Chapter 1175: Something Valuable

"What is it that's so secretive it can't see the light of day?" Guan Fangyi asked suspiciously. She used her spiritual power to probe inside and confirmed that something was hidden there, but it was nothing she had ever seen before. She had no idea what it was.

Niu Youdao teased, "Something valuable."

The moment she heard the word valuable, Guan Fangyi perked up, though her mouth remained disdainful. "How valuable could it possibly be?"

Niu Youdao chuckled. "I know your eyes light up at the sight of money. Don't worry. It's worth more than all those flying mounts put together."

Guan Fangyi was startled. "Really? Don't lie to me."

"Guaranteed genuine. Once you go back and see it, you'll understand." Niu Youdao continued speaking in that relaxed, teasing manner. He also handed the bundle to Yuan Gang and instructed, "Keep these things safe. Nothing can happen to them."

Only after taking the bundle did Yuan Gang discover that there was more than one stone like the one Guan Fangyi held. There was a whole pile inside. He immediately understood. Master Dao was probably just coaxing that woman into a better mood.

Still, if Master Dao had kept these things on his person all this time, they could not be useless. Yuan Gang tied the bundle securely and slung it across his back.

Hearing that her gift was extremely valuable, Guan Fangyi carefully put it away on her person as well, already looking forward to opening it once she returned. After storing it, she asked, "Master Dao, what do we do next?"

Niu Youdao said, "Now that news of my death has already spread, the first thing is to steady people's hearts. We'll deal with the matter at Zijin Cave first."

Guan Fangyi asked, "How?"

Niu Youdao said, "First I'll meet Gong Lince. We need to stabilize Zijin Cave before anything else."

The two beside him were both startled.

Guan Fangyi said urgently, "Master Dao, you're going to show yourself to Gong Lince? You've already seen what they did the moment news of your death arrived. How can you let them know you're still alive? Master Dao, it's too dangerous!"

Niu Youdao said, "Those who chase profit will inevitably be driven by profit. Don't worry. It isn't as dangerous as you think. I have my own way of handling it."

Yuan Gang said heavily, "Master Dao, if you disguise yourself, your identity won't hold up under questioning. I'm afraid there'll be no way for you to enter Zijin Cave and see him."

Niu Youdao made it sound simple. "Then I'll have him come out to see me."

Guan Fangyi said, "We couldn't even get an audience with him. Even if someone passes on a message for us, with his status, why would he casually risk himself for some inexplicable invitation? If he does come out, he'll probably bring a whole group of guards with him. How can you let so many people see you?"

"Master Dao, Misty Pavilion's eyes are everywhere. If anyone grows suspicious, the consequences could be disastrous. We have to be cautious."

Niu Youdao said, "I've already considered that. Don't worry. I have a method and have made preparations in advance. He'll come see me."

"You two return first. I'll meet up with you later."

Guan Fangyi stared. "We're both going back? You're staying here alone?"

Niu Youdao nodded. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

He had not used a single person from Maolu Annex, yet he still claimed he could draw Gong Lince out. That meant someone else had to be cooperating with Master Dao.

Guan Fangyi and Yuan Gang exchanged a glance.

They increasingly felt that Master Dao had become impossible to see through.

Master Dao never did anything without purpose. He always knew what he was doing. Since he had given the order, the two could only obey. They departed together.

Niu Youdao watched them vanish into the night sky but did not leave himself. Beneath a bright moon, he remained alone on the empty mountain, then once again covered his face with a disguise...

After returning to Zijin Cave and handing the flying mount back to Yan Li, the two who had just seen Niu Youdao alive felt completely reassured. They no longer cared what expression Yan Li wore. They knew Niu Youdao would deal with everything that followed. Yan Li was simply no match for Master Dao.

Still, Yan Li's manner truly was infuriating. The two of them almost hoped he would keep jumping around a little longer, just so they could see how Master Dao would deal with him.

