Chapter 622: Flower, Bird, Fish, Insect

At the center of Jade Gathering City was a white pagoda that stretched all the way up into the clouds.

All of a sudden, Su Liu appeared in a side hall within the pagoda, and beside him was a white-robed young man who was seated in a chair, sipping on some spirit tea.

Upon spotting Su Liu, he remained seated as he remarked, "You intentionally let those two get away, didn't you?"

Su Liu took an indifferent glance at the white-robed man, then asked, "You saw everything?"

"That man in purple had spatial law powers up his sleeve, but with your powers, you were perfectly capable of preventing him from getting away. Why did you do that? Those old geezers aren't as easy to fool as Gongshu Tian. If the higher-ups find out about this, it could be bad for you," the white-robed man said.

"That man's identity is quite sensitive, so capturing him would've spelled far more trouble. Even if the higher-ups find out about this, they won't blame me for what I did," Su Liu replied.

"Oh? Who is he?" the white-robed man asked with a surprised expression.

"He's from the Vast Origin House," Su Liu repiled.

The surprise in the white-robed man's eyes became even more pronounced upon hearing this, and he asked, "Are you sure?"

"I know what I'm doing," Su Liu assured.

"Then what about Silver Fox? He's a renowned fugitive on the Immortal Slaying List. You could've easily captured Silver Fox while letting his companion go," the white-robed man said.

Su Liu's expression darkened slightly in the face of the white-robed man's persistent questioning, and he said, "I told you that I know what I'm doing. I have my reasons for letting Silver Fox go. Everything will become clear to you in the future."

The white-robed man could see that he wasn't going to be able to get an answer out of Su Liu, so he could only shake his head with a wry smile.

......

In a certain secret chamber in Jade Gathering City.

"What a farce that turned out to be! After what just happened, who's going to dare to attend the Jade Kun Pagoda auction in the future? I'll be sure to report this matter to my superiors. If worse comes to worst, we'll just have to cancel our collaboration with the Black Mountain Immortal Palace. Otherwise, the reputation of our Hundred Creations Mountain will be swept to the ground sooner or later!" Daoist Master Jingyang Jingyang grumbled.

"Don't get so worked up, Fellow Daoist Jingyang. You were never all that interested in overseeing affairs related to the auction anyway, so why not just return to your life of relaxation in the Leisure Valley and leave this to someone else?" Han Li chuckled.

Despite his relaxed and casual facade, internally, there was a great deal of lingering fear in his heart. If he had outbid Silver Fox for that Myriad Soul Herb during the auction, he would've been the one detained by the Immortal Palace.

"I'm afraid the Leisure Valley is also no longer the place it used to be," Daoist Master Jingyang sighed.

"Let's not discuss these vexing matters anymore. How about we take a look at the beast bone that you purchased at the auction?" Han Li proposed.

"Fellow Daoist Li, why does it feel to me like you're more of a businessman than you are a pill refinement master?" Daoist Master Jingyang asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Which cultivator isn't a calculating businessman?" Han Li countered with an amused smile.

"I suppose you're right," Daoist Master Jingyang sighed with a wry smile.

With that, he flipped a hand over to produce a palm-sized octagonal box, then pressed his palm down onto the center of the box, upon which the box immediately split open into eight triangular pieces that resembled the petals of a flower.

Han Li stood off to the side with blue light flashing in his eyes, intently observing all of the spirit patterns on the octagonal box, as well as every single motion that Daoist Master Jingyang performed.

Daoist Master Jingyang laid the octagonal box upside-down onto the ground, then joined his index and middle fingers before pressing down them toward the box, only to suddenly stop what he was doing.

Han Li could see what he was thinking, and he jibed, "What? Are you feeling apprehensive about showing me how to open this treasure? Setting aside the fact that I have no idea what you're doing, even if I did, where could I possibly find an identical spatial treasure to this one?"

"You're right," Daoist Master Jingyang chuckled with a self-deprecating expression. "To be honest, no advanced techniques are required to open this treasure. It's just that the process is very specific, and not many people in the Hundred Creations Mountain are willing to learn it as they'll most likely never get to use it anyway."

"How did the Hundred Creations Mountain find out this method then?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Daoist Master Jingyang hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, then explained, "Earlier, I told you that this beast bone is a spatial treasure, but that's actually not correct. Strictly speaking, it's actually a domain treasure."

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, and the Domain Bead instantly sprang into his mind. [1]

The Domain Bead was the most prized artifact of the Space Fish Race, an exceptional treasure capable of housing even mountains and seas. If this beast bone were also a treasure of the same nature, then it would truly be a priceless treasure.

