Certain that Ji Shiyou would not compete with her for spoils, Mingyue felt relieved.
Although in her heart, Ji Shiyou had many flaws.
He was reclusive and indifferent, but he always kept his word.
If he said he was not interested, then this entire Purple Gold Palace would belong to her.
After Ji Shiyou left, Mingyue suddenly collapsed onto the ground.
"I'm rich! This floor is made of purple gold.
Today is the happiest day of my life.
Happier than the day I took my human form. I'm so fortunate!"
Caressing the purple gold floor tiles of the palace, Mingyue squinted and murmured to herself.
However, she did not wallow in her happiness for long before getting up and leaving the Purple Gold Palace.
She had a principle: anything not yet in her storage bag was not truly hers, as variables could still arise.
Therefore, the urgent task was to pack up this palace and take it with her.
Only then would it be a hundred percent hers, without any unforeseen complications.
The palace, formed from a purple gold clam shell by Luo Qi, occupied about an acre of land.
Viewed from the outside, it was majestic and towering, shimmering with golden light.
But the palace was too large. She tried several times,
all ending in failure. Her storage bag could not contain such a grand palace.
Seeing the wealth she had acquired slipping away, the greedy Mingyue's eyes turned red.
She rummaged through her storage bag, pulled out a hammer, and charged fiercely towards the Purple Gold Palace.
She intended to dismantle the palace, smash it into pieces, and turn it into gold bricks,
which could then be stacked to save space and fit into her storage bag.
But she even broke the hammer handle, and the walls of the Purple Gold Palace
did not even show a scratch, let alone break into pieces.
It was then that she remembered that the purple gold clam shell was a treasure with the strongest defensive capabilities.
Even the Nine Heavens Tribulation Lightning could not damage it, and with her cultivation,
it would take tens of thousands more years of practice to dismantle the Purple Gold Palace.
Mingyue stood outside the Purple Gold Palace, gazing at the magnificent palace with a sorrowful expression.
The most painful thing in the world was when heaven bestowed upon you immense wealth,
which you could see and touch, but could not take away.
Mingyue felt like dying at that moment.
Giving up the Purple Gold Palace was impossible for her.
She would rather die than let it go.
But since she couldn't take it with her, she had no choice but to stay.
Although she was reluctant to leave the outside world and its countless delicacies,
she was even more reluctant to part with the Purple Gold Palace, which was the greatest fortune of her life.
"Use the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique to shrink it.
Then it can be put into your storage bag.
Don't tell me that as a cultivator,
you don't know the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, do you?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
Ji Shiyou understood why Mingyue was distressed. Seeing her conflicted expression, he blurted out.
He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth, suddenly realizing that Mingyue was different from him.
He grew up in the Golden Crow Palace, receiving systematic immortal cultivation education from a young age.
After Mingyue took her human form, she cultivated entirely through her own exploration.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have misinterpreted tribulation as robbery.
The Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, though a basic divine ability for immortal sect disciples,
was a formal immortal art, passed down orally from master to disciple.
How could Mingyue, a rogue cultivator without a sect, master, or elders, possibly know it?
Fearing that his words might cause Mingyue to misunderstand,
thinking he looked down on her, Ji Shiyou immediately apologized.
"What did you mean by 'didn't mean to'? Why apologize?
Oh, never mind.
What is this Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique you mentioned?
Can it shrink the Purple Gold Palace so I can take it away?"
Ji Shiyou worried unnecessarily. Mingyue's focus and thought process were different from ordinary people.
She cared about how to shrink the Purple Gold Palace and was quite excited.
She grabbed Ji Shiyou's hand and asked about the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique.
"Uh, I'll demonstrate it for you."
With his hand held by Mingyue, the familiar feeling returned.
In Ji Shiyou's mind, he recalled the scene in the golden lotus
when he tightly held Mingyue, fearing Luo Qi's attack.
