Second Time

Chapter 40 - Central Qilin Pavilion

"This world is very strange," Liezhu observed.

"How so?" Shao Yue asked.

"It has very comprehensive laws, indicating that the master is very strong. The world energy is also fresh and still being produced, implying the master is alive. However, the world energy is quite thin and doesn't match up. Almost as if there's something using vast amounts of world energy constantly, but I can't tell what it could be."

Shao Yue hummed, not having anything to contribute to that line of thought. "What might be using it up?"

"It could be a seal, or it could be incubating some treasure. Something like that."

"If it's incubation, then what happens when the world's creator wants to reap the harvest?"

"It's as you imagine."

Shao Yue pursed her lips, slightly troubled.

"I can see why people here open their meridians. If they didn't, then reaching Soul Manifestation would be pretty much impossible, let alone Void Traversal. Too bad those with open meridians can't leave."

Shao Yue was highly interested in that topic. "Why's that?"

"The same way open meridians help the cultivator absorb world energy faster, it also brings in undesirables, like poisons. In this case, void energy, which would destroy the cultivator from the inside out."

"Is there a way to close meridians?"

"Are you an idiot?"

Shao Yue smiled helplessly. "I'm only uninformed."

"You have a Time Body! You could just turn back time on the opening until it turned back into its closed state."

Shao Yue hummed. "That sounds very precise. I don't have that kind of control."

"How did you even go back in time, anyway?"

"I sent my soul into the river of time and re-entered at the point where I was still a child, creating a branch," Shao Yue explained.

"That's completely impossible, even with a Time Body. Do you realize how many worlds are in the universe? How many living things? Billions of billions. There's absolutely no way that you could possibly create a branch in time at the Soul Manifestation Realm. Maybe if you were a Transcendent I'd believe it."

"I did do it, though," Shao Yue grumbled. "Wait, Transcendent? Here, the Transcendent Realm is the Realm above the Emperor Realm. But, you don't mean that, right?"

"Right, I'm referring to the fourteenth realm."

Shao Yue shook her head. It was way too early for her to even be thinking about that.

The next month was a flurry of activity. The entire city had turned into one big marketplace. There were some food stalls around, but for the most part, everyone sold raw ore, metal, and gemstones.

Shao Yue and Cai Fei spent every day selling off materials and purchasing others. Cai Fei's voice nearly went hoarse from all her haggling. She had to regularly drink soothing tea to keep her throat in good condition. Shao Yue didn't care as much and would accept any reasonable prices.

The excitement culminated in the massive auction. Unlike the previous two, the auction hall was completely filled with fierce competition for the seats.

Shao Yue and Cai Fei took a private room as usual, the same attendant as before serving them. Liezhu didn't come out, too embarrassed to show her human form in front of the attendant, but that didn't stop her from constantly saying things about everything that showed up for auction.