The bearded cultivator returned swiftly.
When he reappeared, the Vermilion Bird egg in his hand and the stone spirit that had followed him were nowhere to be seen.
He walked up to Xu Yi and handed her the storage bag, saying somewhat unnaturally, "These things are useless to me. Since you helped earlier, I'll give them to you."
Xu Yi had a vague idea of the bearded cultivator's intention for leaving, and she wasn't surprised when he produced the storage bag.
However, to maintain her upright image, Xu Yi made a few polite remarks.
But her pretense was too superficial, and the bearded cultivator saw through it at a glance.
The bearded cultivator curled his lips in disdain, forcefully shoved the storage bag into Xu Yi's hand, and waved her away quickly, "Don't say anything more, you can leave now."
While saying her thanks, Xu Yi subtly extended a wisp of her divine sense into the storage bag.
When she saw several red stone boxes piled in a corner within the storage bag, her eyes immediately lit up, and her tone of gratitude became much more sincere.
Ji Buwang understood Xu Yi too well.
Upon seeing Xu Yi's expression, he knew that their most desired items had been obtained.
After he and Xu Yi cupped their fists together to thank the bearded cultivator, they walked away side by side under his watchful gaze.
The bearded cultivator remained where he was, not leaving until the figures of the two had disappeared from his sight.
Only when night fell and his figure gradually blended with the darkness did he step onto the moonlight and return to his own place.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi and Ji Buwang did not immediately inventory the contents of the storage bag. Instead, they first went to find Long Haotian and the other two, whom Xu Yi had hidden in a discreet location.
Long Haotian and the other two had not yet woken up and were in a stable recovery state. It was expected that they would regain consciousness before long.
After Xu Yi confirmed that the three were in good condition, under Ji Buwang's slightly encouraging gaze, she moved all the items from the storage bag to the outside.
The bearded cultivator was rough in appearance and very forthright in his dealings.
When the contents of the storage bag were taken out, they almost formed a small mountain.
However, neither Xu Yi nor Ji Buwang looked at the dazzling array of treasures first. Instead, their gaze fell upon six unassuming stone boxes.
The stone boxes were dark red, and even before approaching, one could feel the active fire spiritual energy swirling around them.
Xu Yi used her spiritual power to pick up a stone box, glanced at Ji Buwang again, and carefully opened the box.
Inside the stone box lay two fist-sized, milky-white spiritual fruits.
The spiritual fruits shimmered with a faint blush, and a scorching aura emanated from them.
"It's Fire Paste Fruit."
Xu Yi held her breath, channeled fire spiritual energy to her palm, took out a Fire Paste Fruit, and placed it in her palm.
Without the cover of the stone box, the Fire Paste Fruit, under the sunlight, refracted colorful light from its body.
Xu Yi also smelled a faint fruity aroma.
The fragrance was very delicate, fleeting, yet lingering in aftertaste.
Xu Yi's eyes sparkled with delight.
So this was the Fire Paste Fruit. It was indeed wondrous.
Next, Xu Yi opened the remaining stone boxes. Each box contained two Fire Paste Fruits of excellent quality.
"Duàn Jiàn is truly generous," Xu Yi commented.
Ji Buwang glanced at the pile of treasures beside them and nodded in agreement.
These items were probably more than half of Duàn Jiàn's life savings accumulated over the years, and he had given them away just like that.
Ji Buwang's impression of Duàn Jiàn changed somewhat.
After Xu Yi carefully placed the most important Fire Paste Fruits into her own storage ring, she then took the time to examine the other items, and the sight was astounding.
"Essence Vein Iron!"
"Grand Harmony Heavenly Stone!"
"Crimson Sky Copper Ore, and also Four-Star Stone!"
Xu Yi called out the names of the ores one by one, her eyes slightly unfocused.
She recalled that the last time she saw so many ores was in the secret realm in Desolate City.
Thinking of the Desolate City secret realm, Xu Yi blinked. Right, there was also the method for crafting puppet people in there.
Because she had been diligent in her cultivation, she hadn't been able to go back. It was time to make time and revisit that old place.
As Xu Yi sorted through the items, she categorized them and placed them aside. Ji Buwang helped her.
It took the two of them a full hour to sort everything.
The most abundant among these treasures were various ores, followed by some magical artifacts whose spiritual essence had begun to fade.
These magical artifacts were diverse and of varying grades, clearly having been plundered from other cultivators.
Xu Yi only kept a few artifacts that she considered to have good forging techniques and quality. The rest were thrown into a separate storage bag, intended to be taken back to the Xuanji Sect.
Of course, these decisions were made after consulting with Ji Buwang.
Ji Buwang expressed his agreement throughout the process.
After the two had finished organizing the items, Xu Yi took out her Divine Movement Ship and, together with Ji Buwang, carried Long Haotian and the other two towards the Xuanqing Sect.
...
"Peony, quack, peony!"
The snow leopard lazily flipped its body, ignoring the annoying squawking from beneath the tree.
However, its method was useful for gentle-tempered demonic beasts, but completely ineffective against some shameless, thick-skinned individuals.
The next moment, the ground shook, and the giant tree where the snow leopard was resting began to tremble violently, leaves rustling.
The snow leopard lying on the tree could no longer stand it and leaped down abruptly, roaring at the instigator, its white canine teeth flashing with a cold, white light.
The black-furred ape seemed entirely oblivious to the snow leopard's impatience. It took two steps forward, grabbed the snow leopard's neck with great force, and began to complain.
"Snow Leopard, you have no idea. My elder brother seems to have fallen into demonic possession. He's not letting us leave Monkey King Mountain, wanting to keep us confined here. Isn't this forcing me to die?"
"And his temper has been incredibly volatile lately. I said just one wrong word, and he used his iron fists to beat me, making me howl in pain."
"It's so unfair! I was only born a few days after him, yet I'm the second brother, constantly stepped on by him, bossed around. I've had such a hard time."
The black-furred ape's outpouring of grievances, while not completely extinguishing the snow leopard's anger, at least gave it the patience to listen to the other's complaints.
"So your elder brother won't let you leave Monkey King Mountain. How did you get out?" The snow leopard narrowed its eyes, its words tinged with sarcasm.
The black-furred ape held the snow leopard's neck even tighter. "I, I'm not afraid of him! I've been confined to Monkey King Mountain for three days, and I can't take it anymore. At worst, I'll just go back earlier and not let it find out."
The black-furred ape had started off sounding righteous, but its voice grew softer as it spoke, eventually admitting defeat.
The snow leopard's eyes showed contempt, and it also felt a sense of self-disdain.
It wasn't exceptionally intelligent, but it was at least brave and resourceful. Why were all the creatures around it so brainless?
Just as it was thinking this, another somewhat carefree cheer came from a distance.
"Peony, hurry up, I've found something good!"
Before the snow leopard could reply, the black-furred ape sprang to its feet and strode towards the direction of the voice.
"Where is it? Where is it?"
The snow leopard watched as the black-furred ape met the red, robust horse, its eyes filled with even greater helplessness.