I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 226 Provocative Visit (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Greetings, Lord!"

Zhenshan and Duanjin bowed to Jiang Yi in unison. When they transformed into human form before, they were naked. Jiang Yi later specially made matching black outfits for them.

Matching their eye color, the inner lining of the Zhenshan outfit is dark red, while the inner lining of the Duanjin outfit is dark gold. Paired with leather buckles and leather cuffs, they stand there, unsmiling and stern, like two drawn swords, exuding a fierce aura.

"My goodness, Yi, where did you find these two majestic stone lion spirits? They're so imposing, I love them!"

Shen Puning couldn't resist touching it. Zhenshan's eyebrows furrowed, and he secretly bared his teeth in a menacing manner. Although they were wearing black stone lion heads, their expressions were lively and not at all stiff.

Duan Jin almost couldn't hold back and punched Zhen Shan again. This guy is obviously the master's friend. Why are you baring your teeth? What's wrong with touching him?
"These are Zhenshan and Duanjin, and this is my good friend Shen Puning. You can just call her Miss Shen," Jiang Yi introduced them to each other.

Duan Jin smiled and said, "Greetings, Miss Shen."

Zhenshan then greeted him with a buzzing sound.

Shen Puning was even more surprised. Her eyes shone as she stared at Zhenshan and Duanjin. She said to Jiang Yi, "Are their intelligence no different from that of ordinary people? They have a human form before reaching the Golden Core stage. This is really too rare."

In front of her friends, Jiang Yi made no attempt to hide her boasting, "Yes, they can now learn weapon crafting, which helps me earn spirit stones!"

Now it was Shen Puning's turn to bare her teeth. Luckily, Baozhu was in the demon spirit bag, otherwise she would have slapped Baozhu again.

"Ayi, you're a bad guy!"

Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile, while Shen Puning pouted.

“Zhenshan Duanjin, stay within one zhang of me and don’t wander off. I’ll take you shopping.”

Upon hearing this, Zhenshan and Duanjin beamed with joy and clasped their hands in agreement. They had long wanted to go out and see the world, but they had been too embarrassed to mention it to Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi borrowed Fa Hongli's perfected illusion technique, and within a ten-foot radius around her, Zhenshan and Duanjin appeared as ordinary black bears commonly seen on the street.

It's the kind of black bear spirit that walks upright and carries bags for people as a laborer.

In the cultivation world, some things are special and cannot be put into storage bags, so these 'oxen and horses' are needed to do the work.

Jiang Yi and Shen Puning walked ahead, with Zhenshan Duanjin following behind. They walked and talked, looking around as they went.

Sometimes Jiang Yi wasn't interested in things by the roadside, but whenever Zhenshan and Duanjin showed curiosity, Jiang Yi would stop for a moment.

Zhenshan just laughed foolishly, but Duanjin secretly remembered Jiang Yi's kindness.

Jiang Yi asked them about weapon crafting. Zhen Shan continued to grin foolishly, while Duan Jin clearly and methodically explained their plan to learn weapon crafting together.

Even without Jiang Yi asking, Duan Jin had already drawn up a list of materials needed for the two low-level magic artifacts.

The low-grade magic artifact, the 'Spirit Storage Bottle,' can store the equivalent of 50% of the spiritual power of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator in advance, replenishing it instantly when needed. It is also effective against demon spirits.

The low-grade magic artifact 'Spirit Gathering Lamp' has a weak effect of gathering spiritual energy. When lit and used for cultivation, it can help cultivators in the early stages of Qi Refining to stabilize their minds and make it easier to enter a meditative state and perceive spiritual energy.

Both of these low-level magical artifacts are very practical and made from common materials. The difficulty lies in the crafting process, making them very suitable for practice.

If it were successfully refined, it would definitely sell very well.

"A good choice," Jiang Yi praised without reservation.

"That's right, my wife is very smart." Zhenshan praised his wife mindlessly, earning him a glare from Duanjin.

Shen Puning took Jiang Yi to their family's shop to buy refining materials and common spiritual herb seeds. While Jiang Yi was talking to the shop assistant, Shen Puning went to find the female shopkeeper.

"I've gained weight, I've gained weight again."

The myna bird perched on the counter kept chirping, and Shen Puning rolled her eyes at it.

"Aunt Gui, do you still have the spirit ink I asked you to find last time?"

Shen Puning tugged at the female shopkeeper's sleeve and asked in a coquettish manner.

Shen Guiyu put down her abacus and poked Shen Puning's forehead with a finger. "The clan elders have already said that the Shen family's resources are not for you to use to cultivate the Dao of Painting."

"But the spirit stones I gave you were earned by drawing talismans myself; I didn't use any money from the Shen family!"

"But you came to me, didn't you still use the Shen family's connections and business channels?"

"Then I'll go to Linlangzhai to buy it!"

