Chapter 405 - 403: Seizing Treasure in the Chaos

Chapter 405: Chapter 403: Seizing Treasure in the Chaos

SWISH!

A flash of moonlight, as pristine as silk, shot through the air. The fist, clearly empowered by an extraordinary Body Refining Secret Technique, was just about to smash Suo Qian’s head like a watermelon when it was severed cleanly at the wrist.

The stump of the wrist was perfectly smooth, without a single trace of blood.

The man cried out in pain, clutching his wound as his figure was revealed.

"Du the Twelfth Son!"

Recognizing the man’s face, Suo Qian realized it was a cultivator from the Du Family he had dealt with before. He spoke, his voice laced with lingering fear.

Just a moment ago, he had truly felt death’s approach.

Du the Twelfth Son was one of the Zengguang Du Family’s youngest Core Formation True Men. Before reaching Core Formation, he had established his Pill Discussion, and was regarded as the junior with the greatest hope of advancing to the rank of True Monarch.

But that was merely a hope; to this day, he was only at the Mid-Stage of Core Formation.

Following a normal path of progression, it was uncertain if he could even reach Core Formation Perfection before Du Heng passed away.

’Conforming to nature, moving in perfect harmony, the essence of the great form having no form?’

Bai Zichen gazed at the somewhat familiar face. It was the host from the Du Family at the Immortal City auction he had attended years ago.

Back then, Du the Twelfth Son was still at the Foundation Establishment Perfect Realm. With his profound, imposing presence and quiet, reserved nature, he had left a deep impression on Bai Zichen.

With this ability to strike from the shadows, combined with his Body Refining Technique, any ordinary Core Formation True Man would be easily killed with a single punch if ambushed.

At the very least, besides Bai Zichen, none of the other Sword Cultivators in their group could have withstood that attack.

He blended into his surroundings so perfectly that one would unconsciously overlook his presence, not even thinking to probe the area with Divine Sense.

This wasn’t something a mere Concealing Technique could accomplish. It had to be related to his Pill Discussion, which must have given birth to a unique True Intent Divine Technique.

Even now, knowing full well that Du the Twelfth Son was standing right there, if one looked away, their gaze wouldn’t naturally return to him without conscious effort.

Back at the auction, Du the Twelfth Son had seemed invincible to Bai Zichen; the gap between them had been immense.

’But seeing him again today, he’s nothing more than an opponent I can defeat with a single strike.’

"Fellow Daoist Du, we each serve our own masters... Why don’t you open this treasury? I promise not to harm your Divine Soul. I’ll give your body a proper burial and send you on your way to reincarnation."

As the Du Family’s most valued Core Formation True Man, he would never believe Bai Zichen would actually let him go.

This man was at Mid-Stage Core Formation, possessed a remarkable concealment Divine Technique, and had chosen the perfect moment to strike.

He had waited for the moment they finished off the Du Family’s Death Warriors, when the Core Formation Sword Cultivators were at their most relaxed.

If not for the anomaly that was Bai Zichen, he might have actually succeeded in killing Suo Qian with one punch and making his escape.

Even if such a man never reached the Nascent Soul Realm, if he hid in the Northern Domain and sought revenge against the various sects, none of them would be able to bear it.

Du the Twelfth Son let out a cold laugh, a curious smile spreading across his indifferent face. "You covet my family’s treasures? Then let’s all die here together! The Zengguang Du Family will endure for ten thousand generations and carry on our ancestors’ legacy!"

An extremely violent fluctuation erupted. At the same time, Black Flames burst from his uninjured palm, instantly consuming half of his body and igniting the very air.

HISS!

The silken bolt of moonlight arrived in an instant, piercing Du the Twelfth Son’s Dantian Qi Sea at the exact moment he tried to self-detonate his Golden Core, thus disabling the most tragic trump card available to a Core Formation Cultivator.

But the mass of Black Flame had already erupted. After consuming Du the Twelfth Son, it swept toward the entire treasury.

"Go!"

Bai Zichen slashed down, but the Black Flame actually clung to his moonlight-like sword light and couldn’t be shaken off. The Sword Light flickered, vibrating countless times before it finally managed to dislodge the flame.

Knowing this flame was insidious and difficult to handle, he hastily warned the cultivators from the Tianhe Sword Sect.

It took several breaths of effort, with wave after wave of pressure coming from his Sword Light, before he could merge with it and fly out of the auction hall.

