Chapter 150: Immortal Zhuge

Lin Yi sat cross-legged on the bed and took out his phone to check how to acquire contribution points through the official account of the Martial Arts Association.

The fastest way was through bartering, though the value of any resources traded here would shrink by several or even more than a dozen times.

Points could also be earned by breaking through to a new minor or major realm.

Finally, points were awarded for performing actions that contributed to the Martial Arts Association.

Lin Yi had no intention of staying long, and judging by his current situation, the first and third methods suited him best.

Stepping out of the wooden cottage, Lin Yi saw several figures approaching him.

Among them was the chubby young man who had arrived earlier.

Leading the group was a girl with a ponytail, petite in figure, wearing a spaghetti-strap minidress and crystal sandals, looking quite pretty.

Seeing Lin Yi emerge, the group immediately surrounded him.

"Something the matter?" Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.

"That's right. Your strength is quite good, and you have won my recognition," the ponytail-wearing girl said with a trace of pride.

Lin Yi shook his head and simply walked around her.

His indifference instantly made the girl bristle with anger.

"Hey, you, stop right there!" the girl called out.

Lin Yi, however, ignored her.

Her expression darkened, and the chubby youth hastily said, "Boss, why are you looking for such a fierce guy?"

"What do you know?"

The girl glared at him, then quickly caught up to Lin Yi.

She stood right in front of him, arms outstretched, her small chest beginning to show curves.

"I have something to discuss with you," she said.

"Not interested," Lin Yi refused outright.

"Don't be so quick to say no. Take a look at this first."

With that, the girl pulled a white piece of jade from her storage pouch, about the size of a thumb.

This piece of jade seemed alive; it actually appeared to be breathing, and with each breath, it exhaled wisps of faint white vapor.

"This..."

Lin Yi's eyes narrowed. This was actually a jade spirit.

No, to be precise, it should be just a fragment of a jade spirit, much like a single strand of hair fallen from a person's body.

A true jade spirit was a miraculous natural treasure that had gained sentience, taking various forms.

Judging by the fragment in the girl's hand, its original form should be mutton-fat white jade.

"Do you know what this is?" the girl asked.

"I do." Lin Yi nodded.

The girl looked at Lin Yi with some surprise, expecting that she would need to waste words explaining it.

Still, this was for the best, saving her the trouble.

"Since you recognize this item, you probably know its purpose as well—it can convert ambient air into spiritual energy," the girl said.

"Mhm." Lin Yi nodded again.

While this jade spirit was indeed full of treasures from head to toe, it was dispensable to Lin Yi.

Its practical value was actually inferior to top-grade spirit stones; even the spiritual energy exhaled over an entire year by a jade spirit at the Spirit Venerable level would not be enough for Lin Yi's cultivation in a single hour.

"I happen to know a place where a jade spirit resides. I provide the location, you provide the muscle, and the two of us will go clean the place out, splitting the spoils evenly," the girl said, puffing out her small chest.

"Not going." Lin Yi shook his head. With that kind of time, he might as well trade pills for more top-grade spirit stones.

"Why not? This is a good thing; aren't you tempted?" The girl instantly grew anxious.

Her main purpose in coming to the Martial Arts Association this time was precisely for this jade spirit; advanced training was secondary.

However, the strength of that jade spirit was too formidable, and even ten of her would not be a match for it.

That was why she intended to find a helper. Although her profits would be halved, it was still within an acceptable range.

"Not tempted," Lin Yi said calmly.

"Then what do you want?" the girl asked again.

"Top-grade spirit stones," Lin Yi replied.

The girl was momentarily speechless. Top-grade spirit stones were cultivation resources strictly controlled by major factions; how could a mere half-step grandmaster like her possibly possess such things?

"Then... aside from top-grade spirit stones?" The ponytail girl bit her lip.

"Tier 4 spiritual herbs or higher will also do," Lin Yi said.

The girl felt an urge to just slap her behind and walk away. She was no alchemist; how could she possibly carry Tier 4 spiritual herbs on her person?

He had zero sincerity!

Wait.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to the girl, and she said, "I remember that the place where the jade spirit dwells seems to have several spiritual herbs. I'm no alchemist, so I don't know exactly what they are, but looking at the spiritual power radiating from them, they aren't weak, and their grade shouldn't be low."

Lin Yi rubbed his chin and asked, "Where is that jade spirit located?"

"Just follow me. By the way, since you want spiritual herbs, are you an alchemist?" the girl asked curiously.

"Yes." Lin Yi didn't hide it.

"How on earth do you cultivate? You look so young, and it's one thing to have high strength, but you can even refine pills. If you tell me you're also a weapon refiner, I'd start suspecting you have some ancient monster's soul hidden inside you," the girl joked.

"You guessed right. My real age is actually three thousand years old," Lin Yi said expressionlessly.

"Haha, you're so funny." The girl didn't believe a word of it.

Lin Yi shrugged indifferently. Nowadays, nobody believed the truth, while obvious lies were swallowed whole.

"My name is Zhuge Xian, and I'm a local from Shanghai." With that, Zhuge Xian generously extended a small hand.

"Lin Yi, from Jiang Province."

Gently shaking Zhuge Xian's boneless, soft hand, Lin Yi let go.

