Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Yes, General Li is right.”

Although the man had a lower military rank and was nominally under his command, Boss Bai did not dare to be cocky at all before the real trusted subordinate of Marquess Youngchun.

He treated Li Yuanzhen exactly the same way he treated Li Wuji. Rubbing his hands, he said humbly, “You must excuse me, General Li. This is the first time that I have ever been a commander of, hehe, this National Protection Army. Besides, space pirates are all unrestrained and uncontrollable in nature. Now that they are having a great time at the party, it’s not easy for me to stop it.”

Li Yuanzhen sniffed in dissatisfaction, not showing any respect to Boss Bai, the commander and his nominal superior.

“Rest assured, General Li, I am certainly not an ignorant child.”

Boss Bai continued with a smile, “Although the lord asked General Li to follow my command, how can I, a stealthy thief, possibly command General Li, a battle-tested general? I’ll be completely at a loss in a real battlefield where thousands of starships are fighting magnificently, and I’ll certainly have so many questions on which I need to ask for General Li’s advice. When that day comes, I do hope that General Li would… kindly enlighten me!”

“Of course.”

Li Yuanzhen said unenthusiastically, “We are all loyal to our country. If there is any military issue, we certainly need to discuss it with each other. Nobody is enlightening anybody.”

“Exactly. Exactly. That’s what I’m talking about!”

Boss Bai said, “In my opinion, let’s not care about the difference between the commander and the deputy commander. If there is any military issue, we’ll just discuss with each other on General Li’s opinions. After all, you are the out-and-out regular army!

“Also, hehe, when General Li meets the lord in the future, it would be great if you could speak well of me…”

“Of course.”

Li Yuanzhen nodded his head without giving consent. “As long as Boss Bai works dutifully and proves your loyalty to the lord and the four families, I will naturally report it truthfully to the lord.”

“Then, I’ll thank General Li in advance!”

Boss Bai crossed his claws and bowed. Then, glancing around, he leaned close and said mysteriously, “General Li, why don’t we let them party for a while longer? There won’t be any trouble if we call it a day half an hour later. Can we talk somewhere else, General Li? I found some unusual treasures from a secret warehouse in the Blue Sky Market, and I’m thinking that they may be an eye-opener for General Li too…”

“I don’t think… it is necessary.”

Li Yuanzhen knew what the guy was up to, seeing the grimace on his face. But of course, a noble must have a noble’s manners. How could he agree to it so quickly? Pondering for a moment, he said coldly, as if he were not interested at all, “The Li family has all the treasures in the universe. I don’t think this small Blue Sky Market has anything that I’ve never seen before. I have other military issues that I need to attend to. So, I don’t think that I will see them.”

“Of course, of course. Military issues are always the most important.”

Boss Bai rolled his eyes again and again and then craned his pointy face over, saying stealthily in a low voice, “However, it is possible that what I found in the secret warehouse of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors is a ‘Heart Sinking Stone’ of a high quality, but I don’t know if it is authentic, and I’m thinking that I can use some extra help to determine it. It won’t take much time.”

“A Heart Sinking Stone?”

Li Yuanzhen was slightly dazed. The features and value of the ultimate treasure immediately popped up in his head, and greediness flashed in his eyes.

“Yes, at the edge of the fourth quadrant, there is a half-desolate world named ‘Mystic Tortoise Sector’. The fourth planet of the Sector is not suitable for the survival of human beings due to the incomplete atmosphere and the high-density of the planet itself. So, it has never been developed deeply, and only some primitive lives are struggling to live on it.”

Boss Bai said colloquially, “But there is a wonder on the planet, which is the ‘unsinkable ocean’ that has an extremely high density and a percentage of heavy metal elements. Although it has ‘ocean’ in its name, it is in fact a collection of dead lakes without water sources. The lakes are of such a high density that they are like melted metal.

“However, the lakes are extremely self-contradictory. When the light objects, such as feathers or paper, are put in the lake, they will immediately sink, but when the heavy objects like metals or stones are put on the surface, they will be rejected by the lake water and float on it. That is how the ‘unsinkable ocean’ got its name.

“Because of the weirdness of the ocean, its ecological circle is entirely different from the regular oceans. There are some tiny creatures at the bottom of the lake. For thousands of years, the bugs, feeding on the heavy metals in the lake, have been procreating and dying. After their death, their dead bodies would not decay but turn into bones that are like stones and wood. When the bones are piled up, they grow from the bottom of the lakes like bizarre-shaped trees. The mechanism is somewhat similar to the corals in the general oceans.

“The peculiar trees at the bottom of the lakes that have grown for more than thirty thousand years are known as ‘Unsinkable Wood’, and when the rind is peeled and the essence at the core is taken, it will be the ‘Heart Sinking Stone’!

