Chapter 89: Treasure in Hand!

Three Absolute Valley.

"Mm-hmm~"

"Thud~ thud~ thud…"

"Creak, creak~"

In the quiet valley, odd sounds rang out from time to time, or the noise of impacts.

At the center of the valley, atop a three-story building, Chen Mu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, watching two wild boars not far off, tusks bared, snorting and grunting as they rooted about and gnawed on medicinal herbs. His brow furrowed slightly.

"Oink~!"

From behind him, the snorting and grunting of more wild boars rose up.

Over three days, Chen Mu had searched every inch of Three Absolute Valley and the peaks on both sides of the valley, inside and out, yet found no mechanism or hidden place.

Instead, he had ended up waiting for over a dozen wild boars of varying sizes to come down from the mountain, roaming about and gnawing on the medicinal herbs that no one tended or watched over.

"Could the sect-guarding treasure Tang Wuyang was so obsessed with not be nearby? Could it be hidden somewhere else?"

Searching without a goal — the difficulty was plain to see.

No wonder Tang Wuyang had searched for over a dozen years without finding it.

Suddenly, a shrill cry rang out from behind him.

Chen Mu turned slightly, looking back. Within his field of vision, three forest wolves charged down from the mountain, surrounding a wild boar weighing over six hundred jin and beginning their hunt.

The boar howled as it charged left and broke right, trying to escape.

Whoosh~ whoosh~

In the mountain forest, the sound of cutting wind rose in waves.

Chen Mu raised his head and looked into the distance, seeing another twenty-odd forest wolves howling as they charged into the valley, attacking the other wild boars.

The wild boars, big and small, who had been freely roaming about and gnawing on medicinal herbs, were instantly panicked and scattered in all directions.

The shrill howling rang out unceasingly for a time.

Boom~

A wall was smashed down by a wild boar.

Splash!

A wild boar tumbled and fell into the pond.

"Clang~"

A three-legged cauldron used for sacrificing to the heavens was knocked over by a fleeing wild boar, and the incense ash that had filled most of the cauldron spilled across the ground.

Throughout the valley, the spectacle of wolves chasing wild boars played out everywhere.

Chen Mu stood on the rooftop, watching these scenes unfold, and muttered to himself.

'If Long Tutu were here, she'd probably be thrilled.'

That girl loved watching pigs being slaughtered most of all.

Right now, wild boars were running all over the valley being chased by wolves and howling nonstop — just as entertaining.

"Swish~ swish~"

"Zing~ zing~"

A burst of rapid darting, and a strange sound like iron sheets scraping, suddenly reached his ears.

"What sound is that?"

Chen Mu shifted his gaze, no longer watching the wolves chase the boars, and traced back along the source of the strange sound.

Soon, his gaze fell on the overturned three-legged cauldron.

The mountain wind blew, curling as it spiraled twice inside the three-legged cauldron, carrying a great deal of incense ash with it as it swept out.

Wave after wave, gust after gust.

Every time the wind entered the cauldron, it produced that strange sound.

"Whoosh~"

Chen Mu tapped his toe, his body leaping into the air, stepping on the air as he drifted toward the three-legged cauldron.

Landing beside the three-legged cauldron, he looked through the cauldron's mouth into its interior.

The mountain wind swept in, and the incense ash inside the cauldron was lifted and carried out, leaving only a layer at the bottom.

Presumably because the temperature had risen, when the wind spiraled along the cauldron walls, it scraped off patch after patch of grime, revealing a series of patterns inside.

"Patterns?"

Chen Mu's heart stirred. He reached out, grabbed the three-legged cauldron, and dumped out all the incense ash.

Then he examined the interior space of the cauldron himself, especially the walls.

As the mountain wind swept in, the patterns appeared and disappeared in turn.

Though they vanished quickly, they were indeed patterns.

There was something off about this cauldron!

A strange light flashed in Chen Mu's eyes. He set down the three-legged cauldron, found a few broken pieces of wood, piled them beneath the cauldron, and lit them.

