Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 108 "Rumors"

The ore mined by the two disciples of the sect, whose name was written as "Spirit Mine Peak" but was read as "Gold Miner," would automatically decompose into many special drops once Zhang Chengdao put them in his backpack—Zhang Chengdao called these things "symbiotic ores."

Besides the crystals he used as spirit stones, there were many other "gems".

In the original game, these gems were used to be socketed into weapons and equipment, and they had various attributes. However, after the transmigration, although the character panel still had weapon and equipment slots, there were no slots for socketing gems, and the gems no longer displayed their attributes, so Zhang Chengdao stopped paying attention to them.

However, [Spirit Jade] is not a gemstone, but a relatively rare material used to make the "Spirit Jade Set".

Besides [Spirit Jade], there is also [Jade Green], which also drops from [Stone Mine Cave]. Compared to [Spirit Jade], [Jade Green] is of lower grade and there is more of it. It is a blue-grade spiritual material.

Above [Spirit Jade] is [Immortal Jade], which is a gold-grade material, while [Spirit Jade] is a purple-grade material.

The Spirit Jade Set is a higher-level purple-grade Xuan-rank equipment than the Jade Set. However, in addition to Spirit Jade, some parts of this set also require Brocade, making it too expensive to craft. It's better to use the Jade Set, which only requires Silk and Jade. At this stage, it's really unnecessary. It would be better to use the Spirit Jade to make "Jade Slips" and see if you can inscribe cultivation techniques and supernatural abilities.

As for why not use gold-quality [Immortal Jade]...

Nonsense! Those are materials for crafting Earth-tier equipment! I've only accumulated less than 10 units in my inventory over time, how could I possibly waste them!

Compared to that, there were many more [Spirit Jade], totaling more than five hundred units. Zhang Chengdao even took out one unit of [Spirit Jade] to examine it. It was about the size of a palm, like a brick, icy cold, and very heavy, though a bit flat.

A single spirit jade brick can conservatively be divided into at least ten "jade slips," so it's not really a big deal to squander them.

So, the biggest problem now is how to record the information into the "jade slip".

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengdao, who had just decided never to learn formations again, slunk back to the academy and reluctantly continued to delve into the secret manual explaining formations.

At the same time, news of the Immortal Cultivation Conference held by the White Stone Immortal Sect finally spread throughout the country, causing a huge stir in the martial arts world.

……

In early July, the sun shone brightly in Jiankang Prefecture, and the heat made people unable to walk on the streets. They gathered in teahouses to drink tea and listen to "Know-it-all" Zhu Ye showing off his latest news from the martial arts world.

"To be honest, the Northern Xiao Kingdom really got lucky!"

Zhu Ye seemed to despise the Xiao Kingdom, spitting out a curse before continuing, "The celestial beings descended to earth for a journey, and just happened to enter their White Stone Mountain! Bah! If you ask me, which of our many famous mountains and rivers in Great Chu is inferior to White Stone Mountain? Yet those bastards got the better deal!"

Zhu Ye is a well-known "information broker" in the martial arts world. It is said that if you want to find out anything, you only need to find Zhu Ye and you will know it. There is nothing in the entire martial arts world that he does not know!

However, Zhu Ye's hobby is to be a storyteller in teahouses all over the country, sometimes in Yuhang Prefecture and sometimes in Pingjiang Prefecture. Although he does not deliberately hide his whereabouts, it is really hard to find him.

These past few days, he happened to arrive in Jiankang Prefecture—a place right next to the border between the Xiao and Chu Kingdoms.

Someone who hadn't yet heard the rumors couldn't help but interject, "Mr. Zhu, don't make up stories based on unfounded rumors again. We're all tired of hearing about it!"

"Get out of here! How could you make up a story!"

Zhu Ye rolled her eyes, waved her paper fan, and snorted, "These days, who in the martial arts world doesn't know the name 'Old Immortal Bai Shi'? If you haven't even heard of him, hey! Did you sleep for half a month?"

