I Refuse

Wang Li wasn't just talking.

Only the sounds of whoosh and whoosh could be heard mixed with his shouts. In a moment, he had already cast dozens of talismans on Lü Shenliang.

These dozens of talismans were a motley assortment, including Calming Heart Talismans and Spirit Stabilizing Talismans to calm her mind, as well as Blood Slowing Talismans and Meridian Expanding Talismans to slow her blood flow. There were even some talismans that produced pleasant fragrances and a cooling sensation.

Casting dozens of varied talismans in an instant was astonishing enough, but at the same time, Wang Li continuously sprinkled over ten handfuls of medicinal powder. Then, he even took out a somewhat tattered small bell, and with a flick of his finger, the bell emitted clear, pleasant, and calming music.

The process of self-detonating a Golden Core was extremely difficult for a Golden Core cultivator to reverse, but under his continuous actions, the terrifying destructive aura emanating from Lü Shenliang was forcefully suppressed. The dreadful glowing patterns on her skin also dimmed at a visible rate.

"It's actually suppressed?"

"How many times has this cultivator experienced this female cultivator self-detonating her Golden Core for him to be so proficient and effective at handling it?"

A commotion erupted in the sky around them once more.

True Person Qingyang and the others broke out in a cold sweat, feeling as if they had narrowly escaped death.

"Fellow Daoist, please calm yourself."

Just then, an ancient voice rang out.

All sounds immediately ceased.

The voice came from where Old Ancestor Tong Hui was located.

The voice was very gentle.

It was as gentle as spring rain, even giving everyone a feeling of care.

It seemed that as long as Lü Shenliang calmed down, the Yin Thunder Umbrella could be discussed between her and Wang Li.

"I refuse!"

However, to everyone's surprise, Lü Shenliang loudly uttered three words.

Because the surrounding world had fallen completely silent, her voice was exceptionally clear at this moment.

"Boom!"

The violent aura within her body surged again.

"..."

All the cultivators watching the spectacle were once again speechless.

What in the world was this!

What kind of conversational logic did these two disciples of the Profound Heaven Sect have?

Wang Li's previous conversation with the people from the Huayang Sect had already made them feel that he was unreasonable and difficult to communicate with, but compared to this senior sister with impaired consciousness, he seemed like a mere novice, not even on the same level.

"..."

Old Ancestor Tong Hui was clearly taken aback by Lü Shenliang's reaction, appearing momentarily stunned. However, after only a single breath of silence, his voice rang out again, "Since you are all here, it is fate. This Yin Thunder Umbrella shall belong to your junior brother."

"What!"

The unrelated bystanders had some premonition, but these words struck True Person Qingwu and the Five Elders of Huayang behind him like a bolt from the blue.

But what was even more unexpected was that upon hearing Old Ancestor Tong Hui's words, Lü Shenliang said aggressively, "This is something my junior brother painstakingly picked up. It was ours to begin with. What does it have to do with fate?"

"... ." Old Ancestor Tong Hui was choked up again, but just as everyone thought this newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator would lose face and become angry, they heard an unbelievable voice, "Little friend, you are correct."

"Mhm!"

Lü Shenliang seemed satisfied with this.

Despite her satisfaction, her self-detonation of the Golden Core seemed beyond her control.

The terrifying aura of the Golden Core about to collapse completely showed no sign of weakening. It wasn't until Wang Li, who was not far from her, cast over a dozen more talismans on her and then several clouds of medicinal aura of different colors that the violent and heart-pounding aura within her body gradually subsided.

At this point, True Person Qingyang and the others didn't even dare to breathe heavily as they looked at her.

What if she suddenly decided to self-detonate her Golden Core if they said one more word?

Others used the self-detonation of their Golden Core as a desperate, mutually destructive tactic, but this female cultivator from the Profound Heaven Sect, just like the rumors said, would self-detonate her Golden Core if she disagreed or felt like it.

How could anyone provoke her?

At the same time, the vast majority of the cultivators watching the spectacle looked at Wang Li's figure, their eyes even showing a hint of sympathy.

It was unknown how many people in the Lesser Jade Continent could match his skill in suppressing a self-detonating Golden Core.

A Qi Refining stage cultivator suppressing a self-detonating Golden Core – how many self-detonations would it take to achieve such a skill?

It was truly not easy.

"Let's go."

Lü Shenliang waved at Wang Li, seemingly having lost interest in staying any longer. But after Wang Li had only taken a few steps towards her, she suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned around and looked towards Old Ancestor Tong Hui, saying, "Since you just said it was fate, and I see your skill in refining the fishbone magic sword is good, and it seems to come from True Lord White Bone's White Bone Dharma, why don't you give that Dharma to me?"

Most of the cultivators present thought the matter was settled, and quite a few pursuers had already used their flying artifacts to leave the scene. But upon hearing such a statement, a few cultivators almost lost control of their flying artifacts in shock.

She had just said it had nothing to do with fate, and now she was directly using the word "fate" to demand something?

"Good."

But what surprised them even more was that Old Ancestor Tong Hui agreed with extreme straightforwardness. Moreover, it sounded as if his simple "Good" carried a hint of joy.

In just the time it took to draw a breath, a beam of white light descended towards Lü Shenliang.

Lü Shenliang reached out a hand, and not only did the beam of white light vanish, but the Yin Thunder Umbrella in Wang Li's hand also suddenly disappeared. Clearly, she had collected both into her Treasure Pouch.

The dust settled.

True Person Wu Yang's expression was also somewhat grim.

