The hall was simply furnished, with only a stone table.
At the center of the stone table sat Xingtian's head!
Its eyes were tightly shut, locked within an enigmatic seal, yet it still radiated an overwhelming, unyielding fighting spirit!
Three immortal peaches rested on the left side of the stone table.
The immortal peaches had purple patterns and yellowish pits, their rosy glow spilling outward as their fragrance filled the air!
"Nine-thousand-year Purple-Pattern Flat Peaches!"
Jiang Yun recognized them at a glance!
These were treasures of Yaochi in the Heavenly Court!
Back when the Dao Ancestor conferred titles upon the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother, he had divided the Supreme Primordial Spiritual Root, the Peach Tree, and bestowed it upon the Queen Mother.
There were varieties that ripened every three thousand years, six thousand years, and nine thousand years!
The nine-thousand-year variety was the highest grade!
A mortal who ate one could become an immortal on the spot, escape the Five Declines of Heaven and Man, and enjoy an immeasurable lifespan!
Even cultivators could greatly increase their cultivation with one!
Even at the Peach Banquet, only great experts at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal level or above were qualified to enjoy one.
"This is Haotian's reward for me as the intermediary!"
Jiang Yun immediately understood.
The Witch Race had given him a drop of Great Witch Blood Essence. As the Great Celestial Worthy of the Three Realms, how could Haotian possibly be stingy?
He had thought that was everything.
But when Jiang Yun's gaze fell upon the right side of the stone table, his pupils suddenly contracted!
There lay a simple ancient treasure mirror, entirely crimson!
Innate Dao Resonance flowed across the mirror, and a terrifying aura of ultimate hardness and yang surged toward him!
"This... this is... a Xiantian Spiritual Treasure!"
A Middle-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure...
The Great Sun Purple Sun Mirror!
It contained twenty-six Xiantian Divine Restrictions. Even among Middle-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasures, it was considered superior in quality!
With a single shine of the mirror, Great Sun Purple Fire would engulf the target, specifically suppressing demons and evil beings and excelling in slaughter!
Jiang Yun secretly sighed in admiration. He knew Haotian wished to forge a favor with him.
Yet he had never expected the Jade Emperor to be so generous!
With a single move, he had gifted a top-tier Middle-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure!
"This favor... is too weighty!"
Jiang Yun knew that if he refused at this moment,
he would be making an enemy of Haotian!
That would truly be failing to appreciate kindness and treating goodwill as ill intent.
He immediately drew a deep breath and did not reach for the treasures right away.
Instead, facing the stone table, he respectfully bowed three times!
"This humble Daoist, Jiang Yun, is deeply grateful for the Great Celestial Worthy's gift today!"
"If there is ever a demolition to be done in the future, I will certainly give it my all!"
These bows carried extraordinary significance!
Outside the hall earlier, he had addressed Haotian by his immensely long full honorific title!
That had been the respect of a subordinate toward a superior!
Now, he merely called him "Great Celestial Worthy"!
It seemed less respectful than before, but in truth, he was deliberately revealing his closeness!
Only after bowing did Jiang Yun step forward. With a sweep of his sleeve, he collected Xingtian's head, the three flat peaches, and the Great Sun Purple Sun Mirror!
He left the ancient hall!
The gains from this trip far exceeded Jiang Yun's expectations.
"Haotian's favor, the Witch Race's Karma..."
Jiang Yun understood everything clearly and was about to leave this secret realm.
Buzz—!
His heart suddenly trembled!
A powerful premonition surged into his mind!
"Hmm?"
Jiang Yun immediately stopped, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
"Heavenly Derivation Art, activate!"
He immediately formed hand seals and began deriving the heavenly secrets!
A moment later, a smile appeared on Jiang Yun's face!
"A sign of great fortune!"
"There's actually such a tremendous opportunity waiting for me in this secret realm?!"
Without hesitation, Jiang Yun turned and followed the guidance of the Heavenly Derivation Art toward another ley line within the secret realm.
