Ayao had just finished trading a Jade Stream Grass with a stall owner in the market when she went off to another place. As she walked, a veiled woman with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation approached and blocked Ayao's path, transmitting a message telepathically:
“I see that you are using the same materials as the Dust-Reducing Pill. Are you perhaps missing the Panlong Fruit?”
Ayao immediately became alert. This masked woman knew she was collecting materials for the Dust-Reducing Pill. Had she been observing her for a long time? She hadn't even noticed. Who was she? What was her purpose?
“Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be nervous. I have no other intentions. I just want to sell the Panlong Fruit. So, in this market, I keep an eye out for anyone who collects materials related to the Dust-Reducing Pill. I still have one Panlong Fruit on hand. If you need it, we can move to a suitable place to trade,” the veiled woman said.
Although Ayao was wary, she had been searching the market for a long time without finding the Panlong Fruit. She knew it would be much more expensive at the auction house. Being short of spirit stones, Ayao didn't want to spend more money searching for the fruit at the auction house. She sized up the masked woman, remembering that this was Tianxi City, and the city lord forbade fighting within the city; anyone who did would be punished. After thinking it over, she nodded.
"Alright! I'll make a deal with you!"
So Ayao followed the masked woman into a small alley. There was no one there. The masked woman took out a Panlong Fruit from her storage bag. The Panlong Fruit looked like a small dragon coiled together, emitting a purple light. After Ayao examined it with her divine sense, she found that there was nothing wrong with the fruit and asked, "How many spirit stones?"
"1,500 high-grade spirit stones."
"Make it cheaper."
"no."
Ayao frowned.
The masked woman said, "How about this, 1,500 high-grade spirit stones, and I'll give you two pieces of corundum?" As she spoke, two beams of light flew out of her storage bag, floated in front of her, and turned into two fist-sized stones. These two stones resembled jade but were not jade, and had a metallic luster; they were indeed corundum.
Corundum is an auxiliary material frequently used in weapon crafting.
Ayao looked at the two fist-sized pieces of corundum, then at the dragon fruit, thought for a moment, and said, "Deal."
So Ayao took out 1,500 high-grade spirit stones from her storage bag, put them into another storage bag, and gave them to the masked woman. After the masked woman checked the spirit stones with her divine sense, she said, "The money and goods are settled."
After saying that, he left, leaving behind the dragon fruit and corundum floating in mid-air.
After collecting the dragon fruit and the corundum, A Yao flew away from Tianxi City on her sword.
After leaving Tianxi City, she didn't return to Kunshan. She went to a secluded spot, sat down on a large rock, checked the Panlong Fruit, and put it back into her storage bag. Then she took out two pieces of corundum. When she scanned the two pieces of corundum with her divine sense earlier, she noticed something inside one of them, but upon closer inspection, she couldn't see anything.
After taking out the two pieces of corundum, Ayao scanned them with her divine sense, tossing one back into her storage bag. She held the other in her hand, examining it carefully. At first glance, her divine sense seemed to detect something inside, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there. This was unusual. Ayao simply crushed the corundum, exerted force with her fingers, and concentrated her magical power in her hand, causing her fingertips to glow with golden light.
The corundum shattered instantly, revealing a small jade pendant inside.
The jade pendant glowed with a bluish-green light, its ancient design quite extraordinary. Ayao gazed at it, channeling her spiritual sense into it, and discovered that it recorded the location of an ancient cave. Ayao's heart pounded; perhaps she had struck gold this time.
She immediately put away the jade pendant, flew away on her sword to a safer, more secluded place, set up array flags, and formed a barrier. Within the barrier, she carefully examined the location of the ancient cave. The more A-Yao looked, the more excited she became. After finishing, she removed the array flags and immediately flew towards the location of the ancient cave.
————
Three days later.
Above the sea, a sword light flashed, revealing a young girl flying on a sword. The girl looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a beautiful face but an overly thin and pale appearance. Her gauze dress fluttered in the wind, making her figure appear even more slender.
The girl flew low over the sea, seemingly searching for something.
After a long while, she flew towards an ordinary-looking island.
"This is it."
Looking at the unremarkable island before her, A Yao smiled. According to the jade pendant, this island appeared devoid of spiritual energy, just an ordinary deserted island, but in reality, it was protected by a mysterious array. This jade pendant was the key to entering the island. She silently recited the incantation, and a burst of light emanated from her body. The jade pendant floated in front of her, and A Yao rushed towards the island below.
When she was still a hundred feet away from the island, a flash of light appeared below, and A Yao's figure disappeared.
————
Within the bamboo forest, A-Yao, riding a flying sword, surveyed her surroundings. The mountains here were rugged and beautiful, peach blossoms vibrant, and lush green grasses stretched as far as the eye could see. The air was thick with spiritual energy, and the ground was covered in clusters of flowers and countless spiritual herbs and plants. A-Yao flew down and, overjoyed at the sight of the herbs, collected several thousand-year-old ones before flying forward.
According to the inscription on the jade pendant, there is a cave in the mountains ahead.
Surrounded by clouds and mist, passing through a waterfall, it was indeed a hidden paradise inside.
Looking inside, Ayao saw many bookshelves displaying various items such as cauldrons, desks, and chairs. The fire in the alchemy furnace had gone out, and everything was covered in ash. However, the bottles and jars on the shelves and desk, once opened, still emitted a strong medicinal fragrance, proving that the pills had not lost their medicinal properties.
"Dust-Clearing Pill, Purple Mansion Pill, Grade Six Divination Pill, Grade Six Qi-Consolidating Pill..."
Ah Yao opened each bottle and jar with great joy.
She thought of the masked woman who had casually given her the corundum. If the woman knew that there was a jade pendant inside the corundum and a great opportunity, she would probably regret it terribly. She would probably hunt her down immediately.
She actually had a lucky streak, hahaha...
"Hahahahaha..."
Ayao couldn't help but laugh out loud.
She then went to look through the books on the shelf and found many cultivation techniques and alchemy tips. There were even inscriptions on the wall by the owner of the cave, inscribing his insights on Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation.
They've made a fortune! They've hit the jackpot!
Ayao was overjoyed.
Little did she know that many things here had been arranged in advance. There's no such thing as a free lunch; someone was just trying to give her a stroke of good luck.
Ayao originally intended to take everything away, but suddenly a thought flashed through her mind: why not cultivate here?
Besides still harboring some hope for her family, Ayao stayed with the Lu family for another reason: even though Yingxiu Peak was a secondary spiritual vein, its spiritual energy was still more abundant than that of a mid-level sect's blessed land. Now, this deserted island had comparable spiritual energy to her own Yingxiu Peak, so why should she go back?
"Why don't we cultivate here?" Ayao thought to herself.
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