Novel11 Chapter 364 : Profound Treasure Recognizes Its Master
Chapter 364 : Profound Treasure Recognizes Its Master
Within the Supreme Yin Grotto-Heaven, moonlight flowed and revolved.Beneath the osmanthus tree, a slender figure quietly appeared—it was the maid who had previously left under orders.
“Holy Maiden, this is the information you requested.” The maid presented it with both hands, her tone respectful.
Gu Qinghan opened her eyes. The jade slip in the maid’s hands slowly descended into her palm.
“Buzz!”
As her divine sense stirred, Gu Qinghan’s expression remained unchanged—until she saw a name.
Top of the Yuxu Rankings: Chen Beiwu!
Chen Beiwu hailed from Yuan-Kong County of Fallen Dragon Manor, Pingyuan Township. His background was clean; the strongest member of his clan was merely a Qi Refining cultivator. However, his maternal ancestors had once shone brilliantly, producing a Divine Transformation True Venerable, though that lineage had long since declined.
In his early years, his talent had been ordinary. He had only been considered a prodigy at a county-level cultivation high school, his name not widely known. After contracting a Mutated Golden-Scaled Beast at the Spirit Beast Pavilion in Fallen Dragon Manor, his potential was stimulated, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
Later, relying on astonishing comprehension, he attained enlightenment while listening to the Soul-Cleansing Melody at Cloudsound Pavilion, stepping into the beyond-limit realm of Qi Refining. He stood out in the Immortal Alliance Entrance Exam, entered Yuqing Immortal Sect, forged a Flawless Dao Foundation, and ranked third on the Yuqing Rising Stars List…
‘Flawless Foundation Establishment, Yuanshi Golden Core, defeating Dao Bodies, slaying Nascent Soul True Monarchs in reverse…’ Gu Qinghan murmured softly, interest flickering in her eyes.
Her intuition told her that the source of the unusual stirring in her own fate pattern might very well be related to Chen Beiwu.
‘Unfortunately, I cannot confirm it yet. Further observation is required.’
Gu Qinghan set down the jade slip and gazed thoughtfully at the night sky.
After a moment of contemplation, she raised her eyes toward the maid beside her. “Transmit my decree. In the name of the Holy Maiden of the Supreme Yin, invite Chen Beiwu to the Supreme Yin Grotto-Heaven for further cultivation.”
Hearing this, the maid was momentarily stunned, nearly failing to control her expression.
This Chen Beiwu was truly remarkable—he had actually caught the Holy Maiden’s attention.
She had followed the Holy Maiden for hundreds of years and had never received a single opportunity to cultivate within the Supreme Yin Grotto-Heaven!
Forcefully suppressing her stray thoughts, the maid maintained a calm expression, respectfully accepted the order, and withdrew.
Watching her leave, Gu Qinghan slowly rose.
The theory of fate was not false.
Those of unfathomable cultivation and extraordinary fate patterns could sense the existence of fate in the unseen.
Yet fate was elusive—formless and intangible, untouchable and impossible to seize. Even Void-Refining Dao Venerables of the Immortal Alliance, whose cultivation reached the heavens, could not employ profound abilities to gather such intangible fate.
However, there were always exceptions.
For ordinary cultivators, fate could not be controlled. Those who schemed around it often suffered backlash. But in this world, there existed individuals burdened with immense fate.
Such beings were born bearing Heaven’s Mandate. Their every movement could stir winds and clouds across a region, determine the rise and fall of a sect or land, and even allow them to cultivate supreme Divine Powers.
Chen Beiwu’s ability to slay a Nascent Soul True Monarch while at the peak of the Golden Core realm—beyond his formidable strength—was likely due in greater part to the immense fate he carried.
‘If I can subdue one such bearer of immense fate and bring him under my command, my own fate pattern may advance further.’ Gu Qinghan thought inwardly.
