Invalid Summoning and Invalid Common Sense

"Primordial... Summoning Token? Is that... how this thing is used?!"

Ling Ye's muttering, filled with surprise and disbelief, struck Su Wanqing's chaotic mind like thunder.

Primordial Summoning Token?!

Wasn't that a legend... But she didn't even have time to think!

From the token, a pillar of purple-gold light erupted, and at its apex, a terrifying "gaze" from an unknowable dimension descended! An indescribable pressure, like billions of divine mountains crashing down, instantly filled the entire villa!

Su Wanqing couldn't even scream. She felt her soul about to be crushed into dust by this power! Her body was stiff as iron, her eyeballs unable to move. Only boundless fear and a sense of insignificance consumed her! The token in her hand grew scorching hot, as if it would melt, yet she couldn't even let go!

Just as she thought she would be annihilated in the next second—

Ling Ye, on the sofa, suddenly clicked his tongue. The wry smile on his face quickly turned into extreme impatience!

"What the hell?!" He seemed completely annoyed by the sudden "big commotion" that interrupted his snacking. Facing the pillar of light and the descending pressure, he roared irritably, "Why are you shouting so loud?! Go back to sleep!"

There was no earth-shattering clash of energies, no profound battle of laws.

Only his rebuke, filled with the grumpiness of being woken up and utter disdain.

However, the moment his voice fell—

The terrifying pressure, capable of extinguishing galaxies, was as if its neck was suddenly choked by an invisible hand, halting abruptly! The runic symbols of "summoning response" flowing within the purple-gold light pillar, as if receiving a supreme command, instantly became chaotic, collapsed, and dissipated!

At the apex of the light pillar, the phantom of a more terrifying existence that was about to form let out an extremely brief, silent scream filled with shock and confusion. Then, like a forcibly shut-off projector, it instantly vanished, shrinking and disappearing without a trace!

The soaring purple-gold light pillar, like a power-cut light tube, suddenly dimmed and dissipated, as if it had never appeared.

The suffocating pressure within the villa receded like a tide, leaving behind a deathly silence, and in the air, only a lingering, strange scent of burnt circuits and residual law embers.

Su Wanqing collapsed onto the floor with a thud, gasping for air, her body soaked in cold sweat, as if she'd just been fished out of water. The Primordial Summoning Token in her hand lost its luster and warmth, quickly returning to its original ancient appearance, though its surface seemed to possess a faint, almost sluggishness, as if it had been "yelled silly."

She looked up, her eyes filled with terror, at Ling Ye.

Ling Ye remained seated on the sofa, his expression as foul as a stone dredged from a latrine. He seemed extremely displeased about being forcibly interrupted during his "meal" and having to deal with such a "false alarm call."

He shot a fierce glare at the token in Su Wanqing's hand, then at the empty space, as if warning some entity not to respond so carelessly again. Then, with extreme impatience, he reached out his hand and, from a distance, made a grabbing motion towards the token in Su Wanqing's hand!

"Whoosh!"

The Primordial Summoning Token, as if attracted by a magnet, instantly slipped from Su Wanqing's weakened grip and flew back into Ling Ye's hand.

Ling Ye didn't even look at it. As if dealing with annoying trash, he casually stuffed the token... deep into the innermost part of the worn cloth bag! He even patted the bag with a look of disgust, as if afraid this "phone-calling" item would run out again and cause trouble.

After doing all this, he let out a long, resentful sigh, picked up the half-eaten "old dough" again, and took a furious bite as if venting his anger!

"Crunch!" The sound was exceptionally loud.

Su Wanqing lay on the floor, watching the "big shot" with a resentful expression of "you all disturbed my sleep," recalling the world-ending terrifying scene and pressure from moments ago, and the absurd scene of the "big shot" dismissing it all with a single shout...

She felt her brain had completely given up on thinking. Common sense? What was that? Could she eat it?

And just then, perhaps because the "summoning" had been too loud, or perhaps due to Ling Ye's emotional fluctuations, the opening of his worn cloth bag, not fully tied after he stuffed the token back in, had a slight gap.

An extremely faint, yet exceptionally pure and rich... medicinal fragrance... like a freed spirit, quietly escaped from the gap!

This fragrance was not the scent of ordinary herbs and plants, but a primordial aura that seemed to condense the essence of countless immortal herbs and divine medicines, imbued with the vitality of creation! Just a barely perceptible whiff, inhaled into the lungs, made Su Wanqing feel that the stamina and energy she had just consumed had instantly recovered quite a bit, and even her hunger was temporarily suppressed!

Ling Ye's nose twitched violently! His chewing of the "old dough" stopped instantly, his eyes lit up, like a hungry wolf spotting a plump piece of meat!

"Oh?" He let out a surprised "Hmm?" and instantly forgot his previous displeasure. He threw away the half-eaten "old dough" and excitedly reached his hand back into the cloth bag, fumbling around.

"Found it! I thought I'd eaten it all!" he mumbled, a smile of finding a treasure on his face.

Then, under Su Wanqing's curious yet fearful gaze, he pulled out... something?... from the cloth bag.

It was about the size of a longan, perfectly round, with a hazy, chaotic color. Yet, its surface bore nine incredibly clear, naturally formed cloud-patterned acupoints! Wisps of seven-colored divine light flowed slowly from the acupoints, condensing into tiny dragon and phoenix phantoms that circled and danced, emitting a majestic medicinal power and vital energy that stirred the soul!

