"A spatial treasure of superior spiritual weapon grade..."
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man stood suspended in mid-air, sensing the gradually dissipating spatial fluctuations.
His face was pale, and he was also extremely shocked.
The power of that silver flying boat that just now shook off his spatial hand was definitely at the level of a high-grade spiritual artifact.
Even he didn't own a single top-grade spiritual artifact.
Their only high-grade spiritual artifact, belonging to the Gongshu family, had already been taken away by their ancestor who was traveling in other great worlds.
He, as the current clan leader, is not even qualified to take charge.
During this period of pursuit and spatial teleportation, he finally confirmed it.
This thief wearing the ghost mask was indeed only a Golden Core cultivator.
Because from beginning to end, he did not sense the other party exerting even a trace of the power of the Primordial Spirit Realm.
Despite being only at the Golden Core stage, he possesses the power to kill those at the Nascent Soul stage, and even owns a high-grade spatial artifact!
Such an absurd thing was simply unbelievable to the white-haired, youthful-looking old man.
"Could this person be the demon who killed Zheng'er back then? No, the aura of his soul is different!"
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man couldn't help but think of someone.
During the calamity at Tian Shu Divine Mountain, a demon, at the Golden Core stage, killed several Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
Even Gongshu Zheng, the youngest and most promising member of the Gongshu family, died tragically at the hands of that evil demon.
This prompted various powerful forces to offer exorbitant bounties for the head of the demon.
Could it be that this time, the evil spirit has come specifically to take revenge?
However, according to what those Nascent Soul Realm cultivators said back then, that demon's physical body was incredibly strong, far surpassing that of ordinary Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
This mysterious assassin, however, seemed to be a pure swordsman, possessing astonishing sword energy and various unpredictable methods that made him impossible to defend against.
The difference between the two is too great; even their spiritual auras are completely different.
The only thing they have in common is that they both possess mysterious spatial artifacts, enabling them to teleport even with their Golden Core cultivation level.
More importantly, the sword energy that the thief just used was very similar to the secret sword energy of that legendary sword holy land.
"First, there was a demon whose physical strength was beyond reason, and now there is a sword cultivator who seems to be from the Breaking Heaven Sword Sect. They can all kill primordial spirits with their Golden Core realm bodies, and they also possess powerful spatial magic treasures. Could it be that they come from the same mysterious force?"
The elderly man, with his white hair and youthful face, was filled with mixed emotions, and a sense of worry settled over him.
He vaguely sensed that something momentous was about to happen.
And this time, the assassin openly carried out assassinations in Zhou Tian City, killing several Nascent Soul stage experts before leaving triumphantly.
This is a very heavy blow to the Gongshu family, and it may even affect their ranking among the thirty-six upper clans in the next round.
All these changes gave him a vague sense of suffocation, as if a storm was brewing.
After a moment of silence high in the sky, the white-haired, youthful-looking old man sighed, and finally, with a fluctuation of spatial power, his figure suddenly disappeared.
After being moved more than ten times, he returned to Zhou Tiancheng.
"Father, how is it? Where is the thief?"
Upon seeing his figure appear, the second branch of the family and other patriarchs of the Gongshu family hurriedly asked.
The other powerful beings at the primordial spirit level also looked over.
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man did not answer immediately, but instead flew back to the inner city.
The other patriarchs of the Gongshu family exchanged glances, a bad feeling rising in their hearts.
However, they did not pursue the matter further and followed the white-haired, youthful-looking old man back to the inner city.
Before long, the light screen rose, and the Zhou Tian Star Array restarted, enveloping the entire Zhou Tian City.
However, this time, many Nascent Soul Realm cultivators felt that the suppressive power within the city seemed to have weakened.
Recalling the mysterious assassin who had escaped earlier, and the Gongshu family patriarch who returned empty-handed, many speculations arose in the minds of the Yuan Shen realm cultivators in the outer city.
"The assassin escaped, and I was unable to catch him."
After reactivating the Zhou Tian Star Array, the white-haired, youthful-looking old man spoke directly.
"Father, how could this be..."
Although they had already sensed something, the group of Gongshu family elders were still surprised when they heard the white-haired, youthful-looking old man actually say it.
After all, they were very familiar with their father's abilities.
A dignified Fifth Tribulation Primordial Spirit, he also comprehended the Dao of Space and mastered the art of spatial teleportation.
