The Golden Light Daoist's Legacy

"Boom!"

The strange phenomenon in his Dantian continued. The vast surge of energy had come so swiftly that Xu Yan felt as though every meridian in his body might burst.

"Could this be energy released by the Green Pearl?"

Xu Yan formed a guess. A moment ago, he had felt a warmth between his brows before the energy gushed forth. He was certain it had something to do with the Green Pearl.

Soon, he pushed that thought aside. Right now, he needed to devote all his attention to opening his Dantian.

According to the Spirit Guiding Art, once a cultivator drew in enough Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, changes would begin in their Dantian.

At that point, they only needed to follow the cultivation method's instructions and form a vortex of qi within their Dantian to succeed.

Fine beads of sweat covered Xu Yan's forehead. This moment was crucial for him. If he failed to open his Dantian, the energy would run wild and might even threaten his life.

Fortunately, it proved to be a scare without disaster. About two hours later, a faint smile appeared on Xu Yan's face.

Looking inward, he could see a vortex of qi inside his Dantian. He had truly crossed the threshold of cultivation, and a considerable amount of energy remained even after he had successfully opened his Dantian.

Xu Yan immediately rallied his focus. Following the cultivation method's instructions, he absorbed all that energy and slowly converted it into his own magical power.

In the mountains, the years passed uncounted. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had gone by.

Inside the ruined temple.

Xu Yan looked somewhat leaner than he had half a month ago, but his entire bearing had changed completely.

Before, he had looked like a harmless young boy. Now, there was a sharp edge to his presence, giving him the dangerous air of a wild beast.

"According to the beast-hide scroll, I should be at the peak of the First Layer of Qi Refining now!"

Xu Yan murmured to himself, a trace of wonder in his eyes.

Of course, that wonder was directed at the Green Pearl. He was now certain that the energy from half a month ago had come from it. Without the Green Pearl, he had no idea when he would have managed to open his Dantian, let alone reach the peak of the First Layer of Qi Refining.

Having tasted the sweetness of that reward, Xu Yan had spent the past half month dreaming that the Green Pearl would release energy again. Yet it showed no sign of activity. He could not even sense its presence.

During that half month, Xu Yan had made repeated attempts to open the pouch left behind by the Golden Light Daoist.

He had tried every means at his disposal, but still could not open it. Only when he tried channeling magical power into the gray pouch did he discover something.

When Xu Yan channeled his magical power into the pouch, a faint glow lit up around it, and it showed signs of opening. However, his magical power seemed insufficient, and he ultimately failed to open it completely.

Only today had he finished converting all the energy in his Dantian into magical power, bringing his cultivation to the peak of the First Layer of Qi Refining. Xu Yan had a gut feeling that he could finally open the pouch.

With that thought, Xu Yan gently drew the palm-sized gray pouch from inside his robe.

Then, his expression solemn, Xu Yan poured all the magical power in his body into the gray pouch.

"Hum!"

As the magical power flowed into it, the gray pouch immediately began to tremble. A gray glow appeared on its surface, and then a space roughly ten feet on each side appeared before Xu Yan's eyes.

A look of amazement spread across Xu Yan's face. He had never imagined that this unremarkable gray pouch would reveal such an enormous space once opened with magical power.

When he looked inside the pouch, he immediately broke into a grin. The Golden Light Daoist's lifetime collection was all inside.

Xu Yan restrained his excitement and began searching through the treasures the Golden Light Daoist had left behind.

"Hm? What's this?"

A palm-sized, fiery-red jade token caught Xu Yan's eye.

Xu Yan reached out, and the fiery-red jade token landed in his hand.

The moment the fiery-red jade token touched water, it gave off a warmth that made Xu Yan marvel inwardly.

In addition, two characters in ancient seal script were carved into the center of the jade token. Xu Yan examined them carefully and identified them as "Separation Fire."

After a moment's thought, Xu Yan channeled his magical power into the fiery-red jade token.

"Hum."

A faint red glow emanated from the jade token's surface, and then countless tiny, densely packed characters were projected into the air.

Xu Yan studied them closely. Before long, his eyes were full of delight.

This jade token was an introductory item bestowed by the Blazing Fire Sect upon its disciples. Even menial disciples could receive one.

The jade token chiefly recorded the Blazing Fire Sect's history, its rules, and similar matters. It also contained some basic knowledge about the Cultivation World.

That basic knowledge of the Cultivation World was exactly what Xu Yan needed. He belonged to no sect or school and had no cultivation family to shelter him. To him, this knowledge was nothing less than charcoal delivered in the snow.

Only after a full two hours did Xu Yan finish reading through all the basic knowledge about the Cultivation World.

"So this gray pouch is called a Storage Bag. Unfortunately, it's only the lowest grade and can last just a few decades. Once its time is up, it will collapse, and I'll have to replace it."

Xu Yan gave a soft sigh. Through the jade token, he had learned what the gray pouch before him was.

This was the lowest grade of Storage Bag in the Cultivation World, generally usable for only about sixty years. A Storage Bag started out bright yellow, and its color gradually changed the longer it was used. Once it turned gray, that meant it was on the verge of collapse, with only about ten years of useful life remaining.

Moreover, Storage Bags of this kind held little space and were generally found in the hands of rogue cultivators at the bottom of the Cultivation World.

Recalling the information in the Separation Fire Jade Token, Xu Yan sighed inwardly. He had never expected that the Golden Light Daoist, who had seemed so glorious and immortal-like in his eyes, was also someone at the very bottom of the Cultivation World.

After returning the jade token to the Storage Bag, Xu Yan continued taking stock of the Golden Light Daoist's other belongings.

Soon, Xu Yan took out a Golden Cone that radiated a chill.

This was the magical artifact upon which the Golden Light Daoist's fame had rested. Dozens of cultivators had died beneath this Golden Cone, so the moment Xu Yan took it out, he felt a wave of baleful energy rush at his face.

"What a treasure!"

Xu Yan toyed with it for a while, unable to resist an inward word of praise, then returned it to the Storage Bag.

About an incense stick's worth of time later, Xu Yan had nearly finished taking inventory of the Golden Light Daoist's Storage Bag.

"Only seven low-grade spirit stones. This old monster really was poor!"

"Two bottles of low-grade Qi Gathering Pills."

"Three stalks of first-tier spirit herbs."

"Five low-grade Poison Pills."

"Three pieces of female cultivators' undergarments."

Soon, Xu Yan had finished taking stock of every treasure the Golden Light Daoist had left behind. Previously, he would certainly have considered these things an enormous fortune. But now that he had gained a basic understanding of the Cultivation World from the Blazing Fire Sect's jade token, they seemed far too meager!

They hardly seemed like the possessions of a cultivator who had cultivated for nearly a hundred years.

Just as Xu Yan was grumbling inwardly, an item in a hidden corner of the Storage Bag caught his attention.