Ren Yunjie looked back and forth at Lou Yi and the others, his face filled with astonishment. "Lou Shang, why did you suddenly come here? What's your relationship with Haonan's son..."
Lou Yi pushed Shao Feng aside and resumed his usual refined and elite demeanor in front of outsiders. He reached out to Ren Yunjie and said, "Mr. Ren, hello. Ye Zhizhou is my sister-in-law. Thank you for 'taking care' of my sister-in-law's father all these years. The Lou family will repay your 'kindness.'"
Ren Yunjie's outstretched hand froze.
"Hahaha, retribution!" Yu Xue raised her head, laughing heartily and sharply. "You lost your patent rights, offended the Lou family, and now, the Ren family is doomed. You deserve it! It's a pity you couldn't kill that bastard Ye Wenshu while you were at it! But it's also fine this way. Sister-in-law? A son born from a despicable woman is only fit for men!"
Dongfang Shu's eyes flashed with a sharp glint, and his intense spiritual power instantly reached her side, materializing into several giant swords that threatened to strike her fatal points, eagerly aiming to take her life.
"Calm down," Ye Zhizhou patted him on the shoulder, not even bothering to glance at Yu Xue. "Why bother arguing with a madwoman? I can harm her, but you can't. Show some restraint." In this world, he was a native, but his lover was not. The laws of this world were unreliable; he needed to be cautious.
Dongfang Shu coldly glared at Yu Xue once more, slowly retracting his spiritual power.
Yu Xue was frightened by the murderous intent enveloping her in his spiritual power, her whole body turning cold. Her overexcited brain calmed down, and she turned pale, closing her mouth.
"I just scanned their memories," Ye Zhizhou temporarily pushed aside his doubts about the unfinished task, took out pen and paper from his spatial storage, and began writing. "My parents' matter is too long ago, and some evidence is already lost. But I found evidence of other wrongdoings they committed. Send people to obtain it and send them all to prison."
"Yes," Dongfang Shu patted his shoulder and looked at Lou Yi. "You handle it."
Lou Yi nodded and once again kicked Shao Feng out.
The members of the Ren family all turned pale when they heard this, except for Yu Xue, who wore a twisted smile of triumph.
Summoning his courage, Ren Yunjie, under the pressure released by Dongfang Shu, looked at Ye Zhizhou and said, "Ye... Well, Xiao Zhou, we are all one family. There's no need for you to be so ruthless. I'm willing to pay for the wrongs I've done in the past, but my wife and Xiao Zuo..."
"I won't involve the next generation in the grudges of the previous one. I won't touch Ren Zuo and Ren Dan," Ye Zhizhou interrupted him, pausing his writing to hand the paper to Dongfang Shu. He then turned to Ren Yunjie, his voice cold. "But anything that belonged to my father must be returned to me."
Ren Yunjie's lips trembled, and he fell into a despondent silence.
"Lou Yiyi, Shao Fengyi..." Ren Qiao, who had been crying in Ren Yunling's arms, suddenly stood up, looking pitifully at the two men. "Are you here to help me? That person, that person wants to harm my family..."
"Miss Ren," Shao Feng interrupted her, unable to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, sounding impatient. "Can't you understand human language? We're here to help Lou Yi's sister-in-law, who is also Lou Qian's fiancée, with her patent rights. It has nothing to do with you. If you're pregnant, stop making a fuss and take good care of yourself."
Ren Qiao's face grew even paler, and she looked to Lou Yi for help.
Seeing her mother's predicament, Lou Yi's mood became complicated. Ren Qiao was also quite pitiful, used by her mother all along. But... he glanced at his elder brother and sister-in-law, sighed in his heart, and shook his head at Ren Qiao. "I'm sorry, but I didn't come for you."
Ren Qiao's body swayed, and she hugged her own arms, tears falling silently. "I understand... I've always been delusional. I thought..." She turned her head, looking at Yu Xue, who was still sitting on the ground. "Mom, do you really... hate me?"
Yu Xue avoided her gaze.
