Counting the Spoils of War

The old man's eyes, deep as the abyss, swept across the land Lu Changsheng had renovated, his brows knitting slightly.

"I divined the heavenly secrets and calculated that an Innate Spirit Treasure fated to me should have manifested here."

"Why, upon arriving, is there nothing left but a ruined spiritual cave, with not even a trace of the treasure's aura to be detected?"

The old man closed his eyes, his withered fingers calculating rapidly within his sleeves.

After a long moment, he snapped his eyes open, a flicker of incredulous shock flashing through them.

"The heavenly secrets... are in total chaos?"

"To think someone could conceal the karma of stealing a spirit treasure so thoroughly! Even my divination arts cannot discern a single clue!"

The old man took a deep look at the empty fissure.

"Interesting, truly interesting."

"It seems that in this Primordial Land, aside from those few old friends, another formidable variable has emerged."

The old man shook his head, no longer forcing the matter.

Since the heavenly secrets were obscured and the treasure was lost, it meant the object was not fated to him.

He turned around and flicked his grey robes.

His entire figure vanished from Phoenix Fall Valley like a phantom, leaving only a low sigh echoing amidst the Sha Qi.

"The Great Calamity is approaching, and the Dragon and Phoenix Clans shall perish. In these chaotic times, who can truly remain uninvolved..."

Deep within the cave dwelling of the Nameless Low Mountain.

Time flowed like water; the Primordial Land kept no count of years.

Eight thousand years had passed since Lu Changsheng fled Phoenix Fall Valley and sealed the stone gate tight.

For these eight thousand years, the cave dwelling had been silent, without a single sound.

The three thousand layers of the Mysterious Yellow Pure Yang Array, bolstered by the Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, had completely isolated the interior of the cave from the outside world.

No matter how the tribulation energy of the world outside churned, it could not penetrate even a fraction.

On the White Jade Cloud Bed, Lu Changsheng sat cross-legged, as still as a golden statue.

Wisps of pure spiritual energy, mixed with the vitality surging from the deep Earth Veins, followed his breathing and transformed into two white dragons of energy that swirled around the tip of his nose.

"Hoo—"

A long breath of stale air was exhaled, turning into a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves of the Red Sun Fruit Tree nearby.

Lu Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. Those golden orbs, which had appeared dim and lusterless from the extraction of his origin, now glowed with profound brilliance once more.

"Eight thousand years. Finally, the deficit has been replenished."

He lowered his head to look inward at his Dantian.

Deep within, that mass of Great Dao Merit origin, radiant as the scorching sun, had ceased its turbulence and returned to a state of flawless perfection.

His cultivation, which had fallen to the early stage of True Immortal, had not only returned to the mid-stage of True Immortal under the nourishment of the long years and the merit granted by the Heavenly Dao, but had even taken a significant step forward, his magic power becoming increasingly thick and solid.

Recalling his frantic act of forcibly extracting the Great Dao origin to use as karmic retribution back in Phoenix Fall Valley, Lu Changsheng still felt a lingering fear.

The agonizing pain of his origin being torn apart and the weakness of his cultivation falling instantly were thousands of times more torturous than being cut by a dull blade.

"If not for the merit the Heavenly Dao bestowed to repair my spiritual energy, I fear my foundation at the mid-stage of True Immortal would have been permanently damaged."

Lu Changsheng sighed and raised his right hand, gently stroking the Mysterious Yellow Shield floating before his chest.

The surface of the shield flowed with a warm, ancient yellow light, and its twelve complete Innate Restrictions radiated a heavy Dao aura that repelled all techniques.

For these eight thousand years, he had nurtured this top-grade defensive spirit treasure day and night with his own magic power and Primordial Spirit, and now he could wield it as easily as his own arm.

With a single thought, the Mysterious Yellow Shield could instantly transform into an invisible light screen, not only capable of resisting physical and magical bombardments, but also perfectly blending his own karma and aura into the world itself. Even if a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal stood before him, they would never see through his true strength.

"It was worth it. Eight thousand years of bitter cultivation in exchange for such a life-saving trump card is an absolute bargain."

Lu Changsheng withdrew the Mysterious Yellow Shield into the depths of his Primordial Spirit, a flicker of burning anticipation in his eyes.

Now that his injuries were healed, it was time for his favorite part.

Counting the loot!

Back in Phoenix Fall Valley, he had used thunderous means to slay four Mystic Immortal remnants of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. Although he had blasted them into nothingness to destroy the evidence, he had been quick-witted enough to salvage the storage treasures on those four old fellows.

"The wealth of four Mystic Immortal experts, and from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans who occupied the position of overlords in the Primordial Land—just how many heavenly treasures must be inside?"

Lu Changsheng rubbed his hands together, though he did not rush to take out the storage bags.

One who follows the Dao of Cowardice must act with caution at every step.

"The foundations of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans are unfathomable. Even though these remnants are dead, who knows if they left behind any vicious blood curses or hidden traps meant to drag an enemy down with them on their storage treasures?"

"Better safe than sorry."

Lu Changsheng stood up and walked to the open space in the center of his cave abode.

With a wave of his hand, three hundred and sixty formation flags flew out from his sleeves.

As his magic power surged, the Nine Palaces Spirit-Trapping Array, designed specifically to isolate auras and wear down restrictions, took shape on the ground.

Only after finishing this did he cautiously toss the four storage bags, stained with dried blood, into the center of the array.

"Same old rules: sanitize first, then open the blind box."

Lu Changsheng opened his mouth and exhaled a ball of Pure Yang Fire, directly enveloping the four storage bags and beginning to roast them slowly and meticulously.

This roasting lasted for a full thirty years.

It was not until the bloody stench on the surface of the four storage bags had been completely incinerated, and even the faint traces of Primordial Spirit imprints left behind had been burned into nothingness by the Pure Yang Fire, that Lu Changsheng finally retracted the flames with satisfaction.

"Rise!"

Through the array, he flicked his finger.

The openings of the four storage bags burst wide open, and a multicolored treasure light instantly shot into the sky, illuminating the entire cave abode.

"Clatter—"

Items like a small mountain poured out from the storage bags, filling the open space in the center of the array.

Lu Changsheng's breath hitched instantly.

"I'm rich..."

His golden eyes reflected the glittering treasures covering the ground, and his voice trembled with extreme excitement.

He spread his divine sense, scanning carefully through the mountain of spoils.

The bottom layer consisted of mountains of low-grade and mid-grade immortal stones, numbering in the millions.

Although these immortal stones were of little use for his own cultivation now, they were indispensable top-tier consumables for setting up large-scale arrays and powering array hubs.

With this batch of immortal stones, even if his three-thousand-layer Mysterious Yellow Pure Yang Array ran at full power for one hundred thousand years, he would not have to worry about the spiritual energy running dry.

Above the pile of immortal stones lay dozens of magic treasures exuding impressive pressure.

Lu Changsheng pulled a few over from a distance to examine them closely.

"Three low-grade acquired defensive armors. Although they are a bit damaged, the material is the rare Abyssal Cold Iron. After some smelting, they will be perfect for reinforcing the stone gate of the cave abode."

"Five mid-grade acquired killing swords... the Sha Qi is too heavy, and they are prone to attracting karma. I'll seal them away for now; if I ever need to set up a killing array in an emergency, they can serve as the array eyes."

As Lu Changsheng took inventory, he meticulously planned the uses for these magic treasures in his mind.

But soon, his gaze was drawn to a pile of jade boxes emitting a rich medicinal fragrance.

These were the collections of four Mystic Immortals!