“General Li, you should know that the ‘Heart Sinking Stone’ is the most tranquil and peaceful treasure. Not only can it stabilize rune arrays and magnetic fields, but it can also soothe the violent brainwaves and get the trainers out of mental derangement, which makes it the best material for the trainers who are about to break into higher levels or to curb the messy thoughts.

“In the auctions of the four families, even a piece of Heart Sinking Stone the size of a baby’s finger can be sold for millions of coins. Those larger in size and more effective can be ten times more expensive!”

Li Yuanzhen finally couldn’t hold it back anymore. He blurted out, “How big exactly is this Heart Sinking Stone that you have discovered?”

Boss Bai chuckled and made a “follow me” gesture. “About that, General Li will know after you appreciate and play with it in person!”

Li Yuanzhen’s eyes became unsteady, and his nose flapped. He looked at the few guards with him.

“The warriors with General Li can come with us.”

Boss Bai said with a smile, “I certainly have a few more gifts for the warriors here. I like the tough and macho warriors more than anything else.”

“Well, it won’t matter to take a look at it.”

Li Yuanzhen finally changed his attitude. Pointing at the messy celebration dinner and the drunk space pirates casually, he said, “While we appreciate the magical equipment, let your men clean up the mess here. This does not befit the manners of the regular army!”

“Yes, yes, we are cleaning it up!”

Boss Bai quickly brought Li Yuanzhen away from the celebration dinner to a small warehouse not far away.

A few members of the Big Bai Pirate Gang stepped forward and led Li Yuanzhen’s guards to a secret room nearby for their “gifts”.

The warehouse was not far away from the garrison of Li Wuji’s fleet. Li Yuanzhen was a seasoned expert himself too. Too proud of himself, the noble strode into the warehouse without any suspicion.

The warehouse, having been robbed by the space pirates, was in a total mess, with ragged boxes and closets everywhere. But since it was a private deal between the two of them, there was not a third person on the spot.

Boss Bai closed the door carefully and directed Li Yuanzhen to a fragrant wooden box. Opening the box softly, he smiled and said, “Please take a look, General Li, this is the ‘Heart Sinking Stone’. Even if you never run into an accident, it will still be greatly beneficial to absorb the tranquilizing brilliance from it during the daily training.”

While talking, he stepped sideways and stood straight.

Li Yuanzhen narrowed his eyes and looked, only to discover that a necklace made of gray metals was floating and revolving slowly in the midair, emanating pure brilliance like moonlight that flowed slowly from his eyes to his heart like a brook.

“Is this the ‘Heart Sinking Stone’?”

Li Yuanzhen was not in a high position in the Li family. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been only a secondary general below Li Wuji. Although he had heard of such an ultimate treasure as the Heart Sinking Stone before, he had never seen one with his own eyes. He was immediately attracted by the beautiful and charming light, and he moved closer to the box without knowing it.

Just like the rumors had it, when he was bathed in the silver brilliance, his nerves and his veins seemed to be soaked in a warm spring, and he couldn’t feel more comfortable and gratified. Even his soul seemed to be stretching out.

It was truly the best treasure to calm and soothe the mind, with exactly the same effects as described in the encyclopedia of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Li Yuanzhen swallowed hard and couldn’t help but retrieve the necklace of the Heart Sinking Stone from the anti-gravity rune arrays. Touching it softly in his palm, he sensed the smoothness and silkiness of the treasure while he pretended to be angry. “Such an ultimate treasure should’ve been offered to the lord when he was here a moment ago. Why did you never bring it out? Commander Bai, you are not loyal enough!”

“Aya!”

Boss Bai slapped his thigh and defended himself, “It was only because the treasure was not found until just now due to the turmoil! Besides, there are a lot of rarely-seen Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in the Blue Sky Market. I naturally have selected dozens of gifts that are in perfect condition for the lord. Although this necklace of the Heart Sinking Stone is great, there is a minor flaw on it, and it seems inappropriate to offer it to our noble lord.

“Therefore, I’m thinking that General Li could play with it for a while first, or maybe I can ask General Li to help me find a capable craftsman to repair it. After all, with all the connections General Li has in the four families, you certainly know much more excellent refiners than I do. If it could truly be repaired, we’ll see how we are going to deal with it. How does it sound, General Li?”

Li Yuanzhen was overjoyed first but more or less upset when he heard that the necklace was flawed. But on the other hand, the delicate and precious necklace would have been an unbearable gift for him if it was devoid of any flaw.

While appreciating the necklace in fascination, Li Yuanzhen asked, “Where is the flaw? Why haven’t I noticed it?”

“It’s just a tiny, tiny, tiny flaw, which actually doesn’t hurt at all.”

With the most brilliant smile, Boss Bai rubbed his hands and leaned close. “Here, allow me to point out the flaw for General Li…”