Crazy-Gossiping-C29
by MarineTLChapter 29: Discovering the Treasure
The Melon-Eating System described the Senior Brother as “really going to be done for.” When this sentence reached Ning Xu’s ears, she understood it as her Senior Brother being on the verge of death.
Ning Xu was stunned for a moment and asked the Melon-Eating System, “Is he… really beyond saving?”
Seeing that Ning Xu had finally spoken to it again, the Melon-Eating System excitedly replied, 【That’s not the case. However, he will need a few hundred years of rest at the very least.】 A hundred years might not be a short time in the cultivation world.
After that, the Melon-Eating System muttered, 【This is the result of cultivating pirated techniques!】
【At best, it results in failure, at worst, death!】
The others: …
Ning Xu asked the question everyone was curious about, “Is Senior Brother’s condition light or severe?”
The Melon-Eating System casually responded, 【He’s somewhere between light and severe.】
The others: !!!
In the end, Senior Brother was carried away by his fellow disciples. As for where they took him, Ning Xu didn’t know.
Due to this little incident at the welcoming banquet, the event was abruptly concluded.
Many of the delicious foods at the banquet were barely touched.
As the disciples of Wan Geng Peak started cleaning up, Ning Xu stepped forward and asked, “Can I take the remaining food?”
The disciple in charge of cleaning, surprised by the request, answered, “Of course! If these dishes aren’t taken, they would be wasted. Fellow Daoist, take whatever you like.”
“Thank you.”
Ning Xu packed up several dishes that the Melon-Eating System had requested, and after finishing, she realized it was already late. She said goodbye to her friends and headed back to the North and South Peaks.
Upon returning to her small grass hut, Ning Xu took out the lamb soup and other food from her storage ring, bringing out both the bowls and the soup.
The food at the banquet that night had been full of color, fragrance, and taste. Perhaps because of the rich aroma, Pig Brother shifted from lying down to standing.
He sniffed the air with his pig nose, snorted a couple of times, as if urging Ning Xu to hurry.
Afraid that Pig Brother might be impatient, Ning Xu directly placed all the food she had packed in front of him.
Soon, she witnessed firsthand what “the wind sweeping away the clouds” truly meant.
In the blink of an eye, as Pig Brother’s mouth opened and closed, he devoured most of the food.
“Pig Brother, you…”
Seeing Pig Brother eat faster and faster, Ning Xu paused for a moment and slowly finished her sentence, “Slow down.”
No sooner had she said the last word, than all the food in front of her was gone.
After finishing, Pig Brother turned around and lay back down again.
Ning Xu: “…”
Melon-Eating System: 【!!!】
A minute passed, and Pig Brother showed no signs of moving.
A quarter of an hour passed, and Pig Brother began to snore.
Half an hour passed, and Pig Brother was still sound asleep, occasionally snoring, likely having sweet dreams.
At this point, the Melon-Eating System couldn’t take it anymore and loudly complained, 【Why did that nourishing soup have no effect?!】
【Pig Brother, what’s wrong with you?】
【Are you this pure, unaffected by dust?!】
【Don’t you want to have piglets?】
【Pig Brother, say something!】
The response from Pig Brother was an exceptionally loud snore.
Perhaps after experiencing defeat with Pig Brother, the Melon-Eating System seemed to have lost interest in the following two days.
During these two days, it kept muttering about Pig Brother.
【How could Pig Brother drink so much nourishing soup and not react at all? Is the supplement not enough?】
【Is he too lazy to want anything other than eating and drinking in this lifetime?】
【He’s a nine-ranked spirit beast, not to mention he might also be…】
The Melon-Eating System didn’t continue its sentence.
It had repeated these thoughts countless times over the past two days.
At first, Ning Xu listened, but later she just let it be since it didn’t require any response and was merely venting.
It wasn’t until the day the sect held the black market that the Melon-Eating System perked up again.
It actively asked, 【Host, you’ve already exchanged for the Disguise Pill from the Miscellaneous Hall. What do you plan to disguise yourself as this time?】
Ning Xu didn’t answer but soon demonstrated her answer with action.
Once she successfully disguised herself, the Melon-Eating System gasped, praising her, 【So handsome?】
Ning Xu turned on the spot to admire her new appearance. “I modeled it after a character I once played in a game.”
At that moment, Ning Xu had disguised herself as a long-haired cool guy. Her hair was slightly wavy, and her eyes were narrow, exuding a cold aura. There was even a scar on her face, which didn’t ruin her handsome look but added a hint of sternness. She had changed from her female robes into a red, white, and black robe for male cultivators, and her height had increased from 1.7 meters to 1.8 meters.
The Mingyue Sword was replaced with an ordinary iron sword.
Holding the iron sword, with the blade pointing to the ground, she really did resemble a male cultivator with a sword.
After getting ready, Ning Xu took advantage of the lack of people around and went to the black market in her new guise.
