Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 88

Volume 7 Chapter 88: The Eerie Treasure Hunt (19)

When this half cauldron appeared before Xu Qingfan, Mr. Liu, Liu Ziqing, and Wang Zegang, several lines of glowing letters slowly appeared before everyone and changed as they read.

"I am Lord Xing Tian. If a Taoist friend can see these words, they must not be a rebel under my teachings, nor have they practiced my cultivation method. Although we are separated in life and death, I have a request to make."

"I began my cultivation at the age of eight, made some progress after three hundred years, and after a thousand years, I understood over four hundred Heavenly Ways. I looked around and found no opponents. However, by nature, I am reclusive and do not enjoy crowds, living deep in the Western Desert and never appearing in the world. I only wish to understand the way of the universe, see all the wonders of the world, and live freely."

"Yet, at the moment of my near-death, I unintentionally understood the top Heavenly Way among the three thousand Heavenly Ways — ‘Breaking Space.’ From this, I could extend my life for a thousand years, using the three hundred ‘Azure Crystal Dust’ I had collected in my life to merge this Heavenly Way into it, creating the treasure called ‘World Crafting Cauldron.’ This can break space, allowing countless space abilities to be performed and enabling free travel between the mortal world and the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House.’"

"When this treasure was first created, I was overjoyed because I have always loved the art of crafting. With this treasure, the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ was like my own backyard, providing me easy access to a wealth of rare materials. With this, I gathered countless treasures and crafted two of my proudest items: the ‘Heaven and Earth Fan,’ which can seal countless items for my use, and the ‘Heaven and Earth Sword,’ which has destructive power matched only by the legendary ‘World Defying Sword.’ Additionally, there is the treasure ‘Spirit Freezing Plate,’ which allows me to freely roam within the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ without fear of getting lost."

"However, in my moments of pride, while traveling through the mortal world, I discovered something extremely terrifying. After I forged the ‘World Crafting Cauldron,’ for the next three hundred years, the Shenzhou Continent faced continuous natural disasters. The extent, scale, and severity were unprecedented since the beginning of time. These three hundred years are known to mortals as the ‘Doomsday Havoc,’ during which nearly half of all living beings in the world suffered and perished."

"The old man inquired carefully, his heart filled with greater shock. It was indeed true that each time natural disasters struck fiercely, it happened within a hundred days after he used the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ to open the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House.’ Deep in thought, he closed himself off for thirty years, realizing that there is a balance in the world. The Shenzhou Continent and the world of the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ are like two sides of a coin, each keeping the other in check. Every sixty years, after people have heavily used Spirit Qi resources in the Shenzhou Continent, the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ will open again, releasing vast amounts of Spirit Qi into the Shenzhou Continent so that cultivators can take many treasures for their own use. This allows the energy between the two worlds to remain similar, continuing their balance."

"However, the old man had continuously gathered many treasures from the ‘Azure Crystal Treasure House’ three hundred years ago, which disrupted the balance between the two worlds, causing instability in the prosperous Middle-earth and leading to three hundred years of ‘Doomsday Havoc.’ Millions of living beings in the world suffered because of the old man’s moment of greed, a sin as grave as that of the Demon Ancestor back in the day. After this incident, the old man lost all hope, isolating himself in a cave, and from then on, he no longer went out. He even split the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ in half and hid it away."

"Yet, when the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ was first created, the old man had taken in a disciple named Ghost Valley Master. While his talent was not exceptional, he was honest and had the demeanor of an ancient gentleman, and the old man did not hide the matter of the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ from him. However, after Ghost Valley Master attained enlightenment, he took in two more disciples named Wen Ru and Wu Da, who were highly gifted and even surpassed the old man’s talent from back in the day. But these two were greedy and ambitious. One day, Ghost Valley Master, without being cautious, ended up telling them everything about the ‘World Crafting Cauldron.’"

"Once greed took root, reckless actions followed. These two rebellious disciples plotted to kill their master to obtain the ‘World Crafting Cauldron.’ At that time, the old man’s lifespan was already exhausted, and he had been poisoned with ‘Wash Bone Powder’ by these two, having no strength to resist. So, when the two traitors pressed Ghost Valley Master, the old man went to the hidden place of the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ and recorded the entire story. If it hadn’t been for my disciple, these words would never have appeared amidst the raging Spirit Qi."

"Wen Ru and Wu Da, the two traitors, showed no compassion. If they were to get the ‘World Crafting Cauldron,’ calamity would arise again, and the events of the past ‘Doomsday Havoc’ would surely return. With the two’s powers greatly increased, their threat would be even worse. Wen Ru, being proud and lacking intelligence, was not a major concern, but Wu Da, being cunning and patient, skilled in deceit and willing to use any means to achieve his goals, posed a significant future danger."

