Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Spirit of the Hall required a full day and night to change formations, and with nothing else to do, Li Hong decided to stay in the small town for another day. He got up early, opened the door, and wandered around the town.
The ancient bluestone road, with dew slowly drying under the morning sun, was being trodden by a Mountain Dweller who had traveled all night. He was now leisurely entering the city on the clean stone path. After dropping off his goods at a familiar Mountain Goods Shop and discussing prices, he returned with several pieces of soft and thick blue floral cloth, a few bottles of fragrant Osmanthus Oil for his wife’s hair, and several neatly bundled packets of fine white salt.
The small town's Street alleys were filled with such Mountain Goods Shops dedicated to trading with Mountain Dwellers. All the mountain goods collected—walnuts, Tung Oil, Ramie, Tobacco Leaves, tea leaves—were eventually gathered together, loaded onto dark oil-slicked boats, and sent downstream to the big docks where they were exchanged for golden copper coins and shiny silver. The goods needed by the Mountain Dwellers were then brought back upstream. This back-and-forth ensured that the people here had enough to eat and wear.
Li Hong found this very interesting and recalled how many years ago, before he began cultivating immortality, he had lived a similar life.
As he walked, he suddenly noticed a small clay jar in one of the shops. The brilliant sunlight slanted into the room, illuminating the contents of the jar with a red glow that at first glance looked like a jar full of coagulated blood.
Vermilion! And of excellent quality! Li Hong felt a stir in his heart and walked into the shop, pointing at the jar of Vermilion. "How much silver for this jar?"
A curtain in the back moved, and an Old Man hurriedly came out, sizing up Li Hong. He had an imposing demeanor, bright black eyes that sparkled with energy, and wore an indescribably luxurious White Robe. However, he was barefoot without even cloth socks, wearing a pair of clean Grass Shoes that were very well made. A white ribbon was tied tightly around the ear loops of the Grass Shoes, making him look somewhat out of place.
Noticing that the Old Man was staring at his feet, Li Hong smiled slightly and cupped his hands in greeting. "Please forgive me; I grew up poor and am used to wearing Grass Shoes." As he spoke, he pretended to reach into his sleeve but actually pulled out a piece of silver from his Cosmic Bag, holding it in his hand with a smile. "How much do you want?"
The Old Man cupped his hands in return. "To be honest, this jar of Cinnabar weighs two hundred pounds and is worth one hundred taels of silver. However, my little shop does not provide delivery; customers must hire someone to transport it."
"Not a problem." Li Hong chuckled as he took out a large silver ingot from his Cosmic Bag. His eyes shifted to see some smoked rabbit legs hanging on half a wall across from him and a row of Wine Jars on the ground exuding a strong aroma of alcohol. He pointed at the Wine Jars. "What kind of wine is that?"
"It's made from mountain-grown Sorghum Wine, brewed by my in-laws; it's quite famous around here. Would you like some? How many jars?"
Li Hong scratched his head; knowing that his master Yue Changzi enjoyed good wine, he decided to buy some since he had found good wine. He laughed heartily. "I'll take them all! That jar of Vermilion, all the smoked meats, all the wine, as well as those packets of salt and tea over there—I want them all. By the way, those well-made Grass Shoes hanging on your wooden board—I’ll take all of them too. Let’s settle up."
"Alright!" The Old Man, seeing it was a big deal and noticing that Li Hong already held four large pieces of silver in hand, immediately grabbed an abacus and started calculating rapidly.
After paying, Li Hong watched as the Old Man packed everything up. He wanted to immediately store everything in his Cosmic Bag, but he was afraid it might startle the old man. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he turned to leave the small town. At the dock, he saw a group of laborers waiting to transport goods. So, he bought a cart from one of them and exchanged a few words about it. The laborer looked doubtful but eventually nodded after some time.
Pulling the cart back to the shop front, he loaded everything onto it effortlessly and set off with big strides. The Old Man followed him out, astonished for quite some time before shaking his head with a smile as he returned inside.
