Chapter 236: Hot Springs and Heavenly Treasures

Atop the highest volcano on Dwarf Island, a natural hot spring steamed gently. A youth lounged within, basking in its warmth.

From this vantage, all of Dwarf Island lay in view, framed by a clear sky above and the boundless blue sea beyond.

"The Dwarves know how to indulge. This rivals my Spirit Realm Pearl," Lan An said, leaning back against the spring's edge, savoring the fragrant, warm water caressing his skin.

Ai Zhen had personally torn through space to escort him here, shielding him from pesky flies seeking trouble.

Lan An, a prized guest of the Ai Clan, enjoyed unparalleled treatment.

Ai Guo had urged him to stay longer, but concerns over upgrading the Thunder Scepter prompted a polite refusal. After delivering the Diamond Ore to the Dwarf Clan Chief, Lan An was sent to this haven to rest.

"It's been a while since I checked my stats. Time for a review," Lan An murmured, activating his System.

Ding! Displaying Host Information…

A glowing panel appeared, visible only to the System's master.

Host: Lan An

Spiritual Cultivation: Late Spirit Transformation (Five Cauldrons)

Soul Cultivation: Peak Nascent Soul

Physical Cultivation: Early Fifth Revolution

Techniques: Immortal Derivation Scripture, Dragon Immortal Sacred Canon, Heavy Fire Sword Mastery Art, Heavenly Army Spear Art…

Martial Skills: Spirit Fusion Palm, Wild Cosmos Suppression Seal, Star-Piercing Finger, Star-Plucking Hand, Cross Heaven Fire, Overturning Rivers and Seas, Sea-Suppressing Palm, Great Earth Glacier…

Soul Skills: Soul Chains, Soul Explosion Technique…

Physical Skills: Gentleman Demon-Subduing Fist…

Secret Arts: Heavenly Emperor Transformation Technique…

Movement Skills: Charming Shadow Free Step…

Treasures: Spirit Realm Pearl, White Moon Soul-Seizing Eye, Big Dipper Bow, Dragon King Spear, Heavy Sword, Void Resonance Bell, Sea-Binding Zither, Breath-Concealing Robe, Night Brilliance Battle Armor, Blood Iron Battle Boots…

Bloodline: Mortal…

Physique: Mortal…

Lan An raised an eyebrow, wryly noting the last two entries. The Rebellious Dragon Blood was proving elusive to refine, leaving him labeled a mortal.

"Jin'er, Trọng Vô Danh reached Tribulation Transcending with just the Heavenly-grade Heavy Fire Sword Mastery Art, while Grandfather Ai needs a Spirit-grade technique for Mid Fusion," Lan An said, eyeing one of his three techniques.

Jin'er materialized, lounging on his shoulder, whispering, "Technique grade is only part of it. Trọng Vô Danh's talent far surpasses Ai Guo's. More crucially, he created and refined the Heavy Fire Sword Mastery Art himself, achieving perfect harmony. Reaching Tribulation Transcending was natural. If he'd elevated it to Spirit-grade, he might've ascended to the Immortal Realm instead of perishing."

"I see," Lan An nodded, understanding. Creating techniques or skills wasn't overly complex with sufficient insight. The challenge was their effectiveness.

With his current abilities, Lan An could craft Royal or Mysterious-grade techniques, but they'd offer little benefit and fetch poor prices, so he hadn't bothered.

Scanning his Martial Skills, he frowned. "My skills seem lacking."

"The System now lists only Heavenly-grade skills and above. Lower-grade skills aren't tracked, but you can still use them situationally," Jin'er said, her lips curling.

Lan An nodded. The System was growing picky, dismissing Earth-grade skills. Techniques like Spirit Fist, Spirit Bullet, Eight Trigrams Heaven-Revolving Palm, Great Red Kick, Wood Form Fist, Mother Earth Burial, and Ten Thousand Forest Heights were now inadequate for serious battles, though useful for probing foes.

