Chapter 627: Rare Treasures Pavilion

Zhang Xuan stretched and walked out of his room. He was quite fatigued from cultivating during his journey.

“Teacher!”

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Yuan Tao rushed over, a troubled expression on his face.

“Teacher, I feel... my cultivation has been much slower lately. For some reason, I can't concentrate...”

With Zhao Ya and Lu Chong gone, the remaining four students all felt pressure. He, too, was eager to catch up, but for some reason, his cultivation seemed to be shackled for the past half month, making no progress whatsoever. He had been afraid of being reprimanded by his teacher these past few days, so he hadn't dared to ask. Today, he could no longer hold back, because just now, Wang Ying had broken through again, and if he didn't hurry, he really wouldn't be able to catch up.

“Don't worry, I know your situation. It's not that you're unfocused or lack talent. It's because... your Dragon-Rhino bloodline, if not continuously activated, will form shackles within your body, always holding you back!”

Zhang Xuan nodded. He had already noticed Yuan Tao's condition a few days ago while on the spirit beast's back. It wasn't that Yuan Tao wasn't working hard; it was an issue with his bloodline. For those with special physiques, if their physique is fully activated, cultivation is as simple as eating and drinking. But if it cannot be activated, it becomes like shackles, rendering further cultivation useless.

There are countless methods to activate physiques, and special physiques are rare, making it difficult to obtain complete inheritances. Many truly talented individuals, lacking systematic methods and sufficient resources, end up blending in with the crowd. It was precisely for this reason that when the Glacier Palace wanted Zhao Ya, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed. For the Pure Yin Physique, Glacier Palace possessed a complete inheritance and unlimited resources, which was far better than him trying to figure it out alone.

Now, Yuan Tao was facing this very problem. His physique was only about twenty percent activated, and his cultivation had reached the early stage of Mortal Transcendent 2-dan, which was his current limit. To progress further, he absolutely needed to continue activating it. Otherwise, the dense Dragon-Rhino bloodline would act like shackles, restricting his acupoints and meridians, making it difficult to advance. If he were cultivating a Heaven's Path technique, there would certainly be no problem. Unfortunately, this was just a simplified version, causing quite a bit of trouble.

He had been considering this for the past few days and had come up with several feasible solutions.

“Alright, call Sun Qiang over. Have him inquire if there are any places around here that sell treasures. He should look for items suitable for you!” Zhang Xuan said casually.

“Yes!”

Seeing that his teacher already knew, Yuan Tao felt embarrassed and quickly withdrew. Soon after, he returned with Sun Qiang.

“Young Master, I've had people inquire about the surrounding area. There's a Pavilion of Wonders nearby, and they might have what you're looking for!” Sun Qiang said eagerly. As the butler, he knew his duties. As soon as they arrived, he had made inquiries and gathered quite a bit of information.

“Pavilion of Wonders?” Zhang Xuan looked at him.

“Yes, this Pavilion of Wonders contains many rare treasures. Many of them are extremely precious, their value not inferior to high-grade spirit artifacts, and quite a few are unique items. However, the strange thing is... the items here are never sold; they are only given to those who are destined!” Sun Qiang replied.

“Given away?” Zhang Xuan was surprised. No matter how many rare treasures or how vast their assets, if they only gave them away without selling, wouldn't they go bankrupt?

“Indeed, but they're not given away for free; there's certainly a price to pay.” Seeing his young master's disbelieving expression, Sun Qiang smiled. “It's said that the Pavilion of Wonders has two rows of stone pillars, and treasures are sealed inside them using some unknown method. Those who wish to acquire treasures can go and identify them. Identifying the first one earns you one point, the second earns two points, the third earns three points, and so on, increasing incrementally. This means if you can identify the item in the fiftieth stone pillar, you directly earn 50 points!”

“The accumulated points can be exchanged for any treasure in the Pavilion of Wonders. As long as you have enough points, you can take whatever you want! However... before attempting identification, you must pay ten mid-grade spirit stones as a deposit. If you successfully identify an item, the spirit stones will be returned. If you fail to identify it, I'm afraid the spirit stones will be forfeited. In other words, if you don't earn a single point... the spirit stones become theirs!”

“Oh!” Zhang Xuan understood. Frankly, it was a way to profit from people's curiosity, somewhat similar to gambling. The treasures sealed within the stone pillars were invisible and intangible, making identification even harder than appraisal gambling. Earning points would certainly not be easy. Ten mid-grade spirit stones might not seem like much, but with many people trying, it was a sure profit for them. It was somewhat similar to the 'Qu Shui Liu Shang' game at the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion in Honghai City. Success depended on one's discerning eye.

This might be difficult for others, but for him... it seemed like a place specifically designed to give away treasures! As long as he touched something with his finger, the Library of Heaven's Path would generate a book, clearly revealing even its origins, making identification incredibly simple.

“Let's go and have a look. If there's anything Yuan Tao can use, we might as well get a few items. If not, then forget about it!” Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. It just so happened that activating Yuan Tao's physique required special treasures. If this so-called Pavilion of Wonders had such items, he might as well try identifying them from the stone pillars to obtain some. Of course... if there truly were none, he wouldn't press the matter. He wasn't someone who couldn't move his feet at the sight of treasures. A Master Teacher always needed to maintain a certain demeanor; it was impossible for him to insist on acquiring someone else's treasures just because he saw them. Besides, the Illusory Feather Imperial Capital was an unfamiliar place after all, so it was better to keep a low profile.

