"An old friend?" The lady's words caused a look of confusion to surface on Li Luo's face. Just what sort of old friend did he have in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent?

When faced with his lost expression, the lady did not reply, only raising the case towards him, demonstrating that he should accept it.

When Li Fengyi saw this, she took the initiative to hurry over. "Third Brother, your friend is truly magnanimous! Why would she spend twenty million on a Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill just for you?"

Li Luo didn't exactly know how he ought to reply. None of the old friends he knew were this reckless with money.

So who was it that was handing him this pill? What was the person's goal?

Before he could recover from the shock, the youthful lady left without any further explanation.

Li Luo could only helplessly shake his head.

Li Fengyi then handed him the jade case, and Li Luo started inspecting the Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill before storing it in his pocket sphere. This whole series of events was too strange, so he would get Li Qingpeng to inspect it before he did anything.

However, he trusted that there were no issues with the pill. Spending such a large sum of money just for an overt plot would truly be underestimating Li Luo's intelligence.

When Li Luo raised his head, he glanced at the ashen Zhao Jingyu and smiled. "I'm sorry, it looks like the prize landed in my hands again."

The corner of Zhao Jingyu's mouth twitched a little. This sort of development was beyond his expectations. But even though he knew that the pill would eventually land in Li Luo's hands, twenty million was simply too much for him, and he would not have bidded further.

But it didn't matter. It was just a single Dipper Smelting Pill. Even though it could bolster Li Luo's strength, it wouldn't allow him to break into the Heavenly Pearl Tier in one night.

So long as Li Luo didn’t break through, Zhao Shenjiang would be able to thoroughly suppress him.

Thus, he smiled coldly and no longer deigned to fight with Li Luo.

Li Luo didn't bother with him either, turning to find other useful objects.

The second floor then regained a sense of peace and quiet.

On the third level, the veiled lady was closely observing Li Luo. Her red lips curved up slightly before she turned around and stepped away.

Arriving at the back of the hall, she saw the attendant who had been tasked to deliver the pill.

"I'm sorry for troubling you, Elder Sister Jin." She smiled.

Although the youthful lady wasn’t special in terms of looks, her eyes bellied a strong and fierce spirit as she spoke to the veiled girl before her. "Young Mistress, that Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill was prepared for you by the household head. You not only didn't use it, you even gave it away..."

The veiled girl laughed lightly. "That pill is more useful to him than me. We are old friends, and he has frightening talent. He will definitely rise up amongst the youths in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent and surpa.s.s everyone in his generation."

"Well, it looks like he's not at that point yet. He might have become the Dragon's Head of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li, but getting the best of geniuses like Qin Yi and Zhao Shenjiang will not be an easy task," the lady known as Elder Sister Jin replied.

The girl then responded, "Elder Sister Jin, you should not look down upon him. He has paved his way through a road of absolute despair and he is a creator of miracles. Although Qin Yi and Zhao Shenjiang are stronger than him now, it's only because he arrived at the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li a year ago. Even with so little time, he was able to conquer all of the talents produced by his bloodline and became the Dragon's Head. Thus, if you give him a bit more time, he will be nipping right at the heels of Qin Yi and Zhao Shenjiang and their ilk. Beating them will not be impossible."

Elder Sister Jin nodded. "Based on your words, he does seem extraordinary... However, it also seems like you are well acquainted with him, Young Mistress."

This seemed like something even mere old friends would not know.

The girl paused before replying, "I guess you can say we are best friends."

Elder Sister Jin glanced at her. How could a boy and a girl be best friends? However, Li Luo's status was considerable—he was indeed a good fit for the young mistress.

The girl did not continue elaborating, changing the subject immediately. "The reason I've come to the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent is because of a particular opportunity in the Spiritual Resonance Cave. My father told me that it would benefit me when it came to the Holy Seed Inheritance."

Elder Sister Jin replied, "Young Mistress, you are truly endowed with talent. You've spent many years roaming the outer continent, yet your body revealed signs of fusing with the Holy Seed Inheritance as soon as you came here. The Family Patriarch does not wish for you to return to the mountain too soon. His intention is to keep your talent hidden so others will not desire it for themselves. So, Young Mistress, please do not blame the Family Patriarch for his actions, as he feels extremely guilty about you."

The girl smiled sweetly. "Are those the words Father asked you to say?"

Elder Sister Jin smiled awkwardly.

The girl shook her head. "I don't hate him. The years I've spent following my mother have been full of joy, and I've never lacked for anything."

