Chapter 143: Wish Box

Chapter 147: The Wishing Box

At the sight of the box, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. He had seen this box twice before.

Once it was with Ma Si from the scavenger camp, and once with the merman youth.

Even now, Xu Qing still didn't know what this item was. He had searched in the main city's shops but found nothing similar. Now, Xu Qing saw a third one.

Almost the moment Xu Qing looked at it, the youth from First Peak quickly tucked the item into his pocket, looking at Xu Qing with vigilance and speaking rapidly.

"Three hundred mouthfuls of blood I've spat today, most heroic is he who shares the spoils fairly."

"Speak plainly," Xu Qing said coldly, raising his right hand as the magic boat's protective barrier instantly activated, preventing the other party from leaving. Seeing this, the First Peak youth sighed, punched himself, forced out a mouthful of black blood, and after confirming he was poisoned again, he suppressed it with a secret technique. He looked at Xu Qing helplessly, thinking to himself that no one from Seventh Peak was good; they even put poison on the boat, weren't they afraid of poisoning themselves to death?

After a long moment, under Xu Qing's calm gaze, the Ninth Highness from First Peak sighed and could only speak. "We agreed earlier that I would get a share; I just want this, and everything else is yours."

Xu Qing said nothing, collecting all the items on the ground. During this, he found a multicolored token. The token was made of wood, resembling an identification badge, though it was somewhat damaged.

But on closer inspection, one could see a patina on it, clearly indicating it had been frequently handled. He then looked at the First Peak youth.

"From the barren land, people rise like clouds," the First Peak youth began, but noticing Xu Qing's frown, he cried out in despair inwardly. Fearing that if he didn't speak properly, the other party might once again choose to fight to the death, he forced himself to speak.

"This is a token from the Seven Sects Alliance. The sea corpse race member we killed was likely a cultivator from the Seven Sects Alliance before."

"What did you take?" Xu Qing asked.

The First Peak youth hesitated. He could tell this Seventh Peak disciple didn't know about wishing boxes and had intended to hide it. However, he then considered that it wasn't a major secret, and if the other party misunderstood it as an astonishing treasure, his own danger might only increase.

So he shook his head and stated truthfully, "This is a wishing box."

"A wishing box, so-called, is a gift left by cultivators of a previous epoch for cultivators of the next epoch."

"After the arrival of the divine remnant face, each epoch on the Wanggu Continent has an ultimate end. Thus, a tradition emerged where most would begin crafting wishing boxes from special materials towards the end of an epoch. As a result, many wishing boxes have been passed down through history."

The First Peak youth was initially unaccustomed to speaking normally, but as he continued, he became more fluent, even feeling a sense of ease in his heart.

"The material of the wishing box is quite special, allowing it to endure through the end of an epoch. However, I've heard that some people previously obtained wishing boxes resembling coffins, but the cultivators inside were all dead. Others have obtained empty wishing boxes. So, no one truly knows the principle behind their preservation."

"Furthermore, even if there are items inside, since different powerful individuals left and sealed them themselves, what exactly is inside is unknown to anyone except the one who sealed it."

"But I've heard that some have opened them to find magical artifacts or cultivation techniques from previous epochs, while others have only found miscellaneous items like leaves. In short, this item can be considered priceless or ordinary; ultimately, it depends on one's luck."

"I've opened three already, and the gains were moderate, but I believe my luck is good."

"The method to open it is also simple: cultivate it with your own magical power until it reaches its limit, then it can be opened. Usually, this process is very long. The reason I want this one is because it has already been cultivated almost to the point of opening." This First Peak prodigy, who had been silent, now spoke, spilling everything he knew without waiting for Xu Qing to ask. After speaking, he took a few steps back, watching Xu Qing warily.

"If you don't agree, I can give you this item, but I'll take your magical artifact and two jade talismans."

Xu Qing pondered. After thinking it over, he waved away the magic boat's protective barrier. The First Peak youth understood that Xu Qing was dismissing him and quickly flew out.

After watching the other party leave the magic boat and follow alongside on a large sword, Xu Qing retracted his gaze. He sat cross-legged and manipulated the magic boat, heading back towards the Seven Blood Eyes Sect.

He wanted to return quickly to dissolve their connected-fate talismans. Although the shadow could slowly corrode them, the process was extremely slow, and Xu Qing didn't want to waste time.

Now sitting cross-legged, he began to sort through his gains from this trip. Taking the deceased Golden Core cultivator, it must be said that a Golden Core cultivator at the Elder's level had an astonishingly rich storage bag. The face value of the spirit tickets alone totaled over 200,000.

Although the spirit tickets were not issued by the Seven Blood Eyes Sect, the sect had places for exchange, albeit with some loss, but not significant. Xu Qing estimated that other miscellaneous items could also sell for over 100,000 spirit stones.

As for the two jade runes, they were sold in the main city of Seven Blood Eyes, starting from tens of thousands of spirit stones, depending on their effects.

And the most valuable item was the feather magical artifact.

This kind of gain made Xu Qing's heart pound. At the same time, he vaguely felt that the opponent's accumulated wealth was certainly not limited to this; what he had obtained was probably only a portion.

After all, items like storage bags usually weren't just one.

