Jade Ware

Night fell.

Shi Yi did not return to Blue Star to rest. Instead, he lay on the bed in the room he had rented in Anyuan Town, waiting as time ticked away.

Only when the clock reached midnight did Shi Yi get up.

"If the stalactite is still there and hasn't been taken, I'll place three disguised cameras there this time."

Shi Yi had prepared many items beside him, fully equipped.

He had even specifically prepared small oxygen tanks in case ventilation inside the cave became an issue.

"Traversal, activate!"

With a shift of thought, Shi Yi vanished from the room.

He had deliberately chosen this hour. It was too late, and there would basically be no one on Mount Jiuhua, reducing the chance of being discovered to the lowest possible level.

When Shi Yi reappeared, his body could not help but shiver.

The temperature had suddenly dropped. It was that familiar cold wind again.

The temperature difference between the two places was rather great.

"Good. No one has been here."

Under the beam of the headlamp on Shi Yi's head, the cave's conditions were clearly visible.

The first thing he checked was the simple detection measures he had set up. Everything was still there, and none of it had shifted, proving that no one had come through here.

Otherwise, anyone passing by would have damaged his arrangements and changed their positions.

Only then did Shi Yi turn his gaze toward the stalactite and the small pool on the ground.

The stalactite was the same as before, without much change.

"Not full, but it's probably around eighty percent full!"

A considerable amount of Hundred-Year Stone Milk had gathered again in the small pool on the ground, though it was not completely full.

"At this rate, it should fill up in ten days."

Shi Yi roughly estimated the accumulation rate. This was also one of the things he had come to confirm.

"At this pace, I can increase the amount of Hundred-Year Stone Milk I drink each day in the future."

Based on the accumulation rate of the Hundred-Year Stone Milk, Shi Yi arranged the amount he would consume each day.

According to the Records of Great Zhou Oddities, continuously consuming a terrestrial treasure such as Hundred-Year Stone Milk produced better results. It could continuously nourish the body and soul, bringing out the effects of this terrestrial treasure more fully.

Martial cultivation was not something achieved overnight, but a long process of daily accumulation.

Moreover, the soul-nourishing effects of Hundred-Year Stone Milk might help Shi Yi cultivate Daoist arts in the future.

Shi Yi then took out the jade bottle and jade spoon he had prepared.

"If Hundred-Year Stone Milk is kept in a water pouch, its essence will dissipate into the air. Only jade ware can preserve its essence more effectively."

The Records of Great Zhou Oddities also recorded how Hundred-Year Stone Milk should be stored.

The first time Shi Yi came here, he had no other choice and could only use a water pouch. But this time, he had come prepared, so naturally he had everything ready.

Spoonful by spoonful, Shi Yi ladled the Hundred-Year Stone Milk into the jade bottle. Before long, he had filled the jade bottle with all the Hundred-Year Stone Milk from the small pool.

Afterward, Shi Yi took out another jade bottle with a gold-thread hook and placed it on the ground. He climbed upward through the cave, and whenever there was no foothold, he used an iron pick to carve one out.

Before long, Shi Yi reached the stone wall beneath the hanging stalactite. After testing that he could reach it, Shi Yi climbed back down, brought the jade bottle with the gold-thread hook beneath the stalactite, and returned.

He directly positioned it beneath where the stalactite dripped, but did not seal it completely. Only after hearing the faint sound of droplets falling did he use the gold thread above to wind it around the stalactite.

This would prevent the Hundred-Year Stone Milk's essence from leaking away and dissipating as it fell!

It would also prevent anyone from locating this place by following the leaking blue aura.

He had put a great deal of thought into this Hundred-Year Stone Milk. Fortunately, ordinary jade bottles were not expensive, though custom-made ones required an additional customization fee.

"Done."

"From now on, this place is mine!"

Shi Yi looked at his handiwork with great satisfaction.

He then made some simple arrangements in the cave, placing disguised cameras and cleaning up the traces he had left behind.

Only after everything was done did Shi Yi leave.

He did not return directly to Blue Star. Because he was carrying Hundred-Year Stone Milk, Shi Yi did not go back to Blue Star first, lest its essence dissipate there.

The blue aura on the Bodhi seed he had brought back earlier had been slowly dispersing. Clearly, it had been affected by Blue Star's environment!

Naturally, he would not let the freshly acquired full bottle of Hundred-Year Stone Milk in his hands suffer the same effect.

Even if he were to conduct tests, he would only take out a small portion at most.

Blue Star.

"As expected, even in a jade bottle, it's still affected."

Watching a faint blue aura above the Hundred-Year Stone Milk in the small jade bottle dissipate, Shi Yi could not help sighing.

In the Central Great World, after storing it in jade ware for more than half a day, he had not seen any blue aura dissipate. Yet on Blue Star, only a little over ten minutes after returning, the blue aura had already begun to disperse.

That blue aura was part of the essence of the Hundred-Year Stone Milk. If all of it dissipated, the Hundred-Year Stone Milk would lose all effect entirely!

"In the terms of cultivation novels, Blue Star should count as a land devoid of spiritual energy!"

Shi Yi shook his head slightly, but did not choose to drink the Hundred-Year Stone Milk in the small jade bottle.

Instead, he began recording the rate at which it dissipated.

He had originally intended this small bottle for research, to see how quickly the blue aura inside would dissipate.

If he could only bring similar treasures back to Blue Star in the future, he would at least know what to expect.

"It's getting late tonight!"

"I'll sleep first and record the remaining data tomorrow."

After recording the situation for another hour, Shi Yi planned to rest.

He had no intention of staying up all night. He merely wanted to obtain some approximate data.

Lower reaches of the Dan River.

"My lady, we have searched all the nearby areas, but there is still no trace of the Vajra Bodhi Bracelet Mother Bead."

Several people from the Divine Constable Bureau came before Ning Xueyan and reported their findings.

During this period, the Divine Constable Bureau had searched every area around the Dan River for traces of the Vajra Bodhi Bracelet Mother Bead, but they had never found it.

Nearly a month had already passed since the Vajra Bodhi Bracelet was stolen!

"Could it truly have been moved away by the people of the Kongkong Sect using some special method?"

Ning Xueyan's brows were tightly furrowed.

At first, they had found the Bodhi seeds of the Vajra Bodhi Bracelet one by one without much difficulty. But once they began searching for the Mother Bead, they could not find even the slightest trace.

It was as though it had vanished into thin air.

For this reason, they had launched a carpet search, yet still failed to get what they wanted. This left Ning Xueyan in a very poor mood.

If she could not recover the Mother Bead, then her mission could not be considered perfectly completed.

"Have you found Duan Qianze?"

Ning Xueyan continued asking.

Back then, she had pursued Duan Qianze along the Dan River and severely wounded him.

Just as she was about to capture Duan Qianze, thunder suddenly sounded again. She did not dare use Daoist arts, and in that brief gap, Duan Qianze seized the opportunity to flee into the Dan River.

"We have searched both the upper and lower reaches of the Dan River, but there is still no trace of Duan Qianze."

One of the Divine Constable Bureau members hurriedly stepped forward and answered quickly.