The dark cave was eerie and mysterious, with a dim, ghostly light emanating from it.
Xiao Wenbing and the others walked silently through the cave. This trip had wasted three years, yet they had gained nothing. Not to mention the spirit of water, they hadn't even collected a single drop of the Nether Water. How could they not be frustrated?
Fortunately, they obtained a Golden Spirit, but it was a lifeless creature. Even Xiao Wenbing couldn't guarantee that it could be restored.
The leader of the food kings suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, "We're back."
Suddenly, the area brightened, and the exit of the passage appeared. The group filed out, where the Divine Tree Ancestor had been waiting for them for some time.
Just by looking at the expressions on their faces, one could guess the outcome pretty much. However, the Divine Tree Ancestor was different from them; he took gains and losses lightly and not only didn't blame them, but also offered kind words of comfort.
Xiao Wenbing stepped forward, bowed deeply to the ancestor, and said, "Ancestor, although we did not obtain the Water Spirit, we have obtained another spiritual object."
The Divine Tree Ancestor was taken aback and asked, "What kind of spiritual object?"
Xiao Wenbing reached out and the golden stone cane instantly appeared in his hand.
The Divine Tree Ancestor stared blankly for a long time before asking, "What is this?"
“Golden Spirit.” Xiao Wenbing was taken aback. How come even the old tortoise hadn’t noticed? Could something be wrong? But it seemed unlikely that the old tortoise was lying to him.
"The Spirit of Gold?" The voice of the Divine Tree Ancestor was filled with astonishment. It stared at the cane for a long time and said, "But why is there not a trace of spiritual energy in it?"
"Oh, that's because the spirit of the Golden Spirit died."
"What?"
"All things in nature are born and die. This spirit of metal was unlucky, so it died."
The Divine Tree Ancestor clicked its lip. Having lived for countless years, this was the first time it had heard of such a theory. It couldn't help but smile wryly, saying, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, you are unaware that the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth are the gathering of spiritual beings. If their spirituality dissipates, they vanish into nothingness. How could they possibly still coalesce into a form?"
"Really?" Xiao Wenbing was taken aback. Could it be that the old tortoise had really lied to him?
Zhang Yaqi stepped forward and said softly, "Ancestor. This spiritual object was created by a deity who accidentally erased its spiritual essence while forging a divine artifact, which is why it retained its physical form."
The Divine Tree Ancestor remained silent for a long time, nodding and shaking its head repeatedly, before finally sighing, "The methods of the gods are indeed beyond my comprehension." It reached out and grasped one end of its cane, and after a moment said, "Strange. Truly extraordinary."
"how?"
“I just inputted a large amount of life energy, and this thing accepted it completely.”
"So what?"
"It seems that the spirit of this golden essence has not been completely erased, but a little bit remains."
"Ah!" Xiao Wenbing was overjoyed. If that's the case, then they can definitely be saved.
The Divine Tree Ancestor withdrew his hand and sighed helplessly, "However, the Spirit of Gold is one of the Five Spirits and my nemesis. No matter how much energy I input, it will be of no use."
Xiao Wenbing laughed three times confidently. He said, "There's no need for you to worry about that, senior. I have my own plan."
"You have a way?" The Divine Tree Ancestor's eyes suddenly lit up. "That's right, you can indeed do it, but..."
"But what?" Xiao Wenbing urged, seeing the old man hesitate.
"It's just that your cultivation level is too shallow. I don't know how long it will take to replenish the life force of the Golden Spirit."
"It's alright," Xiao Wenbing said with a frank smile. "Even an iron rod can be ground into a needle. Dripping water can wear away stone. As long as we succeed, what's a little more time?"
"Good." Ancestor Shenmu laughed and praised, "With Fellow Daoist Xiao's mindset, I am relieved."
After bidding farewell to the Divine Tree Ancestor, Xiao Wenbing arrived at the teleportation array and handed something to the Food King, saying, "Senior is about to ascend, so I have specially crafted a magic artifact to present to you. Please accept it."
The Food King casually took it, unfolded it, and saw that it was a whip. The whip was small and exquisite, seemingly unremarkable. The Food King glanced at Xiao Wenbing curiously; he naturally knew that Xiao Wenbing held the prestigious title of Grandmaster Weapon Refiner. Therefore, anything he gave away must be of high quality.
However, even with his exceptional eyesight, he couldn't see anything special about the whip.
