Chapter 663: Appraisal

Fairyland, Green Journey Palace.

Back at a safe location, Meng Qi finally relaxed his tense mood. In front of Lingbao Tianzun and Jiang Zhiwei, he took out treasures such as the emerald sapling, Solar Flame Core, Ice Eye Crystal Soul, Milky Way Sword, and Xuan Gui Sword with a beaming smile, saying, “They’re all here.”

“Hmm,” even with Lingbao Tianzun’s profound cultivation, realm, and composure, he showed a hint of surprise upon seeing the emerald sapling—not because it contained the inheritance of one of the Seven Heavenly Sword Techniques, as he had already mentally prepared for that.

After a pause, he remarked, “This sapling is no ordinary item…”

Since even Lingbao Tianzun spoke thus, Meng Qi grew more confident in his own judgment. Thinking aloud, he said, “Initially, I noticed its uniqueness and assumed it was a Divine Treasure-level item. Later, upon further reflection, I realized that Emperor Zhenwu placed curses on the other six treasures, so why was this most precious one left uncursed?”

“Unless even Emperor Zhenwu’s cultivation level was insufficient to tamper with this sapling,” Jiang Zhiwei suddenly interjected.

“Or perhaps any curses or traps would be absorbed and neutralized by the sapling itself,” Lingbao Tianzun mused. If that were the case, the sapling’s value would be immeasurable—far beyond ordinary Divine Treasures. He found it hard to accept.

Recalling the scene when the green glow and aura rose, more dramatic than the emergence of the Buddha Palm’s General Manual, Meng Qi thought thoughtfully, “Two of Emperor Zhenwu’s three hidden treasures have already been discovered. Although the chaos caused by the Demon Buddha and the great upheaval of Heaven and Earth weakened the protective formations, the fact that this treasure has remained intact until now might be because its contents are the most valuable, hence the most elaborate defenses, even creating a small world of its own…”

Lingbao Tianzun withdrew his gaze and began to ask Meng Qi in detail about what he had seen upon entering the treasure chamber, hoping to detect some clue.

After Meng Qi thoroughly described the scene outside the grand hall, he smiled and said, “Since it was a ‘reward’ given by Emperor Zhenwu, I knew about the curses. Therefore, I wasn’t too concerned when entering and merely did a cursory scan without much focus. If there was uncertainty, I would remove the curses one by one, primarily to distinguish genuine treasures from fake ones, to prevent Emperor Zhenwu from concealing anything.”

“When I found no Divine Treasures, my heart sank. That didn’t make sense. Could it be that Lord Demon-Slaying was really so stingy as to not leave even one Divine Treasure? Considering the previous two treasures, I truly suspected that the most valuable item was hidden deep within the hall. Time was pressing, and I needed to remove the curses and collect the treasures, starting with the most valuable ones to avoid ending up with only minor gains and regretting it midway.”

“In the end, perhaps due to the Eight-Nine Mystical Arts’ ability to sense danger, or maybe because I simply opened the door normally with enhanced defenses, while merely assessing the treasures’ value, I detected a hidden, cold, and dangerous force in all except the sapling. Unlike the others, the sapling seemed safe and not concealing any hidden danger, so I decided to take it first for safety before pursuing other treasures.”

Lingbao Tianzun gave a faint chuckle, “That was indeed the right decision. Even if Emperor Zhenwu had told you the hand seals and methods to lift the seals, you still couldn’t afford to be careless. As the saying goes, ‘Caution is the parent of safety.’ The ancient sages are too distant for us to fathom their thoughts and character. Take the incident of the Buddha Palm’s General Manual for example—had the Vajra Temple not seized it first and established a spiritual connection, even if there were no apparent issues, so many Dharma Bodies would have waited a moment to inspect it first.”

The Vajra Temple already possessed the Buddha Palm and, being a Buddhist sect, had supernatural abilities like the Divine Eye, so confirming the general safety of the Withered and Flourishing Bodhi only took a few moments.

