Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 625 A Perilous Journey Through Broken Rock Pass Yields a Thousand Treasures; Sect Leader Kang Sighs Over Tiger Spring's Kindness
————Yuejian Mountain Retreat Room

Among the Nascent Soul cultivators in the vicinity, Master Huquan is not an ordinary figure. Moreover, Yuejian Mountain is currently quite prosperous, so although he is also the head of a family, he is not comparable to Master Yueyin of Wumu Mountain.

Among the many True Immortals around the Ancient Mysterious Path, perhaps only Bai Canhong, the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion, could truly surpass him.

Such a person would naturally have very few ordinary items hidden in their storage ring.

Over the years, Master Kang has collected quite a few storage treasures, and his horizons have naturally broadened. However, after examining all the treasures inside, he still found it difficult to contain himself.

After all, Huquan Zhensheng probably never imagined that he would end his path in this way.

You should know that even if he encountered great figures like Benying Temple's Gelie, the former Buddhist sect's Huihai, and the Left Prime Minister Gui Nianzhi, he might not be able to defeat them, but he might also be able to escape.

But who could have imagined that the millennia of accumulation of Hu Quan Zhenren, the dignified sect leader, would fall completely into the hands of a mere cultivator?

You need to know what kind of person Kang Dabao is.
In the past, it was truly a time when peas were found in quails' crops, lean meat was chopped off herons' legs, and fat was extracted from mosquitoes' bellies.
Even though I've become much wealthier in recent years thanks to the generosity of my fellow practitioners, and have managed to change my old habit of splitting a spirit stone in two, my nature is hard to change.

To actually obtain a complete, real-person-level mustard seed magic weapon is like a mouse getting into a rice jar, a bountiful year indeed.

Regardless of whether he recognized the contents of Master Huquan's ring or not, Headmaster Kang dared not be careless in the slightest. Even if there were some items he couldn't identify or determine their value, he wouldn't part with a single piece.

Even though there were several breast wraps belonging to Tiger Spring True Man's old flames hidden in this third-tier spirit ring, Kang Dabao had to take them out of there early on, sort them out, and carefully put them away.

He repeatedly sealed the cave's spiritual energy gates, rummaged through several storage bags, and assembled numerous arrays before finally arranging each spiritual treasure in front of him and examining them carefully.

While it's not difficult to get started with a skill like Lingjian, it's easy to learn but difficult to master.

Master Kang used to consult with his old friend Ye Zhengwen, but not many years later, the latter's skills were completely drained by Kang Dabao.

However, Kang Dabao has not given up his cultivation over the years, and he often goes out with important figures, which has broadened his horizons considerably. At least he can roughly tell the quality of those glittering treasures.

The closest items are handwritten notes and travelogues by the former headmaster of Yuejian Mountain, but they don't seem as dazzling as the other treasures.

However, Master Kang did not ignore it in the slightest, hoping that he would have some free time to carefully study the jade pendant he had.

Even if it doesn't bring much benefit to the higher authorities, as long as Kang Dabao thoroughly understands the insights gained from over a thousand years of cultivation, it will still be of great benefit to him.

After he briefly passed the mountain of books beside him, Master Kang's eyes excitedly shifted to one particular spot.

The object that excited him so much seemed rather worthless here; what caught his eye was a pile of high-grade spirit stones of various colors.

This time, Headmaster Kang did not use his divine sense to count the items for convenience, but rather enjoyed counting them one by one.

He had honed his skill in testing spirit stones to perfection during his days as a merchant, and after attaining the Golden Core stage, he was even more proficient than before. In just a breath, the originally messy spirit stones were neatly arranged in rows and columns, resembling a city wall.

As the final crisp sound rang in his ears, Kang Dabao immediately whispered a number: "Eight hundred and sixty-two yuan."

If these spirit stones were converted into the common low-grade spirit stones of the cultivation world, they would be worth over eight million. Adding the rarity and premium of high-grade spirit stones, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they amount to nine million spirit stones.

