Chapter 720: The Treasure of Attaining the Dao, Brush and Book (4K)

The place where this innate spiritual treasure fell was not among the divine mountains and great rivers, but within a fairy city.

When passing by the fairy city, Zhang Jian felt a sudden whim in his heart.

He immediately entered the ancient city called Jintian.

Yet within a 'civilian residence', he sensed a trace of the innate spiritual treasure's aura.

This was because the innate spiritual treasure sensed a fated person approaching, and the treasure's spirit naturally summoned.

Zhang Jian's eternal will swept over this 'civilian residence'; though called a residence, it was actually the courtyard of a low-level cultivator who had abandoned the path to immortality, choosing instead to settle here, marry, and have children.

Under his eternal will, he saw an aged cultivator sitting under a jujube tree in the courtyard, his form emanating decay and the aura of twilight, with several children nearby; the 'old man's' cultivation was not remarkable, equivalent to the peak of Qi Refining, only half a step from Foundation Establishment, but that half-step had become his chasm.

Within the side rooms, there were also several beautiful women, all of them mundane beings.

If Zhang Jian did not interfere, after the old man completed his final journey, his descendants would be silently transferred to the mortal realm's domain.

Unbeknownst to them, the move was completed.

Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon the small courtyard, precisely upon the old man's side, on the neck of a young grandson.

It was a dark-colored small gourd, its entire body covered with azure mysterious patterns, profoundly wondrous.

The small gourd was strung on a hemp rope.

Though the small gourd also possessed innate qualities, it was not what Zhang Jian sought; rather, within the gourd lay another innate aura that slightly resonated with Zhang Jian's primordial spirit.

This was an object containing another object, a treasure containing a treasure.

Zhang Jian immediately knocked on the courtyard gate; not long after, the gate opened, revealing a dimly lit figure with slightly astonished eyes staring at Zhang Jian.

"Who knocks at the door, and for what purpose?"

His eyes showed some wariness; he noticed Zhang Jian was not a familiar face from around.

Yet Zhang Jian's attire was extraordinary, bearing a transcendent and unworldly demeanor, making him dare not underestimate.

Zhang Jian smiled faintly and said.

"Go inform your master: tell him someone wishes to bestow upon him a fortune!"

Upon hearing this, the old steward's expression tightened; he hurriedly went to report, and shortly after, a man in brocade robes emerged from within.

This was precisely the old cultivator seen through Zhang Jian's eternal will.

"I do not know which cultivator you are, old man, I do not seem to recognize you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian merely smiled faintly, not waiting for the man to fully open the middle gate; with a wave of his hand, the gate opened naturally, while the old man and his servant's faces changed color, feeling completely unable to move under this pressure.

Zhang Jian stepped into the courtyard and soon stood beneath the jujube tree.

At that moment, beneath the jujube tree, several young children sat bare-bottomed on the ground playing.

Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon one of the slightly smaller children on the ground; he looked to be about one or two years old, speaking in a childish voice.

"Master Wu, may I take the gourd from your young grandson?"

Zhang Jian's gaze turned toward Wu Ming!

Zhang Jian did not take it himself.

If he had, the entire Wu family would likely have been left without chickens or dogs.

Zhang Jian rarely does this now; the higher his cultivation, the more he cherishes his reputation and avoids rash killing intent.

And once killing intent arises, there are naturally no lingering consequences.

The old man's face changed slightly, but he quickly reacted, hurrying to the young grandson, removing the gourd from his neck, then walking to Zhang Jian and presenting it with both hands.

"Senior, this object was picked up by this junior a few days ago at the gate; seeing its exquisite craftsmanship, I privately decided to make it a toy for my grandson, never imagining it was actually your object, Senior!"

Zhang Jian glanced at the old man.

"This object is extraordinarily precious; can you bear to part with it?!"

Zhang Jian smiled faintly, yet did not take it; instead, he flicked his sleeve, and the azure mysterious gourd in Wu Ming's hand suddenly expanded, countless innate Dao patterns bursting from its surface, azure-blue radiance spreading as if it could swallow heaven and earth, engulfing the netherworld cosmos.

This was an innate gourd.

Although not an innate spiritual treasure, it is at least a middle-grade acquired spiritual treasure, possibly reaching the level of a top-grade acquired spiritual treasure!

Upon seeing this omen, Wu Ming was first stunned, then his face changed dramatically.

He immediately knelt to the ground.

"Senior, such a rare treasure, Wu Ming is willing to offer it to you, but please spare my grandsons; they are still young and know nothing!"

Zhang Jian gazed at the old man, his eyes smiling faintly.

This old man clearly feared Zhang Jian would kill to silence him.

He spoke calmly.

"You are indeed a person of fortune, knowing when to take and when to let go!"

