Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Insane Ticket Prices
Every greedy heart was devout.
Hu Qing proved it by searching the corpse from head to toe, then taking it apart, piece by piece, and burning what remained.
The results were… glorious.
The man had hidden more than she ever would’ve guessed. Besides the pouches she’d already found, there were six invisible storage tools on him. And inside the region of his dantian, she’d carved out a Spirit Nurturing Pearl.
The pearl was the size of a fist and shone like a night-bright gem, packed with dense, refined spiritual power.
Hu Qing set it gently into the basin and said to the Xue Sha pearl, “Good work back there. Next time, drain their spiritual power first. And don’t destroy what’s in the dantian if you can help it.”
The Xue Sha pearl floated on the surface, staring at the Spirit Nurturing Pearl sinking to the bottom.
Then it shot forward and swallowed it in one bite.
Hu Qing froze.
The pearl tried to slip toward her brow like nothing had happened. Hu Qing caught it between two fingers so fast it made a sharp snap.
“Do you have any idea how broke I am?” she hissed.
The Xue Sha pearl pretended it didn’t understand, but Hu Qing could practically see a slouching little thug in flip-flops, hands shoved into oversized shorts, whistling while he walked away.
If it were alive, she would’ve strangled it.
Juan Bu sighed. “It was going to repair them anyway.”
Hu Qing pressed her solar plexus until she could breathe again, then let the Xue Sha pearl go. “If you want to eat more, then work more.”
She didn’t feed freeloaders.
Then she started counting.
Low-grade spirit crystals: over four hundred twenty thousand.
Mid-grade spirit crystals: over three thousand.
High-grade spirit crystals: one.
There were hundreds of jade boxes for spirit plants, hundreds of demon beast materials, and hundreds more pill bottles. Talismans, formation plates, hidden weapons, poison powders—random junk by the pile.
Ores. Jade slips and books. A messy heap of weapons. Clothes, accessories, even furniture.
Too much.
It was obvious where it had all come from: robbery and slaughter.
This man wasn’t just any assassin. He was almost certainly the wanted masked serial-killer bandit.
Too bad he’d died too cleanly. She couldn’t haul his head in for the reward.
And even if she could… claiming a bounty like that could get her killed. Who knew what the bounty issuer wanted from the bandit? Who knew what they’d do to the person who suddenly showed up with proof?
No. Better to keep her head down.
Now that her money was finally “in place,” she could go home.
She stuffed everything into her space. What wouldn’t fit—storage tools and pouches that resisted going in—she hid on her body.
After a moment’s thought, she tucked away the ring Master Han had given her and swapped it for one of the bandit’s rings. In that ring, she kept only the travel money she needed and a few handy weapons.
She rubbed her hands together, smiling. “God of Wealth, keep blessing me.”
Juan Bu watched her with a cold eye. This “miracle” had only happened because the bandit hadn’t been prepared. Give him a heartbeat more to react, and Hu Qing would’ve been the one reduced to ash.
Still…
The Xue Sha pearl really was terrifying. It had torn through a Spirit Immortal-level protective shield.
If it was that capable, then it could be “capable” more often.
Hu Qing hurried toward the teleportation formation. She had a spirit skiff in her space, but she didn’t dare use it—too flashy, too tempting. Better to look poor and harmless.
She reached the formation, paid twenty thousand low-grade spirit crystals, and jumped through.
A Nan Shang Realm wasn’t like her old world. Teleportation formations weren’t gathered in one place. Hu Qing confirmed where the formation to Wei Ming Realm was located and shot off at full speed.
“Hey! Hey!” An immortal waved at her from behind, but she was already gone. He let out a long sigh. “I wanted to share the road and split the fare. Why is she running like her life depends on it?”
He’d heard her asking about the same formation, and he needed to go there too. He’d hoped she’d be willing to travel together.
Apparently she wasn’t short on money.
Being poor really was suffering.
He turned to look for someone else. When he caught a key phrase, his eyes lit up, and he strode forward. “Fellow Daoist, you’re heading to that newly opened little realm too? What a coincidence. I am as well. Why don’t we go together? Safety in numbers.”
