Chapter 391: Three Treasures

After an unknown period, the screams in the mountains finally died down.

Instead, three flickering figures moved around, expertly evading the bamboo whip's repeated strikes.

Seeing no point in continuing, Mi Li tossed the bamboo whip aside, her eyes filled with admiration. "Not bad, not bad. You manifested the third figure so quickly. I thought it would take at least ten days, even half a month!"

Zu An: "???"

Excuse me!

So, you didn't expect me to learn it so fast, and you planned to beat me for ten days to half a month straight?

Seeing his angry expression, Mi Li realized she had spoken too freely. With a guilty conscience, she said, "Could you have manifested the third figure this quickly if I hadn't done that?"

Zu An thought about it and conceded that at least the outcome was good, though his whole body ached terribly.

Just then, Mi Li added, "Besides, isn't your 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' meant to improve your cultivation through beatings? I was helping you."

Zu An grudgingly replied, "Well, thank you very much."

He mused that someday he would definitely find a time to pin her down and give her a good thrashing himself.

Mi Li cleared her throat and said, "Oh, right, there's something else I need to tell you. Relying solely on beatings isn't the only way to cultivate this technique. You can also find some elemental stones to aid your practice."

Zu An shook his head. "No, I've tried before. I can't absorb the elemental energy from elemental stones."

"Can't absorb them?" Mi Li frowned. "Perhaps the 'Phoenix Nirvana Scripture' is a special cultivation method. In that case, you could try consuming some rare natural treasures or elemental energy pills refined by master alchemists. I've heard of some cultivation methods that can't directly absorb elemental stones, but I've never heard of anyone being unable to absorb elemental energy pills or rare natural treasures."

Zu An's eyes lit up immediately. "That's right! Aren't the elemental energy fruits I draw from the system a type of elemental energy pill? Why didn't I think of that?"

When he got back, he'd ask Ji Dengtu. He was a divine physician and should have plenty of such pills.

Mi Li then said, "This time, coming out to help you seal off Elder Mi's cultivation means the progress I'd made in expelling the poison recently has been completely wiped out. I have to start all over again. Hmph, I don't know if I owed you something in a past life! I need to fall back into a deep sleep now. Be careful from now on."

Although Zu An knew that her helping him was largely due to their intertwined destinies, he couldn't help but feel touched. "Empress Sister, you've always been helping me. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"You help me?" Mi Li scoffed coldly. "No need."

After saying this, her spirit body gradually faded. Just as she was about to vanish, her form solidified again. "While I don't think your current abilities can help me, being with you lately, I've noticed your incredible luck. Perhaps you really can be of some use."

"If you get the chance, help me find 'Heaven's First Water,' 'Essence Jade Marrow,' and the 'Five-Colored Evergreen Flower.' After I completely refine the 'Xiang Concubine's Red Tears' poison in the future, I'll need to reconstruct my body, and these are essential materials."

Zu An was overjoyed. "Just these three materials can help you reconstruct your physical body?"

Mi Li sneered repeatedly. "Just three? Do you know how rare these three things are?!"

"Take the 'Five-Colored Evergreen Flower,' for instance. First, you need to find the extremely rare Five-Colored Evergreen Tree. Its leaves resemble lotus flowers. In spring, it bears green flowers that fall at the end of spring; in summer, red flowers that wither at the end of summer; in autumn, white flowers that shrivel when autumn ends; and in winter, purple flowers that die when they encounter snow."

Zu An paused, "Aren't those only four colors? Why is it called a Five-Colored Flower?"

"I don't know either," Mi Li said, annoyed.

"You don't know either?" Zu An was dumbfounded. "What kind of joke is this? You're the one who specifically asked for it!"

Mi Li looked a bit embarrassed. "Because I've never actually seen this divine tree myself. I only read about its legend in an ancient text."

Zu An: "..."

