Chapter 31

The last time Luo Han came to Tianzhao City, she’d been in too much of a hurry to get to Zhongshan to really see the place. Today, she finally had the chance to appreciate one of the Four Great Cities of the Sixteenth Heaven: the illustrious Tianzhao.
The Heavenly Realm spanned Thirty-Six Heavens, split into Upper, Middle, and Lower layers. The Middle Heaven had eighteen tiers. Zhongshan sat on the sixteenth tier—not quite equal to the topmost sects of the Upper Heaven, but a dominant force in the Middle Realm.
Tianzhao City had formed at the foot of Zhongshan, drawn to its power. Nestled in the northern lowlands, veiled in celestial mist and sculpted entirely of jade-white stone, the city radiated solemn elegance and was nicknamed the “Mirror of the Sky.”
Descending from the mountain on swordback, Luo Han saw Tianzhao’s beauty in full for the first time. With clouds blazing in the morning sun and green hills surrounding it, the city shimmered like polished jade. White stone walls and streets formed a pristine checkerboard below, and cultivators in flowing robes walked to and fro. Colorful spirit beasts pulled ornate carriages through orderly crowds. The city bustled with energy, but never felt chaotic.
Luo Han was awestruck. A city so dazzling, so vibrant—it was no wonder Tianzhao was named one of the Four Great Cities of the Sixteenth Heaven, and even ranked among the most famous cities across the entire Middle Heaven. Only a city of this scale could host a top-tier auction.
Like many major cities, Tianzhao enforced a no-flight policy within city limits, and required formal identification to enter.
Ling Qingxiao landed them near a flat clearing. Luo Han dismounted nimbly and looked toward the city gates in surprise. “I didn’t notice many people last time. Why’s the line so long today?”
“Because of the auction,” Ling Qingxiao replied, sheathing his Jiuxiao. “The crowd is mixed—screening is stricter than usual.”
Luo Han nodded. That explained it. The line moved slowly not because of inefficiency, but because of tighter scrutiny.
Even so, the Heavenly Realm didn’t rely on mortals. Despite the long line, it wasn’t long before it was their turn.
The gate guard didn’t even lift his eyes. “Identification token.”
Ling Qingxiao handed his over. The guard placed it against a scanning artifact, which immediately flared with brilliant white light.
The soldier froze, then straightened up, eyes wide. “So it’s the Second Young Master of the Ling Clan. Forgive my rudeness!”
The device identified individuals by aura. Red meant criminal. Green was for commoners. Blue indicated noble status. White—pure white—was the highest tier.
Only the Ling Clan held white-tier status in Tianzhao. Everyone here knew the name.
Ling Qingxiao didn’t even blink at the guard’s change in tone. He took back his token, nodded slightly, and continued inside.
As they passed through the city’s warding barrier, the true face of Tianzhao unfolded. Merchant cries, voices, the rumble of carts—all burst to life.
From above, it had looked solemn and pristine. On foot, Luo Han could feel its pulse.
Holy, yet bustling. Majestic, yet open. This was what a celestial city should be.
She couldn’t help exclaiming, “Mirror of the Sky, indeed.”
Ling Qingxiao had seen it countless times and remained unfazed. He waited for her to finish taking pictures with her recording stone before asking, “Where do you want to go first?”
Luo Han thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I have no idea. I can’t even tell which way is north.”
Ling Qingxiao gave a faint nod. He was the type who had a plan for everything—whether it was a battle or a simple stroll through the market. What to buy, where to go, how long it would take round-trip—he had it all mapped out. His question had only been a courtesy; now that Luo Han didn’t have any preferences, he’d just follow his original itinerary.
He took her to the eastern quarter of Tianzhao City. The city had four major markets—east, west, south, and north—with the East and West Bazaars being the most prosperous. The East Market catered to nobles: pricey, refined, and exclusive. The West Market was more for the common folk, filled with every odd and end imaginable. People often said: “If you can’t find it in the West Market, it probably doesn’t exist.”
