Chapter 543: Rouge-Powdered Skeleton |
"Master, we're just here to see what restrictions this place has, right?"
"You're not interested in these people, are you?"
The Pill Spirit looked at Ning Qi and asked curiously.
"Of course not, is your master that kind of person?"
Ning Qi curled his lip and then continued forward.
"Young Master, please come inside!"
Soon, someone came forward to greet him.
"What fun things do you have upstairs here!"
Ning Qi had come precisely to see what was going on upstairs, so naturally he had to ask about the situation there first.
Upon hearing his words, the shop assistant clearly misunderstood and was about to lead him upstairs.
Ning Qi didn't refute it either and simply followed him inside.
As soon as he entered, he smelled the thick scent of rouge and powder.
The interior of the building was decorated extremely luxuriously, with spirit stones illuminating everywhere.
There were also many guests, each with a woman on their left and right arms.
In the eyes of many of the young ladies here, one could see a trace of unwillingness.
However, they were clearly being controlled. Each one was trying hard to please the guests, obviously afraid of being punished in private.
The first floor was all for drinking and entertainment. Looking upstairs, it was somewhat different.
The second floor was quieter, and the young ladies here were even more beautiful, though they still looked somewhat sorrowful.
No one knew how they had ended up here.
The wine tables upstairs had delicacies that were even more appetizing.
On each woman's table, there was top-grade spiritual wine.
It seemed to be clearly a step above the downstairs.
"Young Master, our third floor has even more fun things."
"Our third floor has Pocket Dimension mansions!"
"You can enjoy yourself inside for these ten days!"
"There's even a time difference inside. One day outside is several days inside!"
"You can cultivate, or you can just rest."
"When we reach the destination, our people will come back to call for you!"
The shop assistant looked at Ning Qi and introduced everything tirelessly.
"Oh? The third floor is a Pocket Dimension?"
Hearing his words, Ning Qi immediately became interested.
"Yes, would the Young Master like to go up?"
"The fee to go up is just a bit more expensive, five spirit marrow pieces per day."
The shop assistant nodded and said seriously.
"Ten days' worth!"
Ning Qi was clearly very interested in this place. As he spoke, he took out spirit marrow and handed it to the shop assistant. "Here are fifty pieces, take a look."
"Young Master, no need to look. This humble one can tell at a glance that the Young Master is a distinguished person!"
Seeing Ning Qi being so straightforward, the shop assistant was overjoyed.
He quickly agreed and promptly led the way for Ning Qi. "Young Master, let's go upstairs."
"Alright!"
Ning Qi nodded, then directly followed the shop assistant upstairs.
Upon reaching the second floor, many women looked towards Ning Qi.
But Ning Qi didn't stop at all, instead following the shop assistant directly to the third floor.
Soon, he was led to the corridor on the third floor.
Here, more than ten chambers were arranged in a circle.
"Young Master, any one will do."
"As soon as you enter, it's a mansion."
"There are many fun things inside, and places for cultivation!"
"There are also many maidservants."
After reminding Ning Qi, the shop assistant asked, "Young Master, which one would you like?"
"This one is fine!"
Ning Qi looked around and finally chose one chamber.
"Alright."
After agreeing, the shop assistant directly stepped forward, took out a jade pendant, and activated it in front of the door.
The door flashed briefly.
"Whoosh!"
Then the shop assistant opened the door.
Ning Qi glanced inside and saw that once this door opened, it was a world of its own.
There were several more doors inside.
"Young Master, you can go through any of these doors as you please."
The shop assistant stepped forward to remind Ning Qi.
"Alright!"
Ning Qi agreed and then walked forward.
He directly opened one of the doors.
"Whoosh!"
From inside the door, he felt a gentle breeze blowing towards him.
The shop assistant followed Ning Qi inside, but the door did not close.
After Ning Qi entered, he discovered that this place was indeed a world of its own.
It was a place of clear waters and green mountains, clearly at the foot of a mountain.
And at the foot of this mountain was a three-courtyard mansion, its main gate wide open.
He could clearly smell the fragrance of flowers from inside.
"Ladies, a guest has arrived!"
The shop assistant shouted inside.
"Coming!"
.......
Soon, they heard a responding voice from within the courtyard.
