demon Sect, they have no humanity at all! We absolutely cannot let this go!"
She slammed her fist heavily on the table, her eyes blazing with fury, wishing she could rush to the Black Demon Sect and destroy them immediately.
Ye Yun remained calm and nodded, saying, "Coincidentally, that's exactly what I think. That's why we're here. Your master and I have already agreed. This time, not a single person from the Black Demon Sect will be left alive."
To speak the most terrifying words in the most tranquil manner was precisely this.
Gu Xiaoyue finally smiled in satisfaction. As expected of her master!
"So Elder Ye, when are you leaving? Today?"
Ye Yun waved his hand, "Not so urgent. There's another reason for coming to Fenglong Ancient City. I want to see if I can get any news about the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower."
His original plan was to search for news of the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower while simultaneously inquiring about Gu Xiaoyue.
But since he had found her, the only thing left to do was find the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Xiaoyue let out a surprised sound.
"You said the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower? They're selling that in the city."
Then, under Ye Yun's astonished gaze, she took out a small booklet from her spatial ring and said with a smile, "Elder Ye, you must know about the Fenglong Small Gathering, right? At this year's gathering, a senior brought out a Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower for auction."
The Fenglong Small Gathering was a traditional event in Fenglong Ancient City. It initially began as an exchange of treasures among cultivators and later evolved into a grand auction hosted by a merchant guild.
Every year, the Fenglong Small Gathering would feature extremely precious treasures, which were even highly regarded by the Four Great Sects.
Gu Xiaoyue flipped to the end and handed the booklet to Ye Yun.
Indeed, the illustrations and descriptions on it were of the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower that Ye Yun was so concerned about!
What Gu Xiaoyue gave him was the auction catalog for this year's Fenglong Small Gathering.
It listed various treasures to be auctioned, with the grand finale being a top-tier Xuan technique. The Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower, however, was the highlight of the entire auction, being several times more valuable than the Xuan technique.
Ye Yun's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected to find it so quickly and immediately asked, "When does the Fenglong Small Gathering you mentioned start?"
Unexpectedly, Gu Xiaoyue giggled and said, "Well, you're in luck, Elder Ye. This year's Fenglong Small Gathering starts tonight, at the Grand Auction Hall of the Purple Spirit Merchant Guild!"
"So soon..."
Ye Yun took a deep breath. Time was indeed tight.
As the highlight of the auction, it was bound to attract many bidders, and the final price would undoubtedly be astronomical.
He possessed ten thousand Spirit Stones, which, while a considerable fortune for a cultivator at the Emperor realm, was far from enough to bid for the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower.
How could he acquire enough Spirit Stones in such a short time?
Suddenly, Ye Yun's heart stirred, and he looked at Lin Xueyan with a smile. When it came to making money, wasn't this his ready-made disciple?
"Xueyan, come here. I'll give you these ten thousand Spirit Stones. From now on, if you see anything you want, just buy it directly."
He handed her a spatial ring containing over ten thousand Spirit Stones. Lin Xueyan was stunned as she accepted it.
"Ten thousand Spirit Stones? That much?"
Spirit Stones were the most precious hard currency and were inherently extremely valuable.
At the Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect, even core disciples only received five or six Spirit Stones per month. Ten thousand was an astronomical sum to her.
Ye Yun smiled faintly, "It's not much, not much. Just consider it pocket money from your master."
"This... alright, thank you Master for your generosity!"
As they interacted more, Lin Xueyan gradually got used to her master's extreme generosity.
But Gu Xiaoyue had never seen anything like it and was dumbfounded.
"Ten thousand Spirit Stones as pocket money... Elder Ye, are you that rich?!"
Gu Xiaoyue was incredibly envious. Look at that, a master from someone else's family!
The more she thought about it, the more dejected she became. Why wasn't she Ye Yun's disciple? She probably wouldn't have to worry about Spirit Stones her entire life.
However, in a moment, Gu Xiaoyue had a flash of inspiration. What if she couldn't become his disciple? As long as she became his Dao companion later, wouldn't his possessions be hers too?
I'm so clever!
At this moment, Ye Yun said with a faint smile, "You misunderstand. In reality, I don't have that many Spirit Stones. I'm not as rich as you think."
But Gu Xiaoyue didn't believe him at all. Could someone who casually gave ten thousand Spirit Stones as pocket money to his disciple not be very rich?
Even her own master, the sect leader who doted on her so much, only gave her a hundred or so Spirit Stones each time, which she already considered a lot. Yet Ye Yun's generosity was even more significant.
Gu Xiaoyue felt she had discovered a rich man and immediately crouched down, hugging his leg, looking up at him pitifully and saying, "Elder Ye, I'm hungry, I want money."
Ye Yun found Gu Xiaoyue's cooing amusing. It wasn't just her who wanted money; he wished he could find a rich woman to say that to. Right now, all his Spirit Stones had been given to his disciple.
Fortunately, the system chimed in at this moment.
[Host awarded disciple ten thousand Spirit Stones, congratulations on activating the Thousandfold Return, obtaining ten million Spirit Stones!]
[Host awarded disciple a hundred cubic meter spatial ring, congratulations on activating the Hundredfold Return, obtaining a ten thousand cubic meter spatial ring!]
Ye Yun hadn't expected to receive a spatial ring in addition to the Spirit Stones, and such a large one at that. It was quite satisfactory!
As for the ten million Spirit Stones, that was even better. It was considered a huge sum anywhere. The major Spirit Stone mines of the Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect could only yield around two million Spirit Stones annually.
From this, one could see how terrifying the total amount of Spirit Stones was, more than enough to purchase the Nine-Leaf Exquisite Flower.
Looking at the adorable Gu Xiaoyue by his side, Ye Yun generously waved his hand and said, "Alright, then I'll give each of you another ten thousand Spirit Stones."
He divided ten thousand Spirit Stones each into separate spatial rings and handed them to Gu Xiaoyue and Lin Xueyan.
"Thank you, Master!"
Lin Xueyan quickly expressed her gratitude. With this, she had received twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
Gu Xiaoyue also giggled, "Thank you, Elder Ye, Yue'er likes you the most!"
Ye Yun ignored her playful remark and directly said, "You both get ready. We'll go to the Fenglong Small Gathering together later."
Now that he had enough Spirit Stones, he no longer had to worry about not being able to afford it. He could also buy other interesting items.
...
As night fell, Ye Yun, along with Lin Xueyan and Gu Xiaoyue, left the Forgetful Dust Inn and headed straight for the Purple Spirit Merchant Guild in the east of the city.
However, as soon as they left the inn, they were targeted by someone in the darkness.
When Ye Yun and the others reached a secluded area, a chilling voice rang out.
"Dead girl from the Ancient Dao Heavenly Sect, you've finally come out!"
As the words fell, a black-robed man was seen standing under the eaves ahead, exuding a sinister aura.
His hawk-like eyes were fixed on Gu Xiaoyue to his left, and he said coldly, "You dared to make this old man wait here for half a month. You won't escape this time. You must pay the price for your past actions!"
Undoubtedly, this was the demonic sect elder Gu Xiaoyue had mentioned. He had been waiting here for half a month, and his patience had finally paid off.
He didn't pay any attention to the two young girls and a young man in his early twenties. After all, not everyone was as monstrous as Ye Yun, reaching the Emperor realm in their early twenties.