Chapter 13: Chapter Twelve: Could It Be a Treasure?

Chen Yan was studying his courtyard, stepping in strange patterns and muttering incantations, moving from Qimen numerology to the calculations of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems and Seventy-Two Earthly Spirits, then to the Eight Trigrams’ directions.

“Qian, Kun, Li, Kan, Zhen, Xun, Gen, Dui…”

Chen Yan walked through the courtyard, holding a Luo Pan in his hands.

Hmm, this Luo Pan was bought, not some self-made talisman.

You can get it on Taobao.

This one he held cost him just over 180 yuan, free shipping included.

The seller claimed it was pure copper, but Chen Yan wasn’t stupid.

For 180 yuan? Buy a pure copper Luo Pan? Dream on.

But the material didn’t matter—this thing was just for calculating directions; as long as the markings were accurate, it was fine.

He was a brand-new beginner who had just started cultivating odd arts.

So far, he knew only four spells.

The basic cultivation method: The Divine Qi Transport Technique.

The versatile method: The Algorithm of Qi and Fortune Cycles—considered one of the foundational techniques.

Then came the two spells: Opening the Heavenly Eye and Cutting the Thread of Fortune—both ranked at the bottom of the manual.

He had no talismans, though the section on object appraisal listed many methods and materials for crafting them.

But after reading them a few times, he gave up—for now.

Any materials he understood were things available in the mortal world—but his bank balance of one million yuan wouldn’t cover it.

And the materials whose names he couldn’t even comprehend? Obviously not easy to find.

Without talismans, he could only try low-threshold arrays.

Arrays that could attack and defend, with built-in killing or trapping functions? Forget it.

Chen Yan could only pick auxiliary arrays to start with.

These past two days, he’d been studying the Spirit Gathering Array described in the manual.

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What drew him was: the Spirit Gathering Array had high flexibility, low entry threshold, and high potential.

If materials were abundant and qi was strong, a top-tier Spirit Gathering Array could turn the space into a paradise on earth.

But if materials were lacking…

A knockoff version, a budget version—many ordinary materials could substitute, though the effect would be just as knockoff.

But Chen Yan didn’t mind; after all, his main goal was practice.

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The Spirit Gathering Array enhanced the circulation and gathering of heavenly and earthly qi within a certain range.

Cultivating the Divine Qi Transport Technique inside the array improved efficiency.

As for the effect? It depended on the quality of the array materials.

High-grade materials were beyond his reach for now—he’d start simple.

He went to the stone market and bought a plain long slab of green stone—to replace one of the materials listed as [Five-Colored Jade Bi].

Honestly, he’d never even heard of Five-Colored Jade Bi.

Green stone slabs were far cheaper—he visited a construction stone yard, had a few pieces delivered to his villa courtyard.

Next came cleaning, polishing, opening the light, carving the inscriptions…

First, he used a hose to spray water on the stone, scrubbing for a long time with a large brush.

Then came carving the inscriptions…

The manual listed several seals—he’d practiced them, and even bought Zhu Sha specifically.

He drew them first with a brush, then carved them with a chisel.

After a full morning, Chen Yan began to feel baffled.

【Am I cultivating the Dao or doing manual labor?】

He looked at the stone cutter, sanding machine, and full set of carving tools he’d bought these past two days…

And the industrial dust mask beside them.

Chen Yan sighed.

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At noon, Chen Yan was too lazy to cook and ordered takeout: egg fried rice with an extra egg, stir-fried beef with chili, and a bowl of pickled mustard greens and pork rib soup.

He made do.

As he ate, Chen Yan pondered.

Using ordinary green stone for the other array materials was fine.

But the core object of the array—this cheap stone wouldn’t do; it had to be a talisman.

He couldn’t make talismans himself, nor obtain them.

But the manual mentioned a knockoff workaround:

Use a high-quality jade or emerald, and daily infuse it with heavenly and earthly qi to nurture it.

Over time, the material might absorb a trace of spiritual essence.

