“Did you say he’s the Master of the Yellow Spring? That can’t be possible, right!?”
It took a while for Shui Miao to finally regain his composure, feeling that things were getting stranger by the minute.
“Well… I also find it hard to believe, but he’s definitely been hiding his true strength. And given that he’s from the Yellow Spring Sect, there’s a good chance he might indeed be the Master of Yellow Spring. So let’s just find out more first. Alright, come over here as soon as possible and let’s observe him together. If that old man is truly the Yuan Shen of a Divine King, I’ll naturally step in to help you.”
After Old Cai finished speaking, he cut off communication with Shui Miao.
Regaining his focus, Shui Miao noticed Lin Qing’er already standing in front of him. She lowered her voice and asked, “Shui Miao, have you noticed any soul following me closely?”
“…”
Upon hearing this, Shui Miao immediately understood what she meant.
A sense of disappointment welled up inside him. Despite everything, she still had feelings for that man who was already dead. Then what exactly was he to her?
After a brief pause, Shui Miao shook his head.
Lin Qing’er bit her lip and continued, “Can you help me? Can you ask your friend to help me find him? I just want to see him one last time… I don’t mean anything by it. I just feel guilty toward him, so I want to meet him again, just once more.”
“Alright, I’ll do my best.”
Shui Miao nodded. Thinking about it, he realized that unless she resolved this emotional knot, she might never truly move on from that past relationship.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Lin Qing’er lowered her head and walked back to her seat.
She actually thanked me?
Does that mean she never really accepted me?
Hearing her say “thank you” twice, Shui Miao felt a deep emotional blow. That flicker of affection he had for her seemed suddenly crushed.
Acting, all of it was just acting!
She doesn’t love me. Why should I keep clinging to these feelings?
Suddenly, Shui Miao turned and walked away again…
Seeing this, Old Lin hurriedly chased after him, “Shui, Shui Miao, let me come with you. I still don’t want to die yet. Let me live a little longer!”
“It’s fine if you follow me, but your lifespan is nearly over. I might not be able to help you when that time comes,” Shui Miao replied emotionlessly, quickening his pace toward the rooftop.
Da Shuang and Lin Qing’er also hurriedly followed, keeping a distance of about ten meters behind him.
“Alright, you can wait for me here at the entrance. There’s no need to follow me so closely.”
Without showing any emotion, Shui Miao ascended to the rooftop, heading straight for a spot more than fifty meters away.
Meanwhile, Ye Xian was enthusiastically talking about the Yellow Spring Sect, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
When Lin Qing’er and Da Shuang saw Old Lin stop, they also halted their steps.
Seeing Shui Miao approach, Ye Xian stopped talking and nodded respectfully, “Immortal, let’s not waste time. We should quickly prepare our people and go.”
“Herbs?”
Upon hearing this, Old Cai quickly waved his hands, “No, no, no! We don’t need people. What we need are herbs.” He turned to Shui Miao, “Oh, Shui Miao, didn’t you say you know a major merchant in the Underworld who sells herbs? We could buy some herbs and exchange them for pills at the Yellow Spring Sect.”
“That’s right! There’s profit to be made in business!” Lao Qin winked at Shui Miao, hinting him not to reveal the truth.
Understanding each other without words, Shui Miao’s mind stirred and he said, “Well, I’m afraid I can’t contact him right now. Usually, he’s the one who contacts me. But I do have a little stock of herbs on me. We can try exchanging first. If it works, we can buy more herbs later for trade.”
Shui Miao’s current goal was simple—not to really seize the Nine Tripod Cauldron, but to first obtain some Fire Holy Spirit essence.
Upon hearing this, Ye Xian hurriedly said, “Exchange for what? Just gather more people and directly raid the Yellow Spring Sect to seize the Nine Tripod Incense Burner and make our own pills! I know the way well, really well! Those mazes in the Yellow Spring Sect won’t stop me!”
“No, no, no! We will absolutely not raid. We must do business openly and honestly,” Old Cai waved his hands again.
Lao Qin also shook his head, “Even if we gather many people, we won’t go raiding. It would ruin our reputation.”
“What reputation? They’re basically bandits!” Hearing Lao Qin and Lao Cai’s words, Ye Xian felt disappointed, “You’re just playing with me! Xiao Hei told me we could raid, so I came here to discuss an inside-outside joint operation with you. Now you’re saying we should do business openly? Then why did you even call for my master, Master Guigu Faman?”
“Xiao Hei, how did I teach you to handle things? How could you say such nonsense?” Shui Miao immediately reprimanded the Black Snake Demon, “This was originally a good business opportunity. I sent you to investigate whether the Yellow Spring Sect really buys herbs, but you went around spreading nonsense. If the Yellow Spring Ancestor finds out, will he still do business with us? You’re ruining my chances!”
“…”
Knowing he was in the wrong, the Black Snake Demon lowered his head in silence. He had received some Fire Holy Spirit essence from Ye Xian and, in his excitement, had let slip some crucial information.
Old Cai and the others also started blaming him.
“Ah! This matter is completely ruined. We can’t do this business anymore.”
“Yeah! It’s such a rare opportunity to meet the Yellow Spring Ancestor, and it turned out like this…”
“Alright, maybe we can cooperate another time. We’ll take our leave now.”
“Brother Shui Miao, thank you for your hospitality. We’ll be taking our leave now.”
Old Cai and Lao Qin bowed and immediately used the Dun Jia technique, a form of teleportation, to depart.
Seeing this, the Black Snake Demon was extremely confused, unable to understand why Old Cai and the others suddenly changed their minds.
