Chapter 65 – White Lark Sparrow: Are You Friends with the White Lark Sparrow?

The next day, the snow stopped.

As promised, Ji Mingyue came looking for Lian Mu. When she arrived at Elegant Seasons Peak and pushed open the door to Unit Thirteen of the Clear Bamboo Courtyard, she was greeted by a chaotic commotion.

Peering inside, she saw Lian Mu wrestling with Green Bean. The scorpion was clinging tightly to her sleeve, refusing to let go. Lian Mu was tugging at its legs, trying to pull it off.

Ji Mingyue knocked on the door. “…”

Both the girl and the scorpion turned to look at her. As soon as Green Bean spotted Ji Mingyue, it immediately dove into Lian Mu’s sleeve.

Ji Mingyue asked, “What are you two doing?”

Lian Mu replied, “Nothing, it’s just hungry.”

Ever since she got up that morning, it had been pestering her for food, but she had run out of magical beast materials to feed it.

“It’s already been half-refined into a puppet. It shouldn’t need food,” Ji Mingyue said. “Why is it suddenly hungry?”

Lian Mu wasn’t sure either. Ever since it took that bite of magical beast material the other day, it hadn’t stopped. It was like a starving ghost—worse than her even.

At the same time, though, she could sense that Green Bean was slowly growing, and its spiritual energy was steadily increasing.

Lian Mu asked, “What did you do to it before? It seems really scared of you.”

Ji Mingyue shrugged. “Just fed it a bit of medicine and tossed it into a furnace for a burn, that’s all. But it was so stubborn, it almost bit through my alchemy furnace. I had no choice but to temporarily refine it into a half-puppet. Didn’t expect it to run off anyway.”

Lian Mu: “…” So Green Bean’s just a little hothead. No wonder it’s such a hassle.

“Are you bringing it with you?” Ji Mingyue asked. “It’s getting late. Once Wen Yun wakes up, he’ll definitely want to come with us. I really don’t want him tagging along—wherever he goes, there’s always someone keeping an eye on me.”

In the Star-Plucking Tower, Wen Yun had far too many enemies. Just standing around made him look like a bullseye. Even Ji Mingyue ended up affected.

Lian Mu flicked her sleeve, but Green Bean stubbornly clung on, unwilling to let go, as if ready to battle it out with her. “…Well, there’s no helping it. Let’s just go like this. I’ll find something to feed it at the Star-Plucking Tower.”

Without wasting time, the two descended the mountain.

Inside the Star-Plucking Tower, the atmosphere was as lively as ever, with cultivators coming and going. The busiest area was by the northern wall, as the Third Domain had entered its annual magical beast breeding season. With all the beast cubs around, the number of bounty notices had surged. There was no shortage of money to be made.

While Wen Yun had been away, the bounty board had been plastered with notices for “eighteen-year-old body cultivator,” but the rewards were small. Even combined, they didn’t surpass the single bounty titled “Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab.”

Lian Mu strolled along the wall and found that she was still the most “valuable.” That White Lark Sparrow had posted several more bounties after the last one, all looking for her whereabouts. The characters were even written in cinnabar ink, making them stand out among the others.

Lian Mu clicked her tongue in amusement. All that money—couldn’t it have been spent on something better?

She had never even met that White Lark Sparrow. Was it really worth going after a stranger like this?

After marveling at the bizarre priorities of the rich, Lian Mu took the chance—while Ji Mingyue went to check out bounties on the southern wall—to sneak back into the specialized room she had previously rented as an artifact refiner.

The sword that had melted down was still stored inside.

Now that the first round of the Immortal Sect Competition had ended, she’d be heading off with the sect’s team to other locations. She might not have time to return to the Star-Plucking Tower anytime soon, so she needed to collect all her belongings today.

But her spatial pouch was too small and couldn’t fit everything. After checking her spirit stones and finding she had a few left, she decided to buy a bigger one.

“Do you sell spatial pouches here? The kind used specifically for spirit materials?” she asked one of the black-clad gatekeepers.

The man gave her a quick glance. “You’re… ‘Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab’?”

Lian Mu: “What business is it of yours who I am?”

She was just asking—no other meaning behind it. The previous gatekeepers had never asked for names.

“…Head south. There’s a shop that sells them,” the man replied with a blank expression.

Lian Mu left the door slightly ajar and followed the direction he indicated.

But as she walked away, the black-clad man’s gaze stayed fixed on her back.

Once she was out of sight, he pulled out a Fish-and-Goose Stone and spoke in a low voice: “‘Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab’ is back. She’s on my side.”

A voice responded from the other end: “You’re sure it’s her?”

“Absolutely,” the black-clad man said with conviction. “That tone of hers—no mistaking it.”

“…Alright. I’ll let the others know. That person happens to be here today. Time for them to meet.”

Meanwhile, Ji Mingyue had finished picking bounties and found Lian Mu among the crowd.

“There’s been a lot more activity on the southern wall recently. Took me a while, but I found a few similar ones.” She handed over the bounty slips.

Lian Mu took a glance and frowned. The names were bizarre: Down-a-Bowl-of-Noodles Herb, Dog-Doesn’t-Bite-the-Butt Flower, Have-You-Eaten Grass, Stop-Fighting Flower…

Lian Mu: “?”

Lian Mu: “What the hell are these?”

Ji Mingyue remained expressionless. “Names of spiritual plants. You haven’t studied that far yet, so it’s normal not to recognize them. There are way too many spiritual plants in the world—not all of them have proper names. The Alchemy Cultivator’s Spiritual Plant Compendium has even weirder ones.”

