Chapter 258

Chapter 258: Shen Sang Ruo’s Flower Language Is Act Fast or Lose It

After collecting the Ancient Ink Paulownia, Shen Sang Ruo got ready to search for the next treasure.

In truth, it was more like the treasures were looking for her.

Wherever she went, treasures gathered.

She stepped onto her Snail cart and set off; by now she and the Snails worked together with easy rhythm.

Just as she expected, it cut her travel time a lot.

She picked a direction at random and kept moving.

Even with the Swift Snails helping her rush along, about half an hour passed and she still didn’t find a new treasure.

Before this, she would make a new discovery every few minutes.

She spread her Divine Sense and searched over and over, but still found nothing.

She couldn’t help guessing in her heart: [Did my luck run out?]

In an unremarkable corner of her sea of consciousness, another little bubble rose and popped.

But there was something else she had noticed before: the longer the gap between finds, the higher the quality of the next treasure.

If her luck hadn’t faded, the next treasure might be beyond imagination.

Thinking of this, a bit of curiosity rose again. She kept riding the Snail cart and searched with patience.

Another quarter hour later, Shen Sang Ruo arrived at a valley.

She had a strong hunch the new treasure was inside.

But as soon as she drew close, she signaled the Snails to halt and said softly: “Stop.”

The Snails braked at once, puzzled about why she stopped so suddenly.

She made a shushing gesture, hid her presence, and said in a low voice: “There are people in the valley. I can hear them.” Then she carefully moved toward the sound.

This was the first time since entering the Starfield Plain that she had run into other cultivators.

Besides her own side like her Senior Brother, Senior Sister, and Fang Yu, the rest of the cultivators here mostly fell into two camps.

Those friendly with Ninghua Sect—Heavenly Sword Sect, Red Desert, and the Jiang Clan—were allies.

The other camp, Flying Cloud Sect and Beast Taming Sect, counted as enemies to her.

To avoid needless trouble, she decided to approach from the shadows.

If they were friends, stepping out later would be fine; if they were enemies, she could always strike first.

Facing people from Flying Cloud Sect or Beast Taming Sect, she had no need to play the upright gentleman.

With her level of cultivation, she could close in on anyone in the Starfield Plain without making a sound.

As she drew nearer, the voices grew clear.

Two people were arguing, loud and fierce.

She recognized the owners of those voices and thought with surprise: [Dong Fang Xu and Xu Han?]

Over there, Dong Fang Xu and Xu Han were on the verge of a fight, Spiritual Power flashing in their hands like they would clash the very next second.

Lifting his chin, Dong Fang Xu snapped at Xu Han: “These two Spirit Jade Marrow were found by me. Get out of the way.”

Spirit Jade Marrow?

Shen Sang Ruo’s gaze fell on two jade-like pieces about twenty meters apart on the ground, and her eyes lit up.

Luck or not, this new find was certainly weighty.

Spirit Jade Marrow was a soul-type treasure that took ten thousand years to form even a small piece, and it held very strong Divine Soul Power.

Beast Cultivators also trained by soul methods. Their Bonding Contracts with Spirit Beasts and their ability to command them all relied on Divine Soul Power.

The stronger their Divine Soul Power, the stronger the Spirit Beasts they could subdue.

If the two of them absorbed all the Divine Soul Power from both pieces of Spirit Jade Marrow, they could become Beast Cultivators ranked among the top for hundreds of years in the whole Cultivation World.

With temptation like that, no wonder these two were at each other’s throats.

Well, they already couldn’t stand each other anyway.

Xu Han shot back without the slightest politeness: “Who do you think you are to order me? Still think you’re the Beast Taming Sect Young Sect Master?”

He added with a cold laugh: “You’ve shamed the Beast Taming Sect. Only the Sect Master’s mercy let you stay.”

After the Sect Grand Tournament, Dong Fang Xu was despised by all, and his temporary Young Sect Master post was taken away.

Meanwhile, Xu Han was the one Guan Hui favored as the new Young Sect Master, so the two were now like water and fire.

Gritting his teeth, Dong Fang Xu fired back: “If I hadn’t brought you along, you wouldn’t even be qualified to see Spirit Jade Marrow.”

They had met by chance on the road, and they had been rubbing each other the wrong way ever since.

Xu Han sneered and jabbed a finger at him: “You’re just a dog trailing at my side. Be smart and roll away from this Young Sect Master. Using Spirit Jade Marrow on you would be a waste.”

Blue veins stood out on Dong Fang Xu’s forehead. How could he stand being mocked by Xu Han, whom he used to step on?

He spat the words through clenched teeth: “Xu Han, you sure grew bold. Remember how you bowed and scraped when I was in my prime?”

Then he growled: “Want to hog both pieces of Spirit Jade Marrow? Don’t even think about it!”

Xu Han answered with a snort: “Then let it be by skill. Let’s see if you have what it takes to beat me to it.”

As soon as he spoke, Dong Fang Xu lunged toward one piece of Spirit Jade Marrow.

Xu Han darted toward the other.

Their plan was simple: get one piece first, then rob the other person after.

Having listened long enough in the dark, Shen Sang Ruo flexed her hands. It was finally her turn.

The Snail beneath her was ready. In the blink of an eye, she appeared beside Xu Han.

Right then, Xu Han was reaching out for the Spirit Jade Marrow.

He looked up in shock at the girl who appeared out of nowhere, stunned by the sudden, bright glimpse of her.

Xu Han froze, speechless.

She flashed him a smile and asked lightly: “Have you heard a saying? The flower language of mulberry leaves is:” She snatched up the Spirit Jade Marrow before he could react, turned into a blur, and let her voice brush past his ear: “Act fast or miss out.”

His fingertips had already grazed the Spirit Jade Marrow, yet she cut right in and took it. He exploded with rage.

He roared at the top of his lungs: “Shen Sang Ruo! You dare steal my Spirit Jade Marrow!”

On the other side, Dong Fang Xu saw what happened and curled his lip at Xu Han: “Xu Han, you really are useless. You even let someone snatch a Spirit Jade Marrow that was already in your hand.”

He didn’t feel any joy at Xu Han’s bad luck, though, because to him both of them were thorns. No matter who held the treasure, he hated it.

He had also heard Shen Sang Ruo’s words, so he hurried to grab the other piece of Spirit Jade Marrow and clutched it tight, only then letting out a breath.

But another blur swept past, and Shen Sang Ruo’s smiling voice curled like a devil’s whisper: “Just kidding. Fast hands still get nothing.”

He lowered his head and saw that the Spirit Jade Marrow in his hand had vanished.

She chuckled and asked: “What made you think you could keep a Spirit Jade Marrow from me?”

Even the two of them together, both at Late Golden Core, had no power to resist her.

She tossed a line over her shoulder: “Blame your chatter. If you’d sent the Spirit Jade Marrow past the Barrier Ward earlier, it would’ve had nothing to do with me. Thanks~”