Chapter 494 492: Crystal Ball

Mu Lin smiled. "Maybe some other time! I've been pretty busy lately, but I should be free in a little while."

Jiang Long paused, then sighed. "As you wish. As long as you're happy, don't feel obligated."

'I was just making a polite excuse,' Mu Lin thought. 'If I were actually interested, I would've gone long ago.'

'I saved Jiang Long's life. Would he dare refuse me?'

Mu Lin walked back and forth in the storeroom. The air was quite musty; who knew how long it had been since it was last cleaned.

His gaze suddenly fell upon a crystal ball. He pointed at it and asked:

"Elder Xu, what is this?"

Xu Jishan walked over to take a look. "Oh, my son found that in a cliffside valley during a business trip to Africa. It looks quite peculiar, but it's useless."

Mu Lin said, "I quite like it. May I have it?"

Xu Jishan replied, "Didn't I already say? Take as much as you like! You don't need to ask me!"

Mu Lin smiled. "Then I won't hold back!"

Xu Jishan smiled faintly. "Take whatever you want!"

Xu Jishan grabbed the crystal ball, wiped it twice with his sleeve, and placed it in the palm of Mu Lin's hand.

"Mr. Mu, here you go! Take whatever you like, and don't hesitate!"

After taking it, Mu Lin held the crystal ball and examined it over and over, looking very fond of it.

Jiang Long hadn't expected Mu Lin to like it so much. He leaned in and asked, "Mr. Mu, is there something amazing about this crystal ball? Why do you seem to value it so highly?"

Mu Lin said, "It's quite beautiful. I'm thinking of giving it to a friend."

Jiang Long laughed heartily. "To be honest, crystal isn't valuable at all. It's too plain. If you want to give a gift, I have a much better option for you!"

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes, intrigued. "Oh? And what's that?"

Jiang Long said, "A diamond! It's even bigger than this crystal ball, and its quality is top-tier."

Mu Lin was astonished. "That big? Wouldn't that be incredibly expensive?"

Jiang Long smiled. "As long as it makes a good impression when you give it, what's a little expense!"

"To tell you the truth, a diamond of that size is extremely rare, so the price is exorbitant. It's worth tens of thousands of times more than the combined value of smaller diamonds of the same total volume. The one I'm talking about would probably cost several billion."

'I'm not particularly surprised by the number,' Mu Lin thought. 'After all, it's a diamond. A tiny one can cost tens of thousands. Spending a few billion on a huge one is really nothing special.'

Mu Lin said, "Wouldn't it be a lot of trouble to get that diamond? Team Leader Jiang, you're a busy man. Never mind."

Jiang Long shook his head. "You're mistaken. Although the diamond is rare, no one is asking for it. You can buy it anytime you want."

Mu Lin was a little surprised. 'What's going on? How could it be that no one wants it?'

"Why is that?" Mu Lin pressed.

"The answer is simple. The people who can afford it are the kind of people who can easily enjoy large diamonds, so they don't find them particularly special. A diamond that big actually seems rather boring to them."

"Besides, the price really is high. Several billion is equivalent to the investment capital of a small conglomerate. Most people wouldn't spend that kind of money on a diamond."

It dawned on Mu Lin, and he nodded repeatedly. "That makes sense. I never expected such intricacies. You really do learn something new every day!"

'The real reason I want it is that Zhao Ling'er's birthday is coming up, and I plan to give it to her.'

'Zhao Ling'er has a great personality, but she's quite fond of pretty accessories. I figure there's no problem at all in giving her this.'

'She could treasure it, and more importantly, it would be a way for me to thank Divine Doctor Zhao for taking care of me recently.'

"Team Leader Jiang, please help me get in touch with them. I'll take it. Just give me the invoice for the total cost, and I'll pay for it!"

Jiang Long laughed. "Now you're making things awkward by talking about money! Mr. Mu, what do you take me for as the team leader of the Military Suppression Bureau? You've helped me more than once. Do I really need you to pay for getting you something interesting?"

'That makes sense,' Mu Lin thought, then said cheerfully, "In that case, I'll be waiting for your good news!"

Mu Lin returned to the living room, clutching the crystal ball. Gu Qiang saw it and asked curiously:

"Mu Lin, what's that?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Something good!"

