A life of leisure is worse than a life of flowers and splendour

As expected, Du Shuangshuang discovered someone was secretly following her after leaving Duobao Pavilion. It would be strange if no one noticed her after giving away so many spirit stones. But for the sake of her life, she had to buy what she needed!

Du Shuangshuang slipped into the crowd, using her ethereal form to quickly shake off her pursuers. Finding an inconspicuous corner, she stripped off her outer clothing, changed her outfit, and even her hairstyle. Using a cleansing technique, she wiped away all the makeup on her face and body, altering her appearance and figure. After checking to make sure she hadn't left anything behind and hadn't left any distinctive marks, she emerged and blended into the crowd, ensuring that even if she walked right into the sight of those people, they wouldn't recognize her.

Fortunately, there was no one from the Dao Sect following him, and people from large sects generally did not bother to do such a thing. No one would do it for such a small profit. Okay, the profit was quite big, but it would not be good if it damaged one's Dao heart, and it would bring trouble to future cultivation. Therefore, most disciples from large sects generally would not do such a thing.

As for the Demon Sect's members, they didn't have these concerns. Living as a freelance cultivator was a struggle, and everyone fought tooth and nail for cultivation resources. How could they possibly have the energy to worry about the distant future? Those few individuals were likely from the Demon Sect or freelance cultivators. Du Shuangshuang wasn't going to investigate who they were, as now was not the right time to take action. As for the secret realm, Du Shuangshuang wouldn't initiate action, but that didn't mean she couldn't use herself as bait.

After returning to the sect's headquarters, Du Shuangshuang walked back to the tent assigned to her family. Her second aunt and cousin had already returned safely.

Within the sect, senior disciples each have their own small, individually prepared tents, allowing them to enjoy relative privacy and quiet. Even more remarkable, some actually reside within the Dharma House. It's important to note that those residing within the Dharma House are typically descendants of wealthy families, but even so, such privileges aren't universally accessible. The most notable of these is Danfeng's Lingxiao Zhenren, a resident of the Dharma House, boasting the best and largest of its kind. The people of Danfeng are renowned for their wealth, and Lingxiao Zhenren is a true leader. He is said to be not only the most gifted direct descendant of the Chu family in alchemy, but also exceptional in cultivation. This ninety-eight-year-old Jindan Zhenren, a late Jindan cultivator, is also a fourth-rank alchemy master, a testament to his status and influence.

On the Tianyuan Continent, there are only a handful of fourth-rank alchemy masters capable of refining elixirs suitable for Nascent Soul cultivators. They can be counted on the fingers of one hand. There is only one fifth-rank alchemy master: Daobai Zhenzun, the Supreme Elder of Yunlang Pavilion. This shows how precious alchemists are, especially high-ranking ones.

In fact, before alchemists, there were pharmacists who could refine powders that were less effective than elixirs, primarily due to the presence of impurities. Most practitioners were reluctant to consume them directly, preferring them for external use to heal injuries. The first level of alchemist was considered entry-level, capable of refining first-level elixirs for Qi Refining cultivators. The second level was considered an alchemist, capable of refining second-level elixirs for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Many stopped at this level. The third level was considered a master alchemist, capable of refining third-level elixirs for Golden Core cultivators. This level was rare, and even rarer still. Therefore, once a cultivator reached the Nascent Soul stage, the opportunity to use elixirs was limited. Not only were there few master alchemists, but spiritual plants capable of refining Nascent Soul elixirs were even more scarce.

Du Shuangshuang didn't want to waste time socializing right now. She counted her remaining spirit stones: 4521 top-grade spirit stones, 3 high-grade spirit stones, 10 mid-grade spirit stones, and 3992 low-grade spirit stones. She was still a small wealthy woman, haha. Every time she saw so many spirit stones, she felt very happy, and Du Shuangshuang couldn't help but smile.

Du Shuangshuang gave the two extra sets of robes and boots she bought to her second uncle. Both of them focused on defense, and the boots were also used to increase speed. The second uncle wanted to give her money, but Du Shuangshuang refused.

"Uncle, don't give me any money. It's not much. This is just a gift from your eldest niece."

Then Du Shuangshuang took out another bag of spiritual fruits and gave it to the old man. "Grandpa, this is my granddaughter's filial piety to you. Please keep it for yourself. This is spiritual fruit. It tastes much better than the ones in our Great Xia Kingdom. But you can't eat too much at one time."

"Hey, grandpa's love for you is not in vain, you are so thoughtful." The old man smiled and showed his big white teeth. The old man also took Guyuan Dan, so he was in such good health. Du Shuangshuang had been puzzled before, but just thought it was the old man's maintenance. Later, when he learned the usage of Guyuan Dan, he knew the truth.

Second Aunt had brought some food with her when she returned. On their return, they happened to see a stall selling spirit goat meat. Having eaten goat before, they were eager to try it. Since they knew they were going to be a large group, they spent their spirit stones to buy one. This spirit goat was much larger than an ordinary goat, even bigger than a cow.

There is a group of people working on it now, and they will be making mutton soup and eating roasted mutton later.

In order to familiarize herself with the formation, Du Shuangshuang found a corner, took out the newly bought formation plate, inserted the formation flags according to the instructions on the jade slip, and placed spirit stones in the formation plate.