"Qiao Qiao." Ren Yunling stepped forward and hugged her, blocking her view of Yu Xue, stroking her hair. "Daddy loves you. Don't be sad. You still have Daddy."
Seeing this, Qian Yuan felt a bit sorry and turned to look at Bai Xuyang. "Aren't you supposed to marry Qiao Qiao? She's so upset. Go and comfort her."
Bai Xuyang glanced at him expressionlessly and said indifferently, "Although Ren Qiao is crying, her breath is stable and solid. This indicates that she isn't really sad. Her face may be pale, but her eyes are clear and lively, with no bloodshot. Did you notice that her neck veins are absent? Use your eyesight and spiritual power to monitor her heartbeat frequency. It's steady, regular, and healthy. So rest assured, she's calmer than anyone else here. She doesn't need much comfort."
Qian Yuan was dumbfounded, and a strange silence fell over the living room.
When Ren Yunling stopped comforting her, he couldn't help but look at Ren Qiao's neck. As Ren Qiao's sobbing ceased, she clung tightly to Ren Yunling's sleeve. Yu Xue raised her head to look at her daughter, her eyes unclear.
"Qiao Qiao," Ye Zhizhou spoke up, completely unsurprised by her silence, and turned to Yu Xue. He once again exerted his spiritual power. "Can you tell me how you caused your daughter's sudden improvement in aptitude?"
Fear flashed in Yu Xue's eyes, and she tried to move away from his spiritual power.
"Scan complete. Body and soul compatibility at 50%, with genetic breakdown issues, no applicable elixirs."
Ye Zhizhou chuckled at the targeted behavior of Tongtian and reached into his pocket, touching it. He looked at Yu Xue and continued, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." He glanced at Ren Yunling, suddenly feeling sympathy. "Ren Yunling, take a good look at the person in your arms. Is she really your daughter?"
Ren Yunling's hand trembled, loosening his grip on Ren Qiao's hand briefly before tightening it again. He spoke sternly, "How could Qiao Qiao not be my daughter? Don't try to sow discord!"
"But don't you find it strange? Your wife, who was good to your daughter for the first twenty years, suddenly used her in such an extreme way to take revenge on the Ren family," Ye Zhizhou approached a step closer, his thoughts becoming clearer. "With her abilities, wouldn't it make more sense for your wife to use your other daughter, Ren Dan?"
Wei Juan looked up at him abruptly and demanded, "What do you mean? Didn't you say you wouldn't touch Xiao Zuo and Dan Dan?"
Ye Zhizhou glanced at Dongfang Shu, who nodded in understanding and had Lou Yi and Shao Feng escort Ren Yunjie and his wife out of the living room. Then, Ye Zhizhou also had Bai Xuyang and the bewildered Qian Yuan leave.
With fewer interruptions, Ye Zhizhou felt the air had become much fresher. He continued, "Ren Yunling, as far as I know, your daughter fell ill once after entering university, and the doctors couldn't determine the cause. Now, I can tell you that your daughter didn't fall ill; her genes were breaking down."
"It's impossible!" Ren Yunling vehemently denied. "Qiao Qiao is perfectly healthy. She doesn't look like her genes are breaking down. You're talking nonsense!"
"Whether it's nonsense or not, you can ask your wife."
Yu Xue's body trembled, revealing fear and panic for the first time. "Don't... Don't ask me, please don't ask me."
Ren Yunling felt like he had been struck by lightning. He finally released his grip and took a step back, staring at Ren Qiao with despair in his eyes. Genetic breakdown, a terminal illness with a survival rate of less than 5%. How could this be?
Ren Qiao kept her head bowed, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.
"Yu Xue, from the moment I knocked on the door of the Ren family until now, your attitude toward Ren Qiao has been very strange," Ye Zhizhou enveloped Ren Qiao with his spiritual power and walked up to Yu Xue. "After I introduced myself, you immediately seemed to want to avoid me. Later, when I used Ren Qiao to threaten you, you opened the door. At the time, I thought your quick compromise was due to a mother's love for her daughter... but it turns out I was mistaken."
