The next day.
Shucao left the inn and first transformed back into Mo Yao.
She finished selling newspapers.
Then she transformed back into Shucao and headed for the loose cultivator gathering hall.
She planned to accept a few tasks first and earn some spirit stones.
Using the jade token engraved with inscriptions, she opened the hidden door.
She walked straight down the stairs and returned once more to the underground space.
Today’s underground space was far noisier than yesterday.
Shucao looked inside and saw that the commotion came from a woman in a cyan Daoist robe.
Her waist-length hair was unkempt.
“Everyone, come take a look!” the woman called out energetically.
“Bishui Azure Armor Array, Five Elements Convergence Array, Green Wood Rejuvenation Array, and all kinds of Spirit Gathering Arrays! Attack arrays, defense arrays, array disks, array flags—I have everything! Buy now and add thirty spirit stones for the matching array diagram. Fellow Daoists, don’t miss out!”
Colorful little flags lay spread on the ground before her.
Despite her enthusiastic hawking, none of the other loose cultivators in the hall paid her any attention.
Shucao felt a spark of curiosity.
“Arrays?”
She remembered the blood-sucking array Lin Han had used back in Qinglu Village.
She also recalled what Huang Chengli had said about the villages drained dry.
“Could this person know something about that array? Maybe I can find a clue through it.”
She walked over to Steward Chen, who was organizing commission documents.
“Steward Chen, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Oh, it’s Fairy Shucao. Of course, no problem at all. Our boss specifically told me to look after you.”
“I’m flattered. May I ask who that Daoist friend is? She’s shouting so hard, yet no one is buying from her. It made me curious.”
“Ah, that’s Yu Qing. She used to be a disciple of Qingxu Monastery in the Qingling Mountains. It’s called a monastery, but really it was just her and her master, Daoist Qingxu.”
“Both of them were array experts. When they had free time they would exorcise evil for nearby mortal villages. Unfortunately Daoist Qingxu passed away a few years ago. She couldn’t keep the monastery running alone, so she came here.”
“If she’s skilled in arrays, her array flags and such must be quite powerful.”
“Well… she really is a genius on the array path. But she’s still only Qi Refining Stage. The arrays she makes are useless against Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
“For Qi Refining cultivators they’re powerful, but far too expensive. Plus you have to keep pouring spiritual power into them the whole time they’re active. So most Qi Refining cultivators would rather buy a practical magical tool than bother with arrays. Qi Refining folks can’t afford them, and Foundation Establishment folks don’t want them. That’s why no one buys.”
“I see. Thank you, Steward Chen.”
Shucao thought back to the materials she had sold from the Thousand Feather Bird—the one that could fight evenly with Xiao Simeng in late Qi Refining.
Even a portion of them had only fetched twenty-some spirit stones.
Array tools really were shockingly costly.
No Qi Refining cultivator would hunt such a beast just for an array that couldn’t be used right away.
Still, since the woman was clearly talented in arrays, asking her about the formation from that day seemed like a good idea.
With that thought, Shucao walked toward the woman.
Seeing Shucao approach, the woman’s eyes lit up with delight. She waved both hands high and called out.
“Fairy! Fairy! This fairy is truly peerless in beauty, absolutely captivating! One look and I can tell your status is extraordinary. Look, my array flags are perfect for a fairy like you. This Spirit Gathering Array collects spiritual energy from the surroundings.”
“Once activated, it draws nearby spiritual qi into the formation, raising the concentration inside the area. It speeds up cultivation, or makes tool-refining and pill-refining easier. It’s commonly used when building cave mansions, but if you have any clever ideas you can use it elsewhere too. Right now it’s only sixty spirit stones. What do you think, Fairy?”
Faced with such eager enthusiasm, Shucao could only give a helpless smile.
“I’m truly sorry. I don’t have that many spirit stones.”
At those words Yu Qing deflated like a punctured ball and hung her head.
“Ah… I thought I was finally going to make a sale. Hehehe…”
“However, I came this time to ask you some questions about arrays.”
“Arrays? Then you’ve come to the right person! Among the Qi Refining loose cultivators near Ningzhou City, hardly anyone knows more about array dao than I do. If you want to learn, you can buy my array dao manual for just thirty spirit stones. It even comes with my personal annotations.”
Watching Yu Qing puff up with pride again, Shucao described the array she had seen in the village.