A shield, visible only to him, rose, surprisingly blocking out sounds and sights from outside. The jade slip only mentioned it could block sounds and sights from within, but it also conjured images of talismans and nearby scenery. The area looked exactly the same before and after the formation. Du Shuangshuang thought this seemed quite impressive. As long as she hid herself, no one would be able to find her. But weren't these low-grade spirit stones being consumed too quickly? They hadn't even been attacked yet, and in less than half an hour, the two spirit stones on the array disk were almost depleted. Du Shuangshuang quickly pulled out two mid-grade spirit stones and placed them on top, finally stabilizing the situation. Why did she feel like she'd been ripped off? Was she wasting spirit stones so much?

At this moment, Chu Yue came to the tent and everyone greeted Chu Yue.

"Hello, Uncle Chu."

"Hello, Jinxiu, Zhao Jinan, Song Ning, and anyone else with a sect token, are you all here? I'll take you to get the latest meals. The canteen at the temporary base is only open once a day, and you can get a maximum of half a month's worth of food at a time. You can also get a fasting pill, which will keep you from feeling hungry for half a month."

Everyone turned to see if these people were there, and some people were counting the number of people.

"Huh? Why didn't Miss see her? I thought I saw her come back before?"

"Yes, he's back. I saw him too. He seemed to be fiddling with something over there." The man pointed to the place where Du Shuangshuang was fiddling with the formation.

"Yes, that's right. It seems like the person disappeared suddenly."

Everyone turned around to look at where Du Shuangshuang had just been. Was there anyone there?

Suddenly disappeared? Chu Yue used his spiritual sense to scan the big tent several times, especially the location those people pointed out. Chu Yue plowed over and over again, almost digging three feet into the ground, but found no trace of the formation.

When Du Shuangshuang saw Uncle Chu Yue coming in, she originally wanted to remove the formation and say hello to him, but suddenly she wanted to try the formation. When she heard someone looking for her, she wanted to try it even more, so she stayed in the formation and watched obediently.

Du Shuangshuang carefully observed Chu Yue's reaction, confirming that he hadn't noticed her. Although this formation was very expensive, it was quite effective. Even Uncle Chu Yue could deceive her. It was truly amazing. She didn't know how well it could withstand a blow, but Du Shuangshuang didn't dare to test it. Several of the formation flags were already cracked. Even if it was just for invisibility, Du Shuangshuang was afraid of accidentally breaking it and ruining it.

Du Shuangshuang took the initiative to remove the formation. Seeing Du Shuangshuang in the corner, Chu Yue was surprised for a moment. After all, he had reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. This must be a formation, right? I knew it was there, but I couldn't find any trace of it!

Chu Yue smiled and asked, "Is it a formation?"

"Yeah." Du Shuangshuang took out her formation plate and formation flag.

After confirming that it was a formation, everyone was amazed at how magical it was. There was clearly someone there, but no one could see her unless she came out.

"It's a bit broken. I don't know how many times it can be used and whether it can withstand attacks." Du Shuangshuang pointed at the cracked formation flag.

Everyone craned their necks to look. Oh my god, it's really worn out, almost falling apart. Can't they just replace it with a better one? Everyone silently complained in their hearts: When has the young lady of the general's mansion ever used such a broken thing? I'm afraid she would have to spend all her money to buy a new and nice one.

"This formation is quite good, and its quality must be quite high. Even I can't detect it with my divine sense. It's a little broken, but give it to me. I'll take it to the elders to see if they can fix it for you." The formation was indeed quite good, but it was too broken. Chu Yue was a little worried that it might break accidentally. This was one of the sect's treasures. His uncle, Ling Xiao Zhenren, was thinking about it very much, and they would find a way to fix it no matter what he said.

"Well, okay, thank you, Uncle Chu." Du Shuangshuang was very moved when she heard this. She quickly handed over the formation plate and flag and thanked Chu Yue.

She couldn't help but think that this was the only formation she had, and if she encountered danger, it could be very troublesome. So she secretly decided to find an opportunity to go to Duobao Pavilion and buy a new formation, just in case. But now, she was regretting it a little, and she didn't know if she would have the time or opportunity to go to Duobao Pavilion again.

At this moment, Chu Yue took out two bottles of second-grade top-grade soul-boosting pills and handed them to Du Shuangshuang, saying, "Here, this is what I prepared for myself before. You don't need it now, so take it."

Du Shuangshuang happily took the pills and said, "Thank you, Junior Master, that's great. You can't buy these pills outside. I can't take them for free, I'll give you spirit stones." Then she took out the spirit stones and gave them to Chu Yue according to the current price of Duobao Pavilion.

"You're welcome. You don't need so much. Just give me half. I'm not here to make money from you." Chu Yue hadn't planned to take the spirit stones, but seeing how smoothly the little girl took them out, it was obvious that she had no shortage of them. He didn't want to worry about others thinking too much, so he accepted her spirit stones at the normal price. The little girl's appearance was not outstanding. Well, he had never seen the true appearance of those who had already begun to practice, not even the elders knew. But just looking at those spiritual eyes, she looked very smart and likable. He simply wanted to make friends, not to make money. And he hoped that the outcome of the next thing would be good. Even if it was not satisfactory, the little girl would remember his kindness to him before and not take it to heart. He was also following the script. It was really none of his business.