Not long after Jiang Feng returned to his rented place, the portly shop owner sent over the raw jade stones he had purchased, along with a stone-cutting machine and some sandpaper.
Jiang Feng didn’t keep the shop owner long. He immediately began cutting the stones in the courtyard. Ma Lianhao stubbornly refused to leave, eager to see how Jiang Feng would “extract” jade from the rough stones.
Seeing no reason to hide anything, Jiang Feng swiftly sliced open the stones with the cutting machine. As expected, every piece revealed jade—though, just as he had sensed earlier, the quality wasn’t particularly high. Still, the quantity was sufficient to set up a small Spirit Gathering Array without much trouble.
Ma Lianhao crouched nearby, ignoring the stone dust splattering all over him. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Young Master, look at this! What’s with this purple color?”
Jiang Feng froze, then took the small piece of stone from him. The moment it touched his palm, an overwhelming surge of spiritual energy rushed into his hand. His expression shifted slightly—such dense spiritual energy!
Carefully, he extracted the purple object from the stone. It was about the size of a grape, a pure and vivid violet, as if infused with swirling wisps of amethyst. Its translucent outer layer was so thin that the lines of his palm were clearly visible beneath it. Under the sunlight, the gem shimmered, its hues shifting in intensity.
Unlike the other jade pieces he had cut open earlier, this purple jade felt different the moment he held it. The spiritual energy it contained was extraordinarily rich, so potent that he didn’t even need to focus to sense it. It was nothing like the raw jade he had bought from jewelry stores before.
Now that it had been fully extracted, the spiritual energy became even more pronounced. As Jiang Feng held it, the energy pulsed powerfully, almost startling in its intensity.
“Good heavens, what kind of color is this? It’s breathtaking!” Ma Lianhao gasped, his eyes wide with awe.
Even Jiang Feng, who had seen countless rare treasures, found himself completely captivated by the purple jade resting in his palm. He picked up a sheet of sandpaper and meticulously polished it until the gem gleamed with an even more dazzling radiance.
Ma Lianhao stared unblinkingly, then suddenly paled. “Young Master, wait—this isn’t just any purple jade… This is Purple Eyes!”
“Purple Eyes?” Jiang Feng frowned.
“You’ve never heard of Purple Eyes? It’s a top-tier rarity!” Ma Lianhao launched into an excited explanation, but Jiang Feng barely registered his words about its astronomical value.
Money had never been a concern for Jiang Feng—he had never truly lacked it. What struck him was the realization that, if Ma Lianhao was right, then the higher the quality of the jade, the richer its spiritual energy.
And this was just a small piece. If there were an entire jade vein… wouldn’t the spiritual energy be unimaginably dense?
Did this mean that where there were jade veins, there was spiritual energy?
Jiang Feng’s heart surged with excitement. Today had been more fruitful than he’d expected—not only had he discovered a ginkgo tree, but now this.
Still, he knew that even if jade veins contained spiritual energy, it was locked within the stone and couldn’t be directly absorbed—at least not at his current cultivation level. He’d need to reach the Foundation Establishment stage first.
But it was a promising start. It meant that his path of cultivation on Earth had just gained another possibility.
“Young Master, your luck is godly! You’ve hit the jackpot with this one. Are you selling it?” Ma Lianhao asked, envy dripping from his voice.
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Feng shook his head. “No.”
“Right, of course you’d keep such a treasure for yourself. Don’t you think this color would suit a certain woman perfectly?” Ma Lianhao smirked suggestively, his mind clearly wandering off again.
Jiang Feng ignored his nonsense and tossed him a check. “Take this money for now.”
Ma Lianhao recoiled. “Young Master, are you insulting me? I can’t take your money!”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.” Jiang Feng chuckled.
“Wait, no! Insult me all you want—please!” Ma Lianhao snatched the check and scurried away like a gleeful thief.
*****
Jiang Feng didn’t immediately set up the Spirit Gathering Array. Though he had broken through to the second layer of Body Refinement, his foundation wasn’t yet stable. That night, he went out and bought nearly two million yuan worth of medicinal herbs, using them for another round of body tempering through herbal baths.
By midnight, when he opened his eyes, a satisfied smile touched his lips. The ginkgo tree had indeed been effective.
