After Wu Ling spread the information about the natural treasures' location and let it simmer for several days, almost every eye in the Guardian Land had turned toward Yun Mo's crude temporary camp, ringed with wooden barricades.
Today was the day Yun Mo had chosen to draw in the net.
"Everyone, the information I have concerns no ordinary medicinal herb. We stumbled upon it by chance. Not only can this herb temper the body, it also has healing properties. Two hundred Spirit Points is already a very fair price."
Wu Ling wore a black robe that concealed him completely, leaving not a sliver of his face exposed, and spoke calmly.
"What a joke. If this herb is as precious as you say, why would you pass up the chance to pick it and come running back here?" someone sneered. They, too, wore black robes to hide their faces, but even so, the greed in their eyes was plain to see.
Wu Ling answered frankly, "You're right. An ordinary person would never pass up an opportunity like that. It was simply guarded by a spirit beast I couldn't defeat. Besides, who told you I passed up the chance to pick anything?"
With that, he took out the Nine-Leaf Fruit Yun Mo had given him beforehand and held it in his hand.
The Nine-Leaf Fruit's brilliant glow immediately drew the gazes of many people present, disbelief covering their faces.
Someone who recognized it cried out, "A Nine-Leaf Fruit!"
Wu Ling gave him an approving look. "That's right. I imagine you all know what a Nine-Leaf Fruit is? Once you eat one, as long as you don't suffer a fatal injury on the Spirit Road, you have a chance to recover slowly. That practically gives you an extra life. And it's just one of the herbs growing there."
He paused before continuing, "To be precise, I obtained this fruit by using a lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain stratagem, having someone draw the spirit beast away. But I still suffered serious injuries in the process and had to come here to recuperate. Unfortunately, the remaining Nine-Leaf Fruits ended up in the spirit beast's mouth.
"Even so, the Nine-Leaf Fruit's value still falls short of that herb."
"An herb even more valuable than a Nine-Leaf Fruit?" someone murmured.
After all, the Nine-Leaf Fruit was only a medicinal herb that healed injuries and protected the body. It did little to improve one's strength, so in some people's eyes, it was indeed worth less than a body-tempering herb.
"I suspect the herb I saw was a Myriad Forms Immortal Grass nearing maturity."
Beneath his black robe, Wu Ling's face grew somewhat awkward. Following Yun Mo's instructions, he had simply made up an herb. In any case, the stronger its effects sounded, the better.
"Myriad Forms Immortal Grass?" Most people looked bewildered. What kind of medicinal herb was that? Why had they never heard of it?
Wu Ling coughed. "Myriad Forms Immortal Grass is the principal herb required by a small number of body-tempering techniques. If you combine it with other herbs and brew a medicinal bath, there's a reasonable chance of raising your physical strength straight to the Spirit Wheel Realm. Eating it directly is somewhat less effective and can only raise it to the Spirit Movement Realm.
"But a Spirit Movement Realm physique already far surpasses an ordinary person's on the Spirit Road. At the very least, passing the Five Great Academies' assessment would be no problem at all."
The Five Great Academies' assessment was ultimately the primary goal of the Spirit Road Trial. After passing it and receiving spiritual energy empowerment, they could naturally become academy students. That temptation was enough to make their eyes shine.
"How can you prove that everything you've said is true? We already knew you had a level-three token, but that isn't enough," someone said slowly, trying to quell the temptation in his heart.
Wu Ling smiled. Now he had a chance to coax the Spirit Points out of them.
People came in a hundred different temperaments. Some were cautious, while others were willing to gamble two hundred Spirit Points on a chance to enter an academy. As long as someone was tempted, success was close at hand.
Lowering his voice, he said, "You can rest even easier on that count. I'm only selling this information to earn some Spirit Points. Once you've paid, I have more than enough means to prove what I've said.
"If I can't prove it, I can simply return your Spirit Points. There are so many of you. I consider myself fairly strong, but I know I can't hold off all of you. I wouldn't risk my eligibility to enter the Five Great Academies over a scam."
He had made himself perfectly clear. Put simply, he was offering after-sales protection. The choice now lay with the people before him.
Just as Wu Ling was about to speak again, someone finally succumbed to the temptation of the Five Great Academies and stepped forward with his token.
"Here are two hundred Spirit Points. How will you prove you're telling the truth?"
Wu Ling grinned. After collecting the two hundred Spirit Points, he sent a piece of information straight into the other man's token. It explained the Spirit Road map's function and clearly marked the location of a natural treasure.
Seeing what Wu Ling had done, the man's gaze froze, and he sank his awareness into the token.
Before long, the expression beneath his black robe grew complicated. "You certainly have good luck-and quite a scheme!"
Had he known earlier, he would have done everything he could to earn Spirit Points and obtain the Spirit Road map first. Then he would have been the one standing here instead of Wu Ling.