Compared to the bustling West Market, the East was quieter, more polished. Just from the storefront decor alone, the difference in wealth was clear. Ling Qingxiao made no effort to "browse." He led Luo Han on the most direct path straight to a talisman shop.
Talismans were a unique form of magical attack—spellcasters would seal their spells onto paper, creating consumable magic that required minimal energy to activate. Since spiritual energy was divided among the five elements, and cultivators could only practice spells aligned with their own attributes, talismans served those who couldn’t use a certain spell—either due to elemental mismatch or insufficient cultivation.
To put it bluntly, talismans were like canned food—mass-produced, less versatile, but incredibly convenient and effective. The only downside? Single-use, purely consumable.
In East Market, where serving nobles was the norm, the service was predictably top-tier. The moment Ling Qingxiao and Luo Han stepped inside, a beautiful attendant greeted them with soft, practiced tones and led them to a private lounge.
The sitting room was warm and elegant, filled with refined details and thick with ambient spiritual energy. Once they were seated, a product catalog and delicate spiritual tea with snacks were brought in.
Luo Han couldn’t help thinking again—being rich was really nice.
Ling Qingxiao merely glanced at the catalog and set it down.
The cover was made of white jade, carved with intricate golden floral patterns along the edge—subtle and elegant. His long, slender fingers rested on the delicate design, making the flowers look even more graceful in contrast.
“Five stacks of Thunderburst Talismans. Five stacks of Thunderclap Talismans. Five stacks of Stormrage Talismans. One stack each of Defensive, Sound Transmission, Illusion, and Pathfinding Talismans. Two stacks of Clarity Talismans. As for Escape Talismans...forget it. Give me all varieties—short, medium, long-range, all types. Three stacks each.”
Talismans were bundled by the hundred, each bundle called a “stack.” Just like that, Ling Qingxiao ordered thousands of them without blinking. Luo Han was stunned.
After the official list of expedition members was released, she had received the official storage pouch from Zhongshan. Now she had gear from four separate sources: the Celestial Palace, Zhongshan, Ling Xianhong, and Su Yifang. Each batch came loaded with talismans. The Celestial Palace had gone all out—ten stacks each of the five elemental types. That was five thousand talismans right there.
Not to mention the dozens of bottles of pills, formation disks, and even a spirit sword. Between all four sources, Luo Han felt like she could resell her extras and make a small fortune.
With so much gear, they had to be covered. Assuming Ling Qingxiao lacked some essentials, she quickly reached for the jade ring on her finger. “Your ring’s still with me. If you’re missing anything—”
“No need.” Ling QingXiaolightly pressed her hand back down. “I don’t use these.”
“Huh?” Luo Han blinked. “If you don’t use them, why buy so much?”
“They’re for you,” he replied. “I rarely use talismans, formation disks, or pills. If I kept them, they’d just collect dust. Better to leave them with you for protection.”
Luo Han was momentarily speechless.
Talismans were spells sealed onto paper; formation disks were pre-packaged arrays—plug-and-play tools for instant effect. Ling Qingxiao was a dual-path cultivator proficient in sword and formation techniques. A casual sword flourish from him probably had more destructive power than the best talisman.
He really didn’t need any of these.
Which meant...the one who needed the “full survival kit” was her.
Ouch.
The quantity was so staggering that even the seasoned attendant took quite a while to gather everything. Finally, the woman returned with a storage pouch and presented it to Ling Qingxiao with a respectful bow. “Second Young Master, here are all the talismans you requested. For the escape series, we prepared three distances—thousand-li, ten-thousand-li, and hundred-thousand-li. The ten-thousand-li ones come in two variants: directional and stealth. Please let us know if there’s anything else you require.”
Truly professional. She’d even taken the liberty of choosing the best life-saving types for young cultivators.
Ling Qingxiao gave a small nod. “That will suffice. I’ll settle the bill.”
He handed over his identity token. The attendant accepted it with a deep, respectful bow and excused herself.
