Just as Yun Hanshuang was about to take the Myriad Soil Spirit-Gathering Pot back to his grandparents' place, he spotted a letter on the table in his room.

Yun Hanshuang picked up the letter and immediately recognized it as his sister's handwriting. Opening the envelope, there was only a single short sentence inside.

I'm leaving. Don't die so soon; at least wait until I come back and we can have a meal together before you die.

Yun Hanshuang stared at the letter in his hand for a long time, sniffled, then murmured softly: "Stinky girl, not a single good word from her mouth."

After tucking the letter into his bosom, Yun Hanshuang picked up the Myriad Soil Spirit-Gathering Pot and turned to leave the room.

When he returned to his grandparents' courtyard, his grandfather Yun Hu had already come back. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Grandfather."

"Rise, no need for such formalities at home. I heard from your grandmother that you went back to fetch a treasure. Bring it out and let Grandfather see what kind of treasure it is."

"Alright."

Yun Hanshuang placed the cloth bundle from his back onto the table, then took out the Myriad Soil Spirit-Gathering Pot.

The moment Yun Hu saw the pot in Yun Hanshuang's hands, he excitedly snatched it over, his voice trembling with agitation: "Th-this, this is the Myriad Soil Spirit-Gathering Pot? How did you come by it?"

"I bought it from a villager's home. At the time, I felt it had a spiritual essence. Later I confirmed it was a spirit artifact, so I bought it intending to bring it back for appraisal. Grandfather, is this a very powerful spirit artifact?"

Yun Hanshuang pretended not to know it was the Myriad Soil Spirit-Gathering Pot, looking at Yun Hu with a puzzled expression.

"The treasure herb is saved this time. Good grandson, wait until Grandfather has rescued the treasure herb, then I'll explain it to you."

Yun Hu cradled the Myriad Soil Spirit-Gathering Pot and walked excitedly toward the courtyard gate.

Yun Hanshuang stayed with his grandmother, chatting until late at night before returning to his own courtyard. He had just stepped into the courtyard when Yun Haoyu came looking for him, bringing meat and wine.

He drank with Yun Haoyu until dawn before finally seeing him off. Exhausted from the day and night, he collapsed onto his bed and slept.

* * *

By the time Yun Hanshuang woke again, it was already midnight. Since it wasn't a full-moon night and he couldn't cultivate, he lay on the roof thinking about his next steps.

‘On the way back, I broke through to the Middle Qi Refining stage. The fifth groove of my Spiritual Power Seed is already half filled. My divine sense can cover nine meters around me. White Blade Slash can now be used five times. All spells can be cast instantly with just a thought. At present, apart from insufficient cultivation, I'm also sorely lacking in real combat experience. Once it's light out, I'll ask Grandfather and Grandmother where there's a place that's yin-cold and can also improve combat experience.’

After summarizing his strengths and weaknesses, Yun Hanshuang decided to ask his grandparents about a place suitable for his training.

When the sky was fully bright, Yun Hanshuang once again went to his grandparents' courtyard, wanting to know if Yun Hu had returned.

"Good grandson, you've come. Hurry inside. Old woman, quickly have them make some good food."

Before Yun Hanshuang could even step into the courtyard, Yun Hu suddenly appeared before him, pulling him toward the dining hall.

"Grandfather, Grandmother, no need. I already ate breakfast before coming."

Hearing this, Yun Hu pulled Yun Hanshuang and turned toward the reception hall.

"Hanshuang, you've practically saved the family this time. So Grandfather and the clan elders have decided to give you two choices. The first: you may choose five items from the clan's treasure vault. The second: you may ask the family to do three things for you. However, the family retains the right to refuse those three requests."

Yun Hu looked at Yun Hanshuang, wanting to know which option his grandson would pick.

Seeing his grandparents both looking at him, Yun Hanshuang pressed his lips together and didn't make a choice immediately. Instead, he looked at Yun Hu with a surprised expression.

