The head of what could once previously be called a work of art sat within Xue Chang's right palm.
Staring at the features of the statue's face, Xue Chang felt a pang of remorse for the amount of money he lost just now.
Meanwhile, in his left palm was a small pile of grainy powder. To the naked eye, it appeared to be just normal white sand. Only under a microscope would one recognize the appearance of the moonlit jade.
"So many gold coins..."
"Don't let materialistic wealth get to you. Only the weak have the right to ravish in their riches. Meanwhile, you should revel in your strength instead. For that can bring you further than any gold coins can."
Xue Chang just continued to sight to himself as he continued to ground away at the statue's head.
Although he had pretty much destroyed the entire piece, he had yet to find the thing Yong Heng recognized.
He was starting to doubt whether or not Yong Heng actually found something rare inside the statue or he was just going mad.
The pile of white sand next to him continued to grow while he pinched bits and pieces off of the statue, until finally he spotted something different.
Unlike the rest of the statue which was pearly white; within the head, just behind the eyeball, a discolored object was lodged deep inside of it.
"I found it!"
It looked like like some sort of pitch black ring. But it was more than just black. It was dark, it was as if any light that shined upon the ring would get sucked up into its shadowy void.
If one was not careful while looking at it, they could go blind momentarily. The light would fade from their eyes as the darkness consumed them.
Xue Chang was able to fight off this consumption and pushed it away from him. Holding it out in front of him, he waited for what would happen next.
An apparition of Yong Heng immediately appeared beside Xue Chang and peered down at the strange object.
He seemed almost breathless as his intangible hand passed over it.
As his arm swiped passed it, an electrical current seemed to engulf the object as it suddenly disappeared.
Xue Chang could no longer see the ring, but he knew that it was now in purgatory. He didn't know how exactly, but he found out Yong Heng could bring things into the strange space with him. Not everything though, only a small number of objects.
To him, the transportation of the ring was inconsequential. He was much more curious on what it was.
"I still don't know. The second it appeared, I felt something in my mind react to it, but I still can't seem to recognize it. I will study it a bit and get back to you if I figure anything out."
Xue Chang didn't like how he couldn't tell what Yong Heng was thinking.
He knew that this being within his mind was undoubtedly keeping something from him, that reaction wasn't something you'd give if you only wanted to "study it a bit".
He still held many doubts over Yong Heng's plans, but he already accepted that he could do nothing about this intangible being.
But now he had another problem to deal with. What he should do with all of the powder in his hand now.
"So what do we do with the crushed jade now? Do we just visit Uncle Wu and tell him to swallow it?"
"Well, he doesn't really need it right now."
One of Xue Chang's eyebrows were raised as he asked, "Then when will he need it?"
"In about five... four... three... two-"
Just then, a powerful surge of energy ruptured from Wu Jie's residence and washed over the city.
A chaotic swirl of energy engulfed the mansion as an invisible whirlpool formed above his house.
While no one could see the whirlpool, cultivators in the city could easily sense it, and the sensation they felt was equivalent to a black hole sucking them all in.
Some had the strength to resist the suction, but others needed to grab onto nearby poles and trees to stop themselves from flying off.
"What's happening!?"
Xue Chang exclaimed loudly to Yong Heng while rushing toward Wu Jie's seclusion room.
"I told you your uncle would need our help. Because of the unique cultivation method Tian Hai and Tian Kai use, most of the spiritual force in the area hadn't had enough time to recover itself. And with your uncle making such a big breakthrough, his body would desire to take in as much spiritual force as possible."
"What does that mean?"
"It means since the city has an absence of spiritual force since it couldn't recover quick enough, a powerful suction force was created to drain away any energy it could in the city. No matter where it comes from."
Wu Jie's body unconsciously became a vacuum that was trying to absorb anything with spiritual energy, including cultivators like them. And if it didn't succeed in taking in an appropriate amount of energy, bad things could happen to both the city and Wu Jie himself.
"What do we do then!?"
"That's what the jade is for! The vortex will convert the material into a unique force and help satisfy the needs of your uncle."
Yong Heng spoke with such calmness and certainty that a thought occurred to Xue Chang. "you knew this would happen?"
"Well I wasn't a hundred percent sure, but seeing the time frame of his practice and watching how much spiritual force your guards drained from the area, I had some ideas."
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?!"
"Well what could you have done? You have no method of replenishing the spiritual force, elemental energy isn't compatible with that man's cultivation. But this jade is much better. And even then the jade couldn't be used until this very moment. Now are you sure you want to keep complaining? Or are we going to stop this vortex?"
"Tch" clicking his tongue, Xue Chang launched himself forward rapidly, shortening the distance from where he stood to where Wu Jie was practicing by several dozen meters in one leap.
As he ran passed several buildings, several random objects seem to fly past his head.
Xue Chang ducked down and swerved to the side, immediately avoiding several large objects from crashing into him.
Squeezing 5e sack of powder in his hand, he released a single breath as his legs continued their long strides toward the vortex.
As more and more objects flew passed him, he questioned in his mind, "What do I do now?"
"You have to throw the jade into the actual vortex."
Immediately, a golden light shined within Xue Chang's eyes as he scanned the area. Waving his arms around, many flying object flew toward and placed themselves in front of him.
If one looked carefully, they could actually see that these objects, which seemingly flew in this direction randomly, were actually forming a staircase.
Like a carpet introducing a king, the objects stayed afloat unmoving in Xue Chang's presence.
Without hesitation, he stepped onto the makeshift staircase and made his way up into the air toward the vortex. And with a final leap at the end of the steps, the tossed the sack of powder into the vortex.
Immediately, an implosion of power exploded from the vortex launching Xue Chang away.
He felt his body rapidly descend and prepared himself to crash into the hard stone pavement.
Yet, before his body made contact with the floor, he felt something grab him by the name of his neck and lift him back up.
Hearing a deep growling voice appear behind him, Xue Chang couldn't help but smile in excitement.
"Well what do we have here? What did you do this time?"
"Uncle Wu Jie!"