Chapter 281: Innate Yin-Yang Divine Pearl, Merit Spiritual Treasure Before One's Eyes

The world of "Huaijing".

Wuzhiqi sat opposite Fang Longye, his body bound by iron chains.

A golden bell hovered between the two, casting down thousands of musical notes and rippling continuously.

Fang Longye snapped out of the influence of the bell's sound, looking at the golden bell with a face full of shock.

One must know that this golden bell had not been activated by anyone at all; the power it emitted on its own was enough to nearly make him lose his sanity.

If it were actually activated by someone, that would be terrifying! He saw that this yellow, heavy golden bell revealed a kind of immortal divine radiance; that was the divine light emitted by the Xuanhuang Merit Divine Prohibition.

Clearly, this golden bell was a Merit Spiritual Treasure.

"The Ten Thousand Beast Bell, a relic of Yu Huang?!"

Fang Longye compared it with the Ten Thousand Beast Bell in his memory and became even more certain.

The Ten Thousand Beast Bell, one of the Thirteen Divine Artifacts of Yu Emperor, was said to be able to command all beasts of Honghuang when shaken.

So that was how it commanded them?

Shaking this treasure, the sound of the bell entering the ears would cause one to fall into a soul-bewitching state; over time, even one's sanity would be worn away, and naturally, one would obey orders.

Rather than calling it the Ten Thousand Beast Bell, it would be better to call it the Heart-Bewitching Bell.

"Hmph!" Wuzhiqi let out a cold snort and said, "My nephew has a sharp eye. That's right, this is the Ten Thousand Beast Bell that the woman Yinglong refined for Dayu."

As he spoke, his expression was very ugly, carrying a sense of shame and anger—not directed at Fang Longye, but because he remembered the miserable state of this bell being pierced through his nose back then.

Just as Fang Longye had sensed, this golden bell was more of a Heart-Bewitching Bell than a Ten Thousand Beast Bell; merely shaking it could wear away the sanity of ten thousand beasts, let alone the fact that this golden bell had originally been pierced directly through Wuzhiqi's nose.

Before Wuzhiqi had broken free from this golden bell, under the influence of this spiritual treasure, he had been completely devoid of sanity, unable to open his eyes, as if in a stupor, with mucus and saliva flowing from his eyes and nose like a spring, foul and filthy.

There was no difference between him and an idiot.

Every time he recalled this, Wuzhiqi regarded it as a profound humiliation.

"I don't fear being laughed at by my nephew; it is only because you have come now. If you had come a few days earlier, the me in your eyes would likely have been a different sight, no different from those base, filthy, mindless beasts."

Wuzhiqi suppressed his disgust for this Ten Thousand Beast Bell, explained the function of this spiritual treasure to Fang Longye, and sighed with emotion.

"Speaking of which, in order to suppress me, that dog thief Dayu used no fewer than a dozen methods on me. What I hate most and fear most now is this Ten Thousand Beast Bell."

Wuzhiqi, fearing that Fang Longye might not look favorably upon this Ten Thousand Beast Bell, did not hesitate to play the victim.

Fang Longye reached out to take the golden bell, stood up, and bowed in thanks: "I dare not refuse a gift from an elder!"

Having said that, he began to refine this Merit Spiritual Treasure.

This caused Wuzhiqi's face to twitch.

He was, after all, the Huaiwo Water God who had once commanded the lands of the Yellow, Huai, and Jiang Three Dues; how could he not understand the ways of the world?

"I dare not refuse a gift from an elder." The implication was that since it was a gift from an elder, it was only right and proper, so don't ask for anything in return~

"Damn it, how many Yuanhui have passed, and the Dragon Clan's greedy nature for wealth hasn't changed a bit!" Wuzhiqi cursed inwardly.

Fortunately, he had witnessed the greedy nature of his late wife, so he had long anticipated this.

He immediately felt a pang of heartache as he took out a storage pouch, preparing to deal with the insatiable greed of this little dragon before him.

As for Fang Longye, after refining the Ten Thousand Beast Bell, he was also pleasantly surprised.

"Another Supreme Merit Spiritual Treasure! And it has forty-two Merit Divine Prohibitions! What kind of fortune have I stumbled upon lately?"

He contemplated the function of this Merit Spiritual Treasure and found it was exactly as Wuzhiqi had said.