Only those of great fate could command those of great fate. If others interfered without sufficient virtue to match their position, they would inevitably suffer backlash—whether fortune or calamity.
Ordinary prodigies could not suppress such individuals and dared not act recklessly. But Gu Qinghan possessed one of the Immortal Alliance’s most supreme physiques—the Supreme Yin Dao Body. Her fate was vast and surging; naturally, she did not fear Chen Beiwu.
…
At Tianyan Immortal Sect, Luoxia Courtyard.
“Have you decided?” Chen Beiwu looked at the three little fellows.
The jade slip recorded thirteen Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasures, each among the very finest. If he could cultivate in life-and-destiny union with his Companion Beast, achieving unity of man, artifact, and beast—mind resonating with spirit—the power unleashed would undoubtedly exceed imagination.
Thus, Chen Beiwu had hesitated for two days, unable to make a decision.
At his question, the three little fellows nodded repeatedly, expressing through thought which Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure each favored.
With the vote concluded, Chen Beiwu no longer hesitated. He activated the restriction on the jade slip, causing it to radiate brilliant light.
“Buzz!”
In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared before him.
“You have summoned me. I presume you have already made your decision, little friend.” True Venerable Taoyan said calmly.
Chen Beiwu bowed and respectfully offered the jade slip with both hands.
True Venerable Taoyan accepted it, glanced at it, and his eyes showed slight surprise.
“You are certain you will not reconsider? You truly wish to choose this Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure?”
He lifted his gaze, his tone steady but now carrying a trace of solemnity.
“This junior is certain.” Chen Beiwu nodded without hesitation.
“Since your will is firm, I shall take you there.” True Venerable Taoyan said no more and lightly flicked his sleeve.
The scenery around Chen Beiwu immediately blurred and twisted. What came into view was a world without sun, moon, or stars—only a canopy of five-colored auroras.
“This realm is called the Five Elements Blessed Land,” True Venerable Taoyan briefly introduced.
“Na!”
Before Chen Beiwu could react, the Five Qi Vine, sensing the cycle of birth and destruction of the Five Elements, jumped excitedly and instinctively looked eastward.
Through its Five Qi perception, it detected a medicinal garden in the eastern direction, filled with countless Precious Mystic Herbs. It was thoroughly tempted.
“Without permission, stealing spirit plants from the Azure Wood Medicinal Garden is a capital offense,” True Venerable Taoyan said indifferently.
Hearing this, the Five Qi Vine trembled and immediately dispelled its thoughts, not daring to look at him again.
“Follow me. The Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure lies deep within the core of the Five Elements Blessed Land. Spatial shifting profound abilities cannot be used here.” True Venerable Taoyan transformed into a streak of light and led the way.
Chen Beiwu followed closely. The surrounding scenery gradually changed—from clearly divided Five Directions and Five Elements regions to a strange basin where all elements intermingled.
Finally, the two stopped at the basin’s depths.
“This is the Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure you chose.”
True Venerable Taoyan pointed forward. Countless spatial ripples surged.
“Buzz!”
As the restriction was lifted, a pair of wings with a span of approximately one zhang appeared before Chen Beiwu.
Its main skeletal frame was of special material, floating in the air, bearing a matte sheen neither metal nor jade.
Over the frame lay a semi-transparent bone membrane—not a thin film, but countless fine Five Elements crystalline plates layered together, radiating brilliant azure, crimson, yellow, white, and black lights corresponding to the Five Elements.
Chen Beiwu’s gaze sharpened. He did not use divine sense to probe it.
The reason was simple—the space around the wings was distorted, exuding an extremely dangerous aura.
“Na!”
Seeing Chen Beiwu’s serious expression, the Five Qi Vine swallowed nervously, not daring to approach rashly.
“This treasure is named the Five Elements Radiant King Wings,” True Venerable Taoyan explained. “Its core material was taken from the twin wings of a fifth-tier Fortune-Origin Beast cub—the Five Elements Great Roc Radiant King.”