Gu Qiang pouted. 'Mu Lin's taste is really terrible,' she thought. 'A tacky crystal ball like that has no real value.'

The group chatted for a while longer, and then Mu Lin and Gu Qiang took their leave.

The two of them arrived at Li Ba's territory together. When Li Ba heard Mu Lin had come, he rushed out personally and said obsequiously, "Master Mu! I've already taken care of those bastards who were spying on the Xu Family. The Ning Family was behind it."

Mu Lin said, "I just came back from the Ning Family. This matter isn't important anymore. Just let them go. After all, they're our own people, so don't be too harsh."

Li Ba nodded repeatedly. 'Master Mu is truly a good person,' he thought.

He straightened up and said to those men:

"You heard him! Master Mu is showing great mercy and giving you a chance to turn over a new leaf! You'd better seize this opportunity and not pull any more stunts. If I find out you've done anything out of line, I'll make you suffer!"

Elder Gu came downstairs and saw Gu Qiang standing affectionately beside Mu Lin. The atmosphere between them was quite good, and he couldn't have been more delighted.

'Still, I should keep a low profile,' he thought. 'It's still early, and nothing is set in stone yet. If I get too enthusiastic, I might just mess things up.'

"Li Ba, get me a room. I need to meditate for a while."

"Right away! Please wait a moment, I'll arrange it for you immediately!" Li Ba responded quickly. A moment later, one of Li Ba's men came over and led Mu Lin upstairs.

Mu Lin entered the room and closed the door. He no longer suppressed the excitement in his eyes and gently picked up the crystal ball.

'From the moment I saw the crystal ball, I felt something was strange about it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.'

'I have to do whatever it takes to unlock this crystal ball's secret.'

'I have a feeling there's something good inside, something incredibly valuable. If I handle this right, my cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds.'

'That would be awesome.'

Mu Lin infused his divine sense into it, slowly letting it permeate the entire crystal ball.

But the crystal ball was very strange. There was a distinct resistance, as if something was blocking him from penetrating further.

'Something's definitely wrong. A force is trying to push me out. It's a hard feeling to describe.'

Earlier in the storeroom, he had scanned everything with his Yin Spirit. Everything else had been perfectly clear, but this crystal ball alone was exceptionally peculiar.

Although Jiang Long was also very strong, already a Land Immortal, his cultivation path was flawed, so he was unable to detect the anomaly.

That was why Mu Lin had deliberately taken the crystal ball—his goal was to get to the bottom of it.

Now that he had discovered it truly held a secret, he was thrilled.

After a long time, Mu Lin suddenly found a lead. In one fell swoop, he broke through the layers of obstructing light and rushed inside.

An expanse of azure blue appeared. Mu Lin was ecstatic. 'This is pure Water Elemental Power!'

'I've really struck gold this time!'

'Wood-attribute Fang Qing True Qi, fire-attribute Celestial Fire Elemental Power, and now Water Elemental Power!'

'I never expected to collect so many Five Elements Essences in the past.'

'But once something like destiny starts rolling, it doesn't stop easily.'

'I've already collected three of the Five Elements Essences!'

'If my luck holds and I find Metal Qi and Earth Qi, I'll become a Five Elements Zhenren. That would be terrifyingly powerful!'

"Helping the Xu Family really paid off. Is this what they call 'good deeds are rewarded'?" Mu Lin sighed with emotion.

'Master was right to tell me to do more good deeds!'

Mu Lin closed his eyes and began to cultivate. A vast aura of water essence surged toward him, as if he were truly in the middle of a boundless ocean.

His cultivation level shot up rapidly.

This Water Essence was of the highest quality, on par with the Fang Qing True Qi.

Right now, the weak link in Mu Lin's possession was his fire-source aura.

'It's a bit lacking. I need to find a better fire source to replace it and raise its quality to be on par with the other two.'

'Only then can I fix my weakness and have all the elements advance in unison, aligning their progress.'

While Mu Lin was cultivating in his room, Li Yan came running.

"Brother, where's Mr. Mu?" she asked, her big, beautiful eyes blinking.

Li Ba pointed upstairs. "He's in the guest room upstairs! He should be down in a little while!"

At this, Li Yan's eyes reddened. 'Having fun in a guest room? Are all men in the world the same?'

'Even Mu Lin is like this? What the hell is he doing?'