Lin Dong, discerning the features of the girl before him, couldn't suppress a flash of admiration in his eyes.
She was an astonishingly beautiful girl, whose refinement seemed unreal. Dressed in a pristine white gown, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, her skin was as fair and smooth as frozen jade, her nose delicate, her brows slender, and her teeth sparkled with whiteness.
But what drew the eye most were her vibrant, clear eyes. The girl's pristine, delicate face was like a beautiful painting, and those eyes were the finishing touch, bringing the canvas to life.
For the first time, Lin Dong truly understood the meaning of the words "shining eyes, full of charm."
Under the gaze of those eyes, he couldn't help but feel a flush of embarrassment. Never before had he encountered such a captivating girl.
Though Qing Tan was also a rare beauty, living alongside Lin Dong, she didn't evoke such admiration in him.
Besides, she was his younger sister, after all!
Mu Zi, noticing his stillness, tugged at the ancient piece of wood in his hand, but couldn't pull it free.
"Hey, why are you grabbing my thing?" she protested.
Her soft cry brought Lin Dong back to reality. His gaze fell once more on the ancient piece of wood in his hand.
"You haven't paid yet, so how is it yours?" he retorted, unwilling to yield.
He carefully examined the surface of the wood, sensing the antiquity and mystery emanating from it, and became increasingly convinced that this item was linked to him by fate.
"Haha, for this ancient piece of wood—fifty Yang Yuan stones," announced the stall owner.
Seeing the two arguing over the old piece of wood, he could barely suppress his joy. Let them fight—the more they dispute, the higher the price!
"Sixty!" Mu Zi raised the bid decisively, hoping her opponent would back down.
"Seventy," Lin Dong narrowed his eyes.
Who could outbid him? With his reserves of Yang Yuan stones, he feared no one in Qingyang.
"Eighty!"
"Ninety!"
Lin Dong didn't yield an inch. Today, he would acquire this ancient piece of wood no matter what!
The merchant could no longer contain himself and broke into a wide grin.
Mu Zi, looking at his smug expression, frowned, annoyed.
After a moment of silence, she shot Lin Dong a meaningful glance.
"Let's step aside and talk."
Lin Dong also didn't want to amuse the merchant, so they put down the ancient piece of wood and moved to a deserted corner.
Mu Zi was the first to break the silence:
"Judging by your determination, you know what this thing is, don't you?"
Lin Dong spread his hands:
"Honestly, not entirely. It just caught my eye. Do you know something? Tell me, I'm curious."
Seeing that he wasn't being forthright, Mu Zi lost patience and decided to speak plainly:
"You cultivate spiritual power, don't you?"
In Qingyang, among youths aged sixteen or seventeen, only one cultivated spiritual power. Mu Zi realized that the person before her was Lin Dong.
It seems the item within this ancient piece of wood is the Ancient Vortex Seal mentioned in the original story, Mu Zi thought.
The Ancient Vortex Seal was a method for condensing a natal spiritual seal. More importantly, this spiritual seal had a certain connection to the Devouring Talisman.
In the original story, it was thanks to this connection that Lin Dong ultimately managed to obtain the true Devouring Talisman.
Hearing the girl reveal his secret, Lin Dong became wary and surprised. How did she know? Could it be...
His mind stirred, and he directed a thin thread of spiritual power to investigate Mu Zi.
However, his spiritual power, before it could even touch her, encountered an invisible barrier that repelled his attempt.
Spiritual power!
Lin Dong flinched internally, but before he could react, he noticed the girl opposite him glaring angrily.
"You audacious oaf! How dare you use spiritual power to spy on a lady!" she exclaimed indignantly.
Lin Dong immediately realized his blunder, and an awkward feeling washed over him. In his haste, he hadn't thought about propriety, and it was inappropriate.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of spiritual power rush towards him. Fortunately, its fluctuations weren't too strong and posed no threat.
He quickly mobilized his spiritual power, creating a barrier in front of himself.
Feeling his spiritual power being repelled, Lin Dong breathed a sigh of relief and began, with a hint of apology:
"Madam, I didn't mean to..."
But before he could finish, his face abruptly changed.
He felt that the repelled spiritual power had suddenly trembled strangely, then incredibly broke through his barrier and effortlessly reached his body.
"Tsk-tsk-tsk," Mu Zi sighed lightly with a touch of surprise.
Taking advantage of the moment, Mu Zi carefully examined Lin Dong's hand but noticed nothing unusual.
It seemed the Ancestral Stone didn't yield to her current level of power.
