Spirit Nurturing Stone

"Things went fairly smoothly, right?"

After Xuelan wiped Yan Qingshan's forehead with a hot towel, she spoke. Qingling, meanwhile, held a basin and soaked his feet. With two beauties, one older and one younger, waiting on him together, he felt like he could hardly bear such treatment!

"Not bad."

Yan Qingshan shook the Storage Ring he carried with him and took out three scrolls. "Two Profound-tier Mid-grade cultivation techniques and combat skills, plus an alchemist's inheritance notes. These three things are treasures that money can scarcely buy."

"The Mo Clan of Yancheng truly is a renowned power in the empire's eastern provinces. Two sets of Profound-tier Mid-grade cultivation techniques and combat skills, and even the inheritance of a Fourth-grade Alchemist."

Xuelan and Qingling also looked through the things Yan Qingshan had brought back. Profound-tier Mid-grade cultivation techniques and combat skills, notes from the inheritance of a Fourth-grade Alchemist—given their humble origins, these were things they had never dared imagine even in their dreams.

Seeing that Qingling and Xuelan's attention was almost entirely fixed on the alchemist's notes he had brought back, Yan Qingshan merely shook his head with a smile and stroked his Storage Ring. As the most respected profession on the continent, alchemists had always been figures people admired and envied.

"This thing..."

Yan Qingshan sat on the bed. A flash of light came from his Storage Ring, and silver-gray ores fell onto the bedside. After closing his eyes, he reached out and searched among the many ores for a while before pinching one between his fingers.

A flicker of pale green Dou Qi flashed, and pale silver grit fell away in streams. A faint gray light appeared within his palm.

Yan Qingshan spread open his hand. The gray glow dissipated, revealing what had been hidden within.

It was a thumb-sized gray stone, smooth as jade without the slightest flaw. Within its core, a faint blue gleam slowly writhed, vivid as a firefly sealed in amber.

"Could this... be the legendary Spirit Nurturing Stone..."

Yan Qingshan stared at the inconspicuous little stone in his palm, scarcely able to believe he could be so lucky.

"Young Master, what is that?"

Qingling leaned her little head over from the side. Naturally, she was extremely interested in the glittering little stone glowing in Yan Qingshan's palm.

Xuelan, who had been reading the notes, also turned to look. Girls had always found it difficult to resist sparkling things like this.

"This should be the legendary Spirit Nurturing Stone, an exceedingly rare heavenly treasure. It is said that it can only be excavated from high-grade Nashi Stones, and even then only with an extremely small chance."

Yan Qingshan held the suspected Spirit Nurturing Stone up before his eyes and examined it carefully. Comparing it with the information he had recorded from ancient books, he could basically confirm that it truly was a Spirit Nurturing Stone. "This Spirit Nurturing Stone is extremely precious. Its value exceeds even that of a Fifth-grade Medicinal Pill, and it is a rare treasure that even high-grade alchemists desperately covet."

Yan Qingshan remembered that Old Ya had mentioned in the original story that a tiny Spirit Nurturing Stone was worth far more than a Fifth-grade Blood Lotus Pill and Ice Spirit Cold Spring combined. That showed just how precious it was.

Ordinary Nashi Stones could be used to create low-grade Storage Rings, and even the lowest-grade Storage Ring was worth tens of thousands of Gold Coins, far more valuable than ordinary graded medicinal pills. Mid-grade Storage Rings cost more than ten times as much, while high-grade Storage Rings were priceless treasures that could not be bought on the market.

On the Dou Qi Continent, only exceptionally high-status experts or members of major powers were qualified to obtain high-grade Storage Rings. That alone showed just how rare they were.

Compared to high-grade Storage Rings, however, Spirit Nurturing Stones were undoubtedly even scarcer. Calling them as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns would not be an exaggeration.

"What!"

"The Mo Clan actually gave away such a precious treasure!"

Both Qingling and Xuelan were stunned. The scrolls and notes from before had also been extremely valuable, but at least they could still be measured in Gold Coins. A Fifth-grade Medicinal Pill was a treasure that could make even a Dou Wang take notice. Something like this was probably the most precious foundation of an entire clan!

Yan Qingshan smiled. "They didn't give it to me willingly. They simply lacked the knowledge, and I picked up a bargain. A treasure may be good, but it still needs someone capable of recognizing it."

Xuelan and Qingling both nodded, deeply agreeing with Yan Qingshan's words. A treasure could only find its best home in the hands of the person fated to possess it.

Wutan City was especially lively this year. At the beginning of the year, Xiao Yan, the Third Young Master Xiao of one of the city's three great families, had broken through to become a Dou Zhe, making him a genius renowned throughout the empire.

Yet only a few months later, Xiao Yan's cultivation had stagnated and even begun to regress for no apparent reason. After this news spread, Xiao Zhan, the head of the Xiao Family, paid a great price to invite numerous physicians and even certified alchemists to examine Xiao Yan's condition. In the end, none of them found any answers.

The fall of a genius was something no one had expected, yet it delighted many people. After this, the Xiao Family's prestige in Wutan City suffered greatly. Although they could still maintain a relative advantage over the other two great families, they no longer possessed their former overwhelming dominance.

