Underground Palace Treasure

Underground Palace Treasure

In the pitch-black underground palace, following the only passageway not blocked by fallen rocks and cave-ins, one could find a lavishly restored subterranean palace.

Within the main hall, lamplight flickered.

Though the light was dim, a massive Luminous Pearl still glowed overhead.

Gold and silver carpeted the floor, dazzling the eye; gold cups and silver goblets stood piled upon the tables.

Several pure-gold statues of the Five Gods Cult's deities stood in the hall as well. Naturally, they were not the monsters' savage original forms, but deified statues rendered in human likeness.

Following the lit lamps deeper inside led directly to a storeroom.

Within the storeroom lay the wealth amassed over the Five Gods Cult's century-long occupation of River Prefecture.

All manner of Gold and Silver Treasures lay heaped like mountains—Famous Paintings and Calligraphy, Porcelain and Antiques, Famous Swords and Fine Jade—everything imaginable.

The treasures everyone had believed buried in the Sea of Fire were all here now.

"Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack! This Gold and Jade Bed is good, good—too good! Master, if we carry it back to the temple, it'll definitely be comfortable to sleep on." The donkey frolicked atop a huge Gold Inlaid Jade bed, its eyes seeming to melt into the gold itself.

"This Sword Scabbard is excellent. It suits this boy perfectly." Seven or eight pearls were embedded in a scabbard, and even the upright, incorruptible Azure Dragon Boy of old had been corrupted.

The donkey sprang up from the Gold and Jade Bed, then began circling the entire storeroom as though staking out land on horseback.

"Mine! Mine! It's all mine! Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack! We're rich!"

"These Gold Cups and Jade Goblets, Ivory Chopsticks, and Golden Chamber Pots all have to be carried back."

"No, wait, why carry them back at all?!" The donkey suddenly came to its senses. They were this rich already—what did they still need that drafty, leaky old temple for?

"Master, we'll live in River Court from now on. Wouldn't that mean we could have whatever we want? Buy whatever we want? I wouldn't even trade that for the position of Silver Flower Palace's master!"

The donkey had already immersed itself in the fantasy of getting rich overnight. From then on, it would follow the Great Immortal and live a life drowned in luxury: breakfast from Cuiyun Residence, midday banquets from Tianxiang Tower, fine wine with every meal—anything under fifty taels an altar would not even be worth a glance.

Meanwhile, Kongchenzi, the immortal whom people across the world praised for treating money like dirt, stood behind them, watching their ugly display with heartfelt anguish.

"Where are General Donkey and Azure Dragon Boy?!"

The sharp rebuke jolted them both awake from their dreams.

The two hurried over and stopped before Great Immortal Kongchenzi.

"General Donkey is here." The donkey galloped over.

"Azure Dragon Guardian is here." The Azure Dragon Guardian appeared upon the sword and bowed deeply.

Great Immortal Kongchenzi tucked both hands into his sleeves before his chest. Without even glancing at the mountains of gold, silver, wooden chests, and rare treasures in the storeroom, he merely watched the two of them in silence.

In his calm gaze was a faint trace of disappointment at their failure to live up to expectations.

With a sigh, the Great Immortal began to speak at length, revealing the original purpose of his descent from the mountain.

"This Great Immortal descended the mountain to subdue demons and eradicate evil, to wield my sword and save the common people from fire and water."

"Not to seek wealth and honor, nor to indulge in pleasure."

The Great Immortal pointed at the wealth filling the storeroom. To him, it was all passing clouds, dust, and stubborn stones; even if worth a fortune, he did not place it in his heart at all.

"This ill-gotten wealth should not have a single coin taken from it. It should be sealed away here."

General Donkey stared wide-eyed, as though it were meeting Great Immortal Kongchenzi anew.

"Master? Really... not taking a single coin? Leaving it all behind?"

Great Immortal Kongchenzi nodded. "Correct. If the common people of the world have need of it in the future, then we shall take out these Gold and Silver Treasures. Who knows how many people they may save then?"

"Only thus can the merit be boundless. Only thus can this ill-gotten wealth be turned toward the righteous path."

His impassioned words brimmed with righteous energy.

General Donkey, the Donkey Guardian General, and the Azure Dragon Guardian Boy were so ashamed by them that they wished they could burrow into the ground.

Great Immortal Kongchenzi turned away and said leisurely, "We cultivators value Two Sleeves Clear Breeze. How can we covet indulgence and extravagance?"

The moment his words fell, a thick, bulging stack of Silver Notes suddenly slipped from his sleeve and landed on the ground with a slap.

The top note facing upward was worth one thousand taels.

Who knew how much silver that thick stack represented.

So the most portable and valuable things had long since been tucked into his pocket.

The Donkey Guardian discovered that compared to the Great Immortal, it was still far too green.

What did it matter how valuable those rare treasures were? They could not be moved easily, much less easily converted into money.

"Ahem!"

Without changing expression, the Great Immortal bent down and picked up the Silver Notes from the ground.

A look of sorrowful compassion appeared on the Great Immortal's face. "Behind vermilion gates, wine and meat rot; by the roadside lie the bones of those frozen to death!"

"Along this journey, What Was Seen and Heard—the sufferings of the people—have made this Great Immortal feel them as my own."

"This poor Daoist will surely encounter helpless and impoverished commoners along the road, so I took some ill-gotten wealth in preparation for unforeseen need."

"If we come across anyone in need on the road, let this humble Daoist use this silver to aid the common folk who need help!"

That did make sense, and the two guardians could find no reason to refute it.

But just as he bent down and picked up that stack, another stack of Silver Notes slipped out from his other sleeve.

This stack—

Was even thicker.

General Donkey and Azure Dragon Boy stared fixedly at Great Immortal Kongchen. The three of them met each other's eyes, and the atmosphere suddenly turned somewhat awkward.

The Great Immortal immediately deployed the art of changing the subject.

"Still, in exterminating the Five Gods Cult, that den of demons, General Donkey and Azure Dragon Boy have rendered great merit. They truly deserve a reward."

"Take that Sword Scabbard with you!"

With a single sentence, he immediately won over the simple-minded Azure Dragon Boy.

Azure Dragon Boy was overjoyed. "Thank you for the reward, Master!"

"As for General Donkey!"

Great Immortal Kongchen flipped through the stack of Silver Notes and counted them.

He was going to share the silver with him! Donkey Guardian General immediately grew excited, even his breathing turning heavy.

The donkey stared eagerly, glancing over the notes of one thousand taels, five hundred taels, and three hundred taels.

In the end, Great Immortal Kongchen drew out a fifty-tael Silver Note from that thick stack.

"I'll reward you with one!"

Before this, the donkey would surely have been beside himself with delight. But after looking at the thick stack in the Great Immortal's hand, then at his other sleeve, and finally turning back to look at the mountain of treasures, he suddenly felt that fifty taels was a little shabby.

"You couldn't hold onto it even if I gave it to you. This Great Immortal will keep it for you for now! If there's anything you want to eat or buy on the road, just tell this Great Immortal. We'll deduct it from your fifty taels then."

The fifty-tael Silver Note he had just taken out was tucked away again.

"..."

One candle after another went out. Falling rocks sealed off the final passage, and this enormous treasure hoard was buried beneath the earth from then on.

When they emerged again, they were in a small alley within Jiangting Commandery.

"Master! Where are we going next?"

"Are we heading back, or...?"

General Donkey carried Great Immortal Kongchen toward the street as he asked.

Kongchenzi glanced at their bearings. "North all the way."