Luofu, inside the General's Mansion.
Jing Yuan sat up in bed, looking exhausted.
He hadn't slept well at all last night. After thinking about it the whole night, he finally came to terms with it.
So what if the treasure chests were taken? After all, they were unowned. Whoever defeated the monsters guarding the chests had the right to claim them.
After freshening up, Jing Yuan looked at himself in the mirror—his face was marked with heavy dark circles.
At that moment—
The secretary approached.
"General, Lord Yanqing has returned."
Jing Yuan nodded slightly.
"Let him in."
The secretary bowed and stepped back.
Jing Yuan casually washed his face again, then went to lie down in the pavilion in the backyard.
Not long after—
Yanqing entered with a team of Cloud Knights, each holding a small chest.
Yanqing stood before Jing Yuan and bowed.
"General, the task is complete. All treasure chests across Luofu have been collected.
Though for some reason, there seemed to be a lot fewer chests than expected."
Jing Yuan nodded.
"I'm aware. The chests are indeed fewer. They were opened by Stelle and the others."
Yanqing's mind immediately conjured up images of the Astral Express crew.
"So it was them.
Right, General, there's something I don't understand."
Jing Yuan glanced at Yanqing.
"What is it?"
Yanqing asked,
"Why did you instruct me to collect all this Stellar Jade? Isn't it just decorative?"
Jing Yuan waited until the Cloud Knights around them had dispersed before slowly explaining the situation with Ye Yun's shop.
Upon hearing this, Yanqing instantly lost his composure.
"This is true?! General, doesn't that mean we missed out on a massive amount of Stellar Jade?!"
Jing Yuan smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Indeed. But we can't blame anyone. The treasure chests were unowned.
Yanqing, from now on, whenever you're free, take a team and patrol Luofu—you might still find treasure chests in some corners."
Yanqing accepted the order.
"Yes! Also, there was a recent major battle near the Starwatcher Avenue. There might be some Stellar Jade left behind there.
General, I'll go check it out."
Jing Yuan nodded, and Yanqing took his leave.
Afterward, Jing Yuan opened the chests Yanqing had gathered and summoned a few Cloud Knights.
With several boxes of Stellar Jade in hand, Jing Yuan headed to Ye Yun's shop aboard the Astral Express.
He had his eye on a few items since yesterday, intending to buy them all today.
But now, judging by his funds, it seemed he wouldn't be able to afford everything.
He'd have to think carefully about what to buy.
To think he once could splurge on everything—now he had to pinch pennies. What a pain!!!
On the Astral Express
After breakfast, Stelle and March 7th dove into a portal, off to play in Belobog.
Ye Yun and the others cleared the table and went about their own business.
Ye Yun returned to his room, left Rios to watch the door, and began cultivating.
Noelle was busy cleaning the shop.
Welt and Dan Heng headed to the library to read.
Himeko brought the four little ones and Clara to the lab Ye Yun had prepared for Clara.
Klee was planning to study the blueprint she'd acquired yesterday, with Yuumi fluttering around her.
That's right—
The cat Klee got was none other than Yuumi from League of Legends.
However, it had a slight twist—this Yuumi had a special function: it could directly teach Klee magic (though it couldn't speak).
But this magic-learning ability wasn't unlimited—it could only be used once a month.
When Jing Yuan arrived on the Express, he found only Noelle in the shop.
Noelle quickly greeted him.
"Good morning, General Jing Yuan."
She gave a knightly salute.
Jing Yuan smiled in return.
"Good morning, Noelle. Where is Ye Yun and the others?"
Noelle thought for a moment, counting on her fingers.
"Mr. Ye Yun is cultivating, Himeko took Klee and the others to the lab, Mr. Welt and Dan Heng are in the library. Who would you like to see?"
Jing Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly.
"I'm here to see Ye Yun. I want to buy a few things."
He patted the chests he had brought with him.
Noelle's eyes lit up with joy.
Noelle! It's time to prove yourself! A customer! Let's make this sale!
"If you'd like to shop, please follow me. I'm a staff member and can assist you."
Jing Yuan was pleased.
"Great. Thank you, Noelle."
Noelle smiled gently and gestured.
"Please, let's exchange your Stellar Jade first."
Following Noelle, Jing Yuan exchanged all his collected Stellar Jade for a total of 180,000 Starcoins.
Holding the 180,000 Starcoins, Jing Yuan began shopping.