Luo Han, still digesting the fact that all of this was for her, heard the word “escape talismans” and couldn’t help but mumble, “Am I really that fragile?”
Of course she was. But Ling Qingxiao didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he said gently, “Better to be prepared. Even if you don’t use them, they’re good to have.”
That, at least, sounded better. Luo Han quietly accepted the pouch. Without even checking the contents, she tossed it into her ring.
Ling Qingxiao’s brow twitched. Finally, he couldn’t help himself. “Is that...how you organize your items?”
Luo Han blinked, clearly confused. “Uh...how else would I do it?”
He sighed. “Separate your personal belongings. Anything you’ll need in battle, give it to me.”
Luo Han gave Ling Qingxiao a puzzled look before removing two rings, one from each hand. These were the white jade storage rings issued by the Celestial Palace. Storage rings could hold storage pouches, so Luo Han had stuffed them full with the pouches given to her by Ling Xianhong, Su Yifang, and others, along with the new items she had acquired recently.
Around her neck, Luo Han wore a leaf-shaped pendant—something the Bodhi Tree had given her when she first arrived in this world. It contained many spiritual elixirs, medicinal herbs, and magical treasures. These were her trump cards, and she had no intention of revealing them. She avoided using the leaf pendant as much as possible. Now that the Celestial Palace had issued storage rings, she treated them as convenient storage tools.
Ling Qingxiao took the storage rings and swept through them with his divine sense. Inside, the storage pouches were piled haphazardly, with books, spiritual medicines, and magical artifacts all mixed together. It made him deeply uncomfortable. His divine sense was strong, and within moments, he had reorganized everything before returning the rings to Luo Han.
She took them back with some doubt, and when she probed inside again, she barely recognized her own belongings.
Everything was now neatly arranged in wooden compartments, which Luo Han had no recollection of placing inside. It was clear this was Ling Qingxiao’s handiwork. Magical artifacts, talismans, books, spiritual medicines, and formation plates were all sorted onto separate shelves by category. Within each category, items were further arranged according to their function. Even jade bottles were lined up in descending order of height.
Obsessive-compulsiveness truly was a stubborn affliction.
That said, things were much easier to find now. Merging and categorizing everything clearly improved efficiency. Luo Han put the rings back on her fingers—one for daily essentials, the other for cultivation-related items—while her Bodhi Leaf pendant held life-saving treasures. The division of function was now perfectly clear.
Just as their conversation ended, the attendant returned. Ling Qingxiao retrieved his token, and the two of them exited the shop to the attendant’s polite farewell.
Once outside, Luo Han asked, “Where to next?”
“Xuanji Pavilion,” Ling Qingxiao replied. “You need a few more defensive artifacts.”
Luo Han hesitated for a moment before sighing. “You just went through my storage ring—you should have seen that I already have plenty of defensive artifacts.”
To be precise, all of Luo Han’s artifacts were for defense and survival.
When she first arrived in this world, the Bodhi Tree and the Black Tortoise had both given her numerous protective treasures. The Bodhi Tree, in particular, seemed terrified that she would meet an untimely demise before she even had a chance to make her mark. It had stuffed her with life-saving medicines like they were mere candy.
After arriving here, Luo Han’s own fear of death made her compulsively buy defensive items whenever possible. The people of Zhongshan also seemed to pick up on something from her, for they all gifted her artifacts meant for defense or escape. Even Ling Xianhong and Su Yifang had given her parting gifts three days ago—a glazed seal and a twin-star ribbon, both of which were defensive in nature.
Was her desperate will to survive really that obvious?
And yet, Ling Qingxiao still thought it wasn’t enough.
“These aren’t sufficient,” he said. “Besides, you can’t be without offensive artifacts either.”
Luo Han had no choice but to agree.
Xuanji Pavilion was just a street away from the talisman shop they had just left. As they walked, something caught Luo Han’s eye—a lavishly decorated building by the roadside.
