“Fellow Daoist, I trust you have been well since we last met?”
They had only met once before in the secret realm. Nie Shiyun could sense that Shen Yan was a prickly individual who preferred to avoid contact with others. He never expected the man to seek him out now.
Shen Yan glanced at him, his expression appearing somewhat strained.
“...It seems you haven't been well, then,” Nie Shiyun remarked. He had only intended it as a casual greeting, but seeing Shen Yan’s state, he could only offer a dry chuckle.
Nie Shiyun figured the man hadn't come to congratulate him on his advancement. He took a seat next to Shen Yan and asked what he required. Shen Yan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Last time, I left in a hurry and took both Soul-Summoning Banners with me. You hadn't finished studying them yet, had you?”
Nie Shiyun blinked, puzzled. “No, I believe I mentioned last time that I had already figured them out for the most part.”
Shen Yan paused, scanning Nie Shiyun with a hint of surprise. He had previously assumed Nie Shiyun was merely being polite; after all, outsiders knew very little about the artifacts of Soul-Summoning Valley. At that time, Nie Shiyun had seemingly just come into contact with such treasures, and Shen Yan didn't believe he could have grasped their intricacies so quickly.
“If you truly understand them... then you should be able to refine them, right?” Shen Yan asked tentatively after a long silence.
“I would likely need to make an attempt. But there is an eighty percent chance I can.”
The tension that had gripped Shen Yan’s face finally loosened slightly. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Nie Shiyun continued, “You don’t think this is like the secret realm, do you? That I’ll just take any commission as long as you pay the spirit stones?”
Shen Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, clearly troubled by Nie Shiyun’s words. He had indeed heard that after Nie Shiyun reached the Nascent Soul stage, he rarely accepted external refining commissions, let alone showed his face in public. However, because of their brief prior encounter, Shen Yan felt that Nie Shiyun seemed quite interested in the Soul-Summoning Banners, which was why he had come to try his luck.
“I can give you many spirit stones. And... Cultivator’s Essence,” Shen Yan said in a low voice.
Hearing this "wealthy tycoon" statement, Nie Shiyun finally felt a spark of interest. Cultivator’s Essence—he hadn't seen that in a long time. When he first arrived in this cultivation world, he had purchased some on the black market to open the cave dwelling containing the Spirit-Cleansing Pill. A single bead of essence had cost him five hundred thousand spirit stones. That figure, which had nearly been the death of him back then, remained fresh in his memory. Of course, even now, five hundred thousand was no small sum.
Seeing that Nie Shiyun seemed interested but remained silent, Shen Yan grew uncertain. After a moment’s thought, he added, “There is also a piece of news I learned from Soul-Summoning Valley. It should be useful to you.”
Although Shen Yan seemed to have his own calculations, perhaps his temperament was too impulsive, or perhaps he truly had no other options. Faced with Nie Shiyun’s "inaction," he couldn't keep his composure at all and immediately began to raise his bid.
Nie Shiyun arched an eyebrow and finally nodded. “Let’s discuss this in detail.”
Shen Yan breathed a sigh of relief. His attitude softened considerably as he spoke, “By the way, please do not disclose the matter of my visit.”
Nie Shiyun agreed immediately. Although Yunqing Pavilion had done business with demonic cultivators in the past, relations between the righteous and demonic paths had been quite tense in recent years, and the sect had been avoiding such associations to stay out of trouble. Thinking it better to avoid unnecessary complications, Nie Shiyun planned to instruct Qi Xuan'er to keep the matter secret later.
“This isn't the place to talk. Follow me.”
Since Nie Shiyun had moved to the cave dwelling on the back mountain, his residence in the front mountain sect area had become a vacant courtyard. He had tidied up the original bedroom and converted it into his private lounge, which could also be used to receive guests. It happened to be useful now.
“Finished talking so soon?”
As soon as Nie Shiyun stepped out, Zhai Bairong, who was standing not far from the door, walked over. Nie Shiyun had thought he had gone elsewhere with Qi Xuan'er, but he was the only one still waiting.
“Your father has come out of seclusion. I heard his cultivation has improved significantly. Miss Qi went to offer her congratulations first upon hearing the news. I figured you would definitely want to go later, so I waited to go with you,” Zhai Bairong explained.
“That’s good news,” Nie Shiyun said, pleasantly surprised. He had thought Nie Li’s attitude was too passive and that it would be difficult for his cultivation to break through within a century. He hadn't expected that his own advancement would help his father move past his mental blocks. It was truly an unexpected joy.
Shen Yan stood behind Nie Shiyun without a word. He did not recognize Zhai Bairong and was currently casting a measuring gaze at him.
It wasn't a boast to say that Zhai Bairong had rarely encountered a cultivator who didn't recognize him in recent years. Being scanned up and down like this made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
“Right, continuing from what we were saying,” Nie Shiyun brought the topic back, “the discussion isn't over yet. This matter is a bit special, so we’re moving elsewhere.”
