An Oversized Xutian Stone!

Along the way, Li Guanqi kept his divine sense focused on jade slips that looked like cultivation arts. "Fellow Daoist, care to take another look? These are all top-grade goods!" Li Guanqi wordlessly put down the damaged jade slip in his hand. There was nothing inside it at all. It was no different from a broken rock by the side of the road, yet the seller shamelessly asked for over a million immortal crystals. During his round-trip walk, Li Guanqi had examined at least several dozen jade slips. Quite a few contained minor curiosities or little novelties, but none were what he was looking for. Just as he was about to leave, his eye caught a coil of rope resting on a corner stall. Intrigued, Li Guanqi walked over. There were plenty of jars and bottles on the stall, along with a great number of parchment scrolls and broken jade fragments, but the rope had been placed in the most prominent spot. It did not resemble hemp rope. As thick as a thumb, it was brown, smooth on the surface, and woven into shape. Li Guanqi squatted down and pointed at the rope. "How much for this?" As he spoke, he looked up at the stall vendor, gesturing to ask if he could inspect it with his hands. The vendor nodded and said, "Make an offer first, Fellow Daoist." Li Guanqi gave a faint smile. It seemed the stall vendor was shrewd, wanting to see how much he would bid before deciding what to do. Li Guanqi had deliberately refrained from asking about the rope's effects precisely because he feared the vendor would take him for a novice and spin a whole web of lies. Li Guanqi picked up the rope. Coiled together, it was only about thirty feet long. It felt warm to the touch, yet not slippery or greasy. Pengluo's voice sounded in Li Guanqi's ear. "Hey, Master." "Xiao Gutou says this looks like earth dragon sinew! It's extraordinarily tough and excellent for tying people up." "In my opinion, though, it can probably be used at most once more before it's ruined. How about letting me have a feel?" Li Guanqi froze. "How am I supposed to let you feel it?" Then his eyes lit up. Under the vendor's shocked gaze, Li Guanqi guided his hand holding the rope beneath his black robe and simply looped it straight around his own neck... Concealed under the black hood, Pengluo seized the chance to touch the rope. Li Guanqi wound the rope twice around his neck, then suddenly remembered Pengluo's remark about it only having one use left. On a strange whim, he tugged upward with his right hand, even pulling with some force. By now, Pengluo had confirmed that the rope indeed had only one use remaining, though it could briefly trap a peak Heavenly Immortal cultivator! Seeing this, the vendor stared in utter bewilderment from beneath his own hood, his gaze tinged with pity... He stood up, leaned in slightly, and whispered to Li Guanqi, "Uh... Fellow Daoist, is something troubling you?" "It's just that this method... isn't it a bit too pathetic for immortals like us...?" The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched, but he paid no heed to what the vendor was thinking. "A hundred thousand. It can only be used once anyway, and I'll only be using it this once." Hearing that, the vendor hid nothing either; he well knew the rope had at most one use left and was merely a consumable. Though Li Guanqi's offer of a hundred thousand was somewhat lower than what he had hoped for, the thought of Li Guanqi taking the rope to hang himself made him abandon any desire to haggle. He waved his hand. "A hundred thousand it is." "Still, Fellow Daoist, let me offer a word of advice: in this life, there's no hurdle you can't get past!!" Halfway through the vendor's second sentence, Li Guanqi tossed over a storage ring, took the rope, and walked away. Behind him, the vendor called out loudly at his retreating back, "There's no need to go that far!! It really isn't worth it!!" Watching Li Guanqi disappear into the market, the vendor put away the storage ring and shook his head with a sigh. "So young, yet taking things so hard..." "Besides, a dignified immortal hanging himself to commit suicide—how embarrassing if word got out!" *** Meanwhile, Li Guanqi headed cheerfully back into the city, feeling quite pleased with his bargain hunt tonight. Unable to wait, he brought out the stone bowl from before. "What is this thing even used for?" The stone bowl was pitch-black, with a pitted, rough surface. Aside from being icy cold to the touch, there seemed to be nothing remarkable about it. Curious, Pengluo poked his head out as well. Staring at the bowl, a sudden image flashed through his mind. Just then, Xiao Gutou scrambled out and opened its jaws, about to bite into the stone. Li Guanqi clamped his hand around the insect, but it squirmed in his grip with great urgency. Just as Li Guanqi began to wonder if the stone bowl was made of some rare ore, Pengluo abruptly snapped off a section of his own arm and stuffed it into the bowl! *Hum—!* A dazzling white light flared, and the stone bowl shuddered violently. In the blink of an eye, Pengluo's arm dissolved into a pool of spiritual liquid! The liquid rippled gently in the bowl. As ashes flaked off the surface, the vessel revealed its true appearance: a pure, deep, fathomless black. Gradually, the volume of spiritual liquid inside diminished slightly. As the liquid was absorbed, a faint, dark glow began to swirl around the stone bowl. Li Guanqi swallowed hard. He and Pengluo exchanged a look, the same conclusion striking both of their minds! *A Xutian Stone!* Li Guanqi fetched his own piece of Xutian Stone. Comparing the two, the difference in size was like night and day. The stone bowl in his hand was as large as two cupped hands, whereas the piece of Xutian Stone Han Feng had given him was merely palm-sized with a tiny hole in the center. If not for that hole, Pengluo wouldn't have been able to poke a finger into it back then. But compared to the mouth of the stone bowl, that opening was a hundred times smaller! Li Guanqi's eyes practically glowed green. This wasn't just finding a bargain—this was hitting the jackpot! He quickly poured the spiritual liquid into a jade bottle. Concealing his presence, he hid inside a patch of woods along the edge of the city wall and had Pengluo take out several immortal herbs. When he dropped in a first-grade immortal herb, nothing happened at all. Pengluo scratched his head in confusion. "Could the grade be too low?" With that, he grudgingly brought out a second-grade immortal herb. *Hum—!* The stone bowl trembled faintly. Enveloped in a dark glow, the herb dissolved into a pool of spiritual liquid in an instant. Then the liquid decreased once again! Li Guanqi's eyes brightened as understanding dawned. It seemed the stone vessel absorbed a portion of the liquid on its own—and that absorbed portion was likely the part containing more impurities. He could distinctly sense that after the liquid decreased, what remained became far more refined and pure! Licking his lips, Li Guanqi held the stone bowl out to Pengluo. "Pengluo, you have a taste first." Pengluo rolled his eyes and stood on the ground with his hands on his hips, glaring at Li Guanqi. "If you're scared of poisoning yourself, just say so." Li Guanqi smiled warmly, bent down, gripped the spirit's mouth, and spoke in a gentle, cooing tone. "Be good. Open wide." "Mmph! Mmph-mmph! Mmm!" *Gulp...* Holding the bowl, Li Guanqi watched Pengluo with a grave expression. Pengluo froze, standing with his mouth slightly ajar, dark-green spiritual liquid clinging to the corner of his lips. He stuck out his tongue, licked the liquid clean, and smacked his lips with a dazed look in his eyes. "It seems... pretty incredible!!" "This is way more effective than swallowing raw immortal herbs!" "Granted, its potency is considerably weaker than a medicinal pill, but when it comes to refining an immortal herb on its own, this thing isn't any worse than an alchemist extracting spiritual liquid!"