NOVPUB“You’re planning to take most of the treasures?”
As expected of Mu Zhi’an’s attentive maid, Wei Mengrou immediately understood his intentions.
“Mengrou, have you ever wondered why you enjoy gambling… I mean, why are you so interested in those Spirit Mines, wanting to cut them open and see what’s inside?” Mu Zhi’an asked, intentionally piquing her curiosity.
He had learned this technique from Yao Meng. The Empress enjoyed teasing him like this in bed, sometimes even keeping him awake at night.
Now, he was using a similar method on Wei Mengrou, and perhaps even on the other disciples from the Primordial Clans within the Sword Palace.
Wei Mengrou glanced at him sideways, pretending to be indifferent.
But deep down, she was curious and confused.
“Because you have faith in your luck. You never know what you might find inside a Spirit Mine. The thrill of uncovering the unknown and the lingering anticipation make you want to try again.”
“What does that have to do with what you’re planning to do?” Wei Mengrou asked.
“It’s related. Of course it’s related.”
Mu Zhi’an said solemnly, “If I take everything from the Sword Palace, it would seem greedy. My wife… the Sword Palace Master might be unhappy.”
“So we shouldn’t hinder their pursuit of opportunities.”
Wei Mengrou raised an eyebrow, sensing that her young master was up to something.
“So you’re planning to…?”
“Mengrou, do you know what’s most important for a cultivator to advance in their cultivation?” Mu Zhi’an asked, seemingly changing the subject.
Wei Mengrou pondered for a moment. “Talent and luck?”
“…But what does that have to do with them seeking opportunities?” she continued.
“Those who can enter the Sword Palace all possess exceptional sword talent. However, to obtain high-grade cultivation techniques, pills, and other opportunities within the Sword Palace, they need luck, not talent.”
Mu Zhi’an raised his hand and silently unfurled the Eight Chaos Dream Scroll.
The scroll unfolded like a painting, emitting a faint glow.
He looked at Wei Mengrou and smiled. “Actually, it’s not just you who enjoys gambling on stones, Mengrou. I do too… Or rather, everyone does.”
“You’re going into the Eight Chaos Dream Scroll?” Wei Mengrou asked.
Mu Zhi’an nodded slightly. “Wait for me here. I’m going to check on Lin Keyu. I’ll be back soon.”
…
Within the Eight Chaos Dream Scroll.
Lin Keyu lay on a bed, slowly opening her eyes.
She wore a pink and white dress, a sash cinched around her slender waist. Her eyes held a hint of fatigue.
After consuming the Returning Essence Pill, her depleted Spiritual Energy was slowly recovering. However, she was still exhausted. After entering the Eight Chaos Dream Scroll, she had fallen asleep in the room created by its master.
To be fair, although Lin Keyu was beautiful even in simple clothes and without makeup, she lacked a certain… flair.
This pink and white dress, along with the necklace hanging on her chest, highlighted her delicate collarbone and fair neck, adding a touch of elegance to her appearance.
Her white undergarments were faintly visible beneath the thin fabric.
Her gentle and delicate appearance, combined with the vulnerability in her eyes, made her truly captivating.
As if remembering something important, Lin Keyu instinctively touched her clothes and looked down, checking for any signs of disarray. Seeing that everything was in order, she let out a sigh of relief.
“It seems your Spiritual Energy has mostly recovered.”
The curtain was gently pulled aside, and a young man’s voice came from beside her, startling her. She looked up and saw a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows standing by her bed, a bright smile on his face.
Mu Zhi’an examined her for a moment, then smiled faintly. “It seems you’re alright now.”
Lin Keyu finally came to her senses. She sat up and said softly, “Thank you for saving me, Young Master… If it weren’t for you, I would probably be…” 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
If she hadn’t met Mu Zhi’an, her ancestral artifact fragment would have been stolen by Qian Chen.
And then, even if she had died in the Sword Palace, there would be no evidence, and no one would know who had killed her. They would simply assume it was an accident.
Thinking of this, she looked at the young man with gratitude and a hint of something more in her eyes.
Although Lin Keyu’s talent was among the best in the Eastern Realm, she was still a naive young lady with romantic fantasies… Mu Zhi’an’s handsome appearance alone was enough to attract both young girls and older women. Moreover, they had met under such special circumstances.
It was natural for her to develop feelings for him.
“I despise treacherous villains the most. There’s no need to be so polite, Miss Lin.”
Mu Zhi’an, seemingly oblivious to her feelings, smiled gently. “Take a look. Are these the two who attacked you?”
He snapped his fingers, and an image appeared in the room.
Two handsome young men in luxurious attire were desperately trying to escape on their flying swords within the Eight Chaos Dream Scroll. Behind them, a terrifying creature was chasing them.