He arrived at an unremarkable basin. Jiang Yun's magic power surged as he blasted directly at the ground!
Rumble—!
The earth cracked open, and Jiang Yun continued descending!
He dug downward for a full hundred miles!
Then his view suddenly opened up!
A vast underground cavern appeared before him!
Boom—!
Before he could even approach, dense deathly aura, so concentrated it was nearly tangible, erupted into the sky like a volcanic explosion!
This deathly aura was cold and silent, completely different from the savage brutality brought by Xingtian's baleful aura!
"What pure deathly aura!"
Bold from his great skill, Jiang Yun flew straight into the cavern.
At the center of the cavern stood a divine tree, entirely black and wreathed in endless deathly aura!
"This is... a spiritual root!"
Jiang Yun recognized at once that it was definitely a Xiantian Spiritual Root!
After thinking for a while, Jiang Yun recalled a record from the miscellaneous chronicles he had read earlier.
"A High-grade Xiantian Spiritual Root... the Mystic Yang Fruit Tree!"
This was clearly a top-tier High-grade Xiantian Spiritual Root!
This tree bloomed once every ten thousand years, bore fruit once every ten thousand years, and matured once every ten thousand years!
Each harvest yielded nine Mystic Yang Fruits!
Its fruits contained life force of the utmost density, capable of reviving the dead and restoring flesh to bare bones!
Most precious of all, these fruits were exceptionally effective at healing injuries to the Primordial Spirit!
This was not the sort of herb used to treat mortals!
It was used to treat the Dao injuries of immortals, practically equivalent to a second life.
In the outside world of the Primordial World, even Grand Unity Golden Immortals would fight until their heads bled over such precious treasures!
"What a pity..."
Jiang Yun shook his head slightly.
This spiritual root had been suppressed beneath Changyang Mountain for who knew how many years.
It had long been contaminated by the endless baleful aura and the deathly aura of this place.
Its entire body was steeped in deathly silence, with no vitality left at all.
"From life to death, yet within this deathly aura lies a faint trace of yang energy..."
"Now, calling it the 'Silent Sun Fruit Tree' would probably be more fitting."
It had been made by baleful aura and ruined by baleful aura!
Jiang Yun's gaze fell upon the nine pitch-black fruits hanging from the tree, as though they could swallow all light.
Those nine fruits contained the terrifying essence of baleful aura accumulated in this place over countless ages!
To ordinary cultivators, they were deadly poison that would tear apart their insides!
But!
To Jiang Yun, they were the finest treasures for refining Baleful Corpses!
"Hahaha! Heaven truly favors me!"
"These are perfect for refining that Grand Unity Golden Immortal-level Baleful Corpse!"
Jiang Yun laughed loudly and unceremoniously plucked all nine Silent Sun Fruits.
He was just about to uproot the spiritual root and store it within the Mountain River Pearl.
But then his expression shifted.
"Hmm? It has actually already developed a trace of weak intelligence?"
Jiang Yun's heart stirred, and he simply stopped worrying about leaving in a hurry.
He sat down cross-legged beneath the Silent Sun Fruit Tree.
"Since we have met, it is fate. This humble Daoist will enlighten you a little."
Jiang Yun divided his mind in two.
On one side, he recited the true words of the Great Dao, expounding the Dao and demonstrating its principles to the Silent Sun Fruit Tree, helping it awaken its intelligence!
On the other, he took out the corpse of that Grand Unity Golden Immortal fiend, along with the nine Silent Sun Fruits, and began operating the Heavenly Baleful Corpse Refining Method to refine it with all his strength!
The Primordial World did not mark the passing of years.
In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.
On this day!
Boom—!
A peerlessly terrifying pressure erupted from the underground cavern!
Jiang Yun abruptly opened his eyes!
Before Jiang Yun, the Baleful Corpse with its ten-thousand-zhang fiendish body slowly opened its eyes, filled with savagery and submission!
The nine Silent Sun Fruits had been completely consumed!
A Baleful Corpse that had just entered the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm had been successfully refined!
Before you continue