My Celestial Ascension - Chapter 889: Mutated Demon Core

Chapter 889: Mutated Demon Core

“…” Yuan blinked a few times as he accepted the jade token from Long Yuyan’s hand, looking at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Since you had this jade token with you, why didn’t you say so earlier?” he asked, clearly confused.

Long Yuyan looked to the side, feeling slightly embarrassed as her cheeks turned faintly crimson.

“I-I forgot about the token for a moment…” Long Yuyan replied shyly, avoiding his gaze.

“I see…” Yuan shook his head lightly and slowly walked toward the pagoda.

Once he stood before the door, he lifted the jade token into the air using Qi manipulation and injected his Qi into it.

The moment he did so, the jade token emitted a brilliant golden light, and the entire area trembled briefly, as if a sudden earthquake had come and gone in an instant.

Whoosh! Moments later, the massive iron door of the pagoda swung open, and a powerful gust of wind rushed out from within.

Long Yuyan appeared beside Yuan, smiling confidently as she stared at the pagoda with a dazed expression.

“This is the Heaven Sealing Pagoda, a Celestial Grade treasure among treasures. It was the pride of the Earth Immortal Sect,” Long Yuyan said with a distant smile, memories of the past surfacing in her mind.

“What?! This pagoda is a treasure?! How is that even possible?!” Aisha exclaimed, her face filled with disbelief.

’How could such a massive pagoda be a treasure? And not just any treasure, but one of such a high rank! How could people possibly build something like this?’ Aisha thought, utterly stunned.

“This is quite the surprise… I never imagined we would encounter something like this when we first arrived here,” Yuan muttered in a low voice before stepping into the pagoda with steady footsteps.

Anna Grace and the others followed him inside, carefully observing their surroundings, their expressions filled with curiosity and a hint of nervousness.

Meanwhile, Long Yuyan returned to Nyx’s side shortly after Yuan and his wives entered the pagoda.

“Will they be fine inside?” Nyx asked, worry evident on her face.

“They will be fine. There is no one inside that pagoda except for the spirit of the pagoda itself,” Long Yuyan replied calmly.

“Spirit? Is someone living inside?” Nyx asked with a surprised expression, as this was the first time she had heard something like that.

“No one is living inside. The spirit I mentioned is merely the consciousness of the pagoda… think of it as the pagoda being alive, possessing a soul of its own. Every high-ranking treasure above Heaven Grade has the potential to give birth to a soul,” Long Yuyan explained patiently.

“I never knew something like this could be real…” Nyx muttered softly, overwhelmed by everything she had just learned.

“There are many things in this world that may appear unreal… but their existence is undeniable,” Long Yuyan said with a dazed smile as she gazed at the magnificent pagoda.

’There are existences so powerful that words alone can’t describe them,’ Long Yuyan thought as she sighed inwardly.

Meanwhile, Yuan and his wives began exploring the pagoda, discovering many priceless treasures the moment they stepped inside.

While exploring, Yuan noticed a glowing red stone inside one of the display cases, emitting a smoky and sinister aura.

[Demon Lord’s Demon Core]

’T-That’s a core from a demon?! A real demon?!’ Yuan screamed inwardly the instant the System’s notification echoed inside his mind.

“What is that glowing red crystal? It looks very strange,” Angela said with a curious expression as she examined the demon core up close.

“That’s the core of a Demon Lord… and judging by the aura it’s emitting, the demon was at least at the mid Grandmaster level,” Fang Xiaoyan replied immediately, casting a disgusted look at the demon core.

“Is this useful?” Aisha asked.

“Yes, it is useful—but only to a select few, such as alchemists and blacksmiths. They mainly use it as material to craft treasures or concoct pills,” Fang Xiaoyan explained.

After a brief pause, she continued, “However, I’ve heard a legend about someone who was capable of consuming demon cores to increase his cultivation. He was feared by all demons for this ability, to the point that they nearly went extinct because of him.”

“I don’t know whether it’s true or not. I only heard my grandfather telling me this legend when I was still a child,” she added with a faint smile.

“So… there really is such a legend…” Yuan muttered softly as his curiosity about that mysterious figure grew.

’I can also consume demon cores to increase my cultivation without any problem… does that person from the legend possess a physique similar to mine?’ Yuan wondered inwardly.

“Should we take this core thing?” Vanessa asked with curiosity as she looked at Yuan.

Yuan nodded eagerly and said, “Of course we’ll take it. It may not be useful to all of you, but it has great value to me.”

Without wasting a moment, Yuan removed the glass cover and, with a wave of his hand, stored the Demon Core inside his System Storage.

Once he took the demon core, something else immediately caught his attention—along with the attention of his wives as well.

It was a heart. Half of it was made of crystal, similar to the Demon Core, while the other half was flesh, still beating and pulsing with the same sinister energy as the demon core.

[Mutated Demon Core]

Instantly, information about the object appeared before Yuan’s eyes as the familiar system notification echoed once more inside his mind.

