True Dragon's Eye (Part Two)

The old man Li guarding the door was, to Zhuge Xiang, merely a reclusive powerhouse he had encountered by chance. Without dwelling on the matter, Zhuge Xiang quickly entered the Tang Dynasty's imperial treasury...

As expected of the royal treasury, even though each of the treasures inside is a rare and precious item, the sheer number of treasures collected by the Tang Dynasty royal family, spanning hundreds of millions of miles of territory, is still inexhaustible. The vast treasury is filled with numerous treasures arranged in a pleasing and orderly manner; at a glance, it feels like entering an ocean of treasures...

These treasures, of all kinds, are abundant, including powerful Cultivation Technique, various materials, countless Pills, and Lingbao equipment—a dazzling array that is simply overwhelming.

Items that can be included in this Treasure Vault must be at least Lingbao- grade treasures, but Zhuge Xiang glanced at these items and then put them down.

Even with Zhuge Xiang's current Appraisal Technique, it would be difficult to Appraisal it. Furthermore, most of these Lingbao -level equipment require a cultivation level of Void Returning Stage to use; not all Lingbao are as good as the Slaying Luo Sword.

As for Skill, Zhuge Xiang looked around but couldn't find anything suitable. In terms of Skill, Zhuge Xiang already possessed dozens of Skills, the strongest of which were Heavenly Demon Zen Sound, Demon Luo Scripture and Great Strength Bull Demon Technique, and he also had several Forbidden Techniques. That was enough. So, in the end, Zhuge Xiang went directly to the place where the materials were placed.

Following the Old Man Li's advice, Zhuge Xiang indeed found a dark, unremarkable stone in the corner. The stone was about the size of a plate, oddly shaped, and had nine holes the size of fingers on it. When Zhuge Xiang's gaze fell upon this dark stone, his Appraisal Technique skill activated automatically.

Nine-Orifice Demon Heart (Special Item): Effects???

The Appraisal Technique only revealed a name; nothing else was visible, which slightly surprised Zhuge Xiang. Although he didn't know its effects, judging from the name, could it be a Demon Heart? Or perhaps, like the Blood Demon Heart, it was just a Dao Item?

Shaking his head, he decided not to think about it too much. If even he couldn't Appraisal it with his Appraisal Technique, it probably wasn't bad. More importantly, this Nine-Orifice Demon Heart was something someone had asked him to retrieve. Putting the Nine-Orifice Demon Heart away, Zhuge Xiang continued to select the items he wanted in the materials area.

There were all sorts of materials. There were quite a lot, and many of them were priceless treasures, such as the Mysterious Yin Jade Heart, which was of the same level as the Mysterious Yang Jade Heart, and even materials from Ancient Divine Beast.

However, no matter how good these materials were, Zhuge Xiang had no intention of accepting them; he simply looked at each one.

"Huh?" Just as Zhuge Xiang was checking, a golden and black lotus flower suddenly caught Zhuge Xiang attention.

This is a refining process with black as the main color, but the edges of this lotus flower show a dazzling gold, giving people a noble feeling. As Zhuge Xiang gazes at this familiar lotus flower, data information appears in front of Zhuge Xiang.

"Fire Black Lotus King: This is the king of Fire Black Lotus, formed after a thousand years of growth. All Pill made from Fire Black Lotus are ten times more potent."

Upon seeing the Fire Black Lotus, Zhuge Xiang was slightly taken aback, then overjoyed.

Unexpectedly, this treasure trove contains a Fire Black Lotus King. The effects of this Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine last for one minute; if increased tenfold, wouldn't it last for ten minutes?

Just imagine, within 10 minutes of the drug's effect, he could unleash powerful moves like Infinite Explosive Steps and Vast Sword Qi nonstop. Zhuge Xiang felt a chill run down his spine just thinking about it, and then he was overjoyed. Without saying a word, Zhuge Xiang directly put the Fire Black Lotus King into his Bag Space.

Having already acquired the Fire Black Lotus King and the Nine-Orifice Demon Heart, Zhuge Xiang could still choose one last reward for himself. After a careful search, another material quickly caught Zhuge Xiang attention.

This is a fist-sized sphere placed within the Formation. The spiritual energy circulates within it, keeping the sphere alive. Its pupils are dull gray, but not dry.

This is an eyeball, an eyeball as big as a fist. Yet, the aura contained within this single eyeball is incredibly powerful, like that of a Void Returning Stage powerhouses.

The True Dragon's Eye: This is the pupil of a True Dragon, gouged out of its body, and possesses mysterious and unpredictable abilities.

The information revealed by the Data Eye made Zhuge Xiang ponder in silence. Wu Xuemei needed the Phoenix Feather and the Dragon's Eye to break the seal on the Demon Hand. He wondered how her search was going, but the Dragon's Eye was now right in front of him.

Thinking about the quest to help Wu Xuemei break the seal on the Demon Left Hand, and the rewards of 100 million Experience Points, Lingbao equipment, and Skill Jade Talisman, Zhuge Xiang put away the Dragon's Eye.

