I Struck It Rich

In the Cultivation World, Spirit Stone were once classified into five grades: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, top-grade, and divine. Yue Qianchou had seen and used the first three grades, and even had quite a few in Utopia. As for the top-grade, he had only heard that it was a purple Spirit Stone, unlike the first three, where the exchange rate between the higher and lower grades was one to one hundred. It was said that one supreme-grade Spirit Stones could be exchanged for ten thousand high-grade Spirit Stones. He had never seen one before, until he Ghost General's purple wine cup, and only then did he realize that supreme-grade Spirit Stones truly existed in the world.

Some people use the analogy that low-grade Spirit Stones are mostly used by commoners in the Cultivation World, while mid-grade ones are mostly used by the powerful and wealthy. Following the first analogy, amber-golden high-grade Spirit Stones symbolize royalty among Spirit Stone, while purple supreme-grade Spirit Stones symbolize Spirit Stone. As for the even higher-grade divine-grade Spirit Stones, it seems few people have ever seen them. Some say they are red, some say they are black, and some say they are seven-colored; in short, everyone has their own opinion, but there is no definitive conclusion.

"Thud!" Yue Qianchou had just crawled out of the stone cave when he tripped and fell flat on his face due to his distraction. Shaking his head, he got up nonchalantly, his eyes still glowing with purple light. He swallowed hard and muttered, "Holy crap! I'm not dreaming!"

What did he see? Before him lay what appeared to be a Purple Crystal Palace, a small-to-medium-sized underground chamber filled with amethyst, shimmering with purple light—a world of amethyst. No, not entirely. In the very center of the Purple Crystal Palace, several amethyst Crystal Bamboo Shoot surrounded a cluster of black crystals, a round black crystal a meter in diameter, its surface covered in black crystalline fangs, like a protective hedgehog, radiating a ghostly black glow, suppressing the purple light filling the room, exuding an undeniable aura of dominance.

Yue Qianchou felt as if he were in a dreamlike fairytale world. He couldn't believe his eyes as he broke off a piece of amethyst from the side. The regular crystal lay in his palm, its shape and size identical to ordinary Spirit Stone, except for its color. Observing the amethyst wall again, he indeed saw very regular cracks. Breaking off a piece at random naturally resulted in the same size and shape as Spirit Stone —this was probably a characteristic of Spirit Stone! Holding a piece of amethyst in each hand, he circulated his cultivation technique, and a surge of powerful Spiritual Qi flowed from the two small crystals.

"Damn! These are supreme-grade Spirit Stones!" Yue Qianchou casually tossed them aside, the amethyst making a crisp "clinking" sound.

"Hahaha... I'm rich! Hahaha... I'm rich!" Yue Qianchou suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly, tears welling up in his eyes. In a flash, he rushed into the Purple Crystal Palace, rolling around and crawling all over the place. He hugged and kissed every Crystal Bamboo Shoot he encountered, more frantically than if he had seen the most beautiful and hottest woman in the world. But his joy turned to sorrow when he accidentally bumped into the crystal tooth of the black crystal in the very center.

"Damn it!" The sharp pain in his forehead brought him back to his senses. He rubbed his forehead and got up, feeling that his palm was sticky. When he looked down, it was covered in bright red blood. He had actually broken his forehead.

"Damn it! What is so sharp?" Yue Qianchou exclaimed. Although his cultivation level was not high, ordinary weapons and swords were already difficult to injure his skin. Besides, he had only bumped into something accidentally. How could it have cut his forehead?

He couldn't help but take a few steps back, gazing at the black crystal that was over ten feet tall. The fully armed black crystal teeth shone brightly under the purple light, displaying its inviolable sovereignty.

"Black crystals? Are there Spirit Stone of this color? Holy crap, could it be..." Yue Qianchou's facial muscles twitched as he thought of a Spirit Stone only existed in legends. He quickly took a few steps forward, his forehead, which had just stopped bleeding, was now pressed against the black crystal tooth, and he opened his mouth wide to examine it.