Although Old Ancestor Tong Hui had successfully passed his tribulation and not perished, which was tremendous news for the Huayang Sect, the fact that the Yin Thunder Umbrella, a Spirit Treasure, had ended up benefiting these two disciples of the Profound Heaven Sect instead of falling into He Lingxiu's hands was something he found difficult to accept.

In contrast, He Lingxiu looked on peacefully, quietly watching the retreating figures of Wang Li and Lü Shenliang. Her gaze flickered slightly, and no one knew what she was thinking.

"This senior sister and junior brother..."

True Person Baixi looked at Wang Li and Lü Shenliang with a very complicated gaze.

He had initially been worried that the might of this Heavenly Tribulation would leave a negative psychological shadow on the Immortal Seedlings behind them. However, with Old Ancestor Tong Hui's successful tribulation and the appearance of these two cultivators from the Profound Heaven Sect, his greatest concern now was that their actions might completely lead these Immortal Seedlings astray.

Furthermore, he now noticed a key point: judging by the direction they were heading, they seemed to be heading straight towards Blackwater Market.

Could it be true, as Wang Li had said, that they were actually going to sell the Yin Thunder Umbrella directly?

He couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

Everyone had clearly seen the power of the Yin Thunder Umbrella just now. The crucial point, however, was that the true value of the Yin Thunder Umbrella lay in the fact that it was a Spirit Treasure!

Once ordinary artifacts were refined, their rank was fixed. But Spirit Treasures were different; they possessed a spiritual root that could grow. In a sense, they were like cultivators. As long as there were suitable methods to nurture their growth, they had infinite potential for development.

Even if the artifact body of a Spirit Treasure sustained damage, as long as its spiritual root remained intact, it would absorb spiritual energy to repair itself, just like a cultivator. Even without external intervention, it would only be a matter of time before it was fully restored.

Only unique spiritual materials that could form a spiritual root had the potential to be refined into such Spirit Treasures.

Heavenly materials and earthly treasures that contained an inner spiritual root had always been extremely rare throughout the history of cultivation. This resulted in any Spirit Treasure, regardless of its rank, being a coveted commodity.

Within the entire Lesser Jade Continent, most sects didn't even possess a single Spirit Treasure. As for a Spirit Treasure of the Yin Thunder Umbrella's caliber, there wouldn't be more than twenty in the entire Lesser Jade Continent.

From this perspective, while it was a pity that the two cultivators from the Profound Heaven Sect chose to sell this Spirit Treasure directly, it was a wise decision.

Because with their strength, keeping such a treasure in their possession would be a source of trouble.

However, such a Spirit Treasure would also be a hot potato for Blackwater Market. While Blackwater Market wouldn't outright refuse to handle such a hot potato in a rush, considering they would also want to dispose of it quickly, the purchase price would undoubtedly be heavily discounted.

He himself also desired this Spirit Treasure, but if it truly ended up at Blackwater Market, he knew there would be little hope of acquiring it through bidding. It was better not to actively court such trouble.

Initially, Wang Li and Lü Shenliang relied on some low-grade wind talismans to skim across the ground. However, after traveling only about ten miles from the mountain peak, Lü Shenliang made a slight movement with her right hand within her sleeve. A dark golden sword light appeared beneath her and Wang Li, carrying them as they flew at high speed.

This dark golden sword light was the Profound Heaven Sect's Profound Heaven Sword Qi Escape. This beam of sword light appeared unremarkable, but its speed was incredibly fast. Moreover, she didn't guide the sword light into the sky; instead, she darted through the forests. In moments, she and Wang Li had vanished from the sight of most cultivators.

Others merely thought that this female cultivator from the Profound Heaven Sect, who was widely believed to be mentally unstable, was flying very fast close to the ground. But Wang Li, the only one who knew Lü Shenliang's true capabilities, knew that she was deliberately slowing down her speed.

"What's wrong? Are you deliberately trying to let someone follow?" He wasn't stupid and immediately guessed a possibility.

"Mm," Lü Shenliang nodded.

"Senior sister... everyone thinks you're mentally unstable now, and you don't need to pretend to be a mushroom anymore. Can you please not be so brief when you speak?" Hearing her one-word answers again, Wang Li said with frustration.

"Mm!" Lü Shenliang nodded again. "Among those people, two are not cultivators from our Lesser Jade Continent. The fragments of the other artifact you asked me to collect earlier should be very useful to one of those two. When we get to Blackwater Market, we'll set a high price for Blackwater Market to sell those fragments on our behalf. If I'm not mistaken, they'll snap them up immediately."

"Not from our Lesser Jade Continent?"

Wang Li's brow furrowed slightly. "Senior sister, you're finally talking more. But can you just explain clearly, what are their cultivation levels and backgrounds?"

"I don't know."

Lü Shenliang shook her head. "Their methods of concealing their presence are sophisticated, but one of them should at least be a Golden Core cultivator, and the other might be at the Foundation Establishment stage... The artifact body is made of Fire Clam Jade, which is unique to our Lesser Jade Continent. The cultivation method of that Foundation Establishment cultivator should involve this Fire Clam Jade."

This time, she had said more than enough, and it was clear. But Wang Li was even more confused. He looked at the strands of his senior sister's hair fluttering in front of him in the wind and asked, "Senior sister, you said their methods of concealing their presence are sophisticated, and you're not even entirely sure of their exact cultivation levels. So how can you be so certain that the Foundation Establishment cultivator's method should involve this Fire Clam Jade?"

Lü Shenliang said, "Intuition."

Wang Li was immediately choked. "Just based on intuition?"

"Mm."

Lü Shenliang said, "Aren't they always saying that women's intuition is very accurate?"

Wang Li was utterly speechless, and his head began to ache.