Chapter 709: Spirit King Cauldron

Several days later.

The towering golden tree of Penglai Sect once again appeared in Qin Ming’s sight.

“Every time I see this towering divine tree, I feel a sense of profound peace.”

After arriving nearby, Qin Ming sent a message to Long Mu Zhenjun, and she soon came out to greet him.

Long Mu Zhenjun sensed a mysterious, profound magic power emanating from Qin Ming and said with slight surprise: “Qin Dao You , only two years have passed since we last met, yet your cultivation base has advanced again! Truly admirable—have you perhaps discovered a special cultivation body?”

“Not only are your spiritual plant skills and alchemical expertise far beyond ordinary cultivators, but your cultivation base is no less impressive.”

“One would need to devote a lifetime’s effort just to reach the Gao Jie realm in a single cultivation art, let alone master several simultaneously.”

“Cultivators like you are exceedingly rare in the cultivation world.”

“If not for inheriting the Penglai Immortal Tree’s legacy, I doubt my spiritual plant skills would have reached today’s level.”

“Long Mu Dao You flatters me—I merely recently refined a Hunyuan Pill, and my cultivation has gained slight progress,” Qin Ming replied modestly.

Long Mu Zhenjun nodded in understanding. “Ahahaha! That explains it—congratulations on your advancement in alchemy, Qin Dao You !”

“Fortunately, Elder Chen Mu of our sect has just emerged from seclusion—Qin Dao You may now enter using the Penglai Immortal Token.”

“Qin Dao You , please.”

Afterwards,

Qin Ming followed Long Mu Zhenjun straight up to the fifth canopy layer.

They then flew past the lush branches until they reached the main trunk of the Penglai Immortal Tree.

This area was designated a forbidden zone, guarded by a Gao Jie array and patrolled by Jin Dan cultivators.

Coincidentally, Qin Ming spotted the female disciple named Wang Jingqiu again.

Seeing the two Nascent Soul experts arrive, she quickly bowed deeply:

“Disciple bows before Master Long Mu!”

“Disciple bows before Zhenjun Wangyue!”

“Hmm. Rise,” Long Mu Zhenjun replied coolly.

Wang Jingqiu then drew a wooden tablet and cast a spell upon the array; the golden curtain parted like a veil.

A massive tree hollow, several zhang wide, was revealed in the trunk of the Penglai Immortal Tree.

Qin Ming followed Long Mu Zhenjun inside.

Once inside, Qin Ming realized the interior space was vast—self-contained like a small spiritual realm, bright and spacious.

Even he could not help but marvel at the wonders of the Dao’s creation.

The Yin-Yang Mystic Vine, his life-spirit plant, stirred restlessly upon entering the hollow—right at the moment Qin Ming stepped inside.

An ancient, silent aura suddenly echoed across the entire Penglai Immortal Tree, spreading even beyond its exterior.

Long Mu Zhenjun leaned on her staff, her eyes filled with astonishment: “What is this? Our inherited Immortal Tree has not stirred like this in many years.”

Meanwhile,

The Penglai Sect disciples outside were startled by the powerful aura and rushed out of their caves to observe.

“Could it be that Brother Chen has made a breakthrough?” Long Mu Zhenjun murmured skeptically.

At that moment,

A disheveled figure staggered out from the tree hollow nearby.

It was a refined middle-aged man in a white robe, clutching an object: a white-hair jade brush emitting a soft, glowing radiance.

“Gao Jie Superior Jade Yan Talisman Brush! Hahaha! This time I’ve struck it rich!”

Seeing him emerge, Long Mu Zhenjun walked over, gazing at the treasure in his hand and exclaimed: “Brother Chen, congratulations! You’ve obtained a supreme treasure from within the Immortal Tree—surely you’ve also received its legacy?”

“Otherwise, how could the inherited Immortal Tree have reacted so strongly?”

Chen Mu turned and saw Long Mu Zhenjun, smiling: “Lucky, lucky.”

“But I didn’t receive any legacy—only this brush.”

“Sister Long Mu, what just happened? Why did the Immortal Tree behave so strangely? It expelled me before I was ready.”

Long Mu Zhenjun frowned, puzzled by the odd occurrence.

Yet since the Penglai Immortal Tree showed no further anomalies, they could only let it pass.

“Probably just entering another growth phase.”

“By the way, Brother Chen, let me introduce you—this is Qin Ming, Zhenjun Wangyue from the Southern Wastelands.”

“He obtained a Penglai Immortal Token from me and has come here to contemplate the Dao.”

