So, Bai Feng and Yu Yao dove into Yu Linglong's warehouse together, generously purchasing a whole pile of materials, which caused his assets to shrink by more than half.

As they emerged from the warehouse, he patted his now deflated wallet, lamenting how easily money slipped away.

“Why do I feel like I’m making money for your Yu Linglong?” he muttered.

He cast a sidelong glance at the smiling Yu Yao, feeling as if he were a worker for Yu Linglong.

“Just an illusion!” Yu Yao waved her hand dismissively. “But if you really want to help my Yu Linglong auction house make money, I wouldn’t mind.”

Bai Feng sighed as he stuffed the little remaining spirit stones into his storage bag, his gaze drifting to the plaque of Yu Linglong. “Dream on! I want your Yu Linglong to make money for me!”

Yu Yao blinked in surprise, then shyly replied, “Uh… well, I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

“...What’s going on in that little head of yours? I meant I want to sell things through your Yu Linglong.” Bai Feng’s lips twitched. “You’re not seriously thinking of mooching off me, are you?”

“Well, who could resist such a great little junior brother?” Yu Yao smiled, not bothering to refute him. “The young master of the Bai family, a future master of formations, the creator of portable formation plates, and you’re handsome too! Even I, your senior sister, am a bit tempted~”

“Stop right there! I might take that seriously.” Bai Feng noticed Bai Yumo and Gu Yueqing, who had been waiting for a while, approaching, and waved as he walked over. “Senior sister, let’s go back.”

“Coming, coming!”

Yu Yao hurried to catch up, her hand instinctively brushing against the formation plate she kept close, a smile creeping onto her lips—had she unknowingly found a real and pure friend?

……

“Finally shook them off.”

Li Ming had changed into a white outfit and quietly emerged from a deserted alley.

He picked up the formation plate he had acquired at great expense, his fingers gliding over its smooth surface. “Not bad at all. No wonder those people couldn’t let go after leaving the auction house.”

Initially, after merging with the remnants of an ancient powerful being’s soul, he had thought this era was nothing special, limited by the severed path to immortality and the thinning spiritual energy, with many things even inferior to the ancient times.

But now, he was ready to revise his opinion; this era still had some interesting treasures.

“I remember that Gu senior sister lives in Xuan Guang City, right?” A woman’s figure flashed in his mind; if he recalled correctly, she was the daughter of the city lord. “Should I pay her a visit?”

After all, he was currently weak and needed a support system. Plus, Gu senior sister was quite the beauty, so it wouldn’t hurt to build a good relationship.

However, he was nearly out of money, and going empty-handed would be rather rude.

“First, I should craft a few spirit tools to earn some money.”

Instead of heading to the blacksmith, he quickly made his way westward.

He remembered there was a wide river in the west, usually deserted during the day, so he planned to find a secluded spot there to craft his spirit tools.

But on his way to the river, he overheard some passersby talking about it:

“Hey, have you heard? A new headliner has appeared on the flower boat on Xuan Ling River, and they say she’s stunning!”

“I saw her by the river last night. Too bad her face was covered by a thin veil, but from her alluring movements and those graceful hands playing the zither, it was clear she’s a top-notch beauty!”

“Dude, are you hogging all the fun? Why didn’t you invite me?”

“I told you today, didn’t I? We’re going together tonight!”

“Definitely going!”

Li Ming watched the two walk away, a hint of disdain on his face.

What’s so great about a flower boat headliner? Only these mortals would be captivated by such trivial appearances.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the riverbank, where indeed a few flower boats were moored. However, the boats didn’t operate during the day, so the river appeared somewhat desolate.

“The environment isn’t bad.”

And with hardly anyone around, he had been worried that the presence of the flower boats would attract a crowd, but it seemed fine. Even if he made a bit of noise, it would only surprise the flower boat girls.

‘Maybe I should refine my tools at the riverbed.’

Li Ming hid in the shadows, surveying the area, and gradually formed a plan.

