Page 4

"So that's what 'just in time' meant." It was a brazen demand for gifts...

Immortal Venerable Shen choked, then forced out a smile. Reluctantly, he took his son Shen Xingyan and several direct disciples to the banquet, telling the others to wait aboard the Flying Boat.

At the banquet entrance, he rummaged through his Heaven-and-Earth Bag and grudgingly pulled out 800 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones as his gift. "A hundred Spirit Stones per person. Eight people makes 800—a lucky number." He did the sums in his head.

Just then, Ye Hongyue, the junior martial aunt from Cinnabar Glow Peak, effortlessly

and

casually presented 80,000 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones to be entered in the gift register. People crowded around to watch them give their gifts, chattering among themselves.

"How generous of the junior martial aunt! She gave so many Spirit Stones."

"It's only 80,000 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones—the equivalent of 800 Superior Spirit Stones. Immortal Venerable Shen, the supreme figure of our Cultivation World, is right here. I bet that's not even one percent of what he'll give."

"Exactly! I hear the Kongtong School has more spirit stones than it knows what to do with. The two stone lions at its gates are carved from high-grade spirit stones, and the dragon's head on its Flying Boat is cast from Peerless Gold Spirit Stone. The whole school is full of rare treasures."

"Then Immortal Venerable Shen's gift must be incredible. Let me see it for myself!"

Immortal Venerable Shen: ...

His hand closed around the 800 Middle-Grade Spirit Stones, then drew back. He reached into his Heaven-and-Earth Bag again. When his hand emerged, it held 100,000 Superior Spirit Stones.

The Superior Spirit Stones were flawless white, like pure, sacred pieces of jade. Powerful, refined spiritual energy filled them, stirring desire in everyone who saw them.

"I've never seen so many Superior Spirit Stones! Now that's how an Immortal Venerable spends."

Sect Leader Ye Ruheng had been obsessed with seclusion for years, leaving the Cloudsky Sect perpetually out of the loop. News of Secret Realms and treasure hunts never reached them in time. Nor did they demand enormous fees for slaying demons on others' behalf, as other sects did. The entire sect was dirt-poor. They did not even have a Flying Boat; to travel, they had to ride flying swords or Azure Luan.

It was the first time the sect's disciples had seen so many Superior Spirit Stones. They could not help staring and murmuring in admiration.

"Just a small token. It's nothing, really." Immortal Venerable Shen waved a hand, his expression relaxed and indifferent, as though those Spirit Stones meant nothing to him. Inside, his heart was bleeding.

He regretted letting pride drive him to produce so many Superior Spirit Stones. But there was no taking back a gift once offered. He could only swallow the loss.

Mother, Mother, take me to see Immortal Venerable Shen! Ye Zhenzhen squirmed in Xie Jingshu's arms, wishing she had long legs so she could run over to Shen Zishan herself.

We've finally lured him into the trap. We have to take plenty from the rich to help the poor.

Xie Jingshu smiled and carried her daughter toward Immortal Venerable Shen.

As rich spiritual energy streamed from the Superior Spirit Stones, Ye Zhenzhen's eyes seemed to shine just as brightly.

Hahahaha! I'm going to laugh all the way to a fortune. That old man is loaded, and he has treasures to spare. We've got to make him bleed today.

"Madam Ye, your daughter appears exceptionally gifted. One day, she will surely inherit Sect Leader Ye's mantle and become a sword cultivator of extraordinary power. I'm delighted to see it." Immortal Venerable Shen considered himself still in the prime of life, and his eyes lit up at the sight of a beauty like Xie Jingshu. Smiling broadly, he poured out one polished compliment after another.

Exceptionally gifted? Hahaha! I don't even have a spiritual root.

"You flatter her, Immortal Venerable Shen. My daughter's aptitude is ordinary. I only wish her a life of peace and joy, free from hardship," Xie Jingshu said gently, voicing a mother's hopes for her daughter.

Ye Zhenzhen's eyes widened into circles, utterly captivated by the string of beads around Immortal Venerable Shen's neck.

At first glance, they looked like prayer beads. In truth, every bead was a high-grade Heaven-and-Earth Pearl, a

spatial

Artifact refined by a master craftsman. Each held hundreds of times the space of an ordinary Heaven-and-Earth Bag and could even draw in spirit beasts, exotic beasts, whole tracts of land, and vast lakes. In the original novel, before destroying the Cloudsky Sect, he had used this string of Heaven-and-Earth Pearls to steal every treasure in the sect, including hundreds of Azure Luan.

As they passed Immortal Venerable Shen, she decisively thrust out her lotus-root-plump arm. Her little hand seized the Heaven-and-Earth Pearls with unerring precision and refused to let go.

The string pulled tight against Immortal Venerable Shen's neck, and he coughed several times.

What was this Little Glutinous Rice Ball doing? Robbing him in broad daylight?

"Zhenzhen, let go." Xie Jingshu hurriedly gave Immortal Venerable Shen an apologetic look and tried to pry Ye Zhenzhen's restless fingers from the Heaven and Earth Pearl.

Mother, I want this string of Heaven-and-Earth Pearls! Otherwise, he'll use it to steal every treasure in our Cloudsky Sect one day. He won't even spare the hundreds of Azure Luan!

Xie Jingshu would normally have scorned taking another person's treasure. But after hearing of Immortal Venerable Shen's wolfish intentions, she secretly cast a small spell that stuck the beads fast to her daughter's hand. No matter how hard anyone pulled, they could not free them from the month-old baby's grasp.

"How can this be?"

"Could this string of prayer beads be fated for my daughter?"

"Your daughter truly is remarkable. Very well, I'll give her these Ninefold Heaven-and-Earth Pearls." Immortal Venerable Shen had already tried several times, in secret, to wrench the little girl's hand away from the Heaven and Earth Pearl, but he could not separate them. The string had left a deep mark on his neck. It hurt, and he did not want everyone laughing at him for being weaker than a baby girl. Under all those watching eyes, he could only pretend to be generous and offer her the beads outright.

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He had only found this treasure at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion a few days ago for 180,000 Superior Spirit Stones. He had not even had a chance to use it. How could he give it away for nothing?

His hand, poised to remove the Heaven-and-Earth Pearls, hung motionless in midair.

Mother, my dearest Mother, hurry and take the whole string of Heaven-and-Earth Pearls for me! Ye Zhenzhen was beside herself with delight. All she wanted was to make the treasure hers.

When Xie Jingshu saw Immortal Venerable Shen standing frozen for so long without taking off the beads, she gave him an open, gracious bow. "I thank you on my daughter's behalf for your generous gift." Then her gaze settled on his hand.

Shen Zishan: ...

Ranking lists

|

Transmigration into a book

Wish fulfillment

Cannon fodder

Group favorite