Zhai Bairong nodded and suggested to Nie Shiyun that he would return to the back mountain first. He could use the time to refine some pills to stabilize Nie Li’s cultivation, so they could be presented as a gift during the visit later. Nie Shiyun smiled helplessly, understanding that this was Zhai Bairong’s way of showing kindness to his father. He couldn't refuse, so he signaled his understanding and handed the jade pendant to him.
Zhai Bairong returned a knowing look, smiled, and took the jade pendant, returning to the cave dwelling alone.
Watching him leave, Nie Shiyun turned to lead Shen Yan to his private guest room. Seeing the latter’s suspicious expression, he realized Shen Yan might not recognize Zhai Bairong and specifically explained, “The person just now is my Dao companion.”
Shen Yan suddenly understood. “So that was Zhai Bairong.”
Nie Shiyun felt quite satisfied. Now that the news had spread throughout the cultivation world, "Nie Shiyun’s Dao companion" and "Zhai Bairong" had become synonymous.
“Still, there aren't many people these days who don't recognize him.”
Hearing Nie Shiyun say this, Shen Yan clicked his tongue. “I naturally know of such a figure. I’ve just never met him, so I didn't recognize him.”
That made sense. A demonic sect like Soul-Summoning Valley would never be allowed to participate in the Immortal Cultivation Conferences organized by the righteous sects. Normally, unless a war broke out, there were no opportunities for interaction.
They arrived at the courtyard. It was currently the height of summer. Although Yunqing Pavilion on the mountain was much cooler than the foot of the mountain, the blazing sun still had some impact. Nie Shiyun had long ago set up arrays in the courtyard; stepping into the room, one could feel a comfortable chill.
“This is a combination of a Clear Heart Array and a Summer Cold-Gathering Array...”
“Oh? You understand arrays too? Does the Soul-Summoning Sect teach that?” Nie Shiyun was somewhat surprised.
“I know a little.” After the words slipped out instinctively, Shen Yan felt he had been too talkative and immediately fell silent.
Nie Shiyun didn't press further and politely invited Shen Yan inside.
After Shen Yan sat down on a wooden stool in the room, he didn't hesitate and directly took out two Soul-Summoning Banners, placing them on the table.
“...”
Nie Shiyun looked at the two flags, which were covered in scorch marks and holes, utterly dilapidated. He couldn't help but ask, “Just how did you manage to use them until they ended up like this?”
As expected, Shen Yan’s visit was to test whether he could repair the Soul-Summoning Banners.
He knew it. Back in the secret realm, this man had taken his things and bolted incredibly fast, never coming back to find him. It didn't look at all like he was worried that Nie Shiyun hadn't studied them thoroughly and had thus traveled a great distance to visit two years later.
“I got into a fight, naturally,” Shen Yan replied.
“That must have been quite the fight...” Nie Shiyun picked up the two Soul-Summoning Banners to examine them closely. He didn't understand the control of yin spirits, but he could roughly sense the souls remaining in the banners through his spiritual power. The sensation was somewhat similar to a spirit beast bag. Compared to last time, several souls were missing from each banner; Shen Yan must have suffered a significant loss.
He remembered that in the Hantian Secret Realm, Shen Yan had attacked Duan Mingyu and managed to retreat unscathed. Although Duan Mingyu was in a pathetic state then, he was still a Golden Core cultivator. It stood to reason that the enemy who could cause Shen Yan such heavy damage this time must have a much higher cultivation.
Nie Shiyun’s divine sense swept over Shen Yan, discovering that the man had already reached the middle stage of the Golden Core realm. He said in surprise, “Your cultivation has progressed quite quickly.”
Shen Yan’s lip twitched. “Senior Nascent Soul, I really don't want to hear that from you... Let’s not talk about anything else. Just tell me if you can fix them or not. I’m willing to give one Wood Essence and two hundred thousand spirit stones.”
Although he didn't bat an eye on the surface, Nie Shiyun was truly shocked inside. Shen Yan didn't look like he owned a single beautiful or valuable item from head to toe, yet his offer was so generous. Unless he had money to burn, there was only one possibility—he had no other choice.
“You’re being so generous, so why come to an outsider like me? There should be specialized weapon refiners for Soul-Summoning Banners within Soul-Summoning Valley, right?” Relations between demonic and righteous cultivators had been stiff these past few years, and business dealings had almost vanished. Although options were fewer, demonic cultivators naturally had their own weapon refiners and alchemists. At the very least, there were anonymous commissions and auction houses; otherwise, they would have resorted to open robbery long ago.
“ I’ve named my price. You just worry about the refining,” Shen Yan tried to avoid the subject.
