Chapter 293: Another Five Elements Beads Obtained, Multitreasures Collide with the Lantern

What should one do when an overwhelmingly powerful figure tries to silence them by offering treasures?

Li Changshou's first reaction was to refuse.

He had already received a treasure he liked. Taking more would only incur karma with Duobao.

But Duobao...

He was simply too generous!

Seeing Li Changshou hesitate to reach out, Duobao Daoist flicked his sleeve, instantly illuminating the entire valley with radiant treasure light.

Various post-natal spirit treasures, brimming with spiritual energy, slowly swirled around Li Changshou, enveloping him completely and densely, moving up, down, left, and right.

Almost blinded by the dazzling light, Li Changshou quietly raised a hand to cover his chest.

It hurt.

What kind of 'treasure uncle' could so calmly produce hundreds, even thousands, of treasures and tell him to pick anything, ensuring he took at least an amount equal to his own height?

Equal to his height...

Did that mean the treasures he took should, when stacked, match his height?

In that case, the difference would be vast depending on whether they were placed horizontally or vertically, or if he chose 'treasure beads' or 'treasure pagodas'...

"How about it? Do any of these catch your eye?"

Duobao Daoist calmly chuckled from outside the circle of spirit treasures, "If nothing catches your eye, I can cycle through a few more batches for you; we can take our time choosing!"

Li Changshou: ...

He felt as if Duobao Daoist, adorned with a large gold chain around his neck, a large gold watch on his wrist, and clad in gold-threaded treasure robes, was leaning back in a circular armchair.

Was this what a true treasure professional looked like?

This was too exciting!

Then, Li Changshou sadly realized...

He had previously sent his treasure-hunting paper effigies across the Middle Divine Continent. Out of boredom, he had even compiled a "Great Wilderness Spirit Treasure Record," cataloging various renowned spirit treasures. At the time, he thought he knew most of the Great Wilderness's spirit treasures.

Today, seeing Duobao Daoist display his personal collection, Li Changshou realized how shallow and limited his knowledge truly was.

The circling treasures, any one of which was a post-natal spirit treasure, even included several top-grade post-natal spirit treasures!

Anything without the 'post-natal' prefix, or lacking sufficient spiritual energy or being flawed, simply could not be found in Duobao Daoist's collection!

These treasures were of high quality and considerable power, rarely displayed in public. Duobao Daoist merely used them as if they were common bricks, which explains their lack of fame and recognition.

His record book was merely a junior; it needed a prefix like 'junior' or 'minor'.

"Senior," Li Changshou bowed. Although he yearned to wave his hand, clench his fist, and dominantly declare, "I want them all," reason ultimately suppressed the impulse.

His karma with the Jie School absolutely could not be deepened further.

Li Changshou transmitted his voice:

"My master has instructed me that my cultivation is not yet profound enough, and I should not rely on magic treasures, lest I neglect my practice.

If Senior insists on giving me something, perhaps a set of equivalent-grade Five-Element spirit treasures would be more suitable. I've recently been pondering some grand Five-Element formations, which would come in handy.

My master said that no matter how many treasures one possesses, they cannot be integrated into one's own Dao, offering no benefit to a disciple's cultivation.

Your disciple will now make a vow: this was my first meeting with Senior, and I saw nothing before this."

The ultimate shield: Master Xuandu.

Immediately, Li Changshou loudly recited a Daoist vow, stating that if he revealed what he had seen, the Heavenly Dao would inflict heavenly punishment upon him.

Duobao pondered for a few moments, his gaze complex as he looked at Li Changshou standing amidst the treasure light. He sighed, "Chang Geng, you don't have to be so formal. I trust your character."

As he spoke, Duobao Daoist smiled freely, opening his sleeve to recall all the spirit treasures. He looked at Li Changshou with a hint of apology.

"Chang Geng, your cultivation isn't high, nor are you old, yet your words are so profound.

Indeed, having too many treasures is useless. One or two innate spirit treasures to protect one's Dao and suppress one's luck are more than enough.

