Chapter 1276: What is this thing?

Because of the Soul-Severing Blade's evolved restriction, Lu Ye didn't have high demands for remolding the Pan Mountain Blade. He only needed to reinforce its texture and weight, a task any somewhat accomplished Artifact Refiner could complete with little difficulty. Lu Ye even considered remolding it himself. He had some proficiency in artifact refining, having diligently studied it for several months with Master Kongkong in the Sword Sect's secret realm, so he wasn't completely unfamiliar with the craft. However, this matter was not urgent for now, as it would still be some time before he advanced to the Star Constellation realm.

After examining his other gains, his biggest acquisition was the treasure gourd—the Sword Gourd's sibling! Placed side by side, the two treasure gourds looked quite similar externally, though their skin colors differed slightly. The Sword Gourd was entirely bluish-green, resembling a green gourd, while the second treasure gourd's skin faintly emitted a reddish glow.

The Primordial Realm of the Reincarnation Tree opened once every hundred years, allowing monstrous talents from various realms in the Divine Sea Stage to compete within it. However, the Fortune Vine did not appear every time; it only revealed itself from another dimension to the world when a treasure gourd matured. Throughout history, the Divine Sea competitions in the Primordial Realm had occurred countless times, yet the Fortune Vine had only manifested a few times in total. Over ten thousand years ago, someone from the Sword Sect of the Nine Provinces acquired the Sword Gourd. Even further back, someone obtained a Wind Gourd, which was said to conjure Netherflame Astral Wind, instantly killing anyone it touched. It was now the treasured artifact guarding a top-tier realm! Perhaps there were other treasure gourds with different functions that remained hidden from the world, but due to their ancient origins and the secrecy surrounding them, they were unknown to most.

Lu Ye was very curious about the wondrous effects of the treasure gourd he had acquired this time. However, the environment in the Primordial Realm wasn't suitable, so he hadn't investigated it yet. Now, he finally had the chance!

Holding the treasure gourd, he silently channeled spiritual power to sense it. He could vaguely perceive countless intricate and profound patterns hidden within the gourd. Even with Lu Ye's current mastery in the path of spiritual patterns, he found it difficult to decipher their specific functions.

Activating spiritual power and pouring it into the gourd yielded no reaction. Artifacts didn't work, nor did spirit stones or spirit jades. He wasn't disheartened. He picked up a spirit stone to try, but it still had no effect. The same happened with spirit jade. Thinking so, Lu Ye took out a low-grade artifact and brought it to the gourd's opening. As expected, there was no reaction.

"What the hell!" Lu Ye grumbled, "I don't know if it's powerful, but it's certainly frustrating." Initially, Lu Ye thought he wasn't exerting enough power. After all, the treasure gourd was a subordinate artifact of a Heaven-Born Supreme Treasure, so it probably wouldn't be easy to activate. He tried to activate spiritual power and pour it into the gourd, to see if he could unleash its power. However, the spiritual power sank like a stone into the sea, with no feedback whatsoever. If it wasn't activated that way, then how was it activated?

Lu Ye was somewhat stumped for a moment. Had he misunderstood? Did this treasure gourd need to devour something first to manifest its power? That was quite puzzling. Perhaps he could try that? The treasure gourd would swallow elixirs, but what about herbs? Lu Ye recalled the Sword Gourd's characteristics and vaguely wondered if this treasure also needed to swallow something first, just like the Sword Gourd. The Sword Gourd was like this: it first devoured treasures to generate sword energy, which could then be used to kill enemies. Therefore, since he already possessed the Sword Gourd, his other treasure gourds should not be able to swallow treasures in the same way.

Little Four saw him constantly busy and hopped over, eyes wide, staring intently at the gourd in his hand. "Lu Ye, Lu Ye," she asked, "what's this gourd for? It feels really powerful." He knew just by looking at the Sword Gourd. When he obtained the Sword Gourd, he was only in the True Lake realm, yet he could still activate its power. There was no reason why this newly acquired treasure gourd shouldn't be activatable. He turned to look at Little Four, wondering if the treasure gourd could swallow her. However, he couldn't try that; if it actually swallowed her, it would be a huge problem. But according to current observations, the treasure gourd seemed to only swallow elixirs, and other things wouldn't elicit any reaction from it. As if sensing his thoughts, Little Four quickly retreated a few steps, her form flickering into a fluorescent light and disappearing.