Two stunning female attendants stood at the entrance. With every step they took, delicate lotus flowers appeared beneath their feet, emitting a faint floral fragrance. That wasn’t all—the hairpins they wore scattered petals as they moved, creating an enchanting effect.
Gaudy and ridiculously over-the-top.
Luo Han felt as though something in her soul had been struck. Curiously, she asked Ling Qingxiao, “What place is that?”
Ling Qingxiao glanced at it indifferently and said, “Yiluan Pavilion. They sell magical robes and accessories. Ostentatious and impractical—not particularly useful.”
Luo Han pursed her lips and stole another glance toward the shop. “Is that so?”
Ling Qingxiao looked down at her, then back at the garishly extravagant store. After a brief pause, he corrected himself, “Although the designs are a bit exaggerated, I’ve heard that their defensive effects are decent. Since you still lack defensive magical items, why don’t we take a look?”
“Alright!” Luo Han agreed without hesitation.
She immediately regretted her enthusiasm and quickly added, “I don’t actually like it. I just want to take a look.”
Ling Qingxiao nodded, his expression perfectly composed. “Let’s go then.”
Despite her insistence that she was only browsing, Luo Han was completely dazzled upon stepping into Yiluan Pavilion.
To her mature mind, the shop’s designs were incredibly childish.
There were dresses that trailed behind like rainbows, shoulder shawls that changed color depending on one’s mood—gold when happy, blue when upset—and veils that emitted fragrance and music when the wind blew. Some sashes even shed flower petals in time with one’s footsteps.
All in all, very Mary Sue. Very juvenile.
A beautiful attendant in a rainbow-colored dress smiled at Luo Han. “Miss, you have such a wonderful figure and elegant presence. No matter what you wear, it will look stunning on you. Would you like to try some on?”
Luo Han refused firmly. “Too excessive. I’m not someone who likes flashy things.”
Ling Qingxiao stood to the side, quietly watching everything unfold.
After a moment, he sighed inwardly. In the end, he still had to step in, adopting a calm and logical tone as he said, “Magical robes in the Immortal Realm often contain formation arrays. These aren’t considered excessive.”
Luo Han’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Ling Qingxiao nodded as if he were discussing an academic subject. “Really.”
Luo Han was instantly convinced.
She carried an armful of clothes into the fitting room. Yiluan Pavilion provided luxurious dressing areas with enormous water mirrors that allowed customers to view themselves from every angle.
Standing in front of the mirror, Luo Han watched as her skirt trailed behind her in iridescent hues. A gentle breeze carried a refreshing fragrance from her robes, while faint celestial music played in the background.
With every step, pink flower petals rained down from above.
Sensing her excitement, the clouded shoulder shawl on her upper body turned golden, and the pendant at her chest released a cascade of shimmering crystal lights.
Luo Han spun in place, and the dazzling stars and rainbow lights blended together, making her look like an exclusive, high-tier character skin—complete with a flower-petal aura.
Who knew such a textbook Mary Sue aesthetic could be so...literal? If she wore this into battle, would Ling Qingxiao immediately kick her out of the team and rip up their thousand-year agreement?
Ling Qingxiao waited outside for Luo Han. He stood tall and aloof, drawing every passing gaze. Ever since he arrived, the traffic in Yiluan Pavilion had mysteriously tripled. People kept coming and going, all stealing glances at him. Even the store’s attendants couldn’t help but sneak peeks.
Luo Han took her time changing, but Ling Qingxiao didn’t seem the least bit impatient. He remained there calmly, his presence like a mountain of snow. Seeing that he appeared to be alone, a few bold young women stirred with excitement. Eventually, one graceful cultivator summoned the courage to approach.
“This gentleman,” she said gently, “I’m Hua Xiyan. Did you come here alone?”
Ling Qingxiao wasn’t interested in speaking to strangers—especially not foolish ones. Just look at this kind of shop. How could he possibly have come on his own?
“I'm waiting for someone,” he said flatly.
His chilly tone crushed her courage instantly. She hesitated but, glancing at his face again, gathered her nerve. “Then...may I have your message token…?”
