Chapter 15: Wealth Tempts the Heart (Please Follow)

"Many thanks, Immortal, for your protection over us. However, this fierce beast is extremely dangerous, and you must not be careless!"

"Eldest Brother" said with a lingering fear: "Just now, the three of us brothers fought with it and found that the fierce beast is not only immensely strong and quick as the wind, but it's also clad in hard armor, impervious to swords and spears. Even the flying axes crafted from Qingjin Stone and bronze alloy shattered into powder after a single blow!"

The youngest hurriedly said: "It's not yet dawn, wouldn't it be better for the Immortal to wait until the fog clears before searching for it?"

Their words were, of course, not out of concern for Yu Yuan, but fear of danger befalling themselves after he left.

Yu Yuan ignored them and went into the dense fog on his own.

Figures flickered within the fog, and it trembled violently as if it were alive.

The three watched the dense fog nervously, their hearts pounding with the uncertainty of their fate.

Soon, a loud boom emitted from the fog.

It was like the clashing of metal or the thunder of a summer storm.

Then came a piercing howl, like the scream of a ghastly ghost or the mournful wail of a wicked wolf, causing the hair on their heads to stand on end and their hearts to become even more uneasy.

Quickly, the howling ceased abruptly.

The three knew that meant the outcome had been decided, and they all stared intently into the fog, their hearts in their throats.

For the result of this battle would determine their own fates as well.

If even that nameless Immortal was no match for the fierce beast, then, even under the shelter of the palace's radiant brilliance, they would sooner or later end up in the belly of that creature.

"Whoosh—"

A gust of wind came through, carrying the unique fresh scent of the mountains after rain.

The fog moved with the wind and quickly dispersed.

A tall figure walked out from the mist slowly, his steps steady and firm.

His build was imposing, his face handsome, and in his mouth, he held a greyish-brown stick, shining with scarlet light—having shortened by less than an inch since he had left.

"Immortal!"

"Eldest Brother" hurried forward, his eyes looking behind Yu Yuan, "I wonder what happened to that fierce beast..."

"Oh, that was a Golden Armored Mysterious Snake, it's been locked up in the zoo now."

Yu Yuan said truthfully and then asked with a smile, "Would you like to see what it looks like? I can arrange to take you in there."

"No, no!"

"Eldest Brother" waved his hands repeatedly.

Although he didn't quite understand what "zoo" meant, his intuition told him it wasn't a good place.

It was at this moment that a sudden intuition struck him, the Yellow Talisman in his hand flickering with a faint glimmer of light.

With the fog gone, the Communication Spirit Talisman had regained its function.

"It's the third uncle!"

As he spoke, a yellow beam of light descended from the sky, landing accurately in front of the three of them.

The newcomer was dressed in a yellow Daoist robe and wore a Primordial headband, his face framed with three strands of beard, exuding an aura of sagely wisdom.

Just as he landed, he immediately looked anxiously at the "Eldest Brother" and the others, "Has that thing been lost?"

"Eldest Brother" shook his head and spoke softly, "You can rest assured, third uncle."

He then described in detail what had happened earlier using the Primordial Spirit Transmission Skill.

After hearing his account, the newcomer's expression eased, and he turned to Yu Yuan and bowed, saying, "I am Xuanji Zi, the Dharma Protector Elder of the Yangji Sect of Chaoyang Valley. I thank you, my Taoist friend, for protecting my three apprentices, otherwise, they might have lost their lives."

While he paid his respects, his gaze fell on the palace behind Yu Yuan, revealing a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Having attained the way of Immortality for many years, his vision was incomparable to those three apprentices.

With just one glance, he recognized that the timber used to build this palace was all a divine underwater wood known as "Golden Silk Red Willow."

This godly wood, resembling a willow, grows only next to underwater volcanoes in the deep ocean, constantly absorbing the sinister qi of the abyssal waters and the baleful fire qi from the earth. If used in crafting treasures, just a bit of it could grant the treasures with the divine power of being impervious to water and fire!

If used in medicine and alchemy, it could elicit its contained sinister and baleful energies, serving as a powerful tonic for cultivators of the Yin Yang Path!

Regrettably, Golden Silk Red Willow is extremely difficult to grow, nearly impossible to cultivate.

Moreover, it grows very slowly, only reaching an inch in a thousand years.

To wait for it to become a fathom tall would require at least the span of an eon!

And yet, the size of this palace suggests it used entire Golden Silk Red Willow trunks, all several fathoms tall!

This is a Supreme Treasure!

With this thought, he secretly employed his divine skills to gaze upon the owner of the palace.

In his sight, the palace owner had a faint mysterious light shrouding his head.

A superior Profound Immortal!

Xuanji Zi's eyes immediately became eager.

In Primordial times, below the Golden Immortals lay the four stages of Heaven and Earth True Xuan, divided into three grades, each with its own mysteries.

New entrants to the Immortal Path, infused with the Immortal Spirit Qi and transforming into a pure and untainted Immortal Spirit Body, become the lower grade Profound Immortals.

A Profound Immortal, at the latest, must survive the Three Calamities every five hundred years. Failure results in the vanishing of a lifetime's cultivation; success allows the absorption of True Mysterious Light into the Primordial Spirit.

After all three calamities have been surpassed, one can achieve the True Immortal Dao Fruit!

Xuanji Zi is none other than a True Immortal!

Otherwise, he would not dare to covet the Qingqiu Nine-tailed Fox clan.

At that moment, he looked at Yu Yuan without changing his expression and said, "Fellow Daoist has saved my three junior disciples; my Yangji Sect must express our profound gratitude... Right, we still do not know about Fellow Daoist's origins, please enlighten us."

Yu Yuan glanced at him, "I am a Primordial One Qi Immortal. As for my origins..."

