"207 billion spirit stones, huh? And to think I was sweating over a few thousand gold coins just a few years ago," Yuan chuckled after hearing the full amount of their sales. "Most of the earnings came from the material you acquired from the Primal Expanse. Do you intend on selling more of them?" Feng Yuxiang asked. "No—at least not at this moment. I’ll think about it once we need money again." "Any news on the Hidden Domain’s opening?" Xi Meili asked a moment later. "The Sect Leader said that he’d be making an announcement about it soon—probably within this week." "Finally. I cannot wait to experience a Hidden Domain for the first time," Xi Meili said with an eager smile. Feng Yuxiang looked at her and said, "You know, the Ancient Dragon City is also considered a Hidden Domain." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 "What? Really?" Xi Meili’s eyes widened at this information. This was her first time hearing about it. "Probably. While it might not be the exact same, it’s similar. After all, it’s not a place meant to be discovered, and it was hidden for a reason. Otherwise, you’d be receiving new visitors every day." "That makes sense…" Xi Meili muttered. "By the way, where’s Yingying?" "She’s at the usual place—taking lectures from the Heavenly Beast Sect," Yuan said. The desire to understand the bond between humans and contracted beasts had driven Lan Yingying to spend the past two months at the Heavenly Beast Sect as a guest disciple. Just like an ordinary disciple, she attended lectures by the sect elders, joined training exercises, and even sparred with the disciples. "Is she doing this alone?" Xi Meili asked. "At first, yes," Yuan replied, "but for the past month, I’ve been accompanying her. She is my contracted beast, after all, and it’s only natural for me to stand by her side and support her. As a matter of fact, we have a sparring match with one of the sect elders scheduled in a few hours." "Oh? You’re going to spar alongside Yingying? Now this is something I must watch!" Feng Yuxiang commented. A few hours later, Lan Yingying returned and said, "Yuan, are you ready for the match? It begins in two hours." Explore hidden tales at freewebnovel "Yes, I am ready whenever you are." "Okay." Lan Yingying noticed Feng Yuxiang and Xi Meili had returned and asked them a moment later, "Welcome back, you two. How is the store?" "We sold pretty much everything and already closed the store down. The Hidden Domain will be opening soon, anyway," said Feng Yuxiang. "We earned 207 billion spirit stones!" Xi Meili proudly declared. "207 billion?" Lan Yingying’s eyes widened at this astronomical number. "It may sound like a lot, but it’s not much—at least compared to Spirit Jade, which is considered true cultivator currency in the upper heavens," Feng Yuxiang said. "Speaking of Spirit Jade, how much do you think this is worth?" Yuan retrieved the Spirit Jade given to him by Xu Jiaqi when he first started Cultivation Online. Feng Yuxiang’s eyes widened with shock after seeing it, and her heart almost jumped out of her chest. "W-where in heaven’s name did you acquire such a Spirit Jade?!" "It was given to me by Xu Jiaqi." "That Celestial Overlord? Why would she give you such a treasure?" This was Feng Yuxiang’s first glimpse of the Spirit Jade, as Xiao Hua had been carefully safeguarding it, knowing it was not something to be revealed lightly. "She wanted me to join the Celestial Overlords, and she gave me this in exchange." "So she basically purchased you?" Feng Yuxiang showed a slight smile. "Still, I cannot believe she’d be so generous. This Spirit Jade is Ancient-grade and contains enough spiritual energy to instantly turn a mortal into an Immortal. As for its value… Honestly, even I don’t know. I have dealt with Spirit Jades before, but nothing of this quality and quantity. You can probably purchase the entire Lower Heavens with a third of this Spirit Jade." "Purchasing the Lower Heavens? Is that even possible?" Yuan asked with intrigue. "Probably, but you’d have to speak with the Celestial Emperor, who technically owns the Nine Heavens." Yuan looked at the Spirit Jade in silence for a moment before speaking, "Honestly, it’d be a waste to use this as a currency. According to Xiao Hua, it can also be used to awaken or evolve bloodlines. Maybe I can use it for a similar purpose." Feng Yuxiang nodded in agreement. "Aside from being a form of currency, most immortal cultivators use Spirit Jade to enhance their Immortal Qi and Celestial Qi, much like how mortal cultivators rely on spirit stones to advance their cultivation. However, Spirit Jade is far more potent. Its unparalleled purity also makes it significantly easier to absorb—like swimming in clear water compared to wading through mud." Sometime later, Yuan and Lan Yingying departed to engage in their scheduled sparring match, with Feng Yuxiang and Xi Meili naturally accompanying them. When they arrived at the arena, they were met by Hong Ling, who had been assigned as the referee for their match. "It’s been a while, Senior Feng, Senior Xi," Hong Ling greeted them with a respectful bow. "Looks like we’ll be bothering you again," Xi Meili smiled. "It’s no bother at all. In fact, I was the one who requested to be here. I have always wondered what kind of master you contracted with. There’s no way I’m missing this chance." Although Yuan had previously accompanied Lan Yingying to sparring sessions, this was the first time they would be fighting together in an actual match. "Hello, I am Elder Qian, and I will be your sparring partner today," a middle-aged woman introduced herself moments later, her contracted beast standing calmly behind her. After returning her greeting, Yuan turned his attention to the beast behind Elder Qian. It was an enormous bird with sleek, metallic black feathers that shimmered like armor, and its wings glinted with a razor-sharp edge, resembling finely honed swords. "This is my beast, a Midnight Armored Talon," Elder Qian introduced her beast.