Chapter 454: The Spirit King Cauldron

Several days later.

That towering golden giant tree of the Penglai Sect once again appeared within Qin Ming's field of vision.

"Every time I see this heaven-supporting divine tree, I feel a sense of relaxation and happiness."

After arriving nearby, Qin Ming sent a message to Long Mu Zhenjun, and not long after, she came out to greet him.

Seeing the obscure and profound aura of magic power emanating from Qin Ming, Long Mu Zhenjun said with slight surprise, "Fellow Daoist Qin, in merely two years since we last met, your cultivation seems to have advanced significantly again! Truly, it makes this old one envious; could it be that you possess some special cultivation body?"

"Fellow Daoist Qin not only far surpasses ordinary people in spirit-plant techniques and the art of pill refining, but your cultivation is by no means lagging behind either."

"You must know that for any single cultivation art, reaching the fourth-stage realm is enough to exhaust a cultivator's entire life's energy, let alone advancing in multiple areas simultaneously."

"Cultivators like Fellow Daoist Qin are rare indeed in the Immortal Realm."

"If this old one had not received the inheritance of the Penglai Immortal Tree back then, I fear my attainments in spirit-plant arts would not have reached today's level."

"Fellow Daoist Long Mu overpraises me; Qin Mou merely recently refined a Hunyuan Pill, resulting in a slight improvement in cultivation," Qin Ming said modestly.

Hearing this, Long Mu Zhenjun suddenly understood, "Hehehe! No wonder then! Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Qin on the advancement of your pill-refining skills!"

"It just so happens that Elder Chen Muzhi of our sect has today just emerged from closed-door cultivation, so Fellow Daoist Qin may now enter using the Penglai Immortal Token."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, please!"

Subsequently.

Qin Ming followed Long Mu Zhenjun straight up to the fifth layer of the tree crown.

Then, the two swept over the lush branches and arrived before the main trunk of the Penglai Immortal Tree.

This place was designated as a forbidden zone, protected not only by high-grade arrays but also patrolled by Jin Dan cultivators.

By coincidence, Qin Ming saw that female disciple named Wang Jingqiu again.

Upon seeing two Nascent Soul great experts approaching, she immediately bowed deeply in greeting:

"Disciple greets Grandmaster Long Mu!"

"Junior greets Senior Wangyue Zhenjun!"

"Mm, rise," Long Mu Zhenjun replied indifferently.

Afterwards, Wang Jingqiu took out a wooden tablet, struck a spell against the array, and a golden light curtain drew open like a veil.

On the main trunk of the Penglai Immortal Tree, a tree hole several zhang in size was clearly revealed.

Qin Ming followed Long Mu Zhenjun and walked inside.

Only after entering did Qin Ming discover that the space within was incredibly vast, forming its own realm like a small spiritual domain, bright and spacious.

Even he could not help but marvel at the wonder of the Dao's creation.

His innate spirit-plant, the Yin-Yang Xuanteng, actually began to stir restlessly upon entering the tree hole, right at the moment Qin Ming stepped in.

In that instant, an aged and silent aura inexplicably echoed throughout the entire Penglai Immortal Tree, even spreading to the outside.

Leaning on her staff, Long Mu Zhenjun revealed a look of astonishment in her eyes: "What is happening? Our sect's inherited immortal tree has not shown such unusual movement for many years."

At the same time.

The disciples of the Penglai Sect outside were all startled by this astonishing aura and rushed out of their cave abodes to watch.

"Could it be that Junior Brother Chen has gained something?" Long Mu Zhenjun murmured with deep suspicion.

Just then.

From the tree hole not far away, a wretched figure stumbled out.

It was an elegant middle-aged man dressed in white robes, clutching an object in his hand—a white-haired jade brush emitting a shimmering wave of Bai Guang.

"A fourth-stage upper-grade Yuyan Talisman Brush! Hahaha! This time I've really struck it rich!"

Seeing this person emerge, Long Mu Zhenjun immediately walked over, looked at the treasure in his hand, and clicked her tongue in wonder, "Junior Brother Chen, truly congratulations! You actually obtained a supreme treasure from within the immortal tree; I presume you also received an inheritance?"

"Otherwise, how could it cause such a massive reaction from the inherited immortal tree?"

Turning around and seeing it was Long Mu Zhenjun, Chen Muzhi said with a smile, "Luck, pure luck."

"However, I did not receive any inheritance; I only obtained this talisman brush."

"Senior Sister Long Mu, what exactly happened just now? Why was this immortal tree acting a bit strange? It ejected me before I was even ready."

Hearing this, Long Mu Zhenjun also displayed a strange expression, unable to figure out why this had happened.

However, seeing that the Penglai Immortal Tree showed no further unusual movements, they had to let the matter drop.

"It is probably just entering a growth phase again."

"By the way, Junior Brother Chen, let me introduce you; this is Zhenjun Wangyue from the Southern Wild Immortal Realm, Fellow Daoist Qin Ming."

"This time, he obtained a Penglai Immortal Token from me and has also come here to comprehend the Dao."