One still cannot integrate them into one's own Dao, after all."

Duobao sighed deeply, then added, "Please wait a moment. I recall a set of Five-Element treasures I collected over several millennia."

Holding the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin, Li Changshou couldn't help but feel a little expectant.

Duobao Daoist fumbled in his sleeve for a while, almost inserting his entire arm, before finally retrieving five treasure beads of different colors.

These five beads were clearly a complete set of magic treasures, imbued with the powers of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Moreover, these Five-Element powers were incredibly pure, entirely free of impurities.

The Earth-element treasure bead that Youqin Xuanya had given him earlier was merely a basic Five-Element bead;

Yet these five beads were already the pinnacle of what post-natal treasures could achieve!

Duobao Daoist raised his hand and pushed the five beads, which slowly flew towards Li Changshou, gently rotating around him.

It was unclear what divine ability Duobao Daoist employed, but these five beads had already recognized Li Changshou as their master. They transmitted a sense of intimacy to him, and numerous insights into Five-Element Dao techniques spontaneously emerged in Li Changshou's mind.

Li Changshou opened his hands, and the five beads slowly floated down, resting in his palms, gently bobbing.

Just as he was about to put away the treasures and thank Duobao, Li Changshou suddenly uttered a soft gasp. At the center of the five beads, he sensed a faint, ethereal Dao rhythm, as if it contained an aura of transcendence.

Could five beads forming a set be considered an innate spirit treasure?

Li Changshou felt a slight headache. Using such an innate spirit treasure as the core of the Little Qiong Peak's formation would be an excessive waste of heavenly resources.

"Senior, these beads are too valuable..."

"Oh!"

Duobao Daoist frowned. "Chang Geng, are you looking down on me?

It's just a small trinket. Take it, take it. I already said it's compensation for harming your avatar!"

"Thank you for the treasure, Senior!"

Li Changshou bowed, then placed the Five-Element beads and the pair of Treasure-Dropping Copper Coins into two separate treasure pouches, keeping them close to his body.

These past six months of effort had certainly not been in vain.

Duobao Daoist seemed to have shed a burden, relief showing in his eyes. He smiled, "Chang Geng, come with me... Eh? Why is he here?"

Li Changshou's heart grew wary.

Duobao Daoist raised his hand and pointed at the sky. The purple-gold alms bowl, which had covered a thousand li, subtly vibrated and vanished, instantly reappearing in Duobao's palm, shrunken to five inches in diameter, before being tucked into his sleeve.

Then, Duobao grabbed Li Changshou's arm and exclaimed, "Let's go!"

With a light jump, their surroundings instantly shifted, and they reappeared in the very earthen cave Li Changshou had just walked through, the one Duobao Daoist had excavated.

This earthen cave was no ordinary place; it was a concealed treasure cave dug by the Eldest Disciple of the Jie School, offering superb stealth.

The two squatted in a corner of the treasure cave. Duobao Daoist took out a treasure mirror from his bosom, breathed on it, and a swiftly moving white cloud instantly appeared in the mirror.

An old Daoist sat upon the white cloud, enveloped in faint clouds and mist.

But Duobao Daoist spat lightly at the treasure mirror again, and the clouds and mist slowly dispersed, revealing the old Daoist's true appearance.

With a brown Daoist robe, a square face, sideburns, large drooping ears, and a bronze lamp floating above his shoulder, it was none other than Daoist Randeng, the Vice-Sect Master of the Dao Sect's Chan School.

Fearing Li Changshou might not recognize him, Duobao Daoist proactively introduced, "This is the Vice-Sect Master of the Chan School. He claims to be of the same generation as our three masters.

I usually have to address him as Martial Uncle."

Li Changshou had a sudden realization and quickly said, "Senior, if he's still far away, we should leave first."

"He saw my alms bowl, and he's seen me use it before..."

Duobao Daoist pondered for a few moments, then said, "No hurry. Let's first see what he's doing here. Although he is a senior of our Dao Sect, I am not afraid of him.

