Chapter 64: Three Little Cuties

What use are spirit stones?

None at all!

Only when turned into something useful can a spirit stone’s value be realized!

After spending another large sum of spirit stones, He Pingsheng felt a pang of regret, then quietly slipped the newly bought disguise talisman into his storage pouch while muttering to himself for comfort.

He now had only a thousand and a hundred spirit stones left.

He Pingsheng felt he had bought enough, so he stopped wandering and sat under a shady tree, waiting for Xu Kunlun and the other three.

After about an hour, the three walked over, clearly excited.

“Young brother…”

“Old Nine!”

Xu Kunlun asked: “What did you buy?”

He Pingsheng replied: “Just a few defensive talismans and such. Did you buy any defensive magic treasures?”

“No!” Zhao Linger shook her head. “Too expensive…”

“By the way, I just saw a top-grade defensive magic treasure at Shunhe Hall called the [Vine Armor Shield]. It’s amazing!”

“Yes!” Xu Kunlun chimed in. “If we could get it and fully assimilate its four layers of arrays, even a simple activation would block attacks from cultivators of the same level!”

“With this, even if we ran into a Qi Refining Stage Twelve cultivator, we’d have a chance to escape!”

He Pingsheng’s heart stirred. “Really that powerful?”

He truly didn’t know how powerful a top-grade magic treasure could be.

But why did the name [Vine Armor Shield] sound so familiar?

And Shunhe Hall!

He Pingsheng suddenly remembered—he had once sold a top-grade attribute magic treasure to the shopkeeper of Shunhe Hall for one thousand one hundred and fifty spirit stones.

“Exactly!” Tian Xiaoqing said. “It’s a top-grade magic treasure, but too expensive—we could never afford it!”

He Pingsheng quickly asked: “How many spirit stones?”

Tian Xiaoqing replied: “One thousand five hundred spirit stones!”

He Pingsheng immediately felt uneasy.

One thousand five?

Bought mine for one thousand one hundred and fifty, then turned around and made a four hundred and fifty profit?

Cheating bastards!

These merchant guilds are truly ruthless.

But then again, they’re in business to make money, and right now, with the secret realm opening once every thirty years, prices for everything are soaring.

So the price isn’t unreasonable.

“Let’s go, let’s go…” Zhao Linger said. “We can return to the sect… discuss it there!”

“Alright!”

The four said no more, activated their paper cranes again, and leapt onto them, soaring into the clouds.

At sunset, they landed directly atop Xiuzhu Peak.

“Young brother… come, I’ll show you a treasure!” Zhao Linger took a deep breath, then grabbed He Pingsheng’s arm and pulled him toward her courtyard.

Behind them, Xu Kunlun and Tian Xiaoqing naturally followed.

“Close the door!”

“Sister, activate your array!”

A Rank One sealing array activated.

Only then did Zhao Linger carefully pull out her Hundred Treasures Bag. “Old Nine, the three of us pooled our money to buy a treasure!”

“Take a look, but we don’t even know what it is—we’ll need to show it to Master later!”

As she spoke, Zhao Linger pulled out a pitch-black pearl from the bag.

Seeing the pearl, He Pingsheng froze in shock.

No way… isn’t this the old man’s pearl?

He Pingsheng had wanted to buy it back then, but the man demanded ten thousand spirit stones—so expensive he refused. The man lowered the price several times afterward, and only then did He Pingsheng realize it was a scam.

But… how did these three little cuties end up buying it?

Wait a minute…

Just now, Old Six Zhao Linger said they bought it together?

So they spent a lot of spirit stones, then?

“Old Nine… this is truly a great treasure!” Xu Kunlun said. “Just hold it in your hand—you’ll feel something special!”

“Like your whole body becomes transparent!”

“Yes, yes!” Tian Xiaoqing added. “When I held it, my spiritual sense felt crystal clear!”

He Pingsheng didn’t take it.

Because he had already held it.

He looked up at Zhao Linger. “Sister… how many spirit stones did you pay?”

Zhao Linger beamed. “Only one thousand…”

Pfft…

He Pingsheng nearly vomited.

One thousand?

Only?

“I didn’t have that many spirit stones—I only chipped in four hundred. Old Seven and Old Eight each put in three hundred. So this treasure belongs to all three of us!”

“Young brother!” Zhao Linger looked expectantly. “What do you think of it?”

He Pingsheng didn’t want to hurt their feelings, so he shook his head. “I can’t tell what it is.”

Xu Kunlun said: “Don’t worry—it’s definitely real!”

“You should’ve seen the old man selling it—he looked like a transcendent immortal, definitely a senior master!”

“Mm!” Zhao Linger nodded. “Very dignified!”

He Pingsheng: …………

“Since none of us recognize it, let’s show it to Master!” Xu Kunlun suggested. “Let’s go find Master!”

“Let’s go…”

“Let’s go, let’s go…”

Watching the three happily stride toward Yuning Palace, He Pingsheng rubbed his forehead: Isn’t it true that as a cultivator’s spiritual sense grows, their wisdom and judgment should mature too?

Why do these three little cuties seem so clueless?

As he pondered, Zhao Linger turned back and waved at him. “Little Young Brother, come with us!”

Fine.

He Pingsheng hurried to catch up.

The four arrived at the entrance of Yuning Palace.

“Disciples Zhao Linger, Tian Xiaoqing, Xu Kunlun, and He Pingsheng, pay homage to Master!” Zhao Linger bowed deeply before the gate, naming all four of them at once.

Inside, Yuning’s voice replied: “Enter.”

Hummm…

An invisible aura vanished from the heavens and earth.

He Pingsheng knew: Yuning Palace’s defensive array had been deactivated.

The four opened the hall’s doors and filed inside.

Master Yuning sat high upon a stone dais.

“Greetings, Master!” All four bowed in unison.

Yuning nodded. “What is it?”

Zhao Linger said: “Master, I, Seventh Sister, and Eighth Brother pooled our spirit stones to buy a treasure, but we don’t know its function. We’ve come to show it to you!”

“Oh?” Yuning’s eyes flashed with interest, her expression brightening.

She stepped forward and appeared before them. “Show me this treasure!”

Her voice even sounded eager.

Zhao Linger didn’t hesitate—she pulled out the pitch-black pearl.

“Master!” Xu Kunlun chuckled. “Hold it in your hand and feel it!”

“Alright!” Yuning took the pearl and gripped it.

Then she gasped: “This… heavens, my entire spiritual sense has cleared instantly!”

“A treasure… what kind of treasure is this?”

Boom…

Her vast spiritual sense surged outward, sweeping over the black pearl.

But… she saw nothing.

Nothing detected.

“This object is no ordinary thing,” Yuning said, shaking her head as she held the pearl. “Even I cannot discern its origin!”

“How many spirit stones did you pay for it?”

Yu Ning looked at the three of them.