Just as they reached the sky, the auction hall below them collapsed with a deafening ROAR. It was melting away at a speed far beyond their imagination.

The massive Refined Gold Pillars, each requiring several people to encircle, melted into pools of liquid metal in a single instant.

The grand hall, constructed from Heaven-Reaching Spirit Wood and beautiful jade bricks, likewise couldn’t withstand the flames for even a moment.

"What terrifying Black Flame. I fear it’s a technique from the Du Family’s Ancestor. He must have separated a sliver of his power and placed it on his most important clansmen..."

Years ago, True Monarch Tang Fei was able to seal a strand of Sword Light in Yann Yuanzai’s body, so it wouldn’t be difficult for the even stronger Du Heng to do the same. It was only a matter of whether he was willing to expend the True Essence.

"Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Bai. Otherwise, our lives would have been in grave danger."

Suo Qian’s Daoist Robe had several holes burned through it. The most seriously affected Sword Cultivator had inhaled a couple of mouthfuls of poisonous smoke, but he would be fine after taking a Detoxification Elixir and recuperating.

He had nearly been killed by Du the Twelfth Son’s punch. Then came the man’s decisiveness in attempting to self-detonate his Golden Core and unleash the Black Flame. If only the members of the Tianhe Sword Sect had been here, they would have most likely all perished in that sea of fire.

His gratitude was genuine.

Before, he had thought Tang Yuan’s suggestion was unnecessary. He believed that a handful of Core Formation Sword Cultivators working together would be more than enough to dominate Zengguang Immortal City, a place with no Nascent Soul True Monarchs present.

Now, he could only be thankful that they had heeded Tang Yuan’s advice.

Otherwise, with the Tianhe Sword Sect having already lost True Monarch Tang Fei, losing several more Core Formation True Men would have sent the former foremost Sword Cultivation Sect of the Northern Domain into an irrecoverable decline.

Relying on Yann Yuanzai alone, they would have no way of defending their current territory.

The other two major sects were already raising objections about the Tianhe Sword Sect’s share of the Spirit Stone Ore Veins across Beiyuan.

They would be forced to relinquish many of their other ore veins and Spirit Lands as well.

These Core Formation True Men from the Tianhe Sword Sect had complex feelings about Bai Zichen.

An outsider had obtained a Tier Four Flying Sword from their sect’s own Sword Tomb Secret Realm, an event that had arguably built his fame. As a result, many of their sect’s junior cultivators harbored hostility toward him.

For years, the incident had been a running joke at the Tianhe Sword Sect’s expense.

Fortunately, as Bai Zichen’s power grew and he continued to prove the truth of Yann Yuanzai’s assessment, the ridicule had gradually died down.

Some people even began to praise the Tianhe Sword Sect for their unique foresight in recognizing Bai Zichen’s Sword Dao Talent when he was still unknown.

One could imagine that once Bai Zichen achieved the Nascent Soul Realm, the incident would be transformed into a celebrated tale, woven into stories to be passed down for millennia.

Having witnessed Bai Zichen’s astonishing power firsthand, Suo Qian completely cast aside any lingering resentment.

The gap in power between them was simply too vast. It was no wonder Yann Yuanzai treated him almost as a peer, never putting on the airs of a senior True Monarch.

The Black Flame came quickly, and it vanished just as fast.

After burning the majestic auction hall to a ruin, it extinguished completely in less than fifteen minutes, leaving not even a single spark behind.

"Shall we try digging through the ruins to find the treasury?"

"Of course. We’ll do as Fellow Daoist Bai says."

The scare from Du the Twelfth Son had humbled Suo Qian and the others, stripping them of their pride. Zengguang Immortal City might be rich with opportunity, but it was equally fraught with danger.

Five beams of Sword Light shot toward the treasury, cutting through iron as if it were mud, slicing through gold and shattering jade. They were, after all, Core Formation Sword Cultivators wielding Tier Three Flying Swords. The solidified pools of molten metal and charred wood broke apart with a single strike, as if they were cutting through soft tofu.

Bai Zichen remained airborne, ostensibly to stand guard against another surprise attack from a Du Family Core Formation True Man.

In truth, it was because the Moon Xuan Sword was disinclined to perform such menial labor as digging. Its moonlight glow trembled, conveying a sense of protest.