Just then, a window on one of the flower boats suddenly opened, and a girl with her face partially veiled peeked out. She seemed to be bored and opened the window for some fresh air, but soon a commotion inside made her quickly shut it again.

It wasn’t until the girl closed the window tightly that Li Ming blinked—he had to admit, the passerby was right; she was indeed beautiful!

Maybe tonight…

No, no, we are cultivators; how can we be swayed by mere appearances?

Li Ming quickly closed his eyes, suppressing the stirrings in his heart.

……

“Another all-nighter…”

Bai Feng stretched lazily. Although he no longer needed sleep after reaching the Golden Core stage, perhaps out of habit, staying awake for two days and nights still left him feeling a bit fatigued.

He glanced at the formation plates on the table; those for Lin Yan and Luo Chen had already been completed and just needed to be delivered.

However, the two had been sneaking around for the past couple of days, and he hadn’t run into them at the auction house. Were they having some new adventures?

And then there was Su Lanqian, who had been rarely seen lately, only following him around at the city lord’s mansion, mumbling something about replenishing Bai Feng’s energy.

“Speaking of which, I still haven’t delivered Su Lanqian’s formation plate. I should check on her today.”

After acquiring the materials yesterday, he had embarked on an intense and thrilling journey of formation research, putting off the delivery of the formation plate.

Just as he was about to find Su Lanqian to deliver the plate, a gentle knock echoed at the door.

“Who is it?” Bai Feng stood up, muttering to himself, “Could it be Senior Sister Yu Yao? But wasn’t she busy with clothes yesterday?”

And judging by the sound, it didn’t seem like it was Senior Sister Yu Yao; she knocked lower. Bai Yumo wouldn’t knock at all, so could it be Gu Yueqing with a specific request?

When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Su Lanqian standing outside.

---

**Chapter 99: You’ve Prepared for Days Just to Buy Women’s Clothes at Yu Linglong?**

Su Lanqian had her head down, glancing around nervously.

“Is there something you need?”

At Bai Feng’s inquiry, Su Lanqian trembled slightly, took a few deep breaths, and when she finally lifted her gaze to meet his, she quickly lowered it again.

“Sorry, I—I wanted to ask…” Her voice was a bit shaky, as if she might turn and flee at any moment, but she mustered all her courage to pull out a very smooth formation plate from her pocket. “Do you have more of this kind of formation plate? I can trade with other plates.”

Bai Feng looked down, puzzled—wasn’t this the scrap plate I gave her before?

“I do, and I have plenty.” He looked at Su Lanqian, curiosity etched on his face. “Can I ask what you plan to do with it?”

“I’ve been researching this formation plate…” she replied softly, “I find it really interesting.”

Then she seemed to realize something and hurriedly waved her hands. “If it’s something important, then never mind.”

“It’s not anything particularly important.”

Bai Feng was slightly surprised; it seemed Su Lanqian was indeed studying the scrap plate he had given her, and she might have even made some progress.

He knew just how complex the ‘Thousand Formations’ technique was. Not to mention a scrap plate, even a complete one laid out before an ordinary formation master might not be understood.

It appeared Su Lanqian’s talent was even stronger than he had anticipated. If it weren’t for him, the lucky one, there probably wouldn’t be anyone in the Northern Region who could surpass her in formations.

“Actually, your timing is perfect.”

Bai Feng quickly formulated a plan in his mind; he had been a bit overwhelmed lately, and here was Su Lanqian, offering her help for free.

He took out the portable formation plate he had prepared earlier. “This is for you. There might be demonic cultivators lurking around, so if you encounter danger, just activate it.”

Su Lanqian instinctively took it, and once it was in her hands, she realized how different this plate was from others.

Overall, it resembled a simplified formation plate for emergency combat, but the patterns on it were much more intricate.

It was very similar to the abandoned plate she had been studying, only this one was more complete.

“Did you… succeed?”

She extended her slender fingers, gently tracing the surface of the formation plate, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“It’s so beautiful…” she murmured, her spiritual eyes instinctively opening, completely captivated by the exquisite structure of the plate.