Chapter 329 Miss Cao Ying's Brain
"If you like something here, put it in this ring first." Mu Lao said, handing Xiao Ling a ring, and Xiao Ling quickly took it. "When you have chosen it, take it out and give it to me. I will estimate the value of the item inside and tell you the price required for the exchange."
"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Mu." Xiao Ling nodded to show his understanding.
The gentle attitude of Mr. Mu made Xiao Ling feel very comfortable. After taking the ring, he and Cao Ying exchanged a tacit look, and then stepped into the treasure house of Danta together.
The space inside is open and well-lit. Rows of neatly arranged shelves are filled with a wide variety of rare medicinal herbs and elixirs, and high-level magic cores can be seen everywhere.
The air is filled with the aroma of various medicinal herbs. Taking a deep breath seems to make people feel refreshed.
Cao Ying seemed to be a frequent visitor here, and she expertly led Xiao Ling through the treasure house. As she walked, she enthusiastically introduced to Xiao Ling the characteristics of various medicinal materials and their magical uses in refining medicine.
Xiao Ling listened with great interest, and whenever he heard something particularly interesting, he couldn't help but nod his head or let out an exclamation of admiration or two.
Their footsteps echoed in the quiet treasure house. Cao Ying's voice was clear and pleasant, and Xiao Ling's response was full of curiosity. Their conversation and occasional laughter added a bit of liveliness and warmth to this space full of treasures.
As Xiao Ling wandered around the treasure house, whenever he found some rare medicinal herbs that he had never owned, he would carefully take one, intending to use it to enrich his own collection of medicinal herbs.
He thought to himself that by using the Zhantian Bottle to ripen these herbs, he would be able to get a continuous supply of the same kind of herbs.
Xiao Ling also carefully selected those high-level magic cores with different attributes and collected quite a few types.
These magic cores are gone once they are used up, unlike medicinal herbs which can be regenerated, so Xiao Ling selected them very carefully. He also selected as many magic cores as possible in case of emergency.
Moreover, Danta's treasure house not only contains various rare materials, but also contains various poisonous things, which opened Xiao Ling's eyes. He naturally would not miss this opportunity and collected some of these poisonous things.
Although he didn't know much about these highly toxic things, if he gave them to Xiao Yixian, it might be helpful for her cultivation. After all, Xiao Yixian's poisonous body would naturally accept all these highly toxic things.
Seeing Xiao Ling collecting various rare medicinal materials and high-level magic cores along the way, Cao Ying couldn't help but be a little surprised. It was because Xiao Ling collected so many rare materials that she couldn't help but be a little stunned.
"These treasures are not cheap," Cao Ying finally couldn't help but speak, "The total value of the things you just took is probably not even comparable to the wealth of an average eighth-grade alchemist. Are you sure you have enough to exchange for so many treasures?"
"Don't worry, I'm quite wealthy," Xiao Ling smiled lightly, his tone relaxed, "it should be more than enough to exchange for these things."
Immediately, Xiao Ling waved his hand, and a box placed on a shelf not far away floated up gently, slowly flew towards him, and was finally held firmly in his hand.
Through the transparent lid of the box, you can see a crystal clear ice lotus lying quietly inside. It is none other than the thousand-year-old ice crystal snow lotus that can only grow in extremely cold places. It is a rare material that can be used to refine eighth-grade or even ninth-grade elixirs and is priceless.
Moreover, this kind of medicinal material has the effect of enhancing soul power, and is coveted and pursued by countless alchemists.
"This ice crystal snow lotus is so beautiful. I think it suits you very well. I'll consider it as a gift to you." Xiao Ling said as he took out the ice crystal snow lotus.
He first carefully removed a rhizome from the lotus, put it away, and then handed the rest to Cao Ying.
Xiao Ling had noticed before that Cao Ying's eyes would be attracted by this thousand-year-old ice crystal snow lotus from time to time. Every time she looked at it, her eyes revealed an unconcealable love.
