Chapter 618 462: Dividing the Spoils

The light in the sky slowly faded away, and the numb tingling sensation on their faces finally disappeared. Only then did the few in the hall dare to open their eyes, tears streaming down, their eyes bloodshot.

With the departure of the Silent Bell from this realm, it took more than ten breaths for the effect to gradually dissipate. The few could finally speak; Nian Yi's voice was a little hoarse:

"Taiyuan Perfected Lord himself intervened… truly a rare sight in a hundred years."

That 'rare sight in a hundred years' was no exaggeration, if anything, it was an understatement. Records of Golden Core cultivators taking action were extremely sparse; tracing back, it had happened only a handful of times, sometimes even a thousand years ago.

Zhang Yun ignored the others, having already performed a grand salute, prostrating on the ground. He slowly straightened himself, tidied his clothes, bowed three times toward the west, as if in realization, cupped his fist toward the three, then walked out on his own.

Their expressions were shocked, each with a distinct look. Yu Muxian wiped tears from his eyes, gently nourished his vision with mana, and only then saw, blurry, the object before him. He reached for his ornate pouch at his waist; the gold essence and silver plates that protected his storage bag had already dissolved into flowing liquid.

In that fleeting breath, the gold essence and silver plates had clearly split in two, turning into dazzling gold essence and shimmering spirit silver, lying at his feet.

He had practiced immortal cultivation for many years, his temperament always well-cultivated, yet for the first time in decades his face shifted color. In his heart, he cursed:

"Yuanwu… Yuanwu must be mad! To send me to snatch something like this! Even if Yuanwu himself came, he'd have to kneel quietly at the side—how could such a thing even tempt a Zifu Monk?"

Yu Muxian's expression grew a bit darker. Beside him, Tang Shedou, who held a long halberd, seemed to understand how he felt; he forced a wry smile. The occasion was wrong, so he refrained from words of comfort.

As Zhang Yun strode out, the remaining six fixed their gaze on the five jade boxes at the upper seat. Aside from Changhuai Shan, Green Pond Sect, and Xiuyue Sect, there were two who made their way here by fate—both looking formidable and unwilling to be trifled with.

Qing Zhuo glanced over and counted the numbers; indeed, they matched perfectly. He quietly understood in his heart:

"Jin Yu Sect took the Silent Seed, Changhuai Shan, Xiuyue, and Green Pond each get a treasure—the remaining two must be for those Zifu Monks to divide among themselves…"

Thus, he chuckled lightly and said softly:

"We five parties, each take one thing!"

Tulong Jian's lips curled, not the least surprised. But the female cultivator furrowed her brow, seemingly suspicious that Qing Zhuo was being a bit too agreeable.

Qing Zhuo paid her no mind, simply beckoned with his hand, and with mana drew one of the jade boxes to himself. Tension spiked; at this movement, everyone acted, the five jade boxes falling into each person's possession.

Yu Muxian stroked his jade box, but could not open it. Looking closer, its aura was smooth and fused—it seemed that a curse technique had been placed upon it, and it could not be opened easily. He raised his hand, formed a spell seal and chanted:

"Xuan Iron Formation Break Technique!"

A tiny glimmer of gold flashed at his fingertips; he cast the spell with mana, letting it fall onto the jade box—but it simply slid off smoothly, doing nothing. Yu Muxian frowned:

'Looks like only Zifu Monks can open it. Their secrecy is thorough.'

On the other side, Qing Zhuo gave his jade box a gentle push and it opened easily; the happy smile rising on his face froze instantly.

Inside the jade box: emptiness.

This jade box had clearly been emptied by someone earlier, leaving behind only a hollow slot. From its appearance, it had held a long, two-finger-wide item.

The recess at the bottom was patterned intricately, originally designed to fit the long item perfectly. Qing Zhuo's expression soured; the others all eyed him guardedly, hiding their own jade boxes tightly.

He let out a long sigh and turned instead to study the leftover patterns, squinted hard, thinking:

"Tai… Wheel…"

He managed, half-guessing, to recognize a bit; then, fragments of cold snow drifted before his eyes, a faint scent of osmanthus lingering. Moon-white light streamed from the jade box, chilling his hands.

He shivered with cold, abruptly waking; the recess at the bottom was now smooth—empty.

"Clack."

He forcefully shut the jade box, stowing it away in his storage bag with a grim face, his mood foul as he strode out.

Nian Yi, suppressing his laughter for ages, finally burst out with a snort, cupped his hands to the gathered, and departed lightly. The rest exchanged glances and dispersed.

…

Outside the hall.

Li Xuanfeng propped himself up, slowly straightening, reaching for the storage bag at his waist. He fetched a flask of spirit water, poured it over his face and eyes—at last, his sight cooled pleasantly.

He exhaled softly, opened his eyes. The world before him was still blurry, but at least his sight remained. In Li Xuanfeng's mind, silver light flitted about; he was a bit lost:

"Was that… a Perfected Lord?"

Memory grew ever fuzzier; Li Xuanfeng braced himself, inside Shengyang Mansion a chilling clarity rose. He began to recall, yet dared not think too deeply, quickly shifting his mind to focus on Xiao Yongling beside him.

Xiao Yongling looked equally battered, having taken several elixirs and meditated quietly for a moment, then softly said:

"Just now, some formation in the grand hall must have been triggered… We were too close and got caught in the backlash."

Li Xuanfeng nodded, finally able to scan his surroundings—only to see that a grove of spirit pines had all withered, sprawling crookedly across the earth. He checked his waist, where his spirit armor glistened with white dewdrops.

His face changed, and he quickly closed his eyes, probing with his spiritual sense. The Black Gold Spirit Armor somehow had transformed, growing heavier.

He checked and rechecked, finally discovering that the surface, which had been coated with Heavenstar Silver Mercury to augment concealment talisman scripts, had now entirely separated out, dripping to the floor and rolling away with little clinks.

"The spirit armor's concealment power is gone…"

He used mana to collect these spiritual objects, quietly relieved inside:

"Luckily, it's only lost the concealment—almost a grave mistake."

Li Xuanfeng closed his eyes and pondered. Bathed in that golden light, his own qi had transformed; faintly, he grasped a breakthrough's insight. If his guess was right, after leaving the cave heaven, he could find a place to enter closed-door cultivation and make his breakthrough.

Beside him, Xiao Yongling straightened and let out a long breath. Watching several dharma lights fall from the hall, he murmured:

"Xuanfeng… you alright? Best leave quickly—this hall is surely already stripped bare. Better to try the other peaks, or at worst explore the sea of clouds."

Li Xuanfeng nodded lightly, suddenly recalling his guess from entering the cave heaven. He and Xiao Yongling rode the wind, heading for the horizon.