Chapter 871: Down-to-Eat Beans

Jiang Fan looked at her with a strange expression. "Senior Sister Yu, your luck doesn't seem to be very good."

Yu Peiyuan's face flushed, and she awkwardly said, "This is my first time playing, so I'm a bit rusty. I've made Junior Brother Jiang laugh." How could she admit that she was the 'King of Luck' who had defeated all opponents at the Heaven's Edge Sea Pavilion?

Jiang Fan showed a look of realization. "No wonder. I was just thinking, how could there be such an unlucky person who lost eight rounds in a row? Alright, from now on, listen to me." Having said that, he walked towards the distant fork in the road.

Yu Peiyuan gnashed her silver teeth slightly, thinking, *You're the unlucky one! Your whole family is unlucky!*

Soon after, the two followed the fork in the road to its end. There was only a collapsed pavilion there. The glazed tiles were shattered on the ground, and several stone pillars had fallen, breaking into several pieces. Nothing can withstand the erosion of time, not even the ruins of a Soul Transformation cultivator.

"You just had to come this way, and all we found was a pile of ruins," Yu Peiyuan finally found something to say, her small mouth chattering endlessly with complaints. "If we had taken the path I suggested, there would have been at least some rare treasures. Who knows, we might even have picked up world-destroying spiritual artifacts, earth-shaking treasures, or Nascent Soul opportunities..."

Jiang Fan ignored her completely, wearing a thoughtful expression. This place was one of the three spots missed by the North Sea demon clan. Was it really just a ruined pavilion? Shaking his head, he disappointedly prepared to leave.

Suddenly, he sensed something was off. This place was neither a high mountain nor a cliff, nor did it have lakes or rivers. What would one build a pavilion here to look at? There had to be something worth seeing, right?

After thinking for a moment, he walked into the pavilion. The scene before his eyes suddenly changed. What he saw was a landscape of a deep autumn lake and mountains. The mountains were covered in red leaves, the forests a riot of color. The wind blew across the lake, making the water shimmer. Occasionally, golden carp leaped out of the water. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.

He looked down. On the dusty stone table, there was a pot of fine wine and a dish of unknown small beans, perfect for a drink. He initially thought it was an illusion. He reached out and grabbed the wine pot, and incredibly, he actually held it! Unfortunately, the pot was empty. The small beans on the dish were crystal clear like jade, emitting spiritual energy far superior to that of clam meat. Any single bean probably contained more spiritual energy than an entire thousand-year-old clam. If a Core Formation realm cultivator ate one, they would likely explode from the overwhelming spiritual energy and die on the spot. He tried to pick up a single bean, and he was able to grasp it. Then, he put all the beans, along with the dish, into the Heavenly Thunder Stone. He didn't spare the empty wine pot either. Looking at the nearby stone stools, one had a meditation mat radiating faint halos. It was clearly no ordinary item. He immediately put it away as well.

"Junior Brother Jiang, Junior Brother Jiang? Junior Brother Jiang!" Vaguely, Jiang Fan heard a muffled shout. His mind snapped back. The surrounding scene vanished. It reverted to the appearance of the dilapidated pavilion.

Yu Peiyuan looked terrified. "What's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've been bewitched? You stood in the pavilion and just spaced out, you didn't hear me no matter how much I yelled."

Jiang Fan was slightly startled. When he walked into the pavilion just now, his mind must have triggered some independent space, similar to his mind entering the Heavenly Thunder Stone. "Oh, I was just thinking about something," Jiang Fan said, composing himself and trying to cover it up.

Yu Peiyuan, however, looked suspicious. "I nearly shouted myself hoarse, and you still didn't hear me. What could you possibly be thinking about that deeply?"

Jiang Fan cut off her suspicion: "Alright, let's not waste any more time. Let's quickly go to the next path." His heart, however, was pounding. The North Sea youth really hadn't lied to him. The circled spots truly held something.

