Chapter 165

Chapter 165: The Fortune Teller!

Useless!

Ye Tianming shook his head with a wry smile.

The giant python felt a bit aggrieved. Was it really not worthy of the young man before it? But it didn’t dare say much. The woman in front of it was not only a dragon, but her strength was also unfathomably deep, and she completely crushed it on the bloodline level.

Ao Qianqian walked up to the box. Ye Tianming, standing beside her, suddenly asked, “Sister Qianqian, was this left behind by the Spirit Ancestor that Xiaohun mentioned?”

Xiaohun had told him a few things about the Spirit Ancestor.

Ao Qianqian nodded, “Mm. She sometimes leaves behind a strand of her avatar……. if that’s truly the case, then your soul problem can be resolved.”

As she spoke, she placed both hands on the box. The malevolent aura lingering on it didn’t harm Ao Qianqian at all. On the contrary, it coiled around her hands in a rather affectionate manner.

Seeing that the malevolent aura hadn’t harmed Ao Qianqian, the giant python beside her immediately showed a look of utter disbelief.

All these years, the reason it hadn’t dared to open the box was precisely because of that malevolent aura, which also suppressed it on the bloodline level.

Both the python and Ye Tianming fixed their gazes on the box, one human and one beast staring unblinkingly, both curious about what peerless divine treasure might be inside.

But when the box was opened, everyone was dumbstruck.

Inside the box was nothing but a candied hawthorn skewer…… and on top of that, only half a piece remained.

Someone had already eaten from it!

Ye Tianming was completely baffled.

The python thought it had seen wrong. It quickly leaned in for a closer look, and when it confirmed there really was only half a candied hawthorn, it just stood there in a daze.

What the hell?

I guarded this treasure for a thousand years, and it’s just half a candied hawthorn?

Is someone messing with me?

Ye Tianming turned to look at Ao Qianqian, somewhat stunned, “Sister Qianqian, this…….”

When Ao Qianqian saw the candied hawthorn, she shook her head with a smile, “What a precious treasure!”

The python’s face twitched. This thing is precious?

It naturally didn’t know that to that little one, this was more precious than any divine artifact.

Ao Qianqian picked up the half candied hawthorn and handed it to Ye Tianming.

Ye Tianming hesitated for a moment, then said, “I’m not eating it.”

Ao Qianqian smiled and said, “You’re not supposed to eat it. This is a little game she plays. When you meet her in the future, give her this half candied hawthorn, and she’ll grant you one wish. This secret is something most people don’t know.”

Ye Tianming took the half candied hawthorn. Ao Qianqian added, “Remember, when the time comes, tell her to give you a treasure she actually remembers.”

Ye Tianming was a little curious, “One she remembers?”

Ao Qianqian nodded and smiled, “She has too many treasures, and they get replaced very quickly. So don’t mention any rank or grade. Just tell her directly to give you one she remembers, because she can’t even keep track of ordinary divine objects. Anything she actually remembers is definitely no ordinary thing.”

Ye Tianming smiled and said, “Alright.”

Ao Qianqian turned to look at the giant python beside her. It was hanging its head in dejection, utterly defeated.

A thousand years!

It had spent a thousand years guarding this thing?

Its dao heart had nearly collapsed.

Was the Spirit Ancestor messing with it?

Ao Qianqian looked the python over, then said, “Your cultivation hasn’t been easy. Come back with me to the Heavenly Dragon Clan. I’ll find something for you to do.”

The python was overjoyed and quickly said, “Yes, yes!”

Ao Qianqian extended her hand, palm open. The python understood. It immediately transformed into a miniature little snake and coiled around Ao Qianqian’s arm.

Ao Qianqian turned to Ye Tianming, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to meet an old acquaintance. They might have a way to help you with your body problem.”

With that, she took Ye Tianming and disappeared from the spot.

After leaving that secret realm, they returned to the boundary between the Void and Reality. Ao Qianqian brought him to another temporal abyss. This one wasn’t very large. The moment the two of them arrived before it, an old man appeared in front of them. He leaned on a cane, his expression grim, and he didn’t look like someone to be trifled with.

Ao Qianqian opened her palm, and a storage ring slowly drifted toward the old man.

The old man took the ring, glanced at it, then looked back at Ao Qianqian, “You still need to add ten thousand star core crystals.”

Ao Qianqian’s brows furrowed slightly, “The price went up?”

The old man said calmly, “Yes.”

Ao Qianqian was a little puzzled, “Since when?”

The old man said impatiently, “Just pay what I say. Why all the talk?”

Ao Qianqian suddenly raised her hand and slapped him.

Smack!

The old man was sent flying tens of thousands of zhang away by the slap. The moment he stopped, his physical body instantly shattered.

Ao Qianqian stared at the old man, who was now completely stunned, “Who gave you the nerve to talk to me like that?”

As she spoke, she waved her right hand, and both the old man’s own storage ring and the one she had just given him flew into her hand.

Ye Tianming: “……”

The old man was dazed for a moment, then erupted in fury, “How dare you lay a hand on me. Do you know who……”

“Shut up!”

At that moment, a furious shout suddenly rang out from within the temporal abyss. The next instant, a middle-aged man came charging out.

When the old man saw this middle-aged man, he quickly said, “Void Saint Venerable, this person actually dared to attack here……”

The middle-aged man suddenly spun around and delivered a slap.