Such strength is considered extremely powerful even among those at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
How could the assassin have escaped? What exactly happened?
"That thief possessed a high-grade spiritual artifact-level spatial magic treasure. He deliberately lured me out, and once no one was around to interfere, he activated the magic treasure to break through space and escape."
Although I have grasped the power of space, the spatial teleportation technique I've mastered has a limited range, making it impossible for me to continue the pursuit.
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man did not hide anything and told everyone what had happened.
A top-grade spiritual weapon, or a spatial magic treasure!
Upon hearing this, the Gongshu family elders were shocked, but they finally understood why their father had failed to capture the assassin.
A high-grade spiritual artifact-level spatial magic weapon can teleport over extremely long distances, and it's not impossible for it to even break through the boundary membrane of the Tianyuan Great World.
It was only natural that the father could not continue the investigation.
However, failing to capture the assassin will likely deal a significant blow to the reputation of the Gongshu family.
Thinking of this, the Gongshu family ancestors could already foresee what kind of waves would be stirred up in the outside world after the events that happened in Zhou Tian City today were spread.
It's likely that all sorts of rumors and gossip unfavorable to the Gongshu family will start circulating.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that’s secondary. I have something more important to tell you now, so listen carefully.”
The white-haired, youthful-looking old man could tell what everyone was thinking just by looking at their expressions.
He thought of the suffocating feeling he had sensed in the dark, and said with a solemn expression.
Seeing their father's solemn expression, the other Gongshu family elders were all taken aback, and their faces also became serious.
No one knows what the ancestors of the Gongshu family discussed in the end, but on this day, the guards of Zhou Tian City became extremely tight.
No longer can people come and go as they please; instead, everyone entering and leaving must have identification, or they will be treated as demons.
On a relatively remote street, the owner of a pill shop was surprised to find that the weapon-refining shop across the street never opened again.
...
High in the sky, some distance from Zhou Tian City, spanning countless continents.
A spatial vortex suddenly appeared, and then a silver flying boat emerged from it.
Lu Qing's figure flew out of the flying boat. After quickly putting the void flying boat away, he activated the teleportation jade talisman several more times before finding a mountain forest, flying down to find a cave, and concealing his aura.
After a long while, seeing that there was no movement outside, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was naturally not worried about the old ghost from the Gongshu family catching up.
With the power of the Void Flying Boat, a high-grade spiritual artifact, and the spatial distance it can leap, even a powerful being at the fifth stage of the Nascent Soul realm would not be able to catch up.
His concern was that the fluctuations of the void airship might attract the attention of some powerful beings here.
Although the probability was very small, he still cautiously chose a more secure approach.
Seeing that there was no commotion outside, he knew that he wasn't so unlucky after all, and only then did he truly relax.
"This time it was really embarrassing."
After confirming that it was truly safe, Lu Qing couldn't help but chuckle.
Perhaps in the eyes of the Gongshu family, their infiltration of Zhou Tian City, assassination of Gongshu Lian, slaying of several Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, toying with a group of Gongshu family ancestors, and even escaping from the clutches of a Fifth Tribulation Nascent Soul Realm expert were all part of the success they had achieved.
They can be described as cunning and treacherous.
But only Lu Qing knew that every step he took was extremely risky, and the slightest mistake would lead to his discovery.
It was only because he possessed the powerful trump card of the Secret Realm Stone Tablet that he dared to take such a risk.
Otherwise, even if he had the courage, he wouldn't dare to carry out such a high-profile assassination under the noses of a group of Nascent Soul experts whose cultivation levels far surpassed his own.
Fortunately, although this trip was risky, the rewards were enormous.
Lu Qing scanned the Li Huo Cauldron and the Qiankun Yi Qi Bag with his mind, and his mood began to improve.
He first scattered dozens of jade talismans to set up an array to conceal his aura before releasing Xiao Li.
"Ah, Ah Qing, I... I saw so many spirit stones in the Fire Cauldron!"
As soon as Xiao Li came out, she rushed to Lu Qing and called out in a somewhat stammering voice.
"I got those from a treasure vault in the Gongshu family. Not only the Fire Cauldron, but also the Universe Qi Bag contains quite a few spirit stones," Lu Qing said with a smile.
Previously, in order to empty the treasure vault of the second branch of the Gongshu family as quickly as possible, Lu Qing directly activated his two spiritual artifacts to collect the treasures.
Both the Fire Cauldron and the Universe Qi Bag now contain a considerable number of treasures.
