novelapdf Chapter 4 The Yue Emperor Obtains the Treasure
Chapter 4 The Yue Emperor Obtains the Treasure
Yao Guang ignored the allure hidden in the rosy cheeks and brows, instead turning his attention to her demonic beast mount, and asked calmly, "What kind of demonic beast is that crimson giant eagle of yours?"
"Reporting to the young master, it is a level four demonic beast, the Burning Sun Eagle, a fire-type variant. It usually inhabits places with lava and fire. This bird not only has powerful fire magic, but its demonic body is also extremely tough and it flies very fast. It was specially given to me by the Nascent Soul ancestor of Tianqin Mountain to express his willingness to join the Hehuan Sect."
Yao Guang nodded slightly. Right now, they still needed to use the monster's incredible speed to reach the Yue Kingdom, so they couldn't devour it yet.
He thought for a moment: "Let me see your storage bag."
Hongfen responded without any reluctance or hesitation. With a light wave of her hand, she untied the exquisite leather pouch embroidered with flower petals from her waist and casually erased her divine imprint so that Yao Guang could easily check it.
Yao Guang probed the storage bag with his divine sense and couldn't help but click his tongue. The space inside was far greater than his inferior one. The contents were also quite abundant, with nearly a thousand spirit stones of various colors alone. He unceremoniously stuffed most of the spirit stones into his own storage bag.
The reason why he didn't use the obviously better quality red powder was because Yao Guang's storage bag was just a cover to hold some unimportant miscellaneous items. He would naturally put the truly important items into the secret space within his own sea of consciousness.
Then, Yao Guang took out two seemingly ordinary jade bottles, uncorked them, and was immediately surprised. One jade bottle emitted a bone-chilling cold air, while the other emitted a gushing hot fire.
The jade bottle had an excellent seal; he felt neither hot nor cold before opening it.
"These are Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid, treasures used to assist in Core Formation," Hongfen explained from the side. "I have already reached the Pseudo-Core Realm and originally planned to break through to the Core Formation stage in the next few days."
Her words were calm, without a trace of regret or loss at the thought of her opportunity being taken away.
Yao Guang's face showed a smug look. He was only at the Qi Refining stage, yet he was about to have a loyal Core Formation subordinate.
Having read the original novel, he had no doubt that Hongfen had successfully formed her core, so naturally he wouldn't take away her Snow Spirit Water and Heavenly Fire Liquid.
He continued to probe with his divine sense, and took out three more magical artifacts that were clearly extraordinary. With a slight question in his eyes, Hongfen understood and introduced them to him as if they were her most treasured possessions:
"This is the Blood罡伞 (Blood罡 Umbrella), a top-tier defensive magic artifact..."
"This is the Black Demon Spear, a top-tier offensive magical weapon..."
"The Rainbow Silk is a top-tier magical artifact, possessing both offensive and defensive capabilities..."
They were all top-tier magical artifacts. Yao Guang was overjoyed and decisively put the Blood-Red Umbrella and the Black Demon Spear into his possession. He only put the colorful silk with a feminine charm back where it was.
Seeing Yao Guang's smile when he got the treasure, Hongfen felt happy for him too.
"Huh?" Yao Guang found a warm and smooth white jade pendant, which looked somewhat similar to the Warm Sun Jade, but the runes and spiritual radiance contained within it far surpassed it.
"Young Master has excellent taste. This is the Mist-Breaking Spirit Pendant, personally crafted by a Nascent Soul ancestor of the Hehuan Sect. It is specifically designed to counter illusions and mist. The Hehuan Sect has always been wary of the Thousand Illusions Sect, which is also a demonic sect and is adept at disguise and infiltration. Therefore, they have crafted several treasures to counter and target them."
Yao Guang's gentle and refined attitude made Hongfen's expression relax considerably, and her words regained some of their usual charm.
"Resisting illusions and fog?" Yao Guang suddenly realized. No wonder when the disciples of Huangfeng Valley retreated in the original story, the leader, Uncle Huang, clearly used the Wind and Cloud Banner to create a thick fog to conceal their tracks, but was still seen through by Hongfen and the Skeleton and ambushed. It turns out that the key lies in this treasure.
Good stuff, now it's mine.
There were still some pills, talismans, array plates, and other items left. Yao Guang also selected some of them. After everything was settled, he looked up and gave Hongfen a bright smile.
"Let's go to the Yue Kingdom. On the way, I will pass on to you a peerless martial art."
After speaking, he ignored Hongfen's curiosity and doubts about the so-called "peerless skill," got up and walked out of the cave, gazing into the distance. His gaze seemed to traverse thousands of mountains and rivers, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I hope the birthday gift I prepared for you this year has been delivered. I hope you will not disappoint me."
