In the courtyard, the Bodhi Ancient Tree stood silently.
Bathed in moonlight, every leaf shimmered with a jade-green glow.
Though it was over two thousand years old, its branches and trunk remained vigorous, brimming with life.
If you stared at it for long enough, you could sense a certain Daoist resonance flowing through it.
But aside from that,
the Bodhi Ancient Tree had nothing particularly special about it.
"The global upheaval seems to be unfolding quietly, but its scope is tiny. To outsiders, it looks like nothing more than ordinary natural phenomena. But when that day arrives in a little over a month, everything will be different. All the strange phenomena will erupt across the world."
As Lu Yuan walked toward the villa's main hall, he pondered this.
At this point in time, the vast majority of divine treasures showed no signs of anything unusual.
So even if outsiders came across them, they wouldn't think much of it. They might even ignore them entirely.
But after that day, everything would change.
Of course, some things already had all sorts of wondrous uses even before the upheaval. But most of those had probably already been claimed by mysterious forces, with the Wuzhou Group among their ranks.
Lu Yuan's advantage was that he had spent a full ten years in the New Era and had a wealth of firsthand experience.
And in that regard, no one in the world today could match him.
That was also why he knew exactly how to prepare for the future in advance and put himself ahead of everyone else.
Back in the hall,
Lu Yuan went straight into the basement. After entering a few passwords at a door,
the alloy door opened, and the lights inside came on automatically.
There wasn't much inside.
Just three things: a bead, a tattered Daoist robe, and a bow. They all looked ordinary, with nothing special about them.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan walked in and placed the Ghost Seal he had obtained from Jubaozhai on the table.
First, he picked up the item closest to him and gently rubbed it between his fingers.
It was a bead.
It wasn't perfectly round, and there were impurities on its surface. Left by the roadside, it wouldn't catch anyone's eye.
But in truth, only Lu Yuan knew that it was a Sarira left behind when a high monk passed away in meditation. It had been discovered in an ancient tomb somewhere in the Snowy Region, and it contained a terrifying Buddhist Supernatural Power.
Of course, even if an ordinary person possessed it, they wouldn't know how to activate it.
That was because this object
would reveal its true wonder only after the global upheaval, when it was blessed by the Bodhi Ancient Tree.
As for the second item, the tattered Daoist robe covered in patches, it was the Innate Qi Garment. Once worn, it could automatically absorb Heaven-Earth Force. It could not only temper the body, but also ward off all poisons and withstand fire and water. Most importantly, its defensive power was astonishing; it could even withstand lightning.
The last item, the bow, was called the Sky Shaking Bow. Legend had it that the ancients had forged it after imitating the divine bow used to shoot down the sun.
Once drawn,
it could automatically gather Heaven-Earth Force and form an arrow, slaying foes from ten thousand miles away.
Though it was not as powerful as Da Yi's bow, even now it could absolutely be called a divine treasure.
Back then, Lu Yuan had watched a powerhouse wield this very Sky Shaking Bow and shoot down stars from beyond the domain. Its divine might had been unmatched.
All three of these items were things he had bought after his rebirth, either from antique streets or domestic auctions, relying on his memories and spending a considerable sum. Since they were all basically antiques, they counted as fairly impressive collectibles and came with hefty price tags.
The Sky Shaking Bow in particular had been preserved so well that its price had exceeded fifty million.
But to Lu Yuan,
its true value was beyond anything money could measure.
Perhaps some people would have thought he was being outrageously wasteful. But how could they possibly understand his real purpose?
The Bodhi Ancient Tree: awaken the Innate Spirit, God of Wisdom, and gain talent multiplied a hundred million times.
The Sarira: contains the supreme Buddhist Supernatural Power.
The Innate Qi Garment: temper the body, withstand fire and water, and endure lightning.
The Sky Shaking Bow: gather Heaven-Earth Force and slay foes from ten thousand miles away.
The complete Classic of the Way and its Virtue: awaken the cosmic visualization diagram, hailed as the foremost visualization method under heaven.
The Ghost Seal and Chen Song's family heirloom, the small cauldron: the two most important keys to entering the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
Lu Yuan quietly tallied things up. Aside from the last two items, every one of the others could bring him tremendous benefits. Armed to the teeth, he would be more than ready to face any disaster after the global upheaval and could embark on an invincible path.
"Not enough. It still isn't enough. The Wordless Stone Tablet on Longhu Mountain, the Heavenly Sword Embryo, the Eleven-story Blood Futu, and Old Master Ge's Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu."
"To reach the summit of the Supreme Path, I have to get my hands on those too. Every one of them is indispensable."
Ten years of struggling at the bottom in his previous life had taught Lu Yuan what cruelty meant.
He didn't want to go through it again. He couldn't bear to go through it again.
So after taking care of a few things in the coming days, he planned to leave Shanghai City and make all his preparations before the upheaval fully arrived.
Afterward, Lu Yuan checked the rest of the items in his possession that would transform into divine treasures, then turned and left the basement.
This underground room had been specially built for the purpose.
No one but him could possibly get inside.
Over the following stretch of time,
Lu Yuan continued making preparations, keeping an eye out for other potential gains while exercising.
Whenever he had nothing else to do, he would visit Old Master Ge's home and see if there was anything he could help with.
During this time, the complete Classic of the Way and its Virtue arrived from overseas. He also met up with Chen Song and acquired the small cauldron, making the collection in the basement even more impressive than before.
One morning,
Lu Yuan had just finished exercising and washing up. As he ate breakfast, he pondered.
"Ordinary exercise can only improve your health and fitness. To truly develop a superhuman physique, you need special methods. So I have to get my hands on the Zi Wu Bu Tian Lu at Old Master Ge's home."
He pondered, thinking of how he might speed things up.
After all, it was one of the few things that would be useful even before the global upheaval.
It could lay a solid foundation for him and bring all sorts of unexpected benefits in the future.
Ring, ring.
Just then, his phone rang.
Lu Yuan picked it up and his eyes lit up. "Hello, Manager Lin? How did it go?"
The caller was none other than Manager Lin from the sixth floor of Jubaozhai.
"Mr. Lu, it's done. The man will be here at ten, but... I can't say whether the deal will go through." Manager Lin's voice came through the phone. "So you'll have to negotiate with him in person when he gets here."
They were talking about the Eleven-story Blood Futu,
one of the things Lu Yuan was determined to get.
Hearing this,
Lu Yuan smiled. "Don't worry. As long as he comes, we can work something out. I'll head over right away."
After hanging up, he didn't hesitate. He got ready and drove away from the villa.
The man was coming.
That meant he was interested, even if only a little.
Lu Yuan's job was to fan that spark of interest into a flame until the man was willing to sell. He was quite confident he could do that.
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