Hu Qing flew day and night.
When she felt her focus slipping, she absorbed a little spirit crystal. With her low cultivation, one crystal could be drawn on multiple times—and now that she’d struck it rich, she didn’t hesitate to spend. She kept her spiritual power full.
More importantly, she kept her nerves tight.
Road robbers didn’t only take money. Sometimes they took people.
Thankfully, the trip was unnervingly smooth. She reached the teleportation formation to Wei Ming Realm without incident.
Ticket price: eighty thousand.
She paid, queued, and jumped.
Wei Ming Realm to Si Si Realm: ninety-eight thousand.
Pay. Queue. Jump.
Si Si Realm to Canyon Realm: two hundred thousand.
Hu Qing nearly laughed. “What?”
That couldn’t be right.
The western route ran through five stops: start at Deng Yun Realm, pass Feng Yuan, Qing Ting, A Nan Shang Realm, Wei Ming Realm, Si Si Realm, and end at Canyon Realm. Total fare should’ve been only a little over two hundred thousand low-grade spirit crystals.
So why did one hop—from Si Si Realm to Canyon Realm—cost two hundred thousand by itself?
Monopoly, that was why. Shameless, brazen, and hungry enough to swallow the world.
The worst part? The ticket line snaked around corner after corner.
And as Hu Qing waited, she heard the reason whispered everywhere: Canyon Realm had just connected to a new little realm. Everyone was going to “hunt treasure.”
Too many.
Far too many.
Were they going to carve Little Li Realm into pieces and split it up?
It would’ve been safer if they’d never returned at all.
Hu Qing kept her mouth shut and inched forward with the crowd. By the time night fell, she learned something that made her jaw drop.
The teleportation formation… needed to rest.
Maintenance at night?
The line erupted in complaints, but there was nothing to be done. The people controlling the formation held all the power.
They waited.
Overnight, the price went up again.
Two hundred ten thousand.
Hu Qing clutched her chest like she’d been stabbed. She wasn’t alone. People cursed, stomped, and some even drew swords and stormed the ticket office to demand answers.
It changed nothing.
This wasn’t a small-time local bully. It was a major force—rich, backed by strength, protected by powerful sects. The protestors came back humbled and furious.
Then, as if to spit in everyone’s faces, the ticket office announced they would raise the fare straight to two hundred fifty thousand.
“No need to increase it day by day,” they said cheerfully. “Saves everyone time.”
Time.
Hu Qing wanted to throw up.
With that many spirit crystals, why didn’t the heavens drop a sack of them and crush these people to death?
She couldn’t help a dangerous thought: everyone was furious. If she fanned the flames, could they seize the teleportation formation?
Juan Bu’s laugh was ice. “Dream on. A teleportation formation benefits an entire realm. Building and maintaining it costs a fortune, so the great sects and major powers share control.
“If you can overthrow an entire realm, sure—take it. But this crowd?” He snorted. “They’re nothing.”
Hu Qing’s expression didn’t change. “Teach me how to make a teleportation formation.”
Juan Bu choked. Then, somehow, he sounded both impressed and exhausted. “I admire the ambition. But there’s no manual. Comprehend space laws deeply enough, and you’ll naturally know how.”
“What cultivation level is that?” Hu Qing asked.
“It depends,” Juan Bu said, voice rising. “Talent. Sensitivity to spatial power. And stop asking me like I’m your white-bearded grandpa mentor—I’m an artifact spirit! I don’t know how humans cultivate!”
Hu Qing’s lips twitched. Deep down, she’d always expected Juan Bu to be the kind of ancient, all-knowing elder who had an answer for everything.
Juan Bu sounded like he could read her mind. “I’m an information storage device, not a master.”
Reality didn’t care.
Hu Qing kept shuffling forward in line.
Everyone around her had been squeezed dry. Two hundred fifty thousand spirit crystals emptied families, drained life savings, shattered pride. And even so, no one wanted to turn back.
So people tried to haggle. Tried to joke. Tried to sweet-talk the ticket seller into lowering the price.
The ticket seller didn’t even look up. “No discounts. Pay if you have money. Trade items if you don’t. Buying or not? Next.”