Roaming the Four Seas Chapter 127: Ten Fingers

At first, some did not believe the old man’s words.

Su Ye stepped onto the stage and used a soul-soothing technique to awaken Chen Miaoling, the dancer who had fallen into a coma. Seeing is believing. The crowd could not help but be filled with admiration.

"They always say the true masters are among the common folk," murmured a man holding a bronze mirror. "And here we are... a master who has mastered the soul-binding path has emerged from the dusty mortal world."

Su Ye cupped his hands in a salute: "I have not entered the path through soul-binding."

The people of Lingxi Island live among the clouds and mistakenly believe they reside in a celestial realm. Arrogance is a common ailment among the residents here.

"Then how did you enter the path?" the disheveled old man asked, drawing out his words.

"By the sword."

"A physical cultivator, or a qi cultivator?" The man rubbed his ankles, continuing to probe.

"My strength lies in technique, and my sword intent has manifested into spirit... therefore, one could say I am both."

"That path of yours must be quite difficult." As he spoke, the man stood up and flicked away the sleep from his eyes with a withered finger. A flame ignited at his fingertip, consuming the debris into nothingness.

The expressions of everyone present shifted instantly. The flame just now had no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations, clearly manifested through a formation. Even on Lingxi Island, those capable of such a feat could be counted on one hand.

Living on the same island, they crossed paths constantly. Yet, strangely, no one had ever seen this disheveled old man before. Eyes darted back and forth between the two.

Su Ye smiled: "As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm... those with poor aptitude can only compensate with blood and sweat."

"Have you ever used a formation compass?"

"Whenever I face a strong opponent, I almost always do."

"Summon it out and let me have a look."

Su Ye did not refuse. With a flick of spiritual energy, a golden light flew from his jade gourd, coalescing into a half-foot-square compass.

"People from the lower realms are still using such archaic compasses?" The burly man who had offered his seat let out a drunken hiccup.

Laughter erupted in the pavilion. The residents of Lingxi Island referred to the Great Qian as the "lower realm"—another symptom of their belief that they inhabited a celestial world.

"I am of limited knowledge and low cultivation... I have no choice but to use inferior compasses," Su Ye said with a salute. "If any of you possess better ones, I am willing to purchase them for a heavy price."

The disheveled old man took the compass from Su Ye’s hand, sucking his teeth with a slouching, indifferent air. "This amplification compass only has the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain formation, and it feels heavy to carry. Not only does it waste a massive amount of Heaven-Mystic Stones, but the effect is also poor..."

"On Lingxi Island, if someone were to craft a compass like this, they would be a laughingstock for life," the man with the bronze mirror remarked fairly.

"Even a child just learning to craft formation compasses wouldn't make something like this," the burly man added with a hiccup. "One can only say that the people of the lower realm are far too tolerant."

Luo Jinghong, being an artisan herself, felt a keen interest in the realm of formations.

"Senior, what kind of formation compass can be called 'good'?" she asked earnestly.

The disheveled old man explained: "The smaller the volume, the better... the more powerful the effect, the better."

Su Ye recalled what Mo Chen had once said. The top formation masters of Lingxi Island could already craft formation compasses the size of a fingertip. The more combat experience one had, the clearer it became how much of an advantage such a compact compass could provide.

Luo Jinghong looked at the old man's right index finger, but seeing no miniature compass, she asked in surprise: "Senior, where is the compass you used to incinerate the filth just now?"

"Little girl, it seems you are quite interested in refining and talismans," the old man said. "Let me ask you, have you heard of the concept of 'Spirit Treasures Fusing with the Body'?"

"I have."

After Su Ye's Eight-Turn Yin-Yang Mirror acknowledged him as its master, it had fused into his body. Luo Jinghong was aware of this. The old man looked at her with a knowing, profound gaze.

Luo Jinghong suddenly realized how the people of Lingxi Island could hide their compasses in their fingertips, and her eyes widened: "No wonder the people here call this a celestial realm..."