This was the first time since it had acknowledged him as its master that the sword had not obeyed his will, instead displaying emotions of its own.

He was not alarmed by this; on the contrary, he was delighted.

How could a Tier Four Spiritual Treasure cross the great chasm to become a Tier Five Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure? Currently, the only confirmed method was for its master to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm and use the power of heaven and earth to elevate the Spiritual Treasure along with them.

However, not every Spiritual Treasure held by a Divinity Transformation Great Power could make the breakthrough. Otherwise, Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures wouldn’t be so exceedingly rare in the Cultivation Realm.

According to the wisdom of his predecessors, the key difference lay in a single concept: Spiritual Nature.

Possessing a Spiritual Nature and being able to activate on its own was just the most basic ability of a Spiritual Treasure.

Only when it achieved True Spirit and could communicate verbally like a small child would it reach the grade required of a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure.

If the Moon Xuan Sword could develop its own opinions and communicate more with him, perhaps its Spiritual Nature could ascend to the next level, giving it a chance to become a Tier Five Flying Sword.

The Core Formation True Men from the Tianhe Sword Sect didn’t find this odd in the slightest; in fact, they thought it was perfectly normal.

It was like traveling with Yann Yuanzai; there was no reason to expect a Nascent Soul True Monarch to perform such dirty, exhausting labor.

Since Bai Zichen could instantly kill Du the Twelfth Son—a man determined to die and take them with him—as far as the Tianhe Sword Sect cultivators were concerned, there was no real difference between him and a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

’It seems things aren’t progressing smoothly. I can hear the sounds of Magical Treasures clashing and Flying Swords striking all over... Even with such a massive numerical advantage, they still haven’t managed to steamroll the inner city.’

Bai Zichen glanced toward the inner city. Raging flames lit up several areas, and the faint sounds of battle drifted over.

’But these are just minor details. The real key is the battle happening up high... Once Du Heng is defeated, the Immortal City below can be taken with a single decree.’

"Fellow Daoist Bai, we’ve found the auction house treasury! The Black Flame even burned through the Forbidden Formations, but a lot of the contents have been melted!"

Suo Qian flew up and reported excitedly. Had they truly risked death to charge into the inner city just to slay Demon Cultivators? Of course not. They were here to find treasure and gather resources for their own Cultivation.

"Let’s go take a look together."

Nothing remained of Du the Twelfth Son, not even bone fragments. Unfortunately, his storage bag had also been destroyed.

As a Core Formation True Man of the Du Family, and the junior whom Du Heng valued most, he surely would not have been lacking for treasures.

The Forbidden Formations had been destroyed. The treasury’s main gate had melted into a solid mass with the surrounding rock, but it was easily cleaved open by their Sword Light.

A third of the Spiritual Materials inside had been melted and warped, losing all their Spiritual Power and turning into a pile of useless slag.

"Ice Soul Profound Crystal! What a pity. This could have been the primary material for refining a Tier Three Flying Sword..."

Tang Yuan broke off a piece of the translucent crystal. There were silver threads running through it, but most were now severed.

Furthermore, the Spiritual Material, which should have been radiating a bone-chilling Cold Qi, was now steaming hot—utterly ruined.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, please take your pick of the treasures... How about we split them seventy-thirty?"

The Tianhe Sword Sect had five Core Formation True Men present, but Suo Qian knew they had no right to divide the loot by headcount. Even a fifty-fifty split would be taking advantage of Bai Zichen’s generosity.

He decided to simply follow the standard distribution rules for accompanying a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Bai Zichen walked into the treasury, which was still emitting white smoke. He first glanced at a row of Jade Bottles, each containing a single drop of Clear Spirit Jade Marrow.

There were three more Jade Bottles, each holding six plump, perfect Foundation Establishment Pills.

Further back, on another shelf, two Jade Boxes each contained a single Dragon Scale. Judging from the fluctuations of Spiritual Power, they were at the Tier Four level.

There were also several Magical Treasures, three Jade Scrolls, and, in the very back, a piece of ore that shone like a Great Sun, seemingly burning for eternity.

"I’ll take these. The rest is yours."

With a wave of his Daoist Robe, Bai Zichen collected the three bottles of Foundation Establishment Pills, the two Dragon Scales, and the blazing piece of ore.

As for the three Jade Scrolls, he simply made a copy of each, solving any distribution issues.