Nine acupoints?! Seven-colored divine light?! Dragon and phoenix embrace?!

Even with her lack of common sense, Su Wanqing knew this was no ordinary item! These were clearly the phenomena of the highest-grade immortal pills in legends!

Ling Ye looked at the pill in his palm, his eyes shining, his mouth watering. Clearly, this was the "snack" he had truly been looking for!

He eagerly opened his mouth, about to pop this obviously extraordinary immortal pill into his mouth—

But the moment the pill was about to enter his mouth, his movement suddenly stopped!

His brows furrowed slightly, and a look of... disdain appeared on his face? As if he had discovered some minor flaw.

He pinched the Nine-Orifice Seven-Colored Immortal Pill, brought it close to his eyes to examine it carefully, paying special attention to the divine light flowing from the nine acupoints and the surrounding dragon and phoenix phantoms. He then brought his nose closer to sniff the majestic medicinal fragrance.

Then, he smacked his lips with extreme dissatisfaction and complained in a low voice, "The heat is still a bit off... The dragon and phoenix essence isn't locked in, and three tenths of the divine light has escaped... Sigh, I'll make do."

His tone was as regretful as if he had eaten a slightly wilted strawberry.

Su Wanqing: "..."

She looked at the Nine-Orifice Immortal Pill that would cause any cultivator to fight to the death and shed blood, then heard the "make do" and "a bit off" evaluation from the "big shot"...

She didn't even have the strength to complain anymore.

However, just as Ling Ye was about to put this "substandard" immortal pill into his mouth again—

Another change occurred!

Because the bag wasn't tied tightly and he had rummaged through it excitedly just now, an unremarkable small item that had been pressed to the very bottom was brought out by his movements and fell onto the carpet with a "pat."

It was... only about the size of a thumb, grayish-white all over, extremely irregular in shape, even a bit rough... a Small Stone?

It looked completely ordinary, like a pebble picked up from the roadside, the kind no one would even glance at if thrown on the ground.

However, the moment this Small Stone left the cloth bag and touched the carpet of the large villa--

"Buzz..."

A deep hum, so low it seemed capable of shaking the very foundations of the world, suddenly came from the deepest part of the earth!

The entire villa, no, the entire Yunqi Mountain, and even a wider area, vibrated, extremely subtly, but undeniably...

This time, it wasn't the vibration from an energy impact like before, but something... deeper, more fundamental... like the "pulse" of a planet being suddenly touched... a tremor!

Beneath the load-bearing pillar on the east side of the living room, the Primordial Anchor Fragment, which was firmly suppressed by the Fragment of Buzhou Mountain and kept in place by Ling Ye's kick, resonated... extremely subtly... as if receiving an irresistible summons from Origin, the instant this Small Stone appeared!

Although it was instantly suppressed again by the heavy aura of the Fragment of Buzhou Mountain, the momentary resonance had truly occurred!

Ling Ye, who was about to take his pill, froze abruptly!

He suddenly looked down, his gaze like two sharp swords, instantly fixing on the unremarkable grayish-white Small Stone that had just fallen onto the carpet!

His pupils contracted sharply at that moment!

All the laziness, impatience, disdain, and even the craving for the immortal pill on his face vanished without a trace! In its place was an... extremely rare expression, a mixture of immense shock, disbelief, and a hint of... as if he had seen a ghost... astonishment?!

He even forgot the Nine-Orifice Seven-Colored Immortal Pill in his hand, letting it fall and bounce a few times on the sofa.

"This... this thing..." For the first time, Ling Ye's voice carried a distinct, almost uncontrolled tremor. He stared intently at the Small Stone, as if seeing the most incredible sight in the universe, "How could it... still be with me?! I thought it was long gone..."

He stopped mid-sentence, as if realizing something extremely terrifying, his expression instantly becoming incredibly grave!

He no longer cared about snacks or hunger. He abruptly jumped off the sofa, his bare feet landing on the carpet. With a swift movement, he rushed over and, as if rescuing a peerless treasure, picked up the grayish-white Small Stone with extreme caution, even a hint of fear, and clutched it tightly in his palm!

It was as if it wasn't a stone, but the switch for the explosion of the entire universe!

Su Wanqing was completely stunned by Ling Ye's sudden, unprecedentedly violent reaction!

She looked at the formidable figure's battle-ready, even fearful expression, then at the ordinary-looking Small Stone in his hand, her mind completely shutting down.

This... what kind of treasure was this?! To make this great figure, who could shake planets with a stomp and silence supreme will with a word, lose his composure to this extent?!

Ling Ye tightly gripped the stone, his fingers even turning slightly white from the excessive force. He closed his eyes, seemingly trying his best to sense and confirm something, a faint bead of cold sweat even appearing on his forehead?

A few seconds later, he abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze now filled only with immense gravity and a hint of... annoyance?

"Trouble..." he muttered in a hoarse voice, "Now... we're really... in big trouble..."

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the villa's roof and looking into the depths of the endless, distant starry sky, his expression extremely grim.

"Those old guys with noses sharper than dogs... they must have... sensed it already..."

The atmosphere in the entire villa, because of a suddenly dropped Small Stone, instantly shifted from the absurd comedy of before to an extremely oppressive and... impending storm!

Su Wanqing slumped to the floor, looking at the formidable figure's unprecedentedly serious profile, feeling a cold chill, like a venomous snake, tightening around her heart once more.

This time, the trouble... was probably... truly different