"You're afraid of her." He crouched down, closing in on Yu Xue. "You avoid Ren Qiao's gaze and touch, and you even refuse to stay in the same room with her. That's why, when everyone in the Ren family was arguing about Ren Qiao's pregnancy with Bai Xuyang, you stayed by the door, and coincidentally met me when I rang the doorbell."
Yu Xue hugged her head with her hands. "No, you're wrong... wrong..."
"Today, you initiated physical contact with Ren Qiao only once, and it was just a brief gesture to touch her cheek, not actual contact." He stood up, releasing the spiritual power that surrounded her. "Back then, when you were talking about the pregnancy, you were not asking about Ren Qiao. You were asking about the soul occupying Ren Qiao's body, right?"
Ren Yunling was bewildered. "Soul... What do you mean?"
Yu Xue, on the other hand, let out a piercing scream, her eyes losing focus. "No, shut up, shut up!"
Spiritual power is the power of the soul, so it's perfectly normal for the aptitude of a body to skyrocket or plummet when a different soul inhabits it. Aptitude can increase dramatically, but the knowledge in the mind cannot. The fact that Ren Qiao went from being at the bottom of the class to a top student with advanced grades was a big question mark. Blaming himself for focusing on investigating his own origins and ignoring this fact after recovering his memories.
Tong Jia once said that the protagonist is not a tool chosen by the Soul Banner. Since it's not a selection, Ren Qiao, who seems to have been selected as the protagonist, appears suspicious. However, if Ren Qiao's soul has been replaced by the soul nurtured by the Soul Banner, then everything makes sense.
Moreover, for such a long time, Yu Xue had countless opportunities to destroy the Ren family, but she didn't. Now, it seems her calmness over the years had two reasons. First, Ren Haonan had not died yet, and second, her daughter was still part of the Ren family and she relied on them. Then, a year ago, Ren Haonan died, and her daughter's genes broke down. Her body was also occupied by a devil with an unknown origin. That's when Yu Xue went insane and started this crazed revenge against others and self-destructive behavior.
Lou Yi and Shao Feng were bewildered by Ye Zhizhou's rambling words, unable to help but look at Dongfang Shu.
Dongfang Shu gave them a faint glance, gesturing for them to remain silent.
Ren Yunling was completely bewildered, looking at Ren Qiao and then at Yu Xue. He clutched his hair in frustration, asking, "What's going on? What do you mean by switching souls? How could a person's soul be switched, how could..."
"Yu Xue," Ye Zhizhou took out a Resurrection Pill and asked calmly, "Before your daughter's body was taken over, was she still alive?"
Yu Xue continued to clutch her head, screaming as if she hadn't heard his question.
Ye Zhizhou frowned, crouching and turning her face to him, speaking sternly, "Calm down! Tell me, was Ren Qiao still alive before her body was taken away?" If Ren Qiao's soul was taken when she was still alive, then there might be a chance to save her. If not, the current "Ren Qiao" could only go to heaven.
"Of course, she was alive!" Yu Xue finally stopped screaming and cried out, "At that time, the doctor finally diagnosed Qiao Qiao's illness, saying it was genetic breakdown... Do you know how desperate I was back then?... But then, when I returned to the ward, I found that Qiao Qiao had suddenly woken up, looking much healthier. Later examinations showed that the symptoms of genetic breakdown had miraculously disappeared, and the doctors said it was a misdiagnosis."
Ye Zhizhou released her and stood up.
"I know my own daughter, she is not Qiao Qiao! She is not!" Yu Xue's eyes were wild as she looked at the motionless Ren Qiao and shouted, "It's you! It's you, this devil killed Qiao Qiao! I want you to die a horrible death, both of you!"
Ren Yunling rushed forward to shake her and was on the verge of going insane himself. "What are you saying? Qiao Qiao is still standing there. How can you curse her to die? What devil, what is this? Explain!"