Then, she turned to introduce to Qin Ming, "This is Elder Chen Muzhi of our sect, a genuine fourth-stage lower-grade talisman master."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, I have long heard of your great name!"

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you are too polite."

Having obtained a treasure, Chen Muzhi seemed to be in an excellent mood; after putting away the jade talisman brush, he exchanged pleasantries with the two.

"The fact that Fellow Daoist Qin managed to obtain a Penglai Immortal Token from my Senior Sister Long Mu indicates that you possess qualities surpassing the ordinary, hehe!"

Qin Ming explained with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Chen overpraises me; Qin Mou simply engaged in a mutual exchange and a transaction with Fellow Daoist Long Mu, that is all."

Subsequently.

Qin Ming went to the depths of the tree hole and, following Long Mu Zhenjun's method, injected magic power to activate the Penglai Immortal Token.

Immediately, a vertical beam of golden light showered down upon Qin Ming, and the token in his hand turned into bubbles and vanished.

The moment the golden light converged and gathered, Qin Ming's vision flashed, and he was teleported into an unfamiliar space.

Looking at his empty palm, he remarked, "It seems this Penglai Immortal Token is a single-use consumable item."

Qin Ming looked around and immediately began to observe and examine the situation in all directions.

He found himself situated above a dim starry sky, where starlight was brilliantly dazzling, and points of gorgeous meteors continuously streaked across his view.

Qin Ming immediately projected his divine consciousness into a star, where a passage of golden scripture promptly materialized.

"Heh heh heh! This is the internal space of the Penglai Immortal Tree; if you, young lad, can comprehend the mysteries within the myriad stars, you will be able to open them and obtain the treasures inside."

"Of course, depending on the fortune of each star, the difficulty of comprehension varies greatly."

"It covers almost all hundred arts of cultivation such as pills, arrays, talismans, and artifacts, and even includes profound technique inheritances."

"If one is lucky, it is said there are even fifth-tier inheritances."

"However, there is also a time limit; if after exceeding two years one still has gained nothing, one will be teleported out."

Inside the Blood Pagoda spiritual treasure, the Green Sun Old Demon also entered here and slowly awakened.

"Oh? So that is how it is."

"But Qin Mou cannot wait for two years; in two months, I must attend the Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly."

After repeatedly trying several times, Qin Ming roughly understood the rules of this place.

"It seems the so-called comprehending the Great Dao is actually about deciphering the scriptures here, thereby triggering a resonance between heaven and earth."

Qin Ming immediately spread his form and flew swiftly within this space to search.

Outside the tree cave.

Long Mu Zhenjun and Chen Muzhi had not departed but stood outside gazing in. "Senior Sister Long Mu, you say Fellow Daoist Qin possesses deep fortune; is there a chance he might obtain the Immortal Tree's inheritance?"

"Hmm, that is hard to say; although this fifth-layer canopy is open to the outside, in thousands of years, the number of people who have obtained treasures here has been vanishingly few," Long Mu Zhenjun said, "let alone high-tier inheritances."

Brushing his beard, Chen Muzhi said lightly, "Although the inheritances of the fifth layer are not our sect's core inheritances, it is said that back then, Laozu left several high-tier inheritances obtained from elsewhere and placed them inside."

"Even disciples of our own sect rarely obtain them; if an outsider gets one first, that would be a farce."

"Fellow Brother Chen, rest assured; when I sent out this Penglai Immortal Token, I naturally had proper measure."

"Presumably, having stayed inside for two years, you clearly understand the difficulty of comprehending the Great Dao."

Hearing this, Chen Muzhi slowly nodded.

But the next moment.

Before Long Mu Zhenjun had finished speaking.

The branches of the fifth-layer canopy of the Penglai Immortal Tree began to rustle and tremble, followed by a brilliant eruption of Jin Guang! "What is happening?!"

The two outside the tree cave displayed looks of shock on their faces, unable to help but gaze at each other in disbelief.

At the same time.

Just as Qin Ming was making his selection, his natal spiritual plant, Yin Yang Xuanteng, suddenly transmitted a sensation of joy.

Subsequently, guided by an invisible force, he moved forward and finally landed upon a pale green meteor.

This meteor was not large; compared to the others, it was utterly unremarkable.

Had his natal spiritual plant not guided him here, Qin Ming estimated he would not have even looked at it.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming's divine consciousness penetrated inside, and his vision suddenly changed; he saw only a three-legged giant cauldron covered in moss, standing three zhang tall, placed within.

The scene inside differed greatly from the interiors of other stars.

Qin Ming directed his divine consciousness to peer inside the cauldron; it too was covered in moss, pitch-black and hollow, looking as though it had been abandoned for many years.

The entire giant cauldron appeared to be cast from some high-tier spiritual plant, exuding a sense of vicissitudes and ancient years.

On the outer walls of the cauldron were inscribed numerous extremely profound seal scripts, which Qin Ming could not understand.

"My natal spiritual plant led me here; there seems to be some deeper meaning."

Immediately, to save time, Qin Ming directly used the 【Great Dao Epiphany】 tag.

