Journey to the Treasure Pavilion: Before Entering Seclusion for Breakthrough

Jing Hongchen stepped aside to let Yan Hongchen enter first. The moment Yan Hongchen stepped into the Treasure Pavilion, his gaze sharpened slightly. The place was even more spacious than he had imagined.

Tall storage shelves lined all four walls, their contents sorted into different categories. Every item was covered in a faint aura of soul power, like sleeping stars in the dim space, quietly waiting to be awakened.

Jing Hongchen followed him in, his gentle voice coming from behind. "Xiao Yan, take your time. There's no rush. Pick until you find what you want."

Standing in the center of the Treasure Pavilion, Yan Hongchen looked around, his gaze sweeping past shelf after shelf of treasures. He did not immediately start choosing. Instead, he closed his eyes and conducted a full-scale inspection.

The air was filled with the mingled scents of all kinds of heavenly treasures—crisp, rich, gentle, sharp. Countless sensations intertwined like a silent symphony.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, turned around, and looked at Jing Hongchen by the entrance. "Grandpa, help me identify and recommend some things. There's too much here for me to look through alone, and I don't know what would truly suit me."

Jing Hongchen looked at him, satisfaction flashing through his eyes. The boy had his own ideas, yet did not stubbornly overestimate himself. He nodded, walked in, and stood beside Yan Hongchen in the Treasure Pavilion.

"Alright, Grandpa will look with you. But in the end, what you choose is still up to you."

Yan Hongchen acknowledged him and headed for the first row of storage shelves. He already had some idea of what he needed; he had thoroughly studied the first stage of Return-to-Origin Body Forging.

Now, he had to begin collecting the corresponding Five Elements materials. He already possessed one of them: the Essence of Ren Water hidden inside that Gathering Source Crystal Crab conch. Now, he needed to see whether he could find the other four.

Yan Hongchen first headed toward the medicinal herb section. Rows of jade boxes were neatly arranged on the shelves, each with a small label listing its name, age, and origin.

His gaze slowly swept over them before suddenly stopping on a special lotus. Its flower was divided into two colors: one half was pure white as snow, while the other was black as ink. The two were clearly distinct, yet perfectly united.

The lotus heart was pale gold. Looking closely, he could see two currents of aura slowly circulating between the two colors, like two streams flowing side by side through the same riverbed without interfering with one another.

Yan Hongchen's heart stirred. During this period, he had studied a little about yin-yang and the Five Elements. The Essence of Ren Water belonged to Yang Water, and he keenly sensed that the lotus's two colors corresponded to Jia and Yi Wood, with the two existing in astonishing balance.

Water gave rise to wood, and wood gave rise to fire. To bring water and fire into harmony, perhaps wood was needed as a bridge, as a medium. This lotus happened to fit his requirements perfectly.

The main issue was that Yan Hongchen could not figure out the principle of reversal at the extreme. For now, he could only find another path. Ever since Snow Empress had mentioned taking another path, the methods he chose had become increasingly strange as well.

He turned to Jing Hongchen and pointed at the lotus. "Grandpa, what is this lotus? Snow Empress gave me some snow lotus seeds, but they feel completely different from this."

Jing Hongchen followed his finger, his gaze falling on the two-colored lotus. A look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes. "This is a Yin-Yang Wood Lotus."

He spoke slowly, his tone carrying a trace of emotion. "It was harvested from the depths of the Evil Forest. Back then, I led a team in for training and happened to discover it at the edge of a swamp filled with miasma. We guarded it for three days and three nights, only daring to pick it after it had fully stabilized."

He paused before adding, "This one is of the same grade as the ten-thousand-year snow lotus your mother once consumed. They are both at the ten-thousand-year level. But the Yin-Yang Wood Lotus has a different use. It is not meant to directly raise soul power, but to harmonize."

"Strictly speaking, it was meant to be saved for your sister. When ice and fire clash, it can serve as an intermediate medium, allowing the two conflicting forces to find a point of balance."

After hearing that, Yan Hongchen's eyes brightened slightly. Harmonization—this was exactly what he needed. It was just that this had been meant for Meng Hongchen...

"If Xiao Yan wants it for research, he can take it." Jing Hongchen saw his interest.

"If we need more, I'll go look for them. This thing hasn't actually gone extinct yet. I even heard some news about it this time."

"Alright, then I'll take it. Please find a few more, Grandpa." Yan Hongchen nodded. He did not stand on ceremony; he could make up for it later.

If he succeeded in cultivating it, this entire system could actually be applied to Meng Hongchen as well.

Jing Hongchen told Yan Hongchen to continue choosing. Yan Hongchen lingered by the medicinal shelves, and before long, his attention was drawn to a dark-red piece of jade.

The jade was roughly the size of a fist, its entirety a deep blood-red, as though something within it was slowly flowing.

He leaned closer and faintly sensed a trace of warmth. "Grandpa, what about this?"

Jing Hongchen walked over and glanced at it, his tone turning somewhat grave. "This is Heartblood Jade. It was extracted from the heart of a fire-attributed soul beast. When that kind of soul beast is near death, all the blood in its body gathers toward its heart, eventually condensing into a piece of jade like this."

"It is said that one of our family's ancestors suffered from heart failure, and relied on the heartblood of this soul beast to nourish himself. This piece was formed from the remaining blood that finally solidified back then, and it has been preserved until now."

Yan Hongchen thoughtfully touched the jade. He could feel a warm energy within it, one carrying the aura of life. This jade would be greatly beneficial for nurturing his heart. "I'll take it."

Jing Hongchen nodded. In his view, it was indeed suitable for Yan Hongchen to take this jade, just in case.

Yan Hongchen examined the items one by one, but did not find anything else that made his eyes light up or gave him that sudden impulse.

