"Sister"

A Longevity Pill was a Tier-4 pill that could extend one's lifespan by twenty years at the lowest quality, and up to fifty years at the highest quality.

Both its primary and auxiliary ingredients were priceless and exceedingly rare. Even if one managed to gather them all with great difficulty, finding a Tier-4 alchemist capable of refining it with confidence was harder still.

As a result, whenever a Longevity Pill surfaced in the world, it inevitably sparked a reign of blood and violence as countless powerful figures fought over it.

The Zhou Clan was currently embroiled in a crisis, desperately needing a spirit medicine that could extend life so that their near-demise ancestor could hold on for a few more years and keep the family safe.

Yet they had never dared to dream of obtaining a Longevity Pill. The Zhou Clan was merely a small family—how could they have the audacity to covet such a treasure?

Aside from the Longevity Pill, the only lesser life-extending item they could think of was the Blood Cloud Ginseng.

But... what did Shi Yu just say? A Lesser Longevity Pill?

A Lesser Longevity Pill refined with Blood Cloud Ginseng as the main ingredient? This was completely unheard of.

Zhou Yang could not help asking, “Little Yu, what... is a Lesser Longevity Pill?”

As for the Lesser Longevity Pill, it was naturally a product she had cobbled together out of sheer boredom back in the game 《Xian Yuan》, experimenting blindly with various spirit plants.

If asked why she had tinkered like that, first, she had been wealthy back then, with endless resources at her disposal to squander as she pleased; second, discovering a new pill recipe not only granted naming rights to the pill, but also earned an achievement title—the kind that floated above one's head in gleaming golden text.

The memory flickered by in an instant. Shi Yu pondered briefly before offering a simple explanation: “In a Lesser Longevity Pill, the primary ingredient is Blood Cloud Ginseng. Depending on its quality once formed into a pill, it can extend life by eight to twelve years.”

As for the remaining auxiliary herbs, she happened to have all of them inside her Fate-Tapping Bell.

The three Zhou siblings drew in a sharp breath, exchanging bewildered glances.

Beside them, Master Ji's expression turned odd. Brows tightly furrowed, he racked his brain to recall if he had ever read about a Lesser Longevity Pill tucked away in the corner of some ancient text.

Nothing. Master Ji searched his memory to no avail, thinking to himself, Just who did Little Yu study under? Could this Lesser Longevity Pill truly exist?

He could not help scrutinizing the calm, unbothered young girl before him, suddenly detecting a hint of profound mystery about her. “...”

Depending on its age and condition, a raw Blood Cloud Ginseng could extend a lifespan by two to five years.

The Blood Cloud Ginseng Zhou Yang and his siblings had obtained was neither exceptionally good nor bad; judging by its quality, it could probably extend life by about three years.

Yet according to Shi Yu, as long as a Lesser Longevity Pill was successfully refined, even the lowest-grade, low-grade pill could extend life by eight years!

As everyone knew, any life-extending item would only take effect once per major realm, regardless of how many one consumed. Otherwise, on the path of cultivation, one could simply rely on continuously consuming life-extending items to live as long as the heavens, rendering the arduous pursuit of immortality utterly pointless.

How could anyone remain unmoved by the difference between three years and eight years?

The only point of hesitation was whether this unheard-of Lesser Longevity Pill was genuine.

And if it was real, could Shi Yu truly succeed in refining it?

Zhou Yang took a deep breath. With a solemn expression, he cupped his hands toward Shi Yu. “Little Yu, the Blood Cloud Ginseng is of vital importance to my Zhou Clan. I cannot make this decision on my own; I must report this to my father before knowing how to proceed...”

“However, I can certainly make the call regarding these one thousand spirit stones. If not for benefiting from your presence, how could the three of us have even entered this auction? Please do not speak of 'borrowing' these one thousand spirit stones—consider them a gift of gratitude from the three of us.”

Saying that, he produced a heavy pouch of spirit stones, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Shi Yu.

Beside him, Zhou Yue and Zhou Shuo nodded in agreement. “Indeed, please don't say another word about borrowing, or people will laugh at us for being ungrateful.”

