Li Xue kept her gaze lowered, her mind composed and focused. Toward Feng Chi Divine Lord, she now felt nothing but the reverence one held for a high-level cultivator.
Feng Chi led Li Xue to several other islands on the periphery, but aside from high-level magical beasts, they encountered no further spirit herbs or rare materials. Even after they left the Death Sea, Feng Chi still could not fathom why Dragon Marrow Grass—a primary ingredient for Tribulation Transcendence Pills—would appear in the outer reaches of the Death Sea. It was such an obvious location, yet it seemed no one had ever searched there. Unable to find a logical explanation, he eventually pushed the matter to the back of his mind.
Once they were clear of the Death Sea, Li Xue took her leave of Feng Chi Divine Lord and entered the Dream Realm.
The Water Spirit had already made its home in the lake. With its addition, the Dream Realm would soon expand, a prospect that left every inhabitant of the realm overjoyed.
Li Xue handed the Dragon Marrow Grass over to Li Xiaoyin and began her own period of secluded cultivation. This trip to the Death Sea had yielded immense rewards; not only had she obtained numerous monster cores and materials, but she had also secured the Water Spirit and the Dragon Marrow Grass. Furthermore, she estimated that once she fully restored her spiritual power, she would likely reach the Great Perfection of the late Golden Core stage.
Time passed swiftly. Half a year later, Li Xue emerged from seclusion, having reached the Great Perfection of the late Golden Core stage. If she made the proper preparations, she could now attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
As expected, the Dream Realm had doubled in size once more. Closing her eyes, Li Xue could sense that the water-attribute spiritual qi in the realm had become significantly more abundant and active.
"Water Spirit! Water Spirit!" Li Xue called out as she approached the lakeshore.
A small, azure-blue creature surfaced and instantly darted into Li Xue’s palm. The Water Spirit was truly tiny, resembling a miniature dolphin. It looked like it belonged to the same family as the Ice Whale Beast, though one was gargantuan and the other was minuscule.
"You’ve worked hard, little one!" Li Xue lifted the little Water Spirit and nuzzled its head with her cheek. The Water Spirit wriggled happily until Li Xue placed it back into the lake.
"Congratulations to the Mistress on reaching the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage!" Yun Xi had already approached to offer her felicitations.
Soon, the other spirit beasts gathered around, and Dongfang Jing and Li Xiaoyin also came over to congratulate her. Yu Ming was currently in seclusion attempting to break through to the late Golden Core stage, while Ji Rufeng and Bai Xingyu had gone out for experiential training.
Having just emerged from seclusion, Li Xue began preparing for her Nascent Soul breakthrough while simultaneously planning how to earn more spirit stones. In the future, when she traveled to the Outer Domains, she absolutely could not do without them. Just using the teleportation arrays would require a massive amount of spirit stones; moreover, the long-distance arrays for the Outer Domains required high-grade spirit stones, while other arrays typically took mid-grade ones.
Most of the spirit stones earned by the Snow Pill Workshop had to remain there, as friends coming from the Mangyun Star might need to stay there. Thus, she had to find other ways to generate wealth.
The monster cores harvested from the Death Sea half a year ago had mostly been given to her spirit beasts as cultivation supplements, at least those below the fifth rank. The sixth-rank cores could be put up for auction, which would provide some income. The Thunder Cloud Vessels Li Lin refined for the Yuxuan Sect were another major source, as were the ten-thousand-year spirit herbs auctioned on the Yuanshi Star. However, even all of this combined was far from enough. Now, she would have to sell off some of her five-thousand-year spirit herbs to bolster her funds.
At that moment, Li Xue’s gaze fell upon the Dragon Marrow Grass. If she could sell just one stalk, it would surely fetch an astronomical price, providing enough spirit stones for their travels. However, Dragon Marrow Grass was far too rare. Putting it up for auction would be a massive risk; high-level cultivators would inevitably find a way to trace it back to her. If Feng Chi Divine Lord were the one to auction it, it would be much safer.
Just as she was thinking this, a ripple of spatial energy shimmered within the Dream Realm, and Ji Rufeng appeared. He was panting heavily, and the moment he saw Li Xue, he looked as though he had found a lifesaver.
"Sister Li, you’re finally out! Oh man, I’m about to be bothered to death!" he cried.
"What’s wrong? What happened?" Li Xue was startled.
"It’s that Feng Chi Divine Lord! He’s been looking for you constantly, but he couldn't find you. Master and Daoist Master Yuhong are being driven mad by him. We all told him you were in seclusion, but he just keeps pressing us!" Ji Rufeng was utterly annoyed by Feng Chi Divine Lord, but since he lacked the strength to oppose him, he was helpless.
