Chapter 49: Morals Bend to Beauty
After leaving the city lord’s grand hall, Qu Yiqiu made her way back to the Hall of Merits, determined to discover if there was a way to quickly earn merit points. She recalled that the steward there had mentioned multiple avenues for obtaining them, not just a single method.
“Oh, Sister Qu, you’re back again? Did the city lord refuse your request?” The steward disciple recognized her instantly—her striking beauty made her unforgettable. Seeing her return, he greeted her warmly.
Qu Yiqiu shook her head regretfully. “I haven’t met the city lord’s requirements yet, so I’m unable to use the teleportation array for now.”
The steward disciple sympathized. “Don’t worry, Sister. You have a kind heart—if the city lord truly understood your intentions, he would surely be reluctant to refuse you!”
Kind heart? Qu Yiqiu paused, slightly surprised. She wasn’t familiar with this steward, yet after only one meeting, he’d already concluded her heart was good? Clearly, no matter where one went, appearances spoke louder than character—the world’s values followed the face.
She continued smoothly, “Brother, you flatter me. Earlier you mentioned ways to earn merit points—could you tell me more? I wish to contribute further to the sect.”
The steward admired her all the more. Not only was she beautiful as a celestial maiden, but her heart was equally pure.
“Sister, you are truly admirable! Besides slaying demonic cultivators, you can earn merit by rescuing others, reporting demonic lairs, guarding mining veins, and other resource missions.”
“The greatest rewards come from reporting demonic lairs, slaying demonic cultivators, and submitting the Grand Yan Cycle technique,” he explained in detail. “For you, Sister, I’d recommend defending the mining veins—steady merit, companions to share the task, low risk, though the points are fewer.”
Qu Yiqiu nodded repeatedly, ideas already forming in her mind. Suppressing her excitement, she asked, “So, Brother, for each demonic lair reported, the informant receives half the merit points based on the number of demonic cultivators inside?”
The steward smiled. “You’ve understood perfectly. That’s why reporting demonic lairs is the fastest way to earn merit. But demonic cultivators are cunning; our righteous disciples rarely discover their hideouts, which is why chaos persists in Qunan City.”
Qu Yiqiu was secretly thrilled. Others couldn’t find the demonic hideouts, but Yao Zhimei could!
“Thank you, Brother. I understand now! May I ask your name?” She’d need to return to him when she found more lairs.
The steward was briefly stunned, then grinned. “I am Yuan Zhengqing. You may simply call me Brother Yuan.”
“Thank you, Brother Yuan. I’ll go complete my tasks!” With that, Qu Yiqiu whisked away like the wind.
Yuan Zhengqing gazed after her, smiling foolishly. “To be asked my name by a celestial maiden—this is a first in thirty-eight years!”
Qu Yiqiu left the city lord’s residence and, familiar with the route, flew back to the collapsed medium-sized mining vein on her Ice-Colored Jade Ribbon. At this moment, Yao Zhimei was idly waiting for her inside the cave.
“Your Majesty, you’re finally back!” Yao Zhimei floated down from the rocky ceiling.
Qu Yiqiu smiled. “There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
Immediately, Yao Zhimei straightened, energized. “Your Majesty, just give the order!”
Qu Yiqiu relayed every detail of what had happened at the city lord’s residence. Hearing how Cheng Changsheng had deliberately made things difficult, Yao Zhimei fumed in indignation.
“That’s the situation. I want you to help me find as many demonic hideouts as possible, so I can quickly earn forty thousand merit points and leave this place!”
She finished in one breath, and Yao Zhimei nodded fiercely, her anger undisguised.
“Rest assured, Your Majesty—this task, I’ll handle it flawlessly!”
Qu Yiqiu nodded. “I trust your abilities. Just be careful not to let anyone discover you.”
“Yes, I will obey!” Yao Zhimei replied solemnly.
Seeing her seriousness, Qu Yiqiu felt reassured. With such careful instructions, Yao Zhimei shouldn’t cause any mishaps this time.
Soon, Yao Zhimei transformed into a wisp of green smoke and departed.
Qu Yiqiu sat cross-legged on her meditation mat, preparing to cultivate under cover of night.
“Master, why didn’t you ask me to search for demonic hideouts?” Little Yan gently stroked the eyeball beneath him, his cherubic face showing a hint of grievance. He was clearly better at finding people than that ghost cultivator!
Qu Yiqiu paused. “Wouldn’t you be discovered if you went out?”
Little Yan pouted. “They can’t see me at all. I can hide my aura—except for you and the top cultivators of this realm, no one can detect me!”
Qu Yiqiu’s eyes brightened. “Little Yan, you want to go out and seek demonic lairs?”
He poked his plump cheek with a finger, looking adorable. “Sure! I’m tired of staying here anyway.”
“Can you protect yourself from being detected by Nascent Soul cultivators?” Qu Yiqiu, after her initial excitement, carefully considered potential threats.
Little Yan kept poking his cheek, tilting his head. “If they have special spatial treasures, they might sense a trace of my aura, but I can outrun them!”
Listening to his confident reply, Qu Yiqiu thought of how rare spatial treasures were and smiled gently. “If you can protect yourself, then feel free to go out, find demonic lairs, or just have some fun.”
Little Yan, wrapped in gray light, emerged from her brow, riding atop his round eyeball. “I’m heading out. If you need me, just summon me back at will.”
Qu Yiqiu nodded with a smile. “Alright, be careful, Little Yan. If anything happens, you can call for me.”
Though her cultivation wasn’t high, she had plenty of tricks—an entire realm-wide cultivation marketplace and a spatial orb gave her some power even against higher-level cultivators.
Little Yan propped himself up on his eyeball, nodding. “Understood!”
With that, a flash of gray-white light vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Little Yan was gone.
Qu Yiqiu spread her spiritual sense but could not detect even a trace of his presence. Only the connection in her sea of consciousness remained, giving her the sense that she could summon him back at any time.
“Little Yan’s abilities will take time to uncover. When the Golden Ghost King awakens, I must interrogate him thoroughly!”
Through her deductions over the past few days, Qu Yiqiu suspected there was some connection between the Golden Ghost King and Little Yan—perhaps a shared origin?
Little Yan, as the spirit of the realm, could control the Underworld Domain. The Golden Ghost King was merely a ghost cultivator who had accidentally consumed spirit herbs, yet he could also control the domain’s passageways. She didn’t believe this was just a side effect of the herbs.
Clearly, the Golden Ghost King, sly old fox that he was, hadn’t revealed everything about the Underworld Domain. He was still hiding some truths.