However, according to Master Kang's opinion, this number is not much compared to the powerful and accomplished Nascent Soul cultivators like Master Huquan.

Even if an ordinary cultivator spends a year or two in the market and saves every penny for cultivation, they might not be able to save up ten spirit stones.

However, once one has achieved the Foundation Establishment stage, if one can be affiliated with a wealthy family as a retainer, even if one only stays at home and rarely takes on any tasks, one can still earn several hundred spirit stones each year.

Later on, regardless of whether they were Golden Core cultivators or Pseudo-Golden Core cultivators, they could act arrogantly in small places. Such people seemed weak in the hands of Sect Leader Kang. Even those who had spent years building a foundation without any inheritance might only see such a thing a few times in their entire lives.

When these kinds of people exchange goods, the value of the treasures they possess may be in the hundreds of thousands, far beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

As for Nascent Soul True Person
Master Kang had little contact with such beings before, and mostly knew a little about them from casual conversations with his elders.

All I know is that these powerful figures who move mountains and fill seas mostly trade by bartering, and even if it involves spirit stones, they generally only use high-grade spirit stones.

If they see something they desire, these true men are willing to spend millions.

Therefore, even though the amount of money that Master Huquan had was not much in the eyes of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it was a large sum of money that could enrich the treasury for Headmaster Kang and his Chongming Sect.

Kang Dabao counted the high-grade spirit stones again. His nature was hard to change, and even the sound of the "clinking" made his expression much more pleased.

After taking the mountain of high-grade spirit stones into his pocket, Sect Leader Kang then turned his attention to an item that True Person Huquan had separately stored in a treasure box.

The treasure box was lined with a layer of light blue velvet, and the object lying on the velvet made him pause for a moment.

This top-grade spirit stone is roughly the size of a pigeon egg, with a pale golden sheen throughout. Spiritual patterns flow within its core. Holding it in your hand feels like grasping a living spiritual mist, where the spiritual energy is condensed and does not dissipate. It even has a warm and smooth feel as it seeps into your meridians through your fingers.

This top-grade spirit stone is a rare item within the Great David Immortal Dynasty; even among the many classic texts studied by Headmaster Kang, it is mentioned very few times.

"Good heavens," Kang Dabao sighed softly, his fingertips tracing the surface of the spirit stone. The shimmering light trembled slightly with his touch, as if in response.

"Even when I was at the Fei family's treasure vault in Yingzhou last time, I don't think I saw it?" Headmaster Kang recalled seriously for a while, then spoke with emotion, his eyes filled with such intense joy that they almost overflowed.

Even if he didn't know the many wonderful uses of top-grade spirit stones, he still knew they could be used for alchemy, weapon crafting, and raising and controlling beasts.

Not to mention, I seem to have seen a sentence or two in the Fei family's records before, which mentioned that this item could increase the probability of Nascent Soul formation.

If this is true, then this top-grade spirit stone, which has only been in the hands of Sect Leader Kang for less than ten days, can already be considered the sect's most prized treasure for the future.

A few more breaths passed before Kang Dabao finally managed to pull his gaze away from the top-grade spirit stone.

But then he slowly placed it back on the velvet cloth, carefully examined the treasure box to see that the seal was properly secured, and then looked at the other items.

Fei Tianqin had searched for the Xuan Chen Ying Yun Dan that he had taken from the Yuejian Mountain Treasury several times, but he still couldn't find it, which made him very disappointed.

Originally, according to his thinking, even if True Master Huquan did not carry all his wealth on his person like a rogue cultivator, he was still the head of a sect, so it was quite normal for him to have some Nascent Soul spiritual objects in hand.

However, after a careful search, Kang Dabao had to give up the idea. But during the search, he unexpectedly found two Golden Core pills.

This rare item, which was considered precious by the sect leader Kang, was previously just casually placed in a corner by its original owner, who clearly didn't care about it much.

