After a moment's hesitation, the stunning beauty, whose looks were no less than Feng Baiyi's, smiled and said, "This item is too precious. I'll keep it with me for now. Once I find a container to hold the immortal fire, I will definitely return it to you."
Gazing at that alluring, foxy smile, Xiao Wenbing's heart pounded like thunder. For some reason, he felt a strange urge to lose control in the face of such a smile.
Licking his dry lips, Xiao Wenbing was about to reply when he suddenly felt the temperature around him drop sharply, and a chilling aura emanated from him.
With his mind clearing, Xiao Wenbing inwardly cried out in disbelief. Although Kairis's appearance and temperament were both top-notch, Feng Baiyi was in no way inferior. What was wrong with him today? Why was he performing so poorly?
Zhang Yaqi's soft voice came through the door: "Wenbing, Sister Feng is angry." Then, the beautiful woman gave a soft hum, seemingly talking to herself: "She's already at the Immortal Realm, and at such an old age she still calls herself 'little sister,' how shameless!"
Xiao Wenbing smiled wryly to himself. It seemed that not only Feng Baiyi, but even Yaqi was a little jealous.
Clearing his throat, Xiao Wenbing dared not linger with Kairis any longer. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Seven-Colored Winged King and said with a half-smile, "Seven-Colored Supreme, I just remembered something. It seems you still owe me something."
Having said that, he stretched out his hand and placed it in front of the Seven-Colored Winged King.
The large bird's eyes darted around, and after a moment's hesitation, it said, "After I took out the immortal fire, I immediately began cultivating. As for that stone box, I think I just threw it away."
"Throw it away?" Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise.
“Exactly.” The Seven-Colored Winged King quickly shifted the blame, saying, “It’s all because you didn’t explain beforehand. How was I supposed to know this box would contain something so valuable? It’s all your fault.”
Xiao Wenbing and the others all wore strange expressions. The fact that they could come up with such an excuse made Xiao Wenbing wonder just how intelligent this giant bird really was.
Kairis turned her face away helplessly; clearly, even the Seven-Colored Winged King's best friend found it hard to believe.
He chuckled awkwardly twice. Eventually, even the Seven-Colored Wing King himself felt that the statement was a bit too absurd. However, since he had already started to be shameless, he might as well go all the way.
"However, I won't let you suffer a loss. I remember you were setting up camp before we came here. When we get back, I'll have all my subordinates help, and I'll ask Kairis to help with the design. What do you think? You know, she's the most famous fairyland designer in the Linglong Immortal Realm. Even this palace is her work."
Kairis gave the Seven-Colored Winged King, who had dragged her into the water, a reproachful look, but she didn't object. Instead, she gave Xiao Wenbing a charming smile, her alluring eyes gazing at him with captivating, watery eyes that stirred his heart.
Xiao Wenbing gasped, his mouth immediately went dry when he was stared at by those alluring eyes, and he cried out that something was wrong.
A chilling aura seemed to emanate from behind him again. Xiao Wenbing's expression changed slightly, but he forced a smile and said, "Let's talk about this later."
He turned and looked around, saying, "I'm new to your place and would like to look around. Please, both of you, make yourselves at home." With that, he led the three women and the Great Serpent Supreme into the hall without looking back.
Volume 20, Chapter 13: Immortal Stones
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Inside the palace were eleven exceptionally tall buildings. The Great Serpent Supreme pointed to those buildings and said, "Please look, everyone. This is the platform provided for all the Great Immortals to exchange items."
Xiao Wenbing stared intently, then paused, counting again. Yes, it was still eleven.
"Orochi, didn't you say that all items are divided into ten grades? But there seem to be eleven exchange locations here."
"Oh, so the last one is a palace without a rank."
"What's the meaning?"
"There are some items whose quality even we cannot determine, so we place them in the last palace. There, transactions are entirely voluntary, and as long as you have the skill, no one will interfere if you exchange an ordinary little stone for a Five Elements Spirit."
"Wouldn't that turn into a scam?"
The Great Serpent Supreme chuckled, "Even if you want to deceive people, someone has to fall for it. Don't forget, everyone who comes here is a well-traveled and knowledgeable person, mostly Upper Immortals. And apart from the Lower Immortals of this Immortal Realm, all the Upper Immortals and below were brought in by the Supreme. Deceiving them will be difficult."
Suddenly, Xiao Wenbing felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around and saw that it was Die Xian who had suddenly grabbed his sleeve as they were walking.
"Little Fairy Butterfly, what's wrong?" Xiao Wenbing asked gently.
"Master, was that woman a vixen?"