Not far down the road, Li Hong ran into Yan Luo and Chu Hai, who had come looking for him. They stared at him in disbelief as Yan Luo exclaimed, "What are you doing?"
With a grin, Li Hong replied: "Preparing to retreat into seclusion; naturally, I need to buy some gifts."
Chu Hai cheerfully rolled up his sleeves to help, but Li Hong pushed him away with a mysterious wink and quickly pulled the cart away. After a short distance, he looked back to see no one was paying attention, and immediately summoned the Cosmic Bag, tossing items in at a rapid pace until they disappeared.
Yan Luo laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, "So you can be mischievous too!"
The three of them chatted and strolled around the small town. Li Hong pulled the empty cart, buying anything suitable he came across and placing it on the cart. When they reached a secluded spot, he would store it in the Cosmic Bag.
Before noon, news spread throughout the town that a big merchant from out of town had arrived, buying all sorts of strange items, even cleaning out the jade shop. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
After dusk, the laborer who sold his cart skeptically made his way to the riverbank ten miles outside of town. To his astonishment, he found the cart he had sold sitting there all alone, with a shiny silver ingot resting on top.
The laborer was overjoyed, "That gentleman really didn't deceive me!" He happily returned with his recovered means of making a living.
Meanwhile, Li Hong had already entered the Eight Formation Flag, directing it towards the Southern Wilderness, constantly checking the items he had just bought. He calculated that he now had both the drawing talisman Vermilion and jade powder. Once they returned to Temple City, he would definitely persuade Little Fei to contribute a tuft of fur...
In a moment, he noticed Yan Luo quietly sitting on a high platform with her eyes closed in meditation. Li Hong felt a sudden jolt of panic; how could he have forgotten to send her away? He mentally commanded the Eight Formation Flag to slow down and coughed lightly to get her attention.
However, Yan Luo remained silently meditating.
With no other options, Li Hong called out her name, but she still showed no response, as if she were an old monk in deep meditation.
Chu Hai found it strange: "What’s wrong with you, Sixth Senior Brother? If there's something to discuss, we can talk about it when we get to Temple City."
Li Hong inwardly lamented that it would be too late by then!
Yan Luo’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she secretly reveled in her situation. Hmph! I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything and refuse to leave; I’m determined to stick around and see what you do!
No matter how slowly they flew, they eventually arrived. When they landed, Li Hong noticed that the Demon Sect army hovering over the polluted water pool in the valley had vanished without a trace. It was somewhat strange but also a great relief. Clearing his throat, Li Hong turned his gaze back to Yan Luo.
Yan Luo, however, was composed and serious as she observed her surroundings. With an air of righteousness, she declared, "Let’s go in!" and immediately jumped into the Great Lake, soon reaching their usual spot at the bottom.
Reluctantly, under Chu Hai’s urging, Li Hong hesitated before jumping into the Great Lake. He called for the Spirit of the Hall, and moments later, the three of them reappeared on the silver-white beach of Temple City.
A sly smile appeared on Yan Luo's face, as if to say, "Hmph! You want to drive me away? I still made it in!"
That smug smile was clearly reflected in Li Hong's eyes, and he gritted his teeth, wishing he could slap himself. However, when Chu Hai looked over inexplicably, Li Hong had no choice but to put on a smile that was uglier than crying and said "enthusiastically," "Let's go, Junior Brother."
"Chu Hai, you will definitely love it here!" Yan Luo giggled. A green light flashed, and beneath her feet appeared a peculiar Flying Sword resembling a large emerald feather, like a flat boat shimmering with iridescence. Yan Luo stood cheerfully on the Flying Sword, and with a flash of light, she shot up into the sky at an incredible speed.
Chu Hai exclaimed, "What a treasure! It must be a Superior Spirit Artifact!"
"Of course!" Li Hong frowned tightly, his heart bleeding. This Emerald Feather Sword was a gift from him; how could this plague of a Witch find treasure and not leave? No! Next time he absolutely could not make the same mistake; he had to think of a way to get rid of her, or else she might even ascend alongside him!