Immediately after.

A purple tag-leaf within his sea of consciousness vanished.

Hum~ From the void, an extremely mysterious sensation rose within his mind.

Epiphany occurs when a cultivator, through years of accumulation, unexpectedly forms a resonance with heaven and earth while comprehending the Great Dao, entering a state that is profound beyond measure.

As the saying goes: "Hear the Dao in the morning, die content in the evening."

In an instant.

The giant cauldron before his eyes suddenly emitted a clear chime, and spiritual light abruptly erupted; the inscriptions on the cauldron walls transformed into streams of vivid flowing light, and as if finding kin, they rushed forward one after another, all drilling into Qin Ming's body; subsequently, these green spiritual characters continuously combined and gathered within Qin Ming's sea of consciousness, reconverging into an entirely new scripture.

"Classic of Transforming Wood Spirit!"

Qin Ming's pitch-black, deep eyes suddenly snapped open!

"This is actually a fifth-tier spiritual plant inheritance!!"

However, before Qin Ming could fully regain his senses.

Hum~ Another clear chant sounded; on the giant cauldron within the space before him, the mottled moss began to flake off one by one, emitting a ray of cyan brilliance.

Immediately after, the green giant cauldron flew into mid-air and began to gradually change size.

After a few breaths, it remarkably transformed into a palm-sized green small cauldron, then gently landed in Qin Ming's hand.

This caused Qin Ming to freeze in astonishment.

"Green Sun Old Demon, do you recognize the origin of this cauldron?" Qin Ming asked aloud.

Inside the Blood Pagoda, the Green Sun Old Demon's expression had long since frozen; the shock in his heart was beyond words.

Could it be that this lad is truly the one-in-a-million chosen son of heaven? He actually managed to get this? Yet looking at his ordinary appearance, he doesn't look like one at all? After a long while.

Xu Xu spoke: "I fear this is the legendary 'Spirit King Cauldron'; it is said that a great expert from the ancient Penglai Sect brought it out from some ruin."

"However, its mysteries have never been cracked; strictly speaking, this cauldron can be considered an ancient treasure."

"Alas! I did not expect the rumors to be true, and furthermore, that it was placed within the Penglai Immortal Tree."

He sighed endlessly, then casually asked a question: "This old one observed your state just now; did you obtain the inheritance inside the cauldron?"

"Correct; inside is a fifth-tier spiritual plant inheritance, the 'Classic of Transforming Wood Spirit'; I wonder if you have any impression of it?" Qin Ming immediately said.

"Hiss!!" Yan Laomo drew in a sharp breath upon hearing this, exclaiming in shock, "A fifth-tier spiritual plant inheritance..."

"Even this old man cannot identify it; there are no related records within our Qingyuan Sect either."

"This ancient treasure, which nearly remained buried in the dust of history, has actually had its mysteries penetrated by you; truly, I never expected this!"

"Furthermore, just now when I watched you comprehend the Great Dao, why was it as simple as eating and drinking water?"

"In such a short while, you managed to unravel it..."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, could you reveal a hint or two to this old man regarding how exactly this was achieved?"

At this moment, Yan Laomo resembled a thirsting apprentice, extremely eager to know how Qin Ming had managed to comprehend it.

"Cough! Qin Mou just looked around casually and does not know what happened either... perhaps fate simply arrived," Qin Ming replied vaguely.

Yan Laomo: "..."

Qin Ming toyed with the small emerald-green cauldron in his hand for a moment, then immediately stored it away.

This cauldron was exceedingly miraculous and seemed to have an extraordinary origin; he planned to study it slowly in the future, but now was not the time.

At the same time.

On the fifth layer of the Penglai Immortal Tree's canopy, numerous elders and disciples of the Penglai Sect were all stunned, somewhat unable to grasp the situation.

Long Mu Zhenjun looked dazed, gazing toward the direction of the tree cave, and spoke with extreme disbelief: "Could it be that Fellow Daoist Qin has obtained an Immortal Tree inheritance?"

Chen Muzhi also felt somewhat bewildered. "How is this possible? Had he not only entered for less than half a day? How could he have succeeded in comprehending it so quickly?"

"Perhaps; no one can be certain about matters of comprehension."

While the two were speaking.

A flash of light erupted from the direction of the tree cave, and Qin Ming's figure once again appeared before the two of them.

Chen Muzhi had previously not thought highly of Qin Ming, but under the current circumstances, he could not help but admire him.

He hurried over and asked, "Has Fellow Daoist Qin obtained the Immortal Tree's inheritance? Such anomalous phenomena from the Immortal Tree have not appeared in our sect for who knows how many years."

Long Mu Zhenjun also walked over, gazing at him with an expression of some confusion.

"Hehe! Qin Mou was rather lucky and indeed obtained a fourth-tier spiritual plant inheritance," Qin Ming replied with a faint smile, concealing part of the truth.

Upon hearing his response, the two Nascent Soul elders of the Penglai Sect remained secretly astonished.

After all, even a single set of fourth-tier spiritual plant inheritance is extremely difficult to obtain.

(End of Chapter)