Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 100: Purple Spirit Stone

Everyone in the courtyard unconsciously stared at the young man’s smooth, bare chin.

"…Master," Xia Er looked at the unfamiliar young man’s face and still couldn’t bring herself to say the word. So she simply closed her eyes and asked, "Are you very close with the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect?"

"We met a few times in the past. She kept trying to recruit me as her disciple, but your Master is a man of ambition and firmly turned her down," Zhang Fengfeng said. He still wasn’t used to being beardless. His chin felt cold and bare, like he wasn’t wearing clothes. He instinctively covered it with his hand.

"After I became Sect Master, I asked her to cast an illusion spell for me, it made me look more dignified."

"Didn’t—it—make—you—look—ugly?" Ming Liu Sha slowly countered.

The younger disciples of Qianji Sect used to secretly speculate that their Sect Master recruited only good-looking disciples because he himself wasn’t very good-looking.

Zhang Fengfeng shot Ming Liu Sha a warning glare but with those flirtatious peach blossom eyes of his, it had absolutely no intimidation factor.

"Master, our juniors’ crafted artifacts can also be submitted to the Baiqing Rankings for evaluation," Ye Su quickly turned to business.

"Qianji Sect will never become a forgotten sect."

Zhang Fengfeng looked at his senior disciple, and tears welled up in his eyes. He was overwhelmed, he never thought he’d live to see the day Qianji Sect returned to the top of the Baiqing Rankings.

Everyone in the courtyard averted their gaze. The Sect Master’s eyes were just too distracting.

"Don’t worry about Quan Dianxing and Zhanjin Sect," Ye Su said. "As long as we can offer what they can’t, the other sects will choose us."

In the past, Qianji Sect had lost its value, and so no one helped them. Only by showing the outside world their potential and worth could they earn respect again.

"Right, Master," Ye Su turned to Lu Jiu and introduced her to Zhang Fengfeng. "She’s our sword cultivator now, and in the future, she and Fifth Junior Brother will take charge of recruiting more sword cultivators for Qianji Sect."

Lu Jiu hesitated, then greeted: "Sect Master."

Zhang Fengfeng had to pause and think for a second to remember which disciple was Fifth Junior Brother, then asked, "We’re going to recruit sword cultivators now?"

Ye Su nodded.

"Yes, Master. We need sword cultivators. As long as they have the ability to gather materials on their own, Qianji Sect won’t be constrained by others anymore."

From the moment Zhanjin Sect and Quan Dianxing colluded to suppress them, Ye Su had seen it clearly, once a top-tier artifact crafting sect lost its spirit veins and skilled craftsmen, it became completely helpless.

Qianji Sect had grown used to purchasing materials from the outside and burying themselves in refining artifacts, ignoring the world.

So once their supply was cut off and their top refiners and spirit veins were lost, the sect collapsed so fast it had no chance to recover.

"You decide," Zhang Fengfeng said with a trace of self-deprecation. "Your Master’s pretty much useless now."

"Master has good taste," Xia Er said bluntly.

Xiyu couldn’t help but laugh and repeated: "Master has good taste."

Ming Liu Sha joined in with a teasing tone: "Mas–ter–has–good–taste."

Zhang Fengfeng: "…"

"Master, we’re lacking in high-quality artifacts," Ye Su hinted. "Especially ones for those at the Nascent Soul stage and above."

"Got it. I’ll work hard to refine them," Zhang Fengfeng replied. "That Huang Erqian guy sent over quite a few good materials recently."

Since Huang Erqian was mentioned, Ye Su also had some business with him.

After finishing the call with her Master, she contacted Huang Erqian and arranged to meet him in the outer city of Kunlun.

……

In the outer city of Kunlun, Huang Erqian had arrived early at the inn. He ordered a cup of tea and waited in a private room for Ye Su to arrive.

As he scrolled through the Baiqing Rankings, a wave of excitement surged in his chest.

It hadn’t even been that long, he had watched Ye Su grow from Foundation Establishment to the Nascent Soul stage, and it had only taken three years!

First place on the Baiqing Rankings that title had been held by Zhanjin Sect’s Sect Master, Zuo Shengyuan, for a full fifty years, without anyone surpassing him.

That particular artifact wasn’t just the pinnacle of what a Nascent Soul–level refiner could produce; it had also been blessed by the Heavenly Dao. It was Zuo Shengyuan’s breakout work. After that, he’d advanced all the way to the peak of the Integration Stage.

