Chapter Thirty-Nine: Tang Yi's Harvest

On one side of the grand hall lay a mountain-like pile of supreme-grade spirit stones, but what was even more outrageous was the other side of the hall, which held over a dozen massive cages. These were the very cages designed to trap those ghostly entities, and each one was packed to the brim with a varying number of spirit beasts. Upon seeing the arrival of Tang Yi and the others, the beasts let out eerie, chilling screeches that made one's scalp tingle. Looking into their eyes, one could plainly read that, were it not for the cages, they would have already leapt out, eager to tear Tang Yi and his companions to shreds. After all, any creature worthy of the title spirit beast possessed intelligence no less than that of humans.

"Brother Tang, how on earth did you manage this?" Hua Shaojie's eyes were already gleaming with bright sparks of excitement.

"Isn't it simple enough? Alright, I'll give you all a show!" Tang Yi said helplessly, noticing that everyone was staring at him with expectant eyes. With that, he waved his left hand toward the cage holding a spirit beast resembling a small monkey. A cute, white little monkey instantly appeared in his palm. Strangely, however, the little white monkey was no longer leaping and bounding around as it had inside the cage; instead, it was completely silent. No, it was in absolute stasis, as still as a statue. If not for the fact that its posture and expression were exactly the same as when it was in the cage, and that there was no second white monkey inside the cage, the others would have thought Tang Yi was trying to fool them!

"Brother Tang, is this little white monkey dead? Or did you kill it and turn it into a stone carving?" Hua Ruoxue asked, looking utterly fond of the white little monkey. The others shared the same thought and nodded in agreement.

Tang Yi smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, the white little monkey in his left hand sprang to life, squeaking and struggling to escape from his palm. Yet no matter how hard it tried, it could not move a single inch, its feet stuck firmly to Tang Yi's left palm.

"Fellow Daoist Tang, your skills are truly remarkable. However, could you enlighten us on how this works?" Zhang Sanfeng praised sincerely.

"Hehe, of course there's no problem. Actually, I've only truly mastered these supernatural abilities recently. Here's the thing: I can now place any living creature, plant, or object into a state of temporal stasis. Of course, reversing or advancing its time is also possible, as is speeding up or slowing down its flow of time. As for the exact duration of this stasis, it depends on the amount of energy I channel into it. As for the utilization of this space, as you can all see, just like this little monkey, it is trapped within a fixed range and unable to move. In reality, I am using the supernatural ability of spatial control to form an independent phase space around it, which is out of phase with the space we currently occupy," Tang Yi explained.

"That doesn't make sense, Brother Tang. I remember you saying that under different phases, it's generally impossible to see the scene in another phase," Lu Zhengyang asked.

"Hehe, you said it yourself—it's generally impossible to see it. But under my control, exceptions are naturally the rule. If you don't believe me, you can try attacking the little monkey, and everything will become clear," Tang Yi chuckled, extending his left hand straight out for Lu Zhengyang to attack. Lu Zhengyang glanced at the others beside him, and they all gave him encouraging looks. Taking a deep breath, Lu Zhengyang raised his right hand and gave it a gentle flick. A small fire dragon surged forth with a crisp sound. Squeak! The white little monkey, seeing the fire dragon summoned by Lu Zhengyang, let out a terrified shriek. Hua Ruoxue subconsciously cried out, "Don't!" But it was too late; the meter-long fire dragon was already striking straight at the white little monkey. However, what happened next put everyone at ease. Hearing Hua Ruoxue's cry, everyone knew how much she liked the little white monkey; if Lu Zhengyang had burned it to death, she would surely be heartbroken and in tears for a long time. The fire dragon passed straight through the white little monkey, which was clearly visible to everyone's eyes. The white little monkey also saw the fire dragon pass through its body without any obstruction, yet it suffered not the slightest injury and felt no trace of the fire dragon's power. The fire dragon extinguished itself a meter away.

"Fellow Daoist Tang, you actually possess such miraculous arts. No wonder I found it so strange; I could clearly see the little white monkey in my hands, yet I couldn't sense its presence at all. It turns out it exists in another space. Truly, the world is full of wonders! Haha, you have truly opened my eyes. Hmm... Fellow Daoist Tang, I plan to enter closed cultivation starting now. Cuishan, my master's seclusion this time may take a considerable amount of time. This jade slip contains some records of my cultivation insights. Since I cannot guide you in person, study it yourself first!" After witnessing Tang Yi's display of supernatural abilities, Zhang Sanfeng actually experienced a sudden enlightenment. He immediately bid farewell to everyone, returned to his room, and directly began a long period of closed cultivation.

"Zhang Sanfeng is indeed Zhang Sanfeng. He's had another enlightenment just like that. Who knows what earth-shattering, extraordinary supreme art he'll create the next time he emerges from seclusion," Tang Yi remarked casually. Yet, unexpectedly, when Zhang Sanfeng finally emerged from his seclusion, he had indeed created a miraculous, earth-shaking, and soul-stirring unique art.

Right then, Tang Yi gave a light flick with his left hand, and the little white monkey instantly appeared in Hua Ruoxue's hands. Tang Yi then said to Hua Ruoxue, "Have you finished learning the spirit beast taming technique I gave you a few days ago? Since you like this little white monkey so much, let it be your spirit beast."

Hearing Tang Yi's words, Hua Ruoxue felt a surge of sweetness in her heart. She nodded and stepped aside, employing the spirit beast contract she had just learned a few days ago to bind the little white monkey as her own spirit beast. Although the little white monkey was no longer in its statue-like state, Tang Yi had sealed all the meridians in its body, rendering it like a vegetable person—no, a vegetable monkey. It was completely at Hua Ruoxue's mercy.

At the same time, Tang Yi led the others to open the door of another room. The scene revealed before them could be described as mouth-watering. Various gemstones and materials shimmered with different dazzling lights, captivating the eye. Their rarity far exceeded what Li Zhan and the others had found, and their quantity vastly surpassed it as well.

"Alright, let's take a look at the next room!" Amidst the reluctant gazes of the crowd, Tang Yi closed the door to this room and moved on to open the door of another.

"Hiss..." Seeing the scene inside the room, everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath. This room was twice the size of the previous one, containing eight massive shelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. Each shelf was divided into six layers, and every layer was filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs! The room was permeated with a unique, refreshing fragrance that only spiritual herbs possessed.

"Brother Tang, these all look like they have a medicinal potency of over ten thousand years. And there are so many of them! How many spirit stones would these be worth?" Liu Mingde, who was quite knowledgeable in this area, spoke up.

"Hehe... can things in here even be measured in spirit stones?" Actually, Tang Yi didn't say the other part out loud: the items in this rapid cultivation chamber accounted for less than a tenth of the total he had acquired. Yet, even this less-than-a-tenth quantity had already reduced them to such a state of shock. Better not to stimulate them any further! Tang Yi thought to himself.

"Alright, I now announce that everyone gets a share of the things in here!" Tang Yi suddenly declared. The crowd could hardly believe their ears. Of course, if they knew this was less than a tenth of the total, they wouldn't have stood on ceremony with Tang Yi. That was exactly the reason why Tang Yi had concealed the true quantity.

"Don't look at me with those eyes, there are conditions!" Tang Yi added.

"Oh!" Only then did the crowd believe what Tang Yi had said. "Then what are the conditions?" someone asked.

"As for the conditions..."