She then turned to Qin Ming and said: “This is Elder Chen Mu of our sect—a genuine Gao Jie Lower-rank Talisman Master.”

“Qin Dao You , I’ve long heard your name!”

“Elder Chen, you’re too kind.”

Having obtained his treasure, Chen Mu was in high spirits; after stowing the jade brush, he exchanged pleasantries with the two.

“Qin Dao You , to have secured a Penglai Immortal Token from Sister Long Mu proves you possess extraordinary fortune, hehe!”

Qin Ming smiled and replied: “Elder Chen flatters me—I merely traded fairly with Long Mu Dao You .”

Afterwards,

Qin Ming advanced to the hollow’s depths and, following Long Mu Zhenjun’s method, infused his magic power into the Penglai Immortal Token.

Immediately, a vertical beam of golden light descended upon him, and the token in his hand dissolved into nothingness.

In the instant the golden light condensed, Qin Ming’s vision flashed—he was teleported into an unfamiliar space.

He looked at his empty palm. “So the Penglai Immortal Token is a single-use item.”

Qin Ming turned his gaze around, immediately surveying his surroundings.

He found himself floating atop a dark starry expanse, brilliant stars glittering, countless dazzling meteors streaking past his eyes.

Qin Ming immediately directed his spiritual sense toward one of the stars, and instantly a golden scripture appeared within.

“Jiejiejie! This is the interior space of the Penglai Immortal Tree. If you can unravel the mysteries within these stars, you will unlock the treasures within.”

“Of course, the difficulty of comprehension varies according to the star’s fortune.”

“It encompasses nearly all cultivation arts—alchemy, arrays, talismans, weapons—and even advanced cultivation techniques.”

“With good fortune, one might even find a Wu Jie legacy.”

“But there is a time limit—if you gain nothing after two years, you will be expelled.”

Qingyang the Old Demon within the Xuefu Tu Lingbao also stirred awake upon entering this space.

“Oh? So that’s how it is.”

“But I cannot wait two years—I must attend the Immortal Mansion Gathering in two months.”

After several attempts, Qin Ming roughly understood the rules of this space.

“So ‘contemplating the Dao’ means deciphering the scriptures here and triggering cosmic resonance.”

Qin Ming immediately launched himself into motion, flying swiftly through the space in search.

Outside the hollow,

Long Mu Zhenjun and Chen Mu remained standing outside, watching inside. “Sister Long Mu, do you think Qin Dao You ’s fortune is great enough to obtain the Immortal Tree’s legacy?”

“Hmm, hard to say. Though the fifth canopy is open to outsiders, over thousands of years, only a handful have ever obtained treasures—and even fewer, high-level legacies,” Long Mu Zhenjun said.

Chen Mu stroked his beard and said calmly: “Though the fifth canopy’s legacies aren’t our sect’s core teachings, our founding ancestor placed several high-level legacies acquired from outside within it.”

“Even our own disciples rarely obtain them—if an outsider claims one first, it would be a disgrace.”

“Brother Chen, rest assured—I knew exactly what I was doing when I gave out this Penglai Immortal Token.”

“You spent two years inside—you know how difficult contemplating the Dao truly is.”

Chen Mu nodded slowly.

But the next moment,

Before Long Mu Zhenjun finished speaking,

The fifth canopy’s branches began trembling, then burst into brilliant golden light! “What’s happening?!”

The two outside stared in shock, exchanging bewildered glances.

Meanwhile,

As Qin Ming was selecting, his life-spirit plant, the Yin-Yang Mystic Vine, suddenly sent him a surge of joy.

It subtly guided him forward, finally settling on a pale green meteor.

The meteor was unremarkable in size, blending in with the rest.

Had it not been for his life-spirit plant’s guidance, Qin Ming would have overlooked it entirely.

Afterwards,

Qin Ming’s spiritual sense penetrated the meteor, and his vision shifted—he saw a massive three-legged cauldron, covered in moss, standing three zhang tall.

The scene inside differed drastically from those of other stars.

Qin Ming’s spiritual sense peered into the cauldron’s interior—it too was overgrown with moss, dark and hollow, as if abandoned for countless years.

The entire cauldron appeared forged from some high-grade spiritual plant, radiating an aura of ancient time.

Its outer walls bore intricate, arcane seal script characters—characters Qin Ming could not decipher.

“My life-spirit plant led me here—there must be deeper meaning.”

Instantly, to save time, Qin Ming activated the [Dao Awakening] term.

Immediately,

A purple term leaf vanished from his mind sea.

