She reached out, her hands grabbing a damp rock. Just as she was about to pull herself up, she heard a few coughs from above!
Xiao Man was startled. ’Didn’t he say the Treasure Bead had already acknowledged as its master? That it was completely mine and no one could enter without my permission? How can soone else be here?’
She quickly looked up and saw a dark-skinned, middle-aged man in a white tracksuit floating in the air above and to her left. He was frowning, a look of displeasure on his face.
Xiao Man stared blankly at the man. ’He has such dark skin, yet he insists on wearing white. It just makes him look even darker, almost like soone from Africa. But his striking features are completely in the mold of the Central Plains; he’s definitely of Huaxia descent.’
He was a dark-skinned Huaxia man with handso features, but unfortunately, his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. They say a fair complexion can hide a multitude of flaws, but in his case, it was the opposite. If you didn’t look closely, you’d never realize he was actually an incredibly handso... middle-aged man!
It couldn’t be helped. Xiao Man was only eleven. Based on his age, she had to call him "uncle!"
Xiao Man asked cautiously, "Excuse , you are...?"
"Who gave you the Treasure Bead?" The handso, dark-faced man looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"Um... the Snake King!" A thought suddenly struck Xiao Man, and her eyes flew wide. "You... you’re not the Snake King, are you?"
It was a bit of a silly question. The Old Snake had given her the Treasure Bead; who else could it be? ’It’s just... the thousand-year-old snake turned into a human!’
’Sure, there have been stories like Bai Suzhen and the Little Green Snake, but this thousand-year-old snake is a man. And he’s even wearing modern clothes...’ Xiao Man was a little dazed.
The handso, dark-faced man’s eyes glared as he snapped, even more displeased, "What do you an, Snake King? How vulgar!"
"Then... how should I address you?"
"The Black Mountain Spirit Lord!"
Xiao Man was speechless. ’So his na really is Black!’
"So you are the Black Mountain Spirit Lord. My apologies! The other day, I heard you say you were in a hurry to leave, Spirit Lord. I thought you had already gone."
"That’s right. I have already left. What remains in this Treasure Bead is rely a wisp of my Divine Sense!"
Xiao Man let out a surprised "Oh," not quite understanding how to interpret this "Divine Sense."
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord had no patience for explanations. He crossed his arms and said, "I’ve long known that you humans are foolish and self-righteous, incapable of heeding good advice. I was afraid that after obtaining the Treasure Bead, you would lack restraint and self-discipline, acting recklessly. If you were to throw your life away so easily, it would beco my burden! That is why I had to leave a wisp of my Divine Sense behind to help you understand the Treasure Pearl Space. This Divine Sense will only remain for a hundred days before dissipating on its own!"
"Oh, so that’s why. In that case, I must thank you, Spirit Lord!" Xiao Man said sincerely.
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord snorted. "If I hadn’t, you’d be dead right now! I told you before: with a constitution as weak as an ant’s, you can only drink the water that flows out on its own. You must not rashly consu the higher-level Spiritual Spring. Your mortal body hasn’t been properly conditioned yet. It’s full of impurities, turbid and stagnant, unable to rapidly assimilate the Spiritual Power from the spring. If you had forced yourself to drink it, your body would have exploded! Did you forget, or were you just greedy? The Treasure Bead is already yours. What’s the rush?"
Scolded by the Spirit Lord, Xiao Man knew she had indeed been too hasty. Her face flushed red with sha, but she couldn’t help but try to explain herself. "I... I just wanted to take a tiny bit, dilute it with lots of well water, and give it to my Grandma. She has an eye disease and can’t see anything..."
Hearing this, the Black Mountain Spirit Lord’s tone softened slightly. "It’s good that you’re filial, but you must think before you act. I gave you a general rundown of the items in this Treasure Bead, and you should have taken it to heart! Don’t you mortals always go on about ’safety first’? You dilute even the water from the Spring Lake for your family, so how could you dare to use the next level of Spiritual Spring? You need to understand that with your family’s current physical condition, they couldn’t withstand the upper-level Spiritual Spring no matter how much you diluted it!"
The color drained from Xiao Man’s face. "I know I was wrong! Thank you for saving my life, Spirit Lord!"
Seeing her attitude, the Black Mountain Spirit Lord nodded in satisfaction. "Fortunately, you’ve only entered the Treasure Bead with your consciousness this ti. You can’t actually take anything out of here!"
Xiao Man breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away a cold sweat. ’That was so reckless of . Thank goodness I couldn’t actually take it!’
