264: Chapter 263 Isn't this a bit too high-profile?

Accompanied by a gust of wild wind, Ye You transformed into a streak of dark green light, racing impatiently toward the so-called [Taotie Secret Realm] without even having time to say goodbye to Su Lin.

The deck instantly became quiet.

The originally noisy scene of jealousy now only had three people remaining.

Su Lin, Gu Qiuyue, and the Seventh Disciple, Mu Qingxue, who stood quietly behind Su Lin.

Gu Qiuyue looked at Mu Qingxue in front of her, let out a long breath of turbid air, and reached out to rub her cheeks, which had grown stiff from smiling.

"Whew... dealing with this bunch of lunatics is much more exhausting than negotiating a business deal worth hundreds of millions of Spirit Stones."

She turned around, putting back on her confident, gentle, and moving smile. Her golden eyes curved into crescents as she looked at Mu Qingxue.

"Seventh Junior Sister."

Gu Qiuyue fumbled in her sleeve for a moment and pulled out a jade box emitting an intense white light.

As soon as the box was brought out, the moisture in the surrounding air instantly condensed into frost and fell onto the deck.

"This is [Nine Heavens Profound Ice Pith]."

"I spent a great price to mine it from beneath the Ten-Thousand-Fathom Ice Abyss in the Far North Ice Plains."

Gu Qiuyue handed the jade box over, her tone full of temptation: "You cultivate the Dao of Ice. If you refine this Profound Ice Pith, not only will it take your Natal Ice and Snow Dharma Image to the next level, but it can even allow you to sense a trace of the Dao Truth of Absolute Stagnation in advance."

"Take it and go into seclusion."

"In seven days—after seven days, you will be the number one person in the Middle Stage of the Mahayana Stage."

Gu Qiuyue waited confidently for Mu Qingxue to take the jade box.

After all, for an ice Cultivator, the temptation of this item was no less than Su Hongling seeing a mountain of meat.

However...

Mu Qingxue didn't even glance at the jade box.

Her pale blue eyes were just quietly fixed on Su Lin's back, her voice cold as usual:

"No need."

The smile at the corner of Gu Qiuyue's mouth stiffened slightly.

"Seventh Junior Sister, you might not have heard clearly. This is [Nine Heavens Profound Ice Pith]. Once this opportunity is missed, there won't be another."

"I said, no need."

Mu Qingxue's tone was devoid of any ripples. "Wherever Revered Master is, I will be."

"Revered Master is afraid of the heat; I need to serve as his body pillow to cool him down."

Standing in front, Su Lin's lips twitched.

What kind of body pillow cooling is that? You just want to take the chance to get close!

Gu Qiuyue took a deep breath and put the jade box away.

"Fine. You think this item isn't significant enough?"

Snap!

Gu Qiuyue pulled out another token emitting a ghostly blue light.

"Inside is nothing but ten-thousand-year-old Immortal Ice that never melts! I bought that place!"

"Go there for seclusion, and all the ice-element Law in that entire fairyland will be yours alone to use!"

"Not going," Mu Qingxue replied decisively.

"You..."

Gu Qiuyue was getting a bit anxious.

"Then... the remnant sword manual for the [Winter Divine Sword]? I'll give it to you along with the matching Ten-Thousand-Year Sword Jade!"

"Not looking."

"A hatchling of the Polar Ice Phoenix! I'll get you a Divine Beast as a mount, how about that?!"

"Not riding it. Too noisy, it would disturb Revered Master's rest."

"..."

Gu Qiuyue pulled out seven or eight divine items in a row that would drive any ice Cultivator in the cultivation world crazy, but Mu Qingxue was like a truly stubborn, foul-smelling rock in a latrine.

"Mu Qingxue!"

Gu Qiuyue finally couldn't hold it together anymore, her usual merchant-like smoothness completely shattered.

"Did you cultivate the Dao of Emotionlessness?!!"

"I spent ten million Top-Grade Spirit Stones to buy Revered Master's time tonight! Ten million! Do you understand what that concept means?!"

"I understand."

Mu Qingxue looked at her indifferently. Then, under Gu Qiuyue's crumbling gaze, Mu Qingxue slowly sat down cross-legged.

Crack crack crack...

A thick layer of profound ice spread out with her as the center.

"You spend your money; I didn't take your money."

Mu Qingxue closed her eyes, her tone carrying a stubbornness that could infuriate someone to death.

"I'm not leaving. I'll stay here and guard Revered Master."

"You..."

Gu Qiuyue looked at her Seventh Junior Sister, who had frozen herself to the deck. Her chest rose and fell violently with anger, and her golden abacus creaked in her hand as she squeezed it, wishing she could rush forward and smash this ice sculpture.