Though inferior to a true talisman, it could store a certain amount of heavenly and earthly qi.

It could serve as a low-grade core for array construction, enough to activate the array.

But as a core object, it consumed qi—and this substitute, not being a true talisman, had limited storage capacity.

Like a small-capacity battery.

Low power meant the array’s level would be low.

Small capacity meant short endurance; he’d have to frequently replenish qi into the core.

Chen Yan considered what to use as the core object…

If high-quality jade or emerald would do…

He had brought back a green emerald signet ring from Hong Kong.

Back then, the warehouse was full of jade—he’d instantly been drawn to this one, felt an instant connection.

He left everything else untouched in storage, only took back this emerald signet ring.

But these past few days, he’d been busy practicing the Divine Qi Transport Technique, studying spells, moving house, finding a place to live, and building his poor man’s Spirit Gathering Array.

He’d forgotten about the ring.

Thinking of it, Chen Yan was about to rummage through his suitcase.

His phone suddenly rang.

He glanced—it was an unknown number, a landline.

He answered…

“Hello, is this Mr. Chen?”

Chen Yan froze.

Oh no.

That voice was sweet.

That tiny, soft voice—so naturally modulated!

“Yes, who’s this?” Chen Yan said, then coughed.

The stir-fried beef at lunch had been spicy; his throat was tight, and after a few words, he couldn’t help coughing.

The other side fell silent, then spoke more seriously.

“Mr. Chen, I’m a family friend from your paternal lineage… I’ve been entrusted to come…”

Chen Yan hung up immediately.

My paternal lineage?

Are you kidding?

According to Old Grandma, my biological mother is a white fox!

I don’t even know what species my biological father is.

And that sweet, soft voice… probably just an AI-generated tone.

In real life, I’ve never heard a voice that naturally modulated like that.

Nowadays, phone scams are getting worse!

The authorities should crack down harder on personal data privacy violations!

Hmm, I’ll download an anti-fraud app later.

Chen Yan grumbled, then set his phone to reject all unknown calls.

He went back to rummaging through his suitcase for the ring.

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On the other end of the line, a girl stood beside a street-corner newsstand’s public phone, staring blankly at the receiver.

Hung up?

He actually hung up on me?!

No, I’ll call again!

Hmm…

Hm?!

Why can’t I get through?

After a moment of silence, the girl put down the phone, her face pale, and silently pulled out a one-yuan banknote for the newspaper stand owner…

The owner took the money and froze—someone still pays in cash?

And this money… Hm?!

He unconsciously glanced at the girl, whose beauty bordered on the uncanny.

Such an old-style bill—I haven’t seen one in ages. And this currency isn’t even in circulation anymore; it’s purely a collectible now.

Who would be so generous as to spend a coin meant for collection?

Ah, what a pity.

Such a pretty girl, but a fool.

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Chen Yan rummaged through a hidden compartment in his suitcase and pulled out the jade finger ring he had stashed away.

Before returning from Hong Kong, he had taken a square towel from the hotel bathroom sink, carefully wrapped the ring in it, and tucked it into the suitcase’s hidden compartment.

He had worried there might be trouble at customs, but everything went smoothly.

He realized he had overthought it—after all, Hong Kong was a shopping paradise, with countless tourists coming and going daily; as long as you weren’t openly smuggling bulk goods, customs simply couldn’t monitor every small item.

He pulled out the ring again, holding it in his palm—it felt cool, yet its vivid emerald hue stirred an irresistible joy.

Following the simple cultivation method described in the manual’s section on artifact nurturing, Chen Yan channeled a thread of Qi into the jade ring.

After the Qi entered, the ring’s emerald color seemed to respond—its green luster suddenly gained a hint of vitality.

Chen Yan watched closely, deeply satisfied—he judged the nurturing method must work on this object. What was there to hesitate about? He increased the flow of Qi, continuing to pour it in.

Minutes passed. Gradually, a trace of fatigue appeared in Chen Yan’s eyes, and he felt a flicker of surprise.

