Chapter 591: Harvest

On the surface of the Six-Color Lake, Zhou Yuan, Jin Zhang, Tang Xiaoyan, and others gathered around the treasure tree, their eyes fixed with a fervent gaze on the gem-like, translucent, and brilliantly glowing fruits hanging from its branches, or rather...Divine Construct Treasures.

“There are four five-colored Divine Construct Treasures, seven four-colored Divine Construct Treasures, and thirty-eight three-colored Divine Construct Treasures,” Jin Zhang announced after counting carefully.

Upon hearing this, even Zhou Yuan drew a sharp breath, clearly astonished. It was important to note that despite their arduous efforts in gathering, only Zhou Yuan and Jin Zhang from both teams had managed to condense four-colored Divine Construct Treasures. Among the other disciples, very few had achieved three-colored ones, with the vast majority possessing only two-colored Divine Construct Treasures. This highlighted the immense amount of Profound Origin Essence required to condense Divine Construct Treasures. Yet, on this treasure tree, nearly fifty such treasures had formed, illustrating the shock Zhou Yuan and the others felt.

“As expected of a six-colored treasure land,” Zhou Yuan sighed with emotion. He finally understood that the quickest and most efficient way to obtain high-grade Divine Construct Treasures in the Profound Origin Heavenly Grotto was to find such treasure lands. Simply relying on gathering Profound Origin Essence to condense them was far too slow...

“It seems if I want to condense a seven-colored Divine Construct Treasure, I’ll need to pay more attention to these treasure lands from now on,” Zhou Yuan mused inwardly.

Jin Zhang looked at Zhou Yuan and asked, “How should these be distributed?” Tang Xiaoyan, too, shifted her eager gaze from the treasure tree to Zhou Yuan. With a slight smile, she said, “Chief Zhou Yuan, your contribution to securing this land was the greatest. Please decide on the distribution.” She was a clear-headed individual and showed no intention of overstepping at this moment, instead deferring to Zhou Yuan as the leader. It must be said that Tang Xiaoyan was far more intelligent than Zhao Ru, and her demeanor made others extremely comfortable. Even Zhou Yuan felt a slight favorable impression of her. However, he did not feign modesty and refuse. After all, he was currently the leader of both Cangxuan Sect teams, and many disciples had fought desperately under his command; he had a duty to secure benefits for them.

He stared at the treasure tree, pondering for a moment, then said, “Of the four five-colored Divine Construct Treasures, we will take three. The remaining one will go to Chief Tang Xiaoyan. How does that sound?” Although the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace had two chiefs, Zhao Ru had made no contribution in this struggle, so Zhou Yuan did not believe she was entitled to a five-colored Divine Construct Treasure.

Upon hearing this, Tang Xiaoyan lightly bit her red lip, paused in thought, and finally gave a slight nod of her head. She knew in her heart that Zhao Ru’s poor attitude towards Zhou Yuan earlier meant he certainly held no favorable impression of her. More importantly, Zhao Ru had indeed made no contribution during the previous battle; in fact, due to her carelessness, she had nearly put them all in danger. Therefore, she understood why Zhou Yuan wouldn't allocate that five-colored Divine Construct Treasure to them.

Seeing her reaction, Zhou Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Tang Xiaoyan had disagreed and caused a dispute, it would have been truly troublesome. After all, he would rather fight Fan Yao than scheme for benefits with a group of women from the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace.

“There are seven four-colored Divine Construct Treasures: four for my Cangxuan Sect, and three for the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace. Of the thirty-eight three-colored Divine Construct Treasures, twenty-three will go to my Cangxuan Sect, and fifteen to the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace. As for the Profound Origin Essence contained within the Six-Color Lake, Cangxuan Sect will take sixty percent, and the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace forty percent.” Zhou Yuan articulated the remaining distribution in one breath.

After listening, Tang Xiaoyan calculated carefully. A subtle smile soon appeared on her rosy lips, and with her willow-like eyebrows curved, she softly said, “Then, on behalf of my fellow disciples from the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace, I thank Chief Zhou Yuan.” She was an intelligent person; a quick calculation showed her that Zhou Yuan had conceded a significant portion of benefits to their Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace, amounting to nearly forty percent of the total distribution. This was already a very generous division. If Fan Yao had been here instead, he might have only given them twenty or even ten percent...

Zhou Yuan smiled and exchanged a glance with Jin Zhang, both feeling a touch of admiration. Tang Xiaoyan was truly formidable; seemingly gentle and unassuming, she always managed to secure the greatest advantages. If Zhao Ru had been negotiating, Zhou Yuan felt he would have yielded at most thirty percent. Yet, facing Tang Xiaoyan, Zhou Yuan found himself unable to push his leverage too far. This was undoubtedly where Tang Xiaoyan excelled. However, a slight concession was fine; it could be seen as a gesture of goodwill towards the Hundred Flowers Immortal Palace. In the long run, it might not even be a loss.

