Chapter 294 Treasure Hunt in the Secret Vault

As the teleportation force swept in, Zhong Cai instantly gripped his old Wu's hand tightly, and he instantly sensed that his old Wu, who was in sync with him, also tightened his grip on his hand.

Immediately afterwards, two non-repulsive teleportation forces enveloped them together and quickly threw them into a strange space.

It only took two or three breaths in total.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan landed on solid ground, still holding hands.

In an instant, the surging energy of heaven and earth, and the terrifying pressure, pressed in from all directions.

The defensive artifacts of Zhong and Wu immediately took effect, blocking all external forces.

However, it was clear that the aura here wasn't meant to harm the two of them, but rather emanated naturally...

·

Zhong Cai tightened her grip on her husband's hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

It's so good that I didn't break up with Lao Wu!

—It's not fair to blame him for being overly worried. After all, this key leads to some internal setups of a level nine power. Who knows how many formations it will pass through or how many measures it will take to defend against external enemies? If something goes wrong, there's a possibility that he and Lao Wu could be separated!

Now everything is fine, everything is going smoothly.

Zhong Cai could sense that Old Wu beside him also breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The two then looked at each other and smiled.

·

Zhong Cai said, "It's so quiet here."

Wu Shaogan smiled and said, "The key to the secret vault doesn't have a time limit, so let's take our time exploring."

Zhong Cai readily agreed, still holding Wu Shaogan's hand, and said with a bright smile, "Let's go!"

Wu Shaogan's smile became even gentler.

Next, the two began to observe the condition of the secret vault.

·

The key is a treasure that can teleport in a specific direction. When you come here, you can activate it directly, and when you want to leave, you can do the same to return to your original position.

Currently, the two have been directly teleported into the secret vault.

They had no idea of ​​their exact location, what the secret vault looked like, or even whether it was on the surface, underground, or somewhere else.

Naturally, this secret vault is highly concealed and very difficult to discover.

The interior of the secret vault is also very private; cultivators who retrieve treasures here will not be monitored—after all, it is their own secret.

·

The two stood against a wall in the secret vault.

They looked up and saw countless treasures floating in the air—the oppressive aura that had hit them earlier emanated from these treasures.

The numerous treasures were not arranged neatly or according to rank, nor were they displayed on shelves or in cabinets. However, there was still a certain distance between the treasures, ensuring that they did not interfere with each other.

From top to bottom, from left to right, and from all directions, treasures filled the entire space.

A wide variety of resources are available.

·

Zhong Cai said in surprise, "No wonder King Cui said it was difficult to find the most suitable treasure."

Wu Shaogan nodded and asked only, "Where should we start looking?"

Zhong Cai looked around and said, "Whatever, let's start from here and go to the left, then look at them one by one." He muttered, "I don't really know what to choose..."

After a moment's thought, Wu Shaogan said, "Let's take a look first, then make a decision."

Zhong Cai expressed her agreement.

So, the two of them started browsing through them one by one, as previously agreed.

·

Just as Cui Yushou said, the divine light of all the resources here has been obscured, and many treasures are ambiguous. They may look like some kind of resource, but perhaps they have been manipulated, or perhaps they are not that kind of resource at all... This can greatly affect other people's judgment of them.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan examined each item one by one.

As they looked at it, they kept confirming with each other whether the treasure in front of them was the one they had identified.

Zhong Cai muttered to herself, "This should be Soul Separation Secret Water, a level eight resource, and it's highly poisonous. I don't need it now, but if I reach level eight, I think I can refine it into pills... I didn't look at the formula in detail; my level is too low to examine it closely, but I have a general impression..."

At this point, Zhong Cai winked at Wu Shaogan.

Wu Shao chuckled dryly and said, "I've got it."

Zhong Cai immediately beamed with joy.

—Wu Shaogan did indeed bear the heavy responsibility of remembering the location and appearance of the treasures, and he did not only remember the Soul Separation Secret Water. After the two of them had explored the entire secret vault together, they would go back and review all the resources they had remembered, and select the most needed ones from them.

