A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

The spirit ore shimmered with an alluring light, like a giant gem embedded in the earth.

"I'm rich!" Jiang Ye rubbed his hands together, wishing he could rush up and hug this sparkling treasure immediately.

Before he could even take a step, a faint golden halo rippled from the surface of the spirit mine, like a huge protective shield.

Unconvinced, Jiang Ye reached out and touched the halo with his fingertips, only to be bounced back by a strong force.

"Ouch!" he yelled, clutching his finger. "This thing's electrified!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a furry figure darted out of the cave behind the spirit mine, moving as fast as lightning.

"What the heck is that?!" Jiang Ye was startled and instinctively hid behind Ye Shuli.

Before them appeared a small, snow-white beast, the size of an enlarged cat, with a single golden horn on its forehead and a pair of emerald green eyes that stared at them warily, emitting a low growl.

"It should be a spirit beast guarding the spirit mine." Ye Shuli recognized the little beast at a glance and secretly thought to herself that something was wrong.

According to the usual pattern, what follows should be a fierce battle.

Before she could even prepare for battle, Jiang Ye suddenly jumped out from behind her and began performing a comical dance for the guardian beast.

One moment it's imitating a monkey scratching itself, the next it's imitating a duck walking, all the while chanting, "Little white kitten, little white kitten, we're all good friends..."

Ye Shuli: "???" What kind of crazy move is this?

The guardian beast was also stunned, its emerald eyes filled with doubt. It stopped attacking and tilted its head to look at Jiang Ye, as if it were looking at a fool.

Ye Shuli sighed and, taking advantage of the fact that the guardian beast's attention was drawn to Jiang Ye, began to carefully observe the environment around the spirit mine.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, her gaze settling on an inconspicuous blade of grass near the cave entrance...

"Jiang Ye," Ye Shuli lowered her voice, "Continue, don't stop!" Ye Shuli was quick-witted and nimble-fingered, taking advantage of the fact that the guardian beast was attracted by Jiang Ye's enchanting dance, she quickly picked a few inconspicuous herbs.

This herb is called "Bewitching Incense." Although it has little effect on humans, it has a peculiar attraction to spirit beasts.

She remembered reading in an ancient book that this herb was a favorite of certain mythical beasts, comparable to catnip for cats.

"Take this, little kitty!" Ye Shuli threw the bewitching incense far away.

The herbs traced a graceful arc in the air, emitting a faint fragrance.

As expected, the guardian took the bait. Its emerald eyes were instantly drawn to the bewitching incense, and as if it had an autopilot, it happily chased after the herbs and ran away.

"Whoosh! Take off!" Jiang Ye finally stopped his cringe-worthy dance and let out a long sigh of relief. "Lili, that move of yours was absolutely amazing!"

The two quickly entered the cave.

Inside the cave, the spiritual crystals shimmered, as if stars had fallen to earth.

"So many spirit crystals! They're blinding me!" Jiang Ye exclaimed dramatically, immediately starting to frantically "fleece" them.

Ye Shuli also joined the team collecting spirit crystals. Although she was excited inside, she still maintained a cool and aloof demeanor on the surface.

Just as the two were busy with their tasks, a rough voice broke the silence inside the cave: "Hand over the spirit crystals!" A burly man with a face full of scars blocked the entrance to the cave; it was none other than the rogue cultivator Wang Meng.

He stared greedily at the spirit crystal that Ye Shuli had just collected, which was radiating a soft glow, his mouth practically watering.

"Little girl, be smart and hand it over obediently, or I'll spare you some pain!"

"You? You think you're worthy?" Ye Shuli sneered, glancing at him disdainfully.

The spirit crystal in her hand spun nimbly between her fingertips, as if in a provocation.

"You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!" Wang Meng roared, brandishing his broadsword as he lunged at Ye Shuli.

Seeing this, Jiang Ye's lips curled into a wicked smile, and his figure flashed...