Nie Shiyun was truly curious. He had actually decided long ago that he was going to take this money, but he put on airs and deliberately said, “If you aren't sincere, I have to reasonably suspect there’s a trap. To be honest, I’m not exactly hurting for a few hundred thousand spirit stones.”
Seeing that Nie Shiyun wouldn't continue the conversation without an answer, Shen Yan finally sighed and said succinctly, “I killed someone from Soul-Summoning Valley. I’m currently a fugitive.”
Nie Shiyun was silent for a moment.
This answer was completely beyond his expectations.
“Wait a moment.”
Nie Shiyun decided to go out first and sound an alarm for Qi Xuan'er and the disciples who had seen Shen Yan today. Although Shen Yan had mentioned not disclosing his visit, Nie Shiyun hadn't taken it too seriously. It was a good thing he had gotten to the bottom of it today. If this news leaked out, Yunqing Pavilion would be in trouble.
Shen Yan felt some regret, wondering if Nie Shiyun would change his mind because of this. He thought to himself that perhaps he should have made up an excuse, but now he could only wait for Nie Shiyun to return and see how the negotiations went.
Inside the jade pendant space.
“Zhai Bairong, aren't you worried at all?”
Coal Ball had held it in all the way. Finally, after Zhai Bairong returned to the cave dwelling and entered the space, he flew in front of him and shouted.
“What’s wrong? Worried about what?”
Zhai Bairong was startled by Coal Ball’s loud voice, thinking something had happened to him. He looked around but found nothing amiss.
Coal Ball was pulled over to be checked, but he transformed into human form, landed on the ground, and broke free. “Not about me! I was watching just now—Nie Shiyun went off to be alone with that cultivator!”
Zhai Bairong realized what was happening and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. “As a weapon refiner, he’s discussing business with a guest. Others shouldn't get involved. This isn't the first time.”
Coal Ball turned his head away. “You really trust him.”
“He wouldn't.”
During this time, Zhai Bairong and Nie Shiyun had been living together every day in a state of deep affection; he felt more secure about such things than ever before.
“So many cultivators have come and gone before, why didn't I hear you mention it then?” Zhai Bairong felt Coal Ball’s attitude was different from usual and asked with a smile.
Coal Ball hesitated, then said, “I remember that person. He’s from that Soul-Summoning Valley... he came to the shop in the secret realm.”
Zhai Bairong thought about it and remembered. The situation had been very chaotic then; he had come out for a few seconds only to run into Duan Mingyu’s group. At that time, the cultivator named Shen Yan had already slipped away, and he only learned the full story later.
“So it was him.”
“I don't know. But I still remember him making fun of my name! That shows he’s not a good person,” Coal Ball said huffily.
Zhai Bairong understood. No wonder Coal Ball was badmouthing the man; it turned out he was holding a grudge.
Actually, any normal person would find it hard to suppress a smile upon hearing a "milk name" like "Coal Ball." If one had to point fingers, it was Nie Shiyun’s fault for getting used to saying it. They had clearly agreed in the secret realm that he should be called by his formal name, "Xuan Yang," in front of others.
Seeing that Zhai Bairong wasn't reacting, Coal Ball felt like he was playing the lute to a cow. He said in frustration, “And he... he’s quite good-looking. If I were you, I’d be worried!”
“You think he’s good-looking?” Now Zhai Bairong was somewhat surprised. He recalled the brief glimpse he had earlier. Shen Yan was indeed quite handsome, with a pair of phoenix eyes and a slightly thin build, but his expression was somewhat gloomy, masking his other features. The main point was that Coal Ball had never called anyone good-looking before. In the cultivation world, Duan Mingyu was considered a recognized beauty, but in Coal Ball’s eyes, he was just a "pretentious human with two legs."
“Don't you think his hair is very nice? His eyes also reveal a kind of sharp feeling... It’s a pity he’s a human. If he were of my race, he would definitely be beautiful in bird form.” Even while holding a grudge, Coal Ball didn't want to lie, so he offered a reluctant, low-voiced explanation.
“...I see. I understand now.”
Zhai Bairong understood—the aesthetic standards of humans and birds might have some slight differences. He didn't plan to look into it further.
“Then I suppose he came this time to ask for the repair of those Soul-Summoning Banners?”
The same doubt Nie Shiyun had earlier surfaced in Zhai Bairong’s mind: Why didn't Shen Yan just find a demonic weapon refiner in Soul-Summoning Valley?
“I don't know. We can just ask Nie Shiyun when he gets back.” Seeing that Zhai Bairong was still calm and composed, Coal Ball finally lost interest in badmouthing the man. He huffily transformed back into his beast form and crawled into the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, refusing to come out.
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Transmigrated into a Total Shou Novel as a Cannon Fodder, but Ended Up 1v1-ing the Male Lead | Chapter 105 | A Fugitive's Request | Novela.app | Novela.app
