Chapter 31

"Wow, what a beautiful woman, she's practically a fairy!"

The crowd suddenly erupted in a commotion, and a green glint appeared in the eyes of countless men.

Xu Chen only had to take one look to know that this woman was not human—well, not an ordinary human, but a cultivator whose cultivation level was even slightly higher than his own.

Furthermore, her figure and appearance were rare, beautiful to an extraordinary degree; compared to the Seventh and Thirteenth Senior Sisters—the two female cultivators he was familiar with—she was far superior in every aspect, truly a masterpiece of the human world, and she perfectly matched the image of the fairy he had longed for in his childhood.

However, while this female cultivator was indeed beautiful—even enough to make his heart flutter—she looked a bit too seductive; compared to the rustic, village-girl style of his two familiar senior sisters, she didn't seem quite as pure or kind, and she didn't look like a "good person."

Just as he was pondering how to respond, the woman gave him a sweet smile, walked straight up to the shopkeeper, and with her delicate fingers, placed a finger-sized piece of silver on the counter, then said coldly: "It's only two copper coins; this piece of silver should be enough, right!"

The shopkeeper stared at the woman's chest, gulping hard, his eyes shining as he nodded repeatedly: "Enough, enough."

"Hmph, if you keep looking around, I'll dig your eyeballs out!"

The woman let out another cold snort, seemingly carrying a trace of spiritual pressure, and the shopkeeper rolled his eyes and fell backward, knocking over a large bucket of milk.

"Oh my god, she's a real fairy!"

The aura released by the woman intimidated everyone; the surrounding onlookers instantly fell to their knees with a series of thuds, kowtowing incessantly, and no one dared to show even the slightest disrespect.

The woman said to Xu Chen: "Fellow Daoist is a cultivator, why bother lowering yourself to the level of these mortals? Giving him a little trouble is enough."

Xu Chen cupped his hands with a strange expression and said: "Many thanks to you, Fellow Daoist, for the rescue. However, as cultivators, why should we lower ourselves to the level of mortals? It's just that I was in a bit of a rush when I left and forgot to bring money."

Looking at the small white fox still held in Xu Chen's arms, the woman was instantly filled with surprise and said: "Fellow Daoist, this spirit pet of yours is quite excellent; it's a very rare breed."

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment and asked curiously: "It's just an ordinary spirit fox, how is it rare? If it weren't for the fact that it needed milk, I wouldn't have been in such an embarrassing situation just now."

The woman smiled and said: "This spirit fox of yours is not simple, but there are too many prying eyes here; why not find a quiet place to talk?"

Xu Chen thought that made sense, so he took the woman and left the group of mortals behind, heading toward the inn.

No matter where this suddenly appearing woman came from, or whether her intentions were good or bad, since she had appeared, Xu Chen would treat her with caution.

Besides, since she had just helped him out of a tight spot, it wouldn't be polite to turn around and drive her away immediately.

Upon returning to the inn, the shopkeeper happened to be back from selling vegetables with his daughter. Seeing Xu Chen bring back an impossibly beautiful female guest, they were both surprised and delighted, hurriedly helping to boil water for tea and even bringing over some fresh melons and fruits.

The two sat down in the room to drink tea and exchanged their names and sect affiliations.

The female cultivator's name was Lin Qiu Ya, a disciple of the Xuanqing Sect in the Dongwu Kingdom, who had been sent by her master to offer birthday wishes to the Emperor of the Great Song Kingdom.

Xu Chen rarely traveled, and his experience in the immortal world was almost zero. Currently, he only knew the names and rankings of the immortal sects within the Great Song, and he could give a rough overview of the so-called Ten Great Immortal Sects of the Shenzhou; as for the sects of other kingdoms, he knew absolutely nothing.

Even regarding the Ziyang Sect of the Ming Kingdom, with whom they currently had a blood feud, he had only heard that the sect was ranked in the top three in the Ming Kingdom, but he knew nothing of its true strength.

As for the Dongwu Kingdom, it was a small country in the east of the Great Song, near the East Sea, and squeezed between the two powerful nations of the Great Song and the Great Ming; it was basically a non-entity.

As for the Xuanqing Sect, Xu Chen was completely in the dark and had never heard of it at all.