"Ren Yunling, I hate you!" Yu Xue grabbed his collar, crying into his arms. "You prevented me from being with Haonan, and you caused Qiao Qiao's genetic breakdown. It's all your fault. I told you I had just finished an experiment, and there might be radiation on my body. I needed treatment, but you didn't listen... It's all your fault..."
Ren Yunling's eyes were red as he let her hit him. He glanced at Ren Qiao, who was standing motionless, his eyes filled with despair. "My family is ruined... it's retribution... it's retribution..."
"Don't cry." Ye Zhizhou walked up to Ren Qiao's cage and said coldly, "There's still a chance to save your daughter."
The hope in Yu Xue and Ren Yunling's eyes rekindled, and they leaned closer.
"But you've destroyed my family," Ye Zhizhou said indifferently, locking Ren Qiao's limbs with his spiritual power. "Actually, I wanted to kill you both..."
The hope in Yu Xue and Ren Yunling's eyes dimmed, and they began to beg for forgiveness.
"But I won't do that," he continued. He still had Dongfang Shu and a bright future ahead. Hatred belonged to the past, and once you had your revenge, you shouldn't look back.
Locking Ren Qiao's limbs with his spiritual power, he took out a Resurrection Pill.
"Ye Zhizhou." Suddenly, Ren Qiao spoke, her voice no longer soft and feminine but eerie and stiff. "Do you think you've won?"
She then looked at Dongfang Shu, grinned with a twisted smile, and said, "And you, enjoy this last moment of peace."
"You talk too much," Dongfang Shu took the Resurrection Pill from Ye Zhizhou's hand and shoved it into her mouth. "Get lost. Don't think you're clever."
Ren Qiao's expression froze, and then she closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground.
[Checking task completion... Task invalidated. Please note, host!]
Ye Zhizhou turned off the system prompt and helped Ren Qiao up, then gave her a bottle of X2 to drink.
"Qiao Qiao!" Ren Yunling rushed forward and snatched Ren Qiao into his arms from him.
Ye Zhizhou put away the empty medicine bottle and looked at Dongfang Shu.
"False flag."
The two of them said in unison, then smiled at each other.
After discovering that there was something wrong with Ren Qiao's soul in her body, he thought of a possibility. The Soul Banner had already started to weaken, but the difficulty of the tasks in this world didn't seem to be a desperate counterattack before the Soul Banner disappeared. Setting aside the inconvenience of amnesia, this world, in terms of the number of male leads and the ease of extracting the flags, could only be considered a level of simple difficulty.
Hell mode? Impossible. Combining the hints given by Tong Jia, he came to the conclusion that the protagonist of this world was fake, and the flags on the heads of the four male leads were also fake, created by the Soul Banner to divert their attention and draw his attention away. There could be only one reason for the Soul Banner to do this—it wasn't in this world for its counterattack.
Thinking of this, he reached out and held Dongfang Shu's hand, giving it a squeeze. "You and Tongtian, you both came from the same place as the Soul Banner, right?"
Dongfang Shu nodded.
"Then where do you think the Soul Banner is now?"
Dongfang Shu held his hand back and answered without directly addressing the question. "Are you ready? Ready to find out the truth about the Soul Banner?"
He nodded, his gaze determined. "I've been ready."
[Initiating the soul projection channel... Matching with the native world completed. Do you want to leave?]
"Just wait a moment." He stopped Dongfang Shu, who was about to withdraw his soul, and turned to look at the weeping Ren Yunling and his family, as well as the puzzled Lou Yi and Shao Feng, who had approached. "After we leave, what about them... and Master, Brother Fang..."
"Wait until we destroy the Soul Banner, then I'll accompany you back," Dongfang Shu said as he touched his hair, using his spiritual power to temporarily block Lou Yi and Shao Feng. He continued, "I've used this body, so I have to repay its karma. Don't forget, okay?"
"What about the others..."
"In other worlds, ten thousand years is equivalent to one second in this world. This is the loophole given to you by the heavens for self-preservation."