Lin Dong, having suffered hidden damage, looked slightly annoyed. He wasn't sure if she had noticed anything.
But, ultimately, he had been rude first, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
Lin Dong cupped his fist in his palm, greeting Mu Zi, and said:
"Madam, I was indeed impolite. But now we're even, aren't we?"
Mu Zi raised an eyebrow and replied:
"I was going to split the cost of the ancient piece of wood in Yang Yuan with you. But now, you pay for it in full!"
Lin Dong said thoughtfully:
"So, you're suggesting we share the secret of this ancient piece of wood?"
Mu Zi nodded:
"You also cultivate spiritual power, so you must understand that the item in this wood is related to Rune Masters."
Seeing Lin Dong nod, she continued:
"Since that's the case, there's no point in us arguing."
"Typically, such items, unlike spiritual elixirs, are not consumables. We can buy this ancient piece of wood and together uncover its secrets."
Lin Dong hesitated but agreed.
Although he would have preferred to possess the secrets of the ancient piece of wood alone, this girl was too mysterious. Her spiritual power was clearly inferior to his own, yet somehow broke through his defenses, which made him apprehensive.
His cultivation level had probably already been discerned by her, but he himself couldn't grasp her true strength.
That the girl was willing to share the secret was already a rather good outcome.
They returned to the stall. The merchant, looking at them, smirked:
"Agreed?"
Lin Dong nodded and handed him a jade vessel.
The merchant opened it, peered inside, and then gave a cold chuckle.
"Five Yang Yuan pills? Not enough!" Lin Dong frowned.
"Didn't you say the price was fifty Yang Yuan stones?" he asked.
The merchant slowly replied:
"The price went up afterward, didn't it? Even if you've reached an agreement, I won't lower the price."
Lin Dong felt a bad premonition:
"How much do you want?"
The merchant held up one finger:
"Ten Yang Yuan pills."
Looking at his sly smirk, Lin Dong's eyelid twitched in annoyance, but noticing Mu Zi's impatience beside him, he still paid.
"Come again!" the merchant waved with a smile.
Mu Zi and Lin Dong left the underground market and secluded themselves in a quiet corner, taking out the ancient piece of wood.
"How is this done?" Lin Dong asked curiously.
Mu Zi, watching him fumble without results, rolled her eyes:
"Use your spiritual power, why don't you!"
Lin Dong suddenly realized. After a pause, he focused, slowly closed his eyes, and a thin thread of spiritual power surged from his Nirvana Palace, touching the ancient piece of wood.
At the moment of contact, the ancient piece of wood, previously still, trembled slightly, but no significant changes occurred.
"The item in this wood is protected by a spiritual power barrier," Lin Dong said.
Upon contact, he clearly felt that the surface of the ancient piece of wood was covered with a thin layer of spiritual power. This layer was extremely weak, indicating its ancient existence.
Assessing the power of the spiritual power barrier, Lin Dong breathed a sigh of relief. Focusing, he summoned a powerful stream of spiritual power from his Nirvana Palace, which, under his heightened control, fiercely surged deep into the ancient piece of wood.
But at the moment he was about to forcefully break through the barrier, Mu Zi suddenly snatched the ancient piece of wood from his hands.
Seeing Lin Dong looking at her with complete bewilderment, Mu Zi's mouth twitched slightly.
"You brute, all you know is how to barge straight through!" she exclaimed.
"Such a crude approach would most likely destroy the ancient piece of wood. Then it would be a one-time thing, and I wouldn't see anything."
Lin Dong frowned. He hadn't expected such intricacies—he had always relied on brute force to work wonders.
Mu Zi carefully examined the ancient piece of wood, releasing thin threads of spiritual power that enveloped its surface.
After thoroughly studying it, she finally found a weak point in the barrier. Concentrating her spiritual power into a fine needle, she carefully pierced the obstruction.
At that very instant, the surface of the ancient piece of wood erupted with rays of light. The moss crumbled away, revealing runes that began to faintly shimmer, radiating mysterious waves of energy.
"Learn!" Mu Zi looked at Lin Dong with triumphant pride.
But in the next moment, something unexpected happened.
A ray of light suddenly burst from the ancient piece of wood, shooting directly into Mu Zi's forehead. When the ray disappeared, the ancient piece of wood, as if losing its power, crumbled to dust in her hands.
Closing her eyes and assimilating the information transmitted by the ray, Mu Zi opened them and met Lin Dong's gaze.
Noticing his eager, expectant gaze, she felt embarrassed.
"Um, this, it seems it happened by accident," she mumbled.