140. Spirit Stones and Pills
Jiang Mo had always been an impoverished white tiger.
Suddenly brought here by the system, she started with nothing, not even a bowl, only a debt-ridden system. Though she later bonded with Xuanqing Sect as a long-term meal ticket, she hadn’t done anything for the sect and, despite her thick skin, couldn’t bring herself to demand more. Thus, she remained in a state of near-poverty, with just enough resources for cultivation but nothing extra.
Once, Jiang Mo had asked Divine Lord Zhiming about the source of his vast wealth. His answer was traditional and disheartening—it all came from exploring secret realms and dangerous places after reaching adulthood.
As the saying goes, divine beasts have an innate treasure-seeking ability; poverty isn’t an issue if they’re willing to move.
But Jiang Mo was different. As a white tiger cub barely a year old, she hadn’t ventured out to seek treasures, rarely leaving the sect. Her few outings were merely trips to Xuanqing City, carried by her senior sister. Treasure hunting was a pipe dream. She concluded that her impoverished state might persist until adulthood.
Divine Lord Zhiming saw no issue with this. As a Black Tortoise who slept for 3,000 years, supported by the sect upon reaching adulthood, and becoming instantly wealthy after one outing, he couldn’t fathom the problem with poverty.
Initially, the little white tiger felt the same. Living in the sect, she lacked nothing, until entering the secret realm when her senior sister was injured. She discovered she didn’t even have a single healing pill! While the sect wasn’t to blame—they would have provided pills if asked—the little white tiger deeply felt the embarrassment of being caught short.
Now, before her eyes, a chest of premium spirit stones gleamed, waiting for her to take…
The little white tiger’s eyes shone, reflecting the spirit stones’ radiance. She couldn’t help but approach, walking to the table beneath the chest. With a nimble leap, she jumped onto the table, facing the chest of spirit stones directly.
The premium spirit stones contained abundant spiritual energy, over a hundred times that of high-grade spirit stones. As the little white tiger approached, she felt a familiar wave of metal attribute spiritual energy. However, what attracted her most wasn’t the metal attribute stones suited for her, but the ice attribute premium spirit stones occupying the other half of the chest—the abundant spiritual energy in these stones would surely accelerate her senior sister’s recovery if placed beside her.
Thinking this, the little white tiger instinctively reached out to touch the ice spirit stones. Only when her paw tip was chilled by the stone’s icy energy did her excited mind regain some rationality, and a strange feeling crept into her heart.
Her tender tiger paw suddenly stopped just above the ice spirit stones, a hair’s breadth from touching them.
Jiang Mo couldn’t immediately pinpoint the source of this odd feeling, but this was a secret realm, an unknown palace where opportunities often came hand in hand with danger. Even with her poor eyes dazzled by treasure, Jiang Mo never fully lowered her guard. After hesitating, she withdrew her paw, her tiger face suddenly turning serious.
The system, observing all along and secretly disdaining its host’s greed, couldn’t help but ask, “Host, what’s wrong?”
The little white tiger withdrew her paw, circling the chest twice before suddenly asking the system, “System, have you scanned this chest of spirit stones? Is there anything amiss?”
The system had indeed scanned it. Spiritual treasures of the cultivation world held no value for it, so it remained clear-headed, untempted. Moreover, in a perilous place like a secret realm, it was extra cautious to prevent its host from accidentally losing her life. It lacked the energy for another transmigration if that happened, potentially failing its mission and being recalled.
Hearing its host’s question, the system promptly pulled up its previous scan results, carefully reviewing them before answering, “Host, the system has scanned them. These spirit stones appear normal, with typical energy fields.”
The system’s energy structure differed from the cultivation world’s, so it couldn’t understand or calculate things like talismans or formations. However, it could make basic judgments based on energy field disturbances typically caused by activated talismans or formations. This judgment wasn’t entirely accurate; after being misled before, Jiang Mo now only used the system’s judgments as a reference.
In this case, the more the system insisted nothing was wrong, the more suspicious Jiang Mo became.
The little white tiger silently circled the spirit stone chest twice more, observing the distinct division between the two types of attribute stones. Suddenly, a realization struck her—even if the secret realm was offering a reward, shouldn’t all the spirit stones be metal attribute?
Before entering this palace, she had already moved her senior sister into her innate space. A divine beast’s innate space was absolutely isolated from the outside world; even an immortal couldn’t penetrate it. Since her senior sister hadn’t appeared, why were there ice attribute premium spirit stones here?