Those gathered together for tea laughed and said, "Exactly! Exactly! You must be half asleep! You've never even heard of 'True Immortal Baishi'!"

Another outsider, speaking with a heavy accent, asked, "Is this 'White Stone Immortal'? I only know there's a 'White Stone Immortal' in Baozhou, is that him?"

“That’s him! These days, who else in the world dares to call themselves ‘immortal’ besides him?” someone replied.

Because Jiankang Prefecture is the most prosperous city near Xiao Kingdom, martial arts practitioners have been coming and going in an endless stream lately, all preparing to enter Xiao Kingdom from here and try out the so-called Immortal Destiny Conference at Baishi Mountain in Baozhou.

Therefore, everyone was already used to that strange accent and didn't say anything. They just craned their necks, waiting for Zhu Ye to show off his information.

Zhu Ye knew everyone was waiting for her, so she slowly sipped her tea, letting the warm tea flow down her throat before speaking unhurriedly:
"A little over a month ago, a momentous event occurred in the capital of the Xiao Kingdom!"

After saying just one sentence, Zhu Ye picked up the teacup again, as if to drink more tea to moisten her throat.

The surrounding tea drinkers immediately protested and began urging them to hurry up.

"What's the matter?"

"Say it quickly!"

"You blockhead! What are you keeping me in suspense for!"

After enjoying the anxious expressions of everyone, Zhu Ye put down his teacup and continued, "Don't worry, don't worry, this is a big deal. Someone has inexplicably broken into the Golden Palace—all the civil and military officials of the Xiao Kingdom have seen it clearly!"

"Really? Who would dare to do something like that?"

"Could it be some grandmaster?"

"Isn't the old Imperial Tutor of Xiao Kingdom a Grandmaster? Who would dare to go against the old Imperial Tutor?"

Zhu Ye scoffed and shook his head, saying, "What grandmaster! The one who barged into the Golden Palace is the seventh young master of the Ye family in Jiangnan, the blind man known as the Seventh Young Master Ye!"

These words caused an uproar in the teahouse. Some questioned the matter, while others had known about it all along and were just showing off.

"Huh! Really?"

“It’s absolutely true! My fourth aunt’s daughter’s best friend’s cousin’s classmate is an official in Xiao Kingdom. He said that at that time, immortals appeared in the capital city riding on clouds and mythical beasts. Many people in the northern capital of Xiao Kingdom saw it!”

"Wow! Does that mean the Emperor of Xiao Kingdom is blessed by the gods?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I heard that the gods have rebuked the entire Xiao Kingdom!"

"Mr. Zhu, you know a lot, please tell me what exactly happened back then!"

After being urged a few times, Zhu Ye gently tapped the table with her teacup to draw everyone's attention before clearing her throat and saying, "The situation was like this at the time..."

"On this day, countless rays of light shone from beyond the nine heavens, and purple aura rose from the east above the Golden Palace. Civil and military officials stood in rows on the left and right before the Lingxiao Palace, while the officials and ministers below the imperial city stood solemnly among them."

"Above the clouds, celestial music filled the air, and colorful lights shone. Crimson celestial beasts leaped among them, and sitting atop them was an immortal wearing a hibiscus crown and a robe draped with the sun and moon. Guess what? It was none other than Ye Shuyun, the seventh young master of the Ye family of Jiangnan!"
Zhu Ye used a teacup instead of a gavel, slamming it on the table again, and continued, "The people of the Northern Xiao Kingdom are nothing but uncouth savages; how could they have ever seen such a spectacle? All the civil and military officials knelt down in unison, the emperor's dragon robes rustling incessantly. Then, we heard Ye Xiao Shenxian shout: 'True Immortal Baishi bestows peaches—'"

"Suddenly, two baskets of immortal peaches fell from the heavens. One basket was woven from purple-veined bamboo from Kunlun Mountain, and the other was formed from the silvery radiance of the Big Dipper. They were indestructible, impervious to water and fire. Lift the lids—"

"Wow! This is truly a celestial fruit; its fragrance can be smelled from a hundred miles away..."

(End of this chapter)