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

Jinlong's eyes were sharp as he scrutinized Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye.

Ye Shuli met its gaze without fear and said calmly, "What, you have a share of these spirit crystals?"

The golden dragon seemed enraged by her arrogant attitude, exhaling a puff of white smoke from its nostrils: "Bold human! This spirit crystal is formed from the essence of heaven and earth; how dare you take it at will!"

Jiang Ye was immediately displeased upon hearing this.

"The essence of heaven and earth? It's a waste to leave the essence of heaven and earth to gather dust. We might as well use it to level up, fight monsters, and benefit all living beings!" He rubbed his arm, which was a little numb from the golden dragon's pressure, and muttered to himself, "These days, even a dragon is so domineering, it's even trying to steal our resources."

Jinlong clearly didn't understand what Jiang Ye meant, but it understood Jiang Ye's tone perfectly.

It roared and its huge dragon claw slammed down towards the two of them.

"act recklessly!"

Ye Shuli reacted quickly, pulling Jiang Ye aside to dodge.

Just kidding, she finally managed to dig out a hundred spirit crystals from the spirit mine, how could she possibly give them away so easily?

The two fled back to the small valley, preparing to seize the time to absorb spirit crystals and level up.

However, when they took out the spirit crystal, they found that the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations were abnormally chaotic, as if an invisible force was interfering with them.

"What's going on?" Jiang Ye asked, bewildered. "Does this spirit crystal have an expiration date?"

Ye Shuli frowned, carefully sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy around her.

This power...

It seems like I've encountered this somewhere before?

Before she could think it through, the spiritual power of the spirit crystal suddenly became violent, running wildly and uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Jiang Ye hurriedly mobilized his own spiritual power to try to stabilize the spirit crystal, but was forced back several steps by a powerful backlash, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Holy crap! This spirit crystal has become sentient?" Jiang Ye clutched his chest, looking pained.

Ye Shuli quickly supported him, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

The reaction of this spirit crystal is truly bizarre.

Suddenly, she seemed to have thought of something and her expression changed drastically.

"Oh no..." she suddenly looked towards the entrance of the valley, "We're surrounded..."

Jiang Ye was taken aback. Following her gaze, he saw several figures slowly emerging at the entrance of the valley...

At the entrance to the valley, walking slowly were Wang Meng, Elder Sun, and the others whom they had met in the spirit mine.

Wang Meng looked fierce and menacing, holding a large cleaver, as if he was about to tear the two men to pieces.

Elder Sun had a gloomy expression, with greedy glints in his eyes, clearly aiming for the spirit crystals.

"Oh ho ho, isn't this our Miss Ye and Young Master Jiang? What, you're trying to run away after finding a treasure?" Wang Meng said sarcastically, his tone full of mockery.

Jiang Ye rubbed his chest, which was still throbbing slightly, and rolled his eyes.

"Who ran away? This is a strategic retreat, do you understand?" As he spoke, he subtly slipped his hand behind his back and gave Ye Shuli a hand gesture.

Ye Shuli understood and nodded slightly.

On the surface, the two pretended to be calm, but in reality, their minds were racing as they thought of a solution.

They initially thought that Wang Meng and Elder Sun were secretly interfering with the absorption of the spirit crystal.

However, Ye Shuli suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and an idea crossed her mind.

Wait, could it not be them?

The reaction of this spirit crystal is truly bizarre.

She recalled the science fiction novels she had read in modern times, which often mentioned high-tech products with built-in protection mechanisms. Could it be...?

"Jiang Ye, don't you think the reaction of this spirit crystal is like a... self-protection mechanism?" Ye Shuli said in a low voice.

Jiang Ye was taken aback, then suddenly realized.

"That's right! How come I didn't think of that! One hundred spirit crystals, that's an enormous amount of energy! It probably triggered some kind of defense program!" He slapped his thigh and said excitedly, "Lili, you're a genius!"

Ye Shuli ignored his flattery and immediately began to analyze the situation.

She closed her eyes, recalling the arrangement of spirit crystals and the trajectory of spiritual energy flow that she had observed in the spirit mine.

In my mind, modern mathematical formulas and physical laws collided and merged with the spiritual energy system of this world.

A moment later, she suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

"I understand! As long as the spirit crystals are arranged in a specific order, this protection mechanism can be broken!"

She quickly drew a complex pattern on the ground, and then directed Jiang Ye to place the spirit crystals according to the pattern.

