As the system finished speaking, a dazzling golden light appeared in the room. An ancient, boundless aura, as though primordial chaos had just split open, immediately spread through the room.
"Holy crap!"
The powerful aura of creation rushed straight at him. Too weak to withstand it, Han Chen was nearly blown off his feet. He hurriedly crouched and raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling light, looking at the little emerald-green bottle suspended in midair.
As that initial surge of aura dissipated, the room gradually returned to calm, and the little bottle in midair revealed its true form.
A palm-sized emerald-green bottle floated in the air. Ancient spiral patterns covered its surface, flowing like a river of stars. Flowers, birds, fish, and insects were carved into it, and it exuded a vast, primordial air.
"Th-this is... the Heaven-Palm Bottle!"
Han Chen could not have been more familiar with the Little Green Bottle floating in midair. Wasn't this the greatest treasure in the world of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, the source of the entire story? The first Mystic Heaven Treasure born between heaven and earth, the Heaven-Palm Bottle embodied the Daos of space-time and creation. It was also known as the Little Green Bottle.
"It really is the Heaven-Palm Bottle, a one-of-a-kind treasure."
At that moment, Han Chen's eyes went perfectly round. As though possessed, he slowly approached the Little Green Bottle, reached out, and took it with trembling hands, holding it before him for a close look.
To say Han Chen was excited would have been an understatement. Intense joy shot straight to the crown of his head, but he quickly reined it in.
He had already noticed something amiss. Although the Heaven-Palm Bottle had made an extraordinary entrance, now that he held it, it seemed no different from an ordinary porcelain bottle.
After examining it a couple of times, Han Chen confirmed that this was only the Little Green Bottle Han Li had first encountered. It had no bottle spirit.
"It's a stripped-down version. It probably only has the most basic Creation Dew function. Still, even so, it's a treasure rarely found between heaven and earth."
Han Chen was not disappointed. On the contrary, he was quite content. A treasure like this was already more than good enough for him.
After all, the Dou Qi Continent had a profession known as alchemist, and he himself possessed both wood and fire attributes.
Just thinking about it filled Han Chen with excitement.
"Hahahaha! If I don't become a spirit herb wholesaler someday, I'll be letting down the Heaven-Palm Bottle in my hands."
After laughing for a while, Han Chen finally addressed the system.
"System, put the Little Green Bottle away."
"Sorry, I cannot fulfill your request. The Heaven-Palm Bottle is a supreme treasure of heaven and earth with power over space-time. Even for the system, repeatedly storing and retrieving it would cause disruptions, so the system cannot take this treasure back.
However, you may carry it with you without concern. Apart from the tremendous phenomenon produced when the Heaven-Palm Bottle was first drawn from the system's dimension, it is no different from an ordinary bottle at all other times. Powerful individuals will not detect it."
"Is that so? I understand. But aside from the Little Green Bottle, I can't use any of the other things, System. Is there anything else? Didn't you say earlier that I could draw prizes?"
Were the system's rewards generous? There was no doubt about that. But however generous they were, Han Chen could not use them right now. Never mind whether the system could help him subdue the Tiandu Corpse Fire or the Profound Soul Yin Fire-
Even if he did subdue them, with his cultivation at the fourth stage of Dou Qi, he still could not use them! He did not even have a single proper cultivation art.
"I was careless. I should've asked Yanran to find me a couple of cultivation arts before I left. How much will it cost to buy them?
And with all this stuff, are you really trying to make me register as a resident of Extreme Yin Island?"
"Ding! The system offers experience-point prize draws. A basic draw costs one hundred experience points, and an intermediate draw costs one thousand. Advanced draws are not yet available."
Hearing the system's explanation, Han Chen tucked the Little Green Bottle into his robe and rubbed his chin.
"It seems pretty accommodating, but who knows what traps it might have? How about trying a basic draw to test the waters? I've got thirty thousand two hundred points, so that's more than enough. If I really get nothing useful, I'll find another way."
Han Chen approached the system's prize draws with a wait-and-see attitude. After all, luck played far too large a role in drawing prizes, unlike check-ins, which he could control himself.
But this was not Han Chen's only option. He still had two Foundation Establishment Pills. If all else failed, he could sell them. He could not take them now anyway, so he might as well exchange them for money.
"System, give me ten basic draws first."
"Understood. Beginning the draws.
Congratulations, host. You have received: one bottle of Yellow Dragon Pills ×8, 30 gold coins ×2."
"...That's it?"
"That's it!"
Once the system finished speaking, a brilliant light flashed across the table in the room, followed by a pile of gold coins and jade bottles.
Han Chen silently looked at the things on the table and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, I got greedy. I should've gone straight for the intermediate draws. Give me an intermediate draw."
"Understood. Intermediate draw. Deducting experience points now... Congratulations, host. You have received: one bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills ×2, one bottle of Origin Recovery Pills ×2, 1,000 gold coins ×1, Heavenly Spirit Fruit ×1, Spirit Nurturing Pellet recipe ×1, Dou Shi-level puppet ×1, the first two levels of the Great Evolution Art, and the first six levels of the Azure Essence Sword Art."
"Sure enough, you really do get what you pay for. These intermediate rewards aren't even in the same league as the basic ones."
Another brilliant light flashed across the table, and another pile of items appeared, filling it to the brim.
Han Chen stepped forward and rummaged through them. Before long, he found a gold page, a silver page, a booklet, and the Spirit Nurturing Pellet recipe.
"This is..."
Looking at the gold and silver pages in his hands, Han Chen was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the system to include the corresponding method for refining the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. That would save him trouble later.
"No storage pouch? I can't keep relying on the system space either. Looks like I'll have to buy a Storage Ring in a bit."
Having made up his mind, Han Chen first melted the gold and silver pages to extract the Azure Essence Sword Art within. Then he began studying it carefully, intending to switch cultivation arts.
It was not until the sky had gone completely dark that Han Chen exhaled a breath of stale air, opened his eyes, and rose from the bed.
By then, Han Chen's cultivation had reached the seventh stage of Dou Qi, and the Dou Qi in his hand had changed from its original jumble of colors to emerald green.
Looking at the emerald-green Dou Qi in his hand, Han Chen raised his hand and struck a chair in the room, blasting it directly into fragments.
"Having a cultivation art really makes a difference. Even my attacks are much stronger."
Han Chen was very satisfied with his current cultivation. Most of the reason he had broken through so quickly this time was the change in cultivation arts.
After putting everything on the table into the system space, Han Chen draped himself in a black robe and went out. A disguise like this could only fool ordinary people.
Against true experts, it was completely useless unless he had a specialized disguise item or cultivation art, such as Xiao Yan's Cicada-Skin Mask or the Form-Changing Art included in the Profound Yin Art.
Too much disguise would only invite unnecessary trouble instead.
Walking down the street, Han Chen picked someone at random and asked for directions to the Mittel Auction House, then headed toward it.
As a relatively reputable large establishment, it was reasonably trustworthy. And with Xiao Yan's example to go by, his safety should be assured.
"I'll sell one Foundation Establishment Pill first. The system modified this pill, removing its ability to help with Foundation Establishment, but its effects of cleansing the meridians and marrow and stabilizing True Essence are still there.
And the powerful Dou Qi it contains can be used directly for cultivation to raise one's realm, just like Han Li did in the original story."
Before you continue