"You need not worry; I bear no ill will toward your Wu clan, but rather, you all today have a great fortune awaiting!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Jian took the jade gourd into his hand, glanced at Wu Ming, and with another wave, a strange divine power descended upon Wu Ming; visibly, his aged, broken body began to emit vitality, the pervasive death energy being washed away point by point by the creative divine light, though his face remained aged, his inner core now radiated vigorous vitality.

Zhang Jian thought, then took out a peach from his hand.

The peach turned into a stream of light entering Wu Ming's body.

Zhang Jian merely sealed this six-thousand-year-old peach within his body, gradually releasing vitality to nourish his origin, and smiled faintly.

"Do you feel it? This is the first gift I give you: an immortal body!"

"Thank you, Senior!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming's face lit up with joy, and even the old servant behind him could not help but change expression dramatically.

"The object in your hand is of extraordinary value; though for you it brings mostly disaster and no benefit, I would not deign to take advantage of you!"

After thinking, Zhang Jian waved his hand, and once again a emerald-green pearl appeared in his hand.

This was the innate Qinglianzi.

Also the fruit of the third-grade innate Qinglian, a spiritual treasure; simultaneously, Zhang Jian took out the acquired spiritual treasure Nine Heavens Qinglian Map, transforming both into two streams of light that entered Wu Ming's body.

I observe that you possess a wood-attribute constitution, though your aptitude is merely average. Today, I shall lend you my strength to help you overturn your foundation. Once you absorb the innate造化 essence deep within the innate lotus seed, you will naturally transform your foundation, and treading the path of immortals and gods will not be difficult!

As for the other treasure, when your cultivation reaches the appropriate level, you will naturally understand its wondrous use!

Zhang Jian at this moment let out a slight sigh.

The Postnatal Spiritual Treasure, Nine Heavens Azure Lotus Diagram, has been of great help to him, enabling him to pass through several crises.

However, this treasure now has limited use for him, so he simply gave it to Wu Ming, thus settling the karmic debt.

Wu Ming at this moment was overjoyed, never expecting that at the brink of exhaustion, such fortune would still come his way.

When he raised his head, he saw Zhang Jian had already departed; he could only continue kowtowing to show his gratitude.

But upon rising, his gaze fell upon the elderly servant nearby, still stunned, his eyes becoming as cold as an ancient well.

Seeing this, the elderly servant's expression changed instantly, and he reacted.

"Master, spare my life!"

"I have followed the master loyally all along, never daring to harbor divided loyalties!"

He had followed Wu Ming since his youth, clearly knowing this old master's methods—how a village boy rose to this point, his mind must be far more ruthless than others'.

Wu Ming's eyes fell upon him, and after a moment, he closed his eyes.

Seeing this, the elderly servant's heart pounded with panic, like a drumbeat, yet he dared not show the slightest abnormality.

Wu Ming's face shifted between light and dark; after a moment, he drew a deep breath and took out a black banner from his hand.

It is an ordinary left-path magical artifact, the Soul-Bewildering Banner.

For a cultivator at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, it is still quite precious.

As for this elderly servant who has followed him since youth, he ultimately could not bring himself to kill him outright; this banner can seal part of the servant's memories, though it remains a hidden danger.

Still, Wu Ming is willing to bear this risk.

As long as he is cautious, and given Wu Deng's old age and frailty—he has only a few years left—the risk is not too great.

He waved the black banner, swaying it slightly; Wu Deng was immediately entwined by black qi and slowly collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Jian's eternal will is vast; all movements within the Wu family estate are fully within his sight.

Zhang Jian's expression remained inscrutable; to him, casually advising Wu Ming was merely a passing whim.

Moreover, the scenery of the Wu family mansion resembles that of Fengyang Commandery in the past, stirring his memories of those days.

Had it not been for his extraordinary talent, perhaps today's Wu Ming would have been like his former self.

……

Outside Jin Tian City.

Zhang Jian now held an additional jade-green gourd in his hand.

The gourd is two to three times larger than a normal small gourd, its body round and smooth, very pleasing to behold.

Feeling the intense innate spiritual light emanating from this jade gourd in his hand, and its flawless innate divine pattern across its surface, his eyes flickered slightly—this treasure already possesses part of the essence of an innate spiritual treasure, but unfortunately, perhaps due to insufficient gestation time or a缺失 in innate origin, it failed to become an innate spiritual treasure; yet after refinement, it is also a postnatal spiritual treasure of extremely high quality.

A purple-yellow dragon-shaped immortal light from Zhang Jian's hand merged into it, and after a moment, it was preliminarily refined.

Innate Netherworld Gourd: Top-grade postnatal spiritual treasure, containing seven postnatal divine prohibitions; inside also lies a void netherworld space capable of swallowing and suppressing immortals and gods; within the gourd also contains netherworld true water, capable of destroying the true bodies and primordial spirits of immortals and gods.

