When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

Yun Qingyu gave the little white cat a long, penetrating look but ultimately didn’t press further about who she had heard from. However, now knowing that You Yi was lying poisoned at the entrance, she couldn’t entirely ignore it. After some thought, she took out a bottle of antidote pills and handed them to Jiang Mo. “We’re almost done excavating the elemental crystal. Go give You Yi two antidote pills first, lest he actually dies from poisoning here.”

Jiang Mo was somewhat reluctant, but it was still a human life, and she wasn’t truly heartless enough to ignore someone in need. So, after a bit of pouting, she finally took the medicine bottle and headed towards the entrance, not forgetting to give Ruan Le another swipe with her paw before leaving.

Seeing this, Yun Qingyu seemed to want to say something but hesitated. In the end, she cast a pitying glance at Ruan Le but said nothing.

She hadn’t lied; the elemental crystal mine was indeed almost fully excavated. The Five Elements’ origin was much like divine beasts, lazy and content to slumber in one place for tens of thousands of years. Elemental crystals weren’t easily formed; only areas closest to the Five Elements’ origin could be deeply influenced, gradually condensing into elemental crystals. Though cultivators didn’t know the true form of the Five Elements’ origin, the size of discovered elemental crystal mines fell within a certain range.

The smallest elemental crystal mines were only fist-sized, while the largest didn’t exceed the height of a person. This particular mine was neither large nor small, about half a person’s height, though the companion minerals formed with the metal-attribute elemental crystals were somewhat troublesome, slowing down the excavation process.

However, no matter how troublesome the black rocks were, they were no match for a cultivator’s persistence. The elemental crystal mine before them was already four-fifths excavated.

The golden elemental crystals were exposed to the air, emitting a dense metal-attribute spiritual energy. The little white tiger’s earlier reluctance to go and give You Yi medicine wasn’t entirely uninfluenced by the elemental crystals—white tigers were metal-attributed, and staying in such a metal-rich environment was extremely comfortable, like a cat finding a warm heater in the dead of winter, naturally becoming lazy and unwilling to move.

Sure enough, the little white cat’s trip was remarkably swift; she had returned almost as soon as Yun Qingyu turned around. The only difference was that the returned medicine bottle was completely empty.

Seeing this, Yun Qingyu could only shake her head and turn back to continue her mining endeavor.

Perhaps because they had reached the final stage of excavation, the black rock’s structure had been compromised, significantly reducing the difficulty of mining. Yun Qingyu’s ice sword flipped and changed direction, releasing a burst of sharp sword energy that severed the last entanglement between the black rock and the elemental crystal.

The little white cat’s eyes brightened, and she immediately leaped up. Then, relaxing all four limbs, she not only plastered herself completely against the elemental crystal but also rubbed her chin against it…

The sight was so avaricious that even the system couldn’t bear to watch.

However, this time the system had misunderstood her. Jiang Mo was essentially a slacker, not a money-grubber. Besides, with her senior sister right there, even if she were greedy, she would never do something so embarrassing. The elemental crystal’s attraction for the white tiger didn’t come from its value, but from the pure and abundant metal-attribute spiritual energy. It was like dangling a fish in front of a hungry kitten; how could she not be tempted?

The little white cat couldn’t resist and rushed over, and upon getting close to the elemental crystal, the influence grew stronger. Unconsciously, she began to rub against the crystal. As she rubbed, a white light flashed over her body, and the white kitten disappeared, replaced by a small white tiger with black stripes.

Yun Qingyu had initially not intended to intervene, watching the little white cat hugging and rubbing against the elemental crystal as if it were a beloved cat toy. But she hadn’t expected this “cat toy” to be made of catnip; the little white cat had rubbed herself into revealing her true form. Only then did she become somewhat concerned, pinching the back of the little white tiger’s neck to lift her up, meeting those round tiger eyes still filled with a hint of bewilderment.

Fortunately, even “high” on “catnip,” the little white tiger didn’t struggle, looking confused, innocent, and docile.

Yun Qingyu couldn’t bring herself to scold her. After taking the tiger back into her arms, she lightly tapped its head with her bent forefinger. “Alright, this elemental crystal was mined for you, there’s no need to be so impatient.” After a pause, she added, “We need to leave quickly.”

According to the little white tiger’s earlier account, You Yi had merely fainted from poisoning, but the little white tiger had just forced an entire bottle of antidote pills down his throat. He would likely detoxify and regain consciousness soon. Although Yun Qingyu had saved these two siblings, the elemental crystal mine was too significant; she didn’t want to leak even the slightest information, so it was best not to meet face-to-face if possible.

The little white tiger raised her paw to hug her head. Although her senior sister’s tap hadn’t been forceful and she didn’t feel any pain, she still habitually displayed a wronged expression, then took the opportunity to act coy, whimpering in a manner entirely unlike a tiger.

Yun Qingyu sighed helplessly, freeing a hand to rub the tiger’s head before moving to put away the excavated elemental crystal mine.

Seeing this, the little white tiger hurriedly intervened: “Senior Sister, let me keep this elemental crystal mine.”