Kang Dabao was a complete novice in alchemy, yet he could easily discern that the two Golden Core pills possessed by True Immortal Huquan were of far superior quality to those he had seen at the Wanbao Trading Company, likely reaching the mid-grade level. Based on what Grand Master Kang had heard before, even mid-grade Golden Core pills weren't something every True Immortal could acquire. Perhaps only True Immortal Huquan, with his vast Nascent Soul cultivation supported by an entire line of cultivators, could so readily disregard them.

In the blink of an eye, Headmaster Kang had already decided in his heart which of the two Golden Core pills belonged to him.

He knew he couldn't compare to the aura of a true immortal, so he carefully put away the two priceless Golden Core pills, then suppressed his excitement and picked up a spiritual treasure beside him.

Kang Dabao had heard of this treasure before; it was called the Nine-Lieutenant Bone Umbrella.

The fact that they were able to touch a magical treasure for the first time made even the usually cautious Sect Leader Kang somewhat excited, and he momentarily forgot about the risks.

His short, stubby right index finger touched the umbrella handle first, and he felt a chill seep into his bones, as if he were holding a piece of old jade that had just been dug out of the earth.

Before the umbrella was even opened, it shrank to the shape of a three-inch-long bone hairpin. The hairpin was dark gold in color, and upon closer inspection, it could be seen that it was made of nine thin bones joined together. Extremely fine black spiritual threads were embedded between the bone seams, as if the broken bones were glued together tightly.

The hairpin head was carved with tiny animal patterns, the patterns shimmering with a faint blue light. As soon as his fingertips touched the patterns, the light trembled slightly, as if it were alive.

Finally, a flash of inspiration struck, and the bone hairpin clicked softly as its nine dark gold umbrella ribs slowly unfurled.

Each bone is about a foot long, with an uneven surface and faint red threads flowing within the patterns, as if blood is still flowing inside.

The moment the umbrella ribs opened, the dark canopy unfolded. Before he could even move, Master Kang's relatively solid spiritual energy was completely drained, and even his meridians felt thirsty and burning.

This sudden change caused his expression to change drastically. He changed his hand gestures and immediately discarded the magical treasure at his feet.

It was only then that he realized how rash he had been.

According to legend, this umbrella was forged by the first leader of Yuejian Mountain using top-quality demon materials personally selected during the previous dynasty's attack on Lishan.

The nine main bones were all taken from the remains of nine demon captains, tempered by the earth fire of Yuejian Mountain for many years, and nourished by the qi of a fourth-order spiritual vein. By the time they reached True Person Huquan, these nine captain bone umbrellas had become high-grade fourth-order spiritual treasures, truly a precious heirloom of Yuejian Mountain.

Even if True Man Huquan is already a Nascent Soul cultivator, it would be difficult for him to command without the orthodox lineage of Yuejian Mountain.

However, it was because Master Huquan possessed this treasure that he was able to defeat several Nascent Soul cultivators of the same level and find the only one around who could make Bai Canhong somewhat wary.

Kang Dabao squatted on the ground, rubbing his stiff wrists, cold sweat still dripping from his forehead.

The feeling of having my spiritual energy drained just now was even more unbearable than when my spiritual meridians were injured by Yun Fu's Xuan Yuan True Qi. It felt like countless fine needles were pricking my meridians, and even my breathing felt scorching.

He stared at the Nine-Lieutenant Bone Umbrella at his feet, its dark gold ribs gleaming coldly under the spirit lamp, its dark canopy hanging down, occasionally letting out a wisp of dark gold spirit silk, as if mocking his overestimation of his abilities.

With a "snap," he finally got his hands on the slightly lower-quality Sausage, took a bite, and felt much better.

"Damn it, I forgot this is a Nascent Soul cultivator's natal spiritual treasure." Kang Dabao cursed under his breath, dabbing a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth onto his fingertip.