Li Hong furrowed his brow deeply, hating himself for being careless in his excitement!
When everyone met up, there was naturally much joy and sighing. When Li Hong took out the items he had bought from the nameless mountain town, everyone was greatly pleased. That evening, they gathered for drinks on the spacious platform outside the tower.
They split some large logs to start a big fire, roasting fragrant smoked meat around it while barrels of Sorghum Wine were opened. The smoke and food stirred the hearts of the men. Li Hong was filled with enthusiasm, shouting wildly, "Yandao Demon Lord! Look at you now!" Thinking of the Spirit Stone and Ling Xuzi made him feel sad; before he knew it, he was quite drunk.
On the other side, Yan Luo surprisingly did not mock him. She sat in the shadows hugging her ankles, watching Li Hong laugh and cry. Though she pouted slightly, an unusual feeling surged within her as she secretly observed him intently.
The next day.
"Little Fei, just a small tuft; don't be so stingy!"
"Master! It's not about being stingy; there are so many spirit beasts in the Ancient Celestial Field. You can pick anyone; why do you insist on my fur?"
"You are a divine beast; just contribute a small tuft!" Li Hong said in a low voice. After thinking for a moment, he decided to tempt her: "How about I get you some spiritual herbs you like? What do you think of Spiritual Roots over ten thousand years old? In exchange for just a small tuft of fur, you'd be getting quite the bargain!"
"Well... let me think about it." Little Fei's blue eyes rolled around.
There's hope! Li Hong was overjoyed. "Just wait!"
He opened the door and went down to the Underground Palace beneath the tower. In the first layer of the Treasury, Li Hong searched for suitable Spiritual Roots to exchange for Little Fei's tuft of fur. However, as his gaze swept over those spiritual herbs that were over ten thousand years old, his heart hurt greatly. Suddenly an idea popped into his mind. After pondering for a moment, Li Hong chuckled and flew over to a large clay jar, removing its protective formation and directly lifting it out of the tower.
Little Fei, Black Abyss, Big Silver Ball, Small Silver Ball, and Soul Devourer were eagerly waiting outside the tower. Black Abyss had returned to the size of a small black mudfish. When he saw Li Hong flying out with a large jar, he quickly darted up above the jar, took a look inside, and shouted, "What is this! It looks like my rival, Black Abyss!"
Little Fei immediately revealed her true form. Four golden wings extended from her back, shining brightly as she soared into the air. Curiously approaching, she took a glance and couldn't tear her eyes away: "A Phoenix Egg! Master, you brought out a Phoenix Egg!"
"Yes! A Phoenix Egg!" Li Hong said with a grin. "I don't have a Spiritual Root, but how about I trade this Phoenix Egg for a tuft of your fur? Are you willing?"
Little Fei's blue eyes spun around, clearly showing an expression of greed.
Li Hong was overjoyed and casually tossed the large jar forward: "Catch!" He clapped his hands as it landed on the ground.
A voice nearby exclaimed, "Be careful!"
Suddenly, Little Fei shot out a beam of golden light that perfectly enveloped the jar. The jar landed smoothly on the ground, and the fiery red light emanating from within illuminated Little Fei, turning her entire body a bright red.
With a flash of golden light, Li Hong found himself holding a tuft of shiny golden fur. He laughed joyfully: "Thank you, Little Fei! Enjoy playing with the Phoenix Egg!” With that, he eagerly flew towards the empty room below.
Yan Luo had been watching for a while and noticed how tense Little Fei was about the Phoenix Egg. Intrigued, he slowly approached but was met with Little Fei suddenly turning around and baring her teeth at him. Another flash of golden light occurred, and in an instant, both Five Beasts and the large jar vanished without a trace.
Realizing he couldn't catch up to Five Beasts, Yan Luo turned his gaze towards Li Hong and shouted, "Have you lost your mind! You actually gave a living Phoenix Egg to Little Fei as a toy; you're wasting it!"
Comment 0 Comment Count