Xiao Wenbing stumbled, nearly falling, and exclaimed, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Little Butterfly Fairy wasn't lying." The Great Serpent Supreme looked intently at Butterfly Fairy, surprised. "I didn't expect Little Butterfly Fairy to have such discerning eyes, even seeing through Keris's true nature."
"What? The giant snake? That Keris is really a vixen?"
"That's right, and it's an extremely rare ten-tailed celestial fox."
Xiao Wenbing paused slightly in his forward stride and asked, "I heard that the nine-tailed celestial fox is the limit of the fox clan, so how come there is also a ten-tailed celestial fox?"
"Fellow Immortal, you may not know this, but under normal circumstances, nine tails are indeed the limit for the fox clan. However, this rule does not apply to Supreme Beings."
Zhang Yaqi was quite surprised to hear this. She asked, "Senior Great Serpent, are you saying that Keris also survived the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation and became a Supreme Being?"
“That’s right. This seductive fox, like the Seven-Colored Winged King, possesses the Heavenly Fire Body.” The Great Serpent Supreme gave Xiao Wenbing a meaningful look and said, “Fellow Immortal Xiao, you must be careful.”
"What am I worried about? Does she intend to harm me?" Xiao Wenbing's expression hardened. If a supreme being truly plotted against him, that would not be a good thing.
"Hehe. Actually, it's hard to say whether it's a bad thing or not." The Great Serpent Supreme laughed, "I'm just afraid that after she sees the Earth Immortal Fire in Fellow Daoist Xiao's hand, she'll be like a cat smelling fish, clinging to him and refusing to let go."
Xiao Wenbing's heart skipped a beat, and the image of Keris's incomparably alluring charm flashed before his eyes. Strangely, although he knew her true identity, it unexpectedly gave him a very strange feeling, and it wasn't the kind of extreme repulsiveness or disgust.
"Hmph, are you tempted?" Zhang Yaqi said with a half-smile, "Look at you. You've been bewitched by this vixen, you're not even as good as Little Butterfly Fairy. At least she could see that Kairis was a demon fairy."
Unexpectedly, Little Butterfly Fairy immediately shook her head and said, "Sister Zhang, it wasn't me who figured it out."
"Then how did you know?"
Little Butterfly Fairy looked at Feng Baiyi, smiled sweetly, and said, "It was Sister Feng who said it in her heart."
"oh……"
Several people's eyes turned to Feng Baiyi at the same time. The beautiful fairy in purple suddenly blushed, but looking at Xiao Diexian's innocent smile, she couldn't bear to scold her.
He glared angrily at Xiao Wenbing, then moved swiftly and entered a palace.
Xiao Wenbing gave an awkward smile and was about to chase after them when Zhang Yaqi stopped him. She forced a smile and said, "Wenbing, Xiaodiexian and I are enough to keep Sister Feng company. You can wander around by yourself first." With that, she pulled Diexian away with a smile.
He touched his nose and saw the giant serpent's small, black eyes darting around beside him, a slight smile playing on its lips, looking smug. He was instantly enraged.
"Giant snake, what are you doing?"
"Ah, I'm looking over there. Look, there are so many people!"
"Hmph, I think you're just laughing at me," Xiao Wenbing sneered. "I'm going to find Bai Yi right now and tell her you're mocking her."
The Great Serpent Supreme's expression immediately changed, and he quickly grabbed Xiao Wenbing's hand, saying, "Fellow Immortal Xiao, please don't slander this little serpent! I swear to God, I don't have that kind of guts."
"So what are you thinking about all this sneaky stuff?"
A bead of cold sweat broke out on the snake's forehead. Seeing Xiao Wenbing's face growing increasingly grim, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he exclaimed in a flash of inspiration, "I think that fox spirit is a menace!"
"Is Keris a menace?"
“Exactly.” The great serpent said with a righteous expression, “That seductive fox is cunning and treacherous, with a mind more cunning than a sieve. She’s not easy to deal with. If she tries to pester you, you’d better be careful.” The great serpent thought to himself, “It’s clearly your own lack of willpower that’s causing this trouble. You’re the one who’s really causing this problem.”
Xiao Wenbing snorted and said, "A seductive vixen is no good person. I think you're just a smiling tiger with a beautiful face but a tooth in your belly."
The giant snake rolled its eyes but stopped arguing.
The two deliberately avoided the place where Feng Baiyi had entered, and went to another building, pushing open the door and entering.
The door opened, and the scene inside surprised Xiao Wenbing.
The place was extremely vast, and there were a great many people inside, but the entire place was very quiet. Everyone was quiet, and even when they were talking, they deliberately lowered their voices, and some even used telepathy.
Looking around the hall, Xiao Wenbing asked the giant snake in surprise, "Giant snake, is it possible to create another mustard seed space within a mustard seed space?"
"Of course, as long as you have enough magic power, you can continuously compress space."
