Chapter 2721 — The Journey Back

For the next two days, Kang Xiaobo stayed with Xiaofen and Liu Xinwen alongside Mother Tang. Tang Yun, however, did not appear again after her departure. The Snow Valley was beautiful and full of amusements, yet their interest had drained away—without Tang Yun, what point was there in remaining?

Still, they understood. Mother Tang might act without restraint here, but all of it rested on the premise that Tang Yun stayed and cultivated obediently. Otherwise, why would the Snow Valley indulge Mother Tang to such a degree?

So Kang Xiaobo bore no resentment over Tang Yun being unable to accompany them while she cultivated. Today marked their third day in the Snow Valley, and he was ready to take his leave.

"Auntie, we will be leaving today. These past few days, we have put you to a great deal of trouble!" Kang Xiaobo said.

"Ah? Leaving already? Won't you stay a few more days?" Mother Tang was taken aback, a note of reluctance in her voice. "What trouble? No trouble at all, not the slightest! When you don't come, I have nothing to do by myself. With you here, at least I have someone to chatter with..."

In truth, for all Mother Tang's domineering ways in the Snow Valley, she was deeply lonely. Day in and day out, the only people she had to talk to were her husband Tang Jucheng, Tang Yun's birth mother Xiaoming, and her adopted daughter Tang Yun—and even Tang Yun she could not see often.

As for the other people of the Snow Valley, there were plenty who would keep her company, and they answered whatever she asked, holding nothing back. But it was question and answer, pure and simple—a far cry from real conversation.

"Auntie, there are matters at my company that I cannot leave for long. Besides, if I stay away too long, Wei Zhao and the others may grow suspicious, so I think it best to head back early..." Kang Xiaobo understood Mother Tang well, but now that Tang Yun no longer appeared, they had no heart to keep playing. Better to return early.

"Very well, then. Come again when you have time!" Mother Tang sighed and said helplessly.

And so Kang Xiaobo, Xiaofen, and Liu Xinwen set out on the road home, bringing their visit to the Snow Valley to a close. As for the many heavenly treasures they carried away, the Grand Elder did not stand in their way. To her, such things all had a price; only Tang Yun was priceless.

Tang Yun was the hope by which she and Xueli might set foot upon the Heavenly Dao. Without her, they might remain stuck at the peak of the late Heaven Tier for the rest of their lives. Now that this opportunity had come, if they failed to seize it, they would regret it to the end of their days.

Kang Xiaobo returned with Xiaofen and Liu Xinwen to Songshan City, keeping a low profile. That very night, however, he drove out again, carrying a carload of heavenly treasures to Wei Zhao's villa in the Xue Shang residential district of Donghai City.

When Wei Zhao saw Kang Xiaobo at the door, he was somewhat surprised. "Xiaobo, what brings you here?"

"Boss, I'm back from procuring medicinal ingredients. This time I not only bought the ingredients Xiaoshu needed, but also brought back some heavenly treasures useful to you." Kang Xiaobo pointed at the trunk of his car.

"Oh? It seems you've returned fully loaded!" Wei Zhao had not expected Kang Xiaobo's trip to go so smoothly. When he first said he was going to buy ingredients for Shen Yushu, Wei Zhao had not held out much hope—after all, the ingredients Shen Yushu needed were surely of the rarest and most precious kind, impossible to purchase with ease. But from the look of things, Kang Xiaobo had obtained them as easily as reaching into his own pocket.

"You got my ingredients, didn't you?" Shen Yushu said, while winking at Kang Xiaobo, signaling him not to say too much. Buying ingredients for her was only a pretext, after all, and whether Kang Xiaobo could actually procure them was another matter entirely. Her meaning was that Kang Xiaobo should not run off at the mouth; she would simply pull some ingredient or other from the trunk and claim it was what she needed.

"Got them, got them!" Kang Xiaobo nodded in understanding and helped Shen Yushu open the trunk.

"Eh?" Shen Yushu opened the boxes in Kang Xiaobo's trunk and saw the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit inside! She was about to exclaim—wasn't this the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit? How had he gotten his hands on it? But her eyes darted about, and a quick idea came to her. "So you really did buy it! This is the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit! I never thought you'd be so reliable, Kang Xiaobo!"

"Haha, of course!" Kang Xiaobo relaxed. It seemed the lie had been covered.

"Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit? What is that?" Wei Zhao was slightly startled. He had heard of the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit, but this was the first he had heard of an Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit. He knew nothing of what had happened in the Snow Valley back then; he had no memory of it, and so had no idea what the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit was. "Could it be the opposite of the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit?"

"Yes, yes! The Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit is specifically for curing cultivation deviation in those with yin-cold constitutions, while the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit is specifically for curing cultivation deviation in those with fire-type constitutions—that is, fire poison!" Shen Yushu nodded and said. "This is exactly what Xiaoshu needed..."

"Oh, I see." Wei Zhao nodded. Naturally he did not know how precious the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit was, so he was not particularly surprised. The Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit was precious, but that did not mean the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit was; thus Wei Zhao gave it little thought.

Gu Mengyao, however, was truly shaken. Back when they went to the Snow Valley, how arduous it had been to obtain a single Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit! The Snow Valley had named an astronomical price, one they could not possibly pay at the time, and in the end they had even traded Tang Yun's staying in the Snow Valley to cultivate for it!

Yet now Kang Xiaobo had casually brought one back? Had Yunyun's status in the Snow Valley risen to such heights? Even as Gu Mengyao rejoiced for Tang Yun, a melancholy crept in. Tang Yun's status might have risen, but she had likely lost the happiness she once had.

Wei Zhao picked up the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit. Sure enough, a crisp, biting cold emanated from it, thoroughly refreshing—truly the incomparable remedy for fire poison.

"Xiaoshu, put this away carefully. Since it is the medicine for your illness, don't lose it." Wei Zhao handed the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit to Shen Yushu.

"Mm-hm, Xiaoshu will keep it safe." Shen Yushu nodded.

Kang Xiaobo then brought out the heavenly treasures from the Snow Valley, and taking out another fine item from the very top, he said, "Boss, this is also a good thing, called the Heaven Essence Barrier-Breaking Fruit. After taking it, a cultivator below the Heaven Tier can smoothly break through a rank barrier, without pain or side effects... but it cannot be used to break through to the Heaven Tier."

"What?! There's such a thing?" Wei Zhao's eyes went wide as he stared at what was in Kang Xiaobo's hand. "Xiaobo, where on earth did you go? Even the cultivators' trade association doesn't sell so many fine goods! These are priceless treasures that money can't buy—how did you get them?"

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