"There's still some in the Qiankun Qi Bag! Ah Qing, you've taken over the Gongshu family's treasure trove?"
Xiao Li's eyes widened immediately.
Lu Qing was extremely cautious this time, and he even concealed the fluctuations of the Li Huo Cauldron in order to hide his aura.
Therefore, Xiao Li was unaware of what had happened in Zhou Tiancheng before.
"It is only the treasure trove of one of the direct branches, not the largest treasure trove of the Gongshu family."
Lu Qing explained.
"It's not even all the spirit stones from the Gongshu family?" Xiao Li was even more surprised.
It was already quite awe-inspiring to see the mountain of spirit stones piled up inside the Fire Cauldron.
Unexpectedly, those were just spirit stones from one of the treasure troves of the Gongshu family.
“I didn’t expect the Gongshu family to be so wealthy. Let’s go inside and take a look.”
Looking at the cave in front of him, and recalling the number of spirit stones in the Fire Cauldron and the Universe Qi Bag, Lu Qing finally decided to go inside to count them.
"Okay, okay!"
Xiao Li became excited.
It had just been rolling around on that Spirit Stone Mountain and hadn't had enough fun yet, so when Aqing released it, it naturally wanted to go back in and play.
Immediately, Lu Qing led Xiao Li back into the Fire Cauldron.
In the spiritual artifact space, a figure stood in a daze in front of a "small mountain" exuding a rich spiritual aura. Who else could it be but "Yan"?
"Owner."
As soon as Lu Qing entered the spirit artifact space, "Yan" sensed it and immediately came to greet him.
As for Xiao Li, she pounced on the spirit stone mountain again and started rolling around.
Instantly, spirit stones began to scatter, making the spiritual energy within the spirit artifact space even more concentrated.
"Master, our harvest this time has been truly enormous."
Seeing this scene, Yan couldn't help but sigh.
Compared to Xiao Li, it knew where these spirit stones came from, after all, it had helped Lu Qing when he was sweeping through the treasure vault.
"Yes, I didn't expect the harvest to be so great this time."
Looking at the small mountain of spirit stones, Lu Qing was also somewhat excited.
When he infiltrated the inner city, he hadn't even considered robbing the Gongshu family's treasury.
Finally, it was through Qiao Rong's memories that he learned of the treasure vault's existence, which led him to make the decision on a whim.
Unexpectedly, this impromptu decision became {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the biggest gain of the trip.
"Yan, have you counted how many spirit stones are here?"
Although there are many other treasures in that vault, what Lu Qing values most now is spirit stones.
After all, this is related to whether he can quickly break through his limits and enter the divine realm above the ninth level of the Golden Core stage.
"It has been counted."
Yan nodded slightly.
Although there are many spirit stones here, as the spirit of the Li Huo Cauldron, it has complete control over this spiritual space. Taking inventory of the treasures would be a piece of cake for it.
"There are a total of 383,546 mid-grade spirit stones here."
"Three hundred and eighty thousand..."
Even though Lu Qing was mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but gasp when she heard the number.
There's no way around it; the number is just too enormous.
Moreover, there is a batch of spirit stones in the Qiankun Qi Bag. Although it is not as many as the Li Huo Cauldron, it will still amount to a considerable number when added together.
It should be noted that his original goal was only 100,000 mid-grade spirit stones, but this time, he directly achieved several times that goal.
How could Lu Qing not be shocked by this?
"Now, I won't have to worry about spirit stones for a long time."
Lu Qing was deeply moved.
With this sum of spirit stones, he can not only break through his limits and enter the realm of the ninth level of the Golden Core stage, but also...
Even if one achieves the primordial spirit, and for a period of time after that, one probably won't have to worry about lacking spirit stones anymore.
"The Gongshu family is truly rolling in wealth. Just the treasury of the second branch of the direct line has so many spirit stones. How rich must the Gongshu family's true treasury be?"
Lu Qing couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
However, this time, Lu Qing was mistaken.
He was unaware that among the several direct branches of the Gongshu family, the second branch was known for its business acumen, not only owning numerous properties but also being adept at earning spirit stones.
That's why the treasure vault contains so many spirit stones.
If it were the treasure vaults of the other houses, they would be lucky to have one-tenth the amount of spirit stones here.
However, Lu Qing's surprises didn't end there.
Just then, "Flame" reached out and a treasure box appeared in its hand.