“Blood qi absorption? I haven’t encountered that kind of demonic array before. But if you can take me to the village you mentioned, or bring me the array disk itself, I might be able to find information on the larger formation.”
“Would you be willing to go with me, then?”
“I can. But you’ll need to pay me a small fee.”
Shucao took ten spirit stones from her storage pouch and held them out.
“Daoist friend, is this enough? I really don’t have any more.”
She had received twenty-some stones from Xiao Simeng earlier, but she needed to keep some for later expenses, so she had brought only half.
“It’s enough, it’s enough. Half is plenty. After all, it’s only information on an array.”
Yu Qing took five spirit stones, quickly packed up her stall on the ground, and said to Shucao.
“So when does Daoist friend want to leave?”
“The sooner the better. Let’s go right now.”
“Understood. This humble one is Yu Qing. May I ask your name?”
“I am Shucao. Please guide me well.”
With that, the two of them left the gathering hall together and headed outside the city.
Once they were outside the city walls, Yu Qing asked.
“Daoist friend, do you have a flying magical tool? To be honest, my finances are limited and I don’t have many decent tools. If you have something that can carry passengers, I’d appreciate a ride.”
Hearing this, Shucao felt a headache coming on. She could fly, but only when she was using her magical girl abilities.
She couldn’t bring someone else along that way.
“You could just carry her on your back, right?” An Qianhua suddenly spoke.
“After all, a magical girl’s physical condition is quite strong. You fought with hand-to-hand combat earlier, so carrying one person while flying should be easy.”
“That’s true, but Qianhua-jie, she’s a girl.”
“Aren’t you a girl right now? I’d say there’s zero problem! Besides, you used to be close with Bai Qiushui all the time. What’s there to be afraid of?”
“Qiushui and I grew up together. I only met this person today. How can you compare them?”
Although Shucao was extremely reluctant, An Qianhua’s arguments—“All girls, so it’s fine,” “Don’t you want to hurry and get there?” and “Flying with extra weight will train your flight ability”—wore her down. And there really wasn’t any other option. In the end she decided to bring Yu Qing along by flight.
Noticing Shucao’s troubled expression, Yu Qing assumed she had no flying tool or none that could carry multiple people. She said kindly.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Walking isn’t impossible. Maybe we’ll run into a merchant caravan and they can give us a lift.”
“Actually… there is a way.”
Shucao summoned her magical outfit. In a flash of light the pink dress instantly replaced the ruqun Xiao Simeng had made for her.
“Wow, what an unusual outfit! Is this some kind of magical tool? It can even be stored away—how amazing.”
Shucao said nothing more. She stepped in front of Yu Qing, turned her back, and bent slightly at the waist.
“Get on. I’ll carry you while I fly.”
Following Shucao’s instructions, Yu Qing pressed close against her back and let herself be carried.
“Daoist friend, how exactly are you going to fly like this?”
Shucao tried hard to ignore the soft pressure against her back and answered.
“Daoist friend, the speed might be a little high in a moment. Please bear with it.”
“Huh?”
A streak of pink light shot across the sky, accompanied by a sharp scream.
“Aaaahhh! Fairy Shucao, isn’t this flying speed a bit too fast?! I’ve never felt a magical tool this quick before! Is this as fast as one boosted by a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual power?!”
An Qianhua, watching them fly, grumbled.
“Shucao, why do you only know how to accelerate in one direction? You fly worse than every magical girl I’ve ever seen. You really need practice!”
“I think I’m already trying really hard to control it!”
Frightened of being thrown off by the speed, Yu Qing tightened her arms around Shucao even more.
Feeling the even more noticeable softness against her back, Shucao unconsciously wondered how someone who seemed so poor could have developed like this. She glanced down at her own flat chest without thinking.
That’s not right. What am I even thinking about?!
The moment she realized where her thoughts had gone, Shucao jolted in alarm and her cheeks flushed.
“Is it because you feel embarrassed about flying poorly? Flying is a basic magical girl ability, but everyone has off days. Don’t worry about it too much.”
Shucao’s mind was too chaotic to properly hear An Qianhua.
“I-I’m not worried about that at all!”
Hearing the answer, An Qianhua thought, Whoa, such a strong reaction. Does she really mind what I said earlier?
She spoke again.
“It’s fine. I’ll guide you properly later so your flight ability grows smoothly. After all, I am the strongest magical girl.”
“I don’t need that kind of growth!”
“Ehhhhhhhhhh?!”