Sure enough, they found cracks on it just like those on the amethyst wall. Yue Qianchou's hands trembled as he touched it, gently stroking it, muttering repeatedly, "How is this possible! How is this possible! Could it really be the legendary divine-grade Spirit Stones? I don't believe it, I really don't believe it. Please don't play such a joke on me. Actually, I have enough of these supreme-grade Spirit Stones, really enough. Please don't joke with me, my heart is too fragile, really, really easily frightened, I'm really a coward..."

"Snap!" He cruelly broke off a small piece from the tip of the black crystal tooth. It was cold to the touch. Yue Qianchou stuck out his tongue and licked his lips. He gripped the small piece tightly in his hand, circulated his energy, and suddenly a surge of Spiritual Qi, like a surging ocean, poured directly into his meridians.

"Ah..." Yue Qianchou screamed, his hand loosened, and the small piece of black crystal fell onto the amethyst ground with a "clinking" sound.

Yue Qianchou pain that his teeth were chattering, and he couldn't even lift his arm. He never imagined that such a small piece of black crystal could contain so much Spiritual Qi. With just a little absorption, it was like a sea flooding a river, threatening to destroy the riverbanks. In just this one moment, the meridians in one of his arms were already injured.

"My god! Absorbing Spiritual Qi has actually damaged Spiritual Qi meridians? I've never heard of such a thing before!" Yue Qianchou muttered through gritted teeth, but he was experiencing a bittersweet pleasure. There was no doubt that the black crystal before him was indeed the legendary divine-grade Spirit Stones. But wasn't this the kind of Spirit Stone used by immortals? How come it's here in this Demon Ghost Domain?

Fortunately, his arm had been aching the whole time, otherwise he would have gone crazy with joy. He took out a healing pill, put it in his mouth, and began to repair his damaged meridians while sitting cross-legged. After a short while, he finished his practice, exhaled, opened his eyes, picked up the small piece of black crystal on the ground, and stood up.

After all that commotion, he calmed down and then remembered something else: the Spiritual Qi and fragrance outside were probably related to this Purple Crystal Palace, and the fragrance here was obviously much stronger than outside. Where did this fragrance come from? Could it be that the Spiritual Qi was so strong that it emitted a fragrance?

Yue Qianchou thoroughly searched the Purple Crystal Palace, even looking right up to his head, but found nothing unusual. He then put his hands behind his back and sniffed around, circling several times before discovering the strongest fragrance was from the cluster of black crystals. However, when he pressed his nose against it, he couldn't smell anything. Why was that?

Taking a few steps back to examine it, Yue Qianchou twitched his nostrils, sensing the flow of fragrance within the space. His gaze fell on the top of the black crystal, where the fragrance of the entire space seemed to originate.

What else could be up there? Yue Qianchou carefully climbed up the black crystal teeth, and soon his head reached the top. There were no crystal teeth there, only a small black nest, in which a fluffy white tuft of fur nestled warmly, faintly covered with a layer of iridescent light. At the tips of the fine, hair-like fur were tiny white flowers, almost invisible to the naked eye.

With his soft breathing, a wisp of white, delicate silk, no more than a finger's length, began to sway gently, releasing an indescribable, subtle fragrance. Yue Qianchou twisted his head back and forth, muttering to himself, "What is this thing? It seems like it could be blown away with a few breaths. How can the fragrance emitted by this little thing penetrate such thick rock and reach out to seduce people? How strange!"

Suddenly, something flashed through Yue Qianchou's mind. His eyes snapped open, his mouth gaped wide enough to fit a fist, and his limbs gave way, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. He seemed oblivious to the pain, lying motionless on the ground, his eyes and mouth still wide open. After a while, he began to murmur, his mouth opening and closing. "My name is Udumbara, day and night, I yearn for you, yet you are unseen. My name is Udumbara, yearning for you, yet you are unseen, my black hair turns to snow, for ten thousand years. My name is Udumbara, yearning for you, yet you are unseen, my beauty fades, my time is short. My name is Udumbara, fearing I will not see you, I transform this longing into a single appearance once every thousand years. My name is Udumbara, never-ending, never-fading, if you come to see me, do not think of me, do not think of me, for a thousand years, a single thread, each thread a longing..."

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