"Now that we've collected the three treasures, let's leave," Zhuge Xiang said to the Eunuch beside him after putting away the last True Dragon's Eye.

Seeing that Zhuge Xiang had indeed only taken three treasures, the Eunuch smiled and nodded, then led Zhuge Xiang away from the Treasure Vault. However, when Zhuge Xiang arrived outside the Treasure Vault with the Nine-Orifice Demon Heart and waited for Old Man Li, he found that he was not there.

"Wait, do you know where Old Man Li went?" The Eunuch, seeing that Old Man Li had disappeared, grabbed a powerful guard outside the Treasure Vault and asked.

Didn't he ask Zhuge Consecrated to go in and get the dark, unsightly stone for him? But he's already brought it out, and he himself has disappeared.

"Reporting to the Steward, Old Man Li just said he wanted to retire and go back to his hometown to live out his days. He's already gone," the Treasure Vault guard replied with some surprise upon hearing the Eunuch's question.

It's hard to believe that this favorite of the emperor, the Steward of the Great Tang Dynasty's Imperial Palace, would actually take the initiative to inquire about such a nearly unnoticed old man.

"Gone?" Hearing the guard's words, Zhuge Xiang frowned slightly. It hadn't taken him long to retrieve the Nine-Orifice Demon Heart, but the Old Man Li had left? Was he deliberately playing a trick on him? Or was there some deeper meaning?

"Alright, since that senior has already left, I'll just keep his things safe for now," Zhuge Xiang said, glancing at the Nine-Orifice Demon Heart in his hand before putting it away.

Since Old Man Li did this, he must have had a deeper meaning. I can't guess it, so there's no need to waste my time trying to guess.

After leaving, Zhuge Xiang bid farewell to the Emperor and returned to the Hall of Honored Guests. This time, Mo Lingna did not go to Strange Stone Mountain with Zhuge Xiang, but stayed in the Hall of Honored Guests to consolidate her cultivation that had just broken through to the Void Core Stage.

In the Gathering Origin Stage, the True Essence within the body gathers in the dantian. The highly concentrated and compressed True Essence possesses destructive power and control far beyond that of the True Essence Realm. The Void Core Stage, on the other hand, indicates that the True Essence within the body has been compressed to its limit, forming a phantom core that exists between liquid and solid, which is also the prototype of the Golden Core.

"Has your cultivation at the Void Core Stage stabilized? Has your strength made a qualitative leap?" Upon seeing Mo Lingna and sensing the very stable aura emanating from her, Zhuge Xiang smiled slightly and asked.

"I have to thank your Skill Jade Talisman for that. It directly raised my Nine Beast Forbidden Canon Codex to a whole level, and I can now use the Turtle Demon Armor in any combat. My cultivation level has also risen accordingly," Mo Lingna said to Zhuge Xiang with a happy look in her eyes.

What made her happiest was not the successful cultivation of the Turtle Demon Armor, nor the breakthrough of her cultivation to the Void Core Stage, but Zhuge Xiang's high regard for her. This was what made her feel the happiest.

"By the way, your cultivation has also broken through, entering the Gathering Origin Stage?" At this moment, Mo Lingna also sensed the change in Zhuge Xiang's aura, and said with surprise and joy. She was both shocked and proud of the speed at which Zhuge Xiang's cultivation had improved.

"Your cultivation has already reached the Void Core Stage, how can I not improve?" Zhuge Xiang said with a smile after hearing Mo Lingna's words.

Staying in the Hall of Honored Guests, Zhuge Xiang didn't have anything important to do, so he took out the Origin Returning Furnace and began refining an enhanced version of the Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine.

With an enhanced version of the Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine in hand, Zhuge Xiang would have some confidence in any situation. Forbidden Technique can be broken by experts above the Dao Seeking Realm, but this Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine cannot.

Zhuge Xiang took out the Origin Returning Furnace, and Flame rose. He had naturally prepared the materials for the Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine long ago. He threw the gold and black Fire Black Lotus King into the furnace fire, Zhuge Xiang skillfully controlled the Flame to begin refining the enhanced version of the Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine. The flames flickered, and the Pill in the furnace fire gradually took shape.

Mo Lingna nestled beside Zhuge Xiang, watching him refine Pill. For Mo Lingna, no matter what Zhuge Xiang did, as long as she could stay by his side, she was happy.

At this moment, completely relaxed, without any scheming or fighting, just sitting quietly, Mo Lingna wished time could stand still forever.

However, it was impossible to hope that time would stand still forever, because soon, just as Zhuge Xiang's Pill were finished being refined, visitors arrived at his door.

Super Spirit Qi Secret Medicine: Enhanced Version. After consumption, all systemic Skill will enter a state with no cooldown and no cost, lasting for 600 seconds.

"Is Zhuge Xiang here?" Just as Zhuge Xiang was satisfied with the super-powerful secret medicine, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside the Courtyard.

Then, with a loud bang, quite rudely, Zhuge Xiang's door was kicked open, and a disheveled figure, looking like Beggar, walked in. Who else could it be but Die Wu? (To be continued...)