"Why don't you give it a try, senior?"
"good."
The King of Food was also a straightforward person, channeling his spiritual power into the whip.
"call……"
A powerful wind pressure emanated from the whip, instantly increasing its size several times over. At the same time, a dazzling pearl appeared at one end of the whip.
"This is..." The Food King stared blankly at the bright pearl, feeling its powerful aura. His eyes flashed with a mixture of surprise and delight, clearly recognizing its origin.
"Suicide bomb!" Shabir's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock.
The Food King was taken aback, a chill running down his spine. He asked, "Suicide...bullet?"
“That’s right, be careful. Once this thing has enough energy, it will produce a powerful explosion. If it happens during a heavenly tribulation, you’ll be completely obliterated,” Shabir said solemnly.
"No... I don't think so." The Food King murmured, "In my opinion, this seems to be a level nine Earth Universal Pearl."
Shabir's face was solemn, without a trace of a smile, and he said, "Whether you believe it or not is up to you, but I have personally suffered for it."
"Cough cough..." Xiao Wenbing coughed repeatedly and said, "Senior Food King, please feel free to use it. This is indeed a level nine universal bead." After saying that, he turned around, pulled Shabir into the teleportation array, and immediately activated the array to leave.
The King of Food was left holding the whip, gesturing in the air for a long time, still undecided whether to use it.
His insight and knowledge were exceptionally high; he naturally knew that a level nine universal bead could unleash a sixty-four-fold amplification effect. Moreover, he didn't know what the whip was made of—it was neither gold nor wood, yet incredibly tough. The arrays on the whip were even more mysterious and unfathomable; with his limited knowledge, he couldn't discern what they were or understand their mysteries. But it was precisely this that fueled his curiosity even more.
After hesitating for a moment, he muttered to himself, "Let's give it a try, it should be fine."
Although the old man-eating flower had many magical treasures, it gave its only level 10 magical artifact, "Starry Sky Illusion," to the Butterfly Fairy. Therefore, it coveted the all-purpose bead that could amplify the effect by sixty times.
He picked up the whip, channeled all his spiritual power, shouted loudly, and lashed it forward.
His gaze remained fixed on the all-powerful bead at the tip of the whip. Suddenly, the bead lit up, emitting a strong and dazzling light. The old man-eating flower's heart leaped into his throat, and he focused all his attention, ready to react at any moment.
"boom……"
A powerful flash of light shot out from the universal bead at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, striking the distant rocks with a deafening explosion.
Pebbles flew everywhere, and dust billowed. When he looked up, half of the mountain peak had vanished.
The old man-eating flower stared dumbfounded at the whip in its hand; its power was astounding…
His eyes gleamed with increasing intensity; this power was far more than sixty-four times greater. It was likely a full hundred times stronger. He lovingly stroked the small whip in his hand, quite certain that it was already a level ten magical artifact. With this thing in his possession, he was even confident he could rival an immortal.
Looking at the empty teleportation array, he felt a surge of emotion. When did Xiao Wenbing forge such a magical artifact? Looking up at the sky, the old man-eating flower laughed loudly and shouted, "With this treasure in hand, even the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation will not frighten me!"
Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the sky, and a thick cloud gradually formed above his head—a clear sign of an impending heavenly tribulation.
The old man-eating flower's laughter abruptly stopped. He scratched his head, then suddenly knelt down, wailing, "Heavens above, please don't send down the Nine Heavens Thunder and Fire Tribulation..."
Inside the teleportation array, Xiao Wenbing bowed deeply to Shabir and said, "Senior, please forgive my past mistakes. I acted hastily in a moment of crisis."
"Not at all, we were each serving our own masters at the time, so please don't blame us, fellow Daoist."
Xiao Wenbing chuckled to himself, thinking to himself, "You may not blame me, but you still remember it in your heart."
However, Shabir only grumbled at this moment. If he wanted to ascend to the Immortal Realm and avoid the Heavenly Tribulation in the future, he would still need Xiao Wenbing's help. Therefore, he decided to stop while he was ahead and never mentioned the matter again.
The teleportation array, controlled by Shabir, quickly arrived at Tianding Star. Their presence was barely felt on the planet before Quini detected them. With a flash, Quini used a fixed-point teleportation technique to appear beside them. Quini's gaze swept over their faces, and he asked Shabir, "Well, did you succeed?"