Hum—deep within, an exquisitely mysterious sensation rose in his mind.

Sudden enlightenment occurs when a cultivator, after years of accumulation, unexpectedly resonates with heaven and earth while contemplating the Dao, entering a realm of profound mystery.

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

In an instant.

The massive cauldron before him suddenly emitted a clear chime; instantly, spiritual light blazed forth. The inscriptions on its walls transformed into flickering, living beams of light, as if reuniting with kin, one after another surging into Qin Ming’s body. Thereupon, these green spiritual characters assembled and converged within his spiritual sense, re-forming into an entirely new scripture.

“The Spirit-Transforming Wood Scripture!”

Qin Ming’s dark, deep eyes suddenly snapped open!

“This is a fifth-rank spiritual plant inheritance!!”

Yet before Qin Ming could recover his composure,

Weng ~ Another clear chime rang out. The moss-covered patches on the massive cauldron before him began peeling away, revealing a radiant emerald glow.

Immediately, the green cauldron soared into the air, gradually shrinking in size.

After several breaths, it had transformed into a tiny green cauldron, no larger than a palm, which floated gently into Qin Ming’s hand.

This left Qin Ming momentarily stunned.

“Qingyang the Old Devil, do you recognize the origin of this cauldron?” Qin Ming asked.

Within the Blood Pagoda, Qingyang the Old Devil had frozen in place, his inner shock beyond words.

Could this boy truly be the one-in-a-million chosen one? How could he have obtained this? Yet his appearance was utterly ordinary—how could he possibly be? After a long pause,

Qingyang the Old Devil slowly spoke: “This is likely the legendary ‘Spirit King Cauldron.’ It is said that an ancient master of the Penglai Sect retrieved it from some long-lost ruin.”

“But no one has ever unraveled its secrets. Strictly speaking, this cauldron qualifies as an ancient treasure.”

“Alas! I never thought the rumors were true—and that it was placed within the Penglai Immortal Tree.”

He sighed deeply, then added: “Just now, I observed your state—did you obtain the inheritance within the cauldron?”

“Correct. Inside is a fifth-rank spiritual plant inheritance: the Spirit-Transforming Wood Scripture. Do you recognize it?” Qin Ming replied immediately.

“Hssss!!” Qingyang the Old Devil sucked in a sharp breath, stunned: “A fifth-rank spiritual plant inheritance...”

“I cannot identify it. Our Qingyuan Sect has no records of it.”

“This ancient treasure, nearly lost to the dust of history, you’ve somehow unlocked its secrets—truly unexpected!”

“Also, just now, when you were contemplating the Dao, why did it seem as easy as eating and drinking?”

“You solved it in mere moments...”

“Qin Daoist, could you share with me just a little—how did you manage this?”

At this moment, Qingyang the Old Devil resembled a devoted disciple desperate for knowledge, eager to understand how Qin Ming achieved enlightenment.

“Cough! I merely took a casual look—I didn’t even know what happened. Probably just fate.” Qin Ming replied vaguely.

Qingyang the Old Devil: “...”

Qin Ming toyed with the emerald-green miniature cauldron in his hand, then stowed it away.

This cauldron was profoundly mysterious, its origins clearly extraordinary—he planned to study it slowly later, but now was not the time.

Meanwhile,

On the fifth canopy layer of the Penglai Immortal Tree, numerous Penglai Sect elders and disciples stared in stunned silence, utterly bewildered.

Dragonwood Immortal, his expression blank, gazed toward the tree hollow and said in disbelief: “Could Qin Daoist have obtained an Immortal Tree inheritance?”

Chen Muzhi was also dazed: “How is that possible? He only entered less than half a day ago—how could he have achieved enlightenment so quickly?”

“Perhaps. Talent in enlightenment is unpredictable.”

As they spoke,

A flash of light appeared from the tree hollow—Qin Ming’s figure reappeared before them.

Chen Muzhi, who had previously held little faith in Qin Ming, now could not help but admire him.

He hurried over and asked: “Qin Daoist, did you obtain the Immortal Tree’s inheritance? The supernatural phenomena just now—our sect hasn’t seen such a thing in countless years.”

Dragonwood True Person also approached, regarding him with a puzzled expression.

“Heh! I’ve had some luck—I did obtain a fourth-rank spiritual plant inheritance.” Qin Ming smiled faintly, withholding the truth.

Upon hearing his reply, the two Nascent Soul elders of the Penglai Sect were still secretly astonished.

After all, even a fourth-rank spiritual plant inheritance was exceedingly difficult to obtain.

(End of Chapter)