But she knew that she was specialized in logistics and Formations. If she really fought this Seventh Junior Sister with her terrifying killing power, she would definitely not come out on top.

"You win..."

Gu Qiuyue muttered through gritted teeth.

Her carefully planned scheme to get rid of all the third wheels and have Revered Master all to herself was stuck at the final step by this immovable, unbreakable iceberg.

Su Lin, who had been looking at the scenery with his back to them, finally couldn't help it, and a very subtle curve formed on his lips.

In fact, he was relieved.

If he were really left alone with Gu Qiuyue, facing this wealthy woman who had spent a fortune and wanted to exercise her rights as an employer, his old bones might really have been plotted against until nothing was left tonight.

With Mu Qingxue acting as a cooling machine nearby, this fire definitely wouldn't start.

"Ahem."

Su Lin turned around, looked at his two disciples—one fuming and the other frozen in place—and sighed helplessly.

"Qiuyue, forget it."

Su Lin stepped forward and gently tapped on Mu Qingxue's layer of ice.

"But Revered Master..." Gu Qiuyue pouted aggrievedly, her eyes turning red. "disciple worked so hard to get them away, I just wanted to spend some time alone with you..."

"What's so hard about that?"

Su Lin smiled and used his Spirit Qi to lift Mu Qingxue, who was stuck to the deck.

"Since no one wants to leave, let's all go out for a walk together."

"Go out?" Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue were both stunned.

"Yes, it's rare to have a few days of leisure."

"Just the three of us, let's go for a good stroll."

Su Lin looked at Gu Qiuyue and said gently, "Qiuyue, don't you always say you're a merchant?"

"Tonight, Revered Master will accompany you to inspect your properties. How about that?"

Hearing these words, the grievance in Gu Qiuyue's eyes vanished instantly.

"Revered Master is accompanying me to inspect my properties?!"

This gave her much more Face than simply staying in a room!

This was equivalent to announcing to everyone that Revered Master was backing her business Empire!

"Okay! disciple will go arrange it right now!" Gu Qiuyue was instantly revitalized.

When Mu Qingxue heard the phrase 'just the three of us,' although she remained expressionless, the cold Qi around her noticeably receded.

"Let's go, what are you standing there for?"

Su Lin waved his sleeve, and a gentle power of the stars lifted the large block of ice, pulling Mu Qingxue up along with the ice.

Crack, crack...

Accompanied by small sounds, Mu Qingxue actively dissipated the hard ice around her.

Although she still looked like a cold, unapproachable beauty on the surface, if one looked closely, they would find a faint pink tint on her snowy white earlobes.

"Revered Master, which city are we going to?" Gu Qiuyue put away her golden abacus and asked excitedly.

"You are the host, so naturally, you decide," Su Lin said.

"Good! Then let's go to the most prosperous Tianzhou City!"

Gu Qiuyue snapped her fingers and said with immense wealth and spirit, "My largest establishment is there! I'll book the whole place today and let Revered Master experience what true luxury and indulgence feel like!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Qiuyue tossed a golden shuttle from her storage ring.

The shuttle expanded in the wind, instantly transforming into an ultra-luxurious flying carriage made entirely of top-grade purple gold and inlaid with countless extravagant gemstones.

Pulling the carriage were six pure white Cloud-Treading Jade Lions with Soul Transformation Stage cultivation.

"Revered Master, please board the carriage," Gu Qiuyue made an extremely elegant gesture of invitation.

Looking at this vehicle, which was ten times more ostentatious than the Southern Yu Empress's dragon carriage, Su Lin's eyes twitched slightly.

"Isn't this... a bit too high-profile?"

"Revered Master, this is called the brand effect," Gu Qiuyue said righteously. "As the number one God of Wealth in the Nine Provinces, if I travel shabbily, the shopkeepers below will think our chamber of commerce's capital chain has broken."

"..."

Su Lin was speechless and could only bend down to board the carriage.

The interior of the carriage was enormous, lined with soft cloud-fox fur, and there was even a small hot spring pool in the center, emitting a faint fragrance of Spirit Medicine.

As soon as Su Lin sat down on the large soft couch, Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue sat down on his left and right.

Gu Qiuyue naturally picked up a plate of peeled spirit fruits and brought them to Su Lin's lips.

Mu Qingxue, on the other hand, silently emitted a faint cold Qi, adjusting the originally somewhat stuffy air in the carriage to the most comfortable constant temperature.

One managed the food and drink, the other managed the air conditioning.

Leaning back on the soft couch and watching the sea of clouds receding rapidly outside the window, Su Lin suddenly felt that occasionally indulging in such decadence seemed quite nice.

...

Tianzhou City.

