Chapter 3360 — The Wonders of the Jade Pendant Space

From the small reserve that had remained at first, to the sliver that remained now, and onward still—the energy within the energy stones had grown almost imperceptible!

What was going on here? Wei Zhao halted his steps. There had to be something strange at work.

"Yu Dake, have you noticed anything?" Wei Zhao asked.

"The energy in these energy stones is getting less and less!" Yu Dake said.

"Yes, less and less." Wei Zhao nodded. "And what does that signify? Earlier I assumed the Pao'li clan simply had too many good things—that they were wasteful, tossing stones into this vault before their energy was spent. But now it seems that is unlikely!"

"Yes, I thought the same at first. The stones deepest inside must have been thrown in first, and I guessed that perhaps the Pao'li ancestors had so many energy stones, an endless supply, that they were careless with them," Yu Dake said. "But as we've walked on, I've realized that notion was rather naive. How could the energy stones diminish so regularly? To produce such a gradual progression, the Pao'li clan would have had a far harder time than simply draining every stone dry! Besides, why would they do such a thing? For fun?"

"Hmm... you mean the energy stones at the far end of the storehouse were the first put in?" Wei Zhao paid no mind to the rest of Yu Dake's words—only this one sentence held his attention, and his eyes lit up faintly. "I think I may have discovered a secret..."

"Oh? What secret?" Yu Dake started and pressed him eagerly.

"Those energy stones deepest inside were placed here first. That deduction means they have been sitting in this vault for at least several thousand years, wouldn't you say?" Wei Zhao said.

"Naturally. With so many energy stones, several thousand years is surely an underestimate," Yu Dake nodded.

"If my guess is right, these energy stones should be able to absorb energy on their own—to recharge, in other words!" Wei Zhao made a bold conjecture. "This vault is exceptionally rich in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. Such a fine place, and the Pao'li clan never developed it for cultivation—instead they stored used energy stones here. Why? I suspect they meant for these stones to absorb the essence of heaven and earth here, and one day in the future, to be used again!"

"That's it!" Yu Dake slapped his thigh and cried out. "Mr. Lin, I'd say your guess is **all but certain! It must be so—otherwise the Pao'li clan would have to be mad to leave so much refuse in a place so rich in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth."

Wei Zhao nodded. Of course, the abundance of spiritual essence here was only relative—at least, Wei Zhao felt it was far inferior to his jade pendant space... Wait. The jade pendant space!

At that thought Wei Zhao gave a violent start and hurriedly drew from the jade pendant space the two energy stones he had stored inside!

"Hisss..." At the sight of the stones in his hand, Wei Zhao could not help but draw a sharp breath, shocked beyond measure! For these two energy stones had actually become fully charged! They were even brighter and more radiant than when he and Sun Jingyan had first discovered them in the Wulonghaote Mountains—back then, Qing Bo had drained much of their energy, but now they were surely full to overflowing!

Energy stones could absorb energy inside the jade pendant space! Wei Zhao's earlier guess had been right: the Pao'li clan had placed their energy stones here so they would absorb the spiritual essence of heaven and earth on their own. Only the spiritual essence here could not begin to compare with that of Wei Zhao's jade pendant space—the difference was truly like heaven and earth!

"Eh? Mr. Lin, where did you get those energy stones? They're in a state of full charge—even fuller than the one I found back then... Wait, no, that one of them... why does it look so much like the stone I gave you?" Yu Dake stared at the stones in Wei Zhao's hand, utterly dumbstruck.

"Heh heh..." Wei Zhao smiled, his grin brimming with delight! The energy stones in this vault had been drained, but Wei Zhao had the jade pendant space, which could recharge them swiftly. That being so, there was truly no need for Wei Zhao to do business with the Pao'li clan at all—he could simply carry off a load of these spent energy stones and turn waste into treasure after recharging them. "I infused them with energy by special means. But now it seems they can absorb energy on their own, naturally!"

"Oh..." Yu Dake had long since grown used to Wei Zhao's marvels, and asked no more about it. "Then... we need only take some of these spent energy stones back with us? But recharging must be terribly troublesome and difficult, no? It can't be done in bulk, can it?"

"Mm, it's about the same as raising someone's cultivation level..." Wei Zhao was vague, though he had not lied—whether upgrading a person or recharging an energy stone, the jade pendant was required either way.

But Yu Dake took it to mean that Wei Zhao had to circulate some heart method and oral formula by hand to pour energy into the stones—a laborious business with no hope of mass production—so he asked no further. "Then what do we do now..."

"Either way, I'll gather some of these energy stones first, and then we'll look for the exit," Wei Zhao said.

"Oh, all right. But our pockets are limited—we can't carry much, can we?" Yu Dake asked, somewhat hesitant.

"Heh heh, no need for you two to worry. I'll carry them myself." Wei Zhao smiled and began stowing energy stones into the jade pendant space as he walked on. He did not linger in one spot to collect them, but gathered as he went—a stone or two every stretch of the way, quite impossible to notice.

Yu Dake and Yu Xiaoke, however, were left gaping. Where on earth was Wei Zhao putting those energy stones?

"Hey, hey, Wei Zhao! Didn't you say before that if I became your wife, you'd tell me where you put things?" Yu Xiaoke suddenly recalled what Wei Zhao had said in the car and hurried to ask.

By now she had wholly accepted Wei Zhao. He was a male thief—what was there left not to accept? So when she spoke with him she felt nothing amiss, and simply styled herself his wife.

In truth, what Yu Xiaoke cared about at this moment was not where Wei Zhao stored his things, but this feeling of happiness—she felt that at last she could be together with the one she liked.