Rest assured, even if Daoist Randeng is a Vice-Sect Master, he's merely an outsider. Our three masters value the Daoist lineage and their own disciples above all else.

If Vice-Sect Master Randeng is also here seeking treasure, I'll secretly place a few items here for him to take."

For some reason, Li Changshou detected a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction towards Daoist Randeng in Duobao Daoist's words.

This brought him considerable ease.

According to Li Changshou's deduction, Randeng must have come for the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin.

If so, then in the Investiture of the Gods story, the scene where Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao used the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin to seize the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl was undoubtedly a well-orchestrated scheme by Randeng, designed to trap Venerable Zhao!

By taking the Treasure-Dropping Copper Coin today, he had not only altered future events but also caused Randeng to lose the opportunity to seize the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl...

Could Randeng have sensed this very change?

Li Changshou said, "Senior, I've also had contact with Vice-Sect Master Randeng before, and I fear I might have offended him."

"Oh?"

Duobao Daoist's interest was piqued. "How did you manage to create a rift with him?"

In a few words, Li Changshou transmitted a brief account of his previous dealings with Randeng to Duobao Daoist.

Naturally, he couldn't tell the entire truth. He merely stated that he initially didn't recognize this Chan School senior and 'accidentally' cursed Randeng a few times, omitting any mention of Zhao Gongming and True Immortal Huang Long witnessing the incident.

Duobao Daoist savored the story, a look of sudden understanding appearing on his slightly plump face. He couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh heartily, then raised a hand and gently patted Li Changshou twice.

"You're so cunning! Hahahaha!

It's truly a pity, a great pity, that I couldn't witness this scene myself."

Li Changshou quietly asked, "Senior, you seem to have a particular sentiment towards this Vice-Sect Master..."

"Alas," Duobao shook his head, "Some things are better left unsaid!"

Typically, hearing this tone and phrase indicates that the speaker is itching to complain.

Li Changshou went with the flow, earnestly stating, "I simply wish to understand more, to avoid any errors in the future."

Thus, Duobao sighed lightly and slowly began to narrate:

"Over the past tens of thousands of years, there's been constant friction between our two schools. Their Chan School often has fellow Daoists needlessly stirring up trouble, and sometimes our disciples here also make careless remarks.

Most times these incidents occur, it's usually me who rushes to resolve them. As a result, I've had more contact with this senior.

Tsk...

Chang Geng, in the future, you should minimize your interactions with this exalted senior. Be especially careful with your words when speaking to him, so he doesn't catch you making a mistake or saying something amiss.

This exalted senior, hmph, his mind is very complex!"

Li Changshou largely understood.

As a side note, how far could experts like Duobao and Randeng truly sense with their immortal consciousness?

They had been talking for a while, and the image in the mirror remained unchanged. If not for the rapidly receding clouds, Li Changshou would have truly thought the spirit mirror was malfunctioning.

Just as he was about to inquire, Li Changshou's immortal consciousness, at its periphery, detected Randeng's figure.

No sooner had his immortal consciousness detected Randeng's figure than Randeng appeared directly above the Ox Demon Valley, an overwhelming pressure emanating from a mighty being.

The Ox Demon clan, still in a deep slumber below, immediately trembled in their dreams.

Duobao Daoist's detection range...

His own detection range...

A strange sense of helplessness welled up in Li Changshou's heart. He had originally thought that, having cultivated to Golden Immortal and with the Human School as his backing, he now possessed the power to scheme for minor spirit treasures in the Great Wilderness.

The "Stabilization Scripture" still needed to be written nine thousand times.

Hmm, he'd let his junior sister do half. When Senior Brother has a need, Junior Sister assists.

"He's here! He's here!"

Duobao Daoist whispered, a faint bright light appearing in his eyes. He and Li Changshou held their breath, observing the unfolding situation in the mirror.

At this moment, they did not extend their immortal consciousness. This treasure mirror, being a detection-type spirit treasure, naturally boasted outstanding concealment and anti-detection capabilities.