Chen Beiwu nodded in understanding.
The Five Elements Great Roc Radiant King was a variant descendant of the Primordial Dao Beast Golden-Winged Roc, inheriting its extreme speed and divine might while also wielding the authority of Five Elements Divine Light. Thus, cultivators of the Immortal Alliance respectfully addressed it as the Five Elements Radiant King.
This fearsome beast was extraordinarily fast. With a single flap of its wings, it could harness the cycle of generation and restraint among the Five Elements, ignore spatial barriers, and traverse entire realms. It ranked among the top three in speed on the Immortal Alliance’s Fortune-Origin Beast Rankings.
Without exaggeration, in battle at the same realm, even Divine Transformation True Venerables could not catch the shadow of the Five Elements Great Roc Radiant King.
It was precisely because of this that the Five Elements Radiant King Wings had received the most votes.
Unfortunately, the primary material used to refine the wings had been from a cub, not a Fifth-Realm Beast Sovereign at the peak of its bloodline. Otherwise, this pair of wings would have been at least a Fortune-Origin Artifact.
Sensing the regret in Chen Beiwu’s eyes, True Venerable Taoyan understood.
To Immortal Alliance cultivators, a living Five Elements Great Roc Radiant King cub was of immeasurable value—far beyond comparison to Fortune-Origin Artifacts or Fortune-Origin Pills.
But when he had campaigned in foreign domains years ago, this cub had already been killed by an ignorant foreign Divine Transformation cultivator. Only remnants of its bloodline origin and the pair of wings containing Five Elements Dao’s Rhythm remained—its value greatly diminished.
Otherwise, True Venerable Taoyan would rather have fed the cub to a Companion Beast than refine it into a Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure.
“These wings combine extreme speed, defense, and offense in one. Even among the Immortal Alliance’s Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasures, they are among the very best.
“However,” he continued, “this treasure has no artifact spirit. Unless one possesses a Five-Element Heavenly Root and profound comprehension of the Five Elements Dao at the Nascent Soul True Monarch level, it is extremely difficult to refine. One may even fail to unleash much of its power and instead suffer injury from it.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior.” Chen Beiwu remained calm.
Among the thirteen selectable Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasures, the Five Elements Radiant King Wings were the only one without an artifact spirit.
Because of this, its refinement difficulty was extremely high, and its control requirements among the most demanding—far less convenient than treasures with artifact spirits that could be activated with a single thought.
But what Nascent Soul True Monarchs disliked, Chen Beiwu did not.
For him, a Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure without an artifact spirit was better. It would not expose his secrets.
After all, at his current cultivation, he had no means of forcibly sealing a Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure whose spirituality rivaled that of a Golden Core True Person.
“This item requires blood to recognize its master. You may step forward and try,” True Venerable Taoyan said.
Chen Beiwu nodded. Under the guidance of the Divine Transformation True Venerable, he forced out a drop of essence blood and let it fall upon the Five Elements Radiant King Wings.
“Chi!”
A faint sound rang out.
Under the watchful eyes of Golden Egg, Iron Egg, and the Five Qi Vine, the drop of essence blood did not merge into the wings. Instead, under the circulation of Five Elements radiance, it visibly dissipated into a wisp of green smoke.
The wings remained suspended in the air, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu’s eyes narrowed.
As expected of a Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure—even without an artifact spirit, its spirituality was formidable.
“Na!” (Let me help you.)
The Five Qi Vine clasped its hands and channeled Five Elements Treasure Radiance into Chen Beiwu’s shoulder, prompting him to release another drop of essence blood.
“Chi!”
The result was identical—the blood dissipated once more.
“Na!” (How is this possible!)
The Five Qi Vine was shocked. Unwilling to accept it, it reached out with its right hand to grasp the wings.
“Buzz!”
The surface of the wings flashed with light. The Five Qi Vine’s right hand instantly disintegrated, leaving only its elbow.
