Liu Yiyi knew very well that at White Pebble Beach, Feng Jun didn’t have many close confidants.

Other than that bunch of people of mysterious origin who called him "Boss" and were his true direct line, there were only a handful like Yun Buyao and Mi Yunsan. As for Du Wentian, Jing Qingyang, Mei Jiushan, and Mei Yeyu... they could only be considered gate guards or Guest Elders, and even the Crimson Pheonix Golden Core Qu Jianlei was just a bodyguard.

Liu Yiyi could feel that the ones Feng Jun truly trusted were those direct-line followers with unknown backgrounds. Even though their Cultivation Level was low, Mountain Master Feng had no intention of sending them out to do things, only urging them to focus on Cultivation.

So... is the real reason you want to gamble on stone because you’re short on people?

As she was doing the math in her head, the other Emergence Stage beginner who was controlling the defensive formation spoke up, "Elder..."

This was the kun-cultivator Elder Qing Ji had brought, named Lan Yun, a registered Disciple of an outer court Executor, at the third layer of Emergence. Qing Ji borrowed her, and that outer court Executor didn’t even dare say a word, only smiling obsequiously and promising that Lan Yun would definitely obey the Elder.

But Qing Ji wasn’t the unreasonable type. She’d said, you come with me this once, I’ll guarantee you advance to Intermediate Level Emergence. If you have your own opportunities, that’s what you deserve. I only ask that you don’t reveal what happens on this trip.

For Lan Yun, there was simply no need to even mention "not revealing" the experience—unless she didn’t want to stay in Jinwu Sect anymore. Besides, this stretch of time spent in the Void had made her understand acutely why the Elder wanted her to keep her mouth shut.

However, after persisting for half a year and watching others keep collecting Void Materials, she was getting a bit greedy too. She knew very clearly in her heart that these were things she had no qualification to covet, but after seeing so many rare materials, her sense of fear had lessened somewhat.

When she heard that even Liu Yiyi could do a deal with Master Jiu Tong, she really couldn’t hold back anymore—Elder, I want some too.

Of course, she didn’t dare state that request outright, and could only call out softly.

Elder Qing Ji gave her a look, her expression a bit odd. "What do you want to say? Just say it."

"I... I also want to collect some stones, during the rotation breaks," Lan Yun answered in a small voice, then glanced at Liu Yiyi again. "I can split them fifty–fifty with Yi Yi, right, Yi Yi?"

Liu Yiyi thought, you’re also someone I can’t afford to offend. "As long as... Elder Qing Ji has no objections, I’ll mention it to Boss." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Elder Qing Ji’s expression grew even stranger. "With that small frame of yours, if you leave the defensive formation, how long do you think you can last in the Void?"

Lan Yun hesitated for a moment, then spoke very firmly. "Opportunity is right in front of me. If Heaven grants it and I don’t take it, I’ll only be punished for it... I want to give it a try! If Elder can lend me a treasure for protection, I’m willing to give half of my own share to Elder!"

The reason Qing Ji asked those two questions was simply to sound out this little Emergence cultivator’s temperament. She didn’t mind lending a hand to a junior in passing, but people’s hearts are separated by a belly; whether this junior was worth helping was the key consideration.

She’d lived long enough and seen enough to know that there were seniors in the Sect who casually helped younger ones, yet ended up stirring up all sorts of trouble. Many of those disputes had nothing to do with right or wrong—generally speaking, some people just didn’t know their own place.

Elder Qing Ji wasn’t afraid of trouble, but a Cultivator’s main task was Cultivation, and those unpleasant things would more or less affect one’s state of mind while Cultivating. So why should she go looking for trouble?

This junior in front of her was at least tactful, and she was quite pleased in her heart, so she shook her head.

"Do you think I care about that bit of small profit of yours? Having this mindset is already very good... you don’t need to go out and collect those stones yourself and make such a mess of yourself, only to have others laugh that my Xuanshui Sect has never seen good things. I’ll help you collect some along the way."

She understood other people’s logic very clearly. Jiu Tong collecting stone blocks to gamble was because he had the strength for it. Lan Yun collecting stone blocks, though, was pushing it too far. Even if she could stay inside the Spirit Restoration Array to slowly recover, doing it that way wasn’t just inefficient, it would also invite ridicule.

Elder Qing Ji cared quite a lot about face.

But Lan Yun was a stubborn one—or rather, she truly wanted to show her filial respect to the Elder. "Please, Elder, hear me out. These gambling stones are going to be traded publicly in the future. Without Elder’s backing, I’m afraid I won’t be able to avoid trouble. I beg Elder to show me some mercy!"

Inside Jinwu Sect, was the internal strife among Disciples very severe? It wasn’t that bad, but when it came to Void Materials, they were simply too tempting. There might even be treasures among them that could move Emergence Stage experts!

Lan Yun understood this very well. Even that cheap master of hers, the outer court Executor, probably couldn’t withstand this kind of overwhelming pressure. Only by flying Elder Qing Ji’s banner could she avoid most of the trouble.

Elder Qing Ji froze for a moment, then finally nodded. She also knew all those messy things within the Sect. While outright robbery wasn’t likely, once someone set their eyes on you, the disgusting little tricks wouldn’t be few.

Thinking about how these stones were things she herself had procured, she didn’t want to be disgusted by others either, so she said, "It’s rare that you see things so clearly. We’ll talk about this later."

