Chapter 67

"We will definitely cultivate diligently and reach the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible," the children said in unison.

Zhang Ju said apologetically, "Please don't be offended, Fairy. They saw the true form of the Fire Phoenix in the live broadcast and have been talking about it ever since."

Ye Zi: "It's just a child's nature, nothing to worry about."

Zhang Ju opened his mouth, and after a long while asked, "Fairy, do you know if there are any external objects that can detect the attributes of spiritual roots? If so, our Taoist temple would like to buy some. I wonder if Lingju Temple is convenient to sell them?"

“Yes, if we could detect external objects like that, we could recruit more talented children in the future.” Someone nodded in agreement.

Ye Zi was in a bit of a dilemma, because Lingju Temple only had a few pieces of testing jade left. Firstly, the quantity was small, and secondly, the material of that kind of jade was special and difficult to find now, so Lingju Temple would not sell it to the public.

Just as Ye Zi was about to refuse, Luo Hengzhi squeezed Ye Zi's palm.

Luo Hengzhi: "Of course, our Lingju Temple has a store called 'First Pill Pavilion' which has officially opened in Qingyong City. The First Pill Pavilion not only has pills, magic tools, and talismans, but also spiritual root detectors. If your temple needs them, you can go to the store to buy them."

"However, the price may be quite expensive!"

“That’s good. Such a magical detection device is worth the price.” Zhang Ju said, “Then we won’t disturb the fairy’s rest. We’ll go back and prepare to go to Qingyong City.”

After Zhang Ju and the others left, Ye Zi asked Luo Hengzhi, "Where did we get the detector?"

"We'll practice in a bit." Luo Hengzhi took Ye Zi's hand and walked into the elevator.

The former hotel lobby manager was left unattended and ignored. He tried to follow them into the hotel but was stopped at the door by the doorman.

"Why can't I go in? Can't I go in and make a purchase?"

"You are not allowed to enter, please leave!" The doorman glared at him, refusing to budge and refusing to let him in.

Ye Zi knew that since Luo Hengzhi had said that, she must already have a plan: "How do you plan to refine it?"

“This.” Luo Hengzhi took out a piece of burial jade.

Ye Zi already knew that Luo Hengzhi had picked up the Burial Jade in the Underworld, but she never expected that the Burial Jade would be in the Underworld.

They knew that Luo Hengzhi was using it to create consciousness puppets, but they still took it out at this moment.

Ye Zi was stunned at first, but quickly reacted: "Imbue the Burial Jade with the consciousness of spiritual root detection, and create a spiritual root detector!"

Luo Hengzhi: "Little Yezi is clever!"

"Luo Hengzhi, you're amazing! How did you come up with that idea!" Ye Zi exclaimed again, marveling at Luo Hengzhi's novel and unique thoughts. How could a person's mind be so flexible?

"Little Yezi thought of that too." Luo Hengzhi raised his hand and ruffled Ye Zi's hair. His little Yezi's startled and jumpy appearance was very lively and inexplicably cute!

"No, I never expected it. If you hadn't taken out the Burial Jade, I would never have imagined that it could be used in this way!"

Ye Zi had to admit that the records about the Burial Jade in the book never strayed from the concept of consciousness puppets, so Ye Zi also developed a fixed mindset that seeing the Burial Jade would remind her of consciousness puppets.

It's easy to overlook the fact that burial jade is a vessel that can carry any consciousness!

Consciousness puppets are created by using burial jade to make puppet hearts, which gives basic puppets the ability to communicate and develop independent thoughts.

In other words, the puppet's independent thought and communication ability both originate from the Burial Jade.

To put it simply, the puppet is merely a framework; the Burial Jade is the master of communication and thought.

In that case, the burial jade could also be imbued with the consciousness to detect spiritual roots, and then made into a spiritual root detector.

For example, when detecting spiritual roots, Ye Zi uses spiritual power to identify whether the other party has spiritual roots with the five elements attributes.

Then we can inject spiritual power into the Burial Jade and give it the consciousness to detect the five elements attributes of spiritual roots, so that the Burial Jade can directly replace people to perform the act of probing spiritual roots!

