Yushou Ya’er glanced sideways at the four cultivators meditating in the corner.
They really were cultivating inside a store.
In public.
Weird. Didn’t they have sects? Or caves? Or at least a quiet inn room somewhere?
This wasn’t even a spiritual ground!
There was no dense qi here. No formation. Not even incense!
And yet, these four were sitting there with serious faces, like they were about to break through to the next realm.
What kind of strange cultivation technique required being surrounded by shelves?
Yushou Ya’er rubbed her temple. This place made no sense.
But well, she just had to do what she came here to do. She walked over to the aisles and reached for the Original Salted Potato Chips.
Then she saw the price tag.
Her hand froze midair. Her pupils shrank.
“F-Five crystals?!”
Not five silver. Not five gold.
But five actual crystals!
She turned her head left and right, checking if anyone else was going to react.
No one did.
Was this normal here? Five crystals… for a snack?
She swiped her fingers across the price tag, just in case it was dusty or cursed.
Maybe the numbers would change?
They didn’t.
The price was real.
Little Liz peeked up at the tag too. The creature’s eyes bulged so hard they looked like they were about to roll out.
Yushou Ya’er slapped her own cheeks.
’Calm down. Could be the secret recipe of some extinct sect, made with ingredients so rare they only grow once every two years.’
’That’d make it worth five crystals… maybe.’
But her inner self was screaming.
That’s the kind of money that could feed both of us for a whole month or two!!
She turned to glare at Little Liz.
Who turned her head away, pretending to look at the wall. But her sparkly eyes gave her away completely.
Yushou Ya’er sighed and gritted her teeth. This stupid cute lizard had been with her since she was small.
Her only real partner. She was rarely this excited about anything.
Maybe… maybe just once.
A single tear threatened to fall from Ya’er’s eye.
She sniffled and picked up the bag with a trembling hand.
Then marched to the counter and slapped down five shining crystals like she was offering up her soul.
The counter artifact buzzed.
A light scanned the bag, hummed twice, then dinged.
So this was how it worked. A strange artifact-based system confirming the transaction?
She had never seen anything like it.
Yushou Ya’er took the bag and walked to the furthest corner of the store, away from Old Tiger Zhao’s brain-melting mumbling.
She opened the chips dramatically – pulling the bag wide open
Then she picked one chip.
Only one.
The rest, she placed gently on the ground.
“Enjoy it, Little Liz. You’ve earned it.”
Yushou Ya’er gave Little Liz a gentle pat on the head.
Then, adopting the posture of a cultivator who had just lost a duel to poverty, she sat.
Legs spread. Back slouched. Arms hung in surrender.
She plopped down just as Joe Yabuki did after his last match.
With dignity.
And despair, she popped the chip into her mouth.
Delicious beyond belief.
Yushou Ya’er’s closed her eyes.
’…Okay, okay… I get it now.’
This was the real deal.
The chip was perfect in every way.
Except for the price.
She chewed slowly, with the air of someone savoring the taste of a luxurious meal while mourning her wallet’s death.
On the other hand, Little Liz was having the time of her life.
Crunch.
Crunch.
CRUNCH.
Munching down on those Original Salted Potato Chips like they were spirit beast jerky dipped in heaven-grade sauce.
Little Liz knew they cost a lot – her partner was crying inside, after all -but that only meant one thing.
Time to hunt more beasts and fund the snack stash.
She nodded to herself solemnly, as if vowing to provide for their future.
With every bite, Little Liz felt something shift inside her. Her core… was stabilizing?
The more she ate, the more grounded she felt. Balanced.
Was she close to evolving?
Wait, wait – could these chips be some sort of hidden treasure disguised as food?!
A fortuitous encounter in crinkly foreign packaging?!
Meanwhile, over at the counter, Hao stared at his floating screen in disbelief.
Name: Yushou Ya’er
Age: 69
Cultivation: 3rd Stage of Saint Realm
Hao blinked. “…”
’Sixty… nine?’
He glanced over at the girl who looked barely taller than Little Xixix
Tiny frame, pouty face, and a very expressive glare.
69?!
That’s a nice numb – wait, no.
That’s ancient!
What in the heckaroo is this?!
Bro. Ain’t no way she’s 69 – she looks like she still needs a permission slip to leave the sect.
There was no bug in the system. Hao knew that much.
He just had to accept some things in life, but his mind still itched with curiosity.
What kind of heaven-defying skincare pills was Yushou Ya’er taking?
Did she have some Immortal Youth Constitution?
If people back on Earth saw her, billionaires would throw their entire fortunes into cauldrons hoping to cook up whatever she had going on.
Anti-aging serums? Stem cells? Facial lifts?
This woman could go viral overnight. Not even one filter needed – her face already had that built-in cuteness enhancer, cheekbones that could slice through cloud, and a perfectly tiny jawline sculpted by the heavens.
With her smooth dark skin glowing under the store’s cold lights, she’d definitely stand out!
Give her a ring light and a spirit beast plushie, and she’d be livestreaming cultivation tips and skin-care hacks by sundown.
“Hey guys, it’s Grandma Ya’er with another tutorial – today we’re brewing wrinkle-reversal elixirs…”
As Yushou Ya’er stood up, leaving Little Liz to savor the bag of chips, she strolled around the store.
She examined the other items with her hands. Only, every time she saw a price tag, she flinched.
It wasn’t surprise anymore. It was emotional damage.
She turned her head and spotted the screen behind the counter.
’Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Cream – 2 Crystals.’ she read.
Two.
Only two.
’That’s practically free compared to the potato chips.’
She stared at the screen longer.
If Little Liz got something good, shouldn’t she too? Wouldn’t it be… unfair if only the lizard got pampered?
Right?
RIGHT?
She walked up to the counter with both pride and delusion.
“Storekeeper, can I get that ice – ice cream?”