Chapter 579

Half an hour later.

Murong Yan put down the ledger in her hand and looked up at Lin Chen: “The total value of these items is roughly twelve million two hundred twenty-five thousand Yan coins. If sold quickly to merchants, you’d get about ten million.”

“Twelve million?”

Lin Chen was taken aback by the number Murong Yan revealed—he had expected at most eight or nine million, never imagining they could fetch so many Yan coins.

“Yes, if you’re not in a hurry, selling them off over a year maximizes profit. This estimate is based on their prices in the Yan Emperor’s realm over the past three years.”

“Why study all this? Are you planning to open a merchant shop in the Yan Emperor’s realm?”

Lin Chen smiled at Murong Yan. Most cultivators didn’t delve this deeply into such matters—they only learned prices for items relevant to their current realm.

Murong Yan smiled faintly: “You’re always buried in cultivation, so you have no time to learn this. I can’t help you with your martial path, but I can at least offer guidance on rare items. I can’t just be a useless ornament.”

Hearing her explanation, Lin Chen paused, then took Murong Yan’s soft hand in his—he understood why she had studied these things.

Actually, being an ornament isn’t so bad. Not everyone has the qualification to be one.

To be an ornament, you must first have the looks.

“Hmph. Men’s words are only half-truths. You think being an ornament is fine now, but ten years from now, when you’re old and faded, you’ll be despised.”

Murong Yan gave a light sniff and placed several items on the table: “These are things you can use right now—mostly materials, no finished elixirs.”

The items Murong Yan had picked for Lin Chen were all raw materials needed for elixirs of the Primordial Fifth Realm. As for the elixirs themselves, since Lin Chen had mostly slain Primordial Third and Fourth Realm cultivators, the elixirs they carried were only suitable for those realms—useless to him now.

“You can sell all of these.”

“Sell them for what?”

Lin Chen shook his head: “You’re about to enter the Primordial Realm. You’ll need these elixirs too.”

He placed several Primordial Second and Third Realm elixirs into a storage box and handed it to Murong Yan.

Murong Yan didn’t refuse. She was entirely his—why would she turn down elixirs he gave her?

“The rest of these elixirs, I plan to hand over to the sect. I’ll keep only this pile of rarer materials.”

Under Murong Yan’s sorting, elixirs, spirit herbs, and other materials were divided into many categories, one of which consisted of rare items.

These items weren’t necessarily high in value, but if you needed them urgently, finding them would take effort.

Unless you were desperately short of Yan coins, there was no need to sell them—they were treasures worth hoarding.

After clearing these items, Lin Chen turned his gaze to the last storage box given by the Sixth Prince of the imperial family. With a thought, all its contents appeared on the table.

The storage box held few items—only three.

A vial of elixir, a piece of black wood, and a cultivation manual.

“Is this… Po Hun Dan?”

Murong Yan stared at the label on the elixir vial, her expression stunned: “Lin Chen, where did this storage box come from?”

No wonder she was shocked—Po Hun Dan was an extremely precious elixir, usable even by Primordial Fifth and Sixth Realm cultivators. Taking it could help the soul break through its limits.

Those who reached Primordial Fifth or Sixth Realm came from powerful backgrounds. At this level, victories hinged on minute advantages—especially among peers. A slight edge in soul strength could decide the outcome.

In response to Murong Yan’s question, Lin Chen gave no answer. Instead, he turned his gaze to the second item—the black wood: “Let’s finish examining the other two items first. Then I’ll tell you where this storage box came from.”

“This is lightning-struck wood—specifically, the hardest kind, from a Golden Tree. It’s at least ten thousand years old. If forged into a weapon, it would produce an incredibly powerful blade.”

Murong Yan examined it closely and gave her assessment.

Primordial Late Realm cultivators rarely used weapons, because crafting a suitable one required excessive cost.

Most cultivators focused on realm breakthroughs. Only when they clearly hit a ceiling and saw no chance of advancement in the short term would they invest in forging weapons to boost combat power.

The third item was a movement technique: “Wu Ji Dun.”

When perfected, its speed could match the peak of Primordial Sixth Realm, giving a Primordial Realm cultivator a viable escape method.

“Lin Chen, these three treasures are priceless. The owner of this storage box must be extraordinary.”

“Yes, the owner is extraordinary. But this storage box wasn’t taken from an enemy I killed—it was given to me. What do you think their motive is?”

Hearing Lin Chen’s question, Murong Yan’s face grew thoughtful. His words revealed something: the person who gave this box wasn’t close to Lin Chen.

If it were a senior or a close friend, Lin Chen wouldn’t question their intent.

Since this person was unfamiliar or not close enough, giving three such valuable items demanded serious consideration.

Murong Yan picked up the “Wu Ji Dun” manual again, studying it repeatedly, until a rough guess formed in her mind.

“The person who gave you these three treasures wants to delay your cultivation progress.”

“Oh? Why do you think that?”

Lin Chen looked at Murong Yan, surprised by her conclusion. He had merely suspected the imperial family wouldn’t be so generous—and with her sharp mind, he’d hoped she’d deduce their intent.

“Take the Po Hun Dan. Though it can help the soul break its limits, it’s not enough on its own. To improve success, you’d need other elixirs and rare materials to accompany it—and such materials are hard to find, requiring immense time.”