Her tone then changed. "The Spiritual Resonance Cave will be full of danger, and I might need this friend's help. This is why I opted to give him the Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill. It could be as a way of thanking him in advance."

Elder Sister Jin found this a little amusing. The Family Patriarch had dispatched countless guardians for the young mistress' expedition into the Spiritual Resonance Cave, and she was just one of many. Even though Li Luo was the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li's Dragon's Head, he was still on the weaker side in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, his strength would not be very helpful to them. The young mistress had a proud personality and had clearly come up with some other reason for giving the pill away.

"If all you wanted to do was give him the Nine Orifices Dipper Smelting Pill, why did you have to increase the bid as well? Don't you feel that that was extraneous?" Elder Sister Jin asked curiously.

The girl then playfully beamed. "Doesn't that Zhao Jingyu character like to play around? I wanted to tease him as well."

Elder Sister Jin helplessly shrugged, but then she realized that the young mistress was dissatisfied with the way Zhao Jingyu and the rest had maliciously bidded against Li Luo, and thus she had opted to take such an action to vent on his behalf.

At this point, she glanced at the girl. It seemed as though they weren't simply just best friends, she had gone beyond that with her actions.

"Young Mistress, do you want to talk to him?" Elder Sister Jin asked.

The girl paused for a moment before shaking her head. "There is no rush. My father said I had to keep this trip a secret. I'll find a way to meet him in the Spiritual Resonance Cave."

Elder Sister Jin did not ask any further, only following the girl who was now walking away into the distance.

……

Li Luo, on the other hand, remained within the second level of the Golden Dragon Bank's hall, searching for other items he needed. He indeed managed to find something useful.

It was a secret art.

The Great Sanguine Poison Art, an unorthodox technique that allowed one to refine one's blood essence with some sort of poison to create a blood poison. Most individuals had no interest in such an art, but Li Luo saw it differently.

This was because there was still a trace of the dual poison within his body. It was toxic and domineering, and even a Heavenly Resonance Tier cultivator would not dare to purify it.[1]

Li Luo’s intention had been to seal the poison within his body and imprison it in a resonant bubble to be used on an unsuspecting opponent in battle. Thus, even after he arrived at the Dragon's Fang Lineage, he had not asked Li Jingzhe to a.s.sist him with purging it. The Great Sanguine Poison Art would not merely detoxify his body, it would fuse the poison with his blood essence, allowing him to create a blood poison.

The strength of the blood poison would surpa.s.s the poison that was still stored in the resonant bubbles in his body.

Thus, the Great Sanguine Poison Art seemed to be a good fit for him. Li Luo did not hesitate to directly buy out the art, denying others an opportunity to throw a wrench into his plans. However, he did have to spend five million skygold.

After storing the Great Sanguine Poison Art, he felt as though he had made a worthwhile deal.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw that Zhao Jingyu was bidding on a fifth-grade Royal Engraving known as the Underworld Thunder Runic Arrow. When activated, it would create a runic arrow that possessed immense might. Zhao Jingyu was similarly ensuring that he was well stocked and ready to confront the challenges that awaited him in the Spiritual Resonance Cave. The Underworld Thunder Runic Arrow was priced around six million skygold, and its bid was still increasing.

That being said, Zhao Jingyu seemed determined to obtain the item. This notion alone seemed to have scared away a few of his compet.i.tors.

Li Luo, on the other hand, held no regard for him.

He then immediately entered a bid for nine million.

The sight of this infuriated Zhao Jingyu so much that his face turned green.

Although he knew that Li Luo was messing with him, he truly desired the item and thus he eventually gritted his teeth and hunkered down, bidding eleven million. This was almost twice as expensive as what it was usually worth.

This was met with Li Luo's grinning visage, which was also coupled with a thumbs up.

Zhao Jingyu's face twitched and his gaze turned so ferocious that a mere glance could tear Li Luo apart.

Li Luo, however, completely disregarded him as he looked at the Underworld Thunder Runic Arrow engraving with much interest. It would actually be very useful to him. If he could couple it with his Heavenly Dragon's Sunchaser Bow, the combined power would be mind blowing. But there was no need for him to struggle over it with Zhao Jingyu, as the price was not worth it any more.

He would find a better opportunity to fish it out of his pocket sphere later... Li Luo then flashed a warm smile towards Zhao Jingyu and sighed.

Ah... how familiar... After which, he called out to Li Fengyi and the rest before making his way back.

1. TL Note: This was poison from back in the Xia Kingdom, when Li Luo was purifying Guo Ling in Chapter 432. ☜