He knew that Mi Li, as the former Empress of Great Qin, had once commanded everything under heaven. If even she hadn't seen it, then the very existence of this tree was uncertain, let alone finding it.

"If you've never seen this tree, how do you know its flowers can help you reconstruct your body?" Zu An asked curiously.

Mi Li snorted, "You don't need to concern yourself with that. I just know."

Zu An scoffed. Women just loved to act mysterious.

Mi Li let out a soft sigh. "'Heaven's First Water' and 'Essence Jade Marrow' are also legendary items. To find them, beyond needing sufficient power, one must also possess immense fortune and serendipity. Furthermore, besides these three treasures, there's another item even harder to find, so let's just let fate decide."

Zu An asked, "There's another item? What is it?"

"Given your current strength, telling you wouldn't be of any use," Mi Li shook her head.

Zu An: "..."

Sensing the despondency in her tone, he couldn't help but comfort her, "Don't worry, Empress Sister. These items might be difficult for others, but they definitely won't be a problem for me. I'll surely find them for you."

Startled by the confidence in his voice, Mi Li asked, "Could it be that you've heard of these items before or know their whereabouts?"

Zu An shook his head. "I've never heard of them at all."

Mi Li was so angry she laughed instead. "Then where does your confidence come from?!"

Rage points from Mi Li +250!

Zu An patted his chest. "Because I'm the protagonist, naturally, I'm a child of destiny!"

In all the novels he read in his previous life, none of the protagonists who transmigrated to another world failed to thrive. He couldn't possibly be an exception.

Mi Li was speechless. Too lazy to argue with him further, she directly vanished into nothingness and re-entered her slumber, lest listening any longer make her sick.

Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Zu An retrieved the Tai'a Sword, which had been embedded in the mountainside, and then hid the Mortal Blade in his boot.

Only then did he approach Elder Mi's corpse. Seeing him like a dried up mummy, Zu An sighed emotionally. "Fine, although you had ill intentions towards me, you did help me after all. May you rest in peace."

He dug a deep pit in the ground, placed Elder Mi's body inside, and then retrieved Wei Dan's corpse, putting it into the pit as well. "You two fought your whole lives. Whatever grievances you had have now vanished like smoke. At least in death, you'll have company and won't be so lonely."

Immediately thinking of something, he quickly pulled a box from his pocket and placed it beside Elder Mi's corpse. "Elder Mi, I've found your treasure for you. Now you have a complete body. May you be a good person in your next life."

As for Wei Dan's treasures, he was powerless to do anything.

Whether it was because the corpse was too withered, or in gratitude for his kindness, a brocade pouch suddenly slipped out of Elder Mi's clothing pocket.

"Huh?" Zu An recognized it as a storage pouch at a glance and was overjoyed. "Elder Mi, Elder Mi, I didn't expect you to be such a considerate person even after death. In that case, I won't be polite."

Although Elder Mi's decrepit appearance didn't suggest great wealth, he was a grandmaster after all, so the contents of his storage pouch shouldn't be ordinary.

Unfortunately, when he excitedly tried to open it, he found it wouldn't open no matter what.

Disbelieving, he felt around Wei Dan's body and found another storage pouch. It looked much more ornate than Elder Mi's, implying its contents should be much richer.

To his disappointment, this one also wouldn't open.

"Don't waste your effort. They have grandmaster-level soul imprints on them. Only the owner can open them. Since they are dead, nothing can be taken out, no matter what's inside." Just then, Mi Li's voice sounded in his ear.

Zu An jumped in surprise. "Weren't you asleep?"

"Can't I not be asleep yet?" Mi Li retorted.

Zu An: "..."

What you said makes so much sense, I'm speechless.

"Alright, I really am going to sleep now. Someone is approaching you. Be careful." Mi Li seemed to yawn, and then there was no sound from her.

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I forgot to ask in the last chapter: If we follow the Fibonacci sequence, how many elemental energy fruits do you think a ninth-rank, ninth-tier formation would require?