Chapter 216: Ancient Black Hand Huang Doudou

"Immortal Fairy, you could have at least given two immortal fruits back then!" Lu Yang could roughly imagine the commotion this single immortal fruit caused.

The longer Lu Yang interacted with the Immortal Fairy, the more reasons he found for her demise. There were simply too many, and he didn't know which one to choose.

"I already said I would give it to the 'most beautiful' demon. Didn't you know there can only be one 'most'?" The Immortal Fairy earnestly taught Lu Yang a basic grammar lesson.

Lu Yang was silent for a long time before finally saying, "…You have a point."

"Right?" The Immortal Fairy put her hands on her hips, looking triumphant.

"So, who actually received that immortal fruit?"

"Afterward, I heard from the Immortal of Time that at the wedding, the Dragon Clan's prodigy and the Phoenix Clan's prodigy fiercely debated the immortal fruit's ownership and decided to settle it through a magical duel."

"Speaking of which, the Qilin Immortal was truly stingy. He had immortal fruits himself; couldn't he have just given one to each of his wives? Why would they even fight over it?"

The Immortal Fairy shook her head, feeling she was much more generous than the Qilin Immortal, being able to give one immortal fruit as a gift.

"What happened next?"

"Later, the Qilin Immortal said that fighting at a wedding was ultimately undignified. He suggested a different kind of competition instead, as there happened to be three immortal guests present: the Immortal of Heaven's Will, the Immortal of Nine Heavens, and the Immortal of Time. He proposed they be the judges, excusing himself to avoid a 2-2 tie."

"See, if the Qilin Immortal had invited me back then, we could have had five immortal judges, couldn't we? And you know I'm fair and unbiased; I could even have been the sole judge."

"If they thought I was too beautiful and worried I'd overshadow the Dragon and Phoenix Clan prodigies, I could just wear a veil!" As the foremost of the ancient top ten beauties, the Immortal Fairy was exceedingly confident in her appearance.

Lu Yang thought to himself, "Immortal Fairy, please be more perceptive. It's clearly obvious the Qilin Immortal excused himself because he didn't want to be a judge."

"What was the competition between the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan prodigies?"

"Cooking."

The Immortal Fairy regretfully shook her head. "The Qilin Immortal and the other three didn't know that I taught both the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan prodigies their cooking skills. Though there was no formal master-disciple title, the relationship was real. They only learned a fraction of my culinary prowess, perhaps one or two tenths, but even that was enough to make them virtually unrivaled among those in the Tribulation Crossing stage."

"During the competition, since they were both taught by the same master, neither could truly outdo the other's techniques, and the dishes they prepared were naturally indistinguishable in terms of quality."

"The Immortal of Time told me that when the three of them tasted the dishes prepared by the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan prodigies, they were utterly astonished. They felt as if the food contained the power of time, causing them to rapidly relive their entire lives."

"I humbly told them that I had taught the prodigies, but that they had only scratched the surface of my skills."

"The Immortal of Time paused for a moment before saying that they had punished the Qilin Immortal too soon, and that he wasn't the true culprit. I pressed him for an explanation, but he refused to say anything more."

Lu Yang cupped his hands to the Immortal Fairy, showing his respect.

If others didn't understand the Immortal Fairy's true nature, and only heard this story, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her an ancient mastermind. She hadn't even been present, yet with just one immortal fruit, she caused the prodigies of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans to clash violently, turned four ancient immortals against each other, and placed the Qilin Immortal in a morally compromised position.

She had even secretly imparted skills to both the Dragon and Phoenix Clan prodigies, waiting for the opportune moment.

Such wisdom could only be described as unfathomable. Anyone facing such a calculating old monster would be filled with dread and trepidation.

However, Lu Yang knew the Immortal Fairy very well, so he decided to use a different term to describe her wisdom—

Profound foolishness.

