"What?!"
"It's really true!"
"Was it transcribed?!"
The moment this disciple finished speaking, the surrounding deacons' expressions all changed.
When Zhang Qianren heard those words, his mind instantly went blank.
Fortunately, he quickly came back to his senses.
But his thin, gaunt cheeks still twitched involuntarily, and his heart began pounding violently.
The reason was that treasures previously listed on the Divine Weapon Compendium were not only recorded in extreme detail, but even their owners were stated.
Thinking of this, before the other deacons could react, he immediately turned around and said urgently, "Was it transcribed? Quickly, let this old man see it!"
He had already been standing not far from the door, so as he turned, he found himself face to face with this disciple.
Hearing this, the disciple hurriedly pulled out a folded piece of paper from inside his robe and handed it over.
Zhang Qianren took the paper, his hand trembling slightly.
At this moment, he feared two things: first, that the paper stated he, Zhang Qianren, was the one who had obtained the treasure; second, that this disciple might say something that could harm him.
If that were the case, he would have no choice but to rely on the supreme treasure's power to fight his way out.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, unease surfaced on his face, and he waved his hand with a trembling voice. "You may go now."
The instant the disciple turned to leave, he impatiently unfolded the paper.
What met his eyes was messy handwriting, clear evidence that the one who transcribed it had also been shaken to the core.
【In the 247th year of the Great Prosperity era, in the third month, a supreme treasure was born within the Vast Eastern Sea.】
【At that time, a golden lotus surged from the sea, wind and thunder stirred together, and a strange fragrance filled the sky—one that could strengthen the soul upon inhaling it.】
【As nine-colored light pillars of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, white, and black connected heaven and earth, ten thousand zhang beneath the sea, rosy clouds shone brilliantly and auspicious light billowed forth.】
【This treasure stands ten thousand zhang tall and fifty-nine zhang wide, with golden hoops on both ends bearing cloud patterns. Its shaft is made of black iron, upon which five characters are inscribed—Ruyi Jingu Bang.】
【According to reports, it was born from the vast Cosmic Sea of Stars during the time of primordial chaos and ignorance, before the creation of heaven and earth. It possesses boundless, immeasurable power, able to stabilize the torrent of spacetime, fix the sun, moon, and stars in place, and pacify rivers, lakes, and seas.】
【The name "Ruyi" comes from the meaning of "size as desired" and "changing according to one's will."】
【At its largest, it is boundless and without limit; at its smallest, it is as tiny as a speck of dust—and it possesses infinite transformative power.】
【Because it was born before heaven and earth itself, it is also called the "innate supreme treasure!"】
【Although its spirituality has faded due to its great age, it can restore its spirituality by devouring any metal, and can even continue increasing without limit!】
【In summary, from this day forward, this treasure is ranked first on the Divine Weapon Compendium!】
【In the 247th year of the Great Prosperity era, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, following the guidance of the supreme treasure and under Imperial Decree, has recorded its renown here.】
Even though he had already known of the Ruyi Jingu Bang's power, as Zhang Qianren silently read through this passage, his expression still grew fervent, his breathing turning ragged.
This passage looked lengthy, but with Zhang Qianren's eyesight, he could actually take it all in with a single glance.
Thus, from the moment he took the paper to the moment he finished reading it, only a few breaths had actually passed.
The other deacons reacted at this same moment, scrambling to "vault" over the low tables in front of them, knocking over bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups on the tables, and crowding around Zhang Qianren as if their hearts were on fire, fighting to snatch the paper from his hand.
Having already finished reading it, Zhang Qianren had by now completely relaxed, and simply let them snatch the paper from his grasp.
The content recorded on it was not complete.
For instance, this supreme treasure weighed thirteen thousand five hundred jin!
Another example: it made no mention of the fact that when the Ruyi Jingu Bang restored its spirituality, it could give feedback to its Treasure Holder!
And most crucially of all, the paper made no mention that he, Zhang Qianren, was the one who had obtained the treasure.
At the same time, he also felt a sense of sudden realization.
