Chapter 57: The Villain Is Exposed, Qing Tan Awakens

Over the next few days, the demonic beasts did not continue their attacks.

Meanwhile, Suichuan Immortal City was busy repairing the damaged formation nodes.

At the same time, a major event occurred.

The Qis were arrested as a clan.

City Lord Ouyang Wenjian personally intervened, and Qi Zhe ordered no resistance, resulting in the whole clan surrendering without a fight.

Three days later, the City Lord’s Mansion issued an announcement.

The former head of the Qis, Qi Rui, used the "Golden Cicada Shedding" scheme, falsely claiming to have passed away through ’sitting in meditation’ when in fact, he defected to the Demon Race. With this, he achieved a falsified state of ’pill transformation’ and covertly performed acts of treachery within the city.

For the two incidents of chaos caused by demons inside the city, Qi Rui bore the primary responsibility, and so a citywide manhunt for Qi Rui began that day.

As for the members of the Qis, they had been kept in the dark by Qi Rui.

However, the Cultivation World is not a place where one is held accountable for one’s own actions alone.

The Qis members were punished by having to forfeit half of their family wealth, each cultivator had to swear a Heavenly Oath never to betray the Human Race, and within one year they had to kill ten demonic beasts of the same rank; those under eighteen could have their family members do this on their behalf, and those who failed to complete the task would prepare to be sent to the mines.

Only then were they released.

Despite this, the reputation of the Qis in Suichuan Immortal City was utterly ruined, and some radicals even petitioned the City Lord’s Mansion to execute all of the Qis’ cultivators.

The members of the Qis had no choice but to remain behind closed doors.

On the fourth day, Yu Qingtan finally awoke.

During these days, she felt as if she was in a warm ocean, so comfortable it was intoxicating.

Not until this day did she feel like she had drifted ashore.

She opened her eyes and blinked.

She found herself in a strange but luxurious bed, dressed in a beige nightgown.

Sitting up, she recalled the scene before she had passed out.

"I’m not dead, that’s really~"

"If I had been killed by someone I don’t even know in such a way, I’m afraid I would be a laughingstock among other transmigrators."

"Miss Qing Tan, you’re awake!" At this moment, a crisp female voice entered her ears.

Turning her head, she saw a charming young girl enter from the outer room, noticing that she was sitting on the bed.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Yu Qingtan asked.

"This is Tianxiang Pavilion, I am the maid of the Tower Master. The Tower Master brought you back here and asked me to take care of you," she replied.

"Thank you, Tower Master, and thank you, miss. I’m fine now!" Yu Qingtan said. She had roughly assessed her physical condition and felt very good.

"Hehe, of course, the City Lord even used a Second Stage top-grade Creation Pill and Heavenly Star Spiritual Liquid on you, Miss Qing Tan. You could say you’ve turned misfortune into a blessing," the young maid said with a smile.

"I see," Yu Qingtan realized, and couldn’t help but admire the City Lord’s generosity.

Then she remembered seeing Huang Jin, who was blown to pieces before she lost consciousness, and her heart was filled with guilt and sorrow.

If it weren’t for him taking the brunt of it upfront, she probably would have died on the spot.

"I’ll fetch some food for you, Miss," said the young maid, seeing that Yu Qingtan was in low spirits; she then went out.

After calming her emotions, Yu Qingtan opened her system panel.

[Cultivation Level: Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer 532/700, Body Refinement Sixth Layer 112/600]

[Cultivation Techniques: Clear Water Technique, Ice Skin Jade Bone Art]

[Spells: Beginner Cleansing Spell 88/100, Advanced Water Escape Technique 21/400, Minor Invisibility Technique 15/200, Minor Breath-Concealing Technique 5/200, Minor Water Blade Technique 36/200, Minor Water Curtain Technique 21/200, Beginner Object Controlling Technique 33/100, Beginner Wood Escape Technique 31/100, Beginner Wooden Shield Technique 17/100, Beginner Earth Wall Technique 12/100, Beginner Earth Spike Technique 11/100, Beginner Earth Escape Skill 15/100, Minor Rejuvenation Spell 56/200]

[Skills: Advanced Exquisite Dance 35/400, Minor Butterfly Dance 46/200, Advanced Zither Art 90/400, Minor Chess Skill 25/200, Minor Calligraphy 13/200, Minor Painting Skill 7/200, Minor Spiritual Tailoring Skill 8/200]

[Charm Points: 72085]

[Affection Value: 25]