Zhang Jian opened the gourd's mouth, and suddenly a stream of netherworld light sprayed out; within this light, imperial aura was deep and vast, appearing to fly outward for a circle before instantly falling into the depths of Zhang Jian's palm.

The spiritual treasure recognized its master on its own.

Zhang Jian opened his palm, and deep within his palm appeared a divine brush with an exceptionally heavy netherworld qi mechanism.

This object also sensed his overwhelmingly heavy netherworld divine authority and thus came to him of its own accord.

Zhang Jian grasped this netherworld divine brush; his own being resonated with the innate spiritual treasure's qi mechanism, and after a moment, he grasped a portion of this treasure's mysteries.

Middle-grade innate spiritual treasure: Netherworld Judge's Brush, containing six innate indestructible divine prohibitions!

This is a top-tier middle-grade innate spiritual treasure, containing the netherworld, good and evil, judgment, life and death, reincarnation, and other great Dao principles of heaven and earth.

It and the Book of Life and Death deep within the netherworld underworld form a set.

As for why it appeared in the gourd, perhaps when the netherworld underworld was just forming, a powerful demon took it out, and it eventually fell into the hands of the demon court.

Zhang Jian's face at this moment revealed a barely concealed smile.

He knew that this time, the object entrusted for slaying the good corpse had finally found its place.

Among the innate spiritual treasures of the netherworld lineage, the Netherworld Judge's Brush cannot compare to the Reincarnation Disk or the Book of Life and Death, but it is still of immense weight, containing a portion of netherworld qi fortune.

Most importantly, it aligns with his good corpse as the Lord of the Nine Netherworlds.

As for its lower grade, Zhang Jian is not picky.

Furthermore, his evil corpse is the Imperial Golden Register, while his good corpse takes the Netherworld Judge's Brush as its foundation—these two complement each other excellently.

One is a ledger as its essence, the other a divine brush.

Their compatibility is extremely high.

Even if the grade is low, he can still find ways to compensate in the future.

Innate spiritual treasures themselves possess extremely strong growth potential.

Innate spiritual treasures cannot ultimately be considered beings with complete wisdom; the power they can wield ultimately depends on the wisdom of their possessor.

Zhang Jian is quite satisfied.

"If walking the path of slaying three corpses, this would indeed count as a supreme treasure for attaining the Dao!"

This thought flashed through Zhang Jian's mind, and he quickly suppressed it.

However, the path he intends to walk is not the path of slaying three corpses.

But if he could slay out three corpses, using this secret method, his cultivation could naturally advance further.

If he were to temporarily slay them all, it would be of extraordinary help to his future.

As he focused his will, Zhang Jian directly transformed the Netherworld Judge's Brush into a stream of light, injecting it into the deep essence of the good corpse primordial spirit being nurtured; the two continuously merged and fused.

Soon after, Zhang Jian clearly felt the good corpse suddenly become rounded and complete; within it, a majestic emperor clad in the Nine Netherworld Emperor's divine robes emerged, his imperial aura faintly visible, his face bearing five-six parts resemblance to him, and from him flowed a surge of majestic divine energy.

After this Emperor took form.

Moreover, a vast and profound divine power from the depths of the Netherworld Judge's Pen flowed back into his true body, allowing the Auspicious Clouds of the Dao Fruit to absorb it, causing the divine light of his Earth Emperor Dao Fruit to surge violently, and his eternal Dao progress climbed step by step, as if about to break through a limit.

Deep within the Auspicious Clouds of the Dao Fruit, the Earth Emperor origin condensed in his natal immortal art, the Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, was about to emerge, seeking to fully unite with the Earth Emperor Dao Fruit and his primordial spirit.

Zhang Jian simultaneously felt in the deep void of the unseen darkness, a vast and mighty tribulation stirring, ready to move; once the origin Dao Fruit is born, a backlash will inevitably descend.

This is the Fourth Great Tribulation of Destruction.

Zhang Jian quickly withdrew this step; he was very clear that this was not what he wanted.

With his current foundation, even if he survived the Great Tribulation of Destruction, he could not reach the peak, let alone speak of the supreme beings in the realm of the Other Shore.

The Earth Emperor origin qi he had tempered had not yet reached his expectations.

But at this moment, the Nine Netherworld Lord's善corpse he had cut forth was not limited by his true body's realm; it conformed to the rules of the Netherworld Great Dao deep within the Netherworld Judge's Pen, and the Nine Netherworld origin Dao Fruit had already taken form.

After the Nine Netherworld origin Dao Fruit took form, Zhang Jian once again felt a vast and mighty will of destruction descend.

He knew he probably could not truly avoid undergoing the Fourth Great Tribulation of Destruction.