"Young Master, this humble one takes his leave. In ten days, I will come again to fetch the Young Master."
The shop assistant cupped his fist towards Ning Qi and then respectfully left.
Ning Qi collected his thoughts and looked inside.
He saw several gorgeously dressed, chirping and chattering young women rushing towards him.
"Young Master!"
....
Everyone greeted him one after another.
At the same time, they didn't forget to introduce themselves to Ning Qi.
Only then did he learn the names of these several beauties.
They were named after the seasons and chrysanthemums: Spring Chrysanthemum, Summer Chrysanthemum, Autumn Chrysanthemum, and Winter Chrysanthemum.
"Young Master, please come into the courtyard with us."
Spring Chrysanthemum looked at Ning Qi and invited him with a smile to follow her inside.
Ning Qi just nodded and then directly followed her in.
After entering, he saw the unique charm of the courtyard.
Two bluestone-paved paths led to the front hall and the backyard.
In the front courtyard, there were also rockeries and an artificial lake.
The walls were covered with roses, and beneath the corners were various Immortal Herbs and Exotic Flowers.
The shimmering Immortal Energy lingered around, making him feel refreshed and relaxed upon smelling it.
The mansion also had upturned eaves and bracket sets, all using glazed tiles.
Under the sunlight, they flickered with a fluorescent glow.
"Young Master, do you want to cultivate, or play some other games?"
Summer Chrysanthemum came over and asked with a smile.
Her pair of eyes fluttered, like a speaking oriole.
The remaining few people also looked at Ning Qi.
Although their eyes were full of flattery, Ning Qi could tell that these people were clearly acting against their will.
Moreover, he could sense that the bodies of these several beauties had no spiritual energy.
Clearly, they had already been used as cultivation cauldrons by others before.
This shop assistant was introducing used cultivation cauldrons to him.
Clearly, he wasn't a good person either.
If things continued like this, these people would never be able to cultivate in this lifetime.
They would be played to ruin.
Some people would use the miraculous pills and Natural Treasures they brought to restore spiritual energy to these women, then supply them for their own refinement.
In this way, they were practically no different from walking corpses.
"You all go on your own, no need to mind me!"
After thinking it over, Ning Qi waved his hand at the several women and then continued, "I'm not here for dual cultivation or to use you as cultivation cauldrons!"
"You can do as you please these few days."
"Young Master, don't joke around."
"Yes, if you don't use us, we'll be punished after you leave!"
"If we're exiled to the first floor, we'll be even more miserable!"
"Right, please show some kindness, don't abandon us."
..
Instead of being grateful for Ning Qi's kindness, the several beauties all crowded around, each pleading with Ning Qi one after another.
"Oh? There's such a rule?"
Hearing their words, Ning Qi couldn't help but frown.
"Master, they're so pitiful, even worse off than us!"
The Pill Spirit sat on Ning Qi's shoulder and couldn't help but show a sympathetic expression as he looked at the beauties before him.
"You all go for today. I'm not in the mood today!"
"Let me have a couple of quiet days first!"
Ning Qi thought for a moment and then continued, "I'm still injured. I need to heal my wounds."
"Young Master, let us help you heal?"
"I know a method that can heal wounds quickly."
......
Hearing Ning Qi's words, the several chirping and chattering women showed no intention of leaving.
Instead, they all crowded forward and spoke to Ning Qi.
"Master, I think they're all just afraid. You should think of a way."
"Even if it's just a pretext, make them stop worrying."
The Pill Spirit thought for a moment and suggested to Ning Qi.
"Oh?"
Hearing the Pill Spirit's words, Ning Qi couldn't help but frown slightly.
He looked at the several beauties before him and continued, "Since that's the case, I'll give you a prescription. Help me refine some pills."
"Once they're refined, I'll come find you again."
As he spoke, he took out a pill furnace and handed a pill formula to the several people along with it.
After receiving Ning Qi's pill formula, they treated it as if they had obtained a treasure.
"Thank you, Young Master."
"We will definitely refine them as quickly as possible."
The several people each agreed.
"Do you still have the ability to activate this?"
Ning Qi pointed at his pill furnace and inquired.
"Young Master, we just lack spiritual energy, but our cultivation skills are still there!"
"Right, that's not a problem!"