"Seeing this half of the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ was remarkable luck for you, Taoist friend, but it is an ominous object. Its emergence will surely cause chaos in the world. I urge you to prioritize the world’s safety and keep it hidden, preventing it from appearing again. As a repayment for your concern for the world, I also have my cultivation method, the ‘Cosmic Secret Record,’ which contains my understanding of the Heavenly Way of the universe. I bestow this upon you. Should you succeed in your studies in the future, please eliminate those two traitors for me, and I shall thank you from the depths of the underworld."

Then, the glowing text in front of Xu Qingfan, Liu Ziqing, Mr. Liu, and Wang Zegang suddenly changed, revealing a few thousand words. Though it was only a few thousand words, it contained countless profound truths. Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang, lacking the necessary realm, felt that these cultivation methods were incredibly mysterious but could not articulate why. Yet, they knew it was a rare opportunity. Even though they couldn’t understand anything, they were deep in thought with furrowed brows. But in the next moment, they both felt a jolt through their bodies, experiencing a splitting headache, yet they firmly committed these thousand words to memory.

On the other hand, Xu Qingfan and Mr. Liu had vastly different reactions.

Mr. Liu and Xu Qingfan both looked utterly mesmerized, lost in a trance, completely absorbed in the few thousand words, unable to extricate themselves.

This cultivation method is indeed rare in the world. To practice it, one must be at least a peak cultivator of the Soul Splitting Stage, so Mr. Liu is certainly not like Liu Ziqing and Wang Zegang, who can easily comprehend it.

Although Xu Qingfan is only at the initial stage of distraction and has not yet reached the required level, he has dedicated himself to studying "Substitute for Heaven" over the years. Both "Substitute for Heaven" and "Cosmic Secret Record" involve the control of space and time. While it’s hard to say which one is deeper, "Substitute for Heaven" is more structured and detailed, whereas "Cosmic Secret Record" is more powerful. The two methods complement each other, allowing Xu Qingfan to study and understand them even before reaching the required level, and deepening his understanding of "Substitute for Heaven."

One can imagine that if Xu Qingfan combines "Substitute for Heaven" and "Cosmic Secret Record," he will surely create a wonderful cultivation method that ranks among the top three in the cultivation world.

It is unknown how much time passed, but with a cough from Liu Ziqing, Xu Qingfan and Mr. Liu finally snapped back to reality.

Mr. Liu, interrupted while contemplating a new cultivation method, snorted coldly and glared at Liu Ziqing. Then, as if remembering something, he smiled slightly at Liu Ziqing and bowed to thank him and Xu Qingfan.

"You don’t have to do that. I was only feeling frustrated that my skill level is too low to understand this wonderful cultivation method, and that made me a little envious watching you two, nothing more. You two don’t need to thank me."

Liu Ziqing said with a smile.

It turns out that for a cultivation method as profound as "Cosmic Secret Record," fully understanding it without at least a hundred years of practice is nearly impossible. However, the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" will only remain open for a hundred days. If Xu Qingfan and Mr. Liu were to continue their comprehension, they would surely be trapped inside the "Azure Crystal Treasure House" and would only be able to come out after six hundred years.

So, while Liu Ziqing’s cough interrupted a rare moment of understanding for both of them, it also saved them.

After hearing Liu Ziqing’s words, Xu Qingfan smiled and nodded at him, then closed his eyes in deep thought for a moment. Suddenly, he turned to Mr. Liu and said, "Senior, according to our agreement, after you obtain the ‘Heaven and Earth Fan’, does that mean everything else on Wen Ru will belong to me?"

This meant that the half of the "World Crafting Cauldron" belonged to him.

It wasn’t that Xu Qingfan was greedy and wanting to fight Mr. Liu over treasures. As Lord Xing Tian said, although the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ was very mysterious, using it would always bring immense disaster. Mr. Liu had always been crazy about treasures, and although Xu Qingfan trusted his character, he still decided that it would be better for him to keep this treasure.

Mr. Liu was slightly taken aback, then snorted and said, "You really don’t trust me at all."

Though he said this, Mr. Liu didn’t stop Xu Qingfan from putting away the half of the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’. He knew his own flaws; if given the chance to freely enter the "Azure Crystal Treasure House", even if it brought endless disaster to the world, he wasn’t sure he could resist.

After Xu Qingfan put the half of the "World Crafting Cauldron" into his sleeve, Mr. Liu’s expression changed for a moment, then suddenly pointed reluctantly at the treasures left behind by Wen Ru after he died and said, "But I didn’t expect that there would be a treasure like the ‘World Crafting Cauldron’ in here. Even if it’s only half, I want to take half of these treasures. I can’t let you take all the advantages."

"Of course, of course."

Xu Qingfan said with a smile.

Mr. Liu snorted and said, "I will choose first."

Saying this, he flew towards the pile of treasures.

But just as Mr. Liu stood up, Xu Qingfan stopped him.

Mr. Liu asked unhappily, "What’s wrong?"

"Before we share the treasures, let’s discuss our strategy regarding Wu Da, who just left. I believe the two rebellious guys ended up with the two halves of the ‘World Crafting Cauldron,’ and if the half we have is real, then what Wu Da got is fake. He will come looking for us."

Xu Qingfan sighed.