Chapter 665 - 612: Michen Seal
Jiang Yuebai first picked up a palm-sized, earthy-yellow square seal, made of a material that looked more like jade than metal, carved with a peculiar insect, somewhat resembling a mayfly, with its wings spread out and patterns that made one dizzy.
It looked like a Cloud Seal but also like Demon Language, indescribably strange, barely recognizable as the words ’Michen’.
Whether it was due to a distortion in vision, or the pattern causing space to warp, Jiang Yuebai felt the air around the seal subtly shifting.
Moreover, there were some scratches on it, similar to the marks on a key.
Jiang Yuebai erased the Divine Sense Mark on it, and after redoing the Sacrificial Refining, discovered it was actually a Space Ancient Treasure, not a Magic Treasure refined in the present day but from Ancient Times.
Previously, the cultivator, using ordinary Spiritual Energy to activate it, could instantaneously perform Earth Escape regardless of any obstacles; in fact, this Ancient Treasure should be activated using Space Power for even more superior effects.
With Shen Mingjing beside her, Jiang Yuebai dared not fully test it.
During the Sacrificial Refining, Jiang Yuebai felt that this seal could amplify the Space Power she currently wielded, coupled with the characteristics of the Ancient Treasure, perhaps under full activation, it could directly pass through some arrays and restrictions or even leave the Kunxi Secret Realm.
"This is quite a fortune I’ve stumbled upon."
The Magic Treasures of ancient cultivators, due to differences in materials used, engraved runes, and manufacturing methods, are exceedingly rare today.
Their power varies greatly, with powerful ones like her Condensing Light Mirror remaining deadly even into the Nascent Soul Stage, while weaker ones are no different from ordinary magic treasures.
Jiang Yuebai secured the Michen Seal, ensuring it was within easy reach.
The other two head-sized golden scimitars were named ’Bent Willow,’ shaped like willow leaves, classified as high-level magic treasures, top-tier below Spiritual Artifacts, fundamentally of a metal nature yet capable of producing water.
When activated, they silently sliced through the air with immense sharpness, and the two scimitars could combine into a circular ring, becoming a trapping magic treasure, which, when encircling an enemy’s body or treasure, could exhibit water’s properties and absorb part of the damage.
After redoing the Sacrificial Refining, the two willow leaf scimitars circled Jiang Yuebai, stirring ripples of water.
Then, at a thought, Jiang Yuebai had the two willow leaf scimitars shrink to bracelet size, slipping them onto her wrist.
Having finished Sacrificial Refining both items, Jiang Yuebai glanced at Shen Mingjing, who was still meditating in the distance, with Yann Hongyu sitting opposite him on a rock, resting her chin in her hand, staring intently, her eyes soft as water.
If not for Shen Mingjing’s suspicious twitch at the corner of his eyebrow, Jiang Yuebai would have thought he was truly indifferent, unfazed by Yann Hongyu’s overt admiration.
Jiang Yuebai closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, yet in reality immersed her Divine Thought into the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven.
Jixiang and the others had already been stealthily retrieved by her, resting in the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven, digesting the various fragments they had gathered along the way.
Little Green was the same, delighting in the ghosts Jiang Yuebai had specially caught for it.
On this journey, everyone finally had their fill.
Jiang Yuebai, her Divine Thought transforming into a clone, pieced together the five fragments collected by Jixiang. The fragments were so incomplete that they were only loosely connected, vaguely resembling a map of a sea-based Immortal Palace.
Because at the edges, there were wave patterns and whirlpool patterns, signifying seas, rivers, and teleportation points.
The main part of the map was seriously missing, with only a few scattered characters at the sides, written in Ancient Demon Text.
"Kun...Peng..."
Jiang Yuebai mused, the Kunpeng being an Ancient Times sea-dwelling Demon Ancestor, even predating the Dragon Clan.
Before entering, she already knew that the ’Kun’ character in Kunxi Secret Realm referred to Kunpeng, but despite the Secret Realm opening multiple times, no one had ever found anything related to Kunpeng.
However, if Immortal Monarch Chongmin attained the Water Dao Fruit due to the Kunxi Secret Realm, he might very well have discovered something left behind by Kunpeng.