Luo Hengzhi transformed the Burial Jade into the shape of a one-meter-tall tree, named it the "Spirit-Detecting Tree," then infused it with spiritual power, and directly transmitted the consciousness of probing spiritual roots into the Spirit-Detecting Tree, thus creating a magical artifact that could autonomously detect spiritual roots.

Luo Hengzhi held the Spirit Detection Tree: "This Spirit Detection Tree can be used countless times, but after every hundred tests, the First Pill Pavilion will provide a free spiritual energy replenishment service."

"Priced at one million, or 100 mid-grade spirit stones."

"One million!" Ye Zi looked at the spirit-detecting trees that Luo Hengzhi could create in five seconds.

Five seconds equals 1 million!

Ye Zi: "Isn't it too expensive!"

Luo Hengzhi: "It's not expensive. Those who need to buy Spirit Exploration Trees, like Yangqing Temple and Yonghe Temple today, are all powerful Taoist temples."

"Instead, the Spirit-Exploring Tree is a sustainable, permanent fixed asset. Buying a one-meter-tall divine tree for 1 million will directly improve the development prospects of the Taoist temple, attract talented disciples, and open up the path of cultivation. No matter how you look at it, it's a bargain!"

After Luo Hengzhi said that, Ye Zi looked at the one-meter-tall spirit-detecting tree again. It was as black as jade, but there was a dark red liquid flowing in the middle, which was full of technological sense!

Ye Zi suddenly felt that 1 million seemed a bit too cheap!

“Come on, let’s do it together. Once it’s done, send it back to Lingju Temple.” Ye Zi pulled Luo Hengzhi to sit down.

One million every five seconds, just thinking about it is exciting!

"Master, there's a big catch in the sea! Can we go play in the sea later?" Long Bao and Huo Feng ran in from the balcony, joining Luo Hengzhi's million-dollar project!

Luo Hengzhi: "Large shipment?"

"Yeah, it's a big guy, a thousand-year-old tortoise, but it's very timid. It just poked its head out for a moment and then ran away, but it didn't escape the eyes of me and Fire Phoenix," Long Bao said.

Luo Hengzhi recalled that Ye Zi had said she would go to the sea to find the main ingredient for making the Rejuvenating Pill, Lingyu Coral.

Now that we've discovered an intelligent being hiding in the sea, we no longer need to search aimlessly; we can directly ask Lingyu Coral for its location.

After the 100 Spirit-Exploring Trees were completed, they were teleported back to Lingju Temple. Ye Zi and Luo Hengzhi then took the two-year-old Fire Phoenix directly to the seaside.

"Found it! Little Eight hid at the bottom of the sea and even set up a barrier to make it easier for me to find it." Fire Phoenix pointed out a direction to Dragon Treasure.

With the three of them in tow, Longbao leaped into the sea and swam towards the depths of the ocean.

The moment when Longbao revealed his true form was captured by a young couple enjoying the view from the balcony of a sea-view room.

"Was that a dragon on the sea just now?!"

"Yes, I captured it; it's very clear."

"So clear, it really is a dragon! Upload it online quickly!"

A video titled "A real dragon has been captured on camera" has been uploaded online, attracting a bunch of netizens who are just watching the spectacle.

Longbao: "Two people took pictures of me."

"Let him film it. Not many people will believe it; most will definitely say it's fake or photoshopped." Fire Phoenix already knew the characteristics of online comment sections very well.

Moreover, the clearer the video you upload, the less people will believe it!

Upon reaching the seabed, Ye Zilu Hengzhi saw a transparent barrier, inside which was a magnificent underground palace.

"This little Baba really knows how to enjoy life, living in such a nice palace," Longbao said enviously.

Fire Phoenix instructed Dragon Treasure: "Bump it twice, and let Little Eight come out to open the door."

Longbao obediently bumped the barrier twice with its dragon head, but the barrier was of poor quality, and cracks appeared after only two bumps.

"Don't bump it anymore, I'll open the door, I'm opening it." Xiao Ba transformed into human form, but carried a large tortoise shell on his back, looking both young and old.

"Little Eight, why are you both small and old?" Long Bao transformed into human form, put his arm around Little Eight's shoulder as if they were old friends, and patted the turtle shell on its back as he asked.

Xiao Ba, always a bit of a goofball, replied with a laugh, "This is my secret to longevity; living this long makes you age slowly."

Fire Phoenix: "I've aged since I was little, but... I've aged slowly!"