He turned to another row of shelves, which held soul beast materials. His gaze landed on an amber-colored block about the size of his palm. Its surface was smooth and gleamed with an oily luster, and a faint fishy fragrance could be smelled from it.

Yan Hongchen had heard of it. It was a byproduct Liu Yueming had obtained when she hunted a whale-type soul beast for her sixth soul ring.

Twenty-thousand-year whale gelatin possessed extremely tyrannical medicinal potency. With his current body, he did not even dare touch it. Its side effects were too severe, and consuming it rashly would only damage his meridians.

However, there was also some thousand-year whale gelatin beside it. Although its quality was somewhat inferior, it was gentler. He took one-fifth of it. That would be enough to nourish his body.

Next was the metal materials section. Yan Hongchen did not linger there for long. Rows of metal blocks gleamed in different colors beneath the lights—some silver-white as frost, some crimson as flames, and some black as ink.

His gaze slowly passed over them before suddenly settling. A pale-blue metal rested quietly on the shelf, looking entirely unremarkable.

But upon closer inspection, one would find threadlike golden patterns winding through the pale-blue base, gorgeous and mysterious.

Yan Hongchen's breathing caught slightly. He recognized this metal: the "Golden Water Intercontainment" from the legends of Soul Land III, an exceptionally rare medium-type metal.

"Grandpa, come over for a moment." He called out, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. "What is this metal?"

Jing Hongchen walked over. The moment he lowered his head to look, his gaze softened as well. He gently stroked the metal, his movements light and careful, as though touching a priceless heirloom.

"This is the heirloom treasure of our Hongchen Family, called 'Golden Water.'" His voice lowered, carrying the solemnity unique to one who inherited a family legacy.

"It is compatible with every other metal and can merge with any metal, becoming part of it. Its greatest use is as a medium. It can allow any metals to merge together, without distinction between them."

He paused, his gaze remaining on the metal as though recalling something from long ago. "But it is far too rare. Across the continent, I could not find a second piece. That is why Grandpa never dared use it lightly, afraid of wasting its value."

"Our family's soul skill, 'Golden Affinity,' was actually obtained after our ancestor gained insight from this metal's fusion properties and then sought out a suitable soul ring."

Yan Hongchen listened silently, unable to calm the waves surging in his heart. Of course he knew the value of "Golden Water Intercontainment." He had never expected the Hongchen Family to possess a piece.

But on second thought, when it came to authority over metals, the Hongchen Family had a voice throughout the entire Sun Moon Empire. It was not all that surprising for them to possess such a family heirloom.

"Grandpa." He gathered his thoughts and looked up. "Could you help me design a spatial bottle that can store living creatures? The kind that can be opened and closed."

"I want to try cultivating some snow lotuses with my water-element soul power. Otherwise, the snow lotus seeds Snow Empress gave me would be useless just sitting around. It could count as contributing something to the family..."

He paused, his tone turning more serious. "Also, it needs to be well sealed. Mom's sea of spirit will eventually gather again, but before we break the ice seal, we'll need to temporarily relocate that newly formed sea of spirit. Making a container in advance would be preparation for any eventuality."

After hearing him out, Jing Hongchen did not ask further questions. Though Yan Hongchen's requests were somewhat strange, each had its reasons. He nodded. "All right. Grandpa will design it for you. Keep looking. Take whatever materials you need."

Yan Hongchen answered and continued wandering through the treasure vault. There was not much that would be useful to him.

He had finished looking through the medicinal herbs. He had not found any of the legendary immortal herbs, but there was no hurry; he would have a chance to visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well later.

As for metals, aside from the Gold of Life, Ice Extremity Divine Crystal, and the mutually complementary Golden Water, nothing else he recognized stood out in particular.

As for soul tools, he planned to begin learning how to make them himself after the Soul Master Tournament ended. For now, the only thing he truly wanted was that spatial bottle.

He stood where he was and looked around, only letting out a long breath after confirming that he had not missed anything.

"All right, Grandpa." He turned and walked toward Jing Hongchen. "I won't be able to use that much for the time being. This is enough. Next, I think I'll need to enter seclusion and cultivate properly."

Stopping before Jing Hongchen, he looked at him earnestly and sincerely. "I'll have to trouble Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle Yue with everything else."

"Also, please keep an eye out for any unusual people at the Soul Master Tournament. There's someone named... Zhang Lexuan. Once the tournament is over, I'll tell you why."

Jing Hongchen took a storage soul tool from his sleeve and carefully placed Yan Hongchen's chosen items inside, one by one. His movements were unhurried and meticulous.

At last, he handed the storage soul tool to Yan Hongchen and gently pressed his palm against the back of Yan Hongchen's hand. "Everything you wanted is in there. There are also a few of Grandpa's personal treasures. I've given those to you as well. Keep them safe."

He paused, his gaze settling on Yan Hongchen's face, his voice steady and gentle. "As for the person you mentioned, I'll have Elder Ma pay close attention during the Soul Master Tournament."

"It's fine to wait until after the tournament. Perhaps that trip to the Extreme North made you wary, and you're keeping some secrets. Grandpa knows you don't want us to take risks so easily again."

He withdrew his hand and straightened up. "That's enough for now. Get some proper rest first. I've prepared martial soul mimicry cultivation rooms for you. During this time, all of you should focus on cultivation and ignore everything else."

Yan Hongchen put away the storage soul tool, looked deeply at Jing Hongchen, then bent at the waist and gave him a solemn bow. "Thank you, Grandpa."

Jing Hongchen waved his hand without saying more. The two left the treasure vault one after the other. He escorted Yan Hongchen to his door, and only turned away after watching him push it open and enter.

The soft soul-tool lights along the corridor went out one by one, leaving only a few night lamps lit, casting warm halos through the darkness.