This Ten Thousand Beast Bell achieved the effect of commanding the beasts of Honghuang by wearing away their sanity and even their True Spirit.

The reason it was called the Ten Thousand Beast Bell was purely because Yu Huang had used this treasure against various Demon Clans while opening mountains and diverting rivers, thus earning the name.

Of course, there was another reason.

That was that during the refining process of this spiritual treasure, Yinglong Laozu had infused it with her own unique Great Dao, making it naturally more restrictive toward the ten thousand races of Honghuang governed by the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans.

But regardless, this Supreme Merit Spiritual Treasure was not limited to cultivators who were beasts.

Shaking this bell would affect immortals, demons, gods, and Buddhist alike. Even the Human Race was no exception, even though this Merit Spiritual Treasure was formed due to the merit of the Human Race's Yu Huang.

"I think I understand how the Water Ape Great Sage's Yu Huang Yue came to be!"

Fang Longye thought to himself.

It was likely that the Yu Huang Yue had also been left by Dayu in this "Huaijing" and used on Wuzhiqi.

It was a perfect match, one to wear away the True Spirit, and one to strip away cultivation.

This Wuzhiqi was truly worthy of being an existence capable of contending with Dayu. Even under the suppression of various methods, he could still resist, and even turn around and give away the very treasure used to target him.

Thinking of this, Fang Longye was in no rush to refine the Ten Thousand Beast Bell, but instead looked up at Wuzhiqi with expectant eyes.

Wuzhiqi had been waiting for this and immediately tossed the exquisite storage pouch in his hand to Fang Longye.

At the same time, he said: "Back then, when that dog thief Dayu gathered various immortals and gods to suppress me, I didn't have many heavenly treasures on me."

"Over these years, I've given quite a few to those descendants of mine who finally managed to see me. There isn't much left~"

"I hope my nephew will not mind!"

"What are you saying, Uncle? You are really shaming your nephew!"

Fang Longye was polite with his words, but his hands were not polite at all; he reached out and took the tossed pouch.

Without even looking, he immediately said: "Uncle treats me so generously, I am truly ashamed."

"As the saying goes, one does not accept rewards without merit. As long as it is within my power, Uncle, just give the order~"

Wuzhiqi's face turned dark upon hearing this.

The phrase "within my power" was a good one!

Whether he could do it or not, it could always be "beyond my power"~ Looking at Fang Longye again, his attitude was extremely respectful, his gaze firm, looking as if he could go through fire and water for him.

One could not tell at all that he was just spouting nonsense.

However, he thought happily in his heart: "Uncle, oh Uncle, it's a seller's market now; it's only right for me, your nephew, to raise the price a little!"

There was not the slightest bit of the fear one should have when extorting Wuzhiqi.

If he had held even a shred of doubt before entering, now, after this exchange with Wuzhiqi, it had vanished entirely.

Especially since the more Wuzhiqi acted this way, the more Fang Longye understood that his own role in Wuzhiqi's escape must be quite significant.

For the sake of his escape, what were a few worldly possessions? Besides, who was the person before him? This was Wuzhiqi! Don't look at how, in his past life, he was merely a water monster defeated and suppressed by Dayu, at most possessing a vast territory and formidable power.

But in this Honghuang, Wuzhiqi was the final boss that Dayu had to deal with while controlling the floods.

The little bit of stuff Fang Longye extorted from him was, to him, simply a drop in the ocean. No, it should be called one hair out of nine oxen.

To say nothing else, the forces he had established back then alone had scoured up who knew how many rare treasures for him! To what extent had Wuzhiqi's power reached at its peak?

The records in the Demon Master Mansion documented it very clearly. He stirred up massive floods, connecting the Yellow, Huai, and Ji rivers together, expanding his influence to cover most of the Three Dues.

South to the Yunmeng Great Marsh and the source of the Xiang River, his followers stood in forests. North to the lands of the Ji River, there were descendants of the Human Race who performed sacrifices to him.

Of the waters of the four Dues—Jiang, He, Huai, and Ji—he occupied three, and it looked as if he was about to get his hands on the final Ji River as well.

In the Nine Provinces, every Wood Charm, Water Spirit, Mountain Demon, and Stone Monster obeyed his commands and submitted to his control. It could be said that for Dayu, Wuzhiqi was like Chiyou to Xuanyuan; both were fated opponents on their paths to the Dao.