Fortunately, the wings merely rejected instinctively and did not unleash excessive power. With its Five Qi Transformation profound ability, the Five Qi Vine restored its missing hand in a single thought.
“The Five Elements Radiant King Wings have not refined your essence blood. The recognition has failed. Chen little friend, you may reconsider and choose another Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure,” True Venerable Taoyan said, breaking the silence.
Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasures with artifact spirits were proud, yet understood circumstances. They might even choose prodigies of limitless potential as masters to break their shackles and advance into Fortune-Origin Artifacts.
The Five Elements Radiant King Wings were the opposite—without an artifact spirit, only spirituality. They were rigid, recognizing masters solely based on compatibility.
Frankly speaking, with Chen Beiwu’s current displayed talent, he could successfully refine any other Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure—except this one.
But the higher-ups of the Immortal Sect had their own considerations. Including this treasure on the list was meant to test the depth of Chen Beiwu’s fate.
True Venerable Taoyan scoffed at this.
Could the magnitude of an unparalleled prodigy’s fate truly be measured by a single Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure?
“Senior, I would like to try once more.” Chen Beiwu took a deep breath.
“Very well.” True Venerable Taoyan nodded.
This time, Chen Beiwu did not attempt blood recognition. Instead, he closed his eyes.
‘Yuanshi profound ability, myriad phenomena return to the origin.’
‘A spark of spiritual light—trace the source and open the origin!’
With fingers like a sword, Chen Beiwu activated the profound ability of enlightenment from the Yuanshi Golden Core and pointed at the Five Elements Radiant King Wings.
“Buzz!”
The surface of the wings flashed. As if sensing something, the radiance suddenly dissipated, revealing the unadorned skeletal frame.
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu relaxed. His fingertip pressed against the main frame.
He had not guessed wrong—the enlightenment profound ability of the Yuanshi Golden Core was extraordinary.
Where a trace of Yuanshi Golden Attribute reached, lotus flowers could bloom in the void, dead stone could conceive spirit, innate bloodlines could be elevated, and fate could be reversed. Such opportunity was something even a Heaven-Reaching Profound Treasure would not reject.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Three breaths later, when Chen Beiwu withdrew his finger, the wings trembled violently.
The five-colored radiance around them became lively and no longer aloof. Transforming into a streak of light, they actively approached Chen Beiwu, emitting an eager rumble.
‘This is the profound ability of the Yuanshi Golden Core?’ True Venerable Taoyan’s eyes flickered in realization.
No wonder Chen Beiwu had not used it at the Immortal Sect Exchange Conference. His awakened profound ability specialized in enlightening artifacts and profound treasures.
No—wait.
True Venerable Taoyan’s gaze swept across Golden Egg, Iron Egg, and the Five Qi Vine.
If he was correct, this profound ability could also elevate the bloodlines of Companion Beasts—far superior to offensive profound abilities.
Meanwhile, seeing the dramatic change in demeanor—the wings practically clinging to him—Chen Beiwu felt satisfied and leisurely examined their form and aura.
“Buzz!”
Impatient at his delay, the Five Elements Radiant King Wings folded themselves, suppressing all their power like a coquettish child.
Chen Beiwu did not hesitate. He forced out another drop of essence blood.
This time, the wings did not reject it. They actively received it, circulating five-colored radiance as they absorbed the blood and burst forth in unprecedented brilliance.
Soon, a bloodline-connected sensation arose in Chen Beiwu’s heart—the sign that recognition was complete.
With a thought, the Five Elements Radiant King Wings descended and seamlessly fused with his shoulder blades, becoming part of his body.
“Does this count as fusion?”
Golden Egg curiously touched the wings on Chen Beiwu’s back and found their texture warm and smooth.
Iron Egg and the Five Qi Vine, meanwhile, felt that Chen Beiwu’s bearing had changed entirely—an indescribable majesty and dominance emanated from him, faintly giving them a sense of invincibility.