Chapter 142: Haoxuan’s Bountiful Hoard of Immortal Manor Fortune

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The Ninth Elder shot forward, sending out a stream of spiritual energy to protect the appraising elder’s heart meridian. He snatched the painting away and stuffed a pill into the man’s mouth, saying urgently, “This painting is an offensive-type magical artifact! Quickly regulate your inner breath, lest your sea of qi and dantian be injured.”

After swallowing the pill, the appraising elder immediately sat cross-legged to meditate, and a bit of color returned to his pale face.

The Ninth Elder unrolled the scroll and, steadying his own spirit, began to study the artifact.

A magical artifact! The other disciples looked at each other in shock. The appraising elder had been injured by the artifact’s aura without even being on guard. From the glint that occasionally flashed in the Ninth Elder’s eyes, it was clear that this was no ordinary artifact.

“A magical artifact! A precious one, as valuable as a flying sword! Crafting one can cost hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of spirit stones. Tsk tsk… Xu Yu has certainly struck it rich this time!”

“Aigh, why can’t we ever find such treasures? I really don’t know where she found it. That elder was injured just by its aura; this thing is extraordinary.”

“Do you think the Ninth Elder will return it to her, like he did with Li Jing’s pill?”

“Are you stupid? Our sect has very few magical artifacts. How could they possibly return something so precious? I think they’ll just give her a lot of Contribution Points and be done with it.”

“Will she get more than Zhang Kuang?”

“It’s hard to say. Although artifacts are precious, they can still be refined or bought. But Spirit Liquid is a priceless treasure with no market value. It can be used to refine Lifespan Pills. For us cultivators, while artifacts are valuable, lifespan is the very foundation of cultivation!”

The disciples whispered amongst themselves, their eyes fixed on the Ninth Elder’s face, waiting for him to announce the artifact’s value.

“This magical artifact… will reward Xu Yu with one thousand five hundred Aqueous Manor Contribution Points,” the Ninth Elder announced after some deliberation. He still felt a bit uncertain in his heart; after all, the Taichu Sect had so few artifacts. For now, this reward would have to do. He would report back to the Sect Master later and let him decide on any further compensation.

The documenting elder’s hand trembled once again as he announced in a shaky voice, “Xu Yu, for contributing one magical artifact, is awarded one thousand five hundred Contribution Points! For contributing twenty-two drops of Spirit Liquid, is awarded two hundred and twenty Contribution Points! For a combined total of one thousand seven hundred and twenty Contribution Points!”

“A magical artifact… tsk tsk… and she still got fewer points than Zhang Kuang!”

“I told you, lifespan is the foundation of a cultivator. Without it, having more artifacts is useless.”

“The sect is too shameless. The price to refine an artifact is immense, yet they dismiss her with so few points. Exchanged for spirit stones, it’s only fifteen thousand low-grade stones. That’s not even a fraction of what the artifact is worth!” someone said, indignant on Xu Yu’s behalf.

The moment he finished speaking, the Ninth Elder’s gaze fell upon him. The disciple felt as if he had been punched in the chest. He couldn’t breathe, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, the blow nearly taking his life.

Seeing this, the others all shut their mouths, not daring to speak another word.

Soon, it was Qin Haoxuan’s turn.

In the eyes of the new disciples, the name “Qin Haoxuan” was synonymous with good luck. Although he was only at the First-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm, his ability to kill a Twelfth-Leaf cultivator made many people look forward to his haul from this trip.

“What kind of treasure do you think he’ll take out? Spirit Liquid? A pill? A magical artifact?”

“I bet it’s Spirit Liquid. His luck is so good, maybe he found even more than Zhang Kuang!”

“That’s not certain. Maybe it’s a magical artifact.”

“Hey, it’s very possible he found nothing at all! Do you think Spirit Liquid and artifacts are that easy to find? I don’t see you finding a single drop. I think it’s very likely Qin Haoxuan found nothing.”

“That’s right. No matter how much the heavens favor him, they can’t do it over and over again, can they?”

A group of people behind them speculated, waiting to see what he would produce. Many of them hoped he would have nothing, that his good luck had finally come to an end.

The gazes of Li Jing, Zhang Yang, and Murong Chao all fell upon Qin Haoxuan, wanting to see what surprise he would bring this time.

As Qin Haoxuan and Ye Yiming stepped forward, they could feel many eyes on them. Among them was one gaze that felt like a sharp blade at their backs.

“Disciple Qin Haoxuan and Guiding Senior Brother Ye Yiming found nothing in the Aqueous Manor,” Qin Haoxuan said, bowing to the elders.

The appraising elders didn’t even look up at him; it was very common for disciples to come back empty-handed. The two inspecting elders walked up as a matter of routine and, after scanning them both with their spiritual energy, waved their hands to dismiss them.

Those who were familiar with Qin Haoxuan sighed in surprise. “How is that possible? He didn’t get anything? Has his good luck run out? He’s given us so many surprises before, yet now he’s come out of the manor with nothing to show for it.”

“I told you so! What kind of fated encounter can you expect from someone who chose a disciple from the Nature Hall as his guide?”

“Aigh, what a pity. He just had to offend Chu Xiangzi of the Ancient Cloud Hall and the Unsurpassed Purple Seed Zhang Kuang. In the end, he had no choice but to pick someone from the Nature Hall. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.”

“That was just his dumb luck before. Now that his luck’s run out, he’s back to his original form. What’s there to pity?”

