Chapter 70

The invitation from the legitimate second son of Star Peach City’s City Lord to the Peach Goddess for a night tour was well known among the influential families of Star Peach City.

At this moment, there were still one or two hours before the Hour of Chen, yet many cultivators were already discussing the matter in secret.

Cultivator A: “The Goddess actually agreed.”

Cultivator B: “Unbelievable. What does she see in him?”

Cultivator C: “Listen to yourselves. You sound so jealous. He is, after all, the City Lord’s son. He reached the Nascent Soul Stage at a young age, which makes him more accomplished than any of you, doesn’t it?”

Cultivator A: “I can accept losing to Gou Chen, but losing to this brat? No way! Everyone in Star Peach City knows his cultivation was built on pills and resources!”

Cultivator C: “Well, he does have unlimited resources.”

Cultivator B: “I refuse to accept this! Other than being born into a better family, he’s not that much better than me, is he?”

Cultivator C: “But the Goddess likes him. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have agreed to go on a night tour with him.”

Countless cultivators sighed in frustration.

To many of them, the Peach Goddess was the unattainable white moonlight in their hearts.

And soon, this moonlight would shine on only one person.

Cultivator A couldn’t help but look up at the sky and let out a long sigh. “Are we just going to let that brat get close to the Goddess?”

Cultivator B was in tears. “I can’t accept this! I can’t!”

The usually calm and composed Cultivator C suddenly let out a surprised sound. “Eh?”

Cultivator A glanced at him. “What are you ‘eh’-ing about?”

Cultivator C looked astonished. Holding a communication token in his hand, he said, “Melon Mover just made a post on the Three Thousand Realms Cultivator Exchange Area.”

Hearing this, Cultivator A and Cultivator B perked up instantly.

Cultivator A even set aside thoughts of his goddess for the moment. “What? You said Melon Mover posted something?”

Even Cultivator B stopped crying and looked excited. “Melon Mover hasn’t appeared for so long! Some people speculated that they were laying low to avoid being targeted by the Flower Pavilion. Others said they were too scared to even breathe because of the Flower Pavilion!”

Cultivator C, who had remained calm when discussing the Goddess, immediately lost his composure upon hearing this.

“What do you mean scared of the Flower Pavilion? What do you mean they don’t dare to make a sound? Impossible! Didn’t Melon Mover’s reappearance today completely shatter that rumor?!”

“They didn’t post before because the Flower Pavilion’s gossip had already been fully exposed.”

“The Flower Pavilion has become old news for Melon Mover. They probably don’t even find it worth discussing anymore!”

Cultivator A leaned in. “What did Melon Mover say today?”

Cultivator C slowly read out, “They said the City Lord’s legitimate second son is a scumbag and that the Goddess shouldn’t even spare him a glance.”

Cultivator A & Cultivator B: “Huh???”

After the initial shock, the two became increasingly excited.

After the Flower Pavilion, was Melon Mover now targeting Star Peach City?

Was that it? Was that really it?

This was why they admired Melon Mover—truly the best!

---

At this moment, the “Three Thousand Realms Cultivator Exchange Area” was in an uproar over Melon Mover’s new post.

Since the end of the Tianya Mystic Realm event, Melon Mover hadn’t posted anything new.

Without their posts, the forum had lost much of its excitement.

Since Melon Mover had completely offended the Flower Pavilion, many cultivators speculated that they might never post again.

But after a long silence, Melon Mover’s return was nothing short of explosive. Today, they directly pushed the City Lord’s son of Star Peach City into the eye of the storm.

As always, their post was concise and straight to the point.

The title alone sent cultivators rushing to read it:

“How Could a Scumbag Be Worthy of a Noble Goddess? Star Peach City’s City Lord’s Legitimate Second Son—The Scummiest of Scumbags!”

The moment they saw the title, people couldn’t wait to click in.

Some cultivators, upon seeing this familiar style, were even moved to tears.

This was gossip about the elite cultivator families of Star Peach City! They absolutely couldn’t miss it!

Only Melon Mover would bring them such juicy scandals!

Melon Mover was their only source of the biggest gossip! Their most valuable connection!

The post read:

Xing Lan, you’re pursuing the Goddess so publicly—has your cousin, the one who bore you a son and a daughter, agreed to this?

You clearly already have two children, yet you still pretend to be a single, pure-hearted man.

You claim the Goddess is the first and only person you’ve ever liked?

Don’t make people laugh their teeth off, okay?

Have you forgotten all the sweet words you told your cousin?

Didn’t you say she was your favorite?

Pure-hearted?

What did the word ‘pure’ ever do to offend you that you had to go and stain it like this?

Before inviting the Goddess on a night tour, weren’t you just comforting your Heaven-Spirit-Root daughter, promising her you’d visit her tonight?

So, what now? Your words are as worthless as farts? No meaning at all?

Everyone, take a good look—this man is the scummiest of scumbags.

Goddess, don’t even spare him a glance. He’s not worthy!

The moment this post was published, countless cultivators flooded the comments.

【Melon Mover, my dear Melon Mover, you’ve finally returned!】

【Seeing your words as sharp as ever, I know you’ve been doing well. Knowing you’re doing well, I can rest easy.】

【Melon Mover, you’re actually paying attention to Star Peach City’s affairs?】

【Hahaha, has the Flower Pavilion been abandoned? Looks like Star Peach City is the new target. I don’t know whether to feel happy or terrified for their higher-ups.】

【What?! Xing Lan is actually like this? Goddess, please don’t be deceived!】

【The Goddess should have seen this post too, right?】

【Looks like tonight’s night tour is going to be canceled.】

While the forum was buzzing with discussions about this post, the Melon-Eating System was also whispering to Ning Xu.

