Ice and Snow Beauty

"Golden Core Realm?" Wei Suo swallowed hard. "Green-Haired Old Man, what does materialization mean?"

A cultivator's True Essence was the wellspring that powered all manner of spells and magic treasures—the very foundation of a cultivator. Cultivation arts for True Essence were divided, by quality, into the four ranks of heaven, earth, profound, and yellow. By cultivation level, they were divided into the Sea of Consciousness Realm, Circulation Realm, Mind Splitting Realm, Golden Core Realm, Divine Profound Realm, and True Immortal Realm. Each realm was further divided into five levels. Not only was the Purple Profound True Art Wei Suo cultivated not a particularly formidable cultivation art, but he had only reached the Second Level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm. At Wei Suo's cultivation speed, reaching the Golden Core Realm in this lifetime held little hope. If the Green Robe Old Man truly could help Wei Suo reach the Golden Core Realm, then so long as his conditions were within reach, Wei Suo would certainly give it everything he had.

"For an artifact spirit like me, the artifact's vessel is like my physical body. If this Ghost Nurturing Jar had not been damaged, living another few tens of thousands of years would not have been a problem. But now, this artifact vessel has been badly damaged, and the spiritual energy in some of its formations is leaking away. If nothing unexpected happens, in a few hundred years, all the spiritual energy in this artifact's formations will disperse. By then, without nourishment for my vital energy, I too will completely fade away. So-called materialization means using certain special materials to create a new body for me."

"Create a new body?"

"That's right. The reason I wanted to drink Fire Scorpion Blood and the blood of a Fire Earth Dragon was because I do not know what materials my first master used when refining me. Fire Scorpion Blood and Fire Earth Dragon blood happen to have some nourishing effect on my vital energy. If I drink enough Fire Scorpion Blood, the distance my divine sense can leave this jar will increase, though it still cannot exceed a radius of ten li." The Green Robe Old Man looked at Wei Suo. "My greatest wish is to be able to go out and see the world freely. But without a real body, I can never leave this jar. I can only remain imprisoned like this forever."

"That does sound pretty miserable." Wei Suo knew that artifact spirits like the Green Robe Old Man had been created by artifact refiners to assist in controlling magic treasures, and were essentially like servants to cultivators. To be a servant for tens of thousands of years, and sometimes, after one's master died, to remain unable to leave the jar, locked away for over ten thousand years—such an existence was indeed miserable. After nodding sympathetically, Wei Suo continued, "Then do you know how to materialize? What materials are needed? You don't need one of my arms or legs or something, do you?"

"See for yourself." The Green Robe Old Man had long since realized that Wei Suo was extremely shrewd and unwilling to suffer any loss. As his hands waved continuously, glowing green characters appeared before him, each one resembling the runes on the First-Order Fireball Talisman he had shown Wei Suo.

"Five-Colored Stone, Moon Immortal Grass, Golden Crow Fruit... Third Level of the Golden Core Realm? Fine, Green-Haired Old Man, so that was why you said you could help me reach the Golden Core Realm. After gathering all these materials, I still need at least the True Essence cultivation of the Third Level of the Golden Core Realm before I can cast this materialization art for you." After carefully reading through it, Wei Suo could not help crying out.

"So, are you doing it or not?" The Green Robe Old Man rolled his eyes at Wei Suo and asked directly.

"Of course I am. Only a fool wouldn't." Wei Suo grinned. "I just need to gather these materials along the way while cultivating. But Green-Haired Old Man, if some of these materials really no longer exist, you can't blame me when the time comes."

"You needn't worry about that." The Green Robe Old Man nodded confidently. "If these materials truly cannot be found on Tianxuan Continent, I know of a place where they should exist."

"Then what's not to agree to?" Wei Suo looked at the Green Robe Old Man. In his eyes, the Green Robe Old Man was becoming more and more adorable. "By the way, Green-Haired Old Man, we've chatted like old friends at first sight for so long, yet I still don't know your name. Mine is Wei Suo."

"Like old friends at first sight, my ass!" The Green Robe Old Man cursed inwardly in frustration, then snorted. "What's so important about a name? Call me whatever you like."

"Great, then I'll call you Greenie from now on? Or Little Greenie?"

"...Then you should just keep calling me Green-Haired Old Man."

"Calling you Green-Haired Old Man feels a little awkward. Why not just call you Old Man?" Wei Suo sprawled limply across the bed. Consecutively refining talismans had drained far too much of his physical and mental strength. "Old Man, now that we've made a deal, what should I do next?"

"What should you do?" The Green Robe Old Man looked at Wei Suo disdainfully. "Seeing how delighted you are over refining a few Fireball Talismans, I can tell you're poor enough to rattle when you walk. First find a way to refine more Fireball Talismans and earn enough spirit stones for your daily cultivation."

Wei Suo's face reddened slightly. "Old Man, don't you have any other good stuff you can take out for me to use first?"

"Sorry, not for now. Unless you reach the Fourth Level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm." The Green Robe Old Man shook his head without the slightest politeness. "But I do know one method for luring out Fire Scorpions."

"Really?" Wei Suo's eyes immediately lit up again.

"Wei Wei, who on earth upset you? Why do you look so unhappy?" When Ji Ya saw Han Weiwei enter the pill room with an unhappy expression, she smiled and beckoned to her. Han Weiwei, pouting, immediately sat down on Ji Ya's lap and wrapped her arms around Ji Ya's neck. If Wei Suo had seen this scene, his jaw would surely have hit the floor.

Dressed in an ordinary purple palace gown, her hair casually gathered with only a jade hairpin, Ji Ya was the owner of the Treasure Pavilion in Lingyue City. The Treasure Pavilion was not the largest shop in Lingyue City, but it was absolutely one of the most profitable. Ji Ya was one of the few alchemists in Lingyue City, and roughly one-third of the medicinal pills produced in the city came from the Treasure Pavilion. More importantly, Ji Ya was also Lingyue City's famed Ice and Snow Beauty.

Every day, many people sought every possible excuse to trade with the Treasure Pavilion, when in truth they merely wanted another glimpse of that unforgettable face. Ji Ya's proud figure, especially the size of her twin peaks, would drive most women mad with envy. Yet the crucial point was that Ji Ya was always icy toward any man, even the outstanding young talents of sects such as the Tianyi Sect. The more an Ice and Snow Beauty was like this, the more countless cultivators found themselves unable to extricate themselves.

Yet now, this renowned Ice and Snow Beauty actually had someone sitting directly on her lap with arms around her neck, and the person seated on her lap was none other than the seductive, silver-clad, curvy little beauty Wei Suo had encountered in Yellow Sand Canyon.

"Senior Sister, I'm furious." Han Weiwei sat on Ji Ya's pair of slender jade legs that had driven countless cultivators wild and spoke through gritted teeth. "A few days ago, I finally managed to kill two Stone-tailed Wall Lizards in Yellow Sand Canyon. But I never expected to run into a shameless bastard who snatched both Stone-tailed Wall Lizards and ran off. I searched around Yellow Sand Canyon for days, but I couldn't find that guy."