Lu Ye then casually picked up a bottle of healing pills, poured one out, and brought it close to the gourd's opening. Lu Ye had only tried it casually, not expecting much, but a miraculous scene occurred. The healing pill brought close to the gourd's opening actually caused the treasure gourd to react. The result was the same as before: a bright light flashed at the gourd's opening, and the healing pill was swallowed.

He picked up the treasure gourd, squinted, and peered into its opening for a while, but found no trace of the swallowed healing pill. He shook it vigorously, but there was no sound at all. The inside of the treasure gourd seemed like a void, and the elixir disappeared completely once swallowed. He could vaguely sense that some extremely mysterious changes were occurring within the gourd, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what they were. Lu Ye only knew that various profound spiritual patterns were appearing and disappearing within the gourd at such a rapid pace that he couldn't investigate or distinguish them. Lu Ye stubbornly inverted the treasure gourd and shook it vigorously, but nothing fell out. The healing pill, once swallowed, was like a stone sinking into the sea, without even a ripple.

Lu Ye couldn't help but feel confused again. From what he saw now, the treasure gourd's effects should be related to elixirs. At the very least, it could swallow elixirs, but after swallowing them, nothing else unusual happened. This matter was quite tricky, as there was no precedent to follow. Everything had to be explored by himself. He couldn't have gone through all that trouble, snatching a treasure gourd right under the noses of hundreds of cultivators, only for it to be a mere decoration, could he? That would be too great a loss.

Lu Ye continued to suppress his impatience and tried again. It wasn't until Lu Ye had spent most of the day, exhausting a significant portion of his spiritual power, and the treasure gourd still showed no reaction, that he confirmed its power was probably not activated that way. Otherwise, even if his cultivation wasn't high enough, it wouldn't have shown absolutely no reaction. Having made up his mind, Lu Ye alternated between taking out elixirs and herbs for the treasure gourd to swallow. Anyway, he had plenty of herbs and elixirs on hand, so a few more attempts wouldn't hurt. Immediately, he took out other elixirs to try. He found that, without exception, no matter what kind of elixir it was, the treasure gourd would swallow it without fail. Then, the entire gourd was like a Pixiu, only taking in and never giving out. He casually grabbed a herb still covered in dirt and slowly brought it to the gourd's opening. He took another herb to try, and the result was the same.

It wasn't until the treasure gourd had swallowed over a dozen different herbs that an anomaly suddenly occurred! Lu Ye frowned, pondering the possibilities. He suddenly noticed the treasure gourd in his hand vibrating slightly. He quickly gripped it tighter, his divine sense surging as he carefully perceived. This situation continued for a full incense stick's worth of time before the vibrating treasure gourd suddenly stopped moving.

Lu Ye focused his gaze, only to see a faint light flash again at the gourd's opening. Immediately after, a cluster of hazy light sprayed out from the opening. Lu Ye, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed the hazy light. Before he could examine it, another faint light shimmered at the gourd's opening, and a second cluster of hazy light gushed forth. A total of four clusters of light surged out before the treasure gourd returned to normal. "What on earth is this?!" Lu Ye felt a little annoyed. Lu Ye was slightly stunned, then greatly delighted.

At this point, Lu Ye finally knew what the hazy clusters spraying out from the gourd were. These were undoubtedly elixirs, but they were unlike any elixirs he had ever known. Each one's surface was covered with intricate, mysterious patterns, appearing naturally formed yet concealing profound and subtle principles. Because of these patterns, each elixir radiated a powerful, dazzling glow, looking magnificent. This was an appearance of elixirs Lu Ye had never seen before. If the elixirs he had encountered before were like mud pellets, then these four elixirs were like precious pearls! Not only did they look exquisite, but they also emitted a faint, refreshing fragrance. Inhaling it made one feel invigorated, and Lu Ye's earlier impatience and irritation vanished. Even without knowing the specific effects of these elixirs, Lu Ye could clearly judge that these four pills were absolutely treasure elixirs of ultimate quality. As for their exact effects, that was unclear, and he would need to try them personally.

Lu Ye was thoughtful. This treasure gourd could swallow various elixirs and also herbs. This confirmed that its function should be related to medicine or alchemy, but determining its exact effects would require more experimentation. Perhaps the gourd's full effects haven't manifested yet because it hasn't swallowed enough? It was just a feeling, but Lu Ye firmly believed it was correct. Although he didn't know much about Heaven-Born Supreme Treasures like the Fortune Vine, he generally knew one thing: the treasure gourds originating from the Fortune Vine should all possess different functions, and there wouldn't be two gourds with identical effects.