You're just a single demon beast? I have a whole army of beast tamers!

Qin Shou was secretly delighted, but his face remained expressionless.

He had already learned that although the Immortal Realm used Immortal Crystals as currency, low-level cultivators still used Spirit Stones.

Spirit stones are not useless in the immortal realm; many immortal arrays, low-level puppets, and miscellaneous tools require spirit stones to operate.

He just hadn't expected the exchange rate to be so high.

Ten thousand top-grade spirit stones can be exchanged for one low-grade immortal crystal. The three million top-grade spirit stones he has can only amount to a little over three hundred low-grade immortal crystals at most.

It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to soak in the Immortal Spirit Power Pool again.

"There are 300,000 top-grade spirit stones in this storage ring. Go and exchange them for immortal crystals for me." Qin Shou tossed a storage ring to Shui Yingyue. "You don't need to take the immortal crystals back. Keep five for your daily expenses, and keep the rest safe. We'll discuss how to use them once the cave dwelling is distributed."

Shui Yingyue caught the storage ring with both hands, her fingertips trembling with excitement.

Five low-grade immortal crystals were already a considerable sum for a female cultivator from a collateral branch of the Shui family.

She took a deep breath and nodded emphatically: "Don't worry, my husband, I'll go right away."

Qin Shou then took out two more bottles of pills and offered one to each of the two women:

"Here are some seventh and eighth grade Immaculate Pills."

Your cultivation has stagnated over the years, and there are many impurities in your bodies.

Take it and take it first, then go into seclusion for a few days to thoroughly refine your foundation.

I am a ninth-level alchemist, so I am not short of these pills.

But remember, the things given to you are meant to make you useful.

If anyone asks about it later, just say it was money you saved up yourselves, and don't mention me.

"We understand," the two women replied in unison.

Shui Yingyue went out first, hurrying towards the clan's exchange hall.

Shui Rou also stood up, but hesitated for a moment before whispering:

"My husband, I am not good enough. I am not even as good as Shui Yingyue."

I'm afraid... afraid I won't be able to help much in the future.

Qin Shou glanced at her and said indifferently:

"No matter how bad their aptitude is, they are still no worse than the rogue cultivators who flew up from the lower realm."

As long as you can get the things I ask you to do done properly and don't cause me any trouble, you're helping me.

Shui Yingyue can draw talismans. You can help her with materials and shops, or learn to manage people.

The power I'm building in the future can't just be about fighting and killing, understand?

A glimmer of light finally appeared in Shui Rou's eyes.

She nodded emphatically and left.

The attic fell silent again.

Just as Qin Shou was about to sit cross-legged in meditation, he suddenly frowned.

A very light voice transmission landed in his sea of ​​consciousness, clear and unfamiliar.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, your mastery of water magic must be more than just at the minor level, right? May I have a word with you?"

Qin Beast suddenly looked up.

Before he could think any further, a pale blue figure appeared in the pavilion.

The barrier didn't break, the door didn't open, and there wasn't even any spatial fluctuation.

The person just walked in like that, as if they had been standing there the whole time.

Qin Shou's expression darkened, and his whole body tensed up instantly.

He could tell that the gray-robed woman in front of him was the orphaned daughter of the Shen family.

But at this moment, her eyes were bluish-green, like two bottomless ancient wells.

The chains on her wrists were still there, but they seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

"What kind of tricks are you using?" Qin Shou asked in a deep voice.

"Wood Spirit Bloodline".

The woman surnamed Shen stopped a few steps away from him, her greenish-blue eyes glancing at him. "I may not care if I tell you my background, fellow Daoist."

But I can indeed use the energy of the wood spirit to temporarily connect with all sentient beings.

Your barrier is built upon spiritual energy, so it can't stop me.

Qin Shou felt a chill run down his spine.

This method is already close to the application of laws.

He calmed himself down before asking:

"What exactly does Fellow Daoist Shen want to say with his late-night visit?"

"cooperate."

The laws of water and fire are only a part of your true strength.

There are other laws within you, and they are more dangerous than those two.

I don't know why you're hiding your talents, but like you, I still can't trust the Shui family.

I can tell you the key to breaking through to True Immortal, and you help me obtain the items in that secret realm.

"Isn't it much better for us to join forces than for us to fight alone?"

Qin Shou didn't reply, but instead looked her up and down with his eyes, and then slowly said, "Why should I join forces with you?"

I have two Daoist partners, which is much better than when I first ascended.

If all else fails, take your time and work it out slowly.

The Shui family said that after ten sons, they would follow me to stay or leave.

I'll stay calm.

The woman surnamed Shen smiled faintly: "You are an illegal immigrant who did not take the ascension route and is burdened with multiple laws."

Did you really think that staying peacefully at the Shui family's house would solve everything?

Do you think you can leave once they've used you up?

The Shui family needs your bloodline, not you as a person.

Once you lose your value, you won't even know how you died.

Qin Shou remained silent for a moment before asking, "You control a secret realm?"

"My Shen family has discovered an ancient ruin, which may contain the key elixir for condensing the foundation of a true immortal."

The woman surnamed Shen said, "But the entrance is sealed by an array, which requires multiple laws to break."

I've only recovered to the pseudo-immortal level so far, and I can't enter on my own.

With your mastery of the Water Law and your initial understanding of the Fire Law, plus other methods, you should be able to help me break through the first two levels.

After it's done, we'll split the contents equally.

Even if you establish yourself in the Shui family, don't expect that meager monthly allowance to last long.

Breaking through to True Immortal is not a matter of a few immortal crystals.

Qin Shou did not agree immediately.

He walked to the window, his back to her, and went over the news he had heard that day in his mind.

The Shen family and the Shui family were related by marriage, but the Shui family refused to help them in their time of need.

If what this woman said is true, then the waters of the Shui family are deeper than he expected.

If he continues to fight alone, he will indeed be easily used as a pawn.

However, if you cooperate with her, this woman's mind is not simple either.

She possesses the bloodline of the Wood Spirit, has astonishing potential, and dared to venture alone into the Water Clan to negotiate terms.

This kind of woman cannot be easily trusted, nor can she be completely distrusted.

"Okay," Qin Shou said finally, "but let me make this clear from the start. If there's any danger, I'll leave first. Don't expect me to risk my life."

The woman surnamed Shen nodded, her voice softer than before:

"It's good that you agreed, fellow Daoist."

Qin Shou turned around and looked at her: "One last question."

What exactly is your Wood Spirit bloodline?

The woman surnamed Shen paused for a moment before slowly saying, "The Spirit Clan."

My Shen family ancestors once married a woman from the Wood Spirit clan, which is how we came to have Wood Spirit bloodlines.

"I see." Qin Shou nodded. "Thank you for letting me know."

The woman surnamed Shen didn't linger; her figure faded into the room like ink in a painting, as silently as she had arrived. Qin Shou gazed in the direction she disappeared, muttering to himself:

"I thought the human bloodline only included the True Spirit, but it turns out it can also be related to the Spirit Race."

Doesn't that mean that bloodlines from other races can also be integrated?

He slowly walked to the table and sat down. The night light seeped in through the cracks in the window, casting flickering shadows on his profile.