Even without the Spirit Gathering Array, the spiritual energy in the courtyard was now several times denser than elsewhere, accelerating his cultivation. In just a few hours, his foundation had stabilized, reaching the mid-stage of the second layer.
At this rate, once he successfully set up the array, he estimated he could break through to the third layer within half a month.
Without further delay, he began preparing the formation.
*****
Meanwhile, at Lu Yu Teahouse…
“Qingxuan, you’re early! Sorry for keeping you waiting.” Chen Siran hurried into the private room, finding Ye Qingxuan already seated.
Ye Qingxuan smiled and poured her a cup of tea. “I just arrived. Sit and have a drink.”
Chen Siran took a distracted sip before hesitantly asking, “Qingxuan… I heard you met with Jiang Feng a couple of days ago?”
Ye Qingxuan paused, surprised that even Chen Siran knew about her visit to Jiang Feng’s school. She sighed. “After what Minmin said at your birthday party, I went to apologize to him.”
“Oh… How is he?” Chen Siran asked softly.
“He seemed fine. Why do you ask?” Ye Qingxuan studied her, puzzled by the concern in her voice.
Chen Siran’s cheeks tinted pink. “No reason. Just curious.”
Ye Qingxuan wasn’t fooled—Chen Siran’s tone betrayed more than casual interest. “If you want to know how he’s doing, why not call him yourself?”
Chen Siran shook her head. She had considered calling him, but she wanted to ask certain things in person—things she couldn’t bring herself to say in front of Ye Qingxuan.
Ye Qingxuan grew even more curious. “Siran, after that ‘gift’ he gave you at your birthday, aren’t you angry at all?”
Chen Siran smiled faintly. “I don’t care about gifts. And I think… Jiang Feng had his reasons for giving me that sheet music.”
“What reasons?”
“I don’t know.”
She had tried playing the music Jiang Feng gave her, but the notes felt disjointed, with passages she couldn’t decipher. Yet she refused to believe Jiang Feng would deceive her—she simply assumed she wasn’t skilled enough to interpret it properly. She longed to ask him about it but feared his reaction.
Ye Qingxuan sighed inwardly. Chen Siran was defending Jiang Feng—something unthinkable before.
Has she really grown so attached to him?
Could Xu Minmin’s teasing have been right? Did Chen Siran actually love Jiang Feng?
Not wanting to press further, Ye Qingxuan changed the subject. “Old Master Qin’s eightieth birthday is coming up. Will you go?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Chen Siran had no interest in such events.
Old Master Qin had lived reclusively in recent years, but this milestone celebration was rumored to be extravagant, with guests from all circles attending.
Ye Qingxuan wasn’t keen on going either, but she knew some obligations couldn’t be avoided. The thought dampened her mood, and the conversation lapsed into silence.
After about half an hour, Chen Siran stood to leave.
*****
In the car, Guo Conghu grinned. “Miss, if you want to see Jiang Feng, why beat around the bush? I’ll just drag him here for you.”
He hadn’t attended Chen Siran’s birthday party, having been busy with old army comrades. He’d later regretted missing Jiang Feng’s “spectacle,” which had earned the man a sliver of his respect—though he hadn’t forgotten how Jiang Feng had humiliated him with that underhanded trick.
Chen Siran sighed. “Conghu, don’t interfere. You wouldn’t understand.”
“What’s there to understand? You like him—just say it! If he likes you back, great. If not, who cares?”
Chen Siran’s face flushed. She shot him a glare and stayed silent.
It wasn’t that simple. She did feel something for Jiang Feng—but it was more curiosity than affection. Part of her concern stemmed from the mysterious woman in the painting he’d given her. The other part?
After the birthday party, her brother Chen Jian had warned her sternly: I don’t like Jiang Feng. Stay away from him. If I catch you meeting him in secret, I’ll break his legs.
Chen Siran knew he meant it. The thought of Jiang Feng suffering because of her terrified her—so she avoided him entirely.
When she heard Ye Qingxuan had met with him, she’d arranged this tea session to ask about him. And just as Ye Qingxuan had apologized to Jiang Feng, Chen Siran felt she owed him one too.
If not for her insistence that he attend her birthday, he wouldn’t have been dragged into so much trouble.