No wonder that day, high in the sky, after smelling that strange fragrance, he had noticed his bottleneck loosening—it turned out his Nascent Soul had been strengthened because of it.
"If this old man hadn't been so cautious back then, he might have already broken through!"
"Ah, regret comes too late, regret comes too late!"
"Fortunately, the Ruyi Jingu Bang can give this old man feedback. As long as he finds more metal, this old man's Gold Element Spiritual Root will quickly rise to the level of a Heavenly Spiritual Root!"
"By then, breaking through will be effortless!"
Zhang Qianren had always been the type to think of danger in times of peace, and thinking of this now, the image of Vice Sect Master Fu Qingfeng surfaced in his mind.
Though he still felt worried in his heart that the man might see through at a glance the Ruyi Jingu Bang he had tucked into his hair, he did not let this emotion show, merely watching the deacons before him in silence.
Which one of them wasn't already seventy or eighty years old in appearance?
Which one of them wasn't a senior expert?
Yet at this moment, every single one of them was breathing rapidly, eyes wide, faces flushed red, as if they had never seen a treasure before.
Seeing them in this state, Zhang Qianren sneered coldly inside.
Their self-restraint was far inferior to his own.
He even began to wonder whether, if one of these men were to obtain the Ruyi Jingu Bang, he might get so excited he would die of overexcitement.
As for these Inner and Outer Sect deacons, they had by now completely forgotten about Zhang Qianren beside them, each one utterly absorbed in staring at the brief record on the paper.
"What a treasure! What a treasure!"
"If this old man could just touch a supreme treasure like this, even if his lifespan were to end this very instant, he would die without regret!"
"Get your filthy paws off, let this old man have another look!"
"Size as desired, changing according to one's will, and able to increase without limit—if a supreme treasure like this fell into our hands, within a few years, our Misty Sect could ascend to become a Holy Land!"
"Heh~ don't fantasize. How could that Emperor ever let anyone else obtain such a supreme treasure? Holding a treasure like this, overthrowing the Great Yu Dynasty would be as easy as crushing an ant."
"Not to mention anything else—a giant iron rod fifty-nine zhang wide and ten thousand zhang tall smashing down would reduce even the massive Imperial City to dust in an instant!"
"And the key point is, this supreme treasure can be as large or small as desired, with infinite transformation. If it can grow to ten thousand zhang tall, it can grow to a hundred thousand zhang tall! A million zhang tall!"
"The same goes for width. If a supreme treasure like this were to grow to an unimaginable size, destroying the Nine Provinces would probably take only an instant."
While these deacons excitedly chattered over one another in discussion, Yue Yang, who stood at the very back due to his frail body, let out a soft, worried sigh.
"Once the Divine Weapon Compendium is released, not only will the realm be shaken, but even the East Sea will grow lively."
"And our Misty Sect is about to face a Catastrophe unlike any before!"
He believed that in the face of such a supreme treasure, not only would the Holy Land Great Sects, separated from Guanhai City by countless mountains and rivers, come rushing over, but even the five Earthly Immortals Residing in the World from the Imperial Court would rush here at their fastest possible speed.
In fact, they had likely already set out by now.
By then, as the Immortal Sect closest to Guanhai City, the Misty Sect would naturally be expected to play host.
But though their Misty Sect appeared powerful, it was in truth entirely held up by their Nascent Soul Stage Sect Master and Vice Sect Master.
Aside from those two, the highest Cultivation Level within the Sect belonged to the three Grand Elders at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
As for the Sect's disciples, the highest Cultivation Level among them was merely late-stage Qi Refining.
In the past, even if other sects had known the true strength of the Misty Sect, they wouldn't have bothered paying it any attention.
Though the Vast Eastern Sea was not lacking in good things, the East Sea was the territory of the Dragon Lord, and the Dragon Lord's Third Princess happened to be one of the concubines of the Emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty Court.
This meant that no matter how rich the East Sea was, these great Immortal Sects could never gain any benefit from it.
As for population, within a radius of ten thousand li around the East Sea, there were only a handful of small cities, with a combined population of less than a million.
