The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

They continued to wander through the market, searching for other possible artifacts. Suddenly, they heard a commotion and saw a group of people gathered around a stall, pointing and talking animatedly.

"What happened?" Luo Yifei asked curiously.

As they approached, they saw a black bead on the stall, emitting a faint glow.

"What is this?" Shen Lixi asked.

"This is a Netherworld Pearl, which can absorb the resentment of ghosts and enhance one's own cultivation," the stall owner explained.

"The Netherworld Pearl? Isn't that a legendary divine artifact?" Han Yue exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right, this is the Netherworld Pearl.” The stall owner nodded. “But this Netherworld Pearl has lost most of its power and can only be considered a pseudo-divine artifact.”

“Even so, this is still a rare treasure,” Shen Lixi said. “Boss, how much is this Netherworld Pearl?”

"This Netherworld Pearl was passed down from my ancestors, and I wasn't originally planning to sell it," the stall owner said after a moment's hesitation. "But seeing that you are discerning customers, if you can offer something that appeals to me, I might consider exchanging it."

"Exchange? What do you want?" Shen Lixi asked.

"I want a high-level cultivation technique or some elixirs," the stall owner replied.

"Advanced cultivation techniques or elixirs?" Shen Lixi frowned. "We don't have any of those things on us."

"That's such a pity," the stall owner sighed. "If you ever need any of these things in the future, you can come to me anytime."

They continued browsing the market, but didn't find any other possible artifacts. However, they already had four pseudo-artifacts; finding just one more would allow them to open the portal to another dimension.

"Roland's golden dagger, Lin Xuan's Purple Cloud Sword, the God-Slaying Whip and Soul-Summoning Bell bought at the market—now we only need one more water-attribute artifact to complete our collection of the five great artifacts," Luo Yifei said to the other three.

"The Carlo Festival is still two days away, let's go check it out tomorrow," Shen Lixi said.

The next day, they went to a teahouse to inquire about information. The teahouse was bustling with activity. They found a corner to sit down and began to observe the other customers.

Suddenly, they noticed a middle-aged man in a gray robe talking to several practitioners. The word "divine artifact" was mentioned in their conversation.

Luo Yifei and the others immediately perked up and quietly moved closer. They heard the middle-aged man trying to sell a divine artifact to the other cultivators.

"Gentlemen, I have a divine artifact here called the Xuanwu Shield," the middle-aged man said. "This artifact can withstand any attack and protect the user's safety."

"The Xuanwu Shield? Isn't that a legendary divine artifact?" a cultivator exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right, this is the Xuanwu Shield.” The middle-aged man nodded. “But this artifact is somewhat damaged, so it can only be considered a pseudo-artifact.”

“Even so, this is still a rare treasure,” another cultivator said. “Boss, how much is your Xuanwu Shield?”

“My Xuanwu Shield is priceless,” the middle-aged man said, shaking his head. “But if you can offer something that tempts me, I might consider exchanging it.”

Luo Yifei and the others exchanged glances, each with their own ideas. They decided to exchange some rare materials they had collected for the Xuanwu Shield.

Han Yue took out the Illusion Fruit, Shi Hao took out the Flame Grass that had previously resisted the power of death, and Shen Lixi took out the remaining Undying Herbs.

However, the middle-aged man still shook his head.

“These things are precious, but they are of no use to me,” the middle-aged man said. “What I need are pills or cultivation techniques that can improve my cultivation level.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Yifei and the others couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. They didn't have anything like that to exchange.

“Boss, we really need this Xuanwu Shield,” Shen Lixi said sincerely. “If you have any requests or conditions, please feel free to tell us.”

Looking into their sincere eyes, the middle-aged man remained silent for a moment. Finally, he spoke, "If you can help me complete a task, I can give you the Xuanwu Shield."

"What mission?" Luo Yifei asked.

"I need you to go to the Dark Forest and help me find a spiritual herb called 'Nether Grass'," the middle-aged man said. "This spiritual herb grows deep in the Dark Forest and is extremely rare. If you can find it and bring it back to me, I can give you the Xuanwu Shield."

Luo Yifei and the others exchanged glances, having already made their decisions. Although the Dark Forest was fraught with danger, they were willing to take the risk in order to gather the five divine artifacts and open the portal to time and space.