Coincidence? But how many coincidences could there be in this world, especially in a secret realm where coincidences shouldn’t be trusted… Had this mysterious palace somehow discerned her thoughts, or was this simply a trap?
The little white tiger suddenly retreated two steps, then leaped down and ran out of the chamber without looking back.
Nothing happened…
No danger, no obstruction. Even as the little white tiger ran out of the chamber door and looked back, she could still see the premium spirit stones gleaming on the table. But for some reason, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had escaped danger.
The system remained puzzled, asking again, “Host, what’s wrong?”
The little white tiger didn’t respond, but inwardly she trusted her instincts more. She forcefully tore her gaze away, then walked towards the second chamber without a hint of reluctance, once again facing a tightly closed door.
Following the same procedure as before, she kicked the door open forcefully, leaped back cautiously, and again nothing happened.
The contents of the second chamber were similar to the first—an empty room with a long table in the center. However, instead of a chest of premium spirit stones, a small jade bottle sat on the table.
Such jade bottles were typically used for storing pills. This one appeared slightly different, emitting a precious glow, suggesting its material was superior to ordinary jade bottles. The pills contained in such a bottle must surely be extraordinary—the little white tiger instantly thought of her unconscious senior sister in her innate space, guessing the purpose of these pills.
Sure enough, as the little white tiger cautiously jumped onto the table and carefully opened the jade bottle, a burst of pure spiritual energy filled with vitality gushed out. Even though the white tiger knew nothing about pill refining or spirit herbs, this aura alone indicated the pills were exceptional.
It seemed even more like a trap now. But she really wanted these pills…
The little white tiger’s face scrunched up in conflicted thought. Her main purpose for entering this palace was to find medicine for her senior sister. Now, with excellent pills right before her, she hesitated to reach out due to her concerns.
But what if her suspicions about traps were baseless, merely overthinking?
The little white tiger wavered, and amidst the rich medicinal fragrance, the scales in her heart gradually tipped—even if it was a trap, wouldn’t it be alright? So far, the Canglan Secret Realm had only been for testing purposes, not deliberately harming lives. She would thoroughly examine the pills before giving them to her senior sister. As for other unexpected events, after some consideration, she felt she could handle them.
Worst case, she had her innate space to retreat to for safety!
The little white tiger’s resolve weakened bit by bit, her paw slowly reaching for the jade bottle. Just as her paw tip touched the bottle, about to pick it up, the system suddenly exclaimed in her mind: “Huh?”
Already on edge, this sudden sound made the little white tiger instantly withdraw her paw as if burned.
Startled, her heart racing, she asked with some irritation, “System, what are you ‘huh’-ing about?”
The system’s voice sounded innocent: “Host, it’s not nothing. Look at your task status. You’ve entered two chambers but haven’t completed a single exploration task. Did you not explore thoroughly enough, or are there hidden mechanisms or secret rooms you missed? That’s why you haven’t completed any tasks.” It added, “The 5,000 experience point reward isn’t small, you know.”
Hearing this, the little white tiger was stunned. She quickly opened the system panel to check, confirming that the exploration task’s completion rate was still 0, with no rewards given.
She then looked around the empty chamber, which could be seen through at a glance, offering no room for further exploration.
Nor any value in exploring!
The little white tiger suddenly understood something, her golden eyes widening. Without another word, she turned and fled again. This time, she not only felt no attachment to the pills on the table, but after leaving the second chamber, she didn’t even check the third. Instead, she ran back along the corridor, appearing eager to escape this place.
The two grand, nouveau riche palace doors remained open, their inlaid gems still dazzlingly bright. This time, the little white tiger didn’t disdain them; her eyes shone brightly as she gazed at the doors.
The little white tiger ran swiftly, drawing closer to the palace doors, when suddenly a thick white mist began to spread.
Jiang Mo instinctively sensed danger, her feet moving like the wind, not daring to linger. However, the gem-gleaming palace doors were quickly swallowed by the white mist. She dared not stop, running further towards where she thought the doors were, but her visible range diminished rapidly until she could barely see the path beneath her feet.
Finally, she plunged into the vast white mist. Looking around, all she could see was white, nothing else. Disoriented in this mist, she could no longer find the palace doors.
Unease quickly enveloped her heart. The little white tiger decisively decided to first retreat into her innate space to wait and see.
However, just as this thought arose, she found herself unable to enter her innate space. Instead, an irresistible drowsiness overwhelmed her. Her thoughts became hazy, and despite biting her tongue in an effort to stay awake, she quickly lost consciousness completely…