Ye Zhizhou recalled his experiences in the first few worlds where he had harmed the indigenous people but wasn't driven away. He smiled, made a final choice in his heart, and said, "Let's go and complete the final task."
As his soul left his body, space warped, and the small mirror shattered into dots of light, disappearing.
A slap on the butt brought Ye Zhizhou's consciousness back, and he couldn't help but open his mouth and let out a startled cry, which came out as a faint baby's cry.
"He's making noise! Quick, bring the medicine over!"
His body fell into a broad embrace, and then his mouth was pried open, and some bitter powder was fed to him.
"You should give him some diluted spirit spring water to wash down the medicine. You guys are a bunch of reckless men; can't you take care of a child?"
The sound of objects colliding rang out, and a small spoon came to his mouth, allowing the sweet water to flow out and dilute the bitterness of the medicine powder. After the medicine entered his body, he immediately felt warmth, and he tried to widen his eyes, but all he could see were blurry shapes.
"Tongtian, what's going on?" He was in such a state that it was evident he had just been born, so why had Tongtian picked such a body for him?
There was no response to his question, and he couldn't feel the presence of the small mirror. His heart couldn't help but tense up.
"The pulse has become stronger," a clear and bright youth's voice came from the side, and then his face was gently poked. "Master, why is this baby so wrinkled? He's so ugly."
"Newborn babies are all like this; be gentle. Babies have delicate skin; don't poke too hard."
This time, it was the same deep voice he had heard earlier, and his hand was gently pinched. "But who are the parents who would be so heartless as to abandon such a young child in this wilderness? If we hadn't passed by, this child would probably have become wolf food tonight."
"Maybe it's not abandonment," another voice with a more stable tone sounded, tinged with a sigh. "A village not far from the foot of the mountain was slaughtered by demon cultivators a few days ago. I just calculated this child's destiny; it's the fate of parents dying young... and there's wild grass covering this child, so someone must have hidden him here."
"More demon cultivators!" The clear voice rose again, this time with anger. "Those demon cultivators are becoming more and more audacious! I... I'm going to exterminate them!"
"Sit down!" The deep voice came again, followed by a loud slap. "You haven't grown a brain yet, you little beginner who just reached the Foundation Building stage. If you go out like this, you'll just be feeding the demon cultivators. Be obedient! Wait until we return to the sect, and I'll have a good talk with your master about your impulsive temperament."
The young man grunted a couple of times, but didn't speak again.
Ye Zhizhou was warmed by the heat radiating from his body, and he couldn't help but close his eyes. Demon cultivators? Foundation Building stage? So this was a world of cultivation, as he had suspected. It explained why his lover and Tongtian could always produce pills and elixirs...
Three years later, Qingcheng Sect, Lotus Peak.
"Xiaozhou! Come over for dinner!"
Ye Zhizhou, who was gazing at the scenery in the distance, climbed down from his rocking chair and followed the elegant young man with short legs for the thousand and first time, asking, "Senior brother, is there really no cultivator named Dongfang Shu in this world? What about a cultivator named Tongtian, do they exist? Or maybe a spiritual tool named Tongtian, is there one?"
Liu Sha looked at him helplessly, reached into his storage bag, and took out a small mirror, handing it to him. "Here, you asked for Tongtian."
Ye Zhizhou widened his eyes and firmly refused, "My Tongtian isn't this big and ugly. This is a fake, tricking people! I've been in this world for three years, and my lover still hasn't found me. I'm even angrier! And as for Tongtian, if it weren't for the spatial tattoo on my wrist and the small mirror, I'd think I had just dreamt it all. It's infuriating!"
"Liu Sha, you've annoyed Xiaozhou again?" A burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, dressed in an elegant blue robe, entered from outside the door, carrying a long sword. "Alright, Xiaozhou, eat your breakfast. We'll be leaving soon."
"Senior uncle, you're so biased." Liu Sha mumbled, picked up Ye Zhizhou, and placed him in a chair, pushing a bowl of soft, glutinous meat porridge towards him. "Is Master really not going this time? I think Xiaozhou is such a good boy. Master or senior uncle could take him as a disciple; wouldn't that be great? Why insist on going to Yao City to encounter some predestined master-disciple fate?"