Shui Miao pretended to be angry and scolded the Black Snake Demon, “Xiao Hei, you’ve really disappointed me. Now I’m punishing you to go meditate by the riverside three miles away. You’re not allowed to wander off without my summoning. If you disobey, don’t call me Master ever again. Now, get out of here!”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an unmistakable air of authority.
Why three miles to the riverside? The Black Snake Demon’s heart stirred and he quickly vanished.
Once Xiao Hei was gone, Shui Miao’s mind stirred. He took out a herb from the Holy Yuan Ring and handed it to Ye Xian, “Brother Ye Xian, I’m truly sorry. It seems our business deal is off. As a token of my apology, please deliver this herb to Senior Master Guigu Faman. Consider this a punishment for my poor judgment in subordinates.”
Although Shui Miao carried many holy herbs, the one he gave Ye Xian was the Blood Pore Powder from the Realm of Rakshasa.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
On the surface, Shui Miao appeared to be testing Ye Xian’s true identity, but in reality, he was simply trying to obtain the Fire Holy Spirit essence.
Seeing such a rare and valuable herb, Ye Xian was momentarily stunned.
After a pause, Ye Xian whispered, “Immortal, what kind of pill are you trying to exchange for? Maybe I can help you obtain it.”
He’s taking the bait!?
Shui Miao’s heart stirred slightly with excitement. He acted nonchalant as he said, “I also have the Soul Ginseng from the Nine Underworlds, the Continuum Soul Grass that grows deep in Hell, and a few other rare herbs. Unfortunately, I don’t have much of them. Right now, I just need some Fire Holy Spirit essence for cultivation.”
“What! You only want Fire Holy Spirit essence?”
Ye Xian looked genuinely surprised. What Shui Miao wanted seemed incredibly easy to obtain for him.
Shui Miao nodded, feigning confusion as he looked at Ye Xian, “What? Don’t tell me you actually have some Fire Holy Spirit essence on you?”
“Of course I do!”
Ye Xian glanced around cautiously and lowered his voice, “Immortal, you don’t know this, but Fire Holy Spirit essence is considered only an ordinary treasure in the Yellow Spring Sect. The Yellow Spring Ancestor uses it when refining pills. I just happened to sneak some away. If you want it, I can exchange my Fire Holy Spirit essence for more herbs from you. How about that?”
“Really? You actually have it?”
Shui Miao couldn’t help but feel excited.
Ye Xian licked his lips and whispered conspiratorially, “In fact, I also have several other types of Holy Spirit essences. You don’t know, in the Yellow Spring Ancestor’s pill chamber, Holy Spirit essences are practically not considered treasures at all. The real treasures are the pills themselves. I’ll just give you this Fire Holy Spirit essence.”
So saying, Ye Xian took out a Fire Holy Spirit essence the size of a fist from his spatial ring and handed it to Shui Miao.
As Shui Miao took the Fire Holy Spirit essence, his divine sense detected its unique properties—its fire elemental energy was incredibly pure.
He’s definitely not just some minor ghost doctor!
Perhaps he really is the Yellow Spring Ancestor. If that’s the case, his actions make sense. To quickly restore his powers, he might have taken the risk of personally coming out to find herbs. At this point, Shui Miao pocketed the Fire Holy Spirit essence and handed Ye Xian the remaining half of his herbs, “Exchange these for more Holy Spirit essence. Give me a bit more.”
“Great! Great!!”
Ye Xian tried hard to hide his excitement as he took out even more Fire Holy Spirit essence, along with several other types of Holy Spirit essences. Finally, he also handed Shui Miao a jade pendant and said urgently, “Take this. I’m going back to the Yellow Spring Sect right away to get more Holy Spirit essence. If you can get more herbs, I might even be able to get you some high-grade pills to enhance your cultivation. Keep this pendant on you. If you need me, just call my name three times while holding it, and I’ll come as quickly as I can.”
After saying this, Ye Xian hurriedly disappeared into the night.
At last, Shui Miao had gathered several types of Holy Spirit essences. He was thrilled and immediately sat down on the spot, circulating his immortal energy, spreading his divine sense to detect the Black Snake Demon, who hadn’t gone far, as well as Old Cai and Old Qin.
“Xiao Hei, go find Bai Feng immediately to guard me while I cultivate. I’ll give you some Fire Holy Spirit essence later.”
“Senior Lao Cai, please help me keep an eye on Old Lin. Do whatever it takes to restrain his soul. I’ll reward you handsomely in the future!”
Shui Miao was excited, anxious, and filled with anticipation.
He had high hopes for these Holy Spirit essences.
Therefore, he was eager to begin cultivation, wanting to see if he could break through his cultivation barrier using these essences.
Without further ado, Shui Miao ignored Lin Qing’er and the others and immediately focused his mind, drawing a continuous flow of Holy Yuan essence from the Holy Yuan Ring into his dantian and spiritual realm to begin his cultivation…
Just as Shui Miao was settling into his meditation, Old Lin began struggling for breath again, nearing death!
Seeing this, Da Shuang hurriedly ran to Shui Miao and called out, “Shui Miao, quickly go check on him! Uncle Lin is dying again!”
“He’s going to die eventually. Don’t bother me anymore,” Shui Miao replied impatiently, waving his hand.
But just then, Lin Qing’er suddenly let out a scream!
Shui Miao turned his head and saw Old Lin spitting out a large puff of murky yellow mist onto the ground. Then, with a final breath, he died. The mist quickly condensed, forming into a figure wearing a murky yellow robe and red hair within just two or three breaths!
In the next moment, the red-haired, yellow-robed figure began walking toward Shui Miao…
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