A closer look revealed that the creature was an evil deity from the Southern Wilderness.
Mu Zhi’an controlled everything within the Eight Chaos Dream Scroll. The two injured cultivators couldn’t escape.
Lin Keyu looked up, her eyes widening. She turned to Mu Zhi’an and asked, “You captured them?!”
She was in disbelief.
A third-grade Core Formation cultivator had single-handedly defeated two cultivators stronger than him…?
Then, she stared at him, her eyes filled with confusion. “Why are you helping me so much, Young Master?”
It was already remarkable that he had secretly sent her back to the Xuanyin Temple. After all, he had offended a powerful Primordial Clan like the Qianyuan Sect. An ordinary cultivator wouldn’t dare to do such a thing.
Yet, he had not only saved her but also captured Qian Chen, the Qianyuan Sect’s young master, and his cousin… Wasn’t he afraid of offending the Qianyuan Sect?
Mu Zhi’an gently brushed a strand of hair from her face and smiled. “Does one need a reason to save someone?”
“Especially a lovely girl like Miss Lin.”
Lin Keyu blushed and quickly averted her gaze.
Beautiful young ladies are much easier to conquer than those older sharks… Mu Zhi’an thought to himself, then said gently, “I’ll hand them over to the Xuanyin Temple and let your father deal with them.”
He paused, then continued, “But before that, I want to give you a gift.”
“A gift…?”
Lin Keyu looked up at the handsome young man’s bright smile. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear.
…
After sending Lin Keyu away, Mu Zhi’an looked at Wei Mengrou, who was waiting for him in the hall. “Let’s go, Mengrou. I’ll take you to cut open all the Spirit Mines,” he said with a smile.
Wei Mengrou raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to leave some for the others?”
In Ling Long’s Celestial Realm, he had at least left two opportunities for others. This time, he wasn’t planning to leave anything, which surprised her.
Mu Zhi’an shook his head. “I don’t like being so ruthless. They should still have a chance to find their own opportunities.”
He met her gaze. “However, we need to… repackage them.”
“After all, people cherish things they’ve worked hard for.”
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Sword Palace.
A group of talented cultivators were exploring the palace. After the Sword Palace Master instructed them to seek their own opportunities, they had scattered throughout the area. However, even after searching for so long, they hadn’t found any cultivation techniques, pills, or other treasures.
After about an hour, the cultivators, who had been searching separately, coincidentally met and were now walking along a secluded path in the forest.
“There are too many Celestial Realms here. If we continue like this, we won’t find anything before the Sword Palace disappears,” a cultivator said, breaking the silence.
“There must be some opportunities within the Sword Palace, but whether we can obtain them depends on our luck,” another cultivator said, frowning. He wasn’t looking too happy either.
They had been excited to enter the Sword Palace, as rumors claimed that it contained a first-grade cultivation technique created by the Sword Emperor herself.
Now that the Sword Emperor had been reborn, obtaining her Bronze Ancient Sword was impossible, but… the first-grade technique might still be hidden within the Sword Palace.
If they could find it, this trip would be worthwhile.
But now…
They hadn’t even found any ordinary pills or medicinal herbs, let alone a first-grade technique.
“Mu Zhi’an is also gone,” someone suddenly said, noticing that the Two Polarities Sect disciple who had been following them was nowhere to be seen.
“I remember the Xuanyin Temple Sect Master’s daughter also entered the Sword Palace, but I haven’t seen her…” another cultivator said.
“If she were here, perhaps she could sense some opportunities.”
Lin Keyu had undergone a luck assessment before, and her luck was a vibrant red, indicating that she was naturally luckier than most cultivators.
If she were present, they might be able to find some treasures.
And they could also benefit from her good fortune…
At that moment, a graceful figure flew towards them on a sword. The cultivators, with their sharp senses, noticed her and turned to look.
“Miss Lin, where have you been? We haven’t seen you,” a cultivator who was acquainted with Lin Keyu greeted her, his eyes brightening.
Lin Keyu, dressed in a flowing dress, exuded a delicate aura. Her clothes clung to her alluring figure as she landed gracefully from her sword.
She smiled demurely. “I was trapped in a cave within the Sword Palace, but luckily, I managed to escape.”
“I see…” No one questioned her, even if they had doubts.
After all, the Sword Palace’s opportunities were more important.
They walked along a seemingly endless path through the forest. The sounds of birdsong and insects chirping filled the air beneath the lush canopy, a stark contrast to the winter outside. It was truly another world.
After about half an hour, they emerged from the path and arrived at a waterfall. Countless Spirit Mines of various colors were scattered around it.
There are so many Spirit Mines here?!
They exchanged glances, unable to contain their excitement. Each of them chose a Spirit Mine, intending to cut it open.
