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

Back in the valley, Ye Shuli dumped the stolen spirit crystals onto the ground with a clatter, like a pile of sparkling pebbles, making Jiang Ye's eyes widen in disbelief.

"Sister Li, we're rich now! With so many spirit crystals, reaching the Spirit Master level shouldn't be a problem!" He rubbed his hands together, as excited as a groundhog who had won the lottery.

Ye Shuli merely glanced at it indifferently, picked up a spirit crystal, and played with it between her fingertips.

"A hundred of them would only be enough to fill a gap between your teeth."

"Huh? A hundred is not enough?" Jiang Ye was dumbfounded. In his opinion, a hundred spirit crystals was already a huge sum of money.

Ye Shuli began to calculate the accounts for him.

"At our current cultivation speed, one spirit crystal can support about a day's cultivation. To break through to the mid-stage of the Spirit Realm, we need at least a hundred. To break through to the late-stage of the Spirit Realm, that doubles to two hundred. As for Spirit Master... don't even think about it without a thousand or eight hundred."

Jiang Ye's mouth gaped wider and wider as he listened, and finally he could only exclaim, "Good heavens! This cultivation is even more expensive than pay-to-win mobile games!" He squatted on the ground in frustration, poking at a spirit crystal as if he were poking at his empty wallet.

"Sister Li, all those hundred pills we worked so hard to snatch didn't even make a ripple..."

Ye Shuli walked to his side and rubbed his head.

"Don't be discouraged, this is nothing. Back in the day, when I played games, the amount of money I spent on in-game purchases was something you wouldn't even dream of." Her eyes sharpened, filled with fighting spirit.

"If we don't have enough spirit crystals, we'll just rob them! We'll earn them! There's always a way to overcome a problem!"

Looking at Ye Shuli's determined eyes, Jiang Ye felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He couldn't help but reach out and pinch Ye Shuli's cheek. "Sister Li, you are so awesome!"

Ye Shuli blushed and gave him a reproachful look, "Why did you hit me!"

The ambiguous atmosphere made both of them feel a little fluttery.

However, reality soon dealt them a heavy blow.

"This... there isn't even a single herb?" Jiang Ye stared wide-eyed at the barren valley.

Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye stared longingly at the small valley, which was utterly desolate!

Cleaner than their wallets.

Forget about the precious medicinal herbs, even the roadside weeds were wilted and looked malnourished.

"My God, is this a spiritual desert?" Jiang Ye was on the verge of tears, feeling that the path of cultivation was harder than climbing to heaven.

They finally managed to snatch some spirit crystals, but couldn't even find a "refueling station" for cultivation.

They dug three feet into the ground, searched every corner of the valley, and even ant nests were not spared. In the end, they only found a few spirit crystals smaller than glass marbles, emitting a faint light, as if mocking their poverty.

"Is this all? Are you trying to fob me off?" Ye Shuli looked disgusted. She felt that the spirit crystals she had worked so hard to snatch were about to be used up before she could even enjoy them. Her cultivation speed was slower than a snail's pace.

Jiang Ye also sighed, wondering why the path of cultivation was so difficult.

Just when the two were at their wits' end, Ye Shuli suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered seeing a hidden cave near the spirit mine before.

"Wait, I remember..." Ye Shuli stroked her chin, trying hard to recall the scene at that time.

"Sister Li, you wouldn't be thinking of..." Jiang Ye looked at her in shock. No way, no way, Sister Li wouldn't be thinking of robbing me again, would she?

"Let's go, to the vicinity of the spirit mine!" Ye Shuli said without room for doubt, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Jiang Ye was so impressed by her photographic memory that he immediately followed her.

The two traveled swiftly and soon arrived near the spirit mine.

Ye Shuli found the hidden cave based on her memory.

The entrance to the cave is hidden by dense vines, and it is easy to miss if you don't look carefully.

"This is it!" Ye Shuli pointed to the entrance of the cave, her voice filled with anticipation.

Jiang Ye stared at the dark cave entrance and swallowed hard. "Sister Li, are there any monsters inside?"

Ye Shuli rolled her eyes at him, "What are you afraid of? I'm here!" After saying that, she took the lead and walked into the cave.

Jiang Ye took a deep breath and followed him inside.

It was pitch black in the cave, and you couldn't see your fingers.

Jiang Ye stayed close to Ye Shuli, afraid that they would get separated if they weren't careful.

"Sister Li, slow down..." Jiang Ye's voice echoed in the cave.

Suddenly, Ye Shuli stopped in her tracks, and Jiang Ye almost bumped into her.

"What's wrong, Sister Li?"

Ye Shuli didn't speak, but slowly stretched out her hand and pointed forward...

"Shh!"

Deep within the cave, faint points of light shimmered.

Ye Shuli squinted, and by the dim light, she saw a small spirit crystal vein in front of her!

The crystal-clear spirit crystals radiate an alluring light, like twinkling stars in the night sky.

"Holy crap! I'm rich!" Jiang Ye was so excited he almost jumped up, wishing he could rush up and hug the entire mine.

However, a transparent barrier blocked their way, radiating powerful spiritual energy fluctuations.

"Don't be impulsive!" Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye, stopping his rash behavior.

"This barrier is no simple thing." Jiang Ye refused to believe it and rolled up his sleeves, intending to force his way through.

"Sister Li, watch out, I'll be right there..." Before he could finish speaking, he was thrown away by the barrier and landed face-first in the mud.

"Ouch!" Jiang Ye clutched his butt, looking aggrieved. "This thing is pretty hard!"

Ye Shuli carefully observed the barrier, her brows furrowed.

The flow of spiritual energy on this barrier seems to follow some kind of pattern...

and many more!

This feeling is somewhat similar to...

Electromagnetic field?

Ye Shuli suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered the principle of electromagnetic induction she learned in high school physics class.

Is it...

"Jiang Ye, bring the spirit crystals over and arrange them as I said!" A glint of light flashed in Ye Shuli's eyes.

Although Jiang Ye didn't understand what Ye Shuli was going to do, he still obediently did as she said.

Following Ye Shuli's instructions, he placed the spirit crystals one by one around the barrier, forming a peculiar pattern.

As the last spirit crystal was placed, the spiritual energy fluctuations on the barrier suddenly became chaotic, emitting a "sizzling" sound.

Then, the barrier collapsed like shattered glass!

"Sister Li, you're awesome!" Jiang Ye looked at the disappearing barrier, his admiration for Ye Shuli was like a surging river, never ending.

"Basic stuff, don't be silly." Ye Shuli smiled faintly, showing off a little.

The two cautiously ventured deeper into the cave and discovered that, in addition to the spirit crystal vein, there were also some strange runes carved on the cave walls, shimmering with a faint light.

"What is this thing?" Jiang Ye asked curiously, reaching out to touch it.

"Don't move!" Ye Shuli grabbed him. "Be careful, it might be a trap!"

The two held their breath, staring intently at the flickering runes, an eerie atmosphere filling the air...

"I feel... something's not right..." Jiang Ye swallowed hard.

Ye Shuli didn't speak, but slowly reached out her hand towards the flashing runes...