Chapter 149: The Firewood Stick

Murong Xunshou stood up excitedly!

"Azure Dragon Prefecture, that is Azure Dragon Prefecture right there!" he cried out, just like a mortal returning to his homeland!

Su Yizhao and the others also stood up one after another!

No one felt any mockery toward his lack of composure!

Cultivators were human too, and they also experienced homesickness!

If one cultivated to the point of being entirely devoid of emotions and desires, what would even be the point?

Everyone looked down toward the ground and saw a cyan-colored city appearing in their view!

Compared to the prefectural cities they had seen before, there was a very obvious characteristic: all the buildings inside the city were constructed entirely of wood!

Murong Xunshou pointed toward the city, and Qin Hongyi controlled the flying ship, slowly descending!

Having spent so many days together on the flying ship, everyone had grown very familiar with one another!

Even Feng Manyin had let go of her usual reserve!

This made Su Yizhao appreciate even more that her wind was not the breeze kind, but rather the gale-force wind kind!

Feng Manyin said excitedly, "Fellow Daoist Murong, let's just charge straight in and clear your name!"

Murong Xunshou was bewildered!

Su Yizhao was dumbfounded!

Wasn't this woman a bit too fierce?

He hurriedly intervened to smooth things over: "Let's assess the situation first before deciding!"

Murong Xunshou only then reacted, nodding and saying, "Charging straight in is definitely out of the question. Let me go and scout out the situation first!"

Su Yizhao said, "Maintain communication at all times. We'll go find an inn and wait for you!"

"Not going to the pleasure quarters?" Feng Manyin asked in surprise!

Su Yizhao rolled his eyes!

Qin Hongyi chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist Feng, the place Fellow Daoist Su went to back then wasn't a pleasure house; it was a tavern!"

Feng Manyin put on an exaggerated expression and said, "Impossible! The Pleasure Quarter Swordsman is renowned across the world, so it definitely must have been a pleasure house. Otherwise, why wouldn't they call him the Tavern Swordsman?"

Su Yizhao was left speechless!

He decided to ignore this big-bosomed beauty, and with a leap, he jumped straight off the flying ship!

Qin Hongyi instantly stowed the flying ship away, and the group descended through the air.

Murong Xunshou shot off toward the east like a streak of light!

Feng Manyin said, "Fellow Daoist Su, why don't we go stroll around the streets instead!"

Qin Hongyi immediately agreed: "The whole point of taking the flying ship was to sightsee along the way. Who would have expected to run into that member of the Jin family and ruin our mood? Strolling around now sounds nice."

"Agreed!" Gou Haitian immediately raised his hand in approval!

The three of them stared fixedly at Su Yizhao, terrified that the words "Let's go to the pleasure quarters!" might spill from his lips.

Su Yizhao pondered for a brief moment and promptly agreed!

Cultivation did not depend on this single fleeting moment!

Besides, for so many days, his cultivation had not improved at all!

Advancing one's cultivation required profound stones, and cultivating the *Mystic Heaven Sword Scripture* also required profound stones!

Along the way, he had already accumulated a debt of one hundred and ninety-one top-grade profound stones to Feng Manyin!

If he refused this big-bosomed beauty, she would probably demand repayment on the spot.

Seeing him agree, the three of them let out a cheer!

Just at that moment, the Divine Deer suddenly spoke up: "Head to the northwest!"

Su Yizhao was stunned for a moment!

Without time to think further, he called out to the others and walked toward the northwest.

"What's in the northwest?" he asked.

The Divine Deer replied, "It feels like the aura of the Divine Wood Root! But it's somewhat faint!"

Su Yizhao was overjoyed!

If they could encounter the Divine Wood Root right here, that would be even better!

Suddenly, the Divine Deer spoke again: "Kid, you're in trouble!"

Su Yizhao felt a jolt in his heart and asked, "Why?"

The Divine Deer said, "This truly is the aura of the Divine Wood Root, however, it hasn't reached ten thousand years of maturity!"

Su Yizhao breathed a sigh of relief!

He thought it was some massive issue!

If it hadn't reached ten thousand years, they could just go look for one that was ten thousand years old!

As long as they found the target, what was there to fear about failing?

The Divine Deer lamented, "This implies someone has already found the Divine Wood Root ahead of time, and...!"

Su Yizhao finally reacted and smiled, "The Divine Wood should have plenty of roots, right? A little shortage shouldn't matter!"

The Divine Deer sighed, "Are you kidding me? There are indeed many roots on the Divine Wood tree, but only the taproot can be called the Divine Wood Root! The other roots are useless!"

Su Yizhao was utterly horrified!