“Since the distribution is settled, let’s harvest them all first,” Zhou Yuan said. Tang Xiaoyan nodded, then volunteered to step forward. With her Genesis Qi flowing, she swiftly plucked all the Divine Construct Treasures from the tree, supporting them with Genesis Qi, and presented them to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan first took two five-colored Divine Construct Treasures and handed them to Jin Zhang and Tang Xiaoyan, both of whom accepted them with ill-concealed joy. “A five-colored Divine Construct Treasure…” Jin Zhang’s face beamed with delight. With this item, when he broke through to the Divine Dwelling stage, he would be able to open five Divine Dwellings. For him, this was already quite a rare accomplishment. It could be said that his fundamental goal for entering the Profound Origin Heavenly Grotto had already been achieved.

“It seems following Chief Zhou Yuan indeed brings rewards. In this Profound Origin Heavenly Grotto, as long as we don’t encounter a Saint Son, I doubt any other chief can contend with Chief Zhou Yuan,” Tang Xiaoyan said with a cheerful smile, offering a small compliment to Zhou Yuan. Of course, it was also true. Although Fan Yao was only ranked third in the Saint Palace, Tang Xiaoyan speculated that in his final state, he might have been capable of contending even with the first and second-ranked chiefs of the Saint Palace. Yet, even in that state, Fan Yao was utterly annihilated by Zhou Yuan, leaving no corpse behind... This showed just how powerful the means Zhou Yuan had concealed were. Therefore, as long as they didn't encounter a Saint Son, Zhou Yuan's strength was sufficient for him to roam unchallenged in the outer regions of the Profound Origin Heavenly Grotto.

Zhou Yuan smiled and took out the remaining two five-colored Divine Construct Treasures, saying, “I’ll keep these two.” Jin Zhang had no objections. Given Zhou Yuan’s contribution to the battle, no one would likely object to him taking two five-colored Divine Construct Treasures for himself.

“The remaining Divine Construct Treasures will be distributed among the disciples who contributed the most,” Zhou Yuan said, then handed the rest of the treasures to Jin Zhang and Tang Xiaoyan for distribution. Both nodded and accepted them.

As they finished distributing the Divine Construct Treasures, they noticed that the treasure tree growing in the lake began to wither. It then rapidly melted, fully dissolving into the lake water and disappearing. Clearly, the departure of the Divine Construct Treasures had caused the tree to lose all its vitality, making it unable to absorb Genesis Qi and grow further. However, as the treasure tree dissolved, Zhou Yuan and the others noticed that the resistance emanating from the Six-Color Lake gradually faded. This meant that other disciples could now evidently enter.

“The Profound Origin Essence within the Six-Color Lake will be collected by disciples from both sects, according to our prior distribution,” Zhou Yuan stated.

“Chief Zhou Yuan, there are many other factions coveting this place,” Tang Xiaoyan suddenly whispered. Zhou Yuan also looked into the distance. As the resistance around the Six-Color Lake dissipated, some factions began to stir, clearly tempted. Even though they knew the people from both sects were present, the allure of the Six-Color Lake was too great.

“Should we drive them all away?” Jin Zhang asked.

Zhou Yuan pondered briefly, then shook his head. “That would be too much trouble. Let’s cordon off a small corner of the Six-Color Lake and allow those various factions to distribute it among themselves. How they fight over it is their business. If anyone interferes with us, we’ll simply reclaim that portion. I believe they’ll be quite happy to maintain order for us.”

Tang Xiaoyan’s beautiful eyes lit up. Zhou Yuan’s approach saved a great deal of trouble. Although their major sects didn't fear those various smaller factions, a multitude of persistent nuisances could still be quite annoying. By offering a small piece of the pie, Zhou Yuan resolved the issue cleanly, potentially gaining goodwill. Most importantly, it saved them a significant amount of energy. Thus, both retreated to arrange their respective sect disciples.

Zhou Yuan stood on the lake surface, gazing at the spot where the treasure tree had previously melted within the Six-Color Lake. His eyes flickered slightly. Perhaps to Jin Zhang and Tang Xiaoyan, the treasure tree had vanished because its Divine Construct Treasures were plucked. However, the Barrier-Breaking Saint Pattern flickering deep within Zhou Yuan’s eyes allowed him to detect something unusual.

“Does this Six-Color Lake hold another mystery?”

He pondered for a moment, then his figure suddenly moved. With a splash, he plunged directly into the vast Six-Color Lake.

Regardless, he decided to investigate first.