Chapter 2144: Immortal Ancestor's Legacy Treasure

Stopping Emperor Jiuyou with Commander Wu’s three hundred men? That's an impossible dream.

So, he's pinning all his hopes on the Immortal Ancestor's relic in the ancestral shrine, believing it can defeat Emperor Jiuyou in one blow?

A monarch possessing elemental power would not fear dark curses.

Traps and mechanisms? Are you kidding?

Hmm, then an immortal artifact is the most likely candidate.

He Lingchuan nodded, dismissing Lu Qiuwei.

He was Emperor Jiuyou, forged from mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and battlefields of immortals and demons. He was curious to see what kind of immortal treasure Lu Zhensheng could produce to harm him.

The more potent, the better; the more vicious, the better.

Not to mention, he also had an individual with a peculiar appetite for treasures by his side.

Coincidentally, just as he thought of the Grand Square Pot, his divine bone necklace grew warm.

Indeed, this trip held an unexpected pleasant surprise.

Without pausing, Lu Lianyun explained, "The Lu family’s ancestral treasure is hidden behind the shrine."

With that, he quickly moved behind the shrine and activated a mechanism.

Everyone heard a series of clicking sounds, as if something was opening. The Immortal Ancestor's relic naturally needed to be carefully concealed; otherwise, its theft would be a great embarrassment.

However, Lu Lianyun immediately let out a gasp of surprise:

"Oh, my, this… this!"

Several clan elders quickly followed, their faces draining of color as they saw:

"Where's the treasure?"

Lu Zhenxian and his son quickly rounded the shrine, only to find the stone cabinet within completely empty.

Lu Qingbang ran a hand across the surface, rubbing his fingertips. "Judging by the dust, nothing has been kept in this cabinet for a long time," he observed.

Before Emperor Jiuyou could speak, the clan elders all turned to Lu Zhensheng, demanding, "Patriarch, what is the meaning of this!"

As head of the clan, Lu Zhensheng was responsible for safeguarding the family's treasures and conducting regular inspections.

The dust in the cabinet indicated the family treasure had been gone for a considerable time.

Lu Zhensheng stepped out from the crowd, his expression remarkably calm. "That empty cabinet is merely a diversion," he stated. "The Immortal Ancestor's relic was never kept there. If it were, and if even you could open it, the treasure would have been lost hundreds of times over."

Lu Lianyun frowned. "That's not right," he countered. "I’ve seen it before."

"Merely imitations," Lu Zhensheng replied calmly. "That cabinet was opened thirteen years ago, and those replicas were stolen. I didn't bother replacing them with new ones."

"Stolen?" Lu Lianqing exclaimed, unable to contain himself. "How could such a significant event occur without you informing us?"

Lu Zhensheng gave him a look reserved for fools.

Tell them what? That the supreme treasure had been stolen?

"The thief was eventually apprehended by us. It was Steward Qiu, Old Third's steward."

Lu Zhenye, the third elder, who had barely spoken all day, like an invisible presence, was startled to be suddenly called out. "Steward Qiu?" he stammered. "But he retired and returned to his hometown long ago."

"He only ordered the treasure to be secretly stolen after he had retired," Lu Zhensheng sneered. "Steward Qiu worked under you for ten years and knew there were immortal treasures in the shrine. After retiring and leaving the village, he planned to take them with him to sell for a high price. Ha, if I hadn't remained vigilant at all times, our ancestors' treasures would have been sold, and you all would be counting the money for others!"

He Lingchuan grew impatient and pointed a casual finger toward the front of the shrine. "The Immortal Ancestor's treasure is right here. Open it quickly."

He was sparing with his words, and his single utterance sent shivers down everyone's spines.

Lu Zhensheng was horrified, exclaiming in a choked voice, "How did you know!"

In front of the shrine stood a large black incense burner, more than half a person tall, with three legs and two handles. Its style was ancient and its body rounded. Aside from the somewhat unique patterns on its surface, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.

Lu family members had passed by it countless times, and not one of them had ever connected it to the clan's extraordinary treasure.

Why could Emperor Jiuyou pinpoint this secret the moment he arrived?!

He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. "Shall I do it myself?" he inquired.

He couldn't discern it on his own; who knew what the Lu family ancestor's treasure looked like? However, he carried a supreme treasure detector that would alert him without fail.

Indeed, the moment he approached the large censer, his divine bone necklace became scorching hot, as if it wanted to burn a hole through his neck.

The hotter the necklace, the more valuable the treasure.

He Lingchuan had initially been somewhat dismissive. After all, he had encountered countless extraordinary treasures in the Ghost King's Underworld Palace, the Upside-Down Sea, and the Underground Dragon Palace. Although the Lu family's ancestor was an immortal, could his collection truly surpass the vast holdings of Miaozhantian?

But judging by the divine bone necklace's reaction, *hiss*, there might be something truly significant.

Lu Zhensheng was now a mix of fear and hatred toward him, with fear taking precedence. He composed himself and casually beckoned a few clan members.

"Come here, scoop out all the incense ash."

No one knew how long this ancient censer had been accumulating ash. Everyone worked quickly, but it took a full two quarters of an hour to completely empty it. The air was thick with dust, making the area unpleasant to stand in.

Finally, the censer's contents were completely cleared out.

Truth be told, this censer was quite striking in appearance, though it was enormous and cumbersome. One could imagine no thief would ever cast a covetous eye upon it.

The Lu clan elders were somewhat surprised. "This... this censer is it?" they asked.

They lit incense here daily, yet remained oblivious that this was the Immortal Ancestor's supreme treasure.

Lu Zhensheng murmured a soft prayer and gently rubbed the censer’s surface. Two flashes of light occurred, and the censer’s body transformed from pure black to a gleaming brass.

The polished brass gleamed like gold, radiating an air of dignified grandeur under the sunlight.

This change in color gave it the distinguished bearing of a true artifact.

Lu Zhensheng then instructed a servant, "Go fetch some water."

He had a servant bring well water and pour it into the censer.

The censer had now transformed, resembling a magnificent cauldron. Under the sunlight, countless golden threads shimmered on its surface, and upon closer inspection, these threads seemed to sway gently, like waterweeds drifting in a lake.

When the censer was half full, Lu Zhensheng said to He Lingchuan, "Great Emperor, please place the jade pendant inside."

He Lingchuan, unafraid of any trickery, gently placed the jade pendant into the censer.

Though made of jade, it did not sink, but floated on the water's surface.

Immediately after, delicate golden threads from the censer's body swam into the water, wrapped themselves around the jade pendant, and then burrowed into the single drop of crimson immortal blood.

The water’s surface was smooth as a mirror, without a ripple. After a dozen breaths, a succession of images suddenly began to appear.

These images rotated like a magic lantern—sometimes people, sometimes scenery, sometimes battle scenes. He Lingchuan recognized few of them, but one particular image flashed by and imprinted itself in his mind:

It was a massive tree, ancient and gnarled, its extensive root system enveloping an entire mountain peak.

Elsewhere, trees grow on mountains; here, a tree embraced a peak.

He Lingchuan was deeply impressed by its unique form:

The Dao-Seeking Tree!

The Dao-Seeking Tree, growing within Mount Xu and dominating a single peak.

However, in the image, the Dao-Seeking Tree was engulfed in raging flames, and multicolored rainbow lights flickered in the sky, silhouetting several figures.

That must have been a great battle, the Immortal-Demon War that took place long ago in the territory of the Great Reversal Sect.

It seemed the Lu family ancestors were present at that time.

Soon after, in another image, He Lingchuan spotted a familiar face:

Lu Xun.