"You're still a cultivator, after all," Su Yin said impatiently, patting him on the head and sternly saying, "Everyone has their own destiny, and forcing it won't lead to good results. If you hope that Xiaozhou will stay in Qingcheng Sect for the rest of his life and become an ordinary person, disappearing after a hundred hurried years, then you can keep him here."
Liu Sha glanced at Ye Zhizhou, who was obediently drinking porridge with a disgruntled face, and twisted away, grumbling as he left.
"Hey, such a bad temper..." Su Yin sighed and rolled up his sleeves in frustration.
Ye Zhizhou raised his lazy eyes to look at him, making a contemptuous sound, "Clearly, you have an even worse temper."
"What did you say!" Su Yin turned around to glare at him.
Ye Zhizhou buried his head in the porridge, wisely choosing to act obedient.
Su Yin watched him with his messy bun and couldn't help but reach out and give it a tug. "In the blink of an eye, you've grown so big. I wonder what kind of person your master will be... In the future, when you become his disciple, be obedient and respectful. If you have the chance, come back often; don't become an ungrateful white-eyed wolf!"
Ye Zhizhou put down his spoon and pounced on his leg. "How could I? I'll always remember this place." As for the so-called predestined master-disciple fate... could it be Dongfang?
After a day and night of flying on their swords, the two arrived at the nearest city to the major cultivation sect, Lin Xian Pavilion—Yao City.
"They're holding an auction here soon," Su Yin said as they settled into an inn, carrying Ye Zhizhou and going out. He took out a formation disk and checked the location, then walked toward the street to the south. "Senior brother said your master will pass by the city tomorrow at noon under a thousand-year-old spiritual tree. Yao City only has one thousand-year-old spiritual tree, and it's in the auction house. We need to find a way to get an invitation to this auction at Treasure Gathering Pavilion."
Ye Zhizhou made a displeased face and pulled out his storage bag. "Are you short on money?"
Su Yin's face stiffened, and he pretended to be calm. "It's just an invitation, don't worry, senior uncle can get one."
"I saw it."
"What?"
"There's a notice in the inn that says this auction is extremely sought-after because of some treasures unearthed from an ancient secret realm. So, invitations are hard to come by, and on the black market, the price for one has skyrocketed to ten high-grade spirit stones."
Su Yin widened his eyes. "You actually know so many characters?"
Ye Zhizhou wanted to hit him.
"Being short on money is just temporary," Su Yin knew he couldn't fool him and patted his chest, saying, "I'm quite skilled at crafting spiritual tools. Once I sell the ones I've recently crafted, we'll be able to afford the invitation to the auction, no matter how expensive it is!"
"You mean the pile of 'Tongtian' you crafted? The Sect Leader said those are all junk."
Su Yin's face turned black. "Senior brother is talking nonsense! I haven't even told him that the pills he makes look like mud balls!"
Ye Zhizhou rolled his eyes dramatically and took out a bottle of pills, handing it to him. "Take these to sell; they should be enough to buy the invitation."
Su Yin skeptically opened the bottle, then was stunned. "High-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills?!"
A commotion arose, and all the passing cultivators turned to look.
"That's right, I want that! Senior uncle, buy it for me!" Ye Zhizhou pretended to tug at Su Yin's sleeve, covering the bottle, and spoke in a cloyingly sweet voice. "I don't want the lower-grade ones; buy me the high-grade ones."
Su Yin quickly regained his composure and put away the bottle, patting Ye Zhizhou on the back while wearing a stern expression. "You're too careless! Where am I going to find high-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills for you? Even if I sold them all, you still couldn't afford it! Stop making a fuss; Senior uncle will buy you candied hawthorns to eat."
Ye Zhizhou obediently pretended to look aggrieved after being patted, turning his head away from Su Yin.
The cultivators who had been looking over turned away, no longer paying them any attention.
