A Deal

The eight soul powers were gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, and darkness respectively.

None of them was dark purple.

Besides…

Qiu Nuo's gaze searched Mo Ziyan's whole body but didn't even catch a glimpse of a Soul Stick.

Was this guy really human? How could he have released his soul power without a Soul Stick?

"Why are you zoning out?"

A pair of pale and tender hands gently cupped Qiu Nuo's chin.

Qiu Nuo returned from her trance, angrily slapping Mo Ziyan's hand away. "Don't you know the difference between men and women?"

"You've seen my body too. You've even touched it! And now you're talking about the difference between men and women?"

Mo Ziyan's tone was lazy yet sinister, and his eyes seemed to be smiling at her.

"That was because I was kind and didn't want to see you die." Qiu Nuo glanced at him flippantly. "If I had known that you were such a person, I would have simply left you to die."

Mo Ziyan laughed without losing his temper. "I think you only managed to condense a ball of fire very recently, right?"

Qiu Nuo nodded, shrugging helplessly. "But now, I have neither a Soul Stick nor have I learned any soul skills. So what if I can condense a ball of fire? I'm still no different from any other ordinary person!"

Although she had indeed gotten quite a huge sum from Mo Ziyan, it was still a leap away from the amount she would need to buy a Soul Stick and soul power.

A Soul Stick was comprised of a staff body and a soul crystal embedded in the staff body. These were usually sold separately.

She could perhaps afford a Soul Stick. There were cheap ones around, after all. No matter how poor the quality of the body was, it would be fine as long as it could fit perfectly with the crystal.

But the soul crystal was different!

Soul crystals were amongst the most precious commodities on the mainland and could only be found very rarely from the strongest spirit beasts.

The reason spirit beasts evoked fear was that every single one of them was skilled in both martial and soul arts. Not only were they physically powerful, but they also possessed outstanding soul skills. Even a normal spirit beast required three Warriors of the same level or two Soul Masters to defeat it.

Even so, throngs of adventurers still rushed toward these most dangerous creatures of the mainland.

Because every single material from a spirit beast could be sold for a sky-high price. If one was lucky, one might even obtain the rarest material: a soul crystal. Then, one would become a millionaire overnight!

Soul crystals were similarly divided based on the level of cultivation of the beast, ranging from the first to ninth orders.

Those on the market were typically below the third order.

Soul crystals above the third order were only occasionally seen at some large-scale auctions.

"How about we make a deal?" Mo Ziyan suddenly piped up.

"Tell me about it!" Qiu Nuo set her eyes on him. She could tell that this guy was loaded. No matter what kind of deal he proposed, she wouldn't be on the losing end.

"I can give you a finished fire Soul Stick and a book on intermediate soul skills. The only thing I ask of you is that you accompany me on a trip to the mountains."

"Into Ziying Mountain? Are you sure?" Qiu Nuo raised her eyebrow.

Given her current skills, she would be nothing more than a burden to him if they were to enter Ziying Mountain together. Surely Mo Ziyan would be clearer than her about that fact.

Mo Ziyan looked at Qiu Nuo meaningfully. "Only you can control the poison in my body."

That was what he found most incredulous. The poison had stumped even the best doctors in the imperial capital, yet this young lady had a firm grasp on it.

He knew for sure that this lass would be the key to the antidote!

"So that's why!" Qiu Nuo came to a sudden realization.

"How's that? As long as you agree, I'll hand you the Soul Stick and book right now!" Mo Ziyan's lips curled up slightly, and a faint smile appeared in his eyes as well.

Upon hearing that, Qiu Nuo's eyes lit up. "Alright! Deal!"

She would be a fool to reject such a good proposition. Besides, this had solved her most urgent needs!

Mo Ziyan retrieved a piece of jade and a Soul Stick from his storage ring.

The jade was crystal clear, and one glance at it was enough for one to tell that it was of top quality.

The Soul Stick, on the other hand, was of a dark color and was more than a foot long. A faint black mist even flowed through the translucent Soul Stick.

At its tip sat a rose-colored piece of stone the size of a pigeon egg that glowed under the shimmering light of the sun.

"This Soul Stick is named 'A Thousand Nights' and was given to me by my master. It's just that I don't think it's suitable for me, so I've always left it in my storage ring. As for soul skills… take it and look through them yourself!" Mo Ziyan eyed the Soul Stick a little hesitantly, handing it over to Qiu Nuo together with the piece of jade.

Qiu Nuo hadn't noticed Mo Ziyan's abnormal behavior and immediately started analyzing the two items the moment she received them.

"This Soul Stick's material is rather interesting. I'd better let Xue Ling have a look at it later." Qiu Nuo murmured.

Right at that moment, the faint sound of a conversation could be heard.

"Senior Brother Zhang Yang, why do you think Manager Wang's looking for us? Didn't he just give our salaries a few days ago?" a young man in coarse clothes asked.

They were all apprentices hired by the Qiu family to cultivate the medicinal herbs. After all, the Qiu family had hundreds of medicinal fields and couldn't possibly take care of all of them themselves. It was only natural for them to assign others to take care of the less important ones.

"I'm not very sure of the details. I'm only following Manager Wang's orders by gathering all of you here."

Zhang Yang was handsome and suave and had established a certain status amongst the many apprentices. As such, everyone had a certain level of trust in him.

Most importantly, he had always had a crush on Qiu Ruyi and was even willing to be her slave.

He had even been part of the plan to frame Qiu Nuo.

Qiu Ruyi hadn't told him about the details. All she had told him to do was to gather everyone at Manager Wang's room after lunchtime.

Upon witnessing this scene, Qiu Nuo couldn't help but sneer from where she was high up in the trees.

She had never expected Qiu Ruyi to make such a bold move! She would wait and see how Qiu Ruyi would handle this mess!