My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"It's Sister Shi Yao."

Cui Ying put away the communication talisman, told her family to wait in the front hall, and then flew down the mountain on a cloud.

Before they even reached the foot of Fengxi Ridge, they saw a beautiful female cultivator dressed in a purple-blue dress with three brocade pouches hanging from her waist.

Gu Shiyao, with her willow-leaf eyebrows and phoenix eyes, possessed an ethereal air. She stood quietly by the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain, smiling as she watched the girl descend from the sky.

"Oh, Sister Cui Ying has already broken through to the eighth level of Qi Refining. Congratulations!"

When Gu Shiyao's gaze fell on Cui Ying again, he found that this not-so-dazzling girl's aura was in no way inferior to his own. He nodded inwardly while smiling and saying:

“Sister Cui Ying, I have come uninvited this time, I hope you will not take offense.”

Cui Ying shook her head with a smile, then noticed the weariness on Gu Shiyao's beautiful face, and thought to herself:

"No, no, Sister Shiyao looks travel-worn. You must not have rested since you got back. Why don't you come to my house for a while?"

Gu Shiyao smiled and followed Cui Ying up to the top of Fengxi Ridge, stepping on clouds as well.

After Gu Shiyao greeted the Cui family members and exchanged pleasantries, Cui Ying led Gu Shiyao to her courtyard.

"Master, please have some tea."

Xue Yanyan brought over some spiritual tea, and Cui Ying and Gu Shiyao sat facing each other.

After chatting about cultivation for a while, Cui Ying looked at the tea leaves floating in her teacup and slowly smiled, saying:

"Sister Shiyao has come all this way, surely she didn't just come to congratulate me?"

"I came back this time because I have to go to Qingyang Prefecture to carry out a mission for my sect. The journey is long, and I was afraid I would not be able to make it in time for your and my third brother's wedding, so I thought I would send you the wedding gift first."

As Gu Shiyao spoke, he took out a pair of futons from his storage bag at his waist, which could help people calm their minds, and handed them to Cui Ying.

"Thank you, Sister Shi Yao."

After exchanging a few more words, Gu Shiyao simply used telepathy to get straight to the point:

"Sister Cui Ying, could you show me that map with the Marrow Cleansing Flower?"

Cui Ying knew that she must have gotten the information from Gu Qinghong, and she didn't intend to hide it. She immediately took out the animal skin scroll from her storage bag.

"He was truly born in the Hengduan Mountains."

Gu Shiyao solemnly took the map, examined it for a few moments with a serious expression, and then slowly exhaled, as if he had made up his mind:

“Sister Cui Ying, you may not know this, but the reason I came to see you alone this time is because I have a favor to ask.”

"Sister Shi Yao, you might as well speak your mind."

Cui Ying took a sip of tea, thinking of the Qingyang Prefecture that Gu Shiyao had just mentioned, which was around the same time as Gu Shiyao's death in his previous life. Her eyes flickered, and she neither agreed nor refused in a hurry.

But Gu Shiyao breathed a sigh of relief and continued to transmit his voice:

"I came back this time for two reasons. First, to confirm the matter of the Marrow Cleansing Flower with you. Second, I have a premonition that my trip to Qingyang Prefecture will likely end in disaster."

"If that's the case, why did you knowingly walk into the tiger's den, Sister Shi Yao?"

Cui Ying's heart skipped a beat, and she asked directly.

Unexpectedly, Gu Shiyao shook his head and explained with a bitter expression:

"Because this trip to Qingyang Prefecture involves a mission assigned by my sect, which I cannot easily refuse. Moreover, I have already learned that there is an unnamed evil pit in the territory of Qingyang Prefecture, and its quality is extremely high. I am only a few years away from establishing my foundation, and after careful consideration, I have no reason not to go."

"So, Sister Shiyao, you want to secure a future for yourself."

“That’s right. Although this journey is extremely dangerous, I must try, both for my own sake and for my third brother’s future opportunity to cultivate. But if I fail, please treat my third brother kindly.”

Cui Ying roughly understood Gu Shiyao's meaning. Seeing that his mind was made up, she nodded after a moment of silence and did not try to persuade him further.

Just as Gu Shiyao was about to leave, Cui Ying called out to her.

"Wait, Sister Shiyao, you gave me a gift, so naturally I should give you one too. I've recently gained some experience in growing medicinal herbs at home and have cultivated some excellent ones."

After saying that, she took out a large brocade box from her storage bag.

Gu Shiyao smiled as she accepted the brocade box. She originally thought that Cui Ying was just trying to send some ordinary spiritual herbs and medicines as a token of her feelings out of consideration for her third brother. But when she opened it, she was stunned.

Inside were ten exquisite purple ginseng and jade lingzhi mushrooms, filling the brocade box to the brim.

Moreover, they are all hundreds of years old. If they were sold in those pill shops, they would be worth at least tens of thousands of spirit stones.

"Sister Cui Ying~"

For a moment, Gu Shiyao's eyes were filled with complex emotions, and his heart was also filled with mixed feelings.

You should know that although she became Ningyuan Daoist's disciple, she had nearly a hundred senior brothers and sisters above her.

Those who could become disciples of her were all exceptionally talented or born into wealthy and powerful families. Someone with her aptitude would simply be an ordinary person.

In addition, her father suffered a serious injury in his early years and now rarely fights with others. Her second brother, Gu Shisheng, is also a carefree person who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun all day long.

Moreover, the stipend given to her by the sect was not generous. Over the years, she often did sect tasks in her spare time to earn some spirit stones to supplement her family's income. Little did she know that their family life was only superficially glamorous.

Even the pair of futons that she gave to Cui Ying, which could assist cultivators in their cultivation, were bought by her through frugality.

Seeing Cui Ying offer such a generous return gift, one can imagine the shock he felt:

"This is too expensive. I can't accept it."

Cui Ying said, "Sister Shi Yao, you are now a disciple of the Xuan Tian Sect, and your status is different from that of us rogue cultivators. I hope you can be well."

"Also, you can plant something again if it's gone, and you can find another opportunity if it's lost, but once a person is gone, they're truly gone. Sister Shiyao, do you understand what I mean?"

Cui Ying didn't know how Gu Shiyao had died, but she genuinely wanted to help him through this ordeal.

Moreover, she was not a stingy person. If giving Gu Shiyao some spiritual plants that could improve his cultivation would help him, that would naturally be good.

However, there were some things she couldn't say outright, only vaguely expressing her hope that she would reconsider.

Finally, Gu Shiyao remained silent for a while before putting the item into his storage bag.

She said that she would make good use of these spiritual herbs to improve her cultivation before setting off, but after completing the mission, if she was confident, she might still go to that extremely rare Earth Vein True Fiend Pit.

Before leaving, Cui Ying escorted Gu Shiyao to the foot of the mountain, then thought for a moment and said:

"My wedding with Shi Yin will proceed as scheduled. I will also keep a close eye on the Gu family. As for the trip to the Hengduan Mountains, I will go there myself after I have established my foundation."

Gu Shiyao smiled, seemingly extremely pleased. But she didn't say anything more, gave Cui Ying a solemn nod, and then flew away on a cloud towards the Gu family's direction.