After returning to Maolu Annex, the two went their separate ways to their own courtyards.

Once she had settled the people on her side, Guan Fangyi immediately slipped into her room and shut the doors and windows tight. She could no longer wait to open the gift Niu Youdao had given her.

Niu Youdao had said it was valuable, even more valuable than all those flying mounts combined. The thought had been scratching at her the entire journey back. If he had not specifically warned her not to let anyone else see it, she might have opened it on the way.

More importantly, after seeing Niu Youdao himself and confirming he was still alive, Guan Fangyi had thrown all the headaches facing Maolu Villa to the back of her mind. She was no longer worried at all. Her thoughts returned to those of a woman curious about her gift.

For a cultivator, what single object beneath Heaven could possibly be worth more than an entire group of flying mounts from Maolu Annex?

Under the glow of a Moon Butterfly, Guan Fangyi held the stone and examined it repeatedly.

If it truly was that valuable, didn't that mean this single stone was worth more than a whole stack of Heavenly Sword Talismans?

What on earth was inside?

She gripped it with both hands and used spiritual power to break it open. She did not dare exert too much force at once. If the object inside truly was so valuable, she was afraid of damaging it.

Crack.

Under the pressure of her spiritual power, the stone shell split.

The moment a narrow gap appeared, red light seeped out from within, carrying an oddly living, writhing quality.

The instant Guan Fangyi saw that treasure-light, her eyes lit up.

Perhaps Niu Youdao truly had not lied to her this time. This might actually be something exceedingly valuable.

She slowly pulled apart the cracked stone shell. The living red glow spread gently outward, widening the circle of light.

"What is this?" Guan Fangyi muttered.

She removed an object roughly the size of a fist.

It was heart-shaped, with a rough outer skin like the rind of a lychee. The gentle radiance seeped out from within it, and it gave off a faint, mysterious fragrance. One breath of that scent was enough to refresh the mind.

She had never seen anything like it, nor had she heard of such a thing. She could not make sense of what it was, but one look was enough to know that it was no ordinary object.

Probing with spiritual power, she discovered that the inside was pulp.

As she turned it back and forth in her hands, her gaze suddenly stopped on the slightly flattened underside. The center was faintly indented, and most conspicuous of all, there was something resembling a fruit stem.

"A fruit? There are fruits in this world that glow...?" she muttered.

Then her eyes suddenly widened.

Uneasily, she murmured, "From the Sacred Realm..."

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded outside, followed by Old Six Xu's voice. "Big Sister, are you all right?"

The sudden sound nearly frightened Guan Fangyi out of her skin.

She immediately fumbled into action, hastily pressing the two halves of the stone shell back around the fruit. The light vanished at once.

Holding the stone in both hands, Guan Fangyi looked around in panic, seemingly unable to decide where to hide it.

At last she hurried to the couch, yanked up the quilt, and covered the stone with it.

"Big Sister!" Old Six Xu called again when there was no answer, knocking louder this time.

"Coming," Guan Fangyi answered.

As she walked toward the door, she deliberately mussed her clothes, untied her sash, and pulled her hair loose. By the time she opened the door, she looked as though she had just undressed and was preparing to sleep.

She opened the door only halfway and showed half her body. "What is it?"

Old Six Xu suspiciously peered through the gap into the room, taking an extra couple of looks.

Guan Fangyi immediately cursed, "What are you sneaking a look at? Trying to watch this old lady undress?"

Several of the old fellows from Fufang Garden immediately snickered in the courtyard outside.

Old Six Xu looked embarrassed and hurriedly waved both hands. "Don't. I can't afford those words. I don't have that sort of refined interest. If I want to watch a woman undress, I'll go find one outside myself."

Guan Fangyi's eyes widened.

Bang!

She flung the door fully open. "Old Six, what do you mean by that? You think I'm not even as good as those brothel women? Are your dog eyes blind?"