Then, the two continued walking.

The distance between the treasures is enough for them to pass together, and once you decide to select a treasure, you must hold it in your hand and touch it with the key to the secret vault to "mark" it.

When they leave, you can take the treasure with you.

Of course, since there weren't enough slots available, there were some items that the two really wanted but couldn't take with them all. They also learned that these items were in the Tianling Dynasty. If they could just say hello to Cui Yushou, they might be able to trade with him in the future.

·

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan saw a large amount of resources. Because of their broad knowledge, they were able to identify about 40-50% of them.

Forty or fifty percent might not sound like much, but this is a secret treasury built up by generations of an imperial dynasty. The treasures collected are simply too numerous to count. And on such a vast top-tier continent, there are countless resources of all kinds. It's impossible for any inheritance to record all categories... Perhaps even the strongest in the Heavenly Spirit Dynasty cannot fully identify some of these treasures, let alone this young couple. They are young and have tried their best to fill in the gaps in their knowledge, but inexperience is inexperience. Being able to recognize this number is already a result of their great effort.

Do not select those you do not recognize.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan weren't particularly particular about this; after all, they could only each take one item, and the ones they recognized were enough for them to choose from.

·

The two would occasionally wander among the treasures near the ground, and sometimes they would hold hands and soar into the air to select from the treasures suspended high in the sky.

Especially when flying in the air, it seems to vaguely recall the joy of flying for the first time when I was a child.

Back then, Wu Shaogan carried Zhong Cai around everywhere; now, the two of them are hand in hand, flying side by side...

They were all very happy.

·

A large number of rare medicinal herbs were scattered throughout the land. Zhong Cai could recognize about 70-80% of them. There were a few that he couldn't identify, but with his keen sense of medicinal herbs, he felt they were not ordinary and they attracted his attention... There were also some that he felt might be rare medicinal herbs, but he couldn't tell from their appearance...

Wu Shaogan's gaze swept over the different resources one after another, his expression unchanged, making it impossible to tell which resource he was interested in... or perhaps, he wasn't interested in any treasure at all.

And so, the two of them leisurely strolled around the various places.

Although the vault has a considerable amount of space, the resources are at least level seven, and it's not so vast as to be boundless.

It was roughly the size of a palace, and only about seven or eight zhang tall.

After about three hours, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan finally finished looking at all the resources.

This is already very efficient.

Wu Shaogan secretly memorized more than twenty kinds of resources.

But after they finished reading, Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan did not hesitate for long. They simply flew away and arrived at a certain place.

That was about five zhang above the ground, emanating a strange aura that seemed to clash yet also somewhat merge...

The two stared intently at the resource.

Zhong Cai slowly said, "Old Wu, are you saying this is Ice and Fire Immortal Gold?"

Wu Shaogan examined it carefully for a while, then nodded seriously and said, "It is a mid-grade, ninth-level Ice-Fire Immortal Gold."

Zhong Cai slowly revealed a smile, feeling extremely happy.

Wu Shaogan also smiled.

·

If Gu Cheng wants to upgrade to the middle grade of the ninth level, he needs Yin-Yang and Five Elements resources of this level, and the two of them can reach the top of the Heaven grade. If Gu Cheng wants to upgrade to the supreme grade of the ninth level, he also needs to gather such resources, and the two of them can reach the top of the Immortal grade.

This is very difficult.

Despite their abundant resources and vast quantity of Xuan Stones, the ancient city altar refused to extract any level nine Yin-Yang Five Elements resources; they had to find and buy them themselves.

Given their current level of strength, this is truly remarkable.

However, this Ice and Fire Immortal Gold has now eliminated nearly half of their difficulties.

This resource has three attributes: water, fire, and metal.

Yin and Yang and the Five Elements originally had seven attributes, but now only four remain.

Do you have any further questions?