"You're from Jiang Province? I remember some time ago, there was a Master Lin in Jiang Province who even killed a Spirit Venerable. Your surname is Lin too—do you know him?" Zhuge Xian asked with keen interest.

Lin Yi felt rather glad he had changed his appearance before coming here.

Otherwise, if he were recognized, who knew what his peaceful advanced training would turn into.

Shaking his head, Lin Yi feigned ignorance and said, "I don't know him."

"True, that person can even kill Spirit Venerables; it's normal not to know him."

Zhuge Xian didn't dwell on it, going right along with Lin Yi's words, and asked instead, "By the way, what realm is your strength in?"

"Unclear," Lin Yi said.

On this point, he wasn't lying. If he unleashed his full power, even a Nascent Soul expert wouldn't survive a single slap from him.

So if she asked for his exact strength, he truly couldn't explain it clearly.

"How could it be unclear?"

Zhuge Xian knitted her delicate eyebrows, but she quickly dropped the subject. "The strength of that jade spirit is about the same as that gray eagle from earlier, but its defense is terrifying. Even spiritual weapons can't leave a single scratch on its body."

"No matter, just lead the way," Lin Yi said.

"All right, I'll go inform my underlings first."

Zhuge Xian wasn't overly worried; even if they couldn't beat it, they could still run.

Although the jade spirit's defense was formidable, its movements were relatively sluggish.

When she encountered this jade spirit a few years ago, she had just reached the Xiantian realm and was able to escape then; now that she was a half-step grandmaster, she naturally wouldn't have any problems.

Zhuge Xian walked over to the chubby youth and said, "I'm going away for a while. Make sure you develop our Xian Sect properly."

"No problem," the chubby youth said, patting his chest in assurance.

"Very good, truly my top underling. When your boss comes back, I'll bring you something good." Zhuge Xian patted the chubby youth's shoulder with an air of seniority.

The chubby youth smiled shyly.

Having given her instructions, Zhuge Xian returned to Lin Yi's side. "Let's go. Only the two of us know about this; loose lips sink ships."

Lin Yi asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll back out halfway and swallow the jade spirit all by myself?"

Zhuge Xian kept her smile, entirely unbothered as she said, "Not afraid. I am, after all, a little genius of the Zhuge family; I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Lin Yi chuckled softly and said no more.

Zhuge Xian was very familiar with the area. The two left the plaza and headed back up the mountainside.

The gray eagle was already gone, likely rescued by someone.

Ten minutes later, the two reached the summit.

The formations at the summit were much denser, and a moment of carelessness would trigger an attack.

"It should be right here."

Zhuge Xian looked around. Not far away stood a stone monument three meters tall, with a massive character for "Seal" inscribed upon it.

Arranged across this monument were several layers of formations.

Zhuge Xian took out a white compass, about the size of a palm, from her storage pouch.

Her fingers tapped rapidly upon it, causing the compass to bloom with a white light shield roughly a meter wide.

"Hey, hurry up and step inside. This treasure compass of mine can temporarily disable the formations within its range," Zhuge Xian urged.

After a brief hesitation, Lin Yi stepped inside the light shield.

Carrying the treasure compass in one hand, Zhuge Xian approached the stone monument.

True to her word, the formations enveloped by the white light all failed, while those outside the light continued to operate.

The two safely reached the stone monument. Zhuge Xian groped along the surface of the monument until her eyes lit up, and she pressed down on a certain spot.

Rumble.

The stone monument suddenly emitted a dull sound, then slowly shifted backward.

In place of where the monument had stood, a pitch-black cave entrance appeared.

"This is it, Lin Yi, let's go in quickly."

With that, Zhuge Xian ran inside first.

Lin Yi followed closely behind. Fortunately, there were no formations inside the cave.

Rumble.

At that moment, the stone monument outside blocked the entrance once again, plunging the passageway into pitch darkness.

Zhuge Xian put away the treasure compass and retrieved a night-pearl from her storage pouch, illuminating the surrounding area.

Lin Yi didn't need it to see clearly, however.

"Let's go, that jade spirit is still in the deepest part," Zhuge Xian said with a trace of excitement.

Following the long passage for about a thousand meters, the surrounding spiritual energy began to pulse rhythmically in and out, just like someone breathing.

Zhuge Xian hastily nudged Lin Yi with her elbow, made a silencing gesture, and whispered, "Keep it down. That jade spirit is nearby."

Lin Yi nodded.

Walking a bit further, the passage, which had previously only allowed two people to walk abreast, suddenly opened up.

Five hundred meters ahead, a massive jade spirit made entirely of mutton-fat white jade lay sprawled on the ground, fast asleep.

Within a hundred-meter radius of the jade spirit, the spiritual energy had even condensed into liquid.

Zhuge Xian stared at the jade spirit with burning eyes and whispered, "Lin Yi, what are our chances?"

"One hundred percent," Lin Yi said calmly.

His gaze, however, was primarily focused on the spiritual herbs growing beside the jade spirit.

A Tier 4 spiritual herb, the Myriad Transformation Fruit.

This was a versatile spiritual herb that could serve as a substitute main ingredient for many kinds of pills.

What surprised Lin Yi even more was that right next to the jade spirit lay a palm-sized sword-rehearsal stone.

Though he didn't know how the sword-rehearsal stone had ended up here, how could he refuse a gift delivered right to his doorstep?