"Grandfather, is that pot really such a powerful spirit artifact?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you too much."

Yun Hanshuang nodded in understanding upon hearing this. He realized it was to protect the family's interests, because prying information from a mortal's mouth was far too easy for cultivators. So Yun Hanshuang didn't think Yun Hu's approach was wrong at all, and he turned the conversation back to choosing his reward.

"Grandfather, does the treasure vault have a map of the Heavenly Abyss Continent? Among the five treasures, can I choose a cultivation method?"

Yun Hu hadn't expected Yun Hanshuang to suddenly ask this. Though somewhat surprised, he quickly responded: "There is indeed a map of the Heavenly Abyss Continent in the treasure vault. If you want it, I can have a copy made for you. As for a cultivation method, as long as you guarantee not to pass it on to outsiders, I can take the authority to agree."

After receiving Yun Hu's answer, Yun Hanshuang chose the first type of reward.

Following Yun Hu through dozens of security checks, Yun Hanshuang finally entered the Yun family's treasure vault.

"Go choose for yourself. I'll go make a copy of the map for you."

Hearing this, Yun Hanshuang headed straight for the area where spirit artifacts were kept. All the spirit artifacts worthy of being stored in this treasure vault were of the third tier or above.

‘Profound Tortoise Iron Armor, Azure Moon Sword, Cloud-Melting Silkworm Silk Gloves…’

Yun Hanshuang looked at dozens of spirit artifacts in a row, but none satisfied him. Finally, on a shelf holding fourth-tier spirit artifacts, he spotted a white long saber that immediately caught his eye. The blade was entirely snow-white, two and a half fingers wide, one and a half meters long, with a hilt thirty-five centimeters long. A cold qi radiated from the blade.

After selecting the long saber, Yun Hanshuang walked over to a shelf full of tiny compartments. The compartments of this shelf were all filled with small spirit artifacts. Afraid of being discovered, Yun Hanshuang dared not use his divine sense to search, so he had to look through each compartment one by one. Finally, his gaze stopped on one particular compartment. ‘Low-grade spatial ring. Space: one thousand cubic units.’

[AN: Under one thousand cubic units is called a storage ring; one thousand cubic units and above is called a spatial ring.]

Yun Hanshuang took the spatial ring out of its compartment, then walked to the vault entrance to wait for Yun Hu.

Not long after, Yun Hu emerged from the depths of the vault with two pieces of beast-skin. When he saw what Yun Hanshuang had chosen, he asked somewhat puzzledly: "Shuang'er, are you truly certain about these two items?"

Yun Hanshuang choosing the long saber Yun Hu could still understand, but him choosing a spatial ring was something Yun Hu couldn't grasp. "I'm certain."

Yun Hanshuang nodded firmly, indicating he truly wanted just these two.

"But that spatial ring... ah, fine, do as you please! However, aside from the map and the cultivation method, you can still choose one more item!" Seeing the resolute look in Yun Hanshuang's eyes, Yun Hu finally sighed.

"For the last item, I'd like to exchange it for spirit stones. Grandfather, you wouldn't shortchange me, would you?" Yun Hanshuang hooked his arm around Yun Hu's and said coquettishly.

"I'll do my best to get it for you."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

"Oh, by the way, Grandfather, the items in this treasure vault don't seem like what a family of our level should have?"

Yun Hanshuang had only been in the outer area of the vault and had already seen so many third and fourth-tier treasures. Wouldn't the treasures in the inner area be even more precious? Yun Hanshuang felt that he still didn't understand the family's true strength well enough. Yun Hu's next words confirmed his suspicion.

"On the surface, the highest cultivation level in our Yun family is the Golden Core stage. In reality, the family still has quite a few Nascent Soul stage ancestors. Hanshuang, there are some matters Grandfather cannot discuss with you in detail. This is for your own good."

"I understand." Yun Hanshuang nodded obediently, signaling that he understood the reasoning.