Therefore, Xiao Ling decided to give it to Cao Ying as a gift, which could be regarded as a small reward for Cao Ying's being her guide during this period of time.
Faced with such an emergency, Cao Ying was stunned at first, then waved her hand embarrassedly, wanting to reject Xiao Ling's kindness.
"I don't feel comfortable doing this. This is too expensive..." There was a hint of hesitation in her voice.
Xiao Ling did not say anything, but silently handed the thousand-year-old ice crystal snow lotus to Cao Ying, obviously not intending to take it back.
In his opinion, since he had decided to give it away, there was no need to take it back. This little thing was just a small thing for him, just a little bit of water.
Finally, under Xiao Ling's insistence, Cao Ying took the ice crystal snow lotus with a blush on her pretty face. "Thank you..." she whispered, her voice so soft that it was almost inaudible.
Afterwards, Cao Ying quickly turned her head and walked quickly in front of Xiao Ling, leaving only her graceful back wrapped in a black dress.
Where Xiao Ling couldn't see, Cao Ying was gently holding the thousand-year-old ice crystal snow lotus, putting it to her nose and sniffing it gently.
The faint fragrance made her feel extremely happy. Unknowingly, her cheeks were already faintly flushed. The shyness and joy seemed particularly moving in the quietness of the treasure house.
This unexpected gift indeed made Cao Ying's impression of Xiao Ling soar, and also made her more certain of her inner guess.
He must be interested in me!
Otherwise, who would be so generous as to give such a precious thing to someone you have only known for a short time?
Picture what?
Of course it’s because of her beauty!
It has to be said that the three major illusions of life are prevalent in any world, especially for a talented and beautiful girl like Cao Ying who has attracted much attention. She has never had a shortage of suitors.
"Hehe, it's not that easy for me to pursue him, but this guy is indeed much better than those who claim to be young talents in Zhongzhou. He is not a bad choice."
Cao Ying thought so in her heart as she looked at Xiao Ling's handsome face. The more she looked at him, the more she liked him.
This made Xiao Ling, who was following behind, feel a little puzzled. "What's wrong with this woman? She's so weird."
He muttered to himself, but didn't think much about it and continued to focus on selecting various rare medicinal herbs.
On the other side, Elder Mu, who was monitoring the situation in the treasure house through a special treasure, saw Xiao Ling's actions and couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
"Is this kid so wealthy? He actually chose so many treasures, even the thousand-year-old ice crystal snow lotus, and he can give it away at will. I hope he can't come up with enough exchange rewards when the time comes, otherwise he can only work for Danta to refine medicine..."
……
About an hour later, Xiao Ling and Cao Ying walked around the treasure house, picked out the materials they were satisfied with, and then returned to the front desk.
It has to be said that Danta’s collection of medicinal herbs and various rare materials is indeed rich, which opened Xiao Ling’s eyes.
However, he knew in his heart that these were far from all of Danta's resources. There must be more precious materials that he could not access at his current level.
Elder Mu at the front desk saw Xiao Ling and Cao Ying coming out and greeted them with a smile: "Hey, you two young people finally came out. Looks like you have almost made your selection, right?"
"Just now I saw you, young man, took away a lot of rare materials. I, an old man, am a little envious. But you must come up with something of equal value in exchange when the time comes." Elder Mu said to Xiao Ling half-jokingly, with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Haha, don't worry, I can handle these materials." Xiao Ling smiled easily, his tone revealing full confidence.
What a joke! With the magical artifact, the Zhantian Bottle, which can ripen medicinal materials, in his hand, when has Xiao Ling ever lacked medicinal resources?
It is definitely more than enough to exchange for these precious treasures selected from the Danta Treasure House this time.
Immediately, Xiao Ling nodded to Cao Ying, indicating that he would start dealing with the resource exchange himself, and then he walked towards Elder Mu to prepare for the resource exchange.
