Millions of Spiritual Stones

When the light appeared in front of him again, Xu Shulou found himself standing in the magnificent room of Taixu Realm, which was crowded with people all around.

They were of all kinds, men and women, young and old, and the only thing they had in common was that they looked confused.

The ferocious beast guarding the door of the room suddenly saw so many people appearing from the painting and showed a stunned expression.

The steward, Bai Roushuang and others who had received the news also hurriedly appeared at the door: "Senior Sister! You're back!"

"How long was I in there?"

"It will take a few hours. Please make way for me," Bai Roushuang squeezed through the crowd and hugged Xu Shulou happily, "I knew that Senior Sister could do it!"

The manager opened and closed his mouth, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, flipped through the book and compared it for a long while before looking up at Xu Shulou: "Miss Xu, you, you brought them all out?"

"It seems like we have exceeded the target?" Xu Shulou counted the number of people and confirmed that there were more than the portraits in the booklet. It seemed that someone had mistakenly entered before Taixu Realm obtained this painting.

"This, this is simply a miracle. Miss Xu, I will report to the master right away. I am deeply grateful for your generosity today..."

The steward was so excited that he was almost incoherent, but was interrupted by a middle-aged man: "Excuse me, everyone, can anyone tell me what is going on? Am I not about to enter the painting? How come I am standing here with so many people in the blink of an eye?"

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, it has been five years since you entered the painting. This year is the twelfth year of Zhang Shuo." The steward obviously recognized this face and explained to everyone in a heavy tone, "You have all been lost in the painting, for some time, some time, and it was Miss Xu who entered the painting and led you out."

There was an uproar in the room.

"Five years?" The man who asked the question was stunned. Five years was not a particularly long time for a monk. He did not feel panicked, but was extremely confused. He asked Xu Shulou anxiously, "Excuse me, young lady, what does the world in the painting look like? Why don't I remember anything? What made me lost for five years? Where was I when you found me? What was I doing?"

This was the same question on everyone's mind. Everyone temporarily suppressed their anxious emotions and focused their attention on Xu Shulou.

She shook her head heavily. "I don't know exactly what the world in the painting looks like. When I entered, I saw only darkness. Everyone was sleeping in the darkness. There were scary-looking monsters patrolling nearby. I spent a lot of time fighting the monsters before I finally brought everyone out."

The person asking the question was stunned. "Is it that simple? I thought there would be some more difficult and dangerous situations in this painting. Miss, can you explain it in detail?"

"Well," Xu Shulou sighed, "In fact, it was not as easy as I said. At that time, as soon as I entered the painting, I saw the terrifying monster swooping towards me with its bloody mouth wide open. Its big red eyes were fixed on me..."

Everyone listened attentively.

Xu Shulou began to demonstrate: "It happened so fast. I blocked with my sword and kicked the monster in the air with my left leg. I hit the monster's head, but I didn't expect that its forehead was so hard that it was provoked by the kick. It rushed towards me with a scream!"

Everyone became a little nervous.

"I then looked at the monster carefully. It was as big as Kunpeng; its skin was as hard as iron and stone; its claws were as sharp as cold blades..."

Everyone listened attentively.

Xu Shulou was so excited that he slammed the table and said, "…At this moment, I shouted at that monster, we cultivators are full of righteousness! Don't even think of asking me to succumb to your tyranny!"

"Good!" someone shouted.

"...In short," Xu Shulou began to summarize, "I fought with that monster until day and night fell, and was seriously injured. I almost died under its claws. Fortunately, at the critical moment, I found its weakness, which was... under its tail. That's how I was able to kill it and save everyone."

Some people applauded in support.

Xu Shulou was eloquent and told a story to everyone.

"This is what happened," she smiled sheepishly, "I was able to come out safely, maybe it was just my luck. Before I went in, I heard the steward say that this painting is especially kind to innocent people."