Damn it!

Did they really have to play it this way?

Just as they finally found some direction, it was ruined again?

By this time, he had arrived at a street stall, where the vendor was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed!

All sorts of miscellaneous items were laid out on the stall!

Su Yizhao swept his gaze over them, not recognizing most of them!

In the northwest of the continent, almost everything consisted of ores, stones, and the like!

Whereas here, everything was roots, fruits, flowers, and grasses!

Feng Manyin cast a glance over them and instantly lost interest. "They're just some old tree roots, withered leaves, and weeds. What's there to look at?"

As a chief auctioneer, Qin Hongyi naturally had a discerning eye for goods!

She squatted down, pointed at a small pile of red withered leaves, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, are these Crimson Flame Leaves?"

The vendor was a middle-aged cultivator. Hearing this, he opened his eyes!

A trace of surprise flashed in his gaze, and he praised, "You have a sharp eye, Fellow Daoist! These are actually one of the few heavenly treasures here that I was able to identify!"

Gou Haitian asked curiously, "What are they used for?"

Qin Hongyi replied, "Refining pills!"

Feng Manyin didn't believe it and asked, "They possess neither profound Qi nor spiritual nature, what kind of pills can be refined from them?"

Qin Hongyi said, "Essence sand of fire! Ordinary cultivators generally have no use for it!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yizhao was startled!

Essence sand of fire? Could this be the essence sand needed to advance to the eleventh realm of body refinement, the Fire Realm?

His current body refinement scripture had already reached the eighth realm, the Golden Body Realm, which required absorbing metal-attribute essence sand of the five elements!

The ninth realm required absorbing wood-attribute essence sand of the five elements!

It seemed ordinary cultivators really had no use for it indeed!

"Fellow Daoist, is this a lightning-struck flower?" Qin Hongyi pointed at a withered flower and asked.

The vendor smiled bitterly and said, "You have great discernment, Fellow Daoist. As for this one, even I don't know what it is!"

Su Yizhao and the others were dumbfounded!

If you don't know what it is, why are you setting up a stall to sell it?

Qin Hongyi, however, nodded and said, "I have never seen it either, I've only read descriptions in ancient texts!"

Feng Manyin felt a surge of admiration at this point!

She casually pointed at a tree root about the thickness of a finger and asked, "And what is this burnt wooden stick supposed to be?"

The vendor's face instantly fell!

A firewood stick?

Just because she looked pretty, could she just talk nonsense?

However, the vendor himself seemed clueless about what it was, and right now, he was staring at Qin Hongyi with hopeful eyes!

Qin Hongyi examined it closely!

About a foot long, the thickness of an arm, and pitch-black and gray throughout!

It really did look like a piece of a burnt firewood stick!

Su Yizhao also examined it closely and asked in his mind, "Elder Deer, it couldn't possibly be this firewood stick, could it?"

The Divine Deer whispered, "It's this very one! But I must emphasize, it is not a firewood stick!"

Hearing the seriousness in its tone, Su Yizhao leaned in closer for a careful inspection!

It wasn't a firewood stick!

The dark gray color didn't look like charcoal burned by fire!

He reached out his hand!

"Stop!" the vendor softly rebuked!

Su Yizhao's right hand froze in mid-air, and he looked up to ask, "Can't I touch it?"

The vendor nodded. "Touch it once, more than three hundred! Pay the profound stones first!"

What the hell!

Su Yizhao retracted his hand!

Are you bullying me for being so poor that I don't even have a single profound stone right now?

"Or else, tell me what this is?" The vendor clearly didn't believe he could recognize it, and cast his gaze toward Qin Hongyi instead.

Qin Hongyi pondered for a moment and shook her head!

She didn't recognize it!

She had never seen it before, not even in ancient texts!

The dark gray color looked as though it was intrinsic to the wood root itself, yet it also resembled the marks of a lightning strike.

When swept with divine sense, the wood root possessed not a shred of vitality!

"Fellow Daoist, judging by your extraordinary cultivation, why don't you take these to a more prosperous place to sell them?" Su Yizhao prepared to probe the vendor's background.

The vendor's cultivation was indeed formidable, already at the mid-stage of the Seven Gods Realm.

Such a cultivation level was considered quite high in this remote prefectural city!

Flattered by the praise, the vendor replied, "Hah! I'm just passing the time, nothing more!"

"Where did you get this wooden stick?"

Su Yizhao swept his gaze randomly across the stall, asking as casually as possible.

"It came from...!"

Just as the vendor began to speak, a flash of bright light suddenly arrived.

Su Yizhao reached out and grabbed it...!