Jiang Yuebai sighed, putting away the fragments; the Immortal Palace had stood upon the Secret Realm for nearly ten thousand years, practically becoming Immortal Monarch Chongmin’s private garden.
Even though the Secret Realm could only be opened with the right celestial timing and conditions, and not even an Immortal Monarch could force it, it’s said that being close has its advantages, and whatever valuables there were must have been seized by Immortal Monarch Chongmin long ago.
Yet Shen Mingjing’s certainty indicated he knew of good things still hidden in the Kunxi Divine Palace.
"Kun belongs to water? Transformed into a Peng and becomes a bird. If I could obtain a wisp of Kunpeng’s Demon Soul and place it into the Taihe Umbrella, wouldn’t that be perfect..."
Jiang Yuebai was boldly imaginative, salivating at the thought.
An hour passed swiftly; in the Secret Realm, there was neither day nor night, only eternal dusk.
After preparing themselves, the two began their ascent.
Shen Mingjing had three Three-Sided Immortal Palace Tokens on him, Jiang Yuebai outwardly had three, but secretly she had three more.
As soon as Jiang Yuebai’s foot touched the White Bone Stairs, a gale arose, sending ghostly wails echoing from the mountain, as flocks of black crows burst into flight, cawing towards the blood-red setting sun.
Suddenly, Jiang Yuebai felt as if she was a child again, stepping onto the Ascension Stairs of the Heavenly Interference Sect for the first time, as an overwhelming force of unknown origin pressed heavily upon her, making each step incredibly arduous.
Yet, as soon as her mind sought resistance, a refreshing, summer-like spring breeze emanated from the Three-Sided Immortal Palace Tokens on her body, invigorating her senses and lightening her burdens.
A sense of dread loomed from within the mountain, Jiang Yuebai released the Bent Willow Blades just refined, circling around her, as the Taihe Umbrella spun, shedding white feathers that fluttered down on her and Shen Mingjing.
The two exchanged a glance, seizing the moment before the Heaven-Reaching Peak fully ’awoke’, pushing their movement techniques to the limit, sprinting toward the mountain’s summit along the White Bone Stairs.
On one side lay a cliff face, the other a precipice; once they embarked on this path, apart from rushing ahead, they could not control the air.
Occasionally, Evil Ghosts and zombies leaped forth from the cliffs, but the feathers from the Taihe Umbrella shredded them, never letting them near the duo.
Shen Mingjing struggled to keep up behind Jiang Yuebai, yet seeing her maintain their agreement and look after him along the way, he called out to her, "The Xiong family’s cultivator who entered, named Xiong Yanhong, is the younger brother of the Xiong Family’s Great Elder, Xiong Yanqing. Most importantly, Xiong Yanhong is an old acquaintance of Immortal Monarch Chongmin’s attendant, Wen Su."
Jiang Yuebai hesitated slightly, waving her hand to launch the two Bent Willow Blades, severing a zombie halfway out of the cliff.
Jiang Yuebai hadn’t heard of Xiong Yanhong, but she recalled the old cultivator from the Divinity Transformation Stage who previously pursued Moh Baichun and Zhuge Ziqian.
"You sure know a lot!"
Shen Mingjing caught up, grinning, "I need to have something to make up for my lack of strength, right?"
The surrounding Evil Ghosts were slaughtered en masse, and Jiang Yuebai continued forward.
"So when you told me earlier that exposing the Xiong family’s secrets was pointless, it was because of Wen Su as an insider?"
Shen Mingjing nodded, "Exactly, if you have plans against Xiong Yanhong, your best move would be right upon entering the Fifth Layer, neither sooner nor later."
Jiang Yuebai remained silent, thinking that Shen Mingjing could deduce even this much—was she that transparent?
It seemed she needed to learn from Zhuge Ziyin’s emotionless demeanor, concealing all intentions within, showing none outside.
Of course, she had plans for the Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator; if he dared suppress his cultivation to enter the Secret Realm, it was the perfect opportunity. If she and Zhuge Ziyin joined forces, they could contain Xiong Yanhong.
Following that, utilizing the Mirage Demon Skill and Dream Demon, creating a convincing illusion for Xiong Yanhong might provide the chance to make him refine alchemical pills for her using his own Essence Qi.
If successful, she would no longer have to endure the long grind, potentially breaking through her bottleneck to reach the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul in one fell swoop.