“Yes!” Sun Qiang nodded and led the way. Since they were looking for treasures suitable for Yuan Tao's physique, they brought him along too.

The Pavilion of Wonders was not too far from the imperial palace. The three walked for less than twenty minutes before a majestic, towering edifice appeared before them. The three large characters, “Pavilion of Wonders,” written in a vibrant, soaring calligraphic style, slowly absorbed spiritual energy, appearing as if they could fly away at any moment.

“Level six calligraphy?” Zhang Xuan glanced at it and was startled. Calligraphy at the sixth level of painting and calligraphy had already reached the spiritual intelligence level. It was extremely powerful, something difficult for even four-star or five-star calligraphers and painters to achieve. Before even entering the pavilion, seeing such formidable calligraphy displayed casually outside piqued his immense interest in the Pavilion of Wonders.

Entering the main gate, the hall was extremely spacious. Along the walls, a series of display counters were arranged in a circle, holding all sorts of treasures. The three walked over. Long swords, paintings and calligraphy, chess pieces, ores, spirit beast fur... A myriad of treasures, truly everything imaginable.

“A golden claw of a Mortal Transcendent 4-dan Fox-Hawk Beast?” He looked along the counters for a while, then suddenly stopped. In the display counter before him was a huge, three-foot-long hoof-claw, entirely golden, giving off a feeling of icy sharpness. The Fox-Hawk Beast was a spirit beast of the Mortal Transcendent 4-dan level. Not only were they rare, but they were also as cunning as foxes. Even the Beast Hall couldn't tame one, let alone capture and kill one. These creatures were rare, but their claws were invaluable treasures, especially the golden ones, which were excellent materials for forging peak mid-grade spirit weapons. Many sought even a single knuckle and couldn't obtain it, yet here was a complete one. Its value was immeasurable.

He lowered his head and saw a line of text written on the parchment beneath the hoof-claw: “Fox-Hawk Beast Golden Claw, 1!”

“What does this ‘1’ mean?” He couldn't help but look at Sun Qiang.

“Oh, the ‘1’ marked below means it can be exchanged for one point!” Sun Qiang thought for a moment and replied.

“Can it be exchanged for just one point?” Zhang Xuan was stunned. The golden hoof-claw of a Fox-Hawk Beast was extremely rare and hard to find. If sold, it would cost at least ten, if not dozens, of mid-grade spirit stones. To exchange it for just one point... this point seemed far too valuable!

“Almost all the items on the first floor can be exchanged for one point. The higher the floor, the more valuable the items become!” Sun Qiang smiled.

“One point can get one of these?” Zhang Xuan gasped in surprise. No wonder many people, despite knowing that the Pavilion of Wonders' items couldn't be easily acquired, still flocked here to try their luck. The items inside were indeed too valuable. Walking past the Fox-Hawk Beast's hoof-claw, he continued to look ahead and saw many more good items, none of which were less valuable than the hoof-claw, and all were also marked with a “1” below.

“Incredible. This place certainly lives up to the name ‘Pavilion of Wonders’!” He praised it, then quickly completed a circuit. Although there were many treasures on the first floor, they wouldn't be very effective for activating Yuan Tao's physique. The Dragon-Rhino bloodline was very special. Although he wasn't entirely sure what specific items could activate it, he had a general idea.

“Let's go check out the second floor!” Knowing there was nothing on the first floor, he lost interest. No matter how good the treasures were, for him, they weren't as good as spirit stones. No matter how excellent other items were, they couldn't compare to a sufficient number of cultivation techniques. Therefore, he truly lacked interest in these treasures. If he truly had an interest, he wouldn't have returned the items from the 'Qu Shui Liu Shang' game at the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion back then.

The three walked upstairs. The second floor clearly had significantly fewer people than the first floor, and the variety and quantity of treasures were also reduced. However, at a glance, they were much more valuable. Many unique items, which even the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion couldn't produce, and quite a few that even with his current discerning eye, he couldn't name.

“Is this... a level seven painting and calligraphy piece?” He soon spotted a level seven painting and calligraphy piece, which appeared to have been created by at least a six-star calligrapher and painter. The animals and plants within it were so lifelike they seemed about to spring to life, ready to leap out and gather spiritual energy at any moment. Items that reached the Spirit Enlightenment realm already possessed their own spiritual intelligence and could detach themselves at any time.

He lowered his head and saw a line of text on the marked parchment below: “Spring and Autumn Arrogance Painting, 2!”

“It's only worth two points?” Zhang Xuan clicked his tongue in amazement. This painting was far better than the "Drunken Dream Awakening" that was auctioned in Honghai City back then. After all, that painting was flawed. Although it barely reached level seven with his help, it was still the lowest grade, and ultimately sold for only forty thousand low-grade spirit stones, which was the equivalent of four mid-grade spirit stones. This one, however, was clearly a work left behind by a six-star calligrapher and painter. If auctioned normally, it would never sell for less than fifty mid-grade spirit stones, yet its value here was “2”...

This Pavilion of Wonders was indeed formidable, and the sheer number of treasures it held exceeded his expectations.

“What good things could a small place like this have? If you truly like something, I'll help you find it when we return!”

Just as he was about to continue looking, a faint voice sounded from nearby, followed by two figures approaching.