Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

"No!"

Xu Yan'er's eyes were filled with tears, yet she remained stubborn. She wiped away her tears, and her trembling voice revealed her determination.

"Before I left, I made a vow in front of the family ancestral hall."

"I will not return until I have achieved Foundation Establishment!"

"..."

Lu Zaian remained silent for a long time.

"You were lucky to run into me this time, otherwise you would have been dead long ago."

Are you sure you want to persist?

Xu Yan'er gradually stopped sobbing. She sniffled and nodded vigorously.

"Of course, my family is located in a remote and desolate place."

However, this mere piece of low-grade spiritual land was obtained through countless generations of clansmen overcoming numerous obstacles...

Our clan has long understood the hardships of cultivators at the bottom!

Today, the clan's spiritual roots are depleted, making cultivation increasingly difficult.

Even the last ancestral land was almost seized by others...

Even so, my father and the clan elders were willing to give up all their spirit stone resources, and even save their own share, to support my cultivation in the Desolate Marsh City.

As a result, Aunt Hong is now dead, she died protecting me.

If I were to turn back now… how could I face my parents? I would be ashamed before my family for all the effort they have put into raising me!”

Or perhaps they sensed Xu Yan'er's determination to succeed or die trying.

Or perhaps he sighed, lamenting the difficulty of spiritual practice.

Lu Zaian nodded slowly and praised:

"What my heart desires, though I die nine times, I will not regret..."

I'm now preparing to return to Wasteland City; come with me.

Lu Zaian appreciated Xu Yan'er's persistence, so taking her back to Huangze City was a convenient thing to do.

"Thank you, Grandpa Lu! I will definitely repay your life-saving grace in the future!"

Although Xu Yan'er is only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, she has nothing to offer in return.

But she remembered Lu Zaian's kindness in her heart.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Grandpa Lu, may I ask you a favor?"

"what?"

Xu Yan'er seemed to have made up her mind and took out a piece of dark jade from her storage bag.

The surface of the black jade is irregular, and it is completely black, as if it can devour all light.

"This is... a Water Core Stone?" Lu Zaian asked in surprise.

Water core stone, a type of mineral buried deep at the bottom of barren marshes.

It was formed over millions of years, nurtured by the essence of the earth and water.

A strange space will form inside the Water Core Stone, which contains various spiritual objects.

It could be rare jade, rare gemstones, or other rare and precious materials...

This type of water-core stone can isolate all detection by souls and magic.

Therefore, cultivators have no way of knowing the value of the spiritual objects contained within the raw stone.

One can only make a rough judgment based on the texture, shape, and color of the raw stone.

Therefore, a popular form of entertainment emerged in Huangze City – gambling on stones!

Someone spent a huge sum of money to buy countless rough stones.

The result was just a pile of garbage, and his Dao heart shattered on the spot.

Some people only get their kill on the first shot.

It can even yield second-tier natural treasures such as Foundation Establishment spiritual items!

Previously, due to the limited availability of spirit stones, Lu Zaian had only heard about it but had never actually seen it.

"You want me to give you my opinion?"

"I'm sorry, I'm also unable to detect the spirits within..."

Lu Zaian thought that Xu Yan'er had just obtained a piece of water-core raw stone by chance and wanted him to take a look at it.

Even though he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was unable to probe the interior of this raw stone.

"Eee-ooh~~"

Suddenly, Xiao Yi's voice came from inside Lu Zai'an's body, which startled him.

"What! Xiao Yi? You're saying there's a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation inside this stone?"

Xiao Yi's sudden message took Lu Zai'an by surprise.

Even though he couldn't sense anything, Xiao Yi said there were fluctuations of spiritual energy inside...

"Xiao Yi, can you see through this Water Core Stone?"

"Ee-woo~"

Xiao Yi gave an affirmative reply.

It turns out that Xiao Yi was a spiritual being born from heaven and earth, and also belonged to the water element.

It could barely sense the spiritual energy fluctuations within the water-core stone.

If Xiao Yi's cultivation level were higher, she could even fully detect the specific treasures inside the raw stone!

Niubi!

If Xiao Yi were to use her skills at those jade gambling dens in Huangze City, wouldn't she be able to snag some amazing bargains?

Lu Zaian suppressed his surprise.

His telepathic exchange with Xiao Yi lasted only a moment. When he came to his senses, he saw Xu Yan'er lightly biting her lip and saying, word by word:

"No, Grandpa Lu, actually... actually, Old Mo brought us out this time because he discovered a water-core ore mine!"

"???"

Water core raw stone mine?

Lu Zaian asked in surprise, "What? You've discovered a water-core ore mine? Really?"

Water-core ore deposits are typically buried deep at the bottom of water bodies and are completely isolated from detection.

Where is it so easy to find?

And they were several Qi Refining cultivators?

"Really! We were originally chasing a wood crocodile."

It escaped back into its cave, and that's how we accidentally discovered the raw stone vein!

Seeing that Lu Zaian did not believe her, Xu Yan'er gritted her teeth and took out two more dark raw stones from her bag.

"Look, Grandpa Lu, if I hadn't discovered the vein, how could I have so many pieces!"

But now, Old Master Mo and Aunt Hong are also dead.

I can't possibly go deep into the marshland and mine the minerals by myself.

Grandpa Lu saved me. You're the only elder I can trust in Huangze City!

If you'd like, Grandpa Lu, I can lead the way.

Grandpa Lu, you'll get 70%... no, 90%.

You take 90% first, I only need the remaining 10% of the raw stones..."

After Xu Yan'er finished speaking, her eyes were fixed on Lu Zai'an like a fawn's.

A mixture of tension, worry, excitement, and complex emotions flickered in her eyes.

With her current abilities, it's impossible for her to penetrate deep into the marshland.

Not to mention mining veins.

But this was a hard-won opportunity, and it cost two lives.

How could Xu Yan'er be willing to let it slip away!

As for concealing this information and waiting until one's cultivation level is higher in the future—that idea is also unrealistic.

Xu Yan'er has now lost the protection of Old Master Mo and Aunt Hong.

Survival in the desolate city is a problem, so how can one improve their cultivation?

It's just that I'm lucky, and now I've run into Lu Zaian, who has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

That's when Xu Yan'er had the idea of ​​taking a gamble.

If successful, I will have both a powerful backer and resources!

If it fails, the worst that can happen is death...

On the other side, Lu Zaian rested his chin on his hand, staring at the two raw stones in contemplation for a moment.

Xu Yan'er's words do make some sense.

She estimated that even the spirit stones needed for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation in the desolate city would be a problem.

Not to mention using extra spirit stones to gamble on jade.

She bears the heavy responsibility of revitalizing her family and has no reason to place her hopes on the ephemeral world of gambling on stones.

It would be more like it was Mo Haoxuan...

Speaking of Mo Haoxuan, and connecting that to what happened to Xu Yan'er, Lu Zaian asked:

"You mean you discovered the raw stone vein, then ran into the Puppet Demon Elder, and that's why he was chasing you?"

"……Yes."

"What about Mo Haoxuan? Is he dead?" Lu Zaian's eyes were deep and unfathomable.