"You should know that the Dragon and Phoenix Clans are the proudest races among demons. Their blood is incredibly precious, and it's almost impossible for humans to obtain it. That's why Phoenix Blood Stones are exceptionally important."

"Phoenix Blood Stone is not only a specialty of our Falling Phoenix Commandery but also our pillar industry. The amount of spirit stones we earn each year from selling Phoenix Blood Stones is truly enormous!"

"Phoenix Blood Stones are not only excellent materials for artifact refining, but when worn as ornaments for extended periods, they also possess unexpected wondrous effects."

"My father told me that Falling Phoenix Commandery has been mining Phoenix Blood Stones for four thousand years, and the mineral veins are still far from exhausted, with a continuous supply being extracted."

Li Haoran introduced his hometown's economy, while Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou nodded continuously, much like inspecting officials.

"How many spirit stones for this Phoenix Blood Stone?" Meng Jingzhou asked as he browsed the shop. He found the item rare and thought about buying a few just for amusement.

"Three hundred spirit stones."

"And this one?"

"Four hundred and fifty spirit stones."

Meng Jingzhou continued to shake his head. Such inexpensive Phoenix Blood Stones simply didn't match his status.

"Bring out the best Phoenix Blood Stone you have here; I'm not short on money," Meng Jingzhou said, acting like a young master.

Hearing this, the shop owner's eyes lit up. He had encountered a major customer.

He glanced around, and seeing that Meng Jingzhou's group were the only customers in the shop, he invited them to follow him to the back courtyard. From a shelf, he carefully retrieved a delicate wooden box. He opened it, revealing a vibrant red stone, about the size of a pebble, resting quietly inside. Its crimson hue was as brilliant as blood, as if it had been stained by the legendary old phoenix at the very moment of its death.

Even Qin Yanran could sense the extraordinary quality of this Phoenix Blood Stone.

The shop owner whispered, "The mine collapsed a few days ago, and this is the last Phoenix Blood Stone that was brought out. I spent a great deal of effort to acquire it. The price is fixed at five hundred thousand spirit stones."

Meng Jingzhou nodded, "Now that's more like it. I'll take ten."

To Young Master Meng, five hundred thousand spirit stones or even five million spirit stones were mere pocket change, hardly worth mentioning.

The shop owner made a wry face. "Esteemed customer, it's not that I don't wish to sell more, but I genuinely only have this one Phoenix Blood Stone."

"Alright, then I'll take this one," Meng Jingzhou conceded. The shop owner was overjoyed; he had intentionally quoted a slightly inflated price to allow for bargaining, never expecting Meng Jingzhou to buy it outright without any negotiation.

The shop owner even included several other Phoenix Blood Stones of decent quality as a bonus, though they were far inferior to the one Meng Jingzhou had just purchased.

Meng Jingzhou knew he could have bargained, but he was always too lazy to haggle, finding it too bothersome.

He asked the shop owner to drill a hole in the Phoenix Blood Stone and thread a string through it.

Meng Jingzhou wore it around his neck, feeling rather pleased with himself.

He felt that since they were all out shopping, it shouldn't be only him purchasing Phoenix Blood Stones. He visited several more shops, intending to buy pieces of comparable quality for Lu Yang and the others. Unfortunately, after a thorough comparison, none of the other stones matched the quality of the one he had bought.

Many shop owners asked Meng Jingzhou where he had acquired his Phoenix Blood Stone, but he didn't tell them.

"How can I have money and nothing to spend it on?"

Li Haoran advised, "Senior Brother Meng, just let it go. The phoenix power contained within Phoenix Blood Stones isn't very useful to us. Even for artifact refining, I currently lack the skill to refine a Phoenix Blood Stone of such high quality. We wouldn't be able to use them even if we bought them."

"Alright," Meng Jingzhou said, conceding after hearing Li Haoran's explanation.

"By the way, what's the effect of wearing Phoenix Blood Stone for a long time?" Meng Jingzhou asked, pointing to the stone on his chest.

"It enhances virility."