[System Space Inventory: 27 Medium Grade Spirit Stones, 6212 Lower Grade Spirit Stones, Moon Branch Magpie Hairpin, Cherry Red Sword, Mysterious Seed, Uninscribed Token, 73 drops of Spirit Dew, Shadowless Needle and Xuan Turtle Shield and other magical artifacts, Ascension Pill and Spirit-Condensing Pill and other elixirs, Second Stage Escape Talisman, Immobilization Talisman and Amulet and other talismans, Jade Marrow Ganoderma and other spiritual medicines, Snow Silkworm Thread and other spiritual materials, Deep Sea Blue Crystal and Sun Flame Jade and other spirit ores]

[System Shop: Primary Spiritual Root Upgrade Card 0/1 (100 Affection Value), First Stage Cultivation Upgrade Card 1/3 (10 Affection Value), First Stage Spell Upgrade Card 6/10 (1 Affection Value), First Stage Skill Upgrade Card 6/10 (1 Affection Value)]

[Lucky Draw: Draw once for 10 Charm Points (ten consecutive draws available)]

"My Qi Cultivation has improved a lot, and my Body Refinement has even reached the sixth layer directly; my physical strength should now be about the same as an average early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, right?"

"I’ve grown a bit taller again!"

"I’ve already accumulated over seventy thousand Charm Points, all my hard work hasn’t been in vain, though I almost lost my life in the process."

Yu Qingtan reflected deeply, feeling that although she needed to earn Charm Points and couldn’t always play it safe, she still wasn’t cautious enough.

The increase in Affection Value also came from some bold cultivators who wrote love letters to Yu Qingtan and sent gifts.

However, none were delivered personally; some were entrusted to Huang Jin for delivery, while others were left directly at the doorstep of the small courtyard where she lived.

But that was too little; she would still need to find a way in the future.

At that moment, a little girl came in with a bowl of Spirit Rice porridge and a plate of pastries made from Spiritual Materials.

Yu Qingtan was indeed hungry. She thanked her and started eating right away.

At the same time, she inquired about the recent battles from the young girl.

Upon hearing that the city’s Protective Formation had been temporarily broken and Demonic Beasts rampaged through the Immortal City, Yu Qingtan immediately became anxious.

"How are Wan Ning and the others?"

"They’re fine. The day before yesterday, she even took leave to visit you. But the Tower did suffer severe losses; it’s said that nearly ten percent of our personnel were lost in this beast chaos, and tens of thousands died in the city."

Upon hearing this number, Yu Qingtan gained a clearer understanding of the brutality of war.

When she heard of the misfortune that befell the Qis, Yu Qingtan couldn’t help but sigh.

She had no good feelings towards the Qis, and she loathed traitors like Qi Rui.

However, Qi Hong was an acquaintance after all, and he had been quite nice to her.

As the two were talking, there was a sound of the door being pushed open from outside.

Then the Tower Master, Gongsun Yurong, clad in a red dress, walked in.

Yu Qingtan and the young girl hurriedly got to their feet to pay their respects.

"We’ve seen the Tower Master."

"No need for such formality. How are you doing, Qing Tan?"

"Thanks to the Tower Master’s concern, Qing Tan is fine now."

"It’s good that you’re fine. We were negligent this time for not being able to keep you safe," Gongsun Yurong said as she pulled Yu Qingtan to sit down.

"It’s the enemy’s cunning that’s to blame, it’s a pity about Elder Huang..."

"Hmm, we’ve already discovered the traitor Qi Rui; it must have been him who planned this against you, and we’ll definitely drag him out."

"But Qing Tan, why didn’t you share this wonderful item with us?" Tower Master Gongsun asked as she took something from her Storage Bag.

A slightly damaged brassiere, the one Yu Qingtan was wearing when she got injured.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yu Qingtan said, "Tower Master, this was just something I came up with on a whim, thinking I still needed to test it to see if it’s genuinely useful."

"Useful? I’m sure it’s definitely useful, you don’t mind if I replicate a few, right?" Gongsun Yurong said. Of course, she had already replicated them and had put one on herself already.

"Of course, I don’t mind. I was actually planning to publicly release it soon."

"Here’s what I’ll do then: I’ll open a store at Tianxiang Pavilion and we’ll split the profits twenty-eighty. Don’t think it’s too little; it’s not easy for me either, there are so many people to support in the Pavilion! But what is this called?" Gongsun Yurong’s beautiful face was filled with shrewd calculation.

"It’s all up to the Tower Master to arrange. This is called a brassiere."

"Then let’s call it the Qing Tan Brassiere to promote the fact that you created it," Gongsun Yuroong said, having heard that Yu Qingtan somewhat liked fame, and thus she suggested.

A chill ran through Yu Qingtan’s heart. Determined not to become a laughing stock among those who had traveled through time, she decisively refused with righteous indignation.

"Tower Master, there’s no need for that. I invented this simply to make it easier for female cultivators, not for any vain glory!"

"Really? I think the name sounds quite nice."

"Really, it’s definitely true."

"Well, alright then."