As the core and most prosperous super-city in the entire cultivation world, it had a permanent population of tens of millions, with Cultivators and Mortals mixed together, and streets wide enough for a hundred horses to ride abreast.

In the very center of this city stood a magnificent, golden pavilion over a hundred fathoms tall.

This was the largest establishment in the Central Province, combining auctions, restaurants, intelligence, and entertainment.

It was said that as long as you had enough Spirit Stones, you could even buy the foot-washing water of a True Immortal here.

"Whoa..."

The six Cloud-Treading Jade Lions pulled the purple-gold flying carriage and came to a steady stop in front of the huge plaza of [Luoxian Pavilion], which was paved with top-grade white jade.

As soon as a vehicle of this level appeared, it instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the plaza.

"Whose carriage is that? They're actually using Soul Transformation Stage Jade Lions to pull it?!"

"A purple-gold carriage... Heavens, are those Sea-Calming Pearls from the Eastern Sea inlaid on it?!"

"Could it be that an Old Ancestor from some hidden Holy Land has come out?"

Under the reverent and curious gazes of the crowd, the carriage door slowly opened.

Su Lin, dressed in white, stepped down with a calm expression.

Behind him, Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue also got off the carriage one after another.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, both Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue wore veils.

But even so, the peerless elegance and aura of authority radiating from their bones still made the surrounding crowd subconsciously hold their breath and spontaneously clear a wide path.

"Revered Master, let's head inside.

I've reserved a spot for you in the Emperors Pavilion on the top floor," Gu Qiuyue said with a smile.

The three of them walked toward the main entrance.

However, just as they were about to step into the luxurious doors of [Luoxian Pavilion], a somewhat domineering voice came from the side.

"Yo! This purple-gold flying carriage is quite grand! This Young Lord has taken a fancy to it! Name your price!"

Su Lin paused and turned to look.

He saw a young dandy with an exaggerated expression, walking with a swagger, leading a dozen fierce-looking guards as he strode over arrogantly.

The young man's cultivation was only at the Early Stage of the Nascent Soul Stage, but his arrogant air was as if he were the Heavenly Dao's own father.

His lecherous eyes bypassed Su Lin and fixed directly on the graceful figures of Gu Qiuyue and Mu Qingxue. Although he couldn't see their Faces, their mere aura made him salivate.

"Not only do I want the carriage, but I'll also take these two beauties!"

The young man pulled out a folding fan, opened it with a snap, and fanned himself, thinking he looked suave.

"Kid, this Young Lord is the only son of the Aotian Sect Revered Master, Long Aotian!"

"If you know what's good for you, take the money and beat it, leave the carriage and the beauties behind."

Aotian Sect?

The Cultivators watching the commotion nearby gasped and began to whisper among themselves.

"It's actually the Young Lord of the Aotian Sect! No wonder he's so arrogant!"

"I heard that the Aotian Sect recently found a major backer, and their power has expanded rapidly. Even the City Lord of Tianzhou City has to give them some Face!"

"This young man is in trouble..."

Hearing the discussions around him, Long Aotian became even more smug, his chin almost pointing to the sky.

Su Lin looked at this person and didn't even feel the urge to get angry; he just found it a bit amusing.

He turned his head and looked at Gu Qiuyue beside him.

"Qiuyue, it seems the security work for your properties isn't up to par."

"Any random riffraff can shout and scream at the entrance?"

Gu Qiuyue's Face had already darkened the moment Long Aotian spoke.

On her territory, at the entrance of her property.

Someone wanted to buy her carriage, wanted to forcibly take her, and most importantly... actually dared to insult her Revered Master to her Face?

If this can be tolerated, what cannot be!

"Revered Master is right to scold me. It is because I have been lax in my management, letting such trash dirty your eyes."

Gu Qiuyue took a deep breath, a trace of cold business-world killing intent flashing in her golden eyes.

She didn't directly strike this Nascent Soul Stage waste to death, because that would be too easy for him.

"Where is the manager of Luoxian?! Get the hell out here!"

Gu Qiuyue's voice, mixed with the terrifying Divine Soul fluctuations of the Mahayana Stage, directly penetrated the entire pavilion.

Boom!

In less than three breaths.

A plump middle-aged man, drenched in sweat, came scrambling and crawling out of the main entrance. He was the general manager here, Money Abundant.

His cultivation was at the Early Stage of the Body Integration Stage, but under that angry shout, he was scared to the point of his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

"Coming... I'm coming! I wonder which Senior..."

As soon as Manager Qian stepped out and saw Gu Qiuyue standing beside Su Lin—especially when he saw the token hanging at her waist representing the highest authority of the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce—he felt as if he had been struck by lightning and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Sub... Subordinate Money Abundant, pays respects to the Big Boss!!"