"Little Yue, a Primordial God is buried beneath that Ancient Mine in Luoshui. They say the blood of gods flows through those with a divine king body. Don't you want to take a look? Your divine king body might even resonate with it."
Inside a beef noodle shop in Luo City, aunt and niece were eating beef noodles when Luo Qingluan made the suggestion to Luo Yue, brimming with excitement.
"A Primordial God? More like one of the Primordial Fierce Clan." Luo Yue rolled her eyes.
Those people outside had gone mad with their desire to dig up divine source.
Luo Yue wanted nothing to do with this aunt who kept trying to land her in trouble. She lowered her head and kept slurping her noodles.
She had to admit, this noodle shop's food really was good.
Luo Yue had already polished off three large bowls of Iron Bull beef noodles.
After all, she had spent so long in seclusion at the Luo Residence that her mouth had grown bland enough for birds to nest in it.
For Luo Yue, this stretch of secluded cultivation had felt much like her old days of digging holes with a shovel.
Every time she crawled out from underground, she had to indulge in all kinds of delicious food... otherwise, that oppressive environment could truly suffocate her.
"Little Yue, we'd only be taking a look. With your divine eye, you might even spot something." Seeing her little niece still slurping noodles like mad, Luo Qingluan refused to give up.
Rumors about Luo Yue were everywhere in Qingyun Province now. Some claimed the Luo Family's little princess had been born with a divine eye that could pierce illusions and perceive the essence of things, just like the legendary Source Heavenly Masters' [Heavenly Eye].
Having personally watched her little niece gamble a Holy Land's stone workshop into ruin, Luo Qingluan believed this without a shred of doubt! She was practically treating her little niece as an all-powerful being.
That was why she kept wanting to take Luo Yue there.
If Old Master Luo knew what Luo Qingluan was thinking, he would probably feel like slapping her to death.
There really was no one quite like an aunt who pushed her own little niece into a fire pit. Surrounded by eccentric relatives, Luo Yue felt deeply melancholy.
"Go yourself if you want. I'm not going."
Luo Yue lifted her large bowl, tilted her head back, and gulped down the last mouthful of beef broth. Then she set half a tael of source on the table, settled the bill, and left.
Although Luo Yue also wanted to dig up that sparkling divine source, she would have to stay alive to claim it...
Leaving the Iron Bull Beef Noodle Shop, Luo Yue walked along the Ancient Street, planning to take a good look around the ancient city. Staying holed up in seclusion at the Luo Residence forever was no way to live.
She could also browse some roadside rough-stone stalls and see whether she could pick up a hidden treasure.
Hmm, another Heaven-Mending Stone would be nice...
Though that was rather fanciful.
But there was no helping it. Like the farmer waiting by a tree stump for another rabbit to run into it, once someone had tasted success, they could harbor endless fantasies about a second time.
The major stone workshops were surely barring her from entering by now. Besides, they had all paid protection money, so Luo Yue could hardly bully them too much. She could only browse the roadside stalls.
As the central metropolis of an area stretching ten thousand miles across Qingyun Province, Luo City was immensely prosperous, with a population of a million. With cultivators constantly pouring in from elsewhere, the ancient city had become even more crowded and bustling with voices.
"Freshly made Golden Thread Glutinous Rice Dates~ piping hot, just right, absolutely delicious!"
"Delicious Crab Roe Soup Dumplings! Thin skins, generous fillings, wonderful broth! If they aren't tasty, you don't pay~"
"Delicious Cumin Meat Skewers!"
"Candied~ Hawthorn~"
"Give me two Golden Date Glutinous Rice Cakes, and some Candied Hawthorn!"
"Some meat skewers too!"
Luo Yue had barely walked any distance down the street. She had yet to see any rough stones, but her little hands already held two Golden Date Glutinous Rice Cakes, several sticks of Candied Hawthorn, and a large handful of Cumin Meat Skewers.
Fragrant, chewy, and sweet!
Delicious! I love these!
Luo Yue's little mouth and cheeks bulged with food.
As someone with a divine king body, even in childhood, she could eat to her heart's content without worrying that her little belly might burst.
"Little Princess Luo, are you out gambling on stones again today? Oh, how could I possibly take your money?" Vendors who recognized her hurriedly declined payment.