I was in such a hurry to close the umbrella that I haven't even wiped away the blood I choked on from the backlash of spiritual energy.

He dared not touch it with his hands again, but took out a few talismans from his storage bag, made a hand seal with his fingertips, and the talismans floated above the umbrella surface and stuck on with a "whoosh", which finally calmed down the magical treasure.

At this moment, Sect Leader Kang also breathed a sigh of relief. If this spirit treasure was so irritable, it would be even more difficult to deal with than his own black bone. He might not have the means to subdue it.

A few drops of cold sweat trickled down Kang Dabao's face, making him even more alert. He knew that although this magical treasure was of a high grade, it was not something he could control at the moment, and he must not be too hasty or lose his mind.

He sat cross-legged, took the pill, and began to regulate his breathing. It took him several days to recover most of his spiritual power before he carefully and cautiously closed the umbrella by performing hand seals.

With a few clicks, the nine umbrella ribs slowly closed, transforming back into a three-inch-long bone hairpin.

He didn't dare to stick it in his hair bun at this moment, so he carefully put it in the center of his storage bag to avoid it from causing trouble through his divine sense.

Besides the precious items he had carefully examined, there were also many other valuable items in Master Huquan's spiritual ring.

Inside a red wooden box were over a hundred black scales gleaming with a cold light, enough to refine into 120th-grade or even 3rd-grade armor, thus creating a proper Dao soldier.

However, Chongmingzong could not accomplish this task in a short time, so Kang Dabao pushed the red wooden box aside and waved his hand to summon the jade jar.

The jar is covered with a light blue glaze and is decorated with fine, intertwined floral patterns. The mouth of the jar is sealed with a thick layer of spiritual wax, which feels as hard as diamond when scratched with a fingernail.

He took out a small dagger and scraped off the spirit wax bit by bit. A clean, earthy smell wafted out. When he poured it out, he saw that it was a bluish-black mud, sticky but not sticky to the touch. When he held it in his palm, he could feel wisps of spiritual energy seeping into his fingers. There were also some tiny, pale golden specks embedded in the mud, as fine as grains of rice.

"Kui Xing Spiritual Soil," Kang Dabao exclaimed softly, quickly pouring the mud back into the jar, carefully picking up even the mud specks he had scooped out.

This high-grade spiritual soil, which Zhou Yixiu had always longed for, had always existed only in the ancient books seen by the Great Sect Leader Kang, and could be considered one of the rarest spiritual soils in the Immortal Dynasty.

If Kang Rongquan were to obtain this item, I wonder how excited those disciples of the Spirit Plant Hall, who are engaged in both farming and fighting, would be.

Yangmingshan, which is in dire need of reconstruction, along with the spiritual mountains and lands that are being or will soon be incorporated into the Chongming Sect, may soon take on a different appearance.

"This senior is so generous." Sect Leader Kang praised Master Huquan half-jokingly, after all, at this moment, he had not yet fully verified the items left in the latter's spiritual ring.

There were also one or two third-tier magic treasures tucked away in a corner, shimmering with precious light, and a stack of cultivation manuals waiting to be studied. As for array plates, talismans, puppets, and spiritual herbs, they were too numerous to mention.

By the end, Kang Dabao even felt that the rare treasures he possessed could rival the Fei family's treasure trove in quality.

Although the trip to Duanshi'ao was fraught with danger, it was also very rewarding.

At this moment, Master Kang felt a rare sense of pride and satisfaction, and the corners of his mouth quietly curled up.

He roughly knew in his heart that he might never again encounter a generous senior like Master Huquan who was willing to mentor younger generations.

However, this one battle alone is enough to remove the obstacles and constraints hindering the rise of the Chongming Sect. Now, his greatest wish is simply for this messy war to end as soon as possible.

In other words, while he continued to recuperate in seclusion, the outcome of the battle in the northern mountain camp was decided within a month.

(I'll try to leave early tomorrow and resume updating before midnight.)

(End of this chapter)