Shui Miao’s action was purely impulsive, without any deep thought.
Bai Feng was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at Shui Miao!
It’s harmless for an older sister to put a ring on her younger brother’s finger. Bai Feng just didn’t know which finger to place it on and mistakenly put it on the wrong one, which was understandable.
However, when Shui Miao put a ring on Bai Feng’s finger, it made her feel quite awkward.
Bai Feng felt as if Shui Miao might have feelings for her, even though there was nearly a 500-year age gap between them…
Meanwhile, some of the onlookers inside the Spirit Treasure Pavilion cast envious glances, making Bai Feng feel even more embarrassed.
To test Shui Miao’s feelings toward her, Bai Feng deliberately pulled her hand away, took off the ring, and returned it to Shui Miao, saying, “Sister already has a bracelet; I don’t need this. You should keep these for your good friends.”
“Then… I’ll buy something else for you, sister.” Shui Miao thought for a moment and realized he had indeed acted impulsively. He had obtained the Holy Yuan Ring for himself but gave Bai Feng an inferior one, which was clearly inappropriate.
It must have been a misunderstanding. Bai Feng lightly shook her hand with a faint sense of disappointment, saying, “No, I really don’t need anything.”
“Let’s take a look first, okay, sister?”
With money in hand, Shui Miao’s mindset shifted. This phrase sounded familiar—it was what Bai Feng had just said to him moments ago.
Shui Miao turned around and noticed a nearby counter selling herbs and various stones. The herbs were of many types, though none were familiar to him. The stones were also peculiar, varying in color, size, and shape. At that moment, several ghosts were purchasing medicinal herbs for injuries. Shui Miao sensed with his spiritual awareness and found that both the herbs and stones contained various types of spiritual energy, though the proportion of Yin-element energy was higher.
Earlier, Shui Miao had bought the Holy Yuan Ring from a different counter. The shopkeeper selling the herbs and stones had noticed this. Seeing Shui Miao glance over, he quickly stepped out from behind the counter with a smile to introduce his wares.
The shopkeeper was about 1.5 meters tall, looked to be in his fifties, and wore a gray robe covered with pockets of various shapes. Though the outfit looked messy, Shui Miao sensed that each pocket contained spiritual treasures, possibly spatial treasures. His hairstyle was also unique: a single tuft of hair on the crown of his head was braided into a 30-centimeter-long ponytail sticking straight up, while the rest of his head was completely bald and covered with scars.
The shopkeeper’s oval face was full of wrinkles as he smiled and said, “Young sir, you clearly have a discerning eye. I have a few treasures that I’ve kept hidden away—would you be interested in taking a look?” He had been observing Shui Miao for some time and had already figured out some of his personality traits, so he got straight to the point.
As he spoke, he pulled out a white, egg-shaped object and from it summoned several streams of energy.
Shui Miao sensed the energy and was surprised to find it was all Holy Spirit energy. Among them, one stream of Earth-element energy was especially pure, reminding him instantly of the Earth Holy Spirit. “I’d like to see that Earth-element treasure.”
“Of course, of course. Come, let’s go behind the counter and take a closer look.”
Behind the counter was a curtain. The shopkeeper invited Shui Miao and Bai Feng to step through. Inside was a small, exquisitely decorated room, approximately ten square meters in size, with numerous cabinets lining the walls. Once inside, the shopkeeper shut the door and took out the egg-shaped object again, pulling from it a ball of earth-yellow energy about the size of a basketball. However, it looked more like a mass of highly concentrated gaseous substance.
“So much Earth Holy Spirit!”
Bai Feng gasped in astonishment. She had seen the Earth Holy Spirit before in the ghost realm of the Miao region, but that time the seller had only possessed a small amount, about the size of a regular egg, and it had been extremely expensive.
It really was the Earth Holy Spirit!
Seeing that Bai Feng recognized it, Shui Miao no longer had any doubts.
Seeing both Shui Miao and Bai Feng’s interest, the shopkeeper smiled and said, “Besides the Earth Holy Spirit, I also have the Water, Wood, and Metal Holy Spirits. I only lack the Fire Holy Spirit to complete the five elements. Unfortunately, my abilities aren’t strong enough, or else you’d see it.”
“Big brother,” Bai Feng asked curiously, “I know that the Five Holy Spirits are extremely difficult to obtain, and even if one does, the quantity is usually very small. Yet you have so much—it definitely isn’t from the mortal world, right?” She looked at the small shopkeeper. “Don’t misunderstand—I’m not implying anything, I’m just curious about the source since such items are so rare.”
“Haha, no problem, no problem. Since I’m selling it, the source is definitely clean. You’re right—pure Holy Spirit energy is hard to find in the mortal world, let alone in such large quantities, unless someone is incredibly lucky.” The shopkeeper seemed eager to show off. He waved his hand and summoned the other three types of Holy Spirit energy. The Gold and Wood Holy Spirits were about the same amount as the Earth one, but the Water Holy Spirit was unusually abundant, piled on the floor like a small human-shaped hill. He raised his eyebrows and whispered conspiratorially to Shui Miao, “I know you must run a shop in the Immortal Realm. Your Yang-type immortal energy is very strong, and I can sense that. These things might not be of much value to you, but there’s one item I’m sure you’ll find extremely interesting.”
“What is it?”
