Venerable Cranesong mused... As he did, he casually took what his young disciple handed him.
"Since it’s a token of sincerity from my disciple’s granddaughter, I won’t..."
Before he could utter the word ’reject,’ his expression abruptly changed.
"Where did this come from?"
His voice even trembled.
Ji Shang sensed something was amiss. He had planned to gift his Master about ten or so of the tiny black balls, but immediately reduced the number to just three or five.
"Disciple just said, this was given by my granddaughter. She said it was spat out by her pet!"
"What did you say?"
Venerable Cranesong completely lost his composure and hurriedly pressed, "What kind of pet does she have? What’s its name?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Shang’s eyes darted around for a moment before he spoke. He didn’t immediately say what Xiaosuisui’s pet was, but instead asked, "Master! Is there something amiss with this item?"
Something amiss? This is utterly wrong! This item should only have existed in ancient times! And you’re telling me it has appeared in a realm where the Celestial Dao is incomplete? Spat out by a child’s pet—who would believe such a thing if it were told?
"Master! Master?"
When Venerable Cranesong remained silent for a long moment, Ji Shang couldn’t help but call out again.
"This item, as Master sees it, resembles a powerful object recorded in a certain ancient text."
After saying this, Venerable Cranesong’s hand immediately reached out towards Ji Shang.
Ji Shang turned his head away, pretending not to see his master’s subtle move.
"Stop hiding it. I saw everything clearly just now."
Resigned, Ji Shang had no choice but to hand over the full amount of tiny black balls to Venerable Cranesong.
"Truly, why must your eyesight be so sharp? Disciple knew this was a good thing and wanted to keep a few in reserve for life-saving purposes in the future!"
"This little thing isn’t that simple to use. If you have more, give your Master another ten or so. In the future, for the Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise bones you seek, I, as your Master, will issue a general call to heroes, inviting all fellow cultivators on the Profound Celestial Continent to help you find them! How about it?"
Ji Shang was overjoyed upon hearing this. He knew that a general call to heroes issued by his Master carried a vastly different weight than one issued by himself. Although his cultivation was not low and he held the status of an elder in Lingxiao Mountain, and his own call to heroes would naturally be answered by some, finding these Divine Beast bones would eventually succeed. However, if his Master personally issued the call, it could potentially rally the support of the entire continent.
Of course, people wouldn’t hand them over for free. But whether it involved bartering items or negotiating terms with Lingxiao Mountain, if his Master intervened, it would undoubtedly be far more effective!
With this in mind, Ji Shang reluctantly took out another ten or so tiny black balls.
"Master, please accept these."
Venerable Cranesong watched Ji Shang’s movements with a smile, his probing gaze at Ji Shang’s sleeve making his curiosity about its hidden contents obvious.
"Master! You can’t be this greedy. Disciple doesn’t have many left. You have to let me keep a few as a keepsake, right?"
Hearing this, Venerable Cranesong laughed heartily and stroked his beard, saying, "If you encounter a life-and-death enemy in the future, and you intend to fight them to the bitter end, ensure your own protection, then toss one of these at them. I, your Master, guarantee you’ll be able to escape!"
"This... this thing is that powerful?"
Ji Shang was greatly surprised and quickly took out a tiny black ball to study it. He examined it over and over but couldn’t discern anything unusual.
"I don’t see anything special about this thing! If you call it a Celestial Thunder Bead, it lacks the characteristic patterns and thunder attribute fluctuations of one; it just looks like a tiny black ball. Yet, if you say it *isn’t* a Celestial Thunder Bead, Disciple instinctively feels it’s so similar that it *must* be one!"
Celestial Thunder Beads, throughout the entire Profound Celestial Continent, could only be refined by cultivators of the Thunder Sect. However, it was said that in recent decades, no one in the Thunder Sect had been able to command lightning and produce Celestial Thunder Beads.
Currently, on the market, Celestial Thunder Beads were items with a price but no supply.
Moreover, according to reports in the ’Cultivation News,’ the Thunder Sect itself only possessed about twenty Celestial Thunder Beads, kept as their ultimate sect treasures, which members could not easily use.
Recalling his master’s words and looking at the tiny black ball in his hand, Ji Shang thought his guess might be correct. Could this truly be an offensive treasure similar in effect to a Celestial Thunder Bead? Although it was a consumable, used once and gone, between him and his master, they had about twenty of them! This was enough to compare with the entire reserves of a sect.