Once she arrived at the black market, she realized she wasn’t early. Most of the sect’s disciples had already set up their stalls and were calling out to others to buy their goods.
The Melon-Eating System chuckled, 【Let me see what treasures are here.】
While the Melon-Eating System observed, Ning Xu walked further inside, occasionally stopping to examine what her fellow disciples were selling. Most of it was common goods, but now and then, she came across a few things she hadn’t seen before.
For items she didn’t recognize, she would ask the Melon-Eating System.
Passing an empty stall, she sat down and started selling the Exploding Talismans she had drawn.
The Exploding Talisman was priced at 100 low-grade spirit stones each, quite reasonably priced.
A similar Exploding Talisman sold for 300 low-grade spirit stones elsewhere, with less effect.
Anyone who used her Exploding Talisman would praise it!
This time, Ning Xu was also giving back to the sect.
With her Exploding Talismans, the survival rate of her fellow disciples in the secret realm would increase significantly. For cultivators, the most important thing was always to keep their lives before talking about anything else. Otherwise, everything would be in vain.
It wasn’t clear whether her fellow disciples were discerning or for another reason, but soon, all her Exploding Talismans were sold out.
Those who didn’t get one sighed regretfully, wishing they had arrived earlier.
Those who bought them immediately put the talismans into their storage rings.
Ning Xu took a few seconds to relax and said to the Melon-Eating System in her mind, “It looks like the fellow disciples are quite discerning. If we want to pick up any leftovers, it probably won’t be easy.”
The Melon-Eating System, which had completed its observation, agreed, 【Indeed, it’s not easy.】
【I’ve scanned through all the stalls.】
Ning Xu hadn’t expected the Melon-Eating System to be so efficient, having completed scanning all the stalls in such a short time.
She said nothing and patiently awaited the system’s next words.
The Melon-Eating System didn’t hesitate and said, 【Basically, it’s all junk.】
【There’s nothing of value.】
After that, it added, 【However…】
Upon hearing this shift, Ning Xu asked, “However, what?”
【However, I did manage to find one treasure among the tens of thousands of pieces of junk.】
After saying that, the Melon-Eating System cursed, 【Can you believe it? Among all these stalls and all these items, there’s only one treasure to pick up! Just one! Wenxin Sect’s luck really has been bad, with disciples having such poor luck that they can’t even find any treasures.】
Ning Xu: !!!
The others: !!! Stop cursing, stop cursing.
But wait, there really is a treasure?!
Ning Xu, however, remained content and said, “It’s still good that there’s a treasure.”
“Where is it? If we’re too late, we might not be able to pick it up.”
The Melon-Eating System gave an enigmatic response, 【Don’t worry, this treasure… No one would want it.】
No one would want it?
Why?
Ning Xu felt an ominous premonition rising in her heart.
Although they had found a treasure, the Melon-Eating System showed obvious disdain.
Just like before, it left the choice to Ning Xu.
【One good piece of news, one bad piece of news. Which would you like to hear first?】
Ning Xu chose to hear the good news first this time. Last time, she chose to hear the bad news first, but there was no surprise in the end, so this time, she decided to switch it up.
“Let’s hear the good news first.”
The Melon-Eating System immediately said, 【The good news is that the treasure is a hundred-year-old Spirit Essence.】
What?!
A hundred-year-old Spirit Essence?
This thing is full of spiritual energy, and even a small piece could fetch an astronomical price at an auction!
Ning Xu’s ominous premonition grew stronger. “Then what’s the bad news?”
【The bad news is… This hundred-year-old Spirit Essence has been sitting in a cesspit for over a hundred years, and it’s already turned yellow.】
Ning Xu: …
The others: …
Turned yellow…
The Melon-Eating System’s descriptions were always so vivid and accurate that it created an immediate mental image.
This twist made even Ning Xu, who was usually calm, fall silent.
The Melon-Eating System, knowing Ning Xu’s slight obsession with cleanliness, naturally realized that she would probably find it hard to bring herself to eat the hundred-year-old Spirit Essence.
Not to mention Ning Xu, even the Melon-Eating System didn’t suggest she eat it. The experience of the cesspit made the hundred-year-old Spirit Essence no longer feel so precious.
After a moment of silence, Ning Xu said, “Tell me more about the specific uses of the hundred-year-old Spirit Essence.”
【It can be used to refine spiritual power. Though it’s not as effective as a thousand- or ten-thousand-year-old one, it’s still something hard to come by.】
Ning Xu: “So what do you suggest?”
Without hesitation, the Melon-Eating System answered, 【My suggestion is, pick it up, and then take it to the auction house. Let someone else eat it!】 If you can’t bring yourself to eat it, just let someone else who doesn’t know the truth do so. After all, with enough spirit stones, who needs anything else?!
Ning Xu: …
The others: !!!
The Melon-Eating System, as expected, is the one with such an idea!