A knock on the door pulled Huang Erqian from his thoughts. He quickly put away his communication talisman, stood up, and opened the door to find Ye Su outside, along with... that junior disciple from Qianji Sect.

"I came to see you. I want you to handle something for me," Ye Su said as soon as she entered.

Huang Erqian shut the door and rubbed his hands together. "Those Tier 4 and Tier 5 beast cores?"

Ye Su pulled out a chair, and thoughtfully pulled one out for her junior brother too, before sitting down. "No."

Huang Erqian was briefly stunned. Then it hit him, she must be planning to keep those beast cores for her own use.

"These are ten Tier 6 beast cores. I want you to place them in Wendong Materials Pavilion," Ye Su said, laying out a handful of beast cores on the table.

"Sell them at a discount to draw attention. Also, spread the word that the Yamata artifact will be auctioned after the sect competition."

Huang Erqian’s eyes went wide as he stared at the cores. "Tier 6?"

He had watched the Chaos Mirror match. All the beast cores in Qianji Sect’s possession were Tier 4 and Tier 5, there weren’t any Tier 6s. As far as he remembered, there had only been one Tier 6 beast in the entire event.

"The Tier 6 cores came from Wendong Materials Pavilion," Ye Su pushed the ten cores forward and looked up at Huang Erqian.

"They have nothing to do with us."

Huang Erqian shut his mouth and carefully stowed away the ten cores. Then another thought hit him. "Did Poyuan Sect agree to the Yamata auction?"

"That was agreed upon before the artifact was made. I’m the one in charge of handling it," Ye Su said.

"Poyuan Sect’s Quan Jiaying gets 40% of the proceeds."

"Got it." Huang Erqian was thrilled. The newly crowned #1 artifact on the Baiqing Rankings was going up for auction, it was sure to cause a sensation. Even Quan Dianxing wouldn’t be able to stop it. Not to mention, half the artifact technically belonged to Poyuan Sect.

After Huang Erqian left, Ye Su turned to You Fushi beside her and pulled a large box out of her qiankun bag. She pushed it toward him.

"This is for you."

You Fushi reached out to open the box, but Ye Su pressed the lid down, stopping him. He looked up at her, confused about what she meant.

"It took quite a bit of effort to get these," Ye Su raised an eyebrow and looked at her always unenthusiastic junior brother.

"Call me Senior Sister."

You Fushi glanced at the box, curious about what this mortal had stuffed inside but stubbornly refused to give in. He deliberately said, "Ye Su."

"Fine." Ye Su didn’t push it. She let go. "Go ahead and open it."

You Fushi lifted the lid and saw half a box filled with Tier 6 beast cores. For once, he was caught off guard.

"If Wendong Materials Pavilion puts out too many Tier 6 cores, it’ll draw unwanted attention," Ye Su said, leaning back in her chair.

"You probably need them."

Recently, there hadn’t been any newly discovered cave dwellings or inheritance grounds, and smaller secret realms were unlikely to have Tier 6 beasts. If Wendong suddenly flooded the market with them, people would definitely grow suspicious.

"I don’t know what your real identity is," Ye Su gestured at the box.

"I happened to get these. If you need them, use them."

Beast cores were also a method of cultivation for many cultivators, though they had to refine the energy within using spiritual power.

But You Fushi was different, probably because of his beast bloodline. He could absorb them directly.

Ye Su had simply noticed he’d been out of sorts lately. Always sleepy, like he was constantly low on spiritual energy.

"Did Yi Xuan get any too?" You Fushi suddenly asked.

Ye Su turned her head and chuckled. "All my juniors got some. You got the most."

Only then did You Fushi pick up one of the beast cores. The moment he held it, it vanished, no refining required. One by one, he crushed the rest of the cores, and they disappeared completely.

Even though Ye Su had expected something like this, she was still stunned. What kind of beast was he, to be able to do something like that?

A Tier 6 beast was the equivalent of a Soul Transformation–level cultivator. Especially the ones in the Forbidden Zone, they were even stronger, often rivaling late-stage Soul Transformation.

It only took You Fushi about the time it took to finish a cup of tea to consume them all. His constant drowsiness finally seemed to lift a little. He looked toward Ye Su, and his previously dark pupils began to turn a deep violet.

"Junior Brother?" Ye Su noticed the change and sat up straight.

You Fushi seemed to sense something. With a movement of his right hand, it looked as if he tore through space, his palm vanished right before Ye Su’s eyes. The next moment, it reappeared, but now he was holding something in his hand.