"What a pity, either it was taken by the one who severely wounded him, or this cultivator placed it elsewhere." Xu Qing took a deep breath, suppressed his speculation, then felt the remnant soul currently burning like firewood within him, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"Let's see how many dharma apertures this Elder-level remnant soul, from a sea corpse race member that the Fiendish Fire Soul Devouring Scripture says has astonishing effects, can open for me!"

Thinking of this, Xu Qing checked the surrounding defenses, glanced at the First Peak youth who was still watching him warily, then closed his eyes as black flames violently ignited within him.

Instantly, his thirteen dharma apertures roared simultaneously. As flames rose, the burning remnant soul of the sea corpse race member, under Xu Qing's control, surged towards the fourteenth dharma aperture. In an instant, the aperture vibrated and was directly broken open.

It didn't end there. Xu Qing controlled the remnant soul, burning like firewood, to continue assaulting the fifteenth dharma aperture, which also opened! Then came the sixteenth, seventeenth...

Finally, when the twentieth dharma aperture was broken open, this wisp of remnant soul dissipated, completely exhausted.

"It opened seven dharma apertures!" A sharp glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes, and his heart pounded faster. Although he had some premonition of this, he was still shocked.

Indeed, the later dharma apertures were opened, the more difficult it became. He had felt it before; starting from the tenth dharma aperture, the amount of soul power required to open each one was extremely exaggerated.

Yet, even so, this remnant soul still opened seven for him, which fully demonstrated its power. This ignited a desire in Xu Qing's heart to obtain more such remnant souls.

"However, the difficulty is just as great." Xu Qing was well aware that the First Peak youth's help was crucial for this particular gain. If not for him using many life-saving jade talismans on himself earlier and assisting from the side, Xu Qing might not have been able to acquire it even now.

"This time, the gains are significant. I need to return to the sect as soon as possible, resolve the connected-fate talismans, reorganize, and then go out to sea again, striving to form my Life Fire within a short period!"

Expectation gleamed in Xu Qing's eyes. After feeling the roar of the twenty dharma apertures within him, he cultivated them while taking out the feather magical artifact.

Holding it and examining it carefully, he poured his magical power into it and began to study it.

Time slowly passed, and soon three days had gone by.

While Xu Qing was cultivating his dharma apertures and studying the magical artifact, the First Peak youth, who had been following outside the magic boat, finally completed the last bit of refinement on his wishing box.

The moment he finished, his expression was incredibly excited. He quickly glanced at Xu Qing, and realizing Xu Qing was still cultivating, he deliberately slowed down until he was some distance away from the magic boat. He then hastily waved his hand, immediately forming a protective barrier around himself that obscured vision.

Only then did he lower his head to look at the iron box in his hand, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

He hadn't lied to Xu Qing; he had indeed opened three wishing boxes. However, there was one thing he hadn't mentioned: inside the first wishing box he opened was an ancient scroll.

The ancient scroll itself held no inherent value, but its contents pertained to the ancient emperors and rulers.

Any item related to ancient emperors and rulers was astonishingly valuable. This ancient scroll recorded the life stories of three ancient emperors.

Although it was merely a description, it filled the First Peak youth with boundless yearning after reading it, especially the description of Emperor Xuanyou, who was said to have enjoyed hiding profound mysteries within poetry throughout his life. This gave him great inspiration.

In his excitement, the First Peak youth took a deep breath, confirmed again that Xu Qing wasn't paying attention and that the surroundings were calm. He then raised his hands and rubbed them together, patted his forehead, and then pounded his chest a few times. It seemed he was performing some kind of blessing ritual, his eyes closed. After half an incense stick's time, his eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing a sharp glint as his hands swiftly and forcefully pried open the box.

With a click.

The iron box, which previously had no seams and was a seamless whole, instantly opened like a true box, revealing a finger-sized jade bottle inside.

The bottle was already flecked with black spots, exuding an ancient aura, as if containing some kind of medicinal liquid. An ancient scroll lay beside it.

This sight immediately thrilled the First Peak youth, making his heart race.

Because in all these years, apart from the first box, the other two boxes he opened contained useless items. Now, seeing that this fourth box contained not only an ancient scroll but also this small bottle, seemingly of medicinal liquid, filled him with immense excitement. "I've hit the jackpot!" he muttered. Suddenly, the First Peak youth grew wary; he felt he was trending towards speaking normally, which immediately put him on guard, so he hastily changed his words. "No futile sorrow for the miserable dive into the sea, for with sudden prosperity, I reach the ultimate peak."

After muttering again, he felt at ease. Impatiently, he picked up the small bottle, looked around, then quickly opened it and brought it to his nose. Although the item was well preserved, a sour smell still emanated from it upon opening.

The First Peak youth didn't know what it was, but the smell invigorated him because he felt that if it had a scent, it meant the liquid inside still had medicinal properties.

"A grand destiny from the Jade Dragon's spirit, unique fortune is mine alone."

But he didn't dare swallow it directly. So he excitedly sniffed it again, his face filled with enchantment, then quickly covered it and looked down at the ancient scroll inside the box.

Taking it out and quickly examining it, the information within soon appeared in his mind. "To the fated one, I wish you well.

"I was born in the Xuanyou Epoch, bestowed the Dao by the ancient emperor. I wonder if the God of your age still exists? This wish, placed by a leisurely friend with treasure, I disdain; it is merely discarded waste.

"My own hidden treasure contains my bloodline. To the fair maiden who opens this wish, I shall grant my lineage." "To the fated one, do not thank me, farewell."