“The same goes for this lightning-struck wood. Such a premium forging material would tempt anyone. But crafting a perfect weapon requires other materials too—and searching for them takes time.”

“Finally, the ‘Wu Ji Dun.’ The fact that it can make a Primordial Realm cultivator move as fast as a Primordial Sixth Realm peak is astonishing enough—it rivals the Star Illusion Art of the Burning Star Valley.”

“Yet mastering ‘Wu Ji Dun’ demands extremely strict conditions. Looking at the outcomes alone, using any of these three treasures requires considerable time.”

This was Murong Yan’s deduction. Lin Chen gave her a thumbs-up: “Your judgment is likely correct. This storage box was sent by a prince of the imperial family. Clearly, they had no good intentions. You’re truly my wise consort.”

In truth, Lin Chen could have guessed the imperial family’s motive himself—he just hadn’t figured it out as quickly as Murong Yan.

“You’re in the middle of it, and these three treasures are so tempting. It’s natural your thoughts were clouded briefly. But I knew you’d eventually deduce it.”

Murong Yan smiled sweetly. Lin Chen wasn’t incapable—he simply, as the recipient, first thought of how to use the treasures, since all three were invaluable.

“The imperial family probably also realized you might see through their scheme. This is an open stratagem.”

“Indeed, an open stratagem. If it were anyone else, they’d walk right into it—even knowing it was a trap.”

Lin Chen nodded. Even if he couldn’t guess their intent himself, telling his master and sect leader about these three treasures would reveal the imperial family’s plan.

An open stratagem is one you see clearly—but still cannot avoid.

But my situation is different. With the Divine Illumination Without Bounds destiny, my soul can grow infinitely—I don’t need Po Hun Dan. As for forging a weapon from the lightning-struck wood, even less so—I follow the body cultivation path. My body is my strongest weapon.

“Wu Ji Dun” is excellent, but the speed I achieve using Primordial Fire isn’t much slower than its peak. So these three treasures hold little appeal for me.

Yet from these three items, Lin Chen saw the imperial family’s attitude toward him—and toward Canglan Sect.

…

…

The next day.

The inner courtyard of Qingfeng Residence.

Murong Yan wore a white dress and stood at the courtyard’s center, before her lay five elemental orbs.

“Qin Gu, don’t worry. With Lin Chen here, I won’t be harmed.”

Murong Yan saw Su Qin standing nearby, face filled with worry, and smiled to reassure her.

“Even with the Imperial Son-in-Law here, Princess, you must still be careful.”

Su Qin’s anxiety didn’t lessen despite Lin Chen’s presence. Since arriving in the Yan Emperor’s realm with the princess, she’d heard many from the Yan family say that cultivators faced high failure rates when breaking into the Primordial Realm—and failure often brought backlash.

Many geniuses had fallen at this step: failing to break through, yet suffering lasting injuries that halted their cultivation forever.

Breaking into the Primordial Realm was both opportunity and life-or-death trial.

Success meant leaping over the dragon’s gate.

Failure meant utter destruction.

“Qin Gu, rest easy. Your princess won’t be harmed.”

Lin Chen, seeing Su Qin’s tension, added: “Breaking into the Primordial Realm does carry risk—but only if one is unprepared and forces it.

With the five-element energy I prepared for Murong Yan, her success rate is over ninety percent.

Even if she fails, she won’t suffer backlash—I’ve already exchanged for elixirs from the sect. Taking them will heal any injury from the attempt.”

He understood Su Qin’s worry. Her knowledge of Primordial Realm breakthroughs came from lower- and mid-tier cultivators, for whom the risk was real.

It was like an ordinary person starting a business in his past life—failure could mean decades of work wasted. But for a rich second-generation, opening a company was just practice. Even if it failed, it didn’t touch their life.

The same applied in the Yan Emperor’s realm. For lower- and mid-tier cultivators—even ordinary disciples of top sects—breaking into the Primordial Realm was risky. But if you had a Primordial Fifth or Sixth Realm elder in your family, breaking through was no big deal.

After comforting Su Qin, Murong Yan began her breakthrough. She sat cross-legged at the courtyard’s center, eyes half-closed, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, contrasting her snow-white, flawless skin.

As she initiated the breakthrough, her aura surged upward. When it peaked, the five-element orbs on the table floated gently, settling around her. Energy within them released, enveloping her in a misty haze.

With each breath Murong Yan took, the five-element energy surged like tides. Lin Chen glanced at the anxious Su Qin and said: “Your princess is progressing perfectly. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Imperial Son-in-Law.”

It was going smoothly—even too smoothly, surprising even Lin Chen.

When cultivators broke into the Primordial Realm, absorbing the five elements often caused temporary imbalance. The cultivator’s task was to gradually restore balance, then condense the soul and enter the Primordial Realm.

But in his spiritual sense, Murong Yan’s aura remained perfectly stable. Her internal five-element energy showed no imbalance at all—it was all natural, effortless.

Had he not confirmed his own [Natural Progression] destiny was still active, he’d have suspected it had transferred to Murong Yan.

One hour later.

The mist surrounding Murong Yan seemed sucked into a vortex, rapidly diminishing. Lin Chen’s eyes gleamed.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

A wave of energy erupted from Murong Yan, spreading outward through the courtyard—grass and trees bent low under the force.