Chapter 422: Chapter 69: Storyteller 3
’And now, even a middling sect like the Celestial Spirit Sect has suddenly produced such a disciple. His cultivation hasn’t even reached the Duality realm, yet with that Disguise Technique... I’ve been watching him all day. I even just used my special sight to get a closer look, and I still can’t see through it at all. Tsk, tsk... This Hongmeng is really becoming more and more interesting. It’s only been a few decades, and things are already this lively. I wonder what exactly the Celestial Secret Ancestor of the Celestial Secret Grotto Heaven divined all those millennia ago. Speaking of which, the Celestial Secret Grotto Heaven is truly formidable. Every time they perform a divination, great changes sweep through Hongmeng. If not for the limitations of their path, Hongmeng might have long had four Holy Lands reigning supreme.’
Fuyuan looked at him and said, "Don’t even think about it. And don’t try to beat around the bush with me. Regarding this matter, not only do I truly not know, but even if I did, I couldn’t possibly tell you."
"The affairs between the upper echelons of the Holy Lands and Blessed Lands... how could a Loose Cultivator like you or a marginal figure like me possibly meddle in them?"
"Just stay put in your Academy and teach your disciples well!"
"I should be heading back as well. Huineng has made his Original Vow, and now there’s a mountain of things to deal with when I get back."
Hearing this, Guu Donglin gave him a meaningful look and said, "Heh, a Blessed Land... truly blessed with profound fortune, aren’t you!"
"Old Monk, let things with Huineng run their course. Don’t try to force it."
"With his talent back then, he had a chance to compete among all your disciples."
"But now, that vow of his has completely severed his path to becoming a Buddha. Even becoming a Bodhisattva will depend on how he fulfills and resolves his vow from now on."
"With such an Original Vow, living a quiet life of leisure like you and I... it’s not such a bad thing."
Fuyuan didn’t reply. He gazed faintly at the horizon, a rare, fleeting look of reluctance flickering across his usually indifferent, aged face.
’Monks are not people who do not contend. In the Hongmeng Immortal Dao, there is no path of non-contention. To not contend is, in itself, the path of greatest contention.’
"By the way, regarding the matter of the Five Elements Remnants, how will your Leiyin Temple handle it? Can you track them down?"
...
After leaving Huayue City, Zhang Deming was enveloped in a surging gray mist, and his presence quickly faded.
Holding a Spirit Stone in his hand, Zhang Deming once again entered a state of rapid travel.
He would fly for a period until he reached his limit, then land and sprint for a while. By alternating between the two, Zhang Deming returned to the Sect the very next day and arrived at the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower.
The trip had been perilous at times, but thanks to a series of fortunate encounters, he had gathered all the necessary materials.
’Thinking about it now, it probably has something to do with my Qi Fortune.’
As his Qi Fortune continuously increased, although much of it was converted into Skills, a good portion still remained with him. After all, his consumption of Qi Fortune was different from Li Shifan’s, which was a direct, fundamental drain that damaged his very foundation.
If it weren’t so, he would probably look just like Li Shifan whenever he consumed Qi Fortune—pale and completely drained.
Therefore, the amount of Qi Fortune he currently possessed was not insignificant.
After returning to the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower, Zhang Deming didn’t bother with anything else and went straight to his storage room.
This place had now become his most important location; many of his valuable items were stored here.
Zhang Deming walked to a corner of the room and stood before a shelf. There were only two items on it.
One was a pair of Secret Realm Tokens, and the other was an ordinary-looking box.
When Zhang Deming first obtained it from Qu Wei, based on its appearance, he had assumed it was an Inheritance Box containing a Daoist Collection left behind by some senior.
’Something like what Pei Xiaoxiao’s grandfather did, sealing some basic Technique scriptures inside for his descendants.’
’But after the incident with Guann Zhenzhen and that old ghost, this thing might not be so simple after all!’
’After all, I hadn’t really offended that old ghost, and he shouldn’t have known much about me. Yet, the very first thing he did after breaking his seal was to come looking for me.’
’He even asked me for something called the ’Celestial Heart Treasure Box’?’
During his trip to the Turtle Water Secret Realm, he hadn’t obtained any Celestial Heart Treasure Box.
If he had to guess what might be the Celestial Heart Treasure Box, the most likely candidate was this item he had hastily picked up from Qu Wei’s belongings after killing him in a counter-attack.
Zhang Deming picked up the ordinary-looking box. A dense Spiritual Light flared in his eyes.
He pushed his Tier Three Reconnaissance Spiritual Eye to its absolute limit, but it had no effect. He learned nothing.
Immediately after, Runes began to swirl within his gaze as he combined his Tier Three Array Dao with the Spiritual Eye, but he still found nothing.
’Back then, I was afraid of breaking it and didn’t have a key, so I only tried a little before setting it aside. I set it aside for so long I almost forgot about it.’
’But now...’
After observing it for a long time with no results, Zhang Deming hesitated for a moment before the power of arrays began to surge from his hands.
But when he carefully controlled the power to probe it, there was no reaction at all. The damn thing acted just like an ordinary Inheritance Box.
Gritting his teeth, Zhang Deming waved his hand, activating all the arrays in the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower. He then went down to his secret underground chamber and, for the first time, began to probe the box with his full power.
And for the first time, under Zhang Deming’s full power, the box reacted.
As the full force of his array power invaded it, the box flickered with a brief flash of spiritual light, and then... nothing.
The Spiritual Power he poured into it vanished as if thrown into an abyss, without causing so much as a ripple.
Refusing to give up, Zhang Deming spent the better part of the day tinkering with it in the secret chamber. He even let his automated cultivation script run until his Spiritual Power was completely depleted.
But the box remained like a stubborn stone, showing no change whatsoever.
Finally, after wrestling with it for most of the day, Zhang Deming put the box down in frustration.
’Sigh, if I just knew how to open this thing, I’d know what it really is.’
’Hmm...’
’Wait... how to open it?’
