A trace of power was left behind by the Blue Flame Phantom Spirit within Su Xiaomei, helping her suppress the raging anger within her. It then returned to Li Fan's sea of consciousness.
In just this short time, Li Fan already felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. The Underworld Phantom Art had not yet reached the later stages of Qi Refinement, and the newly born phantom spirit was still somewhat weak. Moreover, he had to concentrate and carefully control the intensity of the phantom spirit's output to avoid causing harm to Su Xiaomei's young body. This was not an easy task for Li Fan.
Fortunately, there were no dangers. This time, he could ensure her safety for the next ten years. If Li Fan could return safely from the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace and obtain the Cloud Water Scroll, he would naturally come to find her in advance. If Li Fan encountered misfortune, she could still join Su Changyu and others to venture into the Immortal Cultivation World ten years later.
After regaining his spirits, Li Fan walked out of the basement. The nobles of the Great Li Kingdom were still waiting outside. After informing them that Su Xiaomei had been treated, Li Fan dismissed them all, leaving only Scholar Su to inquire about Su Xiaomei's situation.
Scholar Su's face turned red, and after hesitating for a long while, he stammered to explain the whole story. It turned out that Su Xiaomei was not Scholar Su's daughter, but rather the daughter of his younger sister, Su Yuqing. Su Yuqing was much younger than Scholar Su; she was only sixteen when she became pregnant with Su Xiaomei last year. At that time, her unexpected pregnancy caused a huge uproar in the Su residence because she had not yet married!
Being pregnant before marriage was undoubtedly a scandal. What angered Old Master Su even more was that Su Yuqing refused to reveal who the child's father was. She insisted that she had not committed any impropriety, claiming that one day while playing in the garden, she suddenly felt tired and took a short nap. When she woke up, she noticed something unusual about her body. However, as a young lady who had not yet been married, how could she dare to mention such matters to others?
It was only when her belly began to grow day by day that she could no longer hide it. The absurd explanation was, of course, not believed by the Su family. Furious, Old Master Su wanted to force her to terminate the pregnancy. Yet, feeling the heartbeat of the fetus within her, Su Yuqing displayed the strength of a mother. She refused to agree to terminate the pregnancy, even threatening her own life.
Although Old Master Su was furious, he could not bring himself to kill his own daughter. He could only confine Su Yuqing to her room, preventing her from going out to avoid any leaks of the news. Thus, they finally waited for the day of delivery. After much effort, Su Xiaomei was born. Su Yuqing, who had always been weak and had not received proper care during her pregnancy, could not withstand the ordeal. Just a few days after giving birth to Su Xiaomei, she passed away with regrets.
Before she died, she earnestly begged the Su family to take good care of Su Xiaomei. The Su family was not heartless. After Su Yuqing's death, they all doted on the little girl who had lost her parents at such a young age, hoping she would grow up safe and happy.
Who would have thought that shortly after Su Xiaomei was born, she fell ill with a strange disease? Her entire body burned with fever, to the point where she needed constant ice packs to alleviate her condition. The Su family sought out famous doctors throughout the capital, but none could cure her. Until Li Fan arrived.
After listening to Scholar Su's account, Li Fan looked up at the sky of this world, deep in thought. "Was she born in response to the heavenly mandate? Perhaps this explains why Su Xiaomei has such extraordinary talent."
"However, according to the original historical trajectory, even with her exceptional gifts, she would still not escape death in the face of calamity."
"In the entire Immortal Cultivation World, how many people like Su Xiaomei, with such extraordinary talent, have died namelessly like ordinary mortals?"
"From this perspective, the heavenly way truly treats everyone equally."
With this matter settled, Li Fan sighed deeply, summoned the Taiyan Boat, and swiftly departed. Before long, he safely returned to Glass Island. Indeed, as He Zhenghao had said before, it took about twenty-five days in total.
Even at this moment, the Concealment Talisman he had activated earlier was still in effect. "As long as I don’t engage in combat, a Concealment Talisman can actually last this long. Truly cost-effective. Next time I’m on the island, I might as well buy some as reserves," Li Fan thought to himself.
Within the Mountain and Stars Grand Formation, Li Fan handed the storage ring to He Zhenghao. He Zhenghao seemed somewhat distracted, merely glancing at it before putting it away. His attention was focused on an ancient mirror surface ahead.
It looked somewhat similar to the Profound Mirror. Following He Zhenghao's gaze, Li Fan saw a line of small characters displayed on the mirror. "Spirit Mist Grass: Current price fifteen contribution points per stalk."
The number fifteen kept changing, sometimes becoming sixteen, then quickly dropping back to fourteen.
"It's rising; it’s actually rising!" He Zhenghao stared at the mirror in a trance, repeatedly muttering.
"What are you doing, Dao Friend?" Li Fan asked curiously.
"Ah, Dao Friend, you don’t know," He Zhenghao replied, not taking his eyes off the mirror, sighing gloomily. "Not long after you left, I received reliable news that the island cultivating Spirit Mist Grass was attacked by sea beasts, and over half of the Spirit Mist Grass was destroyed."
"I mentioned before that Spirit Mist Grass is the main material for making Concealment Talismans, and it’s already extremely rare. Now that so much has been destroyed, the price is bound to skyrocket."
"At that time, the news hadn’t spread yet, so I thought to seize the opportunity to make a profit. I spent a fortune in the Profound Mirror to stockpile a large amount of Spirit Mist Grass..."
This operation sounded somewhat familiar. Li Fan looked at He Zhenghao, puzzled. "Isn’t that a good thing? Why do you look so downcast?"
"Ah, it is a good thing, but I was too early to celebrate," He Zhenghao said, still fixated on the mirror, lamenting. "Initially, the price of Spirit Mist Grass rose a bit, from 20 points per stalk to 25 points per stalk. But who would have thought that before I could sell the Spirit Mist Grass in my possession, the price suddenly plummeted."
"It dropped from 25 points to 13 points, nearly halving!" He Zhenghao's heart ached.
"Fortunately, the price has recently rebounded and is back up to around 15 points."
Listening to He Zhenghao's words, Li Fan couldn't help but say, "Then why don’t you take the opportunity to sell all the Spirit Mist Grass you have? At least you can recover some of your investment."
He Zhenghao quickly shook his head. "No way. I've invested nearly a hundred years of savings into this. I have to wait until it rises back up before I sell..."
He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly exclaimed, "What? It’s dropping again? Thirteen? Twelve? Ten? Eight?..."
"Still dropping?!"
In the blink of an eye, the price of Spirit Mist Grass collapsed from fifteen points per stalk to six points per stalk, barely stabilizing afterward.
"It should... rebound, right?"
After a long silence, looking at the despondent and confused expression on He Zhenghao's face, Li Fan could only offer such consolation.
(End of Chapter)