"Young Master, then we'll go refine pills!"
These women were all cultivation cauldrons, so refining pills was naturally not a problem.
Many people, when using cultivation cauldrons, would refine pills first.
Ning Qi knew this very well, which was why he had them refine pills.
"Alright, go! Refine twenty pills, then come to the backyard to report to me!"
Ning Qi nodded with satisfaction and then instructed accordingly.
"Yes!"
"We're going now!"
"Young Master, rest assured, we will definitely refine them well!"
......
After each agreed, they all left.
"Finally, some peace!"
Watching them all leave, the Pill Spirit finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His eyes were full of relief.
"Let's go, go to the backyard and see what's there!"
Ning Qi patted the Pill Spirit and told him to follow him to the backyard to check the situation.
"Alright!"
The Pill Spirit agreed and then followed Ning Qi, hurrying towards the backyard.
When they reached the backyard, they saw that this place was also a world of its own.
This was clearly a place for cultivation, with many artificially created spiritual springs.
Inside them were spirit stones, placed for people to use for cultivation. Moreover, there were also some skeletons here.
However, there was no bloody smell at all.
"Master, these should all be women from before, refined by guests who came here!"
The Pill Spirit only needed one glance to know what was going on.
Clearly, people were often refined here.
Those who came here likely did so for the purpose of refining these women.
"These evil cultivators use this method to enhance and consolidate their strength. It's unacceptable."
"Such people have no ability to resist normal cultivators!"
Looking at the situation before him, Ning Qi continued, "It's truly too cruel. Killing is one thing, but don't torture life!"
"Master, this should be the situation here."
"I think the reason we couldn't see this place from upstairs must be because of this!"
The Pill Spirit sighed and continued, "They're doing this to conceal it from others."
"Probably only those who have truly been here would know about this situation."
"Mm, those who aren't evil cultivators wouldn't come here either."
Ning Qi nodded, then turned his attention back to what was before him, saying, "Now we know what this place is for."
"It's too late to leave now anyway. Might as well stay here for ten days."
"Outside, it's just boring time to pass."
"Here, we can still cultivate a bit. That's not bad either."
"Master, what about these women?"
"We can't really do anything with them, can we?"
The Pill Spirit suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but ask.
"Mm, don't worry, I naturally have a way."
Hearing his words, Ning Qi wasn't worried. Instead, he looked relaxed. "These places allow people to refine these individuals at will."
"Then, when I leave, I'll just help the few of them buy their freedom."
"When we arrive, I'll hand them all over to Xu Qingqiu and have her help settle these people."
"Right, Miss Xu will definitely help!"
The Pill Spirit nodded vigorously and couldn't help but say, "Master, to be honest, I kind of miss Miss Xu a little."
"And that Nine-Tailed Cat. It feels like we haven't seen them for a long time."
"We'll be able to see them soon this time!"
"Then we'll have a good reunion!"
Ning Qi smiled, also showing a trace of reminiscence.
The days spent with Xu Qingqiu were his most relaxed days.
It's just a pity that Di Xi ruined it.
He made the two separate without even a chance to say goodbye.
"Master, let's go to the last courtyard and see what's inside?"
The Pill Spirit pointed at the last courtyard in the distance and said curiously.
"Mm, let's see what tricks they have here!"
Ning Qi nodded and then headed towards the backyard.
They soon arrived at the last courtyard.
This place also made the two of them widen their eyes in surprise.
"My heavens, this place is actually specially for storing corpses!"
Here, there were piles of corpses.
They were all the corpses of these women who had been refined.
Even for Ning Qi to look at, it sent chills down his spine.
"These people are truly despicable!"
Ning Qi gritted his teeth, looking at these dried-up corpses and said, "They were clearly refined alive!"
"Look, their whole bodies are tense, their faces twisted! Clearly, they experienced immense pain before being killed."
"Yes, but there's nothing we can do to help."
"Such things were common even in my era!"
The Pill Spirit shook his head and sighed. "Master, our ability is only enough to help the few people outside."
"No wonder they have such a strong will to survive."
"They're not trying to live, but just so that when they die, it won't be so painful."
"That's why they came to flatter me!"
Ning Qi finally understood what was going on.
His eyes were filled with rage.