She didn’t have a single thing—so how on earth was she planning to trade? Did she take him for some kind of junk collector?
Suzy choked on a breath, completely at a loss for words. It was true: she was penniless here. No spirit stones, no spiritual herbs, no elixirs—absolutely nothing. She was just a broke tourist browsing a market empty-handed, forced to watch helplessly while the things she wanted slipped through her fingers.
She hated the feeling, yet she felt utterly powerless.
But that protective jade pendant... I want it!
Truth be told, soon after the azure-robed man had shown up, she had almost given up on the pendant. After all, she couldn’t pay for it. But a lingering reluctance nagged at her—some obscure, mysterious force made her feel as though the jade was actively drawing her in.
She had even used her treasure-seeking ability to scan her immediate surroundings, and the object emitting the brightest, most brilliant radiance nearby was none other than that very jade.
Now, she had even less of a reason to walk away empty-handed.
"W-Would you be willing to trade for this?"
By now, the young man in azure had already finalized the deal with the vendor, and the exchange was settled. He lifted his foot to walk away when Suzy blurted out her plea.
The man paused, casting a look at her with a hint of genuine curiosity. "What do you have?"
He was well aware that she was an outsider from a different realm. A different realm... who knew what strange or interesting oddities she might carry? That was the sole reason he was bothering to entertain her at all.
Reaching behind her back, Suzy pulled out a clear glass bottle filled with a crystal-clear, shimmering liquid.
"What’s this?" The young man narrowed his eyes.
"Uh... this is, well, spring water from a spiritual spring. Interested?" Suzy gave the bottle a light shake.
At this point, the only thing she owned that held any real value was her spatial spring water. She just had no idea if it held any weight in a cultivation world.
"A spiritual spring?"
A sudden spark lit up the young man’s eyes. "Let me see that!"
The young man was clearly intrigued by the spiritual spring water in Suzy’s hands, so much so that he could barely contain his excitement. Still, he was trying desperately to keep his composure, which resulted in a hilariously conflicted expression.
In a couple of quick strides, he closed the distance between them and reached out to take the small bottle for a closer look.
Meanwhile, the vendor—who had been watching with an air of lazy indifference—suddenly caught on to the young man’s reaction. Realizing something unusual was happening, he shifted his gaze directly to the transparent glass bottle in her hands.
"Spiritual spring water?" the vendor echoed quietly.
Could it really be what he thought it was? No... surely not. The vendor doubted it internally. That kind of treasure was worth an absolute fortune; a single droplet was unimaginably precious. He had been lucky enough to see it once in his lifetime, but he lacked the connections to ever procure any for himself. How could a young girl like her possibly have her hands on it?
Then again, nothing was impossible. She was an outsider from another world, after all—who knew what kind of marvels she might carry?
The vendor’s heart rode a wild emotional roller coaster. He scoffed at the idea one second, then reconsidered it the next, his eyes locked onto Suzy and the young man, refusing to miss a single detail.
"Here, take a look," Suzy offered casually, handing the bottle over.
The moment his fingers wrapped around it, the young man’s grip tightened instinctively. It was a modest glass bottle, completely clear, holding a liquid that glinted faintly under the sunlight. To the untrained eye, it looked no different from ordinary water.
He took a deep, steadying breath. Spiritual spring water... Is it truly the real deal? The anticipation was killing him.
Exhaling the stale air from his lungs, he carefully twisted the cap open.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a crisp, incredibly refreshing aura erupted from the bottle, washing over his entire body. He had never encountered a sensation quite like it—every pore on his skin instantly opened as a warm, potent energy surged into his frame. It felt so intoxicatingly comfortable that his eyes fluttered shut.
Incredible. This is unbelievable!
The sheer wave of pleasure nearly made him lose his grip, but he caught himself just in time and squeezed the bottle tight.
Spiritual spring water? Is this truly it? He could feel the boundless, extraordinarily pure spiritual energy radiating from within. He had heard tales that a spiritual spring was essentially liquid spiritual energy manifested in its purest form, an item of priceless value. Just how pure did spiritual energy have to be to condense into a liquid like this?
The young man stood rooted to the spot, his eyes glued to the small bottle as his pupils dilated with shock and sheer ecstasy.
I struck gold. My luck is insane today—I actually struck gold!
Leaning down, he took another deep breath over the bottle. The surging energy rushed up his nasal passages and swept through his limbs, flowing through his meridians like a warm, soothing stream. Beneath its touch, his inner spiritual energy thrummed lightly, like a long-dormant force being gently awakened.
It was pure bliss. Just breathing it in infused him with a surge of vital power. If he were to actually drink this entire bottle, the benefits would be unimaginable!
The mere thought made his hand tremble around the glass. He was practically vibrating with impatience.
"This... ahem... is this really spiritual spring water?" his voice rasped with tension.
Truth be told, he had never laid eyes on a real spiritual spring before, so he couldn’t say for certain if what she had was authentic. Yet the sheer concentration of dense, staggering energy couldn’t be faked. It was packed to the brim with spiritual force. Judging by that alone, calling it a spiritual spring was by no means an exaggeration.
"Where on earth did you get a spiritual spring of this caliber?" he asked, his throat dry. Not only had she obtained it, but she had a whole bottle of it! It might be a small bottle, but the quantity was still substantial!
Seeing his reaction, Suzy knew the deal was sealed. He was clearly head over heels for her spring water.
This was fantastic news! Realizing that her spatial spring water could serve as currency in a cultivation world filled her with quiet thrill. "I—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the vendor bolted up from behind his stall. Moving with surprising agility, he rushed over and planted himself right in front of the young man in the blink of an eye.
The vendor moved so fast that by the time either of them reacted, he had already leaned right over the bottle’s opening and taken a deep, greedy sniff.
That single whiff completely transformed his face. Surprise flickered first, followed immediately by utter astonishment.
"This... this is... impossible..." he muttered under his breath, reaching out to snatch the bottle.
Noticing his sudden grab, the young man swiftly leaped backward. "What do you think you’re doing?!" he barked.
Seeing the young man’s guarded stance and the distance between them, the vendor reluctantly pulled his eager hand back. "Bring it over. Let me get one more smell."
The young man frowned, clearly annoyed. "Why should I? Just because you asked?"
The vendor pulled a few spirit stones from his robe and tossed them over. Catching them effortlessly, the young man’s expression softened slightly.
"Bring it over. I just want to smell it, I’m not going to steal it from you," the vendor urged.
"Do you actually recognize what this is?" the young man asked. He was genuinely curious to confirm whether this really was a true spiritual spring. He had only heard rumors about it, after all. Judging by the vendor’s dramatic reaction, the man seemed to know a thing or two.
Having accepted the compensation, the young man reluctantly passed the small bottle back over. "You better return it to me."
"Relax, I’m not that shameless," the vendor scoffed, taking the bottle to take another whiff.
An intoxicated look promptly washed over his face. He looked dazed, blissful, and completely spellbound, like a man who had just taken a heavy swig of the finest wine. His grip loosened, and the bottle slipped from his fingers.
Alarmed, the young man lunged forward, snatching the bottle out of midair and holding it close to his chest. "Be careful with that!"
The sudden movement snapped the vendor out of his trance.
"Well? Did you figure out what it is?" the young man pressed.
The vendor stared intently at the bottle in his hands before slowly turning his gaze toward Suzy.
"This... this is high-grade spiritual spring water, isn’t it? No, wait—even high-grade isn’t this pure! This is practically bordering on legendary Spiritual Marrow..." The vendor swallowed hard, his voice trembling with excitement. "Girl, where on earth did you get something like this?"