Although Jiang Ye didn't understand the underlying principles, he blindly trusted Ye Shuli's intelligence and did as she was told without hesitation.

As the last spirit crystal was placed, the originally violent fluctuations of spiritual energy miraculously calmed down, becoming stable and gentle.

"It's done!" Jiang Ye exclaimed excitedly.

However, just when they thought everything was going well, a sudden change occurred!

The hundred spirit crystals seemed to come alive suddenly, emitting a dazzling light and forming a huge vortex that frantically absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, including Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's own spiritual energy!

"Holy crap! What's going on?!" Jiang Ye was shocked, feeling his spiritual power gushing out like a floodgate being opened, almost draining him dry.

"Lili, help! I feel like I'm being squeezed dry!"

Ye Shuli was in no better shape; her face was pale, but she remained calm.

The reaction of the spirit crystal was completely beyond her expectations.

Could it be an energy overload?

or……

She suddenly thought of a possibility: could this spirit crystal, like a computer, also need "heat dissipation"?

"Jiang Ye, don't panic!" Ye Shuli shouted, enduring the weakness from having her spiritual energy drained. "Try to steady yourself and don't get sucked in!"

Jiang Ye was on the verge of tears: "Stay calm? I can't do it! This suction power is comparable to a super vacuum cleaner, I feel like my soul is being sucked out!"

Ye Shuli frowned, her eyes quickly scanning her surroundings, trying to find a solution.

Suddenly, she noticed a tiny, almost imperceptible weak point in the spiritual energy at the bottom of the spirit crystal vortex.

"I've got it!" A glint of light flashed in Ye Shuli's eyes. She pointed to the weak point and shouted to Jiang Ye, "See that spot? Push me over there with all your might!"

Although Jiang Ye didn't understand what Ye Shuli was going to do, he did it without hesitation.

He mobilized the last bit of spiritual power in his body and suddenly pushed Ye Shuli towards that weak point.

Using this thrust, Ye Shuli shot towards the bottom of the spirit crystal vortex like a cannonball.

In the instant she approached the weak point, she took out a special stone from her spatial ring—a special mineral she had found in the modern world that could absorb and release energy, which she had always treasured.

"Now!" Ye Shuli hurled the stone at the center of the spirit crystal pile.

The moment the stone collided with the spirit crystal, a dazzling light burst forth, the spirit crystal's suction force abruptly ceased, and the surrounding spiritual energy returned to calm.

Jiang Ye collapsed to the ground, panting heavily: "Lili, how...how did you do that?"

As the suction disappeared, the hundred spirit crystals seemed to have completed their mission. A gentle light replaced the previous ferocity, and pure spiritual energy flowed into Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's bodies like a gentle stream.

"Wow, this feels even better than taking a super tonic!" Jiang Ye was so comfortable that he almost groaned out loud, feeling like every pore of his body was cheering.

His spiritual energy surged wildly, as if he had been injected with adrenaline, and his dantian felt warm and comforting.

Ye Shuli was no better off. Although she maintained her aloof goddess demeanor on the surface, her slightly trembling lips betrayed her inner excitement.

The effect of this spirit crystal was even better than she had expected!

The two were surrounded by dazzling light, and their spiritual energy fluctuations grew stronger and stronger, a sign that they were about to break through!

Ye Shuli felt that the spiritual power in her body had reached saturation, and she could break through to the Spirit Master realm at any time.

Jiang Ye also sensed the opportunity for a breakthrough. He clenched his fist excitedly, almost shouting to the sky, "I'm finally going to level up!"

However, at this critical moment, a sinister laugh suddenly echoed through the valley, like a call from hell, shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

"Hehehe... It's like finding a needle in a haystack, only to have it come to you effortlessly..."

The laughter was chilling and malice-laden, sending shivers down Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye's spines.

"What the hell?" Jiang Ye's expression changed, and he looked around warily, but found nothing.

"This sound... it feels even more eerie than The Ring?"

Ye Shuli also sensed the danger. Her expression turned serious, and she said in a low voice, "It seems we were too happy too soon..."

Who is the source of this laughter? What is his purpose? A greater danger is quietly approaching...

"Lili, I suddenly have a bad feeling..." Jiang Ye swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

Ye Shuli didn't speak, but silently gripped the dagger in her hand, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

A sinister laugh echoed through the valley. Ye Shuli and Jiang Ye stood back to back, on high alert...