Chapter 714 - 100: The Heart of Man Is Not Harmful Like That of a Tiger

Upon hearing Grandma Shui mention the fat cultivator who vanished suddenly a cycle ago, Wu Miaozhen’s eyes widened instantly.

"What? Grandma Shui, you said he..."

"I’m not sure, I just faintly sensed that there seemed to be some ancient body refining aura on him that once belonged to that fat cultivator," explained the Jade Water Pearl’s artifact spirit.

"So you let me touch his body to further determine this?" Wu Miaozhen understood.

"I still can’t figure out why Liu Qingyun suddenly disappeared back then.

Clearly, he made contributions to us and was bound to receive preferential treatment from Father, yet he suddenly vanished.

Could it be that he gained some tremendous fortune and feared we, the Commerce Association, would covet it?" Wu Miaozhen wondered aloud.

"There are too many inexplicable things in the cultivation realm. As long as they don’t affect you, don’t probe too deeply, or you’ll easily outsmart yourself," Grandma Shui advised earnestly once again.

"Then Grandma Shui, should I go investigate Chang’an True Man’s body again? Maybe there’s really a connection with Liu Qingyun. I might even discover some of his fortunes," Wu Miaozhen seemed to ignore Grandma Shui’s words and kept asking.

Grandma Shui sighed secretly, then firmly said, "Stay away from them. If any unforeseen event occurs, you wouldn’t be able to unleash my power with your cultivation, and I am too damaged to be a match for that female cultivator."

"Uh... Yes!" Wu Miaozhen was slightly stunned, then saw that Grandma Shui seemed angry, and hurriedly agreed.

However, her eyes flickered, and her heart remained unsettled.

She was particularly concerned about Liu Qingyun’s sudden disappearance because a few years after Liu Qingyun disappeared, the whole domain was shocked by the Golden Core True Man, Huang Jie.

She had heard some rumors about Huang Jie within the domain back then and was extremely envious of one of them.

It was that Huang Jie had inherited the possessions of a major figure from ancient times, which not only included divine medicines guaranteeing the condensation of a Golden Core, long extinct in the post-ancient era, but possibly also Nascent Soul divine medicines.

Of course, such speculations were not unfounded.

After all, in recent years, the Fierce Tiger Commerce Association suddenly announced that they were close to successfully developing a divine medicine called the "Crystal Condensing Pill," reportedly an ancient Core Formation holy medicine comparable to today’s top twenty Core Formation spirit treasures.

And the pill formula for this Crystal Condensing Pill came from a transaction.

Although the Fierce Tiger Commerce Association never disclosed who the pill formula came from, Wu Miaozhen once heard by chance that the old president of the Fierce Tiger Commerce Association had inquired about Liu Qingyun’s whereabouts from her father without drawing attention.

This made her more suspicious that Liu Qingyun was the Golden Core Huang Jie and the mysterious person who traded the Crystal Condensing Pill formula with the Fierce Tiger Commerce Association.

Over the years, she had been cultivating steadily according to the teachings of the spiritual treasure artifact spirit that had been passed down in her maternal family for a thousand years.

However, even though she practiced the Immortal Scripture given by Grandma Shui and laid a relatively solid foundation, her talent was indeed limited.

Moreover, with her father’s low expectations for her, the resources and support were very limited.

Her cultivation progress was extremely slow.

At this rate, she almost lost hope of becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch in this life.

In such a case, she would not be able to fully repair the spiritual treasure, and she would end up like her mother, her grandmother, or even her great-grandmother, unable to receive the tremendous fortune of the spiritual treasure, ultimately passing it on to the next generation with regret.

She could not accept this!

The uncertain fortune of Huang Jie in those years gave her hope.

As long as she obtained Huang Jie’s fortune and reached the rank of True Monarch in this life, she could receive the fortune of the spiritual treasure.

-------

"Why leave in such haste? Could it be because they discovered your anomaly?" Not long after Wu Miaozhen left, Li Ji’an also used the excuse of needing to adjust his breathing and was taken by Wu Yehua to the honored guest’s Dao Field for a temporary rest.

Ning Sujin nodded slightly, "That artifact spirit is indeed much stronger than the aura of the Dragon-Suppressing Cauldron, but it seems to only sense my primordial spirit’s aura when so close by."

Li Ji’an frowned slightly, feeling a bit heavy, "Is there any omen of danger?"