"Here, for you." You Fushi’s violet pupils faded back to their original color as he opened his palm and handed the item to her.

Before Ye Su could even see what it was, a surge of immense spiritual energy rushed toward her. She immediately raised her hand to block it and activated a protective barrier, warning him,

"Don’t casually take things out in public."

Just like the time in the Endless Abyss when he suddenly brought out that Cold Crystal Mud, this time he had taken out something else, again filled with overwhelming spiritual energy.

You Fushi gave a half-hearted grunt in response. After using up all those beast cores earlier, he had unexpectedly found the opportunity to open a "realm." On instinct, he knew it was his own realm. With a flick of his divine sense, he located a pile of spirit stones.

Looking at their overlapping hands, You Fushi frowned.

"There was only one."

He had wanted to give her more, since this mortal was always lacking spirit stones, but he found he could only grab one, if he tried for more, the realm would close.

Once Ye Su confirmed the barrier was secure, she removed her hand and looked down at his palm:

It was a purple, diamond-shaped spirit stone, completely different from any she had seen before. The spiritual energy it emitted was several times more potent than even the highest-grade spirit stones she had used.

"Just now... where did you get this?" Ye Su asked, her voice slightly strained. She already knew You Fushi wasn’t like other people but he felt like a bug in the cultivation world.

"From inside my realm," You Fushi replied, already starting to feel sleepy again. He tossed the spirit stone to her.

Ye Su looked over at him as he tugged on her sleeve to use it as a cushion on the table and then lay down to sleep. She remained silent for a long moment before finally putting the spirit stone away.

A realm?

Only beings of great power could open their own realms. But You Fushi was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Unless… he was a powerful demon beast in disguise, one that was concealing his true cultivation.

Ye Su lowered her gaze to look at the sleeping You Fushi. Remembering what had happened before, she reached out and took his hand, quietly probing the condition of his spiritual core.

Every time he opens his realm… does it drain all his spiritual energy?

……

"Didn't Senior Sister say she'd be out for just one day?" Xiyu, standing in the courtyard in front of a mirror, asked Ming Liu Sha behind her.

Ming Liu Sha, fiddling with a newly acquired beast bone, replied slowly, "She… did."

"It's already the second day." Xiyu set the mirror down with a snap. "And she's still not back."

"Ye Su's not here?" A voice came from outside the courtyard, Quan Jiaying stood at the gate.

"Daoist Quan?" Xiyu greeted him, motioning him in. "You're finally awake."

Quan Jiaying nodded with visible joy.

"I already saw the Baqing Ranking. It’s all thanks to Ye Su."

He had nearly passed out several times during the process.

"Senior Sister took Little Junior Brother to the outer city," Xiyu said. "She hasn’t returned since."

Ming Liu Sha turned to ask Quan Jiaying, "You… advanced?"

"Yes, to mid-stage Nascent Soul." Quan Jiaying hadn’t expected it himself, he had only hoped the joint refinement might help him find an opportunity to break through.

"After we finished refining the Yamata, I had a moment of enlightenment. That’s why I didn’t wake up right away."

"Why didn’t Senior Sister have an epiphany?" Xia Er walked out from his room, puzzled. With how powerful his Senior Sister was, she should have.

"Because the Yamata didn’t exceed her level by much," Quan Jiaying explained.

"So it couldn’t trigger an epiphany. But that’s actually a good thing."

As soon as the topic shifted to magic artifacts, everyone got caught up in the discussion, talking non-stop until their mouths went dry.

Quan Jiaying was describing the problems they had encountered while refining the Yamata when, all of a sudden, a bolt of heavenly lightning struck down in the distance. The loud crash stunned everyone into silence.

"That direction..." Quan Jiaying slowly stood up, "That’s Xuanji Peak."

Closer to the site, all four major sect masters flew into the air, looking toward Xuanji Peak, which was now engulfed in flashing lightning.

Xin Shenzi looked up at the lightning-filled mountain peak and turned to Yi Xuan behind him.

"It’s Kunlun’s Lu Chenhan. That kid’s got freakishly high talent. He’s been silent all year, I figured he must be suppressing his breakthrough."

Ever since they exited the Chaos Mirror trial, everyone had been talking about Ye Su of Qianji Sect and the Baqing Ranking. Kunlun had completely lost the spotlight.

Now, with the second trial about to begin, Lu Chenhan’s breakthrough was only natural.

Kunlun always had to be first.

Xin Shenzi scratched his wild, messy hair and suddenly asked Yi Xuan, "Disciple, isn’t it time for you to break through too?"