The process of resource exchange is actually very simple. Every rare treasure in the treasure house is assigned a value point. If you want to take these treasures away, you must exchange them with the corresponding value points.
Xiao Ling planned to exchange some of his duplicate medicinal materials for these value points, and then use these value points to exchange for the rare materials he selected in the treasure house. In Danta, these value points are usually obtained by completing tasks assigned by Danta, handing in rare materials, or contributing martial arts. Only formal members of Danta can enjoy such rights.
Although Xiao Ling has not officially joined Danta yet, since Xuan Yi, one of the three giants of Danta, has spoken, he can naturally make an exception and make such an exchange.
However, Xuan Yi originally thought that Xiao Ling was from the Northwest Continent and could not even gather the medicinal materials needed to refine the Poria Green Pill. Even if Xiao Ling was wealthy, he should not be much richer than an ordinary eighth-grade alchemist.
In that case, Xiao Ling might just take out some materials he didn't need in exchange for treasures in the Danta treasury that were useful to him.
This can also be regarded as Danta's care for Xiao Ling.
However, the wealth that Xiao Ling displayed this time was in no way inferior to the collection of a veteran eighth-grade alchemist, which was beyond Xuan Yi's expectations.
However, Xuanyi would not know about this matter in a short time, and even if Xuanyi knew it, she would not care too much.
After all, Danta would not suffer any loss. Xiao Ling got what he wanted from Danta, so he would naturally have a better impression of Danta. This was also a good thing for Danta.
After completing the exchange, Elder Mu looked at Xiao Ling with a strange look in his eyes. As a veteran eighth-grade alchemy master, his wealth was actually not as good as that of this young man who looked only about 20 years old. He couldn't help but wonder how this kid had accumulated so many precious medicinal materials.
"Hey, kid, you are so wealthy that even I, an old man, am a little envious. How about we make a deal?" Elder Mu sorted out the medicinal materials received from Xiao Ling, rubbed his hands, and said to Xiao Ling in a joking tone.
"Oh? Senior, what kind of deal do you plan to make with me?" Xiao Ling had gained a lot this time and was in a good mood, so he asked curiously with a smile.
"I got this fighting skill from a relic. It's very precious. I saw that you picked a lot of poisonous materials before. I wonder if you are interested in this fighting skill." Elder Mu said as he took out a dark green scroll and handed it to Xiao Ling.
"I don't want anything too precious from you, just two of those evergreen vines you took out before. If this fighting skill wasn't unsuitable for me to practice, I wouldn't have given it to you in exchange at such a low price."
Hearing Elder Mu's words, Xiao Ling's interest was also piqued. He reached out to take the dark green scroll, then spread it out and examined it carefully.
"Poisonous Soul-Breaking Strike, a mid-level earth-level fighting skill. This skill uses poison gas as a blade, pointing directly at the enemy's soul, causing great damage. Its attack is invisible, and its harm is very severe. It can sound like thunder in silence and kill the enemy invisibly.
If the practitioner's soul is strong and the poison is fierce, the power of this skill will be even greater, making it impossible for the opponent to defend himself, and the power of the skill will be unpredictable as it can destroy the soul in one blow."
"This is a rare poison-attribute soul fighting skill, it's really good." Xiao Ling touched his chin and thought to himself, "If Xiao Yixian learns it, it will definitely become her trump card."
He was very satisfied with the deal proposed by Elder Mu.
"How about it, young man? Is this fighting skill to your liking?" Seeing that Xiao Ling did not respond immediately, Elder Mu rubbed his hands and asked with expectant eyes.
He knew that such fighting skills might not be suitable for alchemists like Xiao Ling to practice personally. Even if the soul power was strong, if the fighting spirit attributes did not match, the power of the fighting skills would be greatly reduced.
"I like this fighting skill very much. I agree to this deal." Xiao Ling came back to his senses, nodded to Elder Mu, then put the green scroll into his storage ring, then took out two evergreen vines and handed them to Elder Mu.