"Whoosh~"

Flames blazed fiercely, burning the three-legged cauldron.

The temperature inside the cauldron gradually rose.

Once the temperature climbed, the patterns on the cauldron walls were now clearly revealed.

Grime fell away in flakes, and mysterious patterns, ring after ring, linked to one another, starting from the bottom and covering the entire body of the cauldron.

The patterns glowed brightly, forming one design after another.

Chen Mu watched, his heart stirred. True Qi was drawn from his dantian, gathering in his palm along his meridians.

Pah~

His palm pressed against the three-legged tripod, releasing true qi.

Hummm!

The released true qi poured into the three-legged tripod.

The patterns on the tripod's walls, previously motionless, now spun open one by one.

Thin, invisible qi currents coalesced within the tripod, accompanying the spinning patterns.

"A pill-refining tripod?"

The treasured artifact of Sanjue Valley?

Chen Mu was delighted.

The artifact Tang Wuyang had gone to great lengths to obtain was almost certainly this very three-legged tripod!

Who could have imagined that the sacrifice tripod placed beneath the eaves, visible to everyone, was actually the treasured relic left behind by Sanjue Valley's founding master?

Blind spot under the lamp!

This was utterly and completely a blind spot under the lamp.

One of Sanjue Valley's three specialties was pharmaceutical preparation.

The function of this three-legged tripod, without doubt, was for decocting herbs, preparing medicines, and refining pills.

Of course, given its ability to conduct and absorb true qi, its material itself was a spiritual weapon.

That is, the three-legged tripod could even be used as a weapon!

Just now, when Chen Mu lifted it and tested it, the tripod weighed at least eight hundred jin!

"Not wasted staying here three days."

Chen Mu's lips curled upward.

Then he turned his gaze toward the distant chase between the wolf and the wild boar, his eyes filled with amusement.

Without the wild boar knocking over the three-legged tripod, Chen Mu would have searched for three months and still never discovered the treasure was right under his nose.

Although Chen Mu currently had no use for this treasure.

He had not yet touched herbal preparation or pill refining.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't need it in the future.

Hu~

A palm wind erupted, covering the three-legged tripod and blowing away all ash.

Shuu!

Chen Mu opened his palm and drew the three-legged tripod into his palm-space.

Treasure secured—he could return to Wulong Fucheng!

……

……

He traveled swiftly.

When he reached the western gate of Wulong Fucheng, the evening glow painted half the sky.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion suddenly erupted.

"Ahh~!"

"Run!"

"…"

At the city gate, chaos erupted suddenly, people scattering in all directions.

Screams, shouts, and cries filled the air in a jumbled mess.

Two figures collided with flashes of swordlight and knife-light, striking fiercely.

Shuu~

Hu!

Sword qi crisscrossed; knife qi sliced.

Chen Mu gazed from afar and saw two men—one wielding a knife, one wielding a sword—engaged in fierce combat beside the road at the city gate.

The sword-wielding man wore white robes, his long hair flowing, his features sharp, his eyes bright and piercing like sword tips.

His entire body was indeed wrapped in a fierce aura, like an unsheathed treasure sword—cold, chilling, and soul-rending.

The knife-wielding man was no weaker, around thirty years old, clad in a black martial suit edged with gold, accentuating his tall, striking figure; his face was handsome, his eyebrows thin, his brow radiating a sinister aura.

The knife he held was between a broadsword and a curved blade, its edge narrow, etched with intricate patterns emitting a crimson glow.

Spiritual weapon!

The weapons wielded by both men were unmistakably spiritual weapons!

The two combatants were both in the Innate Realm!

"Pang~"

"Boom!"

The colliding knife qi and sword qi exploded, sending up a storm of dust that slammed into the city wall.

"Shi Kuangsheng, Huang Feiyang, if you two want to fight, take it somewhere farther away—the city gate is not your place to act recklessly!"