A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

"It's alright. Fairy Gu already knows what I'm selling, so there's nothing secret about it. Fairy Wu, you don't need to mind."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Zhou Ping spoke up to ease the tension.

"Huh? You mean you're going to sell those two...?"

Upon hearing that she had also seen them, Gu Caiwei immediately recalled the three of them's trip to the Hidden Thunder Mountains. Those few hot-handed magical artifacts immediately came to mind, so she asked in surprise.

"Fairy Gu, don't be in a hurry. Why don't you come with me? You'll see for yourself then."

But she was interrupted by Zhou Ping before she could finish her sentence. He suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth and thought to himself that this girl was really outspoken. Luckily, he reacted quickly and stopped her in time.

Seeing this, Gu Caiwei paused for a moment and realized her slip of the tongue. She could only smile awkwardly at Zhou Ping and then stop talking.

Manager Wan and the bare-armed man stood quietly to one side. After hearing that Zhou Ping didn't seem to mind, they then extended an invitation to the three of them.

"Then please, fellow Daoists,."

Inside the Tinglan Private Room, Zhou Ping saw that the others had already taken their seats, so he took out his storage bag and shook it down at the open space a little further away.

Suddenly, several pieces of minced meat mixed with some dark feathers scattered on the ground with a "whoosh," and the stench of blood instantly filled the air, causing the two women in the room to cover their noses and furrow their brows in unison.

Meanwhile, the bare-armed man on the other side stared intently at the pieces of flesh on the ground, his eyes first flashing with surprise, then immediately replaced by confusion.

Manager Wan, sitting next to him, naturally couldn't tell what Zhou Ping had fallen to the ground. He glanced at the bare-armed man's face, his heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the teacup in his hand.

"It's the remains of that demonic bird!"

Gu Caiwei covered her nose and gasped in disgust, leaning back as if trying to get away from the pile of minced meat.

"Indeed, it is the remains of that fox-crow."

Seeing such a strong reaction, Zhou Ping touched his nose and said somewhat awkwardly.

"Wasn't this already taken by Brother Qing? How did it end up in your hands again?"

Gu Caiwei asked with a puzzled look. After killing the fox crow and the two cultivators that day, she clearly saw Qin Changqing dismember them and put them into his storage bag in a few quick steps before leaving. She never expected that he would take them out from Zhou Ping's hands today.

"That's right. These remains of fox-crows were obtained from Senior Brother Qin. However, he had a mission to complete and didn't want to waste time, so he entrusted me to sell them on his behalf."

Before Qin Changqing left the Spirit Mountain Realm, seeing that Zhou Ping was unwilling to return to the sect with him, he did not ask any questions. Instead, he took out the fox and crow corpses and handed them over to the latter, who remained in Jiyun City, to sell on his behalf.

Seeing that the other party trusted him so much, directly handing over the materials of the level-two demon beast to him for processing, Zhou Ping was slightly moved and accepted the other party's request without hesitation.

"You're saying these spiritual materials were obtained from the bodies of foxes and crows?"

After overhearing Zhou Ping and Gu Caiwei's conversation, the bare-armed man suddenly took a step forward, staring in astonishment at the wreckage on the ground.

"As far as I know, it's extremely difficult for a fox-crow to advance to the level of a second-tier demonic beast. I didn't expect you to actually kill a second-tier fox-crow?"

"Indeed, these are the remains of a level-two fox-crow leader. Fellow Daoist, do you perhaps know something about it?"

Seeing his excitement, Zhou Ping's eyes darted around, and he couldn't help but turn to ask, while inwardly increasing the value of the fox crow remains even more.

Since Qin Changqing trusts him so much, if he can sell these fox and crow remains for a good price, it will be a way of repaying the trust placed in him.

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but I was fortunate enough to see a record of low-level demonic birds like fox crows in my master's notes, which mentioned this extremely rare second-level fox crow."

The bare-armed man surnamed Fang withdrew his gaze, inwardly sighing that he had been too impatient. Seeing that the other party seemed to have been aroused by his words, he had no choice but to clasp his hands in greeting to Zhou Ping.

"So that's how it is... I wonder if Master Fang would be willing to explain to us in detail what's so special about this level two fox crow that has moved you so much."

Zhou Ping smiled slightly. It seemed that the other party really knew some of the secrets involved, so he went along with it and asked.

"I was out of line just now, please forgive me, fellow Daoists. There's really nothing to hide. Since you brought this item to my Wanbao Pavilion, as the weapon refiner here, I naturally have the obligation to answer your questions."

At this moment, the man surnamed Fang's expression returned to normal. After a slight pause, he continued,

"If I'm not mistaken, when you fellow Daoists deal with this demon, it should be able to unleash some fire-based magical abilities, right?"

"Indeed! That strange bird could breathe fire; it was incredibly powerful!"

Gu Caiwei, standing to the side, tilted her pretty face and nodded in confirmation.

"That's right. According to my master's description, although this demon is an extremely weak low-level demon beast, once it has the opportunity to advance to level two, it will undergo a qualitative change and leap into a fire-attribute demon beast with fire-based divine abilities, and its strength will be greatly enhanced."

As the man surnamed Fang paced around the room, he explained to Zhou Ping and the other two, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he looked at the remains of the fox crow.

After all, according to them, fox-crows of this grade are extremely rare, and for these weapon refiners, they are invaluable materials for weapon refining.

After a moment's thought, the man surnamed Fang asked Zhou Ping and the others in a sincere tone,

"Please forgive my impertinence, but with your cultivation levels, even with the addition of some fellow cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, dealing with this demon would be extremely difficult. I am curious how you managed to kill it. In my estimation, once this fox crow advances to level two, even some seniors in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage might not be able to kill it easily."

Seeing the other party's sincere expression, Zhou Ping realized they hadn't meant to offend him, so he carefully organized his thoughts and replied,

"Master Fang has keen insight. A demon beast of this rank, especially a fox-crow known for its high intelligence, would normally be extremely difficult for us cultivators to kill. However, I cannot reveal information about my companions. I hope you understand. You only need to know that at the time, this demon was in a weak period after advancing to the second level of demon beast. Its demon power and vitality were almost completely depleted."

Zhou Ping naturally wouldn't reveal the truth of the matter at the time. It not only involved the background of Qin Changqing and others, but also the two cultivators from the Crimson Robe Society, who were now seen by outsiders as having died under mysterious circumstances. The secrets behind this could not be revealed at all, so he could only gloss over the matter with a few words.

At the same time, he understood why the Fire Toad and the Jade Serpent Lord dared to set their sights on this level-two fox crow. They must have just discovered the weak state of this demon as it entered the level two, but they were unsure of its strength, so they approached Qin Changqing and the others who happened to arrive, intending to play the role of "crossing the river and burning the bridge".

It can only be said that the tragic endings of these two were all arranged by the whims of fate, which led them to encounter a Xuanzong prodigy like Qin Changqing. They were truly unlucky.