Noelle pointed to a touchscreen and explained,
"Here you can view all item details. Please take your time. I'll prepare some tea for you."
She turned to the small bar area and began brewing tea.
Jing Yuan moved to the touchscreen and started browsing the catalog.
Soon, Noelle returned with the tea and poured him a cup.
Jing Yuan accepted it and thanked her, downing the small cup in one sip.
Noelle quickly refilled his cup.
Jing Yuan drank tea while browsing.
Before long, he found something that caught his eye:
[Item: Qingling Pill Recipe]
Description: A medicinal recipe from a xianxia world. This pill clears the mind and suppresses inner demons.
Note: Only one may be consumed per person. A second dose will have no effect.
Price: 150,000 Starcoins.
If it really worked, it could potentially help with the "Mara, Long-Life Curse."
Many Xianzhou people succumb to that condition due to emotional breakdowns—essentially being overtaken by inner demons.
This pill might just help suppress that.
Jing Yuan spent 150,000 Starcoins to purchase it.
Moments later—
A scroll appeared in his hand.
Opening it, he read:
[Qingling Pill Recipe] Ingredients: Qingling Flower (3 qian (11.19 Gram)), Guling Grass (1 qian (3.73 Gram))...
The full list included over 30 different ingredients.
Looking at his remaining 30,000 Star Coins, Jing Yuan knew he had to be frugal now.
He decided to purchase 10 sets of ingredients to bring back and have the Alchemy Division study them.
Who knew? Some of these ingredients might already exist in Luofu.
If so, he'd only need to buy the ones that weren't available there.
That would save him a lot of money!
Having finished his purchase, Jing Yuan smiled and bid farewell to Noelle.
"I'll be going now. Thanks for the hospitality, Noelle.
Oh, and when Ye Yun's done, please tell him to check his phone—I left him a message."
Noelle nodded.
"Understood. I'll be sure to let Mr. Ye Yun know. Farewell, General Jing Yuan."
Jing Yuan turned and boarded a Star Skiff back to the General's Mansion, scroll and recipe in hand.
Along the way, he held his formation blade tightly, staying alert.
At the slightest sign of danger, he was prepared to summon his Divine Companion.
***
Back at the General's Mansion.
Jing Yuan asked the secretary to summon the current head of the Alchemy Commission.
Before long—
The secretary arrived with the head of the Alchemy Commission, but there was an extra person.
Upon hearing that Jing Yuan wanted to see someone from the Alchemy Commission, Fu Xuan had tagged along as well.
She said it was to check on Jing Yuan and see if he was ill.
In truth, she just wanted a break. Ever since she had taken the position of acting general, she hadn't had a moment's peace—always dealing with governmental affairs.
Fu Xuan sized up Jing Yuan, who was sipping tea. He didn't look like someone with a problem.
"General, why did you summon someone from the Alchemy Commission?"
Jing Yuan took out the Qingling Pill recipe and ten sets of medicinal ingredients and handed them to the head of the Alchemy Commission.
Fu Xuan frowned slightly as she looked at the pill recipe Jing Yuan had handed over.
What is this? Could it be a pill formula?
Before she could ask, Jing Yuan said to the head of the Alchemy Commission:
"This is a recipe for the Qingling Pill, which can suppress the Long-Life Curse-body. See if it can be refined."
Fu Xuan was immediately unsettled upon hearing the pill's effect.
"What?! General, this Qingling Pill can really suppress the Long-Life Curse-body?"
Jing Yuan nodded slightly.
"It's true. So—can your Alchemy Commission refine it?"
The head of the Alchemy Commission closed the pill recipe.
"It can be done, but…"
Jing Yuan noticed the head hesitating and asked:
"But what?"
The head replied:
"Only one person in the Alchemy Commission is capable of refining this pill, and that is Lady Bailu.
But Lady Bailu has been missing for several days."
Jing Yuan nodded in understanding. That meant he'd have to return to the train.
Bailu should currently be playing in the train's laboratory.
Jing Yuan took back the recipe and ingredients.
"I know where she is. You may return. I'll go find her."
The head of the Alchemy Commission bowed and left the General's Mansion.
Fu Xuan was very curious—how did Jing Yuan know where Bailu had gone?
According to intelligence, Bailu had been taken by a mysterious individual, and until now, there had been no news of her.
"General, wasn't Bailu taken by a mysterious person?"
Jing Yuan smiled.