……
The capital city of Yue, the imperial palace.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation was the residence of the emperors of the Yue Kingdom throughout history. Its pavilions and halls were magnificent and grand, and its eaves and brackets were spectacular. The reigning emperor designated it as a forbidden area in the palace, and only a few trusted eunuchs were allowed to approach it.
Deep within the hall, a small illusion array used to conceal fluctuations in spiritual energy slowly operated. A middle-aged man in a golden crown and dragon robe sat cross-legged within it, with blood-red and black mist swirling around him, constantly being inhaled and exhaled through his mouth and nose, making him appear sinister and unpredictable.
"Your Majesty," a high-pitched yet respectful voice broke the silence of the palace. Outside the palace gate, a eunuch bowed and said:
"The delegation from the Kingdom of Cheqi to celebrate Your Majesty's birthday has arrived and brought a batch of fine jade artifacts. I have dared to place them in the Jianluan Hall, awaiting Your Majesty's inspection."
"Understood, you may leave." The middle-aged man in the dragon robe, the reigning emperor of Yue, spoke in a steady and deep voice, carrying the dignity befitting someone who had long held a high position.
Emperor Yue slowly finished his practice, his aura becoming more restrained. In the blink of an eye, he completely concealed the fluctuations of spiritual energy, appearing no different from an ordinary person. No one could easily associate him with the eerie scene from before.
Yes, this seemingly ordinary emperor of Yue was actually a cultivator. He secretly founded the Black Fiend Sect, which spread throughout Yue, and relied on cruel blood sacrifice methods to cultivate to the current late Foundation Establishment stage.
A hint of hidden joy flashed across Emperor Yue's brow as he quickened his pace toward the Jianluan Hall.
The Yue Kingdom and the Cheqi Kingdom were neighbors, and the two countries had always been friendly, with constant trade between the people. The royal families of the two countries also had close exchanges, and it was customary for them to exchange gifts during festivals and birthdays.
Cheqi Kingdom is rich in jade mines, and the jade produced there is warm, translucent, and of exquisite quality. The jade processing industry is thriving, and some jade artifacts carved by master craftsmen have stood the test of time and are deeply loved by the nobles of Yue Kingdom. Therefore, the emperor of Cheqi Kingdom would send the Yue emperor many priceless jade artifacts for him to appreciate.
However, as a cultivator, the reason why Emperor Yue truly valued these jade stones was to create jade slips commonly used by cultivators to record and bestow evil techniques such as the "Black Fiend Asura Technique" upon his subordinates within the sect.
In order to better control the emperor and serve them, the seven factions of Yue Kingdom forbade members of the royal family from cultivating immortality. Therefore, in order to avoid being discovered by the seven factions, the Yue emperor acted with extreme caution, and he often made some items commonly used by cultivators himself.
Inside the Jianluan Hall, jade vases, jade ruyi scepters, jade bi discs, jade carved auspicious beasts... all kinds of jade artifacts were displayed on the long table, dazzling and overwhelming. The Yue Emperor nodded in satisfaction and began to select the blanks suitable for cutting into jade slips.
Suddenly, his gaze froze on a jade unicorn statue several feet tall, or more precisely, on an inconspicuous jade slab beneath its claws, seamlessly integrated with the base.
To mortals, it appeared no different from any other piece of jade, but to the late-stage Foundation Establishment Emperor Yue's divine sense, it revealed a spiritual energy fluctuation that was distinct from other jade stones.
Those were marks etched with the divine imprint of a cultivator; it was actually a jade slip containing records!
As the blood-red blade flashed, the jade slip was precisely cut off by Emperor Yue. He carefully separated a strand of his divine sense and probed into it.
He saw a complete scripture written in ancient seal script.
The scripture describes a method of nourishing oneself and seizing the essence of creation from others by devouring the spiritual life source of heaven and earth, exhausting the essence of the Great Dao, and its power far exceeds the cultivation techniques he practices.
As he read it slowly, the Yue Emperor's face initially showed curiosity, then his brows furrowed and his expression became solemn. After a while, his eyes widened in disbelief, and finally, an uncontrollable ecstasy erupted like a volcano, shattering all his composure.
"The Devouring Heaven Demon Art! Such a domineering martial art actually exists in this world!"
"It's laughable that those mortals from the Kingdom of Chariots and Cavalry treat it as a common, mundane custom. Such an extraordinary opportunity should rightfully belong to me, the Emperor."
"Seven major sects, your days of being high and mighty won't last long. Just wait and see, I will give you a surprise you will never forget."
"Haha...hahahahaha..."
The Yue Emperor's face contorted with ecstasy, his eyes flashing with a strange and ruthless bloodlust, as if he could see his future glory, where he would use this power to devour the heavens and the earth, look down on all cultivators, and roam the world.