Qin Feng and his group of five wandered aimlessly throughout the Purple Origin Immortal Realm, searching for stones, but their luck seemed to be running out.

As Dongfang Yue had previously predicted, the result was not ideal; they searched for two days without success.

Just when everyone was feeling discouraged, good news arrived.

"Hey, I found it!" Ao Ling exclaimed in surprise, holding a stone that was bigger than her palm.

"Really? It can't be that easy. Let me see." Dongfang Yue looked incredulous and lunged forward.

"Hehe, of course it's real! Brother Feng, Sister Yuexi, you should come and take a look too." Ao Ling was clearly very excited.

Dongfang Yue leaned closer to Ao Ling, took the stone, and after a slight examination, confirmed it. She exclaimed in surprise:

"I can't believe it, you've really hit the jackpot, you actually found it."

Ao Ling tilted her little face up happily, "I told you you were too pessimistic. You gave up before you even took any action. Now you've proven me wrong."

Dongfang Yue was speechless.

Qin Feng and Leng Yuexi also took the stone and examined it. Although the quality of this Purple Origin Crystal was not as good as the one Dongfang Zhengyu gave them, it was indeed a genuine Purple Origin Crystal, which was a good start.

Qin Feng praised without reservation: "Ling'er is really capable. You're the only one among the five of us who found her."

Ao Ling smiled back at Tian Tian.

Leng Yuexi reminded, "The appearance of Purple Source Crystals is not without reason. Once one appears, there will be other Purple Source Crystals nearby. Let's use this as the center and search carefully again."

The five split up again, searching within a small area.

Before long, good news kept coming in.

"I found it too, haha, I found it too, it really exists!" Dongfang Yue was the first to shout excitedly.

"I found it too." Dongmei also brought good news.

"Hehe, I found another one." Ao Ling's joyful voice rang out.

Not only that, Qin Feng and Leng Yuexi were also found.

In the end, they found a total of fifty Purple Source Crystals of varying sizes within a radius of a hundred miles, which was a pretty good haul.

This wave of success greatly boosted their morale, and they had high expectations for the upcoming exploration.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. What I thought was a good start turned out to be the peak.

They searched for almost half a month afterward, but found only a pittance, which was completely different from what they had expected.

Dongfang Yue had really lost interest and suggested:

"Well, I don't think this can go on. It's almost time to enter the Ziyuan mining area, so why don't we go back sooner?"

"We should stay there and deploy our forces; after all, there are more possibilities there."

If she had said this at the beginning, many people would have disagreed with her. But now that everyone's expectations have been dampened, they think it's a good idea.

Qin Feng observed everyone's reactions and then made the decision:

"Alright, let's go back to Sunrise City first, and while we're at it, let's talk to Senior Dongfang about Sima Jie in person, so that he can be mentally prepared."

Leng Yuexi casually mentioned, "You guys should also tell me about this Sima Jie while you're at it."

Dongfang Yue shook her head and said, "I don't know much about him. Sister Dongmei, why don't you tell me?"

Dongmei picked up the conversation, thought for a moment, and said:

"My knowledge is limited. He rose to prominence about ten years ago, and it seems that he began to gain the attention of the Sima family head around that time."

After that, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, surpassing all the younger generation of the Sima clan, and he was appointed as the young master by Sima Jian.

Dongmei paused, then hesitated and said:

"Everyone says he's suddenly enlightened, or that he's received some great opportunity that will change his life."

I thought so too before, but after hearing your speculations, perhaps he had already fallen into someone else's trap back then.

Qin Feng, Leng Yuexi, and Ao Ling exchanged glances, becoming even more certain of their guess.

The group chatted like this, and returned to the Dongfang family with the meager amount of Purple Source Crystals they had acquired.

...

Lanyue City, the Sima family.

Upon returning to his family, Sima Jie immediately found his father, Sima Jian, who was also the current head of the Sima family.

Sima Jian had a dignified appearance and always gave people a sense of authority without anger. At this moment, he was looking at Sima Jie with a doting expression.

Of his many sons, he initially did not think highly of Sima Jie, but Sima Jie's later transformation won his approval.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with Sima Jie; in fact, the more he looked at him, the more pleasing he became.

"Jay, you're here. You look very anxious. What happened?"

"Father, how is my marriage to Dongfang Yue progressing? I've heard some bad news lately," Sima Jie said, getting straight to the point.

Sima Jian hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak the truth and said:

"Dongfang Zhengyu spoke to me about this personally. Dongfang Yue felt that he was still too young and he couldn't force her, so we'll postpone your marriage for now."

Sima Jie frowned and said, "Father, my marriage to her is beneficial to both families, so why is she refusing?"

"This!" Sima Jian didn't know how to comfort her. He couldn't very well turn around and say that she didn't like him. He paused for a moment, then said, "Yue'er is indeed still young."

“This is a major matter concerning the alliance between our two families. How can Uncle Dongfang let her act willfully? Father, you must try to fight for your son.”

Sima Jian felt very troubled. If someone doesn't want to marry you, can you force them?

That was no ordinary woman; she was Dongfang Zhengyu's darling.

"Jie'er, why don't you choose someone else? Apart from Dongfang Yue, all the others in the Dongfang family are easy to talk to. If you like someone, I'll talk to Zheng Yu again, and he should agree."

Sima Jie shook his head decisively, "No, I will marry no one but her in this life."

Sima Jian looked at his son, who was deeply in love with him, and felt a headache coming on. What kind of situation was this?

If it were anyone else, Sima Jian would have told them to get lost long ago, but it was Sima Jie, whom he valued the most.

Sima Jian thought for a while, then his eyes lit up as he came up with an idea that he thought was pretty good.

“Jie’er, I admire your deep affection, but matters of the heart cannot be forced.”

Your Uncle Dongfang rejected your marriage proposal this time, but you're not without a chance.

Ultimately, this matter comes down to the two of you. If you can win Dongfang Yue's heart, everything will be fine.

So, whether this succeeds or not is up to you.

Sima Jie was clearly dissatisfied with the result and was about to speak again, but Sima Jian's voice rang out again.

"Jie'er, don't worry, I have good news for you. Zhengyu came to our Sima family before, and besides talking about the marriage, he also asked me for a favor."

"Oh, what is it? Could it be related to Yue'er?" Sima Jie also became interested.

“Yes, it is indeed related to her,” Sima Jian affirmed.

"Father, please continue." Sima Jie paid attention.

"Zhengyu has secured a spot for her in the Ziyuan mining area. You can spend more time with her and get to know her better, and your relationship will naturally develop," Sima Jian began to advise his son.

After listening, Sima Jie pondered for a while, and then he laughed.

Sima Jian's mood improved upon seeing this.

What Sima Jian didn't know was what Sima Jie was really thinking.