Though Qing Ji said they would talk later, after she had restored her Spiritual Energy and left the stone, she put away all the small stones that might contain something.

She wasn’t like Jiu Tong, able to freely use a Storage Bag in the Void, so she could only drag a string of large and small stones with a Rope Lasso, then wait until she reached the rest area before having Lan Yun put the stones away.

Yi Jue quickly noticed this scene and asked her curiously what she was doing. Qing Ji didn’t hide anything and explained the reason once through, even saying that this was Feng Jun’s idea.

Immortal Yi Jue was very decisive as well. She went back to the rest area and directly asked Shou Xin whether she was interested in this.

Shou Xin had already been reserved by Yi Jue as a registered Disciple—as long as she formed her Core Formation within fifty years—so she replied very obediently, "I’ll listen to Elder in everything. However you tell me to do it, that’s how I’ll do it. It’s just that... since the Disciples of those two Elders are all doing this..."

Yi Jue rolled her eyes at her and spoke with a half-smile, "You little schemer, trying to play mind games with me?"

That was what she said, but when she went to the Broken Stone Zone again, she also copied them and strung back a whole bunch of stones.

Elder Cang Jing noticed this and felt a bit unbalanced, but she also knew that her own Disciple was already doing this. If she copied them as well, those two Elders would probably feel even more unbalanced.

So although she would also occasionally collect some stones whose origins she couldn’t see through, she didn’t take many—only four or five each time. The stones tied to her rope were far fewer than the other two.

Yi Jue and Qing Ji made no comment on this. In fact, fairness lives in people’s hearts; Elder Cang Jing was acting with proper restraint, so the two of them naturally turned a blind eye. That’s what people mean when they say a sense of proportion is important.

Only the two Emergence Stage female cultivators accompanying Moli could do nothing but watch this happen. In truth, because everyone had been sitting here for so long, they got along fairly well with Liu Yiyi, Shou Xin, and Lan Yun, and had also come to understand the basic logic of stone-gambling.

It was impossible for them not to be envious. They even mustered up their courage and consulted Master Moli.

Master Moli, however, said, "Mountain Master Feng once told me that the Void Materials here have nothing to do with us. He’s done me a great favor, so let’s not make him repeat himself... You’ve been guarding me this whole time, which hasn’t been easy either. When I return, your benefits will naturally be there."

The two Emergence Stage Disciples could only agree. Although they were very clear that whatever benefits they might get definitely wouldn’t compare to those few junior Emergence Stage cultivators, since Master Moli had put it that way, what else could they say?

Feng Jun had also noticed the changes in the three Elders, but he had no interest in discussing the matter. They’d already agreed to stay in the Void for two years. While two years didn’t sound short, the scratch-card-style finds in the Void were just too many.

And unlike Yi Jue and the others, while he could pinpoint targets more accurately, his flight speed was honestly... nothing to brag about. On top of that, he was choosing targets farther and farther away, so every trip out really cost a lot of time.

If he were flying in the empty Void, that would still be acceptable: accelerating was relatively easy, and he could maintain speed without burning much Spiritual Energy. But flying in the Broken Stone Zone, he had to constantly turn to avoid obstacles and occasionally evade stones shooting across his path.

That forced him to use the Spirit Restoration Array frequently. In other people’s eyes, his Spiritual Energy reserves were truly a bit miserable.

At least, though slow, he was efficient, so no one really had the standing to mock him.

By now, his range of action had grown; he was heading out to around seven thousand li away, and a round trip took at least half a day.

On this day, the treasure he was tracking collided with a stone halfway and got knocked off course—and not just once. As a result, after he finally obtained the treasure, he no longer recognized the way back and could only retrace his path via his "footprints."

Before following his footprints back, he noticed that he was low on Energy Points, so he went to Earth again to replenish them. By the time he returned, two days had passed in the Void.

As luck would have it, all three Elders, Yi Jue and the others, were restoring their Spiritual Energy at the same time. Seeing him directly appear from within a stone, Elder Cang Jing shook her head with a wry smile. "What’s this... you got lost?"

She meant it as a jab, but Feng Jun answered very seriously, "Yeah, I got lost. But you really can’t blame me. That treasure got bounced around by stones again and again, and I was so focused on chasing it that I unknowingly lost my bearings... you all should be careful about that."

"I’ve already memorized the larger stones within two thousand li around us," Elder Cang Jing replied indifferently. "Besides, we’re exploring step by step. We don’t go chasing after things that get knocked away. Unlike you... with such a strong sense of purpose."

That sounded a bit sour, but Elder Qing Ji’s curiosity was stronger. "Your harvest is always so precise every time. What were you chasing this time that made you get lost?"

Among the three Elders, Yi Jue was actually the one who treated him least like an outsider and dared to ask anything. But when the three of them were together, she rarely asked questions, probably not wanting the others to profit from her inquiries. However, she couldn’t do much about it once Elder Qing Ji slowly took over this role.

Feng Jun felt there was nothing to hide—everyone had agreed that whoever discovered something owned it. "A damaged True Treasure."

As he spoke, he took it out. It was a broken Yellow Umbrella. The canopy was still mostly intact, with only two small holes, but the handle was broken halfway.

"Oh?" Yi Jue’s eyes narrowed. "This is... I think I’ve heard of this item before."