Just as if Xuanyuan had failed, Chiyou would have become the Human Emperor, making it a pipe dream for the Human Race to escape the control of the Witch Sect.

The confrontation between Dayu and Wuzhiqi was basically the same.

If Wuzhiqi had won, although he could not have become the Human Emperor, he would have gained extraordinary benefits, while for the Human Race, it would have meant immense damage.

What benefits? What damage? Throughout the Middle Antiquity era when the Five Emperors ruled the heavens, after Zhuanxu, the Demon Clan gradually experienced a revival; by the era of Di Ku, there were already mountain floods raging and mountain spirits and water monsters constantly breeding.

By the era of Yao and Shun, the Demon Clan had reached a state of resurgence.

Therefore, Dayu was the one born in response to the times, born to end the revival of the Demon Clan and open the Near Antiquity era.

And Wuzhiqi, corresponding to him, carried the hope for the continued revival of the Demon Clan.

In this way, if Wuzhiqi had won, the Demon Clan would have continued to revive, shaking the Human Race's position as the protagonist of the Human Dao.

This is also the reason why Dayu, despite not being any of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, is revered by people as Yu Huang.

In short—

At the end of the Middle Antiquity and the beginning of the Near Antiquity, how could Wuzhiqi, who left such a heavy mark, not have heavy treasures on his person, given that his status could be compared to Chiyou to a certain extent?

If he didn't squeeze him for some, Fang Longye felt he would be doing a disservice to this opportunity he had stumbled upon for no reason.

No matter how much Wuzhiqi cried poverty, Fang Longye didn't believe he could be that poor; if he just plucked a single hair, it would probably be thicker than his own waist.

……

"Enough!" Seeing Fang Longye acting so composed, Wuzhiqi laid his cards on the table: "Nephew, we both know exactly what I need you to do."

"How about this: I will give you one treasure first, you do me a favor, and whether it succeeds or not, I will give you another heavy treasure."

Seeing Fang Longye still hesitating, he continued: "Rest assured, this heavy treasure will be of great benefit to your cultivation. Of course, if you are truly unsatisfied, I will let you exchange it!"

Fang Longye also knew the principle of knowing when to stop, and seeing his attitude, he agreed immediately.

Seeing Fang Longye agree, Wuzhiqi reached out into the void and retrieved an object from who knows where.

The moment it appeared, it caused the surrounding Aura to shift, and a rich Yin and Yang Dao Rhyme began to swirl and scatter.

Fang Longye looked closely and saw a crystal-clear bead that looked as if it had been carved from jade.

Its entire body was black and white, as if an Yin and Yang diagram were spread upon it, with Yin embracing Yang at the extreme and Yang embracing Yin at the extreme, and it was interwoven with Innate patterns.

Feeling a sense of the Innate, Fang Longye thought to himself, it seems this is another Innate Spiritual Object.

Seeing him examining the bead, Wuzhiqi began to introduce it: "The Innate Yin-Yang Divine Pearl was originally a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure nurtured by heaven and earth. Unfortunately, for some reason, its nurturing and evolution were interrupted mid-air, and it no longer possesses the status of a Spiritual Treasure."

Fang Longye raised an eyebrow; it seems it had a similar fate to the Innate Water Spirit Pearl in his own hands~

"Therefore, do not look at it as merely an Innate Spiritual Object; in terms of value alone, it far exceeds other Innate Spiritual Objects."

Speaking to this point, Wuzhiqi paused, then continued: "I observe that the Dao you cultivate involves Yin and Yang, and you have also practiced that 'Great Vehicle Yin-Yang Dragon Transformation Scripture' of Yinglong. I imagine this Innate Yin-Yang Divine Pearl should be very suitable for you, nephew?"

Hearing this, Fang Longye's mind tightened.

Seeing this, Wuzhiqi shook his head and laughed: "I already said before, don't worry that I will vent my anger on you. It's just a secret technique; I'm not that petty~"

After saying this, he immediately tossed the divine pearl to Fang Longye.

Fang Longye caught the Innate Yin-Yang Divine Pearl; it felt slightly cool to the touch, and as soon as he held it, insights into the Dao of Yin and Yang emerged.

Without looking closely, he put it away directly, not forgetting to thank him: "Many thanks for your generous gift, Uncle!"