Seeing Shen Puning's chubby face fall, Shen Guiyu chuckled and took out a box from under the counter. "Your three older sisters really dote on you. Here, this is something your eldest sister specially asked someone to bring back for me to secretly give to you. Your eldest sister also asked me to tell you that she will take care of the Shen family, and Ning'er, you can do whatever you want."

Shen Puning's expression suddenly froze on her face, feeling as if the box was a soft thorn stuck in her heart.

At that moment, she felt not touched by the pampering, but rather guilty and uncomfortable.

She felt guilty because she was too willful, causing her eldest sister to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the family.

What made her uncomfortable was that her elder sister still treated her like a child, rather than an equal cultivator. She would rather spend a lot of spirit stones to buy what she wanted herself than accept her elder sister's pampering gifts.

She also hated herself, both craving her older sister's warmth and resenting that it stifled her sharpness.

It's very conflicted, but that's how she feels right now.

"Oh~ Isn't this the fourth Miss Shen from the Shen family, who has an exceptionally strong backbone but insists on learning those unorthodox methods?"

A piercing sound came from the doorway, and even Jiang Yi turned her head to look.

An arrogant young man dressed in standard Huangsha City attire walked in, glanced around the store with disdain, and finally fixed his gaze on Shen Puning.

The boy wore a token with the character 'Hu' on it, clearly indicating that he was from the Hu family of Huangsha City.

The Hu family also specializes in hunting demons and making a living from demon spirits. However, their family foundation is not as deep as that of the Shen family. They only rose to prominence after the Shen family became famous, and they are often ridiculed for imitating others.

Next year's treasure hunt is actually a struggle between the Shen and Hu families for control of Jinzhengyuan for the next ten years.

This management is certainly not about taking over the entire Jinzhengyuan Secret Realm, but rather about being responsible for tasks such as perimeter defense and resource collection. The true core of the Jinzhengyuan Secret Realm is still in the hands of Zhu Mingzong.

Although the Shen family's demon hunters are renowned, the Shen family has many disciples and manages such a large city. The basic resources required are not a small amount. It is difficult to sustain this business by relying solely on the few top demon hunters in the family. They must cooperate with Zhu Mingzong, who controls the resources of the secret realm.

This is also the predicament of most cultivation families.

"Country bumpkin, country bumpkin!" the myna bird cried out again.

Hu Mingye didn't care about the bird's nonsense. He laughed and asked Shen Puning, "I heard that you're so willing to learn your family's traditional skills just to paint a few lousy pictures? Tsk~ What a waste of such a good-looking person!"

"None of your business!" Shen Puning said irritably, taking the box and heading to leave.

"Don't go!" Hu Mingye raised his arm to block him. "I'm a customer who came to buy things, is this how the Shen family treats its guests?"

The female shopkeeper, Shen Guiyu, stepped forward to defuse the situation, saying, "Young Master Hu, it's better if I personally serve you. Just tell me what you'd like to buy."

Hu Mingye not only refused, but also said sarcastically, "I came here specifically because of your reputation, wanting to ask Miss Shen for a painting."

"I heard that the Shen family is currently looking for a handsome man for Miss Shen the Fourth. I suppose the current Miss Shen the Fourth should be able to paint incredibly lifelike and immersive erotic paintings..."

Before she could finish speaking, the female shopkeeper Shen Guiyu's face darkened with anger, but a dark light was faster than her and suddenly exploded!

Shen Puning unfurled the Myriad Images Scroll in mid-air with his left hand, and swept a stroke across the scroll with his right hand using a brush without a tip.

Before the ink on the scroll was dry, it transformed into a water dragon that broke free of the scroll, its whiskers fluttering as the fragrance of ink filled the air.

"you!!!"

Hu Mingye hurriedly reached for the demon spirit pouch at his waist, but the ink dragon was faster than him.

The dragon's body wrapped around Hu Mingye like chains, and the ink stains soaked through his brocade robes, causing his true energy to stagnate.

"Get lost!"

Shen Puning kicked out, and the embroidered sole of her shoe landed firmly on Hu Mingye's chest.

Everyone heard a crisp 'crack' sound. No one knew whether the jade pendant shattered or a rib broke. The young master of the Hu family was sent flying out of the door, rolling seven or eight zhang away on the street, and finally crashing into a roasted chestnut stall with a 'thud'.

The black bear roasting chestnuts held a shovel, looking completely bewildered.

"You scumbag!"

Shen Puning slowly lowered her foot. This kind of person only deserves to use his feet; she wouldn't even want to get her hands dirty if he threw a punch.

Jiang Yi smiled from behind. Pu Ning usually looked soft and cute, but when it came to something, she was more straightforward than Wu Shuang and never compromised herself.

This might be because her family spoiled her since she was a child, always protecting her, which gave her the courage to do so.

(End of this chapter)