Looking was wrong, and not looking was wrong. There was simply no reasoning with a woman.

Old Six Xu immediately cupped his hands and begged for mercy. "Big Sister, spare me your tongue. I saw red light glowing against the window paper just now and was worried something had happened. I only came to ask because I was concerned about your safety. I meant nothing else."

"None of your damned business. Get lost!"

Bang!

Guan Fangyi slammed the door shut.

Old Six Xu turned away after being thoroughly rebuffed, scratching his head.

Someone nearby leaned over and teased, "Saw Hongniang undressing, did you? Look good?"

"Get lost." Old Six Xu irritably kicked at him.

Inside the room, Guan Fangyi pressed a hand over her chest.

Her heart was pounding.

She quickly returned to the couch, sat down, then reached out and touched the lump beneath the quilt.

Something worth more than all those flying mounts combined.

A glowing fruit.

Something that came from the Sacred Realm.

Something no outsider was allowed to see.

Guan Fangyi's heartbeat accelerated.

She had begun to suspect what it was.

Her mouth went dry.

She rose again, went to the door, and peered outside through the crack. Only after confirming there was nothing unusual did she return to the couch.

She lifted one corner of the quilt, bent down, and actually crawled underneath it.

The scene was almost identical to Ao Feng's reaction the first time he had seen something similar.

Groping in the darkness beneath the quilt, she found the stone and opened it again.

Red light bloomed beneath the covers.

She looked at the thing again and again, smelled it again and again, and repeatedly tried to confirm her suspicion.

Her heart began pounding faster once more.

She muttered to herself, "That bastard didn't actually give this old lady a Wuliang Fruit, did he? How is that possible? How could he possibly get a Wuliang Fruit?"

Whether Niu Youdao could obtain such a thing was something she genuinely did not dare judge.

She knew what kind of ability he possessed.

Things other people could never obtain were not necessarily beyond Niu Youdao.

How had Maolu Annex acquired all those flying mounts?

Hadn't Niu Youdao turned the impossible into reality there too?

But she truly had never seen a Wuliang Fruit before.

She had not even heard what such a forbidden fruit looked like.

She could not make the final confirmation.

Still, judging from every sign before her, together with Niu Youdao's hints, the thing in her hands was simply far too likely to be that forbidden fruit.

"Bastard. You hand me something like this and don't even explain what it is..."

Hidden beneath the quilt, Guan Fangyi muttered and cursed without end.

If this truly was that forbidden fruit, then the gift had brought her an earth-shaking surprise.

And precisely because the surprise was so great, she knew she was doomed to spend the entire night letting her imagination run wild. There would be no hope of resting properly. How could she possibly calm her mind?

For her, if this truly was a Wuliang Fruit, breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm was almost secondary.

The Wuliang Fruit was said to grant longevity without aging.

And if one did not age, one's beauty would not fade.

If this truly was a Wuliang Fruit, she would never again have to fear her looks continuing to decline with age.

But if it was a Wuliang Fruit, how was one supposed to eat it? How was it supposed to be used?

That bastard had not explained a thing.

Absolutely hateful!

The night became genuine torment.

Even after hiding the object away, she could not stop worrying about it.

She tossed and turned on the couch, her mind full of one possibility after another.

Was it really that thing?

Could he truly obtain something like that?

A single fruit worth more than all their flying mounts put together—what else could it possibly be?

"Ah..."

She covered her face with the quilt and groaned miserably, looking utterly tormented.

She simply could not believe that in this lifetime she might actually obtain a Wuliang Fruit!

In short, she desperately wanted to see Niu Youdao again as soon as possible and confirm whether it truly was what she thought.

He had better not let her rejoice for nothing.

The long night dragged on in torment.

The more she thought, the more it felt as though a hundred claws were scratching at her heart. Sometimes she climbed up and paced the room. Sometimes she lay back down and tossed and turned...

[End of Chapter 1175]