Chapter 768: Sister Reigns Supreme

Huaxin said:

"Many years ago, it was a bronze formation plate belonging to a Nascent Soul realm expert who died here. Once activated, it can instantly unleash a trapping formation. I observed him using this formation to trap a Nascent Soul level hell creature. He then slowly wore it down until it died."

She wiped away the dust and damp bronze rust from it. Looking at the considerably duller formation plate, she said:

"However, after so much time has passed, the artifact's power has likely diminished significantly. It can't continuously trap a Nascent Soul realm expert. It's barely still considered a treasure, I suppose."

Jiang Fan's pupils constricted.

This magic treasure could trap a Nascent Soul expert?

Currently, Jiang Fan could only flee when facing a Nascent Soul expert. And escaping would be difficult.

If he had this magic treasure, even if it only trapped a Nascent Soul for a little longer, it would increase his chances of survival. Thinking of the Demon Emperor who harbored a killing intent towards him, the practicality of this item was clear.

"What do you say?" Huaxin asked. "I'll spare your life and give you a magic treasure to trap enemies. In return, you hand over the Mountain and River Cauldron. If you truly refuse, then I'll have to use force..."

"Trade! Of course, I'll trade!" To Huaxin's surprise, Jiang Fan readily pulled out the Mountain and River Cauldron from his embrace.

She glanced at Jiang Fan's flat chest. This further confirmed her suspicions. This seemingly young man truly possessed a spatial storage artifact. It was fortunate she hadn't tried to seize it by force, otherwise, a spatial storage artifact without its activation incantation would be useless.

"You give it to me first!" Jiang Fan's eyes gleamed with fervor.

Huaxin pondered for a moment, then threw the bronze formation plate to him. Since she held the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal, it would be difficult for Jiang Fan to leave, so she wasn't worried about him reneging.

After Jiang Fan caught it, Huaxin discreetly positioned herself in the center of the palace. She clutched the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal tightly, guarding against Jiang Fan trying to cheat and escape.

"Here you go!" Jiang Fan promptly threw the Mountain and River Cauldron over.

Huaxin conjured a stream of Yin energy from a distance to catch it. Only after confirming there were no traps did she take it in hand and examine it carefully. Its appearance and size were indeed identical to the Mountain and River Cauldron Jiang Fan had just used.

She couldn't help but smile, "I didn't expect you to be quite so trustworthy."

Based on Jiang Fan's previous actions, the probability of him reneging was as high as ninety-nine percent. She hadn't expected him to fulfill his promise so readily.

'It must be out of fear of the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal,' she thought to herself.

Jiang Fan gave her a sidelong glance. "You approached me sneakily; how could I not be wary of you? If we had just traded openly from the start, there wouldn't have been so much trouble."

Huaxin felt a pang of guilt. She said, "Alright, the deal is done. You may leave."

Jiang Fan's eyes darted around, looking at the pile of items on the ground. He said, "Anyway, since you're just letting them rot here, why not let me pick through them again?"

Huaxin rolled her eyes at him: He was just complaining about not taking scraps a moment ago.

Thinking that Jiang Fan had been trustworthy and readily handed over the Mountain and River Cauldron, she didn't mind. After all, she had no use for those things.

"Pick whatever you like."

Jiang Fan immediately began sifting through the items. Soon, he found a very new satchel, which appeared to have been placed there recently.

"Is this from recently?"

Huaxin nodded, "Yes, about a month ago, a disciple from the Tianji Pavilion died here. His satchel was found nearby, and I picked it up. Take it if you want."

'Wasn't that the senior disciple whose death led to the change in team formation rules?'

Jiang Fan opened his satchel. There were few items, all essential for exploration, such as healing elixirs, speed-boosting talismans, Yang-aligned magic treasures to counter Yin-aligned entities, and so on.

Suddenly, at the very bottom of the satchel, he found a stack of talismans carefully preserved in a jade box.

He picked them up and looked. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Dust-Free Talismans?"

He had experienced the marvelous effects of the Dust-Free Talismans firsthand. They were incredibly miraculous, even capable of masking spiritual energy fluctuations.

In the jade box before him, there were a full ten talismans! He struck gold!

He opened the jade box and carefully counted them. When he counted to the very last one at the bottom, he unexpectedly discovered that this last Dust-Free Talisman seemed to have more profound runes and stronger spiritual pressure.

After examining it for a moment, a hint of joy resurfaced in his eyes. "Could this be a mid-grade Dust-Free Talisman?"

Huaxin looked over upon hearing him and said in surprise, "It truly is a mid-grade Dust-Free Talisman! Among a stack of low-grade Dust-Free Talismans, there's actually a mid-grade one mixed in. I didn't inspect them carefully before; you got lucky. Once activated, this talisman can even fool early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Its preciousness is dozens of times that of a low-grade Dust-Free Talisman."

Jiang Fan was overcome with joy. He immediately stuffed it into the Heavenly Thunder Stone. Then he concentrated on continuing his treasure hunt.

Seeing this, Huaxin lowered her guard. She tucked the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal and the Mountain and River Cauldron into her sleeve, knowing that if Jiang Fan tried to renege, she could retrieve them in time.

She retreated to a distance, silently waiting for Jiang Fan to finish searching.

She didn't notice at all that Jiang Fan, with his back to her, subtly moved his lips. The Mountain and River Cauldron in her sleeve slowly disintegrated into a pile of silver sand.

They attached themselves to the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal. Moments later, they detached and reformed into an identical Yin Marrow Tiger Seal.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan finished his general search. He said helplessly, "The rest are just scraps now. Thank you, Ghost Sister."

"Sister?" Huaxin froze for a moment, a little unaccustomed to the sudden address. First, he called her an "ominous creature," then "lustful ghost," and now "Ghost Sister." What a pragmatic fellow!

'Let him be. Anyway, they wouldn't have any further interactions.'

"Once you're done choosing, feel free to leave. I won't see you out."

This hidden space was her lair. Even when Shang Shiqiu and his group stumbled upon this place, it was she who deliberately threw out a piece of Yin Marrow to force them out. Now that Jiang Fan had finished picking items, it was time to send him off. She wanted to properly study this miraculous small cauldron. Her intuition told her that this cauldron was extraordinary. It was definitely not an ordinary spiritual artifact.

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose and subtly walked towards Huaxin, saying, "Ghost Sister, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Huaxin noticed Jiang Fan's actions. Her dark eyes narrowed, and she cautiously reached into her sleeve, fumbling for the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal.

Suddenly, the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal flew into her palm on its own. She was stunned.

'Why did the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal move on its own?' But her attention was entirely on Jiang Fan, leaving no time for deeper thought.

She said coldly, "What do you want to discuss?"

Jiang Fan smiled, "Don't be nervous. I just wanted to ask, Ghost Sister, if you could return the Mountain and River Cauldron to me?"

'I knew this guy wasn't that honest! He gets the bronze formation plate and the Dust-Free Talismans and then changes his mind, wanting the Mountain and River Cauldron back?'

Her face turned cold. "What do you think?"

Jiang Fan said helplessly, "Since Ghost Sister refuses to return it, then I'll just have to take it!"

The words were still on his lips when he transformed into a human-shaped bolt of lightning and arrived in an instant. The Five Thunder Palm of Heavenly Rectification gathered in his palm, striking towards the top of her head.

Huaxin scoffed with a laugh: "Such speed! I knew you still had a trick up your sleeve! But trying to win by sneak attack is too whimsical!"

She abruptly pulled out the Yin Marrow Tiger Seal and fiercely smacked it towards Jiang Fan.