Treasure Jade

Over the course of three days, Xu Yan adapted to this strange yet familiar new world.

Every evening at the hour of the Rooster, a dragon's roar would rise from the depths of Dragon Spine Mountain, seizing the souls of all who heard it.

According to the discussions of the Immortal Inn cultivators, this was a sign that the Immortal Treasury was about to open.

Inside his inn room, Xu Yan sat upright on a meditation cushion with his eyes shut. He was practicing the method of breathing in and exhaling Mystic Qi; his chest and abdomen rose and fell with each breath, slow and long.

With every inhalation and exhalation, clear spiritual qi emerged and swirled around his body. The hems of his Daoist robe fluttered endlessly without wind. This was a sign that his Mystic Qi was full to the brim.

After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn out, Xu Yan suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes.

Xu Yan felt a current of Mystic Qi settle into his dantian. It was as though some shackle had broken through, and surprise immediately appeared on his face. "My cultivation has reached the ninth level of Qi Exhalation."

Great Cang Qi-Breathing Method—the cultivation method that Daoist had taught him back then. Throughout the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, Qi Exhalation methods were not divided into superior or inferior grades, but the Pulse Opening methods that followed Qi Exhalation were of paramount importance.

Having cultivated this method to the ninth level, Xu Yan felt that the mana within his body had become exceedingly abundant. He could already attempt Pulse Opening.

But where was he supposed to obtain a Pulse Opening method? That was a major problem.

"I have no master or elder to guide me, so I do not know what my physique and innate bones are like, nor what sort of Pulse Opening method I am suited to cultivate. If I take the wrong path here, it will be troublesome."

As Xu Yan pondered this, he sorted through the original owner's memories and discovered that the former owner had also been troubled by this matter all along.

All things in the world were born from turbidity, yet cultivators who sought immortality had to first cast off that turbidity.

From the moment humans were born, they ate the five grains and drew in all manner of qi, all of which carried acquired turbidity. This turbidity gathered into veins, becoming "turbid veins." From the Baihui point atop the head to the dantian, they spread through the limbs, bones, extraordinary sinews, and eight meridians.

Qi Exhalation and Pulse Opening, broadly speaking, were the two realms of shedding one's mortal body and remaking one's bones, casting away the body of an ordinary mortal.

Trying to empty his mind, Xu Yan sank his divine sense into his body.

Vaguely, he seemed to see a "mountain range" running through heaven and earth. It was murky and turbid, rippling with mist, and seemed to carry traces of blood qi.

"What kind of vein manifestation is this? Could it be a blood-qi spirit vein? Am I suited for the path of body refinement?"

With wild thoughts running through his mind, Xu Yan rose from the meditation cushion.

He was, after all, only a half-baked Mystic Gate practitioner. Plum Blossom Qimen also contained methods for observing vein manifestations, but the former owner's foundation of knowledge in this area was insufficient. Even if he could use divine sense to observe his own spirit veins, he could not accurately determine what kind of vein manifestation it was.

There were "vein-observing practitioners" in the Immortal Inn as well, but their fees were frighteningly high. Xu Yan touched his shriveled Qiankun Bag; he did not have nearly enough, much less the costly Pulse Opening methods.

"Without wealth, cultivation makes every step arduous."

Xu Yan thought to himself. Relying on nothing but that half-baked Mystic Gate art, when would he ever save up enough spirit stones?

Xu Yan rose from the meditation cushion.

He casually took out the Great Banner engraved with [Wondrous Method Mystic Gate, Heaven-Divining Trigram Inquiry] and walked out of the inn.

He still had to set up his stall.

After all, this was currently his only source of income.

Langya Immortal Inn spanned nearly a hundred li in every direction. Crowds flowed like rivers along the great roads, and the clamor never ceased.

"Flower Shifting Scripture? This is the Immortal Jade Sect's top-tier Pulse Opening method, isn't it? How did it end up in your hands?"

Someone spoke in a voice filled with alarm and uncertainty. "Did you kill a true disciple of the Immortal Jade Sect?"

As Xu Yan passed a stall, he saw more than a dozen people crowded around it, making a constant racket.

He immediately stopped, put away the Great Banner in his hand, and craned his head to look.

Many rare treasures lay upon the stall, dazzling the eye. Its owner was a youth with a cool expression. Judging by his appearance, he had not yet reached the age of twenty.

A crowd surrounded his stall, pointing and gesturing as they discussed it heatedly.

"Daoist brother, aren't you afraid that people from the Immortal Jade Sect will come looking for you?"