Qin Haoxuan paid no mind to their comments, inwardly celebrating. The things he had asked Xu Yu to hide for him this time were simply too numerous, far exceeding the harvest of any other single person. The Thousand-Mile Mirror, an artifact! He had heard there were only a few in the entire sect. And the Aqueous Manor Token, another artifact, and one that could grant him free entry. With this in his hands, the destiny of the entire manor… was practically his own backyard garden. Adding in his other gains… he was the biggest winner this time.

…

After all the disciples had been checked, the elders were all immersed in the joy of a great harvest. Although the Aqueous Manor had been exceptionally strange and dangerous this year, the rewards were ten times greater than in previous years. The Ninth Elder was simultaneously considering how to report the casualties to the Elder’s Council and the Sect Master, while also reveling in their good fortune.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the calm surface of Sun Moon Lake suddenly began to ripple. Someone shouted, “The Aqueous Manor is closing!”

Qin Haoxuan turned his head to look. The surface of the lake was churning with waves, the sound of the water like thunder. A seven-colored pillar of light shot from the manor into the sky. By now, night was gradually falling upon the land, and the seven-colored pillar of light erupting from the manor seemed especially brilliant and magnificent. After a moment, the passage at the bottom of the lake began to fill with water, and then the manor vanished from sight.

The closing of the Aqueous Manor marked the end of the three-month Trial of the Immortal Path for the new disciples. Recalling all that had happened, and the passing of Pu Hanzhong, Qin Haoxuan let out a soft sigh.

Just then, Ye Yiming suddenly leaned close to him and whispered, “Have you noticed? Someone has been watching us from the shadows.”

Qin Haoxuan nodded. As a Body Tempering cultivator, his senses were quite sharp, and he had also felt a persistent gaze on him. He scanned the area and finally, not far to his right, found the source of the gaze that had been making him so uncomfortable.

Judging by his robes, he was an elder of the sect, but he wore a black-veiled bamboo hat that concealed his face. All that could be seen was that his complexion was deathly pale and his aura was very weak, as if he were injured.

“Senior Brother Ye, do you recognize that elder?”

Ye Yiming replied cautiously in a low voice, “There are so many elders in the sect; it’s impossible for me to know all of them. And we shouldn’t have any connection with him. But why is he staring at us? It’s as if he holds a grudge against us.”

At that moment, Qin Haoxuan and Ye Yiming thought of the same person: “Master Chi Lian!”

They looked at each other, and a chill simultaneously ran down their spines. The Spirit Liquid they had obtained had been stolen from the hands of Wu Yi, who had been controlled by the Ancient Cloud Hall’s Master Chi Lian. Could this person be him?

Among the more than two thousand new disciples, Master Chi Lian had finally found Qin Haoxuan and Ye Yiming. But by the time he found them, they were already in line to be inspected. He couldn’t single them out, because besides the Ninth Elder, many other elders were present.

When Qin Haoxuan and Ye Yiming stepped forward to submit their gains, Master Chi Lian nearly ground his silver teeth to dust. Thinking of the Spirit Liquid that had been taken by Qin Haoxuan, his heart bled.

Damn you! I must find a chance to capture you and grind your bones to dust! You caused me to suffer such a severe injury, cost me ten years of my lifespan, and stole my Spirit Liquid! Master Chi Lian cried out in his heart, but with the Ninth Elder and so many others present, he was powerless. All he could do was glare at Qin Haoxuan with his venomous eyes, wishing he could kill him on the spot.

But when Qin Haoxuan stepped forward and declared he had found nothing, and the two inspecting elders confirmed it, a great weight was lifted from Master Chi Lian’s heart. At the same time, he began to wonder, How did he hide those things? To be able to deceive those two inspecting elders… But this only made him more excited. This Qin Haoxuan is no simple boy. He must have a great treasure on him! Otherwise, how could he have passed the inspection?

I must find an excuse to capture him, dig out all his secrets, and after I take back the Spirit Liquid and his secrets, I will pickle his flesh and feed it to the dogs to appease the hatred in my heart! Master Chi Lian let out a soft cough. Despite his grievous injuries, a satisfied smile spread across his face. He began to plan, deciding to go find Qin Haoxuan that very night, lest any further delays bring more trouble.

With the matter of the Aqueous Manor concluded, Qin Haoxuan and Ye Yiming boarded one of the sect’s Immortal Cloud Carts and left Sun Moon Lake, returning to the Spirit Field Valley.

By now, night had fallen. The water of the lake, shrouded in darkness, was as black as ink and as calm as a mirror.

On the way back to his room, Qin Haoxuan saw a familiar figure with dark golden fur waiting for him at his door from a distance. It was Little Gold. Seeing him, the monkey excitedly leaped into his arms.

Qin Haoxuan hugged the little monkey. For the last month of the trial, Little Gold had been busy leading the Mighty Apes in the fields. When he had been in seclusion, the monkey had been very well-behaved and had not disturbed him. Every morning when he woke up, Little Gold was already gone, leading the apes out to work.

Seeing him again now, he noticed that although Little Gold’s size had not changed, his fur color and his spirit were very different. His body was also more robust. It seemed his cultivation had progressed again.

“Little Gold, Senior Brother Ye and I have some things to discuss. I need you to guard the door. Don’t let anyone except Xu Yu near my room,” Qin Haoxuan said, patting the monkey’s head and setting him down.

Little Gold let out a reluctant chirp, then leaped down and took up his post at the door as instructed.

With the monkey on guard, Qin Haoxuan felt completely at ease. He closed the door securely, and he and Ye Yiming began to discuss how to handle the treasures they had obtained in the manor.