Ning Sujin shook her head, "Rest assured, my husband, I’ve already secretly divined, and everything is normal."

"Oh? In that case, that artifact spirit probably won’t expose your divine abnormalities nor come to provoke us actively. Perhaps, its existence is the greatest secret." Li Ji’an’s expression relaxed.

"Can you identify what kind of spiritual treasure it is?"

Ning Sujin shook her head.

Li Ji’an then said, "A cycle ago, I saw that Wu Miaozhen was only in the Qi Refining Realm, now, a cycle later, she has barely reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Her talent is mediocre, and her cultivation efficiency is low. How would she have a spiritual treasure with an artifact spirit that hasn’t completely vanished?"

Ancient texts record that spiritual treasures are blessed by the Celestial Dao, enjoying the fortune of heaven and earth, with their internal artifact spirits born lofty and proud.

"Could it be related to the artifact spirit’s incompleteness?"

"Even if incomplete, it’s not something a mere junior cultivator in the Qi Cultivation could subdue."

"Unless it’s an ancestral inheritance?"

Li Ji’an shook his head again, "Given the nature of the Jinhua Commerce Association and Wu Yishan, if he knew there was such a spiritual treasure, he would never let Wu Miaozhen possess it.

Most likely, he would use it to secure a contract with a Central Region True Monarch."

"Wu Miaozhen’s maternal family?" Ning Sujin probed.

Li Ji’an raised his eyebrows, "That might explain it."

He still remembered that the Demon Race Treasure Manual Wu Yehua had back then was handed down from Wu Yehua’s mother.

It’s entirely possible that Wu Miaozhen inherited a spiritual treasure from her mother.

"Husband, this spiritual treasure must be destined for you," Ning Sujin suddenly smiled at Li Ji’an.

With a look, Li Ji’an understood her intention.

For a mere junior cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage to possess a spiritual treasure of which the Jinhua Commerce Association, and not even another knew, seizing it silently would not be difficult.

"The power of a spiritual treasure exceeds that of a True Monarch. Even if it’s incomplete, it must not be underestimated.

Moreover, the information about spiritual treasures we know mostly comes from others’ records and word of mouth without personal experience, so we can’t blindly trust it.

Besides, once you desire to kill for treasure, there’s no turning back.

Until one day, you fall into the hands of someone pretending to be weak to catch you off guard.

This kind of thinking is not worth having." Li Ji’an gently stroked her cheek, advising.

He was shocked when he first learned Wu Miaozhen possessed a spiritual treasure mainly because he worried about the threat it posed to his life.

After analyzing it thoroughly with Ning Sujin, he was no longer concerned about such a possibility and remained indifferent.

As for the idea of seizing someone else’s possession, he indeed had none.

However, he understood Ning Sujin’s thoughts deeply.

If he had no supernatural rejuvenation ability to accumulate and come back repeatedly, he wouldn’t be so calm when faced with the pinnacle spiritual treasure of the realm.

Furthermore, given what they discerned, the risk of forcefully seizing it seemed very small.

"..." Seeing Li Ji’an’s serene demeanor, Ning Sujin’s expression tightened but soon filled with endless guilt.

"Husband’s character is noble, I am ashamed to have been blinded by greed!"

Li Ji’an pulled her into his arms, gently pinching her nose, "It’s human nature, what’s there to be ashamed of?

It’s not about the high or low of my character, it’s just a matter of weighing the long-term impact on our Dao path and making a choice accordingly."

"I am enlightened," replied Ning Sujin.

After confirming that Wu Miaozhen’s artifact spirit posed no threat to them, Li Ji’an and Ning Sujin decided to leave.

The matter was now concluded perfectly.

"Ping’an, Junior Sister Yao is in trouble." However, just as Li Ji’an was about to lift the restriction array, Guo Wanzhi came rushing from outside.

"What happened to Junior Sister Yao?" Li Ji’an asked in surprise.

"Just now, when you were in seclusion adjusting your breath, Miss Wu came to apologize for leaving the Spirit Banquet early. Upon learning you were in seclusion, she invited me and Junior Sister Yao to the Spiritual Spring.

As soon as Junior Sister Yao came out of the Spiritual Spring, she suddenly collapsed to the ground, unconscious," Guo Wanzhi hurriedly recounted the events.

Li Ji’an raised an eyebrow, inadvertently glancing at the direction where Wu Miaozhen’s Dao Field was located.

"Let’s go, and see what’s happening," he said.