After paying his respects to Holy Lord Emperor Guan, Huang Huai stepped forward and carefully took the Jade Ruyi and the pale green bead, one in each hand. Seeing that nothing strange happened, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Huang Huai had watched plenty of novels in his spare time back in the modern world, including stories about the remnant souls of demonic fiends possessing people. That was why he had first paid his respects to Holy Lord Emperor Guan and asked him to stand guard before going to retrieve He Yuan's belongings.
If these two items really concealed some hidden trick left behind by He Yuan, Huang Huai didn't believe the other man could withstand a single glance from Holy Lord Emperor Guan. If the Second Lord could glare someone into dust with one look, he could certainly do it again.
The Jade Ruyi felt smooth and warm. Even with Huang Huai's limited knowledge, he could tell it had been carved from top-grade jade. Of course, if it had been nothing more than a Jade Ruyi, that would have been one thing. It was certainly valuable, but not enough to make Huang Huai care too much. It was worth only a few million, after all.
But this Jade Ruyi was clearly no ordinary piece. Faint patterns seemed to appear on its surface, as though they had been carved there—or had formed naturally.
This discovery made Huang Huai examine the Jade Ruyi closely. When he accidentally pointed it toward the candle burning on the altar, the candlelight shone through the jade, and excitement flashed in his eyes.
"Xuan Yuan Casting God Method!"
The characters stood out clearly. Huang Huai murmured them aloud, overwhelmed with delight. This was obviously a method of cultivation!
It was no wonder he was so excited. If he hadn't known how difficult it was to begin cultivating in A World, perhaps he wouldn't have reacted this way.
The key was that, not long ago, he had learned from Peng Family's Third Young Master's experiences and the townspeople's conversations just how hard it was for an ordinary person to embark on the path of cultivation and join the ranks of the High Gods.
That was especially true for someone like him, whose background and origins were unknown, and whose age and physique were far from meeting the standards set by the various factions for their disciples. He was practically cut off from cultivation.
The barriers of age and physique were one thing. With his unknown origins and unclear background, surely few respectable factions would accept a disciple like him.
Huang Huai had already prepared himself to spend a long time searching for a cultivation method. He hadn't expected such a sudden surprise.
Turning the warm, smooth Jade Ruyi over in his hands, Huang Huai glanced at the spot where He Yuan had been reduced to dust and sighed. "You really are a good person!"
Fortunately, He Yuan had already turned to dust. If he had heard Huang Huai, he might have died of anger all over again.
After all, He Yuan had risked his life and endured countless hardships to bring a cultivation method out of the underground palace. Now it had so easily fallen into Huang Huai's hands.
The Jade Ruyi was a cultivation method. Huang Huai couldn't help but examine the pale green bead as well. It was only the size of a soybean, perfectly round and smooth, with faint glimmers of strange light swirling within. At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary object.
Yet after looking it over for a long while, Huang Huai discovered nothing. In the end, he set the bead aside on the table, then sat cross-legged before the altar and carefully inspected the Jade Ruyi in front of the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, hoping to find the contents of the Xuan Yuan Casting God Method.
While Huang Huai's attention was fixed on the Jade Ruyi in his hands, he failed to notice the dark green bead he had placed on the altar. Wisps of light streamed from it toward the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, making it seem as though the statue were enjoying an Incense Offering.
As the statue absorbed the streams of light, the smooth, lustrous bead visibly lost some of its sheen. It also slowly shrank in size.
By contrast, the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan—which had dimmed after its accumulated Incense and Fire Prayer Power was consumed—began to change. It gradually took on a hint of divine radiance.
Huang Huai had now turned over every inch of the Jade Ruyi. Apart from the characters spelling out the name of the Xuan Yuan Casting God Method, he found not the slightest clue. There were no chapters of the method—not even a single word.
After sitting there stunned for a while, Huang Huai suddenly took a dagger from his sleeve and lightly nicked his fingertip. A bead of blood welled up. He watched expectantly as it dropped onto the Jade Ruyi, hoping it would cause some change. Unfortunately, the Jade Ruyi didn't react at all.
After trying blood, soaking it in water, and roasting it over a fire, Huang Huai finally gave up. The Jade Ruyi simply wouldn't respond.
Huang Huai had been tense and excited for so long that, once his spirits flagged, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He stood and said, "Forget it. I have the Jade Ruyi in hand; I'll figure out the cultivation method hidden inside sooner or later. I've been at this for most of the night, and there's no need to rush. I should get some rest first."
As he spoke, Huang Huai carefully put the Jade Ruyi away, then reached for the dark green bead he had left on the altar. The moment he picked it up, he sensed something was wrong. He glanced down—and was stunned.
Huang Huai blinked, staring in disbelief at the nameless treasure bead in his hand. It had clearly shrunk, and its surface had lost some of its luster.
"This... how did it shrink?"
To be honest, Huang Huai was dumbfounded by the bead in his hand, as though it had been drained of its essence.
He reflexively looked around, then back at the bead. Finally, he turned his gaze to the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan enshrined on the altar.
The inexplicable change in the nameless treasure bead counted as an unusual occurrence. There was no one else here besides him and the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. He didn't have the ability to make the bead change, so the only explanation was that its transformation had something to do with the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan.
When Huang Huai's gaze fell on the statue on the altar, his eyes suddenly lit up. Even he, slow as he could be, could tell that compared with before, the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan now seemed more radiant and alive.
Seeing the change in the statue, Huang Huai glanced at the shrunken bead in his hand. An idea struck him, and he immediately fetched a porcelain dish from the things he had bought earlier that day.
Huang Huai placed the dish on the altar before the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, then set the treasure bead on the dish.
In the candlelight, framed by the porcelain dish, the nameless treasure bead stood out sharply.
Huang Huai held a stick of God-Worshipping Incense and, following the rites for offering sacrifices to the gods, bowed deeply and reverently before the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. In a solemn voice, he said, "I respectfully praise the honored god, most sacred and most numinous, whose virtue has endured through the ages and whose worship will last for generations. Your might shines far and wide, your grace nourishes all beneath the heavens... I, Huang Huai of the Huang household, sincerely worship the gods. With reverence, I present this treasure bead, offering it to show my humble devotion. May the divine spirits silently shelter me. With utmost sincerity, I bow my head and praise your virtue and grace. If the gods are here, may you descend and partake. I humbly beseech you—may you enjoy this offering!"
Huang Huai bowed in the grand rite of three kneelings and nine prostrations.
As he did so, divine light suddenly swirled around the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, as though it had gained a spirit in an instant. The treasure bead on the porcelain dish, meanwhile, transformed in the blink of an eye into a cloud of incense that curled and drifted, with wondrous rays of spiritual light shining within. Then it plunged straight into the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan.
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