This resource is absolutely essential!

·

With a smile on his face, Zhong Cai gently touched the Ice and Fire Immortal Gold with his secret vault key without hesitation.

In an instant, a low dragon roar emanated from it, and a phantom dragon suddenly vanished—undoubtedly, the original traps set up on it had been neutralized.

The two could clearly see that the Ice and Fire Immortal Gold, which had originally appeared very dark, revealed its true form.

The colors of ice white, light blue, and bright red flowed, and occasionally a glimmer of white light would shine through.

It is truly beautiful.

Zhong Cai carefully extracted the resource and stored it within the ancient city—after marking it, it could be contained.

Zhong Cai breathed a sigh of relief and said happily, "It's done!"

With a smile in his eyes, Wu Shaogan took Zhong Cai's hand and quickly floated up again.

Zhong Cai knew where he was going and felt a little expectant.

After circling and meandering for a while, the two successfully arrived at another location.

Here, there is a fist-sized resource that is murky and looks ugly.

It has absolutely no aesthetic appeal; it's just like a piece of junk.

Even though it doesn't look particularly impressive from its appearance, and ordinary martial arts cultivators would easily miss it... those perceptive cultivators would still unconsciously stop and take a look.

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan selected resources one by one, and they both paid attention to it.

However, neither of them could make an accurate judgment.

For some reason, despite not being able to determine the reason, after choosing that piece of Ice and Fire Immortal Gold, they still couldn't help but want to come here in a very tacit way.

The two observed for a while longer.

Zhong Cai paused, then said hesitantly, "Old Wu, what do you think?"

Wu Shaogan pondered for a moment and said, "I think this might be..."

The two said almost simultaneously, "Yin-Yang Chaos Stone."

Then the two looked at each other and smiled.

·

Yin-Yang Chaos Stone is a resource with Yin-Yang attributes.

Moreover, whenever they appear, they are always grade nine or above—but it's hard to say exactly what grade nine means in terms of quality.

Only by cutting open the outer layer of the stone can one judge the depth of the light emanating from it.

As long as the stone skin is still intact, it provides the Yin-Yang Chaos Stone with the best means of concealment, allowing it to completely hide its aura and pressure.

Therefore, this kind of ore is easily mistaken for any ordinary mountain rock, as if it were not worth mentioning at all.

In fact, if it hadn't been stored in the imperial treasury, even if Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had encountered such a stone in the mountains, they might not have been able to discover it in time, or even notice it.

·

But now, both of them want to take a gamble.

Without marking it, it is impossible to break through the defenses and open the stone skin.

Even if it is a Yin-Yang Chaos Stone after being marked, what you see after cutting open the stone skin may not be of the appropriate grade.

If it's a low-grade level nine item, it can only be used as "feed" this time; if it's a high-grade level nine item, it will be used as "feed" for the next upgrade.

We'll have to wait and see how it goes after we start.

·

Zhong Cai looked at Wu Shaogan and said solemnly, "Let's take this gamble."

Wu Shaogan nodded.

Feed and such are fine, they can be used anyway. The problem is that they might mistake it for something else, not even the Yin-Yang Chaos Stone... In that case, they'll just have one more resource that's not very useful.

It also wasted a key to the secret vault.

·

Wu Shaogan took out the key and marked the stone.

In an instant, the dragon's roar passed and the dragon's shadow disappeared.

The stone remained the same stone, without any unusual phenomena or any precious light appearing.

But precisely because of this, it is more likely to be a Chaos Stone.

The Zhong and Wu couple smiled at each other, even happier.

At this moment, Zhong Cai moved closer to Wu Shaogan, took out a dagger, and handed it to Wu Shaogan.

Wu Shaogan took it and began to peel away the outer layer of the stone.

Under Wu Shaogan's skillful hands, the stone skin was quickly weakened by one layer. Then, stone chips kept falling off, and it gradually became thinner and thinner. You could vaguely see the inner layer of luster through the stone skin.