Before she could finish, a murmur of surprise swept through the store. Even Ling Qingxiao turned his head to look. Hua Xiyan frowned, annoyed at being interrupted, but still looked back. She wanted to see which show-off had dared to steal her spotlight.
The moment she turned, she froze.
Emerging from the dressing room was a figure bathed in glimmering frost. Tall, elegant, and regal—so ethereal, she seemed untouchable, as if merely gazing upon her was a sin. For a long moment, no one dared breathe.
Only after that first impression did Hua Xiyan realize it was just a woman trying on clothes.
The woman wore a gown of pure white, with accents of icy blue and violet embroidered along the collar, cuffs, and hem. As she walked, pale snowflakes fell from her sleeves and skirts—dissolving into mist before they reached the ground.
The ensemble was certainly one of Yiluan Pavilion’s more flamboyant creations, but on her, it was breathtaking. She wore it with such grace and poise, the whole thing looked understated—clean, cool, and utterly divine. Only a veil hid her face, revealing nothing but a pair of arrestingly beautiful eyes.
Hua Xiyan's heart sank. Just moments ago, she’d been puffed up with envy. Now, it vanished without a trace. Even she, a fellow woman, couldn’t help but be awed. How could any man resist?
When she saw Ling Qingxiao walking toward that veiled woman, realization dawned.
Ah...so she’s the one he was waiting for. No wonder.
Hua Xiyan silently slipped away, unwilling to embarrass herself further.
Luo Han, having simply changed clothes, was startled by the stares. She froze, wondering if something was wrong with her outfit. Just then, Ling Qingxiao reached her, and she leaned in to whisper, “Is something wrong with this one? Does it look bad?”
“No,” he replied, gazing at her with open admiration. “It looks very good.”
He meant it. Ling Qingxiao, for all his perfectionism and cleanliness, didn’t care for chaos in color—but it didn’t mean he only liked white. Luo Han’s outfit, with its restrained embroidery and drifting snow, suited his aesthetic perfectly.
“Really?” Luo Han was suspicious. “Then why is everyone staring?”
Ling Qingxiao didn’t answer. Instead, he took her gauzy veil and gently draped it over her head, adjusting it carefully. “Now they won’t.”
He was as graceful as ever, and she—eyes like stars under her veil, clothes trailing with falling frost—was a mystery. Together, they were like snow and moonlight, cutting through the room with breathtaking presence.
The whole boutique fell silent for a moment.
Then the store attendant finally came back to her senses and praised sincerely, “Miss, you have excellent taste. This set looks stunning on you.”
She meant every word. The dress had been a new release, but sales were mediocre—until now. Seeing it on Luo Han had stunned even her, someone who sold clothes for a living. From the way the other women were looking, this set was about to become a bestseller.
Soon, the entire style might even become a fashion trend.
Luo Han sighed in relief. Thank goodness she hadn’t embarrassed herself. She was so pleased with the outfit, she didn’t even want to change out of it.
“I’ll take it,” she said decisively.
Ling Qingxiao, noticing she only brought out one outfit, asked, “Where are the others? You looked like you liked quite a few.”
“I did not,” Luo Han quickly clarified. “Too flashy. I’m not into that kind of style. Just this one—it looked elegant and cool, so I gave it a try.”
Ling Qingxiao raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing. He simply nodded along. “I understand.”
Soon, the store attendants returned with her payment token and a storage pouch. In East Market, where customers were either rich or important—or both—shops preferred to package items discreetly. Everything was sealed in pouches marked with the store’s insignia: safer for the customer, and great for brand visibility.
The attendant smiled sweetly. “Just the four sets, miss? We have plenty of other styles if you’d like to browse.”
Four sets?
Luo Han’s smile froze.
Hadn’t she just said she only picked one?
Ling Qingxiao blinked—then, suddenly, everything made sense. He didn’t say a word, but his lips curved...just barely.
He actually laughed.
Ever so faintly.