I’ve been pouring Qi into it for minutes—why isn’t it filling up?

According to the nurturing method, ordinary secular jade, even high-grade, can only absorb a small amount of Qi per day—because its material is limited and cannot handle too much at once.

Only through daily, incremental infusion over time can its texture slowly change.

But this ring… doesn’t its capacity exceed what the nurturing method describes?

Of course, Chen Yan wasn’t entirely sure, because the manual’s description was vague.

It said ordinary jade artifacts could only absorb a small amount of Qi on first use.

But what exactly did “small amount” mean?

Chen Yan felt deep inside that this was just like some idiotic recipe.

“Add a pinch of salt,” “add a dash of soy sauce.”

How much is a “pinch”?

Who without cooking experience knows how much a “pinch” is?

Only those who cook know exactly how much salt and oil to add!

Two kinds of people: those who cook, and those who don’t.

Which group is the recipe really meant for?

For years, Chen Yan had never understood how the minds of recipe writers worked.

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Then!

Is it that this ring’s material is simply too good—and I haven’t yet reached its upper limit?

Or… am I just too weak? After all, I’ve only been a beginner for a few days. Could it be that even this intense Qi input still hasn’t reached the “small amount” the manual mentions?

In other words: either the material is exceptional, or I’m utterly useless.

A thought struck Chen Yan: this ring was kept in the Old Grandma’s safe. Since it belonged to her… could it be a magical artifact?

With this thought, Chen Yan’s spirits lifted instantly.

The manual’s “Artifact Identification” section contained a method for detecting and recognizing magical artifacts.

Chen Yan had previously had no artifact, so he hadn’t paid much attention to this technique—but now he quickly pulled the manual from his chest—he valued it deeply, having sewn a small cloth pouch himself, strung it with a cord, and worn it around his neck daily; except when bathing, he kept it on his person at all times.

Even when sleeping, he placed the pouch under his pillow.

He opened the manual, reread the identification technique twice, then tried to activate it by chanting the incantation and channeling Qi into the ring.

According to the text, this technique worked through resonance—if the object was truly a magical artifact, it would respond by activating its own inherent Qi.

But after completing the entire ritual, the ring showed no reaction. Chen Yan’s eyes ached from staring, yet he saw not the slightest anomaly.

Unwilling to give up, Chen Yan considered another possibility: some artifacts were sealed by their owners with restrictions—only the owner’s unique method could activate them.

With this thought, Chen Yan hesitated to continue using the nurturing method on the jade ring.

What if excessive Qi input damaged the artifact’s internal rune array?

After some thought, his curiosity burned too brightly—he devised a way to test it.

To determine if this was truly a treasure, he only needed to test its Qi capacity.

Find a piece of ordinary jade, channel Qi into it. If its capacity matches this ring’s, then forget any illusions.

But if the ordinary jade’s capacity is far smaller, then this ring might truly be a treasure!

Chen Yan was a man of action. With this plan in mind, he immediately put on his coat, shoved the ring into his pocket, and stepped out.

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[Please collect! Please follow!]

Let me explain: some readers asked why there’s no tipping or monthly voting.

I’ve also seen trolls gloating, saying this novel is doomed—no tips, no monthly votes so far.

The truth is: this novel hasn’t been contracted yet.

So tipping and monthly voting are disabled.

I delayed the contract process myself.

Readers from my previous novel know: recently, my father was seriously injured while traveling abroad and underwent a major joint replacement surgery (Level IV) at a local hospital. As the only son, I dropped everything and traveled two thousand kilometers to handle things, staying there for many days.

This caused me to miss several days of finishing my previous novel’s ending. While two thousand kilometers away, I shuttled daily between hospital and guesthouse—no time to wrap up the old book, let alone start the new one, since the new novel’s opening chapters needed approval before contract submission.

This delayed my submission and processing of the new novel.

I only handed the manuscript to the editor for review by Qidian’s approval department after publishing Chapter One…

The contract process is now expedited, but I still need to wait a few more days.]

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