Seeing his hesitation, Xuanji Zi hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand, I just think of letting these three build an Immortal Temple for Fellow Daoist to offer incense day and night, to thank you for saving their lives."

Hearing this, "Big Senior Brother" looked moved and quickly said, "Uncle-Master is right. The grace of saving life from Immortal is beyond our ability to repay. We only ask that Immortal give us a chance to offer incense."

Ever since the Western Sect spread the method of gathering incense fire wish power, everywhere in the Primordial lands various Immortal Gods established Immortal Temples to gather wish power and collect merits.

"Fair enough."

Yu Yuan took a puff of his cigarette, chuckling, "However, I'm just a loose cultivator who happened to luck upon this Treasure Hall over a thousand years ago and managed to achieve true results."

A glint flashed in Xuanji Zi's eyes, he said meaningfully: "So this Treasure Hall was stumbled upon by Fellow Daoist, it seems you indeed have profound fate!"

After a pause, he smilingly said, "I find a kindred spirit in Fellow Daoist. It happens that our Yangji Sect is hosting an alchemy banquet today. Would you like to accompany me to Chaoyang Valley to appreciate the Great Pills?"

"That wouldn't be proper, would it?"

"Fellow Daoist saved the disciples of our Yangji Sect today, which makes you a cherished friend of ours! A cherished friend's visit would be welcomed by our sect with open doors and hospitality... Attend!"

Following the word "attend," a golden light shot out from Xuanji Zi's sleeves, circled around Yu Yuan several times with the speed of thunder not covering one's ears, and then suddenly tightened fiercely.

"What are you doing?"

Yu Yuan looked down at the golden light entwined around his body and realized it was an extremely thin rope tied tightly around him, preventing him from moving his hands and legs.

He tried to shrug his shoulders, but the rope tightened, digging deeply into his flesh.

[Flesh damage: Resilience +2]

"What am I doing?"

Xuanji Zi sneered, his face no longer warm, only greed and cruelty remained.

"It's just that you're too weak, just a superior Profound Immortal. How could you guard such a Supreme Treasure Hall?"

"Oh, I see now."

Yu Yuan had a moment of realization, "You want to kill for treasure!"

"Don't make it sound so unpleasant. In the Primordial times, treasures have always belonged to those capable!"

Xuanji Zi laughed coldly, slowly saying, "Don't think about escaping. The rope that binds you is the Immortal Binding Rope, a treasure of our Yangji Sect. It was given to me by the Sect Master to guard against those Fox Spirits.

Once bound, even a superior Heavenly Immortal would have their Primordial Spirit restricted and be rendered useless!

You should feel proud that such a treasure is used on a mere Profound Immortal!

Stay put. Once I've taken the Treasure Hall, I will deal with you."

After speaking, he waved a great sleeve towards the golden and brilliant palace, attempting to take it into his sleeve, but the palace stood immovable as if rooted to the ground.

Xuanji Zi was somewhat surprised, then turned to Yu Yuan and said, "It seems this treasure is even more powerful than I imagined! I advise you to surrender the secret technique for acquiring this Treasure Hall. Otherwise, I will stimulate the Immortal Binding Rope and break your body into eighteen segments!

Believe me, the experience is absolutely unbearable. And since the Immortal Binding Rope can restrain the Primordial Spirit and trap the body, the more you struggle, the tighter it binds, the tighter it binds, the more unbearable pain you will suffer, and then you will lose control and struggle..."

"From what you say, it seems this treasure is quite suitable for me."

Yu Yuan struggled interestingly as he spoke, and the Immortal Binding Rope indeed immediately tightened.

The fine golden thread dug deep into his flesh, making him look rather funny, like strings of candied hawthorns.

However, at this moment, Xuanji Zi couldn't laugh at all.

Not only could he not laugh, but he even began to feel a trace of fear inside.

Because he didn't hear the agonizing screams that should be heart-wrenching.

He had heard more than one Immortal God let out miserable howls under the Immortal Binding Rope, which were cries of agony and endless despair.

But the superior Profound Immortal in front of him, who claimed to be a "Primordial One Qi Immortal," remained unexpectedly calm as the Immortal Binding Rope continued to tighten, not even twitching his eyebrows.

Can he not feel the pain?

A doubt flashed through Xuanji Zi's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Because the Immortal Binding Rope could stimulate the Divine Soul, making the bound Immortal Gods feel a hundred or thousand-fold pain. That's the secret behind why those Immortals couldn't bear it.

At that moment, a "bang" noise suddenly came.

Xuanji Zi followed the sound and his face turned pale.

The golden Immortal Binding Rope had snapped in two, lying limply on the ground like poisonous snakes with their vitals gripped.

Yu Yuan kicked the "dead snakes" on the ground and looked at the visibly shaking Xuanji Zi with disappointment, "You hyped it up so much, I thought it was something extraordinary... Is that all?"

"Thud—"

Xuanji Zi hesitated for only a moment before suddenly kneeling down, knocking his head like pounding garlic, "Immortal, please spare my life, I was momentarily blinded and failed to recognize Mount Tai... Please show mercy, Immortal, and spare me this once..."

Behind him, "Big Senior Brother" and the others exchanged a glance, and also quickly knelt down. They kowtowed like pounding garlic as well, but what they said was entirely different.

"Immortal sees clearly! Uncle-Master's actions have nothing to do with us three! Please spare our lives, Immortal!"

"Yes, Immortal, we did not know that Uncle-Master harbored such malicious intentions!"

Listening to the rhythmic sound of the four kowtowing, Yu Yuan lost his interest and said indifferently, "First hand over the Nine-tailed Foxes you captured. If you behave, I might consider sparing your lives."

...