"Hey kid, get out of the way! Don't get in my way!"

Jiang Ye flashed forward, meeting Wang Meng's attack head-on.

Wang Meng looked burly and strong, and after a few moves, Jiang Ye was forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Wow, this barbarian is pretty strong!" Jiang Ye complained as he nimbly dodged Wang Meng's attacks.

Wang Meng's attacks were fierce, but they were completely disorganized, like a raging wild beast that only charged around recklessly.

Jiang Ye appeared to be outmatched, but his eyes darted around as if he were plotting something.

Suddenly, Jiang Ye slipped and pretended to be hit by Wang Meng's attack, staggering backward until he reached a narrow crevice in the spirit mine.

He reacted quickly and darted inside.

"Huh? Where is he?" Wang Meng was stunned. He walked to the gap, only to find that his huge body could not fit through.

"Kid, come out if you dare!" Wang Meng roared angrily at the crack, but could only stare helplessly.

Seeing this, the surrounding rogue cultivators all cheered, "Haha, this kid's pretty clever!"

"Wang Meng, you've finally met your match!"

"Wang Meng, are you sure you can handle this?"

Just as Wang Meng was distracted, Ye Shuli sneered and walked around behind him, picked up a stone, and smashed it hard against the back of his head.

"Ouch!" Wang Meng cried out in pain and fell forward to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ye immediately darted out from the gap and retrieved the spirit crystal that Wang Meng had stolen.

"Lili, well done!" He gave Ye Shuli a thumbs up.

"With such meager skills, you dare to rob people? It's laughable!" Ye Shuli glanced disdainfully at Wang Meng, who was lying on the ground groaning, and pocketed the spirit crystal.

"Lili, let's continue!" Jiang Ye rubbed his hands excitedly, ready to continue "fleecing" people.

"Wait..." Ye Shuli suddenly sensed something was wrong; the ground seemed to be trembling slightly...

"Something seems off..."

"Holy crap! An earthquake?!" Jiang Ye yelled and ran away, covering his head.

The stones overhead fell in a flurry, raising a cloud of dust.

Ye Shuli remained unusually calm, her gaze quickly sweeping across her surroundings as her brain raced, analyzing the structure of the mine.

When she first entered, she noticed a barely noticeable crevice in the cave. Judging from the airflow and the terrain, it was likely a hidden passage.

"Don't panic! Come with me!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye's collar and pulled him towards the direction she remembered.

"Lili, are you sure? It's pitch black, don't run into a dead end!" Jiang Ye complained as he ran alongside her.

"Stop talking nonsense! Trust me!" Ye Shuli retorted irritably.

The two traversed the narrow mine shaft, with the falling rocks overhead becoming increasingly dense, as if they would be buried alive at any moment.

"Lili, I feel like I'm suffocating!" Jiang Ye's voice trembled slightly.

At the critical moment, Ye Shuli finally found the hidden passage.

Without hesitation, she pulled Jiang Ye inside.

The passage was narrow and deep, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Not long after we went in, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared ahead.

The two were delighted and quickened their pace.

However, when they stepped out of the passage and saw the scene before them, they were instantly stunned.

The exit of the passage leads directly into a spacious cave.

In the center of the cave, there was a mountain of spirit crystals, shimmering with dazzling light.

An elderly man with white hair stood with his back to them, hands behind his back, seemingly admiring the magnificent sight.

"Ahem..." Ye Shuli coughed lightly, breaking the silence in the cave.

The old man slowly turned around, revealing a face covered in wrinkles.

He looked at the spirit crystals in Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's hands, a greedy glint flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Young man, you're quite lucky." The old man spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and deep. "However, I'll gladly accept these spirit crystals." This old man was Elder Sun, who was in charge of spirit mine affairs for a nearby sect.

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes.

"Old man..." Ye Shuli smiled slightly, but there was a hint of coldness in her smile, "You wish..."