"Haha, you have really good taste." Elder Mu took the Qingling vine and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Elder Mu felt that he had made a good deal, as he was able to exchange a fighting skill that was of little use to him for the medicinal herbs he needed.
After greeting each other for a few words, Xiao Ling and Cao Ying said goodbye to Elder Mu and left.
Walking in the corridor of Dan Tower, Cao Ying put a strand of hair behind her and asked Xiao Ling, "Xiao Ling, are you planning to go back to your residence in Shengdan City next? My Cao family also has some mansions in the inner city of Shengdan City. If you need, we can lend them to you and your companions."
"No, thank you for your kindness." Xiao Ling declined with a smile, "I will be leaving Shengdan City soon and won't stay for long, so I won't bother you."
"Hehe, okay then." Cao Ying chuckled. Although she felt a little disappointed when she heard that Xiao Ling would not stay in Shengdan City for long, she soon put on a bright smile again.
She moved slightly closer to Xiao Ling, staring at his profile with her charming peach blossom eyes, and said with a hint of playfulness: "During your stay in Shengdan City, can I ask you some questions about alchemy? If I can learn from you, an eighth-grade alchemy master, maybe my alchemy skills will improve."
Xiao Ling didn't turn his head, but just stretched out a hand and gently blocked his cheek, cleverly moving Cao Ying's head further away.
Then he turned his head and said helplessly: "For this matter, you can... Let's go! But you don't have to get so close."
"Hmph! I'm just a girl and I didn't say anything!" Cao Ying protested softly, but there was a hint of something else in her eyes.
Over the years, as she became more and more beautiful, more and more people around her looked at her with disgust.
She is not an ordinary person, so she naturally understands what those men are thinking.
She felt both disgusted and helpless towards those men who acted one way on the surface but had ulterior motives in private, because there were too many such people.
However, she unexpectedly developed a genuine liking for Xiao Ling.
Perhaps it was because she had been the best among her peers for many years, and suddenly meeting someone who was far superior to her made her heart stir.
There was also Xiao Ling's gaze that was different from ordinary people. The way he looked at her was free of the desire and greed of those men, which made her feel a rare comfort and respect.
This unique attitude made her liking for Xiao Ling continue to grow as they got along with Xiao Ling.
"You can come to see me, but I have a condition." Xiao Ling suddenly stopped, turned his head and looked at Cao Ying, a serious look in his eyes.
Cao Ying was caught off guard by his sudden seriousness. She blinked and asked curiously, "What are the conditions?"
"I hope our communication will be limited to the knowledge of alchemy and medicinal materials. I don't want to be involved in other unnecessary things." Xiao Ling's voice was calm, but there was a tone that could not be refused.
Xiao Ling and Cao Ying got along well, but he still couldn't figure out what Cao Ying was thinking. After all, women like Cao Ying were very shrewd, and one could fall into her trap if one wasn't careful. Given the current situation, it was more appropriate to keep a certain distance.
Besides, there are two young girls at home, and Xiao Ling doesn't want to cause an unmanageable situation due to a momentary carelessness.
Cao Ying was slightly startled, then she smiled beautifully: "I understand. Don't worry, I, Cao Ying, am not the kind of person who doesn't know how to be interesting. Since you said so, let's just talk about alchemy."
Xiao Ling nodded, and the two continued to walk along the corridor. Although Cao Ying accepted Xiao Ling's conditions on the surface, she was a little dissatisfied in her heart.
She has always been the focus of everyone's attention since she was a child, with countless suitors, but no one has ever kept a distance from her like Xiao Ling did.
Thoughts surged in his mind like the tide, and Cao Ying fell into his own endless imagination again.
Could it be that Xiao Ling actually secretly likes me, but doesn't dare to say it out loud, so he deliberately acts so cold, trying to use this tactic of playing hard to get?
(End of this chapter)