Jiang Zhiwei continued, “Indeed, these treasures were never intended for you. Emperor Zhenwu established the three hidden treasures long ago and then hastened to Worry-Free Valley. He left the Profound Water Demon-Suppressing Banner for future seekers to eradicate evil thoughts, while the treasures were arranged even later. Clearly, the setup was not designed to reward you but rather to prevent outsiders from obtaining them. Layer upon layer, after overcoming extremely formidable defenses, the treasures still bore curses—truly a trap that is difficult to guard against.”

“Hehe, experience is accumulated gradually. Fortunately, by the time I encountered similar situations, I had already become more cautious,” Meng Qi glanced at Jiang Zhiwei, “Back then, your sect’s ancestor must have had a tough time too.”

Previously, Jiang Zhiwei had reminded Meng Qi that treasures might carry curses, but Meng Qi already knew this and didn’t consider it particularly important.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled slightly, with a hint of reflection, “The ancestor’s notes were vague. What we can confirm is that he wasn’t the only one who entered the hidden chamber—there were both allies and enemies—but in the end, the one who emerged with the treasures was the weakest among them.”

Lingbao Tianzun glanced at the emerald sapling again, “After careful recollection, I still can’t recall anything about it. Moreover, for two Earth Immortals to kill each other without even opening the treasure vault’s door is already quite strange…”

“Especially considering one of them was the former Thunder God’s heir, whose death left behind such strong lingering resentment…” Meng Qi added softly.

“Perhaps he knew something, or maybe they had a deep enmity,” Jiang Zhiwei speculated.

This event was too far in the past, and any valuable remnants had long been taken by the Cao family. The three couldn’t reach a conclusion and decided to leave a message for Cao Xianzhi, known as “Qingyuan,” to see if he could provide useful information.

“Should we take this sapling to the Six Paths for appraisal?” Meng Qi suddenly suggested.

Unlike the wooden carving secretly given by Master Lu, this sapling was obtained as part of a side quest during a chain mission. Logically, Six Paths should be aware of it. Whether or not he submitted it for appraisal was of little consequence—it might even serve as a way to probe Six Paths’ true nature.

“That’s acceptable,” Lingbao Tianzun mused, “Given that the evil intent still exists, Emperor Zhenwu must have at least lived through the chaos caused by the Demon Buddha. Yet he never returned to retrieve the treasures or eliminate the evil intent himself, which is quite suspicious.”

“Perhaps his method for eternal existence had some flaw…” Meng Qi blurted out.

This was a guess based on the condition of the Bo Mi National Teacher!

The three fell silent for a moment before flying to the central jade pillar of the Fairyland Bazaar and placing the emerald sapling for appraisal.

Meng Qi felt tense, unsure of what appraisal result the Six Paths would give for this clearly abnormal inheritance item.

The voice of the Six Paths’ Ruler remained grand and indifferent:

“The Tree of Dao.”

“The Tree of Dao!” Meng Qi, Lingbao Tianzun, and Jiang Zhiwei exchanged glances. This title was quite impressive!

“It bears the fifth technique of the Seven Heavenly Swords—’Dao Spreads Across the Universe.'” After saying this, the Six Paths’ Ruler fell silent, offering no further description or specific value assessment.

Looking at the three-branched, nine-leaved emerald sapling, Meng Qi seemed to see countless interconnected universes, forming a vague suspicion but keeping it to himself.

“The Tree of Dao…” Lingbao Tianzun looked at the sapling again and smiled bitterly, “This old Daoist still can’t see its true nature.”

Hearing such an impressive title, Meng Qi naturally had no intention of exchanging the sapling’s usage rights for an Eight-Nine Law Body technique. Smiling, he asked, “Venerable, may I exchange the opportunity for all Fairyland members to learn the Seven Heavenly Swords for ‘Myriad Things Return to Emptiness’?”

This was one of the Eight-Nine Mystical Arts’ Law Body techniques, while “Bodhi Insight” was extremely difficult to cultivate and not something achievable in a short time, so Meng Qi didn’t consider it for now.

“Of course,” Lingbao Tianzun chuckled, “As for this sapling, whether you wish to keep it in Fairyland for safety or carry it yourself is entirely up to you.”

Meng Qi had already experimented with the sapling for a while, infusing it with breath and power, but it showed no reaction, leaving him somewhat disheartened. He said, “I’ll leave it in Fairyland for a while first. Let everyone cultivate it, and I’ll retrieve it before my journey to the Western Heavens.”