The Great Serpent Supreme found Xiao Wenbing's ignorance quite unbelievable. Despite possessing so many secrets and treasures, he seemed to know very little about basic common sense. It was truly incomprehensible how he managed to cultivate immortality.
Xiao Wenbing and the Great Serpent Supreme walked side by side, looking around with great interest.
In this vast area, strange and unusual items were displayed against the walls, and apart from a few stalls that were staffed, they were mostly unattended.
"Orochi, what's going on?"
"These unattended items are all clearly priced. If you want them, you'll have to offer a certain number of immortal stones in exchange. As for the items sold at manned stalls, it means they don't want immortal stones; they're offering to barter. If you like something someone has, you'll have to offer something that satisfies them in exchange."
Xiao Wenbing listened and nodded. There were quite a few rules here.
Suddenly, he stopped and asked, "Great Serpent, how many immortal stones do you have? Is it enough?"
The Great Serpent Supreme laughed, "Although our Ten Thousand Poison Valley is a barren and desolate place, it produces quite a few immortal stones, and of extremely high quality. I brought ten thousand top-grade immortal stones, which should be more than enough for Fellow Immortal Xiao."
Holding out his hand, Xiao Wenbing said, "Let me see a few."
The giant snake casually handed over a handful of small immortal stones, pointing to them and saying, "Fellow Immortal Xiao, you may not have seen these before since you first arrived in the Immortal Realm. These immortal stones are essentially the same as the spirit stones of the cultivation world, but they contain far more spiritual energy than spirit stones."
Xiao Wenbing flipped his palm over, and those few immortal stones did indeed contain extremely powerful energy. No wonder the giant snake boasted so much; the top-grade immortal stones were indeed worthy of their reputation.
Silently sensing the energy within the immortal stones, he suddenly asked, "Great Serpent, if I'm not mistaken, these immortal stones of yours are primarily of the water and earth elements. What if someone wanted to exchange them for immortal stones of the other three elements?"
"No, not at all." The Great Serpent Supreme laughed, "Fellow Immortal Xiao is indeed meticulous, but you can rest assured. The five elemental immortal stones are judged solely on their quality. Each immortal stone is of roughly equal value, and no one will refuse to accept them."
"But what use would a fire-type immortal have for a water-type immortal stone?"
"During the exchange meeting, all immortals can exchange any immortal stones they don't need for other immortal stones of the same quality with the host."
"Is there really such a good thing?"
"This is the duty and responsibility of the host, so if a celestial realm wants to host a Grand Immortal Exchange Conference, it needs at least hundreds of thousands to millions of years to accumulate enough immortal stones."
Xiao Wenbing nodded, then suddenly picked up a celestial stone that was shimmering with dazzling light, frowned, and asked, "What attribute is this? I can't sense it. You didn't take the wrong thing, did you?"
The giant snake took one look and laughed, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, this is a raw stone."
"Will it work?"
"Of course, the energy within the primordial stone is the most basic and original energy. It can be converted into equal amounts of energy of various elements at any time, and can be used by all immortals. It can be described as a rare and precious item." After a pause, he continued, "For example, if Master Feng runs out of energy and wants to replenish it, then besides taking spiritual medicine, the only other option is to use the primordial stone."
After responding, Xiao Wenbing casually asked, "Is this thing priced the same as the Five Elemental Immortal Stones?"
"Of course not, one raw stone is at least equivalent to ten times the value of a fifth-elemental immortal stone." The giant serpent hadn't expected to find a raw stone mixed in with his casually picked handful, so he said, "Fellow Immortal Xiao, you should keep the raw stone. No one trades raw stones here."
"Is that so?" Xiao Wenbing suddenly sneered disdainfully, looking up at the sky as if he were considering something.
The Great Serpent Supreme looked at him strangely, then suddenly remembered the man's drunken outburst in Huangzhou City. He couldn't help but shudder and took a step back slightly.
After a long pause, Xiao Wenbing tossed the raw stone in his hand to the Great Serpent Supreme, saying, "I thought it was something special, but it's just this thing. Hmph, treating trash like a treasure, what a frog in a well!"
The Great Serpent Supreme's face darkened. Among immortal stones, the number of original stones was extremely rare. Hearing Xiao Wenbing's words, he was unconvinced and asked, "Could it be that Fellow Immortal Xiao has seen this before?" At the same time, he inwardly despised him. He didn't even know what an original stone was, yet he dared to speak so arrogantly.
Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly, gently stroking his hand across the Heavenly Void Ring, instantly producing a handful of uniformly sized, high-quality raw stones.
"I have mountains of this stuff piled up at home, but I never knew what it was for before. I just left it there like trash. Want some? Here you go, don't be shy, take it, I have plenty."