Smack!

With a crisp crack, the old man’s soul was sent flying. By the time he stopped, his soul had become nearly transparent.

The old man was stunned.

The middle-aged man didn’t even glance at the old man. He strode quickly to stand before Ao Qianqian and Ye Tianming. Looking at Ao Qianqian, his face was full of apologetic smiles, “Miss, he’s new here and didn’t recognize you. Please forgive any offense.”

Ao Qianqian glanced at the middle-aged man, “He just told me to pay an extra ten thousand. He was extorting me.”

The middle-aged man’s expression darkened. He shot a fierce glare at the old man in the distance, who was still in a daze, then looked back at Ao Qianqian with a smile plastered on his face, “A misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding……”

As he spoke, he opened his palm, and a storage ring slowly drifted toward Ao Qianqian, “Miss, this is a small token of goodwill from our ‘Dao Market’. Please accept it.”

Ao Qianqian took the storage ring and casually tossed it to Ye Tianming without another word. She led Ye Tianming toward the temporal abyss.

Ye Tianming looked at the storage ring in his hand, his heart pounding wildly.

After watching Ao Qianqian and Ye Tianming disappear into the distance, the middle-aged man let out a long, heavy breath.

The old man, now reduced to just a soul, walked over and said in a trembling voice, “Void Saint Venerable, who was that?”

The Void Saint Venerable glanced at him, “Heavenly Dragon Clan.”

Seeing the old man’s face full of confusion, the Void Saint Venerable said quietly, “Not long ago, she crushed a top-tier powerhouse from the True World with her bare hands…… a Circle-Breaking realm powerhouse is no different from an ant in front of her.”

The old man: “…….”

The Void Saint Venerable gazed into the distance, his eyes heavy with gravity, “What matters most is her identity. She was the wife of the Guanxuan Sword Master back in the day…… though who knows if she still is. But even if she isn’t anymore, she’s still not someone the likes of you and I can afford to offend.”

The old man nodded repeatedly. That woman’s strength was truly terrifying.

The Void Saint Venerable murmured, “The young man beside her just now must be that Ye Tianming who defeated Yang Jia twice in a row…… and yet he’s down to just a soul. How strange.”

After Ye Tianming followed Ao Qianqian into the temporal abyss, they soon arrived on a special passage that stretched as far as the eye could see. The passage was dozens of zhang wide, and the entire corridor seemed to be formed from condensed starlight, dazzling and brilliant.

Ye Tianming looked around, filled with curiosity.

Ao Qianqian said, “This is the Dao Market. It’s a shop run by people from the True World. This place has been specially modified to connect multiple dimensional worlds and universes, allowing people from different dimensions to trade here.”

As she spoke, she paused, then added, “Apparently, the Immortal Treasure Pavilion once tried to acquire this Dao Market outright, but ultimately failed. Still, sooner or later, this Dao Market will probably belong to the Immortal Treasure Pavilion.”

Ye Tianming didn’t understand, “Why?”

Ao Qianqian said, “Because the Immortal Treasure Pavilion opened a place similar to this Dao Market, called the ‘Immortal Treasure Street’. Not only do they charge zero transaction fees, they also give all kinds of subsidies to sellers……. the way they play the game, no one can compete with them.”

Ye Tianming said in a low voice, “Wouldn’t they be operating at a loss doing that? This……”

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped, then said, “I understand.”

Ao Qianqian turned to look at Ye Tianming. He said, “They’re saying: if you won’t let me acquire you, I’ll copy you, then destroy you, monopolize the market, and rewrite the rules.”

Ao Qianqian smiled, “Smart.”

Ye Tianming suddenly asked, “Sister Qianqian, just how much money does the Immortal Treasure Pavilion have?”

Ao Qianqian shook her head, “No idea. But it should be more than they could ever spend.”

Ye Tianming nodded and said nothing more. He looked to the left and right. Divine objects appeared from time to time on both sides, the lowest being civilization ancestor artifacts. Among them, he even spotted true divine artifacts, though he had yet to see any supreme true divine artifacts.

Supreme true divine artifacts were things on the level of the Heavenly Dao Seal.

And such treasures were naturally exceedingly rare.

Ye Tianming asked again, “Sister Qianqian, who are we going to see?”

Ao Qianqian said, “An old acquaintance from the past. I just don’t know if we’ll be able to find them……. They’re well-traveled and knowledgeable. They’ll definitely have a way to deal with the misfortune on you.”

Ye Tianming looked down at his own soul. He noticed that the misfortune on him had already begun to change subtly. What had originally been a faint black was now a pure, deep black, and it was boundless and endless……. as if all the misfortune in the entire world had gathered on him.

Ao Qianqian looked at him and said gently, “Don’t worry. There’s always a way.”

Ye Tianming nodded, “Mm.”

After walking for a while, Ao Qianqian suddenly said, “He’s here!”

With that, she grabbed Ye Tianming’s arm and ran toward the distance.

Ye Tianming looked ahead. Several hundred zhang away, someone had set up a stall. It was a fortune teller.

The man seemed to sense something. He turned to look, and when he saw Ao Qianqian and Ye Tianming, his expression immediately changed. He abandoned his stall entirely, turned around, and ran.