"Come with me. Bailu is closer than you think—she's currently aboard the Astral Express."
Fu Xuan froze for a few seconds.
"So the one who 'kidnapped' Bailu… is actually someone from the train crew?
No—looking at the General's attitude, it probably wasn't a kidnapping, or he wouldn't be so relaxed."
Soon after, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan boarded a Starskiff headed for Starwatcher Port.
At the same time—
Inside Starwatcher Avenue.
"Ten Thousand Swords: Skyfall!"
Yanqing controlled his flying swords to slay several Mara-Struck Soldier.
He retracted his swords and turned to the cold, eyepatch-wearing woman behind him.
"Big Sis, it's all clear now. Let's keep moving."
Yanqing had originally come to Starwatcher Avenue to collect Stellar Jade, but unexpectedly, he had found traces of Blade here.
Following Blade's trail, he encountered this woman.
She was none other than Jingliu, returning to Luofu. Jingliu replied softly:
"Alright."
The two continued forward, with Yanqing slaying many leftover Mara-Struck Soldier from the last major battle.
They even found a few treasure chests along the way, harvesting several dozen pieces of Stellar Jade.
Turns out Yanqing was right—they hadn't really looted the treasure chests in Starwatcher Avenue.
Mainly because the terrain here was complex, and finding treasure chests took too much time.
So Stelle and the others had just looted a few along the main roads before moving on to areas like the Changle Palace and the Central Starskiff Haven.
At the pier, Yanqing suddenly changed his tone and turned around with a serious face.
"Tell me—why have you come to Luofu?
Your steps are steady, your breathing calm, and you remained composed in the face of danger. You're no ordinary person.
I suggest you come clean, or don't blame my sword for showing no mercy!"
Jingliu looked at Yanqing with an appreciative gaze.
"When did I ever say I was an ordinary person?
Young man, I told you—I came to Luofu to visit an old friend."
As she spoke, she glanced at the sword in Yanqing's hand and shook her head.
"You're no match for me—just as you're no match for Blade.
Let's go. With me by your side, you'll be safe."
Yanqing snorted coldly. He was a once-in-a-century sword prodigy of Luofu!
"Hmph, we'll only know who's stronger after a match."
Jingliu smiled at that.
"Very well. Let's have a match."
Yanqing sheathed his sword.
"Fine, follow me."
Jingliu looked at the young but sharp-edged Yanqing and was rather pleased.
Not bad—at least he had the spirit a swordsman should possess.
Soon after, Jingliu followed Yanqing to the Artisanship Commission.
Yanqing pointed at a tall platform in the distance.
"The Cloud Knights reported that a small group of survivors from the previous war, remnants of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, are holed up here. Let's each take a route and see who gets there first."
Jingliu agreed.
"Alright. You go first, or else I'm afraid you'll lose terribly."
Yanqing, seeing how she underestimated him, made up his mind to go all out this time—to show her what a true prodigy looked like!
He summoned his flying sword and charged ahead.
A minute later, Jingliu flicked her hand—her Ice blade appeared.
In the blink of an eye, she vanished.
When she reappeared, she was already ahead of Yanqing. The Mara-Struck Soldier blocking the way hadn't even realized what happened before they were all slain with one stroke.
Jingliu kept swinging her sword, killing all in her path.
When Yanqing arrived moments later, he saw the battlefield littered with corpses and Jingliu standing there, sword in hand.
"No way! When did she get ahead of me?"
Jingliu turned to look at him.
"Young man, you need to pick up the pace."
As she finished, she vanished again.
Yanqing hurried to catch up.
All along the path, he found only corpses. This made him feel a bit anxious.
Seems like he had really encountered a master.
Pushing himself harder, Yanqing finally reached the high platform after a few more minutes.
There, he saw Jingliu standing calmly, still eager for more battle.
"Young man, how about it? Ready to admit defeat?"
Yanqing snorted.
"Take this!"
He launched his strongest strike, only for Jingliu to casually deflect it, shattering his sword energy.
Jingliu looked at him with satisfaction.
Not bad—he had potential. Jing Yuan's judgment wasn't wrong.
Then—
"Young man, dare to take one from me now?"
At the same time, she released her aura, enveloping Yanqing.
In his heart, a voice screamed: "Run! Run!"
But Yanqing gritted his teeth and held onto his sword.
"Bring it on!"
Jingliu smiled and leapt into the air.
"Young man! Catch this!"
With that, she slashed down with a serious strike.