Shi Yu was not one to stand on excessive ceremony, so she refrained from further refusal. Accepting the spirit stones, she said, “Very well, I shall accept them. My offer to help refine the Lesser Longevity Pill still stands. Brother Zhou, you may return to report to your family before making a decision.”

Zhou Yang hurriedly agreed.

By now, the bidding for the Snakefolk boy had gradually climbed to seventeen hundred spirit stones. Seeing that only two or three people were still bidding, it seemed the price had nearly reached its peak.

Shi Yu raised the bid by one hundred spirit stones and successfully won the auction for him.

Atop the cart, the red silk once again covered the reddish-gold iron cage, obscuring the boy's figure inside as the two burly men pushed it off the stage.

Shi Yu cast a glance over, seeing only his waterfall-like long silver hair before it was completely hidden by the red silk. She pulled back her gaze and turned her attention to the rest of the auction.

The items that followed were grand final showpieces easily costing over ten thousand spirit stones—such as high-quality artifacts crafted by grandmasters, complete jade slips containing Tier-3 cultivation techniques, and so forth.

A few of the items even tempted Shi Yu, but with her pockets empty, items at such prices were out of her reach for now. She could only wait until she built up her wealth; when she attended another auction in the future, she would be sure to leave with no regrets.

At last, as the sun dipped behind the western hills, the grand auction hosted by the Xie Clan Auction House came to an official close to the melodious, captivating voice of the auctioneer in cyan.

Cultivators who had won items were guided to the backstage by maids to settle their payments and receive their goods.

The distinguished guests inside the private boxes, on the other hand, could simply remain where they were, listening to zither music and sipping tea in comfort. Someone would personally deliver their auction items to them, saving them a trip.

After a brief wait, a line of maids filed into the room in sequence, each holding a tray containing the items that had just been purchased.

At the head of the line was a manager wearing a straight-collared robe, holding an auction ledger. He bowed and scraped toward Master Ji as he verified each purchased item one by one.

Inside the private box, Master Ji had spent lavishly and naturally bought the most items. The manager took them one by one from the maids, whipped off the red silk, and presented each item clearly for Master Ji to ensure everything matched the descriptions.

Master Ji chuckled and scolded lightheartedly, “Alright, alright, drop the pleasantries. Would your auction house dare cheat me? Put them all away and tally up the total.”

The manager promptly and deftly recited a figure.

Next was the Blood Cloud Ginseng purchased by the Zhou siblings, followed by the three items Shi Yu had won.

Well-informed as he was, the manager had long since discovered Shi Yu's identity. He treated this alchemist with an extraordinarily promising future with utmost politeness, fearing any slight.

He first took the small jade bottle containing the Xianyun Dew and bowed as he handed it to Shi Yu. Next, he handed over the Heavenly Tone Lotus kept inside a white jade box with even greater care.

Last was the Snakefolk boy.

The manager unlocked the cage, retrieved a rope made of special material from his sleeve, and slipped it over the youth's neck. It automatically tightened to fit snugly around his neck.

Holding the rope, the manager offered Shi Yu a sycophantic smile. “This Snakefolk has no cultivation, and with this Submissive Rope on him, whether you tie him up or lock him away, you won't need to worry about him escaping. When the time comes, plucking his snake scales or drawing his blood for alchemy will be immensely convenient.”

With that, he delivered a harsh kick to the cage. “Acknowledge your master!”

The youth with silver hair and silver scales inside the cage lifted his head. In a raspy voice, he murmured softly, “Master.”

As he raised his head, his long silver hair that trailed across the floor slid off his shoulders, exposing a large patch of his bare chest.

So he can speak human language after all, Shi Yu thought.

Turning her face away, Shi Yu refrained from looking at his bare, slender body. She retrieved a snow-white cloud brocade coat from the Fate-Tapping Bell, snapped it open with both hands, and bent down to drape it over him.

After a moment's thought, looking at his face which appeared a year or two younger than her own, Shi Yu leaned near his ear and whispered, “Call me Sister.”

The silver-haired youth was exquisitely handsome. His raven-feather eyelashes trembled slightly, and his pair of crimson-tinted lips parted, his voice sounding like clear, flowing river water:

“Sister.”