Shui Miao and Bai Feng exchanged glances, their hearts slightly stirred with excitement. It seemed this small shopkeeper had mistaken Shui Miao for an immortal merchant.
The shopkeeper cautiously went to the door, listened for a moment, then came back and whispered, “My family and I once went to the Realm of Rakshasas. There, we discovered a hidden treasure vault deep inside a mountain. We destroyed the formation and successfully entered, obtaining these Holy Spirit energies and some other treasures, like armor and blades. Unfortunately, the deeper we went, the more terrifying the formations became. We barely made it to the fourth level, but couldn’t proceed to the fifth—the Fire Holy Hall. Later, we learned through various means that it was actually the treasure vault of Luo Tong, the Forging Sage King of the Rakshasa Realm. The vault has twelve levels, containing the nine supreme Holy Spirit Essences of Heaven and Earth. If one could pass the final three levels, they might even obtain Luo Tong’s legacy and become the new Forging Sage King of the Rakshasa Realm. At that point, who would care about wealth?”
The Nine Supreme Holy Spirit Essences!
A wave of excitement surged in Shui Miao’s heart.
This small shopkeeper had revealed such an astonishing secret, leaving both Shui Miao and Bai Feng puzzled—why would he share this with them?
“You… why are you telling all this to my younger brother?”
Bai Feng wasn’t worried about the shopkeeper trying to deceive them. She could sense his power level—it wasn’t high at all, probably only a few hundred years of cultivation at most.
A weak soul attempting to deceive a strong cultivator was not the way ghosts survived.
Ghosts revered strength; the weak never dared challenge the strong.
Because after death, souls still existed, but if a ghost perished, it was truly gone forever. Thus, ghosts were always cautious.
“Hehe, sister, you’re really smart,” the shopkeeper gave Bai Feng a thumbs-up, then turned back to Shui Miao with sparkling eyes and said, “Young sir, only immortals can break the formations in the deeper levels of the treasure vault. I was hoping to partner with you to try our luck. You can bring a few powerful immortal friends from the Immortal Realm, and we can go together. Don’t worry— I don’t want the best treasures. I only need to collect all nine Supreme Holy Spirit Essences. Of course, if you could spare one or two treasures for me later, that would be even better.”
“If it’s such a great opportunity, why don’t you find immortals yourself?”
Shui Miao couldn’t help but ask.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Bai Feng realized how naïve Shui Miao sounded. Did he really need to ask? Except for a few rare ghosts with special cultivation, ordinary ghosts couldn’t even enter the Immortal Realm.
Even Bai Feng, with all her cultivation, couldn’t go to the Immortal Realm—she could only chat with the Thunder Guardians in the clouds.
The small shopkeeper seemed to know how inexperienced Shui Miao was. He immediately waved his hands and laughed, “Young sir, you flatter me. My heavenly soul has long been scattered. No matter how great the opportunity, I can’t ascend to the Immortal Realm. That’s why I’m hoping to partner with you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! I’m not really running a shop here—I’m actually waiting for someone like you, a true immortal, to come along! Oh, and if you’re interested in these Holy Spirit Essences, I can give you some.”
As he spoke, the shopkeeper pulled out a curved blade with a unique aura. With one slash, he cut the basketball-sized Earth Holy Spirit into two halves and offered one half to Shui Miao.
Bai Feng and Shui Miao sensed the blade’s special energy—it seemed capable of cutting through anything. There was also a “Luo” character engraved on the blade.
“Hehe, this curved blade was taken from the third level of the treasure vault. If you like it, I’ll give it to you as well,” the shopkeeper said, handing Shui Miao the half of Earth Holy Spirit and then presenting the blade’s sheath along with the blade. He then took out a black sword from one of his robe pockets and handed it to Bai Feng.
Accepting the gifts meant agreeing to cooperate.
Refusing meant declining.
Shui Miao really wanted to accept, because with this, he would only be missing the Fire Holy Spirit to complete the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Holy Spirits.
Bai Feng also wanted to accept, because she realized the black sword was an invaluable treasure. With it, she might even have a chance to challenge her master, Bai Niangniang.
“Little brother, you decide. If you go, I’ll go with you.”
She couldn’t stop admiring the black sword.
Shui Miao licked his lips. It seemed the small shopkeeper was absolutely sincere. Cooperation wasn’t a problem, but seeking help from immortals in the Immortal Realm was unlikely. After a moment’s thought, an idea struck him. He scratched his head and said to the shopkeeper, “Cooperation is fine, but I don’t want to bring too many immortal friends. As you know, too many people make things complicated. Right now, I only need the Fire Holy Spirit to complete the seven Holy Spirits of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Once I obtain it, I can enhance my cultivation. I believe with my improved power, I alone will be worth dozens of ordinary immortals.”
“What? Could it be… you’ve already cultivated such immense immortal energy?” The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment but quickly became excited again. “Sorry, sorry—I shouldn’t have doubted you. I should’ve realized earlier—you’re definitely no ordinary person. Here’s the plan: give me some time to contact my family, and I’ll do everything possible to get you the Fire Holy Spirit. But before that, you must swear a solemn oath to prove that our cooperation is genuine and free of any deception.”
“No problem.”
Swearing an oath to obtain the Fire Holy Spirit—this request didn’t even require hesitation.
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