But Luo Yue disliked leaving debts unpaid. Whenever she bought something, even just a few sticks of Candied Hawthorn, she casually tossed over half a tael of source-enough to cover an ordinary Luo City household's expenses for half a year.
In the Northern Region, gold was worth no more than dung. Only source was hard currency. Even ordinary mortals without any cultivation were no exception, and most made their living mining source.
"Little Princess Luo, are you here to buy stones?"
"Little Princess of the Luo Family, come look at my rough stones! Plenty to choose from, and cheap too! Ten catties for just one tael of source!" Seeing how generously she spent, some roadside rough-stone vendors grew eager and began pitching their wares.
Luo Yue looked over the stalls as she walked and found that almost everything was worthless waste stone. There was also plenty of Counterfeit Filled Stone put out by unscrupulous vendors.
That was normal, though. These roadside vendors and stone gamblers were mostly Sea of Bitterness cultivators. Some had not even opened their life springs, placing them at the very bottom of the Northern Region's cultivation world.
Ordinarily, a haul of half a catty of source would keep them happy for days.
Expecting to find a hidden treasure here was somewhat unrealistic.
"Hmm?"
Just as Luo Yue was losing interest,
she spotted someone on the street.
To be precise, a fat Daoist!
"Why does this bull-nosed Daoist have a Black Broken Bowl over his head?" Luo Yue used the Qi Gazing Art, briefly wondering whether something had gone wrong with her eyes.
Then something seemed to occur to her...
Holy crap, Duan De~?
"It's actually this unscrupulous fatty."
Luo Yue first wore an odd expression, then realization dawned on her.
She had nearly forgotten.
With this unscrupulous fatty's temperament, how could he possibly miss the Divine Source Ancient Mine that had all of Qingyun Province in an uproar? He had most likely followed the scent straight here!
"Come to think of it, aren't we in the same line of work?"
Luo Yue raised a little hand and rubbed her chin.
For this affair to draw him from so far away, it seemed there was more to it than met the eye.
"Why is that unscrupulous Daoist here again? Wasn't his last beating bad enough? He actually dared come back to Luo City." Behind her, Luo Qingluan had also spotted Duan De and spoke with open disdain.
"Auntie, you know him?"
Luo Yue was a little surprised.
"What, have you forgotten? When you were five, you took a fancy to a stone in a Gambling Stone Workshop. You'd barely said your divine body resonated with it when this unscrupulous Daoist sprang out of nowhere and shamelessly tried to buy the stone you wanted. In the end, he lost so much that his face turned green..."
Luo Qingluan lifted her chin and continued, "Oh, and the year before last, that damned fatty went skulking around our Luo Family's ancestral tombs, sneaking peeks. The elders caught him, gave him a sound beating, and threw him out."
After hearing this, Luo Yue was silently speechless.
Yep, that's Duan De all right...
"Aun-"
"-tie, that unscrupulous fatty is a tomb robber. You all need to watch out." Luo Yue could not help warning her.
"A tomb robber?"
Luo Qingluan's almond-shaped eyes widened further.
She looked into the distance. The shifty-eyed fat Daoist was currently sticking his backside out as he inspected some worthless stones being sold by source miners on the street.
"That damned fatty! No wonder he keeps eyeing our Luo Family's ancestral tombs. The elders went too easy on him last time!" As she spoke, Luo Qingluan rolled up her sleeves, ready to march over and beat the fatty up.
"Wait, Auntie."
Luo Yue reached out a little hand and caught the hem of her impulsive aunt's clothes with pinpoint accuracy.
"This fatty may be unscrupulous, but he's quite capable. You can't beat him," Luo Yue said bluntly.
With her aunt's pitiful combat ability, she belonged at the same table as Lingxu Cave Heaven. If she went over there, it was anyone's guess who would be beating whom...
Held back by Luo Yue, Luo Qingluan cooled down a little from the fury rushing to her head, but she still huffed angrily:
"We can't just let him get away with it! Daring to plot against our Luo Family's ancestral tombs-he must be tired of living! If I can't beat him, I can call Third Brother and the others!"
"The fact that he dared plot against them, and has now shown up here, is precisely what makes this interesting." Luo Yue's large eyes curved into crescents, and a smile appeared on her face.
Luo Qingluan's almond-shaped eyes lit up. She knew her little niece was definitely planning to stir up trouble again.