Luo Yue's ice-blue eyes lingered on the little girl for a moment. Deep within them, the power of deduction from the [Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu] flowed silently.
This time, she saw a little more clearly.
Behind little Yao Xi, the phantom Guanghan Palace had originally been barely visible, drifting quietly amid a sea of stars and clouds. When it sensed the pure spiritual energy of the earth veins and the life essence emanating from the earth-milk spirit liquid, it briefly grew more solid.
Though it remained hazy and ethereal, the sense that it was connected to Yao Xi's divine soul, as though their very origins resonated with one another, became much clearer.
Sure enough... this phantom Guanghan Palace is no ordinary thing. It can resonate with the spiritual essences of heaven and earth.
Tsk, the future Holy Maiden of Yaoguang really does have a lofty starting point, Luo Yue marveled inwardly.
It was not that she had any interest in the little girl herself. She was simply interested in that phantom lunar palace.
"Little Yue, agree to her offer. The Yao Family's ten-thousand-year moon lotus is good stuff. It'll benefit you quite a bit."
Seeing Yao Xi's pleading gaze, Luo Qingluan had no choice but to step forward and put in a word for her old close friend.
Luo Yue did not hesitate after hearing that. She nodded, then said, "Since Big Sister Yao Li is asking, I'll certainly give her that much face. But a single ten-thousand-year moon lotus isn't enough."
"If you add a piece of ice-attribute variant source worth five thousand jin of source, I can give you half of this earth-milk spirit liquid."
Yao Li agreed without hesitation, saying she would have someone deliver the ten-thousand-year moon lotus and the variant source to the Luo Family tomorrow. After all, they could hardly carry such precious rarities around with them.
Luo Yue was not afraid that their family would go back on its word. She took a small white jade cauldron from Luo Qingluan, poured the pool of spirit liquid into it, then floated the jade cauldron over to Yao Xi.
The pool of earth-milk she had extracted was plentiful enough to satisfy anyone. Even after selling a portion to the Yao Family, she would have more than enough for herself.
With the spirit milk in hand, little Yao Xi looked delighted. She hugged the little jade cauldron, unable to put it down, brought her small nose close to its opening, and took a deep breath. Then she gave a satisfied little hum, her eyes curving as she smiled like a little fox that had stolen some honey.
"What a good girl."
Seeing her like that, Luo Yue could not quite stop her little hand from reaching out to gently rub the crown of that glossy, silky black hair.
The gesture was as sudden as it was natural.
Little Yao Xi was immersed in the joy of obtaining a treasure when the unexpected pat on her head made her whole body freeze! That sweet smile stiffened on her exquisitely sculpted little face.
An indescribable surge of embarrassed anger rushed straight to her head! Little Yao Xi abruptly looked up, her clear, bright eyes widening into circles like a kitten bristling after someone stepped on its tail.
What made Luo Yue struggle even harder to hold back her laughter was that two tiny, pointed canine teeth actually showed beneath Yao Xi's tender pink lips.
-She really was baring her teeth!
Though it was not remotely intimidating and only made her look adorably fierce, it was unmistakably a young beast's instinctive warning when its territory had been infringed upon.
"You...!"
Little Yao Xi's face flushed scarlet, and she was just about to say something in a huff.
"Xi!"
Fairy Yao Li, standing beside her, was startled too. She quickly called out softly, then gently pressed a hand onto Yao Xi's shoulder with a slightly helpless smile, reminding her to mind the occasion and her manners.
Under her older sister's restraining hand, Yao Xi's bristling fury subsided a little. But those big eyes still glared angrily at Luo Yue, and her arms tightened around the jade cauldron.
Seeing her react so fiercely, like a bristling kitten, Luo Yue withdrew her hand with some regret.
Human cubs are surely the cutest creatures of all. If I don't take the chance to pat their heads more now, they won't be nearly as cute once they grow up.
"Young friend Luo Yue, might you be willing to part with the remaining earth-milk spirit liquid as well?"
Seeing Yao Xi become the first to taste the crab, the surrounding cultivators immediately followed her example, eagerly calling out offers.
Had Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei not been blocking them at the front, Luo Yue would probably have been swallowed up by the crowd.
"I don't intend to trade any more earth-milk spirit liquid. But I can auction off some of the other things right here," Luo Yue said.
Although Luo Yue currently looked only seven years old, that did not hinder her in the slightest. She picked out several items around her and began auctioning them off on the spot, without a trace of stage fright.
She really had extracted a little too much just now, and quite a few people had probably begun to turn green with envy. That was not a good development. Better to offer them a few benefits and let them compete among themselves for a portion at auction.
Whatever happened, Luo Yue would not lose out.
Luo Qingying, Jiang Wei, and the others nodded at the way she handled things. They said nothing, unanimously approving.
The auction was in full swing, and by now, the entire Luo City had been stirred.
The main reason was still that king of medicinal plants, which had drawn far too many people from across Luo City.
Cultivators swarmed over, packing the Great Evolution Stone Workshop so tightly that not even water could trickle through. They watched the Luo Family's little princess stroll as though she were in her own back garden, turning the exorbitantly priced stones that the Great Evolution Sacred Land cherished as treasures into possessions in her pocket, one after another.
In the blink of an eye,
Luo Yue had already cut open more than a dozen exorbitantly priced stones in succession.
"This is such a racket. Aside from those counterfeit filled stones, most of the other stones are empty too."
Only after cutting open and selling the few stones in the Heaven-Class Stone Garden that could yield a huge profit did Luo Yue stop. Even then, she did not forget to deliver one final stab.
Of course, it was only an offhand remark. She certainly was not deliberately flogging the Great Evolution Stone Workshop's corpse...
When the manager of the Great Evolution Stone Workshop and some Great Evolution disciples in the distance heard that, their faces turned as black as the bottom of a cooking pot. They wished they could throw the whole group out. It was fortunate that Yanlong had retreated early, or he would have been so furious he spat blood.
By then, Luo Yue had swept up every stone of any appreciable value in the Heaven-Class Stone Garden.
Aside from the stones unearthed from the Primordial Ancient Mine, which she had left untouched, she had plundered all the dozen or so stones here that could yield enormous profits.
"Keep robbing... pah, keep buying!"
Luo Qingluan was so excited that her tongue slipped.
Luo Yue turned her gaze toward the Earth-Ranked Stone Garden.
She had no intention of letting the Great Evolution Sacred Land off so easily. Since all pretense of civility had already been torn away, she might as well play this out to the bitter end!
"Come on. Let's go to the Earth-Ranked garden."
She strode off on her little legs toward the next battlefield.
What followed could only be described as a gale sweeping away the clouds.
Wherever Luo Yue went, it was as though a swarm of locusts had passed through.
She did not need to choose carefully at all. With one sweep of her ice-blue eyes and a point of her little hand, Luo Qingying or Jiang Wei would immediately buy the stone, and then
she would casually cut it open under everyone's watchful eyes, unleashing a blaze of treasure light.
"A monster! She's a true monster!"
"Heavens, could this little girl have been born with divine eyes?"
The entire Great Evolution Stone Workshop had erupted into an uproar.
The way countless people looked at Luo Yue had begun to change. How was this a little girl? She was practically a "Source God" walking the earth!
At least in their eyes, perhaps even a legendary Source Heavenly Master could do no better.