A desolate, forsaken place like this had never before had any sect willing to establish itself here.
But now things were different.
An innate supreme treasure had appeared in the East Sea!
Yue Yang could easily imagine what those other sects would think upon discovering the Misty Sect.
"How could a sect of such feeble strength occupy a treasured land like the 'East Sea'?"
Thinking of this, Yue Yang broke into a violent fit of coughing.
Ever since receiving Zhang Qianren's message, he had already thought this far ahead.
And so, what he feared most was that the supreme treasure known as the Ruyi Jingu Bang would ascend to the top of the Divine Weapon Compendium.
Yet, of all things, the thing he feared most had become reality.
What's more, this supreme treasure's power was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
As Yue Yang thought about all this, his face grew bitter, and he slowly shook his head.
Seeing Yue Yang's worried expression, Zhang Qianren was at first a little confused, but he quickly understood what was on Yue Yang's mind.
"If that's the case, wouldn't the Sect Master and the Grand Elders of the Sect also come to Guanhai City?"
As this possibility occurred to him, a sharp gleam flashed through Zhang Qianren's eyes.
"This old man must seize this opportunity to steal his Life Tablet from the Sect!"
"Once the Life Tablet is in hand, no matter how vast the realm, no one will ever be able to find this old man again!"
"With a supreme treasure like the Ruyi Jingu Bang in hand, give this old man just a hundred or two hundred years, and no one under heaven will be a match for this old man anymore!"
"Not even the Great Yu Dynasty Court!"
With this thought in mind, Zhang Qianren turned and headed for the door.
Seeing Zhang Qianren suddenly turn to leave, Yue Yang hurriedly hobbled forward on his cane and finally caught up to him just outside the door, grabbing hold of him and asking in a low voice, "Where are you going?"
Zhang Qianren replied coldly, feigning displeasure, "With every sect in the realm about to explore... about to explore the East Sea"—no wait, let me redo this line properly. "With every sect in the realm about to explore the East Sea, where else would this old man go? Naturally, deeper into the East Sea to continue searching for treasure!"Having said that, he narrowed his eyes at Yue Yang's sallow face, his voice growing colder still.
"What? Are you planning to stop this old man?"
Just as Yue Yang was about to speak, his throat seized with discomfort, and he couldn't help but cover his mouth and cough violently.
After the coughing fit passed, he shook his head, his voice weak. "Just as you said, every sect in the realm is coming to the East Sea—what reason would this old man have to stop you?"
"I only wanted to remind you of one thing: however good a supreme treasure may be, if one's own Fortune isn't sufficient, not only will the treasure slip from your grasp, but you may throw your life away for nothing."
Hearing this, Zhang Qianren's expression couldn't help but flicker slightly.
His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end his heart hardened, and with a sweep of his long sleeve, he strode away.
At a time like this, he would never dare to actually go down into the East Sea.
That was merely an excuse.
He decided to take a long detour back to the Sect, to avoid running into the Sect Master along the way.
At this very moment, the branches of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion scattered across the Nine Provinces, the Eight Desolations, and the Four Seas all simultaneously updated the Human Ranking and the Divine Weapon Compendium.
Every time the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion updated its rankings, it would draw the attention of countless people.
And when these people saw that the Divine Weapon Compendium, unchanged for decades or even a century, had actually been updated, they all swarmed forward at once.
Then, they saw the introduction concerning the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
At first glance at the change to the top rank of the Divine Weapon Compendium, all of them froze in shock.
And once they finished reading the introduction above, their reactions were every bit as extreme as those of the Misty Sect's deacons.
Faces flushed red!
Scalps tingling!
Utterly dumbfounded!
After all these reactions, they seemed to go half mad, transcribing the Divine Weapon Compendium at the fastest speed of their lives, passing it on to confidants, friends, Senior Brothers, and masters.
Before long, every faction large and small, and even some unaffiliated master cultivators with no sect to call their own, had a copy of the Divine Weapon Compendium ranking in hand.