This Western Journey mission involved fragments of the Celestial Court. The evil intent of Zhenwu mentioned that the disappearance of the Ninth Heaven and the fall of the Celestial Court were related to the opportunity for Dao attainment. With the sapling named “The Tree of Dao,” Meng Qi wouldn’t be foolish not to bring it to the fragments to test his fortune!

“This old Daoist will ensure it is sealed and protected, preventing anyone blinded by greed from making foolish decisions,” Lingbao Tianzun nodded. To him, the opportunity to cultivate and break through was sufficient. Since the Tree of Dao currently showed no miraculous traits, he felt no greed.

After settling the most important matter, Meng Qi glanced at Jiang Zhiwei, who was eager to cultivate, and suppressed a smile, saying, “Don’t rush. Let’s divide the spoils first.”

He turned to Chonghe Daoist, “Venerable, you choose first.”

Since the sapling belonged to him and Lingbao Tianzun had contributed greatly to this mission, and since they weren’t close relatives or friends who could afford to ignore such matters, Meng Qi decided to let Lingbao Tianzun choose first for future considerations.

This was the simplest form of social etiquette. Sometimes, even with family, one must be mindful of such gestures, for no one can always help you unconditionally!

With this cooperation and reward, it would be easier to ask the Venerable for help in the future when completing the Yellow Spring Remains mission!

Lingbao Tianzun didn’t feign modesty. He glanced at the treasures, reached out, and summoned the gourd. Opening the stopper and taking a sniff, his face lit up with delight, “Indeed, it’s the Xuanming Creation Pill.”

The Xuanming Creation Pill was an ancient divine pill said to regenerate flesh from bones and extend life by nearly ten thousand years. Even in today’s changed world, it could still prolong life by over two hundred years and was classified as a Divine Treasure by Six Paths.

However, for Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei, who were in their twenties and already top experts or about to become so, it held little value compared to Divine Treasure materials. Chonghe, being older, valued it the most.

“Just one pill, hehe, this old Daoist will take it. Combined with the opportunity to cultivate the Seven Heavenly Swords, this journey has been quite profitable,” Lingbao Tianzun, not exploiting the young, chose nothing more.

Grateful, Meng Qi nodded and turned to Jiang Zhiwei, “Your turn.”

Jiang Zhiwei glanced around and picked up the Milky Way Sword with a smile, “This should be dismantled by Six Paths. I can use the appropriate parts to enhance my White Rainbow Across the Sun.”

The Milky Way Sword shimmered like starlight, dazzling and dreamlike. As a girl, Jiang Zhiwei naturally chose it over the Xuan Gui Sword.

“Just one item?” Meng Qi asked in surprise.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled, “I didn’t contribute much, and you completed the chain mission mostly on your own. Receiving one top-tier treasure weapon and the opportunity to cultivate the Seven Heavenly Swords already feels a bit undeserved.”

“That won’t do,” Meng Qi frowned.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled, her expression turning serious, “Do you want me to feel guilty and develop a heart demon?”

“Alright then,” Meng Qi had no choice but to stop persuading her, knowing that the Divine Treasure materials were in his possession. In an emergency, he could always lend them to her!

The Void-Tearing Ancient Talisman was an escape tool, and with the Xuan Gui Sword in hand, he already had two swords and two blades. The only issue was that the swords were significantly better than the blades, though his sword techniques lagged behind his blade techniques…

Meng Qi began putting away the treasures one by one, planning to submit them to Six Paths for appraisal to avoid missing any special functions.

His gaze swept over the Solar Flame Core and Ice Eye Crystal Soul, his eyes narrowing slightly with a hint of a smile.

The Solar Flame Core complemented the heavy Sea-Stabilizing Pearl, while the Ice Eye Crystal Soul and Yellow Spring Hand Bone were both cold and watery. With these two Divine Treasure materials, he could almost forge a Divine Treasure. If not for the need to complete specific missions and the Yellow Spring Hand Bone’s role in triggering the Deathless Sect’s techniques, combining the first two as a blade and the latter two as a sword would be ideal!