Yun Qingyu looked at her suspiciously, having witnessed the little white tiger’s earlier addiction to “catnip,” worried she might be affected. The little white tiger argued persuasively: “This metal elemental crystal is useful for me. Rather than keeping it in a storage ring, why not put it in my innate space? That way, I can access the metal-attribute spiritual energy for cultivation at all times, and might even comprehend the laws ahead of schedule.”

Indeed, all divine beasts possessed an innate space. Unlike the storage treasures cultivators refined through techniques, a divine beast’s innate space was like a small self-contained world, intimately connected to them alone, which no one else could take away or open.

The secret realm was full of dangers, and no one knew what they might encounter. Hiding the most precious elemental crystal in the little white tiger’s innate space was indeed the safest option. Yun Qingyu had no reason to refuse, but she still warned, “You can keep the elemental crystal, but don’t cultivate while in the secret realm. If you lose control and expose your identity, it could cause trouble.”

The little white tiger looked at her own restored striped and robust tiger paws, momentarily feeling guilty, but ultimately nodded obediently.

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You Yi hadn’t expected the Flame Venom Scorpion king to be so formidable. He clearly hadn’t been hit by those stingers, not even touching them from a distance, yet he had still been poisoned. Moreover, the Flame Venom Scorpions’ fire venom was so potent that once it took effect, he didn’t even have time to react—his storage ring was well-stocked with antidote pills, but he had no chance to take them.

As he closed his eyes, he saw the approaching scorpion king, his last thought being that he was surely done for.

Falling at the last hurdle, did he regret getting involved in this mess? Perhaps, but in the final moment before his consciousness faded to darkness, he had no time to think about such things. His last thought then was that he might never have the chance to wake up again.

But heaven favored him, and You Yi, who thought he’d never wake again, once more opened his eyes to the harsh desert sunlight. Dazzled by the blinding light, he quickly closed his eyes, his head still somewhat dizzy. However, cultivators have robust constitutions, and he soon recovered, realizing he hadn’t died after all, a surge of immense joy rising in his heart.

Without time to wonder why the scorpion king hadn’t eaten him, You Yi’s first reaction upon regaining consciousness was to quickly find an antidote pill to detoxify himself. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly let out a surprised “Huh?” followed by two spitting sounds.

The “Huh?” was because he suddenly realized the fire venom in his body was gone. Apart from the weakness following poisoning and detoxification, his spiritual energy circulated without any sluggishness. Then he felt something strange in his mouth, and after spitting twice and wiping his lips, he found a white hair on his hand, soft and fluffy, seemingly from some young beast’s fur…

So what exactly had happened? Could it be that some beast had saved him and incidentally fed him medicine to detoxify?

You Yi’s usually calm and composed face showed bewilderment for the first time. He slowly sat up, finding himself still in that black stone forest, though there was no sign of the Flame Venom Scorpions around.

This discovery caused his heart to tighten and then relax. His gaze swept left and right, unsure if this was where he had collapsed. But soon he realized it wasn’t, because as his eyes scanned the area, he spotted a familiar figure—not far away, a form was lying prone on the ground. Given the familiar shape and clothing, who else could it be but his unfortunate junior sister?

Joy dispersed the depression of being implicated.

You Yi’s eyes lit up, and he lost his composure, scrambling over.

Ruan Le was, of course, still alive. As soon as You Yi approached, he sensed her aura. Upon reaching her and turning her over, he found that although his junior sister looked disheveled, she was indeed still alive and well. After checking her over in his relief and finding her body unharmed, he patted her cheek to wake her: “Junior Sister, Junior Sister, wake up…”

Under You Yi’s calls, Ruan Le quickly awoke with furrowed brows, then felt a dull pain in her neck as if she had been struck by something. Fortunately, cultivators have good constitutions, and even if she had been hit, she quickly sat up, holding her neck.

“Senior Brother You?” Ruan Le was overjoyed to see You Yi: “Did you come back to save me earlier?”

You Yi had indeed rushed back to save her, but he had arrived too late and hadn’t seen any trace of Ruan Le. Now, he had no desire to take credit for someone else’s actions, so he recounted everything that had happened, ending with the question: “Junior Sister, you were saved by someone. Did you see clearly who it was or what they looked like?”

Ruan Le looked sheepish and had to explain how she had misstepped and fallen into a hole in the ground. However, she only remembered falling into some underground cavity, perhaps seeing a flash of golden light, before everything went black and she knew nothing more. As for who had saved them and how they had ended up here, she was even more confused than You Yi.

After hearing this, You Yi pondered for a moment, sensing something unusual. Looking again at this strange stone forest that could block spirit sense, he finally said to Ruan Le: “Junior Sister, it seems those Flame Venom Scorpions have all retreated. Why don’t we search this stone forest to see if we can find the hole you mentioned?”

Ruan Le felt uneasy, but since the Flame Venom Scorpions had indeed withdrawn, she ultimately agreed to her senior brother’s suggestion.

With their spirit sense blocked, the two spent a full three days searching the not-too-large stone forest before finally finding the hole Ruan Le had mentioned—the traces were clearly man-made, but now the hole had been destroyed, and whoever had dug it was long gone. One could only wonder what secrets lay beneath this now-ruined cavity.