Volume 5 Chapter 38
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Volume 5 Chapter 38: Harvest (Part 1)
Although the purple-clad figures had struck the "Treasure Pavilion" down from the sky, they seemed pressed for time, hurriedly searched through the pavilion, took away all valuable things, and quickly left.
Previously, when Gu Fulu, the manager of the "Treasure Pavilion," left with those three mysterious cultivators, he must have taken all the most valuable treasures from the "Treasure Pavilion." Before the people in purple robes left, they searched the entire ruins of the "Treasure Pavilion," so all the valuable items must have been collected by now.
But the "Treasure Pavilion" has been around for over two thousand years, and the number of rare treasures it has gathered over the years is probably beyond even the manager’s knowledge. So, despite knowing that there might not be many valuable things left, Venerable Xuan Yuan and the others still walked towards the ruins of the "Treasure Pavilion" with Xu Qingfan, hoping they might find something else.
At this moment, the "Treasure Pavilion," having fallen from hundreds of feet in the air and struck by numerous powerful spells, is now incomplete, and pieces are scattered everywhere. So when everyone arrived at this ruin, even though they used Divine Sense, searching was very slow until Venerable Xuan Yuan’s disciples arrived and slightly sped up the progress.
Just as mentioned earlier, when Gu Fulu fled, he must have taken all the most valuable items from the "Treasure Pavilion," and later the group of people in purple searched the ruins. All valuable items have been looted; despite searching for a long time, everyone found nothing of high value.
However, in their hurried departure, the previous two groups left behind materials, spirit stones, and elixirs scattered around the ruins—these are not very valuable but still quite a gain for Xu Qingfan and the others.
This time in the ruins, there was no intention of dividing evenly; whoever found something kept it. As a result, everyone moved quickly, walking around the ruins searching for items. When they found something, they showed some happiness on their faces, and with a wave of a sleeve, the discovered item disappeared into their sleeve. What those items were, only they themselves knew.
Of course, most of those busy figures were disciples brought by Venerable Xuan Yuan and others; for them, this was almost like a treasure hunt.
However, Xu Qingfan, Venerable Xuan Yuan, Master Guanghui, and Layman Nanshan, due to their status, knew that anything useful to them had likely been taken by Gu Fulu and the people in purple. Therefore, the spirit stones, pills, and other materials left behind were of little use to them, and they walked leisurely around the ruins. The disciples, aware of this, kept their distance, leaving the area clear for these four masters of the Condensed Core Stage.
After circling around the "Treasure Pavilion" ruins, Xu Qingfan didn’t find much but did gather over two hundred scattered spirit stones, a few bottles of low-use elixirs, and some materials for array formation and crafting.
After noticing that the items scattered around the ruins had been collected by others, Xu Qingfan began walking towards the ruins. At the same time, Venerable Xuan Yuan, Master Guanghui, and Layman Nanshan also headed towards the ruins. However, their disciples sensibly stopped, staying around the area, waiting for the four elders to return.
The sky palace had fallen to the ground, and the entrance was nowhere to be seen. Unbothered by this, Xu Qingfan used "Withered Qi." In an instant, the shattered wall silently dissolved, revealing an entrance just large enough for a person to pass through. Without pausing, Xu Qingfan walked into the ruins of the "Treasure Pavilion."
Meanwhile, Venerable Xuan Yuan and the others entered the ruins from different locations, either creating new openings or using those made by a previous purple-clothed person.
Once inside, Xu Qingfan unexpectedly found that the ruins were not as dark as he had imagined. Instead, the light was gentle. Looking up, he saw over a hundred luminous pearls embedded in the walls. Although he knew these pearls were useless to a cultivator and only valuable in the mortal world, the soft, faint light charmed him. Thinking they might be useful, he waved his sleeve, collecting the pearls, even as the place grew dimmer. Yet, using the "Sky Eye Skill," it made no difference, and he continued into the depths of the ruins.
Unlike the spirit stone materials scattered around the ruins, there were fewer inside, likely taken by Gu Fulu and the previous intruder. As Xu Qingfan proceeded, he found only over a hundred spirit stones and a few other spirit stones.
As Xu Qingfan searched for anything useful, he continued deeper into the ruins. Suddenly, he sensed something and discovered a hidden chamber behind a wall through his Divine Sense. Without searching for a switch, he used "Withered Qi" again, silently opening another hole. Inside, he found it was filled with shelves that once held various rare treasures, yet now they were empty.
Xu Qingfan sighed regretfully, about to leave, when he felt a slight impulse. He ventured deeper into the chamber and discovered a jade box of a deep emerald hue in a corner. Though uncertain of its contents, the box shielded Divine Sense. If not for his thorough search before leaving, he might have missed it.
With a wave of his hand, the jade box swiftly flew to Xu Qingfan. He inspected it curiously before gently opening it, immediately becoming surprised.
Xu Qingfan’s astonishment wasn’t because of the vivid emerald-green skull within the box, nor due to its sunken eye sockets glinting with eerie red light. It was because, as the skull appeared, Little Black, quietly perched on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, suddenly ignored his command. It started cawing and flapped its wings restlessly, conveying through their mental link that the skull was incredibly important to it. If Xu Qingfan weren’t its master, Little Black might have snatched the skull and flown away.
The harsh cawing of crows echoed continuously in the empty ruins, making it sound even more unpleasant. However, Xu Qingfan didn’t have time to complain; instead, he examined the strange skull in front of him more carefully. No matter how he looked, he couldn’t find anything special about it—just an ordinary jade sculpture, it seemed.
Seeing Little Black’s eager behavior, it was clear that this skull was not so simple. Filled with increasing curiosity, he reached out to touch it. As soon as Xu Qingfan’s fingers made contact with the skull, he was startled. He felt the "Withered Qi" and "Flourish Qi" inside him surge, almost rushing into the skull. Xu Qingfan nearly lost control of these two Spirit Qis and quickly pulled his hand away, allowing the energies to finally calm down.
Breathing a sigh of relief, with just a slight touch, the Spirit Qi inside him almost spiraled out of control. This skull seemed too eerie.
Carefully recalling past experiences, the reason the "Withered Qi" and "Flourish Qi" inside him almost lost control was because the "Flourish Qi" appeared to have encountered a nemesis it wanted to fight, while the "Withered Qi" sensed a delicacy that could make it stronger.
Reflecting on Little Black’s excitement upon seeing the "skull," Xu Qingfan secretly wondered, "Could this strange skull be related to death energy?"
Yet Xu Qingfan, highly sensitive to death energy, hadn’t detected any within it, making him even more puzzled. Deciding not to dwell on it, he closed the jade box, tucked it in his sleeve, and continued deeper into the ruins.
After Xu Qingfan placed the jade box in his sleeve, Little Black gradually calmed down, full of longing, constantly sending messages through its bond with Xu Qingfan, seemingly pleading for the skull.
Xu Qingfan shook his head slightly, sending Little Black a message to be patient. The skull seemed mysterious at every glance, and without knowing its origin, Xu Qingfan was hesitant to let Little Black use it.
