Looking at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, dazzling with precious light, Chu Qing could not stop marveling.
Ning Changqiu continued his explanation:
"Back then, our ancestor Ning Rongrong left behind nine such glazed treasure embryos in all."
"If a Soul Master with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda absorbs one, their Martial Soul can evolve into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"If other Soul Masters absorb one, although it won't evolve their Martial Souls, they'll gain a 90% boost to all attributes. It's equivalent to having an eight-ring Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master supporting them at all times."
"Really?"
It was so heaven-defying that Chu Qing couldn't help asking.
"It's true."
Ning Changqiu spoke with absolute certainty.
"Over the past ten thousand years, our Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has used eight of the treasure embryos, whether because a genius appeared or because of outside enemies."
"Unfortunately, no one has ever managed to repeat our ancestor Ning Rongrong's feat of becoming a god."
"This is now the last glazed treasure embryo remaining."
"We're giving it to you in the hope that you can become another person to ascend to godhood after ten thousand years."
"Because we believe you have the greatest potential to become a god."
This nine-colored glazed treasure embryo was immensely valuable, far surpassing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and Soul Ring.
Brilliant colored light reflected in Chu Qing's eyes, and he couldn't resist reaching out.
Yet in an instant, his hand pulled back beyond his control.
Ning Changqiu and the others looked utterly astonished.
Chu Qing himself found it rather strange. What had just happened?
His hand had pulled back of its own accord, and in a daze, he had also seemed to see something like spider silk.
Could the Man Faced Demon Spider Emperor's external finger bone have a warning function too?
Looking at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile treasure embryo before him, he couldn't help swallowing.
"Young friend, is there a problem?"
There was even a hint of restrained anger in Ning Changqiu's voice.
Beside him, Wu Feng's grandmother looked even more displeased, clenching her fists as she held herself back.
This treasure embryo was an inheritance that was practically an object of faith to their Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. If they had not grown increasingly weak, and if Chu Qing had not been so exceptional, they would have taken it to their graves even if their entire sect had been wiped out.
And now that Chu Qing was acting this way, could he still suspect them of plotting to harm him?
If so, he was truly insulting them!
Chu Qing stared at it longingly, then reached out again and snapped the lid shut. Composing himself, he said:
"Sect Master Ning, this is too valuable."
"It's an inheritance left by your ancestor. No matter what, it shouldn't be my turn to use it as an outsider."
"I'm deeply grateful, but I absolutely cannot accept it."
"You spoke of becoming a god, but since you've already used it eight times without succeeding, that proves this treasure embryo is merely the icing on the cake, not the key to becoming a god."
"If I really can become a god, it'll make no difference whether I have this glazed treasure embryo or not."
"If I can't become a god, then for the regard your esteemed sect has shown me today, I'll still ensure your prosperity for several hundred years."
Ning Changqiu immediately calmed down and said apologetically:
"Sorry you had to see me lose my composure, young friend."
"This treasure embryo really does mean a great deal to our sect. It represents that unparalleled glory from ten thousand years ago, as well as the efforts of every Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect disciple through the generations."
"What it means to us can't be explained in a sentence or two, because the verses of its story were written over ten thousand years."
"I value it more than my own life. I chose to entrust it to you today, and although you didn't accept it, everyone in our sect will still be willing to give their lives for you in the future."
Chu Qing nodded:
"Don't worry, Sect Master Ning. I won't let a single drop of your blood be shed in vain either."
They continued discussing the details of their cooperation until they finally finished, and Chu Qing left with copies of the original records of the Battle of the Two Gods from ten thousand years ago.
He was uneasy all the way back, constantly plagued by an ominous premonition.
After all, Tang San had taken the entire first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils up with him, and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile treasure embryo just now had been left behind by Ning Rongrong.
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Even if he found one lying around, he wouldn't dare absorb it.
Back at the Soul Fighting Society, they began looking through the records, preparing to use them to make Soul Fighting Cards.
As Xue Shiqi and the others read, they repeatedly exclaimed over the legendary stories of Tang San and his companions.
The story of rising from a useless Blue Silver Grass to godhood was very much to their taste. After all, their Martial Souls weren't all that good either, and deep down they hoped to see the day when they could shine too.
Chu Qing read a little along with them. It was broadly the same as he remembered.
However, since these were the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's records, the wording naturally favored them. That was what people meant when they said the winner became king and the loser was branded a bandit.
After they had worked on it together for an hour, Xue Shiqi and Li Zhongyuan were like men possessed, so Chu Qing left them to it. He wasn't very interested in this series of cards.
He went to the rear courtyard to cultivate, and in the blink of an eye, the moon was already above the willow branches.
He held out his hand and formed a strand of spider silk, letting it drift.
As he pondered, his pupils suddenly contracted. The strand of silk drifting in the wind above his hand had abruptly risen upright.
He clearly wasn't controlling it, yet the spider silk guided his hand to trace a string of characters in the air:
"You've already realized I exist, haven't you?"
"You're not that stupid after all."
"I won't hide it from you anymore. I'll tell you: I'm the Will of the Plane."
Chu Qing was shaken beyond words. Finding that he could move his hand on his own again, he wrote a question in the air:
"What did you do to me!"
"So I'm the puppet?"
Before he could give it much thought, the Will of the Plane quickly took control of his hand again and wrote in the air:
"Don't be so nervous. Although I'm the Will of the Plane, there's only so much I can interfere with. I can't control you directly. I'm only contacting you through the Man Faced Spider Emperor's external finger bone."
"To make a long story short, you're the child of fortune I've pushed into the open. Your task is to cover for the real child of fortune in the shadows."
"As for the details, you don't need to do anything, and I won't place any restraints on you. On the contrary, I'll give you resources. You only need to keep going until you become a god, then take the false fortune of the world with you and enter the Divine Realm."
A piece in the open? A piece in the shadows?
Chu Qing wrote in the air:
"Huo Yuhao?"
"So you were afraid Tang San wouldn't notice me, and that's why you gave me an Azure Soul Ring?"
"Haven't you read the book? Why are you asking me?"
Looking at the words the Will of the Plane had traced in the air, Chu Qing was startled again. Did that mean he had come to the Douluo Continent because there was a "Will of the Plane that had read the book"?
For a moment, many thoughts ran through his mind. Finally, he wrote in the air:
"How is the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, now? Has Tang Wutong's divine sense been implanted in her?"
Wang Qiu'er had been one of his favorite characters when he was in his original world.
"It's been cleared away. I've set things right again. She and Huo Yuhao are guided by fate and destined to find their way to each other."
"Unfortunately, I also exposed my existence in the process."
Chu Qing gritted his teeth in anger and wrote furiously in the air:
"Can't you leave Wang Qiu'er for me?"
"Are you sure?"
"She's the child of fortune of the Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest. I won't let her die again, and I won't let her leave either."
"Are you sure you want to stay on the Douluo Continent for the rest of your life?"
That brought Chu Qing to heel. Comparing the two, he felt he loved himself more after all.
"Then there shouldn't be a problem if I sleep with her once, right?"
As he wrote in the air, the spider silk that had been drifting skyward immediately fell. Chu Qing tried for a long time to make contact, but received no response at all.
The Will of the Plane had angrily cut the connection, but soon calmed down again, thinking that only poison could fight poison.