The ferocious beast at the door looked at her, then looked at the excited steward, and then looked at the people who were sighing with emotion. He felt that his entire understanding of the world had been challenged.

A man in Confucian robes stepped out and bowed politely to Xu Shulou: "Thank you for your kindness, young lady. I am Duan Wenxuan from Xianyue Tower. If you need anything in the future, please let me know. I will definitely repay you for your kindness today!"

Xu Shulou recognized the man in the scholar's robe as the giant with a fat brain and a lot of food in the painting. He was actually a very handsome man in real life. She clasped her fists and returned the greeting, smiling sincerely, as if she had really just rescued the unconscious man from the monster: "It's just a small effort, Taoist friend, thank you for your kindness."

Others also came forward to express their gratitude one after another, and Xu Shulou returned the greetings one by one. He also chatted with each of them and found that their mental faculties were not impaired.

After all this delay, the somewhat mysterious master of Taixu Realm finally hurried over. He looked like a very elegant young man. As a wealthy man in the world of cultivation, there was nothing special about his dress except that his clothes were made of the finest spiritual silk.

Xu Shulou admired him very much because he had similar taste to her - he wore a folding fan on his waist.

"One hundred years..."

He closed his eyes and hesitated at the door for a moment as if he was homesick. Then he took a deep breath and walked in. With a bit of suppressed excitement on his face, he glanced at the crowd bit by bit, as if he was afraid that he would not find the person he wanted to see.

He soon noticed a young man in the crowd, tears welling up in his eyes, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Cang He?"

The man squeezed out of the crowd, and the two hugged each other and cried. The other people around them had gradually gotten rid of the feeling of confusion in their hearts, and began to greet each other, asking each other when and how they entered the painting. There were also monks who hurried away, probably because they had someone they were anxious to see.

Xu Shulou saw that Li Qu was one of those who was in a hurry to leave. Yes, he had family here to reunite with, real family.

Bai Roushuang looked at the people in front of her, and thought that many people would find their friends, relatives, disciples, and fellow disciples today. She couldn't help but smile at this recovery. And the senior sister who made all this happen personally... wait, where is the senior sister?

She looked around and found that Xu Shulou had left the crowd at some point and was squatting in front of the painting with a brush in his hand. He didn't know what he was doing, and he was laughing strangely.

“…”

Later that day, Xu Shulou and his party sat in the most luxurious private room of the most luxurious restaurant in Fandu City, with a table full of wine and delicacies that were priceless.

The master of Taixu Realm smiled and presented a storage bag containing millions of high-grade spirit stones: "It's just a small token of my respect."

Thinking of the agreement with the voice, Xu Shulou looked away distressedly: "Compared to the spirit stone, I want to take the painting away more."

"The painting can naturally be given to the young lady," the other party said with a smile, "and please accept the million spirit stones."

"This is a bit too generous."

"This is nothing," the master of Taixu Realm shook his head, "Cang He is my best friend, we grew up together. He has been missing for so many years, and he has almost become a demon in my heart. Now, Miss Xu, you have not only saved him, but also my Dao Heart. One million spirit stones plus a painting are nothing."

Cang He, who was rescued by Xu Shulou, also advised: "Taixu Realm is the biggest den of money-losing in Fandu City, young lady, please don't be polite to him."

Xu Shulou no longer refused: "Then I will be disrespectful to refuse it."

Seeing that she accepted it, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, you don't need to worry about the affairs of the Flying Eagle Sect anymore, young lady." The Taixu Realm Master's nonchalant tone made Jiang Yan and others extremely envious.

Xu Shulou, who was previously chased and hacked by the Flying Eagle Sect, also sighed and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the master of Taixu Realm asked again, "Miss, if you have any other wishes, I will definitely fulfill them for you as long as I can."

Xu Shulou thought for a moment and said, "I don't want anything. Otherwise, give my third junior brother a raise."