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord had scared her so badly that even if she could take sothing now, she wouldn’t dare. "I won’t take anything! I’ll just look!"
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord frowned again. "If you’re this timid, aren’t you just going to end up living the sa way you did before? The Treasure Bead isn’t sothing to be feared. As long as you understand it properly, it can help you live a life of comfort and ease!"
"...I understand!"
"Co with . I’ll show you around."
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord beckoned, and Xiao Man floated lightly over to him, following behind him as they hovered through the air.
Xiao Man was surprised for a mont, but she quickly figured it out. ’I’m dreaming right now. Like the Black Mountain Spirit Lord said, my "Divine Sense" has entered the Treasure Pearl Space. This "Divine Sense" is basically like a ghost, so of course it can float and "fly"!’
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord paid no mind to Xiao Man’s thoughts. He led her around, responsibly explaining various points of interest and caution. He pointed out the small pools ford by the Spiritual Springs, which nurtured all sorts of high-quality Spirit Plants. Each one was a rare Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. For soone from a Cultivation Clan like him, anyone who obtained such things would hide them away for personal use. The Black Mountain Spirit Lord had already collected and taken many of these precious materials with him. All that remained were plants whose fruits had been harvested or young, immature saplings. In the highest pool, three or four Purple Lotuses were growing. Xiao Man looked at them, thinking they seed to be the sa variety as the Purple Lotuses in the Little Spring Lake on the lowest level.
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord, however, said, "They aren’t the sa. These are Purple Jade Lotuses, nurtured by the upper-level Spiritual Spring. They are a supre treasure from ancient tis. Look closely. The lotus is translucent and crystalline, emitting a faint glow. It blooms once every five hundred years, and its Lotus Seeds also take five hundred years to mature. This Treasure Bead was in my possession for centuries. I stood guard over it for so long, and just as the Lotus Seeds were about to ripen, I had to leave. You’re getting all this for free!"
Xiao Man said quickly, "But aren’t you staying here for a hundred days? You can wait for the Lotus Seeds to mature and take them with you! These seeds might be priceless to you, but they’re probably useless to , right?"
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord gave a bitter smile. "I couldn’t wait that long. I’m already gone! What’s left here is just a wisp of my Divine Sense. When its ti is up, it will vanish like smoke and mist. It can’t take anything with it! Rember this: if a Cultivator obtains these Lotus Seeds, they can advance their cultivation. But if a mortal consus them recklessly, their body will explode! Don’t bla for not warning you."
Xiao Man was frightened all over again. "Then I just won’t touch it!"
The Black Mountain Spirit Lord sighed. "You must have seen the pavilion on the mountain peak. There are many Jade Scrolls in its study that can answer your questions, including information about the Purple Jade Lotus. Once the Purple Jade Lotus Seeds are fully mature, you can follow the instructions on the Jade Scrolls to harvest and preserve them properly. As long as you control the dosage, you mortals can actually use a little of it. It can be ground into a powder, but you can only use an amount the size of half a grain of rice at a ti! To a mortal, the Purple Jade Lotus Seed is an Immortal Pill. It can cleanse the marrows, remold the bones, regenerate flesh, and even bring the dead back to life! Your Grandma’s constitution is too weak; she can’t handle this. Hers is just a common eye ailnt. Have her regularly drink the diluted Spiritual Spring you prepare and wash her eyes with it. In six months to a year, it will heal on its own, and her sight will be restored!"
"Really? Oh, that’s wonderful! Thank you, Spirit Lord!"
Seeing how easily satisfied the little girl was, the Black Mountain Spirit Lord found it a bit dull and couldn’t resist adding, "If you want an even faster result, use the Purple Lotuses from the Little Spring Lake on the lowest level. The original owner of this Treasure Bead was cleaning the Purple Jade Lotus pond, accidentally snapped off a few roots, and casually tossed them into the Little Spring Lake. Who would have thought they would multiply so much over the years... With your family’s current physical condition, they can eat small amounts of the lotus roots from the Little Spring Lake. It will strengthen their bodies and extend their lives. If you boil the lotus leaves in water and use it to wash her eyes, the ailnt will be gone in ten treatnts at most. If you use the petals, it will only take three. And if you use a Lotus Seed... a single one is enough to restore her sight completely!"
Xiao Man was overjoyed. "So the lotuses in the Little Spring Lake are that useful, too! Of course I want Grandma to get better as soon as possible! She’s been blind for ten years; I’m sure she’s been desperate to see again!"
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