【This is hilarious. Who came up with Xinglan’s persona?】

【Could it be that he crafted his own image as an innocent and single man?】

【Our Innocent Cultivator is the real deal, okay!!!】

【Scumbags like him shouldn’t even try to compare!!!】

Ning Xu: “……”

The Melon-Eating System continued, 【If you don’t believe me, touch the Innocent Cultivator’s little hand and see if he blushes.】

Young Master Wu Er: !!!

Ning Xu glanced at the Innocent Cultivator. The soft afterglow of the sunset cast a faint light on his sharp and handsome side profile, adding a hazy charm to his already exquisite features.

Ning Xu stared at him for a while before saying, “I didn’t touch his hand, but his face seems a little red.”

The Melon-Eating System: 【See?】

Ning Xu: “Maybe he just has a constitution that makes him blush easily.”

Young Master Wu Er: … Or is it possible that he heard your conversation, and that’s why he blushed?

Xinglan was fake innocence.

But this guy—he turned out to be genuinely innocent.

At this moment, Young Master Wu Er was certain that he wasn’t the only one who could hear Ning Xu and the Melon-Eating System’s thoughts.

The Innocent Cultivator they were talking about could definitely hear them too.

The Melon-Eating System: 【Maybe. But if you do touch him, his face will definitely turn even redder!】

Of course, Ning Xu wasn’t going to randomly touch the Innocent Cultivator’s hand.

Just then, the Wu family patriarch came over to invite them to an evening banquet.

Ning Xu took the opportunity to move past the topic.

The Melon-Eating System clicked its tongue in regret.

This was a family banquet that the Wu family patriarch had specially arranged for Wu Lüchen. If the grand banquet three days later was the main event, then tonight’s family banquet was the warm-up.

As the Wu family patriarch spoke passionately, Ning Xu nibbled on the various snacks and delicacies brought by the servants.

After a few bites, she lost interest, put down her chopsticks, and said to the Innocent Cultivator, “Not as good as what you make.”

The Innocent Cultivator also set down his chopsticks. “I’ll make you pickled cabbage and fatty beef soup after this.”

“Okay!”

Qingjiu Immortal and Qin Riluo also attended the banquet.

Hearing their conversation, Qingjiu Immortal leaned over. “I heard you went to the Wu family patriarch’s private treasury today and picked out quite a few things? Including a pot?”

“Can I take a look?”

The Innocent Cultivator took out the black pot.

This name was chosen by Ning Xu. According to her, since the pot was so extraordinary, it needed a rustic name to balance it out.

Qingjiu Immortal was clearly knowledgeable.

Even if he wasn’t, anything selected by the Melon-Eating System couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

He held onto the pot tightly, obviously recognizing its material.

He said firmly, “Compared to cooking, this pot is clearly more suitable for alchemy.”

Before Ning Xu and the Innocent Cultivator could respond, the Melon-Eating System had already started complaining.

【This old man is already at his age, yet he still wants to snatch things from the Innocent Cultivator.】

【As if I don’t know the black pot is more suitable for alchemy?】

【But he’s already so old and still hasn’t managed to keep any good things for himself—who’s to blame? It’s his own fault for being a love-brained fool!】

【Any treasure we find obviously goes to the Innocent Cultivator first!】

Qingjiu Immortal: ……

Young Master Wu Er: ……

Was this blatant favoritism toward the Innocent Cultivator?!

Ning Xu glanced at Qingjiu Immortal and said, “Previously, Siyen didn’t have a suitable pot, so this one goes to him.”

“If we find another in the future, you’ll have first pick.”

Anyway, this black pot was good enough for the Innocent Cultivator to use until the Mahayana Stage.

Although finding another treasure like the black pot would be difficult, traveling with Ning Xu and the Melon-Eating System meant there was always a chance of discovering something slightly inferior but still valuable.

Thinking of this, Qingjiu Immortal cupped his hands and said, “I’ll thank you in advance, Captain.”

Halfway through the banquet, a piece of news started circulating among the guests.

Although Ning Xu’s group was seated at the edge of the gathering, they still heard it.

The news was—Yu Tao, the Peach Goddess, did not show up at Xingzhi River.

Xingzhi River was a famous scenic spot in Xingtao City, a popular place for countless cultivation couples, and the agreed meeting place for Yu Tao and Xinglan.

Yu Tao not showing up there—what did that mean?

It meant that Xinglan, this so-called suitor, was out of the game!

The Melon-Eating System: 【Nice! Congratulations! We helped Elder Wu Chichun defeat a romantic rival!】

Ning Xu: “One rival down—how many more to go?”

The Melon-Eating System counted. 【One, two, three… There are still twenty-five left.】

Ning Xu: ……

“Summon the Elder and let him handle it himself.”

And so, she did exactly that.

Ning Xu pulled out her disciple token and contacted Elder Wu Chichun. To avoid seeming too deliberate, she also reached out to the North-South Peak Masters.

Both were senior members of the Wenxin Sect whom she was familiar with.

She didn’t say much, only mentioning that Wu Lüchen was discovered to be the Wu family patriarch’s biological grandson and that the patriarch was preparing a recognition banquet three days later.

She asked if the two elders wanted to visit Xingtao City and attend the banquet.

Though she was the one extending the invitation, the Wu family patriarch would definitely show her some respect.

Not long after sending the message, Ning Xu received their replies.

Both elders confirmed they would attend the recognition banquet.

The Melon-Eating System: 【Whether Elder Wu Chichun can win over the Goddess depends on his own abilities now.】

【This is as far as we’re helping.】

After saying this, the Melon-Eating System clicked its tongue.

【Instead of watching Elder Wu Chichun’s drama, let’s focus on our own gossip first.】

Ning Xu: ???

She had gossip too?