Chapter 583: The Soul of the Spiritual Vein

"This item combines offense and defense, and is an exceptional ancient treasure—excellent!"

"Yes, a fine artifact!"

The two Void Refinement experts beside them also nodded, acknowledging the jade seal He He Pingsheng had produced.

"Very well!" the female Void Refinement expert nodded and said, "I admit, your treasure truly has value!"

"Let me think—what should I compensate you with?"

The female Void Refinement expert hesitated.

Something too valuable would mean she lost out.

Something too poor, however, worried her—she feared He He Pingsheng might refuse, and the two nearby Void Refinement experts would snatch it up.

In truth, it wasn't as she claimed—this supreme ancient treasure wasn't just somewhat useful to her, but immensely useful.

If she obtained this ancient treasure, she had already decided to personally nurture it as her life treasure.

If given time to ascend one more level, this ancient treasure could become a spiritual treasure—wouldn't that be perfect?

It was entirely possible.

"Here's what I'll do!"

After pondering for roughly ten breaths, the woman said, "I have here a mid-grade spiritual dragon… I'll give this to you as compensation. Is that acceptable?"

As she spoke, she produced a large jade vase!

The jade vase stood a full foot tall!

He He Pingsheng felt a surge of confusion—what exactly was this "spiritual dragon"?

But he said nothing, instead opening a narrow gap in the vase and sending his spiritual sense inside.

When he saw a small dragon, about a foot long, made of spiritual energy drifting within the bottle, his heart jolted.

This… was a spiritual vein's soul?

No wonder he'd never heard of a "spiritual dragon"—it was just a different name.

The woman called it a spiritual dragon, but in his 【Spirit World's Thousand Customs】, it was recorded as 【Spiritual Vein's Soul】.

What is a spiritual vein's soul?

Simple—it's the core of a spiritual vein.

For example, beneath the mountain where He He Pingsheng's former sect, Grand Void Gate, was located, there lay a mid-grade spiritual vein.

That spiritual vein also contained a spiritual vein's soul.

If someone used great power to extract this soul from the vein, the vein would wither completely within ten years and vanish.

Grand Void Gate would then become nothing more than an ordinary hill.

But if this spiritual vein's soul were sealed beneath the earth with great power and nurtured, within at most ten years, a mid-grade spiritual vein would emerge at that location—and over time, this mid-grade vein would grow larger.

Eventually, it could become a place capable of housing a celestial sect.

This thing was powerful.

But… for Void Refinement experts, it was somewhat useless.

After all, a mid-grade spiritual vein could only support a sect like Grand Void Gate.

A mid-grade vein could not sustain the cultivation of a Void Refinement expert.

For Void Refinement experts, at least a high-grade vein was required.

That was why the woman was willing to trade this item.

But for He He Pingsheng, this thing was not useless at all.

I can enhance it.

Over time, I can strengthen this mid-grade spiritual vein's soul into two high-grade ones—or even supreme ones.

Wouldn't that be better?

"Agreed!" He He Pingsheng said. "Thank you, Elder!"

Since she had agreed, he had no reason to refuse.

The deal was sealed.

The woman took the Thick Earth Shaking Mountain Seal.

"Young master…" an elderly Void Refinement expert beside her smiled and said, "Do you have any more of these ancient treasures?"

He He Pingsheng smiled. "I'm afraid not, Elder."

He added, "But if you have any sixth-grade talismans, I can offer other items for trade."

The elder asked, "What items would you offer?"

He He Pingsheng replied, "I must first see your talismans before deciding."

The elder's face turned awkward, and he waved his hand. "Forget it—I was just teasing you!"

After reaching Void Refinement, cultivators rarely used talismans.

The higher the grade of talisman, the harder it is to forge.

Take a sixth-grade talisman—it requires a sixth-grade talisman crafter, sixth-grade immortal talisman paper, sixth-grade talisman ink, and so on.

It's extremely troublesome!

And like alchemy, its success rate is very low—reportedly far lower than pill-making.

Also, while one pill batch yields twelve pills, a successful talisman produces only one.

Most crucially, a low-grade talisman produces a single strike equivalent to a Void Refinement Level One attack—what use is that to me?

I expend so much effort for a power level equal to my own single strike.

Why would I need such a low-grade talisman?

Not even a mid-grade talisman is of much use to most Void Refinement disciples.

"Then, I'll take my leave!"

He He Pingsheng made an excuse, bowed to these old foxes, and departed.

After leaving, he bought another ticket and went to the next session.

But after visiting three or five more sessions, he found nothing that stirred his interest.

Enough!

No more!

He He Pingsheng left the Immortal Ship Plaza and went to the street where the merchant guilds were located.

He entered a different guild.

Previously, he hadn't considered crafting fifth-grade spirit essence.

Now it was different—he had the 【Crimson Fire Loquat】 as the main ingredient; gathering auxiliary materials would be easy.

After visiting three guilds in succession, He He Pingsheng had gathered all the materials needed to brew 【Jade Ice Loquat Ointment】—and not just one batch, but eight.

"Young Master, where to next?" Hao Cang asked after leaving the guild.

He He Pingsheng thought for a moment and said, "The great ship departs in twenty days—we don't need to rent a room at Immortal Guest Residence!"

"Let's go to the public temporary cultivation hall on the Immortal Ship Plaza."

"We'll just close off briefly to organize ourselves, then leave."

Even if he rented a private lodging, he wouldn't dare use the Treasure Basin.

Come on—where is this?

This is the Imperial City!

Within the Imperial City dwells the Heavenly Peng Demon Emperor—a Mahayana Emperor-level powerhouse.

Who knows if using the Treasure Basin might reveal his secret?

If even a trace of its aura were detected, he'd be finished.

Since he wouldn't be enhancing anything now, it didn't matter where he went.

The two returned to the Immortal Ship Plaza.

The temporary cultivation hall was enormous.

It spanned a thousand zhang in diameter.

Within this thousand-zhang space were countless protective shields and arrays, each ten or so zhang in size.

No need to guess—these were for temporary rest or cultivation.

He He Pingsheng took out spirit stones and array materials and set up a second-grade array in a corner of the hall.

No need for a higher-grade one.

The array's purpose wasn't defense—in here, no one would dare attack another's array.

The array merely marked his temporary territory.

That was all.

Simple as that.

After setting up the array, He He Pingsheng and Hao Cang entered, laid out meditation mats, sat cross-legged, and closed their eyes in contemplation.

He would practice the scripture of the 【Ten Thousand Extinctions Return to Origin】 spear technique.

After all, he hadn't yet perfected it.