Before the stall owner could speak, someone else answered for him with a laugh. "This is the territory of the Taiyuan Divine Sect. The Immortal Jade Sect's people would not dare come here, would they?"

"That is true enough. No wonder this man dares to openly sell these things."

Listening to their chatter, the stall owner was clearly growing impatient. He frowned and said, "Are you buying or not? If not, get out of the way! Do not obstruct my business."

As soon as he spoke, half the onlookers dispersed. A few, however, still crouched down and examined the items.

Xu Yan's gaze swept across the goods on the stall when he suddenly felt heat in his palms. With a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw that the Miaoyuan Edict on both his palms had faintly emerged.

"This Edict Script!"

Xu Yan's heart stirred, but he did not reveal anything.

He sent his divine sense into the Edict Script in his palm.

The Edict Script seemed to come alive. Upon contact with his divine sense, it began to tremble.

The sensation was strange, like tossing a stone into water and watching ripples spread outward in widening rings.

Xu Yan could feel his divine sense being slowly drawn away.

It was not much, but it was indeed being depleted.

The ripples silently spread to the youth's stall, as though they had touched something.

The next instant, several ancient characters surfaced within his sea of consciousness.

Xu Yan struggled to make them out.

[Primordial Yin Treasure Jade]

His gaze fell upon a milky-white jade pendant on the stall.

The jade pendant appeared utterly ordinary. If not for the Edict Script's guidance, he would never have given it a second glance.

Xu Yan suppressed the stormy waves in his heart and pointed at the jade pendant, asking in an even voice, "What is this jade pendant, and what does it do?"

The stall owner glanced at Xu Yan, then made a grasping motion with one hand. Mystic Qi seized the jade pendant into his palm. After sensing it for a moment, he said expressionlessly, "I do not know. But since it belonged to a true disciple of the Immortal Jade Sect, it must not be an ordinary object. If you want it, twenty high-grade spirit stones."

This man truly had killed a true disciple of the Immortal Jade Sect!

The Immortal Jade Sect was located in the heart of Cang Province. Though it could not compare to the Taiyuan Divine Sect, it was still one of the foremost great sects.

"Too expensive."

Xu Yan shook his head and prepared to leave.

The stall owner paused, then added, "How much can Daoist brother offer?"

Xu Yan raised five fingers. "Five high-grade spirit stones."

At this, the stall owner knitted his brows tightly and remained silent. Seeing this, Xu Yan added, "Daoist brother, this is all the spirit stones I have. This item's origins are improper, and you do not know what it is for. What is the point of keeping it?"

"You know what this item does?" the stall owner asked.

Xu Yan shook his head. Looking at him, he calmly said, "Daoist brother, are you selling it or not?"

"Fine. It is yours."

The stall owner seemed too lazy to ask further. He tossed the jade pendant to Xu Yan, who caught it casually. Then, in one sweep, Xu Yan drew all his spirit stones from his Qiankun Bag: four flawless high-grade spirit stones, along with more than a dozen low-grade spirit stones of mixed quality, enough to make up one more.

After putting away the jade pendant, Xu Yan strolled off without haste.

Afterward, Xu Yan wandered among the stalls and several shops for quite some time.

Yet the Edict Script in his palm showed no response. Xu Yan grew increasingly irritated until he stopped before an opulent pavilion.

The Edict Script in his palm emerged once more.

This was the largest Treasure Pavilion in Langya Immortal Inn. What the Edict Script was pointing toward was the pavilion's prized treasure: a jade ruler. It was a century-old [Spirit-Born Artifact]!

A Spirit-Born Artifact was the highest grade among Foundation Establishment Path artifacts. Artifacts that gave birth to spiritual intelligence often required exceedingly rare materials and unique forging methods, and only after being refined by a Purple Palace True Person could they possibly come into being.

Thus, Xu Yan was even more astonished. This Edict Script probably only responded to treasures of a certain grade.

That jade pendant could actually be mentioned in the same breath as a Spirit-Born Artifact. Its value was clearly extraordinary.

"I have to find out what exactly this jade pendant is and what it does first!"

If this thing was a treasure, it was probably worth quite a bit of money. Then he would have the cultivation resources needed for Pulse Opening.

More importantly, with the Miaoyuan Edict by his side, would he need to fear being unable to find treasures in the future?

Thoughts raced endlessly through Xu Yan's mind.

He hurried back to the inn without stopping, shut his room door tightly, and immediately took out the jade pendant.