Su Yin pretended to be casual, bought candied hawthorns for Ye Zhizhou, and then intentionally took a crowded route, making several turns to leave the street.
"That was close; just now, an old guy in the Nascent Soul stage was scanning us with his divine sense," Su Yin said as he sat down under a tree without much concern, furrowing his brow as he asked, "Xiaozhou, the high-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills may seem simple, but they are the most challenging to refine. How did you manage to get so many at once?"
"I found them," Ye Zhizhou lied with his eyes wide open, sounding particularly sincere. "Once, I went into the mountains to catch small birds, and I got lucky, finding a storage bag. Inside it was these pills. There were also several sets of formation flags. Senior uncle, do you want them?" He was about to take things out.
"Stop, stop." Su Yin carefully scanned the surroundings with his divine sense, grabbing Ye Zhizhou's hand and pulling him into his arms, cautioning, "Don't show your wealth so openly, understand? There are plenty of unscrupulous people here who would kill for treasures. In the future, you can't be so defenseless."
Ye Zhizhou nodded obediently and tugged at Su Yin's sleeve, asking, "Will selling these be enough for the invitations?"
"More than enough. We could buy ten of them; the bottle is so big," Su Yin said, becoming cheerful again. "But we can't sell them all; we need to keep some for the sect. High-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills are rare, and Flowing Sand and the others have only ever had the middle-grade ones. Their bodies still have impurities, and it's the right time for them to take these. And for you, we need to keep some too. Before we set out this time, Senior brother prepared quite a few things for you. When the time comes, I'll give you those items along with the Marrow Cleansing Pills. You need to hide them well, even if you have a master, don't tell him, understand?"
Ye Zhizhou looked at this silly-looking strong man, feeling warm inside. He nodded vigorously and pulled his sleeve. "Understood! I'll hide them well."
"Good, that's my boy." Su Yin smiled with satisfaction, picked him up, and bounced him in his arms. He said, "Let's go; Senior uncle will buy the invitations for you!"
The next morning, the two arrived at Treasure Gathering Pavilion right on time. They verified their invitations, received their cards, covered their faces, entered the venue, and then began to search for the thousand-year-old tree.
"It's strange; why can't I see the tree?" Su Yin carefully scanned the area and frowned more deeply as he looked around. "Did Senior brother miscalculate? This auction at Treasure Gathering Pavilion is indoors; where would there be a tree? Could it be that Treasure Gathering Pavilion has an outdoor auction area?"
"Tch, country bumpkin," a guest at the neighboring table sneered upon hearing this, sounding disdainful. "Is this your first time at Treasure Gathering Pavilion? You want to see that thousand-year-old spiritual tree? Well, you've got the wrong invitation. Although the tree is indeed a thousand years old, it's only the size of a palm. It's kept in an ancient gathering basin, displayed on the third floor of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion auction. But that third floor, that's not a place we ordinary unaffiliated cultivators can enter."
Su Yin turned his head to look.
"In that case, you've got the wrong invitation," the guest at the neighboring table pointed upstairs with a nod, extending his hand to indicate the size, "That thousand-year-old spiritual tree, while it is indeed a thousand years old, is only the size of a palm. It's kept in an ancient gathering basin, displayed on the third floor of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion auction. But that third floor, it's not a place we ordinary unaffiliated cultivators can enter."
Su Yin couldn't help but look up to the second floor, but all he saw was a carved wooden roof.
"It's an illusion," the guest at the neighboring table picked up a low-grade spiritual fruit from the table, took a bite, and then teasingly said, "This is your first time at Treasure Gathering Pavilion, isn't it? You want to see that thousand-year-old spiritual tree? Well, you've got the wrong invitation. Although the tree is indeed a thousand years old, it's only the size of a palm. It's kept in an ancient gathering basin, displayed on the third floor of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion auction. But that third floor, it's not a place we ordinary unaffiliated cultivators can enter."
Ye Zhizhou grabbed the fruit from his hand angrily and took a bite, glaring at the ceiling. He felt like he had just sensed his lover's presence... Damn it!