Then, no longer playing dumb as he had before, he went straight to the point: "I wonder how you want me to help you, Uncle?"

Wuzhiqi smiled: "Come to think of it, it happens to be related to that 'Great Vehicle Yin-Yang Dragon Transformation Scripture' you cultivate."

Seeing Fang Longye's confused expression, he didn't explain, but simply moved his mind, pushed aside the void above, and shouted: "Nephew, look!"

Fang Longye raised his eyes and saw a yellow stone stele quietly floating in the air. It didn't have any dazzling rays of light or rising colorful clouds; it looked like an ordinary stone stele, plain and unremarkable.

Of course, the more it was like this, the more it showed the extraordinary nature of this stele. And Fang Longye had vaguely guessed the origin of this stele.

"Just as I thought~"

He saw the stele was six feet high and three feet wide, with nine rows and nine columns of inscriptions on it. The characters were strange, some like running dragons and snakes, some like twisted tadpoles, and others like bird-seal talismans; for a moment, they were difficult to recognize.

But the golden light of merit revealed within made its origin clear at a glance.

"Yu Emperor Stele?"

"That's right! It is the Yu Emperor Stele that people speak of~" Wuzhiqi nodded in confirmation.

The Yu Emperor Stele was a heavy treasure specifically used by Yu Huang to suppress enemies when he was controlling the floods in the past, and it also belonged to the Thirteen Divine Artifacts of Yu Emperor.

Now it seems~

This world had such a powerful suppressing force that made it difficult for him to even move after entering; it must be the power of this Yu Emperor Stele.

"Good fellow~" Fang Longye thought to himself: "To suppress this Huaiwo Water God, Yu Huang really didn't hold back on stuffing things into this 'Huaijing'."

Counting only what he knew now, there were already four Merit Spiritual Treasures~ Come to think of it, they really could form a set for suppressing enemies.

If that iron chain was not mistaken, it should be the legendary 'Binding Demon Rope', which also belonged to the Thirteen Divine Artifacts of Yu Emperor.

With the iron chain wrapped around his neck to bind his body and the gold bell piercing his nose to wear down his consciousness, there should also be the Yǔhuáng Yuè to remove his Dao cultivation.

If his guess was correct, this Yu Emperor Stele above was originally also suppressing Wuzhiqi's ape body directly.

It was just that Wuzhiqi was unwilling to accept this, nor was he willing to remain in the wretched state of being pressed to the ground by the Yu Emperor Stele; after regaining his senses, he forcibly pushed the Yu Emperor Stele up into the void.

While Fang Longye was deep in thought, Wuzhiqi spoke: "The favor I want to ask of my nephew is very simple."

As he tugged at the iron chains locked around his neck, he pointed to the Yu Emperor Stele above and said: "That is to try and collect these two Spirit Treasures~"

Fang Longye did not make a sound, but instead looked at Wuzhiqi with an expression that asked whether he took him for a fool or if he was a fool himself.

"Uncle, even you can do nothing about these two Spirit Treasures. Do you still expect me, a mere Golden Immortal, to be able to help you?"

Fang Longye understood what Wuzhiqi meant; as long as he collected these two Spirit Treasures, Wuzhiqi would naturally be able to break free. The key was, if these two Spirit Treasures were so easy to collect, would it ever be his turn?

"Sigh—" Wuzhiqi said with composure: "Young people are just too young~ and too impatient!"

"If I didn't have any certainty, would I have given you so many things?"

"Nephew, have you forgotten what I just said? That 'Yin and Yang Great Vehicle Dragon Transformation Scripture' you cultivate happens to be related to this."

Seeing Fang Longye cast a look seeking an explanation, he chuckled and did not answer directly.

Instead, he pointed to the Yu Emperor Stele and the iron chains, and asked in return: "Do you know what the main materials used to refine these two Spirit Treasures are?"

Fang Longye naturally shook his head.

"Nephew, you cultivate the 'Yin and Yang Great Vehicle Dragon Transformation Scripture', do you know of the nine flood dragons that once pulled the carriage for Di Jun in the ancient era?"

Fang Longye nodded, indicating he knew.

Immediately, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he could not help but look at the Yu Emperor Stele suspended in the void and the iron chains on Wuzhiqi's neck.

He said uncertainly: "Are you saying?"

"That's right! It is exactly as you think~"

(End of this chapter)