Only Four Spirits Soul Guard was an exception, but the System still excluded it.

"My skills are numerous, but Lightning-based ones are too sparse," Lan An said, retrieving a jade glowing with lightning energy.

Top-grade Spirit Lightning Skill – Shadowless Thunder Chain…

During his intimate night with Ji Ya and Xiao Shi, besides the Void Resonance Bell, he'd acquired items for himself. With time to spare, he planned to master them.

Dripping blood onto the jade, a flood of information surged into his mind, making him wince.

"Not bad. Adds versatility to my attacks," he said, grinning, and pulled out another jade.

Supreme Heavenly-grade Skill – Starburst Fist…

The final piece of the trio: Star-Piercing Finger, Star-Plucking Hand, and now Starburst Fist. Previously unaffordable, it appeared in the Lucky Shop that night with Ji Ya and Xiao Shi.

Another blood drip, another flood of knowledge.

With Starburst Fist and Shadowless Thunder Chain mastered, he had two months to train them.

"First, a gift for the Elf Queen, and some treasures for my wives," Lan An said, smiling as he opened the Lucky Shop.

Five daily items appeared:

Supreme Earth-grade Technique – Sea Mountain Art: 4,000 Prestige Points

Supreme Beauty-Preserving Pills x10: 5,000 Prestige Points

Supreme Heavenly-grade Garment – Sunlight Crimson Robe: 15,000 Prestige Points

Bloodline – Emperor Penguin King: 2 Billion Prestige Points

Mid-grade Spirit Artifact – Artificer's Axe: 30,000 Prestige Points

"Good haul! Buy the Beauty-Preserving Pills, Sunlight Crimson Robe, and Artificer's Axe!" Lan An laughed, delighted. His stockpile of Beauty-Preserving Pills was vast, but more meant more profit—never to be missed.

"Emperor Penguin King bloodline? What's that?" Lan An frowned, daunted by the 2 billion price.

"Penguins excel in ice and water. The Emperor Penguin King is their sovereign. The price is fair," Jin'er giggled.

Lan An's mouth twitched. A penguin bloodline? Useless. He refreshed the Shop.

Ding! Refresh successful. 10,000 Prestige Points consumed.

New items appeared, but Lan An shook his head—junk.

"Keep refreshing," he ordered.

After dozens of refreshes, he sighed. Nothing worthwhile. Some bloodlines appeared, but none suited his needs.

"Only Ruo Xue and Su Mai have bloodlines. Tuo Mi and Hong Lian have physiques. The others need to catch up," Lan An resolved, gritting his teeth for another refresh.

Ten more refreshes, and his eyes lit up.

Supreme Spirit-grade Flying Artifact – Dream Immortal Boat: 500,000 Prestige Points

He bought it instantly.

Dream Immortal Boat Details: A beautiful boat, resizable at will, suitable for flight and water travel, holds 100 people, with a maximum speed rivaling a Peak Void Refinement cultivator's flight (excluding spatial tears).

"A treasure!" Lan An laughed, thrilled. Crafting such a transport artifact demanded immense resources. The Dwarves sold similar vessels, but none matched Ai Xin's ship.

"With this, I'll take my wives sightseeing. Perfect," Lan An mused, imagining risqué escapades aboard, grinning wickedly.

Buoyed, he kept refreshing the Shop.

"Jin'er, what's a fitting gift for the Elf Queen?" he asked, scanning items.

As a ninth-grade power allied with the Dwarves, the Elf Queen lacked neither techniques nor artifacts. Beauty-Preserving Pills, while nice, weren't prized by the naturally stunning Elves. Needing Million-Year Ginseng, Lan An wanted a worthy gift.

"Clothing's too intimate for our current relationship," he said, stumped for the first time in gifting a woman.

"Elves love nature. Gift her the Palace Tree," Jin'er teased.

"Brat, teasing me now?" Lan An laughed. His wives would castrate him for giving away the Palace Tree.