"Oh, I see," Li Xue thought to herself. Had Feng Chi Divine Lord already gathered all the materials? But neither she nor Xiao Lin had reached the Nascent Soul stage yet; how were they supposed to refine anything?
Li Xue followed Ji Rufeng out of the Dream Realm. The last anchor point she had set before entering the realm was near the Chaotic Star Region.
Inside the Snow Pill Workshop, she heard Feng Chi Divine Lord’s dissatisfied voice: "I told you to give Xiao Xue a message; she would definitely come out. I have urgent business! Where exactly is she in seclusion? What is there to hide?"
Li Yuhong gave a bitter smile. "Senior, please be patient. We have already notified Xiao Xue. The girl is at a critical juncture; we can't exactly force her out of meditation, can we?"
"Master, I have emerged," Li Xue said as she entered the front hall, then gave a respectful salute to Feng Chi Divine Lord.
"Eh? Great Perfection of the Golden Core? You really were in seclusion!" Feng Chi Divine Lord’s face was full of amazement.
Li Xue frowned inwardly. *What nonsense. If I wasn't in seclusion, would I just be playing hide-and-seek? I don't have that kind of hobby.*
"Senior, what business do you have with me?" Li Xue asked.
Feng Chi Divine Lord smiled slightly. He flipped his left hand, and a flash of radiance appeared. With a flick of his right hand, he cast a spell, causing the light to intensify. Suddenly, a brilliant, shimmering glow filled the room as an exquisite gauze robe slowly expanded before everyone’s eyes.
"Is this... a Dharma robe? A high-grade magical treasure!" Li Yuhong’s eyes widened.
"What a beautiful robe!" Ji Rufeng’s eyes were round with wonder as he sighed in admiration.
A sharp light flickered in Li Xue’s eyes, drawn in by the sheer beauty of the garment. It took her a long moment to snap out of it. Swallowing hard, she asked, "Senior, is this a high-grade Dharma robe?"
"Indeed. Do you like it? It’s a gift for you! I used several hundred years' worth of my collection to refine this, along with the Water Spirit Sand we collected together," Feng Chi Divine Lord said tenderly.
"This... this is too precious. I cannot accept it!" Li Xue swallowed again, forcing herself to look away from the robe.
"Heh," Feng Chi Divine Lord chuckled, looking as though he had expected this reaction. "This is compensation for those spirit herbs."
Upon hearing this, Li Xue understood immediately. He was referring to the six high-year stalks of Dragon Marrow Grass he had taken. If that was the case, trading them for a high-grade Dharma robe was actually a loss. No matter how precious a high-grade Dharma robe was, it was ultimately just a high-grade defensive treasure. It couldn't compare to the rarity of Dragon Marrow Grass, which was an indispensable primary ingredient for Tribulation Transcendence Pills.
Li Xue’s heart bled once more. That was Dragon Marrow Grass! Think of how many spirit stones it could have been traded for! If she had those stones, she wouldn't have to work so hard to earn more; at the very least, she wouldn't have to worry about teleportation fees. Now it had been turned into a robe. Though it was beautiful, Li Xue wasn't someone who cared deeply about appearances; to her, spirit stones were far more important.
Li Yuhong and Ji Rufeng knew Li Xue well. Seeing her conflicted expression as she held the robe, they could guess exactly what she was thinking. They couldn't help but find it amusing—what other female cultivator was as much of a money-grubber as she?
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 法衣 | Dharma robe | A magical or spiritual garment worn by cultivators, often providing defense. |
| 渡劫丹 | Tribulation Transcendence Pill | A pill used to assist a cultivator in surviving the heavenly tribulations required to reach higher realms. |
| 水灵 | Water Spirit | A sentient elemental spirit of water. |
| 水灵砂 | Water Spirit Sand | A rare material used in refining, associated with water-attribute spiritual energy. |
| 雪丹坊 | Snow Pill Workshop | Li Xue's pill-refining business/shop. |
| 莽云星 | Mangyun Star | The name of a planet or celestial body in the setting. |
| 雷云舟 | Thunder Cloud Vessel | A type of flying magical vessel refined by Li Lin. |
| 元始星 | Yuanshi Star | Another planet or celestial body in the setting. |
| 玉泓道君 | Daoist Master Yuhong | A title for Li Yuhong, indicating his status as a high-level cultivator. |
| 域外 | Outer Domains | Regions beyond the current known star system or realm. |
| 财迷 | Money-grubber | A person obsessed with wealth or spirit stones (often used humorously here). |