This naming style started with the alchemist Feng Tianche. He grew up poor and had weak spiritual roots, so before rising to fame, he’d spent his days wandering among the common folk, naming any plants he found on the fly.

Later, after reforging his roots and becoming the number one alchemy cultivator, people started using his compendium. All the plants in it had those strange names.

“Names don’t matter. What matters to us alchemists is what the plant can do,” Ji Mingyue said. “I bought all these bounties. Let’s go make a trip to the Third Domain. Should be easy to find them.”

Lian Mu nodded. Just as the two were about to head toward the Transmission Mirror, a commotion erupted inside the tower.

Before Ji Mingyue could even see what happened, the crowd suddenly parted and a dark figure flashed past, brushing against her shoulder.

Bang—!

She turned around and saw Lian Mu pinned against the wall by a man in black.

“I finally found you,” said the man, his silver mask gleaming coldly. “Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab.”

The danger came too fast. Lian Mu had already drawn her sword the moment he made contact, but his sudden strike had still knocked her off balance.

Her sword was half-pressed against his throat—and she immediately recognized him. That mask—it was White Lark Sparrow.

His fist was also raised over her head. The two glared at each other for a moment before White Lark Sparrow loosened his grip, though he didn’t step away.

Lian Mu didn’t lower her sword, keeping it aimed straight at him.

White Lark Sparrow spoke coldly: “You. Come to the bounty platform. Fight me.”

Lian Mu: “What if I say ‘no’?”

Seriously, what the hell was wrong with this guy? She didn’t even know him.

“If you want to fight here, that’s fine too,” White Lark Sparrow said without hesitation, igniting a talisman in his hand. Flames engulfed his left fist.

In the next instant, he vanished and reappeared at her side, swinging a blazing punch downward.

Lian Mu dodged to the side. The flames detached from his fist and slammed into the wall where she’d just been. A wave of heat exploded outward, incinerating all the bounty notices posted on that section.

Ji Mingyue: “?”

Everyone on the first floor was caught in the blast—those with insufficient mental focus were directly knocked over by the heatwave.

“He’s a Heavenly Spiritual Root talisman cultivator, and even more than that…”

A jolt ran through Ji Mingyue’s heart: Mingxin Sect!

Talisman cultivators were divided into the Mingxin Sect and the Huixin Sect. Mingxin Sect cultivators specialized in offense, much like sword cultivators and body cultivators, while Huixin Sect cultivators were skilled in defense and typically only provided support from behind, rarely engaging directly.

The person before her was a powerful Mingxin Sect cultivator. The fact that he started fighting on the spot showed he was impulsive and extremely dangerous.

How did Lian Mu end up provoking someone like this?

“Why the hell are you fighting here?!” a wounded cultivator shouted. “Go to the challenge platform!”

Lian Mu ignored him—she had no intention of going to the platform. This Bai Lingque clearly wasn’t all there in the head. If she went to fight him formally, she’d definitely be at a disadvantage. Besides, she’d come with Ji Mingyue today to search for spiritual plants—not to waste time on this maniac.

Right now, staying inside the tower was the smartest move. Bai Lingque might not care about damaging the place, but surely the people running Star-Plucking Tower did.

She gave Ji Mingyue a look, signaling her to get to safety. But just as she turned back, Bai Lingque was already on her again.

He really was an incredibly strong talisman cultivator—even stronger than Baili Que. Lian Mu guessed he must be much older than her current body, likely by at least a full generation. His moves were clean, precise, and even incorporated orthodox techniques from immortal sect disciples.

Bai Lingque’s relentless offense gave the impression that he was trying to drive her into a corner. His every strike was fast and sharp, showing no hesitation—he looked like he was going for a kill.

After ten exchanges, Lian Mu could already tell that with her current physical condition and weak spiritual roots, she stood little chance of winning.

The first floor of Star-Plucking Tower was already half in ruins, yet no black-robed enforcer had shown up.

“Why haven’t the tower’s people responded?” Ji Mingyue frowned. She hadn’t seen a single black-robed guard—it was as if they had vanished.

“You’re friends with ‘Cultivation Is Just a Money Grab’?” someone asked her. “You’d better stay out of it. This Bai Lingque is no ordinary guy. He’s got a weird personality and only targets sword cultivators. Your friend’s in real trouble this time.”

Ji Mingyue ignored him and ran outside to look for the black-robed enforcers. As she left, another figure in white clothes and a silver mask stepped into her place.

This new person wore a white veiled hat, with one side of the veil lifted just enough to reveal a pair of ink-dark eyes. They stared at the two fighting figures and smiled faintly.

“This sword cultivator isn’t bad—able to hold his own for over ten moves.”

The crowd watching from the corner immediately noticed this person. Judging by the familiar tone, someone asked, “Are you a friend of Bai Lingque?”

The person only smiled without answering.

Back on Lian Mu’s side, she was fed up with Bai Lingque’s insane assault. She raised her sword to slash away the incoming fire punch. Her gaze swept over to the corner—and saw that crowd of spectators.

Lian Mu: “…”

Here to watch the show, huh?

She immediately spun on her toes and charged toward the most crowded corner. Since you all love a spectacle so much—none of you are getting away now.

Bai Lingque noticed her sudden change in position, and the flame in his hand abruptly extinguished.

Lian Mu: “?”

The moment he hesitated, she didn’t miss her chance. Close-quarters wasn’t to her advantage against someone like him, so she quickly reached into her sleeve—and flung Green bean out.

The white-clad, silver-masked person in the corner also saw it. In the next instant, their eyes went wide.

“Stop!”