“Okay, we agree,” Luo Yifei said, “but you need to tell us the exact location of the Dark Forest and the characteristics of the Nether Grass first.”

The middle-aged man nodded and explained the location of the Dark Forest and the characteristics of the Nether Grass in detail. After Luo Yifei and the others took notes, they left the teahouse.

They arrived at the edge of the Dark Forest, and looking at the eerie and terrifying landscape before them, a sense of unease crept into their hearts. But they knew that only by overcoming these difficulties could they find the Nether Grass and collect the five divine artifacts.

So they took a deep breath and resolutely stepped into the dark forest...

……

The vendor who had sold the God-Slaying Whip earlier walked up to the middle-aged man and said, "No way, we're going to mess with them again?"

"Otherwise, I would have made you a day late. They had already traded the elixir of immortality for the broken bell," the middle-aged man said.

"But it's a pseudo-divine artifact." The vendor's figure flashed, and he transformed into a beautiful woman, Roland.

"The five divine artifacts are not on the same level, so the space-time gate they open is unstable and the transmission distance may not be enough. We need to find a way to replace that broken bell with the things we prepared." The middle-aged man was none other than the cultivator played by Wen Bin.

"Then I'll trouble you one more time to put on another show," Roland said. "But they probably won't have as many good things this time, will they?"

"Then let's find a way to send it directly," Wen Bin said.

Meanwhile, Luo Yifei and his group had already ventured deeper into the dark forest. They proceeded cautiously, constantly on guard against the dangers around them.

An eerie atmosphere permeated the dark forest, creating a sense of oppression. Moreover, the beasts here were far stronger and more ferocious than those outside. They had to remain constantly vigilant to avoid being suddenly attacked.

After several days of arduous searching, they finally found the Netherworld Grass in a treacherous valley. It was a black spiritual herb that emitted a faint glow and looked extremely mysterious.

Luo Yifei and the others carefully picked the Netherworld Grass and prepared to leave this dangerous place. However, just as they were about to leave, a deafening roar suddenly rang out.

They turned their heads and saw a huge monster charging towards them. The monster was covered in scales, had bloodshot eyes, and looked extremely ferocious.

"Oh no, we have to run!" Luo Yifei shouted.

They immediately turned and ran, but the monster relentlessly pursued them. They had no choice but to flee with all their might, hoping to shake off the monster's chase.

However, the monster was incredibly fast and quickly caught up with them. Luo Yifei and the others were forced to engage in a fierce battle with it.

After a fierce battle, they finally defeated the monster, but they were all seriously injured. However, they didn't care about these injuries, because they had found the Netherworld Grass and completed their mission.

They returned to the teahouse with the Netherworld Grass and found the middle-aged man. A flicker of surprise crossed the man's eyes when he saw the Netherworld Grass in their hands.

"You really found the Netherworld Grass!" the middle-aged man said. "This is truly beyond my expectations."

“This is what we should do,” Luo Yifei said. “Now you can hand over the Xuanwu Shield to us, right?”

The middle-aged man nodded and took out the Xuanwu Shield from his robes, handing it to them. Luo Yifei and the others received the Xuanwu Shield, their hearts filled with excitement. They had finally gathered all five divine artifacts and could now open the portal to time and space.

“You gave me more Ghost Grass than I asked for. I also have a fire-attribute artifact here, not a pseudo-artifact, but a high-level artifact. The higher the artifact's level, the more stable the spacetime gate it opens. Here, take it, this is the Wind and Fire Wheel.”

The middle-aged man then pulled out a blazing flywheel and handed it to them.

Luo Yifei and the others received the Wind and Fire Wheels, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. They hadn't expected to receive such an unexpected joy.

"Thank you very much, senior!" Luo Yifei and the others said gratefully.

"No need to thank me, you achieved this through your own hard work." The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Now you can leave and go open the portal to time and space."

After saying goodbye to the middle-aged man, Luo Yifei and the others left the teahouse.

……

"Do you think they might not use the Wind and Fire Wheels, but instead use that Soul-Summoning Bell?" Roland reappeared beside Wen Bin.

"It can't be that bad, I've already made it clear. I've been straightforward enough, I'm practically revealing my identity," Wen Bin said.