However, as soon as their hands touched the rocks, they were blocked by an invisible barrier.
“These Spirit Mines are also protected by formations. We can’t touch them,” Ye Yu frowned, his dissatisfaction growing.
They couldn’t touch this, they couldn’t touch that… Were there any opportunities left in this Sword Palace?
The other young geniuses also encountered the same problem, their hands unable to reach the Spirit Mines.
Just as they were frowning in frustration, Lin Keyu gasped in surprise. They turned to look and saw that the Spirit Mine she had just touched had been cut open, revealing a thin booklet within.
The booklet emitted a captivating red glow, and three characters were imprinted on its cover: Three Realms Sword.
A second-grade cultivation technique!
Everyone’s eyes lit up with desire as they stared at the booklet in Lin Keyu’s hand.
“Miss Lin, why can you touch the Spirit Mines while we can’t?” Even Ye Yu couldn’t help but ask, his gaze fixed on her beautiful profile.
Lin Keyu smiled gently and didn’t hide anything. “Infuse Spiritual Energy into the Spirit Mine, and the formation will be unlocked. Each Spirit Mine requires a single infusion of Spiritual Energy.”
“I’ve tried that, but it didn’t work. Are there any other tricks, Miss Lin? Please enlighten us,” someone asked humbly.
Normally, to break a formation, one needed to find the formation eye and then use Spiritual Energy to disable it.
However, the formations within the Sword Palace were beyond the capabilities of Core Formation cultivators.
They couldn’t break the formations on the Spirit Mines, but Lin Keyu could. This naturally aroused their curiosity…
If she could unlock one Spirit Mine, wouldn’t that mean she could unlock all hundred of them?
However, with so many people present, she wouldn’t be able to claim all the treasures for herself…
Lin Keyu was aware of this, so she explained, “Our Spiritual Energy can’t unlock the formation eyes, but I thought of another method… If Spiritual Energy doesn’t work, what about Spirit Stones?”
“Spirit Stones…?”
“I’ve heard that in some special Celestial Realms, cultivators’ Spiritual Energy can’t unlock formations, but the Spiritual Energy within Spirit Stones, being naturally formed, is unique and can disable them,” a cultivator said, his eyes brightening.
They hadn’t thought of this method before!
They exchanged glances and immediately took out valuable Spirit Stones, infusing them into the formation eyes.
Ye Yu also took out a Spirit Stone worth 5,000. As he infused it into the formation eye, he was overjoyed to discover that the formation had weakened significantly!
“It works!” someone exclaimed excitedly.
They didn’t care about ordinary stone gambling, which was common in the outside world.
But Lin Keyu had just found a second-grade cultivation technique within a Spirit Mine. Perhaps even first-grade techniques were hidden within these rocks!
Afraid of missing out, the disciples from the Primordial Clans quickly took out their Spirit Stones and infused them into the formation eyes.
Based on their estimations, it would take about 50,000 Spirit Stones to unlock a single Spirit Mine.
This was a hefty price, and even as scions of Primordial Clans, they couldn’t afford to spend more than a million Spirit Stones.
But for a first-grade cultivation technique, any price was worth it.
Lin Keyu silently took out a second Blood Drop Stone, the size of a fingernail, and infused it into the formation eye of a Spirit Mine.
Unlike the other cultivators, who winced at the cost, she felt nothing.
It wasn’t that she didn’t care about Spirit Stones. It was just that Mu Zhi’an had promised her something…
“I’ll reimburse you for all the Spirit Stones you spend, Miss Lin, so don’t worry about the cost. Use as many as you need. You can even borrow a million from me…”
Remembering his words and his enthusiastic smile, Lin Keyu still felt a strange sensation.
She didn’t know what he was planning, but he was her savior. He had no reason to harm her.
She crouched down before a Spirit Mine and took out another 50,000 Spirit Stones, infusing them into the formation eye…
…
In a dimly lit hall, Mu Zhi’an counted the Spirit Stones that were continuously appearing before him. He glanced at Wei Mengrou and said, “Mengrou, come and help me count how many Spirit Stones we’ve earned. I’m not good at math.”
“What did you say to that girl?” Wei Mengrou asked, looking at the formation before Mu Zhi’an with a strange expression.
A steady stream of various special Spirit Stones, each worth at least 50,000, was appearing within the formation.
Although she didn’t know what was happening, she knew her young master must have used the Sword Palace’s formations to his advantage.
After all, he now had access to the Sword Palace’s formations.
“I just gave her a gift… Of course, she also needs to play the role of the one who discovers the secrets of the Sword Palace’s Spirit Mines.”
Mu Zhi’an looked at the special Spirit Stones flowing out of the formation, then turned to his maid and smiled. “Remember what I said, Mengrou?”
“Everyone loves gambling on stones.”