And having read the ranking, just as Yue Yang had predicted, they all began converging on the East Sea one after another.
Even before all of them, before the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's Divine Weapon Compendium had spread word throughout the realm, the Emperor in the Imperial Palace had already dispatched a messenger to deliver an Imperial Edict to the Four Seas Dragon Palace, ordering the Four Seas Dragon Lords to spare no cost in finding this supreme treasure.
Even the five Earthly Immortals Residing in the World from the Imperial Court had all set out, each employing their own methods, racing toward the East Sea at the fastest speed of their lives.
Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, Guanhai City;
Lu Ziyuan had long lost all trace of sleepiness. He had set up a rocking chair by the door, with a small wooden table beside it, upon which sat a pot of hot tea.
He himself lay in the rocking chair, an overcoat draped over him.
Amid the creaking sound of the chair rocking back and forth, he watched as, in the quiet night sky, streaks of Escape Light in various colors shot past like shooting stars, swiftly cutting through the darkness.
"After tonight, this Guanhai City is going to descend into chaos."
So he thought, letting out a faint, wistful sigh.
At the very same moment, Qin Mu was at home as well, looking over a transcribed copy of the Divine Weapon Compendium ranking.
"Now then, my options are no longer limited to just the Misty Sect."
That night, not long after the Ruyi Jingu Bang had leveled up to level ten and unlocked the "Ruyi" Trait, he suddenly received a notification from the Ruyi Jingu Bang that a Magic Treasure was investigating it.
All innate supreme treasures possessed Spirituality, and whenever certain things happened, they would naturally notify him, their true Master.
Though they could not speak, and their thinking leaned closer to that of an AI, they were still able to transmit certain Consciousness directly into his mind.
Just as he transmitted his own will to these supreme treasures.
Through this, Qin Mu also learned that when the Ruyi Jingu Bang had first been born, it had already been investigated by that Magic Treasure.
But at that time, it had still been in the stage of displaying the full might of an innate supreme treasure's birth, so that Magic Treasure hadn't even been able to get close to the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and naturally couldn't investigate anything at all.
Now, however, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, being merely level ten, naturally couldn't display the might of an innate supreme treasure, and so that Magic Treasure had managed to investigate it.
Fortunately, the other party's Spirituality wasn't very high, so it couldn't obtain all the information about the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
It could only obtain the partial content that Qin Mu had fabricated earlier.
Once Qin Mu understood all this, he immediately grasped the situation.
That Magic Treasure currently investigating the Ruyi Jingu Bang was likely the legendary Sky Monitoring Disk.
This Magic Treasure was not only known to everyone in the Cultivation World, but even a commoner like himself had heard of it.
It was said that this Magic Treasure was connected to the Earth Veins, capable of monitoring the entire realm through fluctuations in Spiritual Energy.
Qin Mu had always assumed it was just an ordinary Magic Treasure, but it wasn't until the Ruyi Jingu Bang's notification arrived that he realized that Magic Treasure possessed Spirituality as well.
And the clash between the Ruyi Jingu Bang and the Sky Monitoring Disk immediately brought a strange expression to his face.
"If you think of the Ruyi Jingu Bang as an AI with actual thinking ability, then the Sky Monitoring Disk is more like an artificial idiot—their clash is more like one side breaching the other's firewall."
"That would explain why the other party couldn't obtain the full information about the Ruyi Jingu Bang."
As this thought crossed his mind, Qin Mu let out a soft sigh.
"What a shame the Ruyi Jingu Bang can no longer display its full might again—otherwise, those sects about to arrive at Guanhai City would have made such perfect tools!"
Having said that, he shook his head to himself, his face full of disappointment.
"The faction that currently has the Ruyi Jingu Bang really isn't pulling its weight!"
"You've gotten your hands on a supreme treasure like this—shouldn't you be searching for metal day and night to level it up?!"
"It's already been two shichen, and the Ruyi Jingu Bang hasn't gained even a sliver of Experience!"
"How disappointing!"
Two-in-one chapter, please recommend, please invest!
✦✦✦