Divine Level Witch Doctor

Zhao Yuan hadn’t originally planned to give the Storage Rings to the Ying Family so soon. He wanted to avoid them thinking that creating Storage Rings was easy and feeling they hadn’t gotten their money’s worth.

But then again, Ying Ji had already come looking for him, so it would be a bad move not to hand them over. Besides, from the look on her face, she seemed to have misunderstood the earlier Wind and Thunder Move, believing it was caused by him creating the Storage Rings for the Ying Family.

That being the case, he no longer had to worry about the Ying Family feeling they hadn’t gotten their money’s worth.

So he played along and told a small lie. ”Of course. I borrowed Old Hao’s Lingyun Pavilion today specifically to create the Storage Rings for you.”

He wasn’t worried about the lie being exposed. After all, no one had been watching while he was performing Artifact Creation, so nobody knew what he had actually made. Although Hao Li had seen the new Wind and Thunder Whip he created, he could just say he’d made the Magical Artifact on the side after finishing the Storage Rings. No one would be able to find fault with that story.

As Zhao Yuan took the Storage Rings out of his pocket, he said, ”There’s something I need to explain, and I hope you won’t mind. In the process of Artifact Creation, I accidentally attracted Celestial Thunder and destroyed Old Hao’s Lingyun Pavilion. I gave him one Storage Ring as compensation. But don’t worry, I’ll make another one as soon as possible to replace it for you.”

”There’s no need to replace it. After all, you attracted the Celestial Thunder while performing Artifact Creation for us, so compensating Old Hao is our responsibility too. How could we let you bear the cost alone?”

That’s what Ying Ji said, but inwardly, her heart ached. In her mind, Zhao Yuan had made three or four Storage Rings at most, and he’d actually given one away. ’Such an outrageous waste!’

Just as she was thinking this, Zhao Yuan pulled a black plastic bag from his pocket and handed it to Ying Ji.

”What is this?” Ying Ji asked, staring blankly at the plastic bag.

Zhao Yuan explained, ”The Storage Rings. They’re all in the bag.”

Ying Ji almost lost her mind. ”What the hell, you’re using a garbage bag for the Storage Rings? Do you have to be so sacrilegious?”

She remembered once, as a child, accompanying the Ying Family Ancestor to visit a senior in the Cultivation Realm. That man also happened to possess a Spatial Magical Artifact. It wasn’t just placed in a meticulously carved box of Upper Grade Agarwood, but also cushioned with layers of Top Grade silk. One glance was all it took to know the box held a priceless treasure!

And even then, that senior had sighed, lamenting that since he had only just acquired the Spatial Magical Artifact, he could only place it in such a crude box for the time being. He vowed that in the future, he would have to find a better, more valuable box worthy of the Spatial Magical Artifact’s esteemed status.

’But Zhao Yuan? He just stuffed them all into a black garbage bag...’

’Does he think he’s buying vegetables at a farmer’s market?’

’No, wait, even vendors at the farmer’s market wouldn’t use a bag like this! And this bag... it looks like it’s been used, doesn’t it?’

She was right. Zhao Yuan had previously used the plastic bag to hold Blood Circulation Soup Powder. Once it was empty, he’d casually tossed the Storage Rings inside.

Zhao Yuan didn’t think he was being sacrilegious at all. He shrugged and said, ”Does it matter what they’re in? What, am I supposed to build a shrine for them? Wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse? Storage Rings are meant to be used, not just admired.”

Ying Ji didn’t want to argue the point with him. She rolled her eyes and said irritably, ”Fine, fine, fine. You’ve got the bigger chest, so you must be right.”

Zhao Yuan glanced down at his own chest, then over at Ying Ji’s, and muttered, ”That’s not true. Mine aren’t nearly as big as yours.”

”What did you say?” Ying Ji’s eyebrow shot up, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

”N-nothing. I said nothing,” Zhao Yuan quickly backed down.

Ying Ji let out a cold snort and ignored him, reaching into the garbage bag to rummage around.

Behind them, Hao Li wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He gave Zhao Yuan a thumbs-up and mouthed, ”Little Brother Zhao, you’ve got guts. Daring to tease a spitfire like Ying Ji... I’m impressed!”

Zhao Yuan wanted to cry but had no tears. Feeling utterly wronged, he thought, ’I was just going along with what she said! How did that become teasing? I’ve been framed! This is the greatest injustice in history!’

Just as the two men were exchanging glances, Ying Ji’s expression suddenly changed, and she let out a shriek.

”What’s wrong?” Hao Li asked hurriedly. Zhao Yuan looked just as bewildered.

Ying Ji didn’t say a word, but both Hao Li and Zhao Yuan could hear her breathing suddenly turn ragged and quick. She walked over to the stone table in the garden and gingerly took all eleven Storage Rings out of the garbage bag, laying them out in a neat row.

”Holy shit!” Hao Li cried out when he saw them, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

Zhao Yuan was still baffled, unable to understand what was wrong with them or why they were reacting so strongly.

Before he could ask, Ying Ji turned to him, her gaze burning with intensity. ”Zhao Yuan, are all of these for us? Did you really make all of them just now?”

Zhao Yuan nodded. ”Yeah, that’s right. What’s the matter?”

”What’s the matter? You’re asking me what’s the matter?”

Overcome with excitement, Ying Ji’s voice cracked.

”Do you have any idea how high the failure rate for Artifact Creation is? And we’re not just talking about any artifact, but Spatial Magical Artifacts, a technique lost for years! The failure rate should be astronomical! In our original estimate, making three Storage Rings would have been a passing grade. Five would have been considered excellent! But you? You actually made eleven... no, wait, counting the one you gave to Hao Li, that’s twelve! Twelve Storage Rings! That success rate... it’s just unbelievably high! How in the world did you do it?”

’You call this a lot?’ Zhao Yuan almost blurted out his true thoughts but managed to stop himself just in time.

He’d originally felt that skimming several hundred pounds of Qi-Containing Jade and pocketing tens of millions for the creation fee was a total rip-off, and his conscience had even been bothering him a little. He never expected that Ying Ji wouldn’t feel ripped off at all. On the contrary, she felt like she had gotten an incredible deal and made out like a bandit...

’The way these wealthy Cultivation Families think is really beyond me!’

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Yuan said, ”Actually, creating Storage Rings isn’t as difficult as you imagine. It’s just... I haven’t made them many times, so my technique is still a little rough. Once I get more practice, I’m sure the success rate can be even higher.”

”Great, great, great! The next time we need Storage Rings, we’ll definitely come to you for help.” Ying Ji was grinning from ear to ear. She didn’t think Zhao Yuan was running a scam at all; on the contrary, she thought he offered incredible value for the price.

In her excitement, Ying Ji didn’t forget to call the Ying Family Ancestor and report the news.

Upon hearing that Zhao Yuan had produced eleven Storage Rings, even the worldly and knowledgeable Ying Family Ancestor was utterly astonished and praised him repeatedly. He not only transferred the remaining creation fee to Zhao Yuan’s account immediately but also sent an extra twenty million as a bonus.