Shabir shook his head, and Quini immediately looked disappointed. However, the smoke nodded again, and the flames on Quini's body suddenly jumped up. Why did it nod and shake its head at the same time? What kind of answer was that?
"Quinnie, the Water Spirit has not been found."
“Ah…” Queenie immediately lowered her head, her face full of disappointment.
Shabir laughed and said, "But Fellow Daoist Xiao obtained a Golden Spirit."
“Golden…Spirit?” Queenie was taken aback, and it took her a moment to realize what he meant.
"Yes, it's a pity it's a dead Golden Spirit."
"What?" Queenie was completely dumbfounded this time.
Xiao Wenbing stepped forward helplessly, fearing that if Shabir continued, even he himself would become confused: "Simply put, we obtained a golden spirit in the underworld."
Queenie paused, looking at them suspiciously, and asked, "Did you go to the underworld?"
"That's natural."
"After the Water Spirit appeared in the Underworld, a Metal Spirit appeared as well?" Quini asked, puzzled. It's no wonder he was surprised. Apart from the Wood Spirit, it's harder than ascending to heaven for any plane to produce a spirit of the five elements. If two spirits of the five elements were to be produced in a plane at the same time, it would be unimaginable.
Shabir shook his head and recounted the entire journey to him. When he heard that they had encountered another deity, Quini could no longer help but exclaim in astonishment. In all his years, he had only witnessed miracles, never a deity. But Xiao Wenbing, in just a few short years, had encountered two deities, and had gained a great deal from them. Such a destiny was truly astonishing.
Volume 6 Scams and Deceptions, Chapter 2: The Gift of Weapons (Part 2)
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After returning to the Jade Cauldron Sect and settling in, Xiao Wenbing led two of his immortal subordinates to a secluded spot on the back mountain. He took out two magical artifacts from his Heavenly Void Ring and handed them to them, saying with a smile, "Quini, Shabir, in the Underworld, I crafted a magical treasure for each of you. Take a look."
"Thank you, fellow Daoist." Quini casually accepted it.
Shabir also received it, but his gaze toward Xiao Wenbing was quite strange. When was this made? How could he be completely unaware?
The two examined the items in their hands carefully, and after a moment, a look of surprise appeared on their faces.
After all, they were immortals who had ascended to heaven. As soon as they saw the item in their hands, they sensed its extraordinary nature. However, they could not immediately discern exactly what made it so special.
In Quinni's hand was a small stick. He tried to infuse it with immortal energy, and the stick immediately swelled up like an inflatable sac. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a twelve-foot-long red-tasseled spear.
The gun's body is made of an extremely tough material, its composition unknown, and it is engraved with several strange formations. Stimulated by the power of immortal spirits, it is also surrounded by a layer of faint red light.
"Quinni, try using the Celestial Flame."
Quini hesitated for a moment. The Celestial Flame originated from the Fire Spirit Immortal, and its temperature was inconceivably high. Not to mention magical artifacts from the cultivation world, even ordinary immortal artifacts would be unable to withstand it. However, since Xiao Wenbing had spoken, he must have some confidence. So he slowly poured in a little Celestial Flame, watching carefully. If he noticed anything amiss, he would stop immediately.
However, a moment later, his eyes flashed with a strange light. The resilience of this red-tasseled spear far exceeded his expectations. Under the impact of the immortal fire, it not only showed no signs of melting, but instead, a fierce flame rose from the spearhead, adding three points to its power.
He lightly slashed the ground with his gun, and a wisp of smoke rose where the tip passed. A crack about a foot deep appeared on the ground, and all obstacles were vaporized by the high temperature, leaving no trace.
"Good, good gun," Quinni exclaimed with delight.
Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly. On his journey back from the underworld, he not only created the modified Xuanwu Shield, but also made a weapon for Quini and the others in his spare time.
With the inexhaustible energy provided by the Void Cauldron and the god's superhuman control abilities, he was able to create these items out of thin air within a month.
Shabir, watching with envy, said, "I'll give it a try too."
In his hand lay a small fan, which, after being infused with immortal energy, expanded several times in size, its surface adorned with ten thousand and eight tiny spirit stones. Wisps of smoke rose from it, enveloping the fan like swirling clouds.
"This is..." Shabir frowned. Although he knew this treasure was definitely a rare gem, he didn't know how to use it.