Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Rare Treasure

“Ming’s reputation truly strikes like thunder! Never would I have thought we’d be so fortunate to meet you here.”

“That poem ‘Butterfly Lovers Flower – To Zhu Cici’ written by Ming is absolutely brilliant. It’s hard to believe that such a masterpiece was composed when you were only eight!”

“Especially your ‘Refusal to Marry Memorandum,’ which I’ve read over and over again. The writing is splendid, the emotions genuine—I feel utterly inferior.”

“Today, our lives were saved by Ming. Such kindness we will never forget!”

“I toast Ming with this cup!”

“To Ming!”

In a tavern, two scholars from White Deer Academy—Miao Feng and Yu Wen Xi—were treating Ming to a meal.

Though their noses were bruised and faces swollen, they still maintained an air of scholarly elegance.

Their injuries weren’t too serious; after a couple of days of rest, they were mostly recovered.

“You’re too kind,” Ming replied with a toast. “My启蒙 teacher comes from your esteemed academy. I have some connection with White Deer Academy, so when I saw you in trouble, how could I stand idly by? If I did nothing, I wouldn’t be able to face my teacher later.”

“May I ask who Ming’s teacher is?” Yu Wen Xi inquired.

“Xiao Moqi, Mr. Xiao.”

“Ah, it’s Mr. Xiao!” Miao Feng straightened up. “He is one of the three scholars I admire most at our academy.”

“Is Mr. Xiao really that famous at White Deer Academy?” Ming hadn’t expected this.

Ming had thought Xiao Moqi was just an ordinary scholar there, perhaps slightly more renowned.

Yu Wen Xi took a sip of wine. “Indeed, Mr. Xiao is well-known for his passionate nature. His stories are still told throughout the academy. We could talk about them all day and night without finishing.”

“It seems Mr. Xiao has quite a few romantic tales.” Ming chuckled. “By the way, why have the two of you come to Baiwa City? And why are there so many cultivators here?”

“Hmm?” Yu Wen Xi and Miao Feng exchanged glances before looking at Ming. “Does Ming not know?”

Ming was even more confused. “Know what?”

Yu Wen Xi answered, “A rare treasure is about to appear in Baiwa City. We’ve all come seeking opportunities.”

“A rare treasure?” Ming was startled. “What kind of treasure?”

Miao Feng smiled. “We don’t know exactly what it is, nor do others probably. Not long ago, one of our academy’s high priests divined that a rare treasure would soon appear in Baiwa City, so he sent us two. From the look on the elder’s face, this treasure seems quite significant.”

“Most cultivators in Baiwa City are here for the treasure. Comparatively speaking, why doesn’t Ming know about it? Why are you here?”

Ming shook his head and made up an excuse. “I was just traveling around before the Rootless Mystic Realm opens, and accidentally ended up here.”

Yu Wen Xi paused, then laughed. “Truly, I can’t tell if Ming’s luck is good or bad.”

“If a rare treasure is appearing and so many people have come, it must be quite valuable. Why aren’t sect elders coming instead of disciples?” Ming asked freely.

Miao Feng smiled. “Ming usually practices martial arts and might not be familiar with the cultivation world. In the cultivation world, everything complements each other, and cause and effect follow naturally.

The more precious a divine herb is, the stronger the guardian monster beasts around it tend to be.

Uh, maybe my analogy isn’t very appropriate.

But roughly speaking, that’s the idea.

When a rare treasure appears, Tiandao maintains its surroundings, restricting cultivators of certain realms from entering, to prevent mass destruction.

However, the correlation between the rarity of the treasure and the realm restriction hasn’t been fully understood yet.

Of course, once you reach the Ascension Realm, you can ignore most of Tiandao’s rules, but would any Ascension Realm ancestor bother moving just for a few treasures?”

“Our high priest calculated that the highest restricted realm for this treasure is the Sea Observing Realm,” Yu Wen Xi added. “We two happen to be idle and are relatively strong in the Sea Observing Realm, so we came.”

“I see.”

Ming nodded.

Ming was actually thinking, were Shen and his wife also here to seek treasure?

But if Shen and his wife were here for treasure, wouldn’t cultivators have already flooded in earlier? Why wait until now?

Miao Feng sighed. “But now, we haven’t found the treasure, and we can’t leave either. Something strange is going on with Baiwa City.”

Seeing the melancholy expressions of Miao Feng and Yu Wen Xi, Ming didn’t say much, quietly drinking his wine.

Half an hour later, Miao Feng, Yu Wen Xi, and Ming bid farewell, exchanging addresses in case they needed help.

Back at the inn, Ming’s mind once again popped up with a reward—

[You defeated Scroll Rhinoceros (Late Stage of Sea Observing Realm) and Scroll Elephant (Late Stage of Sea Observing Realm), Strength +30, Intimidation +20]

Strength is physical power.

Intimidation allows you to create an aura that induces fear in opponents.

These were common attributes, so Ming didn’t pay much attention.

But what did “scroll” mean?

Ming opened the box left by Shen, first taking out the letter. Heavenly Black Goose stuck its head over to read the letter together:

“When you read this letter, it means I am already dead.

I do not know who you are, but since you’ve seen this letter, I trusted you in my lifetime.

When my wife and I first arrived in Baiwa City, it was just an ordinary border town, filled with humans. Although there were many beasts, most lived peacefully with humans.

But one day, for no reason, the blazing sun in the sky fell from the heavens.

I felt myself burning into ashes.

But when I woke up, I and everything around me were unharmed.

The only change was the blood-red moon in the sky.

My wife and I soon discovered that Baiwa City had formed its own barrier, and we couldn’t leave.

Fortunately, my wife was a direct disciple of the Celestial Array Sect and had considerable knowledge of formations.

We searched for ways to break the formation while settling down here.

Until one day…”

[It rained all day today, and I got stuck in a tunnel for almost an hour.

Damn, I’m numb.

Fortunately, I wrote some last night, and today I managed to write 2000 words, just enough to catch up. Clearly, I need some drafts.]