Ye Zi and Luo Hengzhi looked around the entire underground palace. It was truly luxurious inside, filled with gold and luminous pearls. Further inside, they found houses built with spirit stones, and even top-grade spirit stones at that.

Looking at the room full of money, Ye Zi couldn't help but sigh, "Longevity...is all about being rich!"

"Little Eight, don't flaunt your wealth. Won't you get robbed if you keep doing this?" Fire Phoenix touched the top-grade spirit stone on the wall, really wanting to take it off.

"No one has been able to break my barrier in a thousand years, no one can get in, except you, of course." Little Eight looked at Dragon Treasure and Fire Phoenix innocently and asked, "Your dragon and phoenix clans have been noble since ancient times, you certainly wouldn't care about this little bit of money, you wouldn't rob me, right?"

Long Bao shook his head: "It's hard to say. The Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan are rich, but Fire Phoenix and I are truly penniless. Looking at all this money in the room, to be honest, I really want to rob you."

Xiao Ba waved his hand and said, "If you really like it, I'll give it to you. No need to go through the trouble of robbing me."

Longbao was stunned by Xiaoba's bold gesture: "Xiaoba, your gesture was so cool! Do you know that?"

Xiao Ba raised her chin and said proudly, "Of course I know, because I'm really rich."

Even someone so poor they only had one spirit stone could find rare dragon treasures and fire phoenixes rolling their eyes at the sky. This tortoise is too arrogant, what should I do if I'm a little jealous!

Finally, guests arrived at the house, and Xiao Ba, showing off his wealth and happiness, said: "Come and have some fine wine and dew. This is a special delicacy that I specially found in the city."

"Good stuff? I have to try it." Long Bao leaned closer and sniffed. "Wine, huh? I was wondering why this smelled so familiar. My master has some at home."

"This is fine wine, said to be the most expensive in the world." Xiao Ba handed two cups to Long Bao Huo Feng, then turned to invite Ye Zilu and Heng Zhi to sit down, and poured two large bowls for the two of them as well.

Why use large bowls? Because Xiao Ba believes that when friends come, you should have good wine and meat, and when eating meat, you should eat large pieces and drink from large bowls. So he served the guests with bowls to show his hospitality.

Ye Zi had only ever drunk spirit wine made from spirit fruits; she had never tasted such a precious wine before!

Since it's the most expensive, it must taste good. As the saying goes, there's a reason why it's expensive!

Ye Zi took a sniff and thought it smelled somewhat nice, after all, it smelled like money. She was a little thirsty, so she picked it up and drank it down in big gulps.

"You can't drink like that!"

In the blink of an eye, Luo Hengzhi saw Ye Zi holding a bowl and drinking heartily!

Ye Zi took a big bite, and it was incredibly spicy!

Luo Hengzhi quickly took the bowl from Ye Zi's hand and poured a glass of water for Ye Zi to rinse her mouth.

"Why is it spicy!" Ye Zi rinsed her mouth, but still felt an lingering aftertaste, a spiciness that went straight to the top of her head. Ye Zi patted her head, feeling like fireworks were going off inside!

Luo Hengzhi rubbed Ye Zi's head and said helplessly, "This is baijiu (Chinese liquor), are you feeling a bit tipsy?"

"I'm feeling dizzy," Ye Zi said, feeling a bit sleepy. Her eyes started to glaze over, her head was spinning, and she could see double images of Luo Hengzhi.

Ye Zi raised her hand and hugged Luo Hengzhi's face: "Luo Hengzhi, don't shake me, I'm a little dizzy."

Luo Hengzhi saw that Ye Zi's eyes were unfocused and her cheeks and the corners of her eyes were flushed. She was drunk. She didn't expect Ye Zi to have such a low alcohol tolerance!

"I won't shake it." Luo Hengzhi pulled Ye Zi's wandering hand off her face and coaxed her patiently, "Ye Zi, I'll use my spiritual power to help you force the wine out."

"Good wine warms the body; it's a waste to force it out." Xiao Ba kindly pointed towards the guest rooms, "There are guest rooms to the left. Just take a nap there, and you'll wake up refreshed and invigorated."

The dragon and the phoenix locked eyes; wine is a precious commodity... a rare and fine brew that can rapidly enhance the relationship between the two masters!