After quite a while, the middle-aged woman finally began to come around.
She gasped for breath, still shaken. Then she suddenly looked up in horror, scanning her surroundings, but Ning Wangshu was nowhere to be seen.
"J-just now..."
The middle-aged woman parted her lips. Recalling what she had just "experienced," she still couldn't suppress her fear.
"D-did I... run into a ghost?"
She swallowed with difficulty and murmured in a trembling voice.
Even though it was noon, she still felt a chill run through her body and couldn't help shivering.
Then she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly looked toward the old woman. The old woman was still trembling, her lips pale as she kept muttering, "I don't want it anymore... I don't want it..."
The middle-aged woman rushed over and cried, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
But the old woman seemed not to hear her. When the middle-aged woman tried to help her up, the instant she touched her, the old woman shuddered and hurriedly backed away.
She stared at the middle-aged woman in terror, as if she were some Malevolent Ghost.
The old woman was already advanced in years, and after going through this ordeal, she fell seriously ill. Even after recovering, she became paranoid...
Of course, that was another story.
This had happened on Earth. If they'd been in the Cangyuan Realm, Ning Wangshu would probably have slapped them dead long ago. But in the end, although their behavior had been truly disgusting, it didn't deserve death.
After giving them a little punishment, Ning Wangshu had finally vented his anger...
Elsewhere.
Lin Anguo and Lin Qingzhu, who had already left, knew nothing about what happened afterward.
Once they were away, Lin Qingzhu couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked, "Grandpa, were the two Jade Pendants Ning Wangshu sold you really that good? Were they worth five million?"
Her cultivation was too low to sense the pure Spiritual Qi contained in the two Jade Pendants at a glance, the way Lin Anguo could.
Hearing her question, Lin Anguo smiled slightly. "They're worth far more than five million. As far as I'm concerned, even if your classmate had asked for fifty million, I would have bought them without hesitation!"
"W-what?!"
Lin Qingzhu exclaimed, eyes wide. "Grandpa, those two Jade Pendants are really worth that much? What kind of Jade Pendants are they, to be worth fifty million?"
Lin Anguo smiled. "Actually, that's not quite right. To ordinary people, the two Jade Pendants would probably be worth only three or four million."
"After all, although the jade they're made of is top quality, they're still just Jade Pendants. Three or four million is already about as much as they could fetch."
"But in the eyes of people who truly know what they're looking at..."
Lin Anguo paused, then continued, "More precisely, in the eyes of cultivators like us—especially someone like me, whose cultivation has hit a bottleneck—their value is magnified without limit. Calling them priceless treasures wouldn't be an exaggeration."
"At the very least, I'd be willing to give up everything I own to get these two Jade Pendants. I mean everything I own, not a specific amount of money!"
"In other words, if I had fifty million, I'd trade all of it for these Jade Pendants without hesitation. If I had five hundred million, I'd still be willing to trade all of it for them. Do you understand now?"
"Gasp..."
After hearing that, Lin Qingzhu was even more astonished.
"Grandpa, what's so special about these Jade Pendants that you'd be willing to give up everything to get them?"
"And from what you're saying... they can help with cultivation?"
Lin Qingzhu couldn't help asking.
Lin Anguo smiled and took out one of the Jade Pendants, handing it to her. "Your cultivation is still too shallow for you to sense it directly."
"Hold it now and pay close attention to how it feels. Then you'll understand what I mean..."
Lin Qingzhu froze, then took the Jade Pendant with some skepticism.
Just a moment later, Lin Qingzhu's eyes flew wide open. She looked up at Lin Anguo and exclaimed, "Grandpa, this Jade Pendant... it actually contains Spiritual Qi!"
"And the Spiritual Qi is so dense and pure!"
Lin Qingzhu looked utterly shocked.
Lin Anguo laughed. "Now do you understand why I said that?"
Then he added, "But come to think of it, I really did get an incredible bargain from your classmate this time. If these two Jade Pendants were put up for auction in the Cultivation World, there's every chance they could fetch several hundred million."
"Especially for old cultivators like me, whose cultivation has stalled at a bottleneck and who can't break through to the Golden Core Great Path. These two Jade Pendants are incredibly tempting!"
Lin Qingzhu nodded, then suddenly caught on and exclaimed in delight, "Grandpa, you mean these two Jade Pendants can help you break through to the Golden Core Great Path?"
Lin Anguo nodded with a smile. "I can't say they'll guarantee success, but with these two Jade Pendants, I'll at least dare to make a real attempt!"
After a pause, Lin Anguo continued, "You know the main reason I haven't been able to break through all this time is that my foundation is insufficient. I can't gather enough Spiritual Qi to condense a Golden Core."
"But with the Spiritual Qi in these two Jade Pendants replenishing mine, it might be enough! At the very least, I now have a chance to give it a try!"
"So tomorrow, I'll return to the Old Residence and go into seclusion. First, I'll get myself into peak condition, then I'll try to use these two Jade Pendants to break through to the Golden Core Great Path!"
"If I successfully condense a Golden Core, I'll owe your classmate an enormous debt..."
Hearing Lin Anguo's words, Lin Qingzhu was excited too.
"That's wonderful, Grandpa! If you really manage to reach the Golden Core Realm this time, our Lin Family will become a major force in the entire Cultivation World!"
"And once you reach the Golden Core Realm, your lifespan will increase greatly. I've heard that a cultivator at that realm can normally live to be three hundred?"
"That would mean that with you at the helm, our Lin Family could remain prosperous for at least another two hundred years!"
Lin Anguo smiled. "A cultivator in the Golden Core Realm can indeed live to around three hundred. As far as I know, the Old Celestial Master of Dragon-Tiger Mountain is already over two hundred!"
"But exactly how long someone can live depends on the individual!"
The grandfather and granddaughter chatted as they walked.
Lin Qingzhu was delighted for her grandfather, but she couldn't help reflecting on the fact that Ning Wangshu actually had such a treasure!
"I never expected Ning Wangshu to help Grandpa so much this time. Just as Grandpa said, if he really manages to break through to the Golden Core Realm with these, he'll owe Ning Wangshu an enormous debt."
Lin Qingzhu thought to herself.