Chapter 458: The Treasure Vault
Outside the treasure vault, several peak Yuan Ying powerhouses stood guard, alongside an elder at the Transformation stage.
The vault’s grand entrance was heavily sealed by a powerful formation, but Qin Wushuang, well-versed in the art, deftly unraveled the seals one by one.
As the seals broke, a thick, almost palpable wave of spiritual energy surged forth from within the vault, smacking him right in the face.
This pure and abundant energy was such that even a single breath could subtly enhance one’s spiritual strength. Just imagine what kind of mouth-watering treasures were stored in there!
Yun Zhonghe, Mu Jixue, Lin Zhongyu, and Su Xiaoxiao were practically drooling over the sight of all those goodies.
There were at least a dozen divine artifacts alone!
Not to mention all the rare herbs, top-notch magical treasures, and miraculous pills…
There were so many that one could lose count!
As expected from one of the top ten great sects, and the pride of the Eastern Continent, their foundation was indeed impressive.
Qin Wushuang grinned at the four, “Let’s head into the vault! Each of you can pick two items from the first floor.”
The first floor was packed with items starting at a minimum grade of four.
Let’s skip the boring details of choosing rewards. This wasn’t Yun Zhonghe and the others’ first time at such a treasure trove. They only marveled at the extraordinary nature of the sect’s vault for a moment before diving headfirst into selecting their treasures.
Opportunities like this to trade up were rare, and they needed to carefully consider every choice based on their individual needs.
Yun Zhonghe strolled slowly on the first floor, taking his time to evaluate each item, figuring out their worth and how they matched his needs. After some deep contemplation, he made his first selection.
He chose a piece of middle-grade sword marrow that emitted a faint glow.
Sword marrow, a treasure capable of promoting a spiritual sword’s quality, was undoubtedly valuable. It could elevate the sword’s grade without any additional materials—pure magic!
Even though Yun Zhonghe had fed quite a bit of Xuan Iron to his Snow Cloud Sword, it was still far from breaking into the middle-grade realm. This sword marrow should help it advance without a hitch.
After the recent competition, he had sensed that the Snow Cloud Sword was starting to feel a bit… underwhelming. If faced with a strong opponent, there was a real risk of it getting shattered.
Yeah, it was definitely time to upgrade the Snow Cloud Sword.
Qin Wushuang raised an eyebrow as he saw Yun Zhonghe pick the sword marrow. “You do realize you could’ve just taken a finished middle-grade spiritual sword straight from the vault, right? That would boost your combat power more directly.”
There were tons of middle-grade spiritual swords just lying around waiting to be picked!
But Yun Zhonghe stuck to his guns and opted for the sword marrow instead, knowing there was a certain failure rate involved. If he flubbed it, the spiritual sword could end up smashed into tiny pieces.
Facing Qin Wushuang’s suggestion, Yun Zhonghe smiled nonchalantly, saying he was too used to the Snow Cloud Sword, and switching to a new sword would just throw off his rhythm, making it hard to unleash his full swordsmanship potential.
The Snow Cloud Sword felt deeply moved by this and vowed to reward Yun Zhonghe more in the future as a way of thanking him for his loyalty.
Yun Zhonghe: “Are you sure that’s a reward for me and not for yourself?”
Snow Cloud Sword: “Hey, don’t be shy, Master! I know you love me. I’m like a map of your sensitive spots!”
Yun Zhonghe couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth—really, the sword’s playful banter left him in a funny, awkward spot.
Deciding to stop that line of chat, he collected himself and continued to pick his second treasure.
His eyes finally landed on a precious piece of heavenly silkworm silk.
This four-grade item possessed the magical ability to repair middle-grade robes. Even if the robe was badly damaged, it could restore it to its former glory while also providing a little boost to its defensive capabilities.
The origin of heavenly silkworm silk was remarkable, crafted from strands spun by the divine heavenly silkworm beast through a series of complicated processes. Due to its rarity, it was worth its weight in gold.
Don’t be fooled by its petite size; its value could easily rival several high-tier robes!
For many, using heavenly silkworm silk to repair a low-grade robe would seem like a ridiculous luxury, but for Yun Zhonghe, that robe far exceeded its practical use.
It had been meticulously chosen for him by Tao Jiu’er at great expense.
Now that the robe was in tatters, Yun Zhonghe felt a pang of heartache. Only the silkworm silk could fix it.
As he held that glossy, smooth, and faintly shimmering silk in his hands, he couldn’t help but recall the many lovely things Tao Jiu’er had done for him during his amnesiac days, sending his emotions into a whirlwind.
After picking his prizes, Yun Zhonghe noticed that Mu Jixue seemed to have just finished her selection too.
She snagged a middle-grade robe that looked quite similar to her previous low-grade one—both in pure white—but with much greater defense and an added boost to her ice-type spells.
It was exceptionally suited for her.
But he didn’t really pay much attention to what her second item was.
When he snapped back to the present, he saw Mu Jixue approaching him, her little hands clasped behind her back, her gaze evasive, and a soft blush on her cheeks, as if hiding some little secret.
“Uh… hey! Yun Zhonghe!”
She leaned in closer, her cheeks tinged pink, her tone soft and sweet, yet trying to mask her emotions with a touch of flair.
Her mixed bag of emotions left it hard to decipher her intentions.
Yun Zhonghe raised an eyebrow, “What’s up?”
Mu Jixue bit her lip, hesitating for a moment before summoning her courage to look at him, her eyes sparkling. “Yun Zhonghe, um… extend your hand.”
“Uh… for what?” Yun Zhonghe was completely in the dark about what Mu Jixue was up to.
Still, he obediently extended his right hand, palm up.
Carefully, Mu Jixue produced a black crystal stone from behind her, placing it gently in his palm.
Yun Zhonghe: “What is this…?”
He leaned down for a closer look—the crystal was about the size of his palm, smooth and with sharp edges, and it looked like a liquid was slowly swirling inside, reminiscent of mercury.
Mu Jixue pouted. “I’m not entirely sure what it does, but… I feel like it’ll be really helpful for you. Just… take it.”
Yun Zhonghe was taken aback. “You’re giving your reward to me?”
Unexpectedly, Huang Aotian had gifted him a precious opportunity!
