Soul Jade

A reward?

Hearing this, Su Mu immediately perked up.

Judging by what she had said, his chances of receiving a reward really were quite high. This was the cultivation world, after all, and Su Mu did covet some of the things here.

The only pity was that he could not take anything here back to Earth.

Su Mu had already tested this before.

He had made several trips back and forth, after all, and had experimented many times, holding things in his hands, tying them to his body-in short, he had tried every method he could think of.

But after waking up in the other world, nothing around him had changed in the slightest.

Nor had he brought anything back.

Su Mu pondered for a moment. "I don't know all that much about the cultivation world. Is there anything you could recommend?"

After giving it some thought, Su Mu realized that he was currently utterly clueless. Under these circumstances, he really did not know what to ask for.

Hearing this, Xiao Wu pursed her lips slightly and began thinking it over for him.

"The eldest princess does have quite a few treasures, but you'd best not set your sights on those. She might give them to you, but that would settle the debt of gratitude she owes you. With that debt still there, at least you can be assured of remaining safe and sound while she's around."

"Besides, if you took those treasures, people would inevitably set their sights on you."

Xiao Wu's words were quite realistic. Su Mu understood this too, of course, and immediately waved his hand.

"I don't have any designs on those treasures. I reckon I wouldn't be able to use them anyway. Didn't you say my soul form was about to fall apart? I'd like a treasure that can keep it from dissipating, so there won't be any need to burn incense for me in the future."

Su Mu did not actually have much objection to the incense offerings. He was simply worried-what if someone forgot to burn incense for him one day, and his soul form suddenly dissipated?

Xiao Wu's eyes stirred slightly at his words, and she nodded. "There are quite a few things like that. Soul Jade, soul-nourishing wood, a Soul-Tethering Rope, and the like would all work."

There were indeed quite a lot of such things.

"You can give it some more thought and see if there are any other treasures you want."

Xiao Wu added another remark.

Su Mu was a little torn. Naturally, his only wish right now was to keep his soul form from dissipating, but after thinking it over carefully, another idea occurred to him.

"Right now, I'm only a soul form. Is there any way for me to have a physical body?"

"A physical body?"

Xiao Wu paused at his words. "It is possible to create a physical body for you, but it would require far too many precious treasures. Generally speaking, only relatively wealthy Nascent Soul experts refine an External Incarnation."

Xiao Wu did not spell out the rest, but Su Mu already understood.

A Nascent Soul expert-and a wealthy one at that-was needed to refine one.

With that requirement alone, obtaining a physical body would probably be far from simple for him.

With that thought, Su Mu stopped agonizing over it. As for anything else he might want, he would give it some more careful thought.

Xiao Wu stayed for a little while, then left without lingering any longer.

Although the eldest princess was still consolidating her cultivation realm, Xiao Wu had some other matters to attend to.

The imperial palace.

The Emperor of Liang sat upright within the imperial palace, his expression exceedingly majestic, yet he still could not conceal the joy between his brows.

"Your Majesty, we have established the facts. The one who had the eldest princess compose a written prayer was that incomplete soul form."

A guard beside him stepped forward and reported with a bow.

The Emperor of Liang's gaze shifted slightly at these words. "The remnant soul summoned on the day of the sacrificial ceremony?"

"Yes."

"So it was him. I thought a remnant soul like that would be of little use, yet he helped the eldest princess overcome this heavenly tribulation."

The Emperor of Liang nodded, his expression returning to calm.

"Would you like to summon him for an audience?"

Seeing this, the guard asked another question.

Logically speaking, this person was somewhat unusual. Having helped the eldest princess overcome this heavenly tribulation, he deserved an audience.

But the Emperor of Liang seemed to have no such intention. He merely shook his head at the question. "No need. He was merely of some small use. There is no need to summon him. As for a reward..."

At this point, the Emperor of Liang hesitated. "Send someone to notify the eldest princess. Have her reward him more generously."

Had this been an outsider, the Emperor of Liang probably really would have summoned him directly and bestowed a reward.

But now that he knew Su Mu was the one who had done all this, he abandoned the thought.

In his eyes, Su Mu now belonged to the Liang Kingdom, so there was no need to make a special effort to win him over.

After wasting over a hundred million of his Liang Kingdom's Spirit Stones, it was only right for him to contribute some effort.

Six inches was certainly rare, but it fell far short of an auspicious beast. It was not enough to warrant summoning Su Mu for a special audience.

Hearing this, the guard acknowledged the order and withdrew to the side.

The guard did not find it strange either. Had anyone else helped the eldest princess overcome her heavenly tribulation, they would certainly have received lavish rewards. Unfortunately, it had been Su Mu.

The Emperor of Liang's earlier joy now vanished as well.

Three days later, after making several more trips to and from Earth, Su Mu finally received word today that the eldest princess had summoned him.

"The eldest princess has awakened. Come with me to see her."

It was Xiao Wu who came to notify Su Mu.

The two were fairly familiar with each other by now, and seeing someone he knew gave Su Mu some sense of security.

He nodded lightly at her words and followed Xiao Wu toward the eldest princess's palace courtyard.

"The first thing the eldest princess did after returning was summon you. It seems she values you quite highly, so be sure not to anger her."

Xiao Wu spoke softly beside him. These words were for Su Mu's own good.

Su Mu listened humbly beside her, without the slightest impatience.

Soon, Su Mu flew with her into the eldest princess's palace courtyard, to the same pavilion as last time.

The gauze curtains had been lowered, and Su Mu still could not see her clearly.

The eldest princess's expression shifted slightly when she saw Su Mu arrive.

"My success in overcoming this tribulation was thanks to you. Tell me, what do you want? As long as I have it, I will not be stingy."

Hearing this, Su Mu immediately perked up. He liked this sort of person, who skipped the needless talk and handed things over directly.

"It was only a small matter to begin with, so I feel rather guilty asking for a reward. Unfortunately, there are indeed some things I need, so I can only accept your generosity."

Su Mu weighed his words before speaking.

A trace of amusement flashed through the eldest princess's beautiful eyes at his words. "Speak."

"My soul form is somewhat unstable. I hope to obtain a treasure that can stabilize it."

Su Mu stated the first thing he wanted directly, without hesitation.

The eldest princess considered this for a moment. Then a streak of light flew out and stopped before Su Mu.

"This is Soul Jade. Wear it on your person, and your soul form will remain intact."

Su Mu reached out to take it. The moment he held the Soul Jade, it slowly sank into his arm, and a crescent shape gradually appeared on his arm.

It was somewhat black in appearance and did not look particularly special.

Yet Su Mu felt much more secure all of a sudden.

Was what the author wrote really that hard to understand?

Yes, a six-inch calligraphic treasure was hard to come by, but it depended on who produced it. The protagonist himself was summoned by the other party at enormous expense. From their perspective, the protagonist was their private property. That was how the author wrote it!!

When writing a book, the author couldn't very well write the supporting characters as taking the protagonist's side! They were cultivators, and royalty on top of that. There was nothing wrong with writing them as domineering and selfish, right!

Yes, the protagonist could produce a six-inch calligraphic treasure, but it fell short of an auspicious beast by far more than just a little. That was why the Emperor of Liang changed his attitude outright. Originally, he was going to give a lavish reward!

Sigh. Was this really so hard to understand?