So, he decisively chose the second path marked with a circle. Yu Peiyuan was very reluctant, muttering as she walked, "Let me lead the way instead. The path you lead will be completely empty again! If I led the way, there would definitely be treasures everywhere, ancient scriptures, heaven-reaching divine arts..." Jiang Fan continued to ignore her words, rushing forward.

Soon, they arrived at the end of the path. Here, finally, was a proper grand hall. Beside the hall lay a rotten plaque. The three large characters "Divine Armory" were faintly discernible on it.

"Ah! Idiot! You found the Divine Armory!" Yu Peiyuan covered her mouth, letting out a surprised cheer. She was too happy; she had directly called him an idiot aloud.

Jiang Fan unhappily asked, "Why are you calling me an idiot?"

Yu Peiyuan patted his shoulder and laughed, "Fools have their own blessings, you know. You randomly led the way and still managed to find a core place like the Divine Armory; what else would you be if not an idiot?" As she spoke, her charming eyes darted slightly, and she said, "You wait here first. I'll go inside and see if there's any danger. Once I confirm it's safe, you can come in, got it?"

Jiang Fan glanced at the fallen plaque. There was a crack on it, seemingly made by a blunt object. Looking at the dark hall, he felt a secret chill.

"What, are you worried I'll secretly take the treasures inside? I'm thinking about your safety. Don't think otherwise, okay?" Yu Peiyuan said, seeing Jiang Fan spacing out.

Jiang Fan snapped back to reality and smiled. "How could I? Then I'll wait here for your signal."

Yu Peiyuan was secretly delighted. *Haha, this idiot is so easy to trick! Senior Brother Wei, you didn't expect this, did you? I followed an idiot and found a great treasure! The Divine Armory, in any ruins, was absolutely the core of the core. And the idiot won't even compete with me for it. Hehe!*

"Okay, then wait patiently for me." Yu Peiyuan finished speaking and eagerly darted into the dark hall. Jiang Fan, meanwhile, retreated to a safe distance, quietly grasping a protective night-luminous pearl. At the same time, he silently began to count down. If Yu Peiyuan was fine after a count of ten, he would rush in.

"One, two, three, four..."

Just as he finished counting to four, bang—a violent thud echoed. Yu Peiyuan's figure was sent flying backward, slamming heavily onto the ground. A stream of blood spurted from her mouth. Ignoring the blood on her mouth, she looked in horror at the Divine Armory. There, an eighteen-armed stone statue slowly walked to the entrance of the grand hall. It was this statue that had suddenly attacked, sending Yu Peiyuan flying.

Yu Peiyuan looked down at her chest; a six-colored long gown, as thin as a cicada's wing, was emitting flickering light. "That was close! Thankfully, I have this protective gown that can withstand an attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator. Otherwise, I would have died just now." But she was very unwilling to give up, because she had discovered something extremely valuable!

She glanced at Jiang Fan, who was hiding in the distance, and her eyes flashed. "Junior Brother Jiang, I'll distract this stone statue; you go to the deepest part of the armory and bring out the sword box inside." She thought, *Anyway, Jiang Fan is honest. I'm not afraid he'll play tricks.*

Jiang Fan was stunned for a moment. *Wait, would someone really let a mouse into their rice bin?* He was already used to disciples from the Outer Realm Divine Sect secretly plotting against him. This move from Yu Peiyuan completely threw him off.

"Did you hear me?" Yu Peiyuan lightly urged.

Jiang Fan quickly replied, "Yes, yes, Senior Sister Yu." *How could he refuse this?*

Yu Peiyuan frowned slightly and muttered, "What a little idiot!" She immediately gritted her teeth and charged in, displaying formidable and unrivaled physical strength! With a single punch, her physical power was no less than that of a true Nascent Soul realm cultivator. The stone statue was repeatedly forced back by the blows, clearing the hall entrance.

"Now!" she shouted, rushing forward and continuously attacking the stone statue, buying time for Jiang Fan.

Whoosh—Jiang Fan seized the opportunity and instantly dashed into the hall.