Feng Yi, who was eating and drinking with Jiang Yan, looked up when he heard the words, and was moved to tears: "Why raise the wages? Senior sister, what about the redemption of me?"

The master of Taixu Realm laughed and clapped his hands. Then a subordinate came in with a tray: "I was planning to give a small gift to Miss Xu's fellow apprentices."

Feng Yi lifted the red cloth on the tray and took a look, then smacked his lips and said, "A small gift?"

Cang He also smiled and said, "Miss Xu, the previous one was his thank you gift, and the next one is mine. I have several properties in Fandu City, you can choose whatever you want."

Xu Shulou shook his head: "That's really not necessary. I'm not good at business."

The master of Taixu Realm interrupted: "I have been managing his property for the past hundred years. After it is transferred to your name, I will also manage it on your behalf. You just need to wait for the dividends every year."

Xu Shulou declined: "Really, no need. One million spirit stones are enough for me to spend until the day of my Ascension."

Cang He thought for a moment and said, "Then... is there anything else that the girl needs? Magical weapons, elixirs, as long as they are available in the cultivation world, we can find them for you."

Seeing them trying their best to do something for him, Xu Shulou thought for a moment, "At the Feiyingmen auction, my junior sister took a fancy to the four skirts of Fengyunshuihuo from Linglong Pavilion, but we didn't have the money to buy them at that time."

Bai Roushuang's eyes widened: "Senior Sister, do you still remember?"

"This is easy," the master of Taixu Realm whispered a few words to his subordinate, and then smiled at Bai Roushuang, "After dinner, we can go get those dresses together."

After dinner, several people went to get the skirts together. During the journey, they passed by the Feiyingmen’s property. Xu Shulou arrogantly floated past them. The other party rolled his eyes, but did not continue to shout for fighting.

When they arrived at the place, Xu Shulou finally understood why the two men insisted that they come in person to get it.

"It turns out that Linglong Pavilion is also your property."

There was a dazzling array of goods before their eyes. The ten floors of the largest clothing store in Fandu City were empty. Cang and He had actually cleared out the customers for them.

"Since Miss Xu doesn't want any property, all the dresses in this clothing store will be given to her."

Xu Shulou shook his head: "Why would I need so many clothes? Even if I change into a new one every day, I'm afraid I'll have to wear them for ten years."

"Take it," the master of Taixu Realm advised, "All the clothes here have a small spiritual array embroidered on them. No matter how tall or heavy the wearer is, the clothes will fit the cultivator's body. You don't have to worry about the size. If you don't like the style, you can always go to the Immortal Clothing Shop under Linglong Pavilion to change it."

"In fact, we persuade you to accept it out of selfish motives," Cang He said frankly, "For the rich people in the cultivation world, they would rather owe you a favor than anything else. If a favor can be repaid with spirit stones, then repay it with spirit stones to avoid trouble in the future. Miss Xu, others may believe you, but I know that there is something more complicated in that painting. This is a life-saving favor, but it's just a few thousand skirts. Please accept it."

Xu Shulou could only nod and say, "Thank you very much. We are even from now on."

The master of the Grand Void Realm laughed again: "It's still okay to be friends, right?"

———

When leaving Fandu City, Xu Shulou looked back and sighed: "I thought my range of activities would be reduced again, and I would never be able to set foot in this city again."

Jiang Yan and others were also deeply moved. It was not easy for them to not be included in the Fandu City banned list after following their senior sister out.

Bai Roushuang smiled and looked at her senior sister: "Where are we going next?"

"I'll send the little fox home first," Xu Shulou thought for a while, "and then I'll have to go back to my sect and retreat for a while. I can feel that I need to improve my realm."

“…”

Everyone fell silent. Xu Shulou went out for a stroll, caused a big disturbance at an auction, snatched two foxes, and obtained a million spirit stones. Then he could go back and improve his realm... If those cultivators who practiced hard every day and dared not slack off heard about this, they would probably shout, "Where is justice?"