However, one doesn't ask about the origin of wealth, nor the background of cultivation; the immortal world respects strength above all else. There is no distinction of high or low between small sects and large ones, and since it was at least a named sect, Xu Chen still politely expressed his "long-standing admiration."

Lin Qiu Ya, however, seemed very clear about the immortal sects of the Song Kingdom, and even understood the background of the Taiyuan Sect quite well. During their tea and conversation, she mentioned many secrets of the Song immortal world that even his Ninth and Thirteenth Senior Sisters didn't know, which truly opened Xu Chen's eyes.

Thus, as the two drank tea and exchanged information, they soon found themselves in a very agreeable conversation.

"Woo~ iya~"

Just as they were talking, the little fox poked its head out from Xu Chen's collar, its two pale purple eyes clear and transparent, and it was chewing on a pitch-black bead.

Lin Qiu Ya had been smiling and preparing to reach out to hold it, but the moment her eyes landed on the black bead, her expression changed drastically. She exclaimed and stood up: "A Soul Bead?!"

Xu Chen asked, confused: "What is Fellow Daoist Lin talking about?"

Lin Qiu Ya pointed at the black bead in the little fox's mouth, looking incredulous: "This is a Soul Bead! Such a precious treasure, and Fellow Daoist Xu is actually letting a spirit beast use it as a toy? The Taiyuan Sect is indeed wealthy and powerful; the reputation is well-deserved."

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment, plucked the black bead from the little fox's mouth, and placed it in his palm: "Is this what Fellow Daoist Lin is referring to?"

Lin Qiu Ya said with a strange expression: "Could it be that Fellow Daoist Xu doesn't know what this is?"

Xu Chen nodded awkwardly: "Indeed, I found this while training in a dangerous place. I don't know what it is, but this little fox likes to chew on it, so I just let it use it as a toy. Does Fellow Daoist Lin know its origin?"

Lin Qiu Ya nodded, sat back down, and said: "The origin of the Soul Bead is very mysterious, but it only appears in certain dangerous places, and it is extremely rare. Beyond the Eastern Wasteland, there is a Void Abyss that constantly spews black water. Some strange Soul Beasts emerge from the abyss, and occasionally, after killing them, one can obtain these precious beads."

Xu Chen was both surprised and delighted.

He had been trying to uncover the secret of this black bead, and he never expected to get the answer today from a female cultivator of unknown origin.

If his guess was correct, the black water Void Abyss in the Eastern Wasteland that Lin Qiu Ya spoke of and the rift in the Black Wind Ridge near Nanyang City were actually the same phenomenon, and the monsters that produced these black beads were called Soul Beasts.

Xu Chen hurriedly asked for details about the Void Abyss and the Soul Beasts. Lin Qiu Ya told him everything she knew, and only then did Xu Chen understand the origin and efficacy of the Soul Bead.

This black water Void Abyss was said to connect to an unknown world within the vast void, and Soul Beasts were creatures that lived in that void. The Soul Bead was the essence of the Soul Beast; the more powerful the Soul Beast, the larger the Soul Bead inside, and the stronger the soul power it contained.

And soul power was exactly what cultivators desperately needed to cultivate their primordial spirits.

If there were a constant supply of soul power, a great cultivator in the Spirit Realm could break through from the Spirit Transformation Realm to the True Spirit Realm and the Divine Spirit Realm without any obstacles, allowing their primordial spirit to grow from a Nascent Soul to an Out-of-Body state, eventually achieving full Divinity, or even breaking the void to forge a Yang Spirit, becoming a Void-Realm True Immortal who has transcended the Three Realms.

Although the world is vast and there are many treasures, most are ordinary spirit herbs or materials; first, second, or even third-tier items are common. As cultivation levels increase, the various treasures required become increasingly rare. Fourth or fifth-tier treasures often take decades or even centuries to mature, and the conditions are extremely harsh. Every time one appears, it is inevitably accompanied by celestial phenomena, making them hard to find in the world.

Consequently, once a cultivator enters the Spirit Transformation Realm, their cultivation speed becomes exceptionally slow. Without immense luck and fortuitous encounters, they can only rely on grinding away at their spirit bodies and cultivating their primordial spirits.

