Chapter 41 Part 1

Even after Lian Yunzhi walked out of the single-room cultivation chamber and arrived in front of the bookshelves, a lingering flush of heat still colored his face.

As a result, when Fu Qing floated over like a ghost from the side, he didn’t even notice.

“Are you really possessed?” Fu Qing asked ghostly.

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Lian Yunzhi nearly dropped the book he was about to return to the shelf onto the ground.

He shoved the book back and slowly turned his head, shooting Fu Qing an irritated glance. “What do you mean possessed? How do I look possessed?”

Fu Qing stared at his fair cheeks flushed with pink and his eyes like pools of autumn water, replying seriously, “You look possessed everywhere.”

Lian Yunzhi had no idea what nonsense he was spouting.

“I’m going to Xiaoze State,” Lian Yunzhi said. “Do you have any magic artifacts that can store souls for a long time? I’ll take out those souls and give them to you.”

“No, magic artifacts that can store souls are all very expensive, and even if we had one, most can only hold one or two souls,” Fu Qing asked. “What are you going back to Xiaoze State for? How long will you stay? It’s very dangerous outside—did you forget?”

Only then did Lian Yunzhi remember that plenty of people outside were still coveting the “Immortal Treasure” on his body, and he immediately frowned.

But he had to go to Xiaoze State no matter what.

[Zhi Zhi, on the bookshelf to your left, third row from the left, the second book counting rightward—what book is that?]

Mu Cheng’s voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Lian Yunzhi followed his instructions and walked over, discovering it was a formation book titled Myriad Wood Realm-Protecting Array Manual.

Fu Qing leaned in to explain, “Good eye. This is a formation technique suited for single wood spiritual roots—perfect for you. With it, you could stay in Xiaoze State without worry… Unfortunately, it’s a Heaven-tier formation book. You don’t have the qualifications to borrow it, and the sale price is 4.6 million spirit stones.”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

Both its tier and price made Lian Yunzhi hesitate.

However…

Lian Yunzhi suddenly recalled how he had borrowed a book using Ling Tian’s credentials and burned it.

He asked Fu Qing, “Do you have the qualifications to borrow it?”

Fu Qing: “I do, but lending it to someone else is against the rules. Even memorizing it and reciting it to you wouldn’t work, because every book here is enchanted with a spell. Opening it counts as voluntarily swearing a Dao Heart Oath—you can’t fake it.”

Lian Yunzhi: “What’s the penalty for breaking the rules?”

Fu Qing: “Ten times compensation.”

Lian Yunzhi: “…”

That meant 46 million…

Lian Yunzhi sighed.

“46 million spirit stones,” Fu Qing sighed too. “That’s exactly the price of one Qi Refining Bird feather. If I’d known things from the Illusion Realm could be brought out, I definitely would’ve stuffed that Qi Refining Bird into a Demon Beast Bag before leaving.”

Lian Yunzhi said in surprise, “Qi Refining Birds are that valuable?”

Fu Qing shook his head. “That’s no ordinary Qi Refining Bird. Its original name is Tianming Mysterious Feather Kun. Every time it advances, its body undergoes earth-shaking changes, with formidable combat power, and its feathers and scales can all be refined into artifacts. Unfortunately, it’s an extinct ancient demon beast, and nowadays only remnant feathers can occasionally be found in secret realms… The one in Xiaoze State had no attack power because it was just a fledgling.”

“Sigh, forget catching the Qi Refining Bird—even plucking two feathers would’ve been great… I even rode it several times.” Fu Qing sighed in regret.

Something suddenly flashed through Lian Yunzhi’s mind, but he couldn’t grasp it.

[Zhi Zhi, cast a Concealment Technique and reach your hand into the Pure Bottle.]

Lian Yunzhi thought Mu Cheng wanted to absorb Black Mist again, so he cast a Concealment Technique, took out the Pure Bottle, and reached his hand inside.

But this time, before he could even use spiritual power to “lure” the Black Mist, a special force surged out from his fingertip, stirred twice in the Black Mist, and the next second, Lian Yunzhi felt something pinched between his fingers.

The force receded back into his body.

Lian Yunzhi blankly pulled out the thing from his fingertip, then widened his eyes—it was two Qi Refining Bird feathers!

Everything in Xiaoze State’s Illusion Realm had been conjured from Black Mist, so naturally it could also manifest Qi Refining Bird feathers, but…

“Isn’t the Black Mist your power?” Lian Yunzhi urgently asked in his mind. “If you turn it into feathers to sell, you won’t be able to absorb its power later.”

[It only takes a tiny bit of Black Mist to conjure them—about as much as the hairband you wore a couple days ago. To me, it’s negligible, like a drop in the ocean.]

Lian Yunzhi: [But…]

[It’s really just a tiny bit of power. And compared to that, quickly mastering the ability to protect our lives is far more important, isn’t it?]

Lian Yunzhi opened his mouth, then dejectedly dispelled the Concealment Technique and handed the two feathers to Fu Qing. Under his stunned expression, he glumly said, “Help me sell them.”

But when Fu Qing rummaged through his Storage Ring and found a Containment Jade Box, carefully placing the feathers inside, Lian Yunzhi regretted it again. He reached out and pulled one feather back. “Just sell one.”