They observed Randeng sitting on a cloud, circling the area twice. He then produced his Glazed Pagoda, and with a raised hand, sent it forth. The pagoda instantly grew to hundreds of zhang tall, with streams of immortal light gushing from its tip, instantly enveloping a thousand-li radius in its divine radiance.

The demons of Cih Tie City: ...

"Hmph!"

Randeng then flicked his finger toward Cih Tie City, and its grand formation instantly shattered.

"Let the one in charge here come forth and answer."

This cold voice, combined with the oppressive aura Daoist Randeng now exuded, plunged the demon race in Cih Tie City—who had barely recovered from the purple-gold alms bowl's suppression—into renewed chaos.

Before long, the three Golden Immortal realm ox demons arrived before Randeng. Randeng lightly snorted, and the three old oxen's knees buckled, causing them to subconsciously kneel in the air.

"Greetings, Senior!"

"No idle talk," Randeng said coldly. "Is this your clan's territory?"

"Yes, it is our clan's territory."

Randeng then asked, "What happened here previously? If I hear even a single false word, your clan will cease to exist today."

Immediately, the three ox demons, speaking one after another, hastily recounted everything that had transpired.

According to the ox demons' description, they were first attacked by a group of human soldiers of unknown origin. However, the attackers appeared only briefly before retreating, seemingly having used some illusionary spell.

Then the purple-gold alms bowl appeared, enveloping an area of a thousand li...

Randeng sat on the white cloud, continuously calculating with his fingers, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

He had been cultivating in the Jade Purity Palace when a faint warning sign suddenly arose in his heart. Upon calculation, it seemed a treasure intimately connected to his future Dao fruit had been taken!

Such a warning, a pure resonance between his Dao and heavenly secrets, only informed him that an event had occurred, but not its specifics.

Randeng immediately used his Glazed Lamp to carefully deduce, following a wisp of heavenly secret, and pinpointed the exact location of the incident, rushing there at once.

However, what Randeng didn't know at this moment was...

As he arrived at the valley, Li Changshou had already diverted some of his attention to disguise traces of combat in six geographically similar areas within the Middle Divine Continent...

Coincidentally, Li Changshou's main body also flew out of Little Qiong Peak on a cloud, heading to Potian Peak.

It was once again time to offer incense to the Saint Master.

No sooner had Li Changshou flown to the Hundred Affairs Hall than Randeng, hovering above the Ox Demon Valley, had already drawn a general conclusion.

Randeng first glanced at the three Golden Immortal ox demons and coldly commanded, "Go to your clan's treasury and check for any missing items. Then awaken your clansmen and question them one by one about what they've lost.

You have half an hour. If even one of you fails to comply in time, do not blame me for being ruthless."

The three ox demons hastily bowed in affirmation, then hurriedly descended into the valley.

A single glance confirmed he was a ruthless figure who could wipe out their entire clan with one finger!

After the ox demons departed, the Glazed Lamp on Randeng's shoulder flared with light, and Randeng spoke again, his voice echoing across the skies and lands within a thousand li.

"Martial Nephew Duobao, why don't you reveal yourself and meet me?

The treasure you took is fated with me. I am willing to exchange it for a favor."

In the treasure cave, Duobao Daoist pursed his lips, immediately preparing for a confrontation. He transmitted to Li Changshou:

"See that? The Vice-Sect Master is so confident, unwilling to even take out a treasure, yet he expects to get one from me just for a favor!

Does he think I'm a treasure-giving servant?

Hmph, since he's discovered I'm here, what harm is there in meeting him?"

"Senior!"

Li Changshou timely held Duobao Daoist's arm, transmitting, "Senior, this is merely a trick to provoke you. If you don't believe me, just watch; he will surely say the next line in a moment.

It will either be, 'What, do I have to personally invite you out?' or 'Martial Nephew, do you intend to escalate this matter?'"

Duobao Daoist blinked, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

However, Randeng might indeed have been a bit impatient. No sooner had Li Changshou finished speaking than Daoist Randeng frowned and added:

"What, do I have to personally invite you out?"