Zhong Cai's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

They look more and more alike!

Wu Shaogan also sped up.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the stone finally broke open completely.

At that moment, Wu Shaogan led Zhong Cai back a few steps.

Within the stone skin, a strange brilliance emanated, flashing alternately in black and white.

Zhong Cai exclaimed joyfully, "It was right! It's the one!"

Wu Shaogan suppressed his joy and said cautiously, "Let's go and observe carefully after the light subsides."

Zhong Cai, of course, had no objection.

Now, this thing is at least animal feed!

·

Another incense stick's time passed before the two approached the stone again.

As the black and white light shifted, most of the remaining stone skin automatically peeled off, revealing a black and white mineral in front of the two. It looked like a metallic material with a very pure color.

Zhong Cai flew around the stone several times.

Wu Shaogan held Zhong Cai's hand tightly the whole time, without letting go, but he was also observing.

Gradually, both of them beamed with joy.

Zhong Cai couldn't help but exclaim, "How lucky we are!"

Wu Shaogan said sincerely, "A Cai is just lucky."

Zhong Cai immediately retorted, "We're both just lucky!"

Wu Shaogan smiled and simply echoed his sentiments.

It's no wonder the two were so happy. Despite their many guesses and worries, the stone they actually cut out gave them the biggest surprise.

This Yin-Yang Chaos Stone is just right, it's a mid-grade level nine!

Zhong Cai smiled and asked, "What does this mean?"

Wu Shaogan added, "This means that we only need to find more mid-grade level nine refining materials with earth and wood attributes to complete the next upgrade."

Zhong Cai shouted loudly, "That's it!"

What made him especially happy was that once the ancient city was successfully upgraded, his old Wu would truly be restored to its original state.

·

Whether it was Zhong Cai helping Wu Shaogan re-summon his companion treasure, or the two of them walking together in high spirits, or Wu Shaogan relying on his exceptional combat power to rise to third place on the Sky Ranking despite his mediocre aptitude...

Everything about Wu Shaogan seemed to remain largely unaffected by his past experiences. However, to Zhong Cai, no matter how much Wu Shaogan regained his former glory or even became more successful on the surface, he was still... a pitiful little thing inside.

Now, the poor little guy's aptitude has finally been completely restored.

The most outstanding talent was Wu Shaogan, who was the earliest to achieve this.

·

Looking at Zhong Cai's face, Wu Shaogan also noticed the glint in his eyes and suddenly understood Zhong Cai's thoughts.

Although A-Cai didn't say much, in his heart, he probably wouldn't be truly "cured" until the ancient city was upgraded again...

At that moment, a warm current rose from his heart, and Wu Shaogan couldn't help but feel a surge of fervent joy.

However, Wu Shaogan did not show any joy on his face.

He simply stared intently at Zhong Cai, scrutinizing her closely.

·

After her initial elation, Zhong Cai nudged Wu Shaogan's arm and urged him quickly, "Old Wu! Put it away! Hurry!"

Wu Shaogan slowly withdrew his gaze and then successfully stored the Chaos Stone inside the ancient city.

Zhong Cai finally managed to calm himself down a bit and said seriously, "When we go back this time, we'll collect some low-level Yin-Yang and Five Elements attribute resources along the way. We'll also check out some auction houses or big merchants and buy the remaining two types of refining materials."

The sect's stock of level nine refining materials either doesn't match the attributes or the grade, so they can't be obtained in one go. They can only search for them outside.

Wu Shaogan nodded: "I'll do whatever A-Cai says."

Zhong Cai added with a hint of excitement, "Once we have everything, let's rent a safe place and completely upgrade our qualifications!"

Wu Shaogan had no objections and nodded in agreement...

·

And so, the two of them selected their resources.

Therefore, there is no need for us to stay here any longer.

Zhong Cai estimated the time and smiled, "The Broken Rock Mountain activity will begin in about half an hour."