A strange feeling arose within him, his body felt warm,
and a blush appeared on his face. He quickly struggled to break free from Mingyue's grasp.
He then formed a hand seal with his right hand and directed it at the Purple Gold Palace.
Visibly, the once majestic and towering purple-gold palace
shrank rapidly, finally becoming the size of an egg.
With the palace gone, the entire barrier appeared empty,
revealing the rugged stone forest behind it, which looked desolate and mysterious.
Mingyue quickly ran over, picked up the miniature Purple Gold Palace,
put it into her storage bag, and trotted back to Ji Shiyou's side.
"Ji Shiyou, your method is good,
but it suddenly became so small that it looks worthless.
My sense of happiness is gone in an instant.
So much purple gold, reduced to the size of an egg.
I'm left with only disappointment. You have to compensate me."
Mingyue glared at Ji Shiyou, her face full of heartache.
"The Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique can change size, but it doesn't alter the essence.
It can be restored. Shrinking it was for your convenience, to fit it into your storage bag.
I offered my help out of kindness, and you're trying to extort me. You're simply unreasonable!"
Hearing Mingyue's words, Ji Shiyou became a little displeased.
"Then if you shrink the Purple Gold Palace, how will I restore it to its original size later?
I don't know the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, and I don't care. You have to compensate me."
Mingyue was actually being deliberate. Even with her limited knowledge,
she knew that the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique was a divine ability and would not change the essence of the Purple Gold Palace.
She was deliberately being unreasonable and trying to pin the blame on Ji Shiyou.
In reality, she wanted Ji Shiyou to teach her the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique.
However, she knew that the rules of immortal sects were strict,
and their own sect's divine abilities were not to be passed on to outsiders.
So she pretended to be ignorant, feigning foolishness,
hoping to force Ji Shiyou to teach her the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique.
She felt smug, thinking she was quite cunning.
"Then I can only teach you the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique.
I can't afford to compensate you for such a large Purple Gold Palace."
Seeing the calculating look on Mingyue's face, Ji Shiyou immediately saw through her little scheme.
However, he didn't expose her immediately, instead pretending to be coerced.
He told Mingyue the incantations and mental cultivation methods for the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique.
He thought to himself, "What a clingy fellow.
If she wanted to learn the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, she could have just said so.
It's just a minor divine ability, not some secret that cannot be revealed.
If she had asked directly, I would have taught her.
Why be so roundabout? Women are so troublesome!"
Mingyue's comprehension was exceptional. After Ji Shiyou explained it once, she learned it.
She used a pebble on the ground as an experiment, transforming a fist-sized pebble
into the size of a grain of rice, and then into the size of a millstone.
Looking at the enlarged pebble, a thought suddenly struck Mingyue.
With the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique, could she enlarge a small piece of gold?
Then why would she need to rob others? She could just enlarge everything.
So, while Ji Shiyou went to inspect the stone forest for any remaining vengeful spirits,
she stealthily took out a luminous pearl from her storage bag.
She had picked it up when she first entered the Purple Gold Palace.
When she was captured by Luo Qi and taken to the back hall, her storage bag and the pearl had fallen to the ground.
It was Ji Shiyou who helped her pick up her storage bag and, as an afterthought, put the pearl inside.
The pearl was the size of a human head and already priceless.
Mingyue thought that if she used the Sumeru Mustard Seed Technique to enlarge it to the size of a millstone,
she would be rich. She could sell it and perhaps exchange it for another Purple Gold Palace.
With this thought, Mingyue cast a hand seal towards the pearl.
Ji Shiyou surveyed the stone forest and found no stray vengeful spirits.
Just as he was about to call Mingyue to leave the area and go ashore, he saw Mingyue enlarging the pearl.
The pearl had already been enlarged to a diameter of thirty feet, and his expression immediately changed drastically.
"What are you doing? Stop immediately!"
Ji Shiyou shouted, lunging towards Mingyue.