Jin'er stuck out her tongue, then suggested, "The Elf Queen, a Late Fusion Realm expert with wind and wood attributes, would value sharing Strange Wood. It's rare and precious."

Lan An nearly slipped in the spring. "This girl's getting naughty, suggesting dual cultivation? She'd slap me off the island!"

Elves bore children via Life Spirit Water, not mating. Speaking of which, if the Merfolk had such water, they wouldn't face extinction. A pity.

"Look, Young Master! This is perfect for the Elf Queen!" Jin'er's eyes sparkled, pointing to a new Shop item.

Lan An paused his relentless refreshing, realizing he'd lost count. Seeing the item, his eyes gleamed, but he asked, "Anything better?"

"No idea, but Elves, especially the Queen, will love this," Jin'er said confidently.

"Fine, buy it," Lan An decided, clicking purchase.

Ding! 500,000 Prestige Points deducted.

"No decent bloodlines?" Lan An sighed, his 20 billion Prestige Points burning a hole. "Golden Crow Blood, Phoenix Blood come on, show up!"

Ding! Refresh successful.

He opened his eyes, face darkening. Nothing. When he was broke, tantalizing items teased him; now, with wealth, they vanished.

"Lost in thought?"

A coy voice interrupted his shopping. Lan An turned, nearly choking.

Through the misty steam, a breathtaking figure emerged. Snow-white skin, a tall, curvaceous frame, full and firm, utterly alluring. A flawless face, flushed with beauty.

Ai Xin.

But what floored him was her attire: two scraps of fabric barely containing her voluptuous chest, threatening to burst, and a triangular piece below, clinging to her hips, covering her intimate areas.

"Bikini? What the hell, this world has bikinis?" Lan An nearly leapt skyward, shouting in shock.

His women wore chemises and undergarments, which he adored, given his past life's familiarity with bikinis. Yet here was Ai Xin, in a pink lace bikini, striding toward him. In the cultivation world, this sight made him want to charge into battle.

"Bikini? What's that?" Ai Xin pouted, sliding into the spring, propping her arms on the edge, gazing at him.

Western women, once their hearts opened, were far bolder than their Eastern counterparts. She felt no shyness bathing with him.

"Tâm'er, what's with that outfit?" Lan An blinked, eyes locked on the enticing cleavage and lace, swallowing hard.

"Bathing clothes? Never seen them? They're popular among Sea Continent women, especially Western ones like me," Ai Xin giggled, realizing he hailed from the Ice Sky Continent.

"But Niang Qing and Ji Ya wear chemises," Lan An stammered, incredulous.

"Bathing clothes are favored in the West Sea Continent, especially by Western women. Eastern women, more traditional and shy, stick to chemises," Ai Xin said, pursing her lips, sweat beading on her fragrant skin from the heat.

Lan An slapped his forehead, feeling like a frog in a well. If Thunderbolt Hall had explosives, Western women in bikinis were hardly surprising. He'd just grown used to his wives' traditional attire.

"Well? Am I beautiful?" Ai Xin winked, twirling in the clear spring.

Lan An's body reacted, his undergarment tenting visibly. He nodded vigorously. "Stunning. My Tâm'er is the best."

"Hmph, your Tâm'er? Don't think bribing Grandfather and the elders means you've won me," Ai Xin teased, her eyes playful.

Enchanted by her charm, Lan An calmed himself and asked, "Can you get me lots of those bathing clothes? I want to gift them to the others."

"How many women do you have, you playboy?" Ai Xin's face turned cold, hands on hips, huffing.

Lan An refreshed the Lucky Shop, grinning at her. "Including you, just over twenty."

He chatted while refreshing the Shop.

"What? Are you joking?" Ai Xin felt the world spin, eyes wide with disbelief. Even for a bold Western woman, this was outrageous.

As Lan An prepared to reassure her, the Shop refreshed, revealing a new item.

Divine Beast Bloodline – Primordial Purple Wood Butterfly: 8 Billion Prestige Points…