The old man turned to the silent Su Ye, flashing a smile that revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth: "You just said you were willing to pay a heavy price for a formation compass. I wonder how much silver you can offer?"

Su Ye saluted: "Just name your price, and I will do my best to satisfy it."

"One hundred thousand gold taels for a formation compass. Do we have a deal?"

"I would not refuse."

"It seems you are a man with silver in his gourd. Are you an alchemist?"

"Senior has guessed correctly. I am indeed an alchemist."

The expressions of everyone in the pavilion shifted sharply at the word "alchemist." Beads of sweat the size of peas broke out on the burly man’s forehead, and his drunkenness vanished halfway. He frantically tried to recall if he had offended Su Ye. Aside from a few blunt remarks, there had been no conflict. He breathed a secret sigh of relief.

"Since you are an alchemist, I am willing to pay a high price to buy a horse's bones," the old man said. With a casual wave of his hand, a wisp of golden light drifted from the dragon-patterned jade pendant hanging at his waist.

Ten light orbs, each the size of a knuckle, shimmered with various colors. Inside them lay compasses even smaller than the tip of a pinky finger.

"Prick your left ring finger and use your essence blood as a tether to make the formation compass acknowledge you as master," the old man’s voice echoed only in Su Ye’s sea of consciousness.

Even Luo Jinghong, standing beside him, was staring intently at the miniature compasses inside the orbs. Su Ye condensed sword qi in his palm and pricked his ring finger. A drop of bright red blood seeped out. With a flick of his finger, the blood bead flew toward the orbs. A pale, white sword qi drifted out, dividing the blood into ten equal parts.

In an instant, they were absorbed by the orbs containing the compasses. They transformed into ten distinct rays of light, each flying toward one of Su Ye’s ten fingertips.

The crowd turned their heads in unison, like marionettes, toward the same spot. In their eyes appeared a pair of long, slender hands shimmering with a faint glow. Luo Jinghong stood by Su Ye’s side, looking down at his hands.

She saw his five left fingertips glowing with colors corresponding to "Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth." On the thumb of his right hand, a Taiji pattern emerged. The other four fingertips were inscribed with ancient seal script reading "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain."

Even a layman knew that compasses hidden in the fingertips could cooperate with one another. They broke the shackles of classical formation compasses, allowing the user to manifest various formations at will. Wind could aid the power of fire, increasing its strength tenfold. If one added the wood attribute, it could perhaps increase it a hundredfold. Wood combined with the forest could also enhance a single attribute...

Countless inspirations surged into Su Ye's consciousness. Paired with the Eight-Turn Yin-Yang Mirror in his body, he was confident he could fight a cultivator of the Green Peak Realm. If he could also obtain the Rainbow Feather Garment for protection, his strength would advance even further. It was only that with his current cultivation, it was difficult to master such treasures of heaven and earth.

"Your hands are now worth a fortune," the burly man said, seizing the chance to flatter him.

The disheveled old man laughed: "Are you saying that an alchemist's hands aren't valuable..."

The burly man hurried to explain: "I have no such intention, Daoist."

Su Ye smiled brilliantly: "Senior, it was only because you invited me to join the table that I encountered this opportunity. I have yet to thank you, so how could I possibly blame you?"

Hearing this, the burly man was overjoyed. Su Ye’s hands dimmed, and the compasses returned to a state of calm.

"Little girl, what do you need... a compass, or a jade cauldron?" the old man asked the beaming Luo Jinghong.

"She needs nothing," Su Ye interrupted. "If you have any more spirit treasures, just sell them all to me."

Though Luo Jinghong was surprised, she did not ask. She simply waited to see what would happen.

The disheveled old man said: "You are certainly not greedy... Very well, I shall sell all my good things to you."

With that, he prepared to summon more items from his jade pendant. Suddenly, a black-and-white sword slashed across the old man’s neck.

Blood sprayed three feet high.

Everyone was shocked!