Unfortunately, Han Li was unable to bring the Domain Bead with him during his ascension to the True Immortal Realm, so he could only leave it in the Spirit Realm.

"In contrast with normal spatial treasures, domain treasures often have larger internal spaces, and the world's origin qi inside can circulate freely, so even living beings can survive inside, making it perfect for raising spirit plants and spirit beasts," Daoist Master Jingyang explained.

Han Li was naturally already aware of the distinction between the two types of treasures, but he still nodded in response.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"In the immortal regions, domain treasures are often extremely expensive, but they're not exactly rare. If I were to purchase one through my connections in the Hundred Creations Mountain, then I could do so with ease, so do you know why I was so eager to acquire this particular domain treasure?" Daoist Master Jingyang asked with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

"How could I know the answer to that?" Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

"This beast bone is called the Fish Branch, and it was created by the third mountain master of our Hundred Creations Mountain, Jie Jinyuan. This is one of a set of four domain treasures that he crafted, and the other three are the Flower Branch, the Bird Branch, and the Insect Branch, collectively known as the Four Branches. With this branch recovered, only the Flower Branch is still lost," Daoist Master Jingyang explained.

"That's a set of rather romantic names. This third mountain master must've been quite an interesting person," Han Li remarked with a smile.

"Our third mountain master had the strangest personality out of all of our past mountain masters, but he's also the one most revered by the disciples of our Hundred Creations Mountain, second only to our founder.

“It was said that he had always possessed exceptional aptitude in tool refinement, and even back when he was a disciple, he was constantly coming up with new and innovative ideas. For that, he was often denounced as lackadaisical and unfocused by the elders.

“However, he later went on to catch the eye of the second mountain master, who took him under his wing, and ultimately, he became an exceptional mountain master," Daoist Master Jingyang said with a smile.

"Where do these strange names come from? And how is this Fish Branch supposed to be opened?" Han Li asked.

"I already told you that our third mountain master had a very strange personality, so who knows how he decided on these names? Perhaps it was simply on a whim. I can see that you're eager to see what's inside this Fish Branch, so I won't waste any more time," Daoist Master Jingyang chuckled, then began to engrave a small array onto the ground around the octagonal box.

After that, he pulled out the Fish Branch before placing it onto the upside-down octagonal box.

"I didn't think the process would be so complicated," Han Li remarked with slightly furrowed brows.

"If it wasn't complicated, that clueless Golden Immortal would've already opened it," Daoist Master Jingyang replied.

"That's true," Han Li said with a nod.

"The array that I've engraved onto the ground is called the Eight Origins Unraveling Array. Following the demise of their original owner, some domain treasures cannot be opened by anyone else, and the only way to reopen such a domain treasure would be refine it using this array, after which one will be able to open and close the treasure at will like a storage ring," Daoist Master Jingyang explained.

"I see."

"Alright, I have to focus now, so don't distract me," Daoist Master Jingyang said as a serious look appeared on his face.

Han Li immediately made his way to the side of the room, where he continued to observe in silence.

Meanwhile, Daoist Master Jingyang began to make a hand seal while silently chanting an incantation.

Through observing his lips, Han Li was able to get a rough idea of what he was chanting, but this was clearly not a reliable method to learn the incantation, and with that in mind, Han Li's brows became slightly furrowed.

Moments later, Daoist Master Jingyang raised a finger to release a beam of white light into the beast bone, and a layer of resplendent silver light instantly appeared over its surface, then spread over the entire bone, while a golden fish design roughly the size of a copper coin appeared on the tip of the bone.

"Please wait a moment while I refine this treasure, and after that, we'll be able to open it," Daoist Master Jingyang said to Han Li as he picked up the Fish Branch.

Han Li was still pondering the incantation that he had just extrapolated, and he nodded silently in response.

Daoist Master Jingyang sat down with his legs crossed, then brought his palms together with the bone clasped between them to commence the refinement process.

Only after around six hours had passed did he rise to his feet. At this point, he was sweating profusely, and it seemed that he had just severely exerted himself.

Despite his weary expression, his eyes were glowing with joy, and he smiled as he declared, "It's time to reap the spoils, Fellow Daoist Li."

"I'm excited to see what's inside," Han Li replied with a smile of his own.

Daoist Master Jingyang swept a hand over the Fish Branch, and all of a sudden, it became completely transparent, while the bright silver light that was emanating from it transformed into a door of light that was around ten feet tall.

A glimmer of green could be seen within the door of light, and a gentle breeze was also blowing out of it.

"Come on in, Fellow Daoist Li," Daoist Master Jingyang invited, then stepped into the door of light, disappearing out of sight.

1. For more information on the Domain Bead, please refer to RMJI Chapter 2304: Domain Bead. ☜