The three great families of Wutan City thus fell into a state of mutual restraint and peace. Meanwhile, another major branch power in Wutan City besides the City Lord's Manor—the Mitel Auction House—welcomed a new manager, an exceptionally young beauty with formidable methods.

At Wutan City's western gate, a small convoy of more than ten carriages slowly entered the city. The curtain of the carriage in the middle was drawn open, and several gazes swept out from within.

"So this is Wutan City. Now that we're here, Young Master's hometown isn't far away, right?"

Inside the carriage, Qingling's soft little hands massaged Yan Qingshan, soothing away his fatigue.

"Mm, it isn't far. But we won't return to Qingshan Town today. We'll first visit the Mitel Auction House, rest for the night in Wutan City, then head back tomorrow."

Yan Qingshan replied to Qingling as he lay back contentedly against Xuelan, resting on her pair of long, shapely legs as he comfortably shifted positions. Having just finished cultivating, he felt that after working so hard for so long, it was necessary to enjoy himself a little.

"Are you all right?"

Xuelan carefully worked Yan Qingshan's sore limbs to promote circulation, applying medicine with Qingling. Having witnessed Yan Qingshan's grueling cultivation, she finally understood just how much this man had sacrificed to become stronger.

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

Yan Qingshan gave a muffled reply and closed his eyes. This comfortable life of being waited on truly made him reluctant to let go. He felt he had been spoiled rotten—it was all Qingling and Xuelan's fault. Tonight, he would have to punish them properly and make the two choose one to warm his bed.

This convoy was one Yan Qingshan had brought all the way from Stone Desert City. Most of them were mercenary families, people connected to Xuelan.

After Qingling's mother died, Xuelan and several sisters familiar with her had played a major role in helping Qingling survive in Stone Desert City.

People of Xuelan's parents' generation, including Qingling's mother, had basically all harbored grudges against the Snake-People. Naturally, they had not treated Qingling, who carried Snake-People blood, kindly.

However, perhaps because Qingling's mother had been a familiar neighbor to them, although they did not look kindly upon Qingling, they had not gone so far as to cause trouble for a little girl.

After Qingling's mother died, whenever they were able, they tacitly allowed their children and younger relatives to provide aid to the pitiful orphan girl.

Among these people, Xuelan's family was considered the best-off. Her father's cultivation was not weak, and he had become a mid-level leader in a mercenary group. He also had several trustworthy brothers under him.

Yan Qingshan was planning to take Xuelan and Qingling away, so naturally he would also settle Xuelan's family properly. Thus, after persuading Xuelan's father, the people in this convoy were brothers willing to leave with Xuelan's family, along with their families.

These people were not particularly strong, but there were quite a few seasoned mercenaries among them. Xuelan's father had even broken through to become a Seven-star Dou Zhe under Yan Qingshan's guidance. They met Yan Qingshan's requirements for forming the core of his own small force, so he brought them back with him.

At the front of the convoy, Xuelan's father and several key members arranged the personnel and operations. As for the employer Xuelan had found, they naturally had not been very pleased with Xuelan's thoughts and choice at first.

However, after Yan Qingshan offered a sufficiently high price and later gave them a Profound-tier Cultivation Technique, Xuelan's father became exceedingly enthusiastic. He practically wished his daughter could stay inside Yan Qingshan's carriage compartment every day.

After entering Wutan City, the convoy found a guide at the city gate. Once Yan Qingshan gave the order, the convoy quickly headed under the guide's direction toward the Mitel Auction House on Wutan City's most prosperous street.

The Mitel Auction House was a branch power of the Mite'er Family Commerce Association, one of the Jia Ma Empire's three great families. Its current manager, Mitel Ya Fei, was a person of special status even within the Mite'er Family.

"It's quite lively. It seems an auction is being held."

Yan Qingshan had Xuelan's father and the others drop the three of them off on a street near the auction house. After telling them to arrange temporary lodging for themselves, the group of three entered the auction house. An auction happened to be taking place that day, and quite a few people had come. The lovely Xuelan and Qingling naturally drew some attention.

Led by a female attendant, Yan Qingshan and the other two entered the main hall where the auction was underway. In the dim surroundings, waves of noisy clamor flooded into their ears, making Yan Qingshan and the others frown.

The auction hall was enormous and could easily accommodate thousands. At that moment, beneath the lights in the center of the hall, a beautiful woman dressed in a red gown was using a soft, seductive voice that could make one's bones go numb to explain the functions of the item in her hand to everyone present.

The woman possessed a fiery, bewitching figure. She was a great beauty men would willingly spend money on, and she was exceptionally skilled at using her advantages to display her charm to the fullest.

Amid her crisp, sultry voice, the price of that item—which was not actually all that rare—was steadily climbing at a feverish pace.

A blue gleam flashed in Yan Qingshan's sharp eyes as his gaze swept across the entire hall. Naturally, he noticed that most people's eyes were fixed upon the beautiful woman in the center.

The chief auctioneer of the Wutan City Mitel Auction House: Ya Fei, the manager of the Wutan City Mitel Auction House, a beauty known to nearly everyone. Her mature, seductive charm had made countless men fall at her feet.