The difficulty of becoming an immortal is harder than ascending to heaven.

In the entire Song Kingdom, there hasn't been a single True Immortal who has reached the stage of "Refining Spirit and Returning to the Void" in over a thousand years.

The reason is that there are too few treasures, and even great cultivators in the Spirit Realm cannot withstand the erosion of time; once their thousand-year lifespan is up, they can only die in regret.

And the Soul Bead, as it turns out, is a rare and precious treasure that assists great cultivators in the Spirit Realm in cultivating their souls.

That's right, a rare treasure; this thing is rare in the world, and the places where it appears and the way it is formed are extremely harsh.

It only appears when the Black Wind Rift is in violent turmoil, and not every Soul Beast has a Soul Bead.

After hearing Lin Qiu Ya's explanation, sweat beaded on Xu Chen's forehead. He hurriedly gripped the Soul Bead tightly in his hand, refusing to let go even as the little fox nudged his hand to act cute.

"Then, does Fellow Daoist Lin know how many spirit stones this Soul Bead is worth?" Xu Chen asked cautiously.

Lin Qiu Ya looked at Xu Chen with her charming eyes, her smile freezing for a moment before she shook her head: "This item has no grade, and naturally, it has no price. I have only heard of it from my sect elders; if a great cultivator in the Spirit Realm needed it at a critical moment of cultivation, I fear they would be willing to pay a thousand spirit stones."

"A thousand spirit stones?!"

Xu Chen's body jolted, and he almost fell off his chair. His face, which he had been trying to keep as calm as a veteran, was filled with terror.

Lin Qiu Ya nodded: "That's right. Soul Beads are rare, no less so than fourth or fifth-tier spirit materials or medicines, so the price is naturally high. However, this Soul Bead of yours is still a bit too small, so its utility is limited. If it were the size of a fist, I fear that if the news got out, all the great cultivators in the Shenzhou would be stirred up, and it might even fetch a hundred thousand spirit stones."

Xu Chen was completely stunned, his head buzzing.

Never did he expect that the two unremarkable black beads he had picked up effortlessly during his trip to Black Wind Ridge would turn out to be such valuable treasures of heaven and earth.

At present, the entire net worth of the Taiyuan Sect is estimated to be less than ten thousand Spirit Stones.

And among them, the most valuable item, a Four-Tier Soul-Returning Wood, had even been killed by him through neglect.

If he had one hundred thousand Spirit Stones right now, he would be eating one Spirit Pill and tossing another away, and hanging Magic Treasures and Storage Bags all over his body until he became a walking rack of Magic Treasures.

However, Xu Chen was not completely swept away by this good news.

After all, this was not one hundred thousand Spirit Stones; poor as he was, his brain had not yet been flooded with water.

This woman's origins were mysterious, her behavior unpredictable, and she carried an alluring aura; for her to suddenly approach a wretch like him who could not even scrape together two coppers, she definitely had an ulterior motive.

As the saying goes, if someone shows uncalled-for courtesy, they are either a traitor or a thief.

Therefore, from the moment this woman appeared, Xu Chen had almost labeled her as untrustworthy.

But regardless of Lin Qiu Ya's origins or her purpose, or even if she might be a cultivator from their mortal enemy, the Ziyang Sect, for Xu Chen, it had not yet reached the point where he needed to guard against her as a formidable foe.

At the very least, Lin Qiu Ya had provided him with a secret of the Immortal World regarding the Soul Bead, which was worth him making an effort to befriend and thank her.

Furthermore, Lin Qiu Ya only had the cultivation of the mid-stage Kaiyuan Realm; even if she had come for the Blood God Grass, he could handle her all by himself.

A cultivator of the Zhenyuan Realm had no power to resist the impact of the Blue Jade Bead, and he believed that Lin Qiu Ya, whose cultivation was at most ten percent higher than his, would definitely be knocked unconscious by the impact instantly.

He was not skilled at killing people, but he considered himself to have a knack for backstabbing them.

Besides, this was the first time he had seen such a beautiful young female cultivator; if he knocked her out and stripped off her clothes... hmm, she might be hiding a Storage Bag.