Wu Shaogan also laughed and said, "Shall we go back?"

Zhong Cai agreed and tightened her grip on Wu Shaogan's hand.

The two then reactivated the key.

The familiar teleportation power once again merged with the two, enveloping them.

Amidst a strange sensation of being "thrown," Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan vanished from the secret vault and landed firmly on the ground with lightning speed.

·

As soon as Zhong Cai stood still, she heard a voice filled with laughter.

“King Zhong Dan, Brother Wu, you’re back.”

Zhong Cai looked up and, without a doubt, it was Cui Yushou.

Wu Shaogan still held Zhong Cai's hand and did not let go.

Cui Yushou, unfazed, asked with a smile, "Did you two obtain your desired items from the secret vault this time?"

Zhong Cai was in a good mood and said with a smile, "Thank you very much, Brother Cui. Both Shao Gan and I have selected the resources we urgently need, and it is all thanks to your help, Brother Cui."

Cui Yushou carefully observed the two of them.

As for Wu Shaogan's side... we can't observe anything at all.

But from Zhong Cai, Cui Yushou could indeed see his joy and was certain that he was speaking the truth.

Cui Yushou felt a sense of relief.

In the previous transaction, Cui Yushou obtained a large number of very suitable and good items from the Zhong Wu couple. However, if he even handed over the key to the secret vault, and the two of them failed to find anything suitable in the vault... then not only would he lose face, but their Tianling Dynasty would also lose face.

It's as if they don't have anything good to offer.

That's incredibly shabby!

Even if it's possible that the two of them didn't recognize the best item, it's still a loss of face for their Heavenly Spirit Dynasty!

But now it's different. Choi Woo-soo can sense that these two have truly obtained what they really wanted.

That's good.

Cui Yushou also secretly felt a slight glow on his face.

·

Zhong Cai looked around but saw no one else. He then said, "Brother Cui, what about the other fellow cultivators—"

Cui Yushou laughed and said, "They've all gone to the Stone Forest to have some fun."

Zhong Cai glanced over there. Sure enough, there were quite a few people. Looking at Cui Yushou, she realized that he had been waiting there on purpose, and she could roughly guess what he was thinking.

He smiled and said, "We didn't get lost, thank you for your concern, Brother Cui."

Seeing that Zhong Cai had made a joke, Cui Yushou smiled and said, "That's good, I can rest assured now."

Zhong Cai couldn't help but laugh again.

Wu Shaogan tightened his grip on Zhong Cai's hand.

Zhong Cai then said seriously, "Brother Cui, let's go take a look too."

Cui Yushou naturally made an inviting gesture and said seriously, "Please, both of you."

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan followed Cui Yushou and soon headed towards the stone forest.

In a few flashes, Cui Yushou arrived.

Wu Shaogan also arrived with Zhong Cai.

·

Within the Stone Forest, the scene was magnificent, with dust flying everywhere and gusts of wind blowing.

When Zhong Cai arrived outside the Stone Forest, he saw that the dozens or hundreds of Fighting Kings had each found a spot above the Stone Forest, either sitting cross-legged or standing with the wind, observing the scene inside the Stone Forest.

Many stones and rocks were broken, turning into dust in the immense and surging force. The dust was then swept up by the strong wind and scattered in all directions.

Naturally, the watching fighters would be affected.

They didn't care; with a casual wave of their hands, the stone chips were swept to the other side, and the residual force was quickly neutralized.

The few alchemy kings probably found it boring to be alone, so they also came to watch the battle. Although they were all skilled in alchemy, they had all reached the Fusion Realm, so they were not helpless against these so-called aftershocks. Moreover, many times, before they could even react, their accompanying martial arts cultivators would come to clear away these minor troubles for them.

Wu Shaogan, carrying Zhong Cai, leaped up and landed on a relatively sturdy and tall rock and wood structure.

Zhong Cai craned her neck to look at the field.

The martial arts cultivators currently engaged in combat are all among the top ten.