When the pudgy young man's spiritual sense swept over the contents of Joe Di's ring, his expression changed instantly. It was the first time he'd ever seen so many supreme-grade spiritual veins—five of them, to be exact. As for top-grade spirit crystals, they were piled up like mountains inside the ring; a casual estimate put their number at two or three hundred million.
He didn't know that this was only a small portion of Joe Di's spiritual veins and spirit crystals. If he found out, he'd probably go mad.
Not to mention the haul from Xuanhuang Tianwaitian—even just the loot from the Mo family amounted to over a billion spirit crystals.
The pudgy young man quickly regained his composure and urged, "Big Brother, put it away quickly! This isn't exactly a safe place."
Joe Di's wealth made the pudgy young man feel that he really should keep calling him Big Brother.
Joe Di put away the ring. "Now can you tell me where I can buy seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver? Of course, I'll give you a commission."
The pudgy young man replied awkwardly, "Big Brother, seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver can't be bought with spirit crystals. As for whether spiritual veins can buy it, I don't know. Usually, seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver is exchanged for other items. And even if you can trade for it, what you exchange must be a top-level treasure."
Joe Di was a bit surprised by the pudgy young man's words and found himself looking at him with newfound respect. If this guy had tried to lead him somewhere to quietly steal his spirit crystals and spiritual veins, he'd be courting death.
"My name is Joe Di. Tell me if you have a way. If not, I'll head into Xianhai first," Joe Di said.
The pudgy young man clasped his fists hurriedly. "Brother Joe, my name is Quinn Fang. I've been around Xianhai for quite some time. Let me tell you a secret—Brother Joe, you probably know that Xianhai is run by the Xian Family, right? It wasn't always called Xianhai; it only got that name after the Xian Family took over."
Quinn Fang hurriedly pulled out a jade slip and handed it to Joe Di before turning to leave.
Joe Di chuckled, "Brother Quinn, if you walk out like this, you probably won't make it past Xianhai's plaza before someone grabs you."
Quinn Fang stared at Joe Di in shock, his voice trembling. "Big Brother, how did you...?"
"How did I know?" Joe Di smiled again. "That beautiful woman just now was probably looking for you, wasn't she? Did you run away from a marriage? I'm sure she's already spotted you. If you leave now, she'll follow and catch you."
Quinn Fang finally calmed down and sighed. "Big Brother, do I look like someone who could be engaged to her? That woman just wants to kill me."
Joe Di looked at Quinn Fang, puzzled. "Why does she want to kill you?"
Quinn Fang was actually a decent guy, at least in Joe Di's eyes. And that woman didn't seem the type to kill someone for no reason. With Quinn Fang's low cultivation, it was hard to imagine he could have a grudge with her.
Quinn Fang sighed again. "It's because of something belonging to my family. My father showed me her portrait and told me to take the item and run as far as I could. I fled all the way to Xianhai, but she still managed to find me."
Joe Di understood—Quinn Fang knew he couldn't escape that woman, so he decided to come clean.
"Do you think she might've already done something to your family?" Joe Di suddenly wondered. If she'd chased Quinn Fang all the way here, maybe she'd already killed everyone in the Quinn family.
Quinn Fang froze, then blurted out, "That can't be, right? At worst, I'll just hand over the item."
But Joe Di could already see the fear and worry in Quinn Fang's eyes. He sighed inwardly; Quinn Fang must've been the type to stay home cultivating in seclusion.
"What exactly is this item?" Joe Di pressed.
But as soon as he asked, Joe Di knew Quinn Fang probably wouldn't show him. If a Genesis Realm cultivator had chased him all the way here, the item couldn't be simple. Quinn Fang wasn't foolish enough to show it to just anyone.
To Joe Di's surprise, Quinn Fang immediately said, "Big Brother, I hid it in my spiritual sea—it's an ancient zither. Let me show it to you..."
"Wait..." Joe Di stopped Quinn Fang, looking puzzled. "Quinn Fang, anything you can store in your spiritual sea is a top-tier treasure. Why would you just show it to someone else so casually?"
Quinn Fang hesitated, then blurted out, "Big Brother, even if I don't show you, that woman will take it from me anyway. The zither isn't really mine anymore. Besides, you showed me your ring full of treasures, so I figured it wouldn't matter if I showed you... Ah, crap..."
"What's wrong?" Joe Di asked, watching Quinn Fang.
Quinn Fang quickly glanced at the woman's direction and said urgently, "Big Brother, I think I've dragged you into this."
Joe Di laughed, clapped Quinn Fang on the shoulder, and said, "Brother Quinn, since we're here, let's make the best of it. If you trust me, come into Xianhai with me."
"Alright, I'll go into Xianhai with you, Big Brother." Quinn Fang gritted his teeth. He knew leaving now would be a dead end, and entering Xianhai might be one too. Since it was all the same, he might as well do what he wanted.
"By the way, where is that woman from? What's her name?" Joe Di asked casually as they walked toward the Xianhai formation gate.
Quinn Fang shook his head. "I don't know where she's from. I only know her name is Cynthia Xing."
Cynthia Xing? Joe Di nodded, not asking further. He hadn't heard of the name, but regardless, an early Genesis Realm cultivator wasn't someone he was worried about.
"Big Brother, I'll take you to find a way into the secret realm." Quinn Fang suddenly realized that Joe Di entering Xianhai might be a way to escape Cynthia Xing through the secret realm.
Joe Di nodded. "That's right, I already know about these things."
Quinn Fang chuckled and lowered his voice, "Big Brother, it's extremely hard for cultivators at our level to get Extreme Glaze Silver. Even at the Xian Family's exchange meeting, we're not qualified to attend. But I recently heard that the Xian Family discovered a secret realm in Xianhai, and it's about to open. Once it does, there will definitely be seventh-grade Extreme Glaze Silver inside. Of course, getting in won't be easy, but I might have some connections..."
Joe Di looked speechlessly at Quinn Fang. He had come here specifically to attend the Xian Family's secret realm opening, yet he'd just been strung along by a Dao Nurturing cultivator for half the day.
Joe Di was about to say, "There's no need, I can go in myself," when he suddenly saw Quinn Fang's expression change dramatically and his head lower.
Joe Di didn't need to turn around; he'd already sensed a powerful spiritual sense sweep past. That sense paused briefly on Quinn Fang before moving away.
Such a pure and formidable spiritual sense! When Joe Di swept his own sense over, he saw its owner—a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in pale green robes, a jade flute strapped to her back. Her figure was flawlessly proportioned, and her skin radiated a sacred glow. One glance made it hard to look directly at her; she was the kind of person who naturally stood above everyone else.
What shocked Joe Di even more than the woman's beauty was the flow of Dao aura around her—clearly the result of cultivating a top-tier technique. With his experience, Joe Di could see at a glance that she was only at the early Genesis Realm. But he'd never seen such perfect Dao aura at this level; it was as if she had stepped straight out of the dawn of creation.
Joe Di thought to himself, Truly, the vast universe is full of hidden dragons and tigers—there are so many capable people.
Joe Di suspected that even when he was at the late Dao Origin stage, he might not have been a match for this woman. In fact, back then, he could defeat even late Genesis Realm cultivators, but this woman seemed to have just stepped into the Genesis Realm.
"Big Brother, I'll give you an address. After you enter Xianhai, look for this person—maybe he has a way to get you into the secret realm. I can't go with you; I have to leave now..."