"Well? That should prove I haven't told a single lie, shouldn't it?" Wu Ling replied with a faint smile.
Yun Mo was exploiting the gap in their knowledge to earn Spirit Points. The most important thing was to keep people from learning what the map did. If someone discovered its function, he would lose this opportunity. That was why they could only reveal this information after completing the transaction.
Once the transaction was complete, how would the buyers have any Spirit Points left to exchange for a map? Even if they wanted to spread the news, they would no longer have an opportunity to find partners.
The man let out a long breath and said nothing more. He darted away toward the herb's location. He had to obtain it before anyone else. As long as he secured the herb and strengthened his body, gaining admission to the Five Great Academies would still make this a profitable deal.
"This..."
The others had only seen him step forward, complete the transaction, exchange a couple of remarks, and immediately leave. How could they fail to realize the information was genuine?
Some of those present tried to follow him, but Yun Mo brought Wen Qingxuan over and blocked their way with the wooden barricades.
The two looked at the people trying to give chase, releasing their auras with icy expressions. "Don't imagine you can follow him. He paid his Spirit Points, so naturally, we have to protect the fruits of his purchase. If you want to leave, just wait the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
By the time a cup of tea could be drunk, the man would be long gone. How could they follow him then?
Those people wanted to force their way out, but feeling the aura radiating from the pair before them and seeing the camp full of barricades, their faces gradually darkened.
Without resorting to violence, they couldn't possibly break through. If they caused too much of a disturbance, no one
could guarantee when the Mirror of Judgment overhead would descend to suppress them.
Meanwhile, the others who had still been watching immediately approached Wu Ling with their tokens after seeing this.
They had to hurry, too. They couldn't let a chance to enter the Five Great Academies slip away for nothing. It was only two hundred Spirit Points; they could earn those back anytime. But once an opportunity was missed, it was truly gone.
With someone helping them block those opportunists, this was precisely the best time to make the trade.
However, once they learned the truth about the map, their expressions also grew complicated. With no grounds to lash out, they could only turn and leave, hurrying toward the herb's location.
Night fell. The three shed their black robes and hid in a corner even more secluded than before.
"Hehehe, five thousand six hundred Spirit Points. Hehehe." Wu Ling kept chuckling as he stared at the Spirit Point total in Yun Mo's token.
Although his temperament had already grown somewhat steadier, he still couldn't help grinning at such a haul.
Yun Mo glanced at him disdainfully. "I'll give you a thousand. Go amuse yourself."
"Only a thousand? Shouldn't we split it evenly? We're allies." Wu Ling's face darkened. He had spent the last few days running around handling everything by himself, wearing himself out, and he only got a thousand Spirit Points? Could Yun Mo be a little reasonable?
"Hired muscle, more like." Ignoring his protests, Yun Mo tossed his level-three token back to him. It contained fifteen hundred Spirit Points.
Wu Ling caught the token and checked the amount. His dark expression turned into a smile again, and he immediately lay down in a nearby patch of grass to study what he should exchange them for.
"Tch."
Yun Mo curled his lip and turned toward Wen Qingxuan. "What do you want to exchange for? I'll get it for you."
Wen Qingxuan replied as indifferently as ever, "No need."
Yun Mo felt helpless. Ever since that accident, she hadn't shown him a single pleasant expression. Although they were still working together, they had grown increasingly distant.
Looking at the ill-fitting black robe she wore, Yun Mo used his token to exchange for the sole scarlet gown available. Overlapping golden armor adorned it, making it even more dazzling than her previous outfit. At the same time, it was a garment with the strength of a Medium-Grade Spirit Tool.
Three thousand Spirit Points. The expense made Yun Mo wince.
The red gown appeared in his hands, and he offered it to Wen Qingxuan under her surprised gaze.
"This red gown is a Medium-Grade Spirit Tool, and it also has a spotless property. No matter how much of a clean freak you are, it won't be a problem. Besides, even though it's as thin as a cicada's wing, nothing can break through it. Even the Flexible Sword in my hand can't cut it without spiritual energy.
"It's far, far better than what you wore before. If you encounter another spirit beast that sprays slime, you won't have to be so painstakingly careful. Consider this my apology for that night, all right?"
In the firelight, Yun Mo's face held a faintly ingratiating expression.
"That night? An apology?"
Wu Ling had sharp ears. Withdrawing his awareness from his token, he rolled quietly away through the grass, then secretly watched the man and woman in their little group. He had known something was off between them.
That night?
Wen Qingxuan looked at the gown in Yun Mo's hands and the ingratiating expression on his face. Recalling the accident she had almost forgotten, her expressionless face instantly flushed with embarrassed fury. She clenched her delicate fist and drove it at Yun Mo.
"You! Want! To! Die!"
"Hey, I'm kindly apologizing and giving you a gown, and you still hit me? What's that supposed to mean? Hiss... the Mirror of Judgment! Where's the Mirror of Judgment?"
Before you continue