“What the hell is that thing? It’s beating like a heart, as if it’s still alive!” Leah exclaimed with a look of disbelief on her face, her body stiffening at the horrifying sight.

“It’s really beating, just like a living heart… this is simply unbelievable…” Anna Grace murmured softly, shock evident in her voice as she stared at the object before her.

“That’s a mutated Demon Core, most likely from a monster that became a hybrid after absorbing or consuming demon blood,” Yuan explained calmly as he observed the strange object.

“This is indeed a demon core from a mutated beast… it’s extremely rare and very valuable,” Fang Xiaoyan nodded as she examined it more closely.

“It could easily be sold for tens of thousands of Spirit Stones in the Nine Heavens,” Xi Meili added.

“I see… in that case, I’ll keep this thing for now,” Yuan said with a smile before storing the demon core inside his System Storage.

After collecting all the treasures they could find on that floor, they moved on to the next one, where even more valuable items awaited them.

Without wasting a single moment, Yuan and his wives continued collecting everything they encountered before proceeding to the next floor.

They repeated this process until they finally reached the top floor of the pagoda, only to discover that it was completely empty. There was only a single slot embedded in the floor, resembling some sort of keyhole.

“What is this? And what are we supposed to place here?” Yuan muttered softly as he stepped closer to examine the slot.

The shape of the slot looked strikingly similar to the jade token he had received from Long Yuyan, matching it perfectly.

Yuan immediately retrieved the jade token from his system storage, and as if it had come alive, it began trembling violently in his hand.

“What the—” Before he could finish his sentence, the jade token flew out of his grasp, levitated above the slot, and pulsed with intense energy.

Anna Grace and the others watched the scene with curious expressions, their excitement growing as they anticipated what would happen next.

Suddenly, the entire pagoda began to shake. Yuan and his wives could clearly feel the vibrations, as if the pagoda itself had awakened.

As though drawn by an invisible force, the jade token snapped into the slot and fit perfectly into place.

In the next instant, the shaking ceased, and the room fell completely silent.

Ding!

[The Heaven Sealing Pagoda has recognized you as its new owner!]

[You now have absolute control over the pagoda!]

Ding!

[A mysterious energy is entering your dantian!]

[+???? Qi]

[+???? Qi]

[You have absorbed enough Qi for a breakthrough!]

[You have reached the first level of Spirit King!]

Yuan steadied his breathing after breaking through to the Spirit King realm, feeling incredibly refreshed and overflowing with vitality.

“You made a breakthrough… amazing!” Fang Xiaoyan exclaimed, excitement clear in her voice as her eyes sparkled slightly.

Yuan now understood everything about the pagoda and its true purpose. It was a treasure among treasures—a divine artifact capable of sealing even an immortal with ease.

Inside the pagoda, there were special containment cells capable of holding tens of thousands of cultivators in sealed confinement.

Within this pagoda, those sealed inside would be no different from mortals, and without the will of the pagoda’s master, no one could ever leave.

Since Yuan had become the new master of the Heaven Sealing Pagoda, he now possessed absolute authority over it.

’This turned out to be an extremely useful artifact… it will definitely come in handy in the future,’ Yuan thought with a faint smirk on his face.

“What just happened? What was all that shaking and trembling about?” Anna Grace asked with a puzzled expression as she looked at Yuan, who was smiling calmly.

“It’s just that the pagoda has acknowledged me as its new master… it’s a one-of-a-kind artifact and will be very useful going forward,” Yuan replied with a smile.

With a single thought, Yuan instantly teleported everyone outside the pagoda in the blink of an eye, not giving them a chance to ask further questions.

“It seems you’ve become the new master of the Heaven Sealing Pagoda… quite an achievement, if you ask me,” Long Yuyan said as she walked toward him, surprise evident on her face.

’Strange… why did the pagoda choose him as its master? Even the former patriarch of the sect failed to gain its recognition. This is unbelievable!’ Long Yuyan thought inwardly, her gaze still fixed on Yuan in astonishment.

’This human… he is truly unusual. Unfortunately, the world has changed. Otherwise, he would have soared even higher. He must possess heaven-defying talent, or the pagoda would never have acknowledged him as its master,’ she thought, her expression dazed as she looked at Yuan’s handsome face.

“Indeed. Somehow, I ended up becoming the Heaven Sealing Pagoda’s new master. This trip was truly a fulfilling one,” Yuan said with a satisfied smile.

With a casual wave of his hand, the massive pagoda rapidly shrank until it was no larger than a toy, small enough to rest comfortably in Yuan’s palm.

After storing the pagoda inside his system storage, they immediately left the area, with Long Yuyan following them as she had decided to travel alongside them.

Afterward, they chose to depart from the Earth Immortal Sect, as there was nothing left for them to collect—every valuable treasure the sect once possessed had already been taken.

———————

Happy New Year everyone, hope this new year brings joy and good health to everyone.