Chapter 7

"The Reincarnator has not completed the trial task and lacks authorization to view the task... The trial task will commence in one hour, at which point the Reincarnator will be transported to the task world... Remaining stay time— one hour."

Qian Chen skillfully opened the golden notice board; though he had not yet completed the task to earn rewards, this notice board was currently the only way to learn about the Reincarnation Realm.

The notice board listed three basic units for exchanging rewards: Virtuous Deeds, Meritorious Deeds, and Moral Virtue.

Three thousand Virtuous Deeds could be exchanged for one Meritorious Deed; three thousand Meritorious Deeds could be exchanged for one Moral Virtue. Thus, the Dao Dust Pearl of the Supreme One was indeed worth tens of millions, and even among the exchange listings of the Reincarnation Realm, it was an extraordinary item.

Qian Chen casually opened the magic treasure section; the first line read: Great Sun Golden Bell, forged by an ancient demonic emperor, a post-heavenly spiritual treasure, exchange price: three billion Moral Virtue.

The following lines were equally packed with information:

Imperial Authority of the Heavenly Emperor, the jade seal used by Yuan Yang Shangdi to rule the Heavenly Court, a post-heavenly spiritual treasure, exchange price: two and a half billion Moral Virtue.

Supreme Yin-Yang Fan—Supreme Yin Fan (incomplete without Supreme Yang Fan), a treasure forged by the Supreme Dao Ancestor for transmitting the Dao, a post-heavenly spiritual treasure, exchange price: two and a half billion Moral Virtue.

World-Ending Mixture of Pure and Turbid Great Mill—Great Turbid Earth Disc (incomplete without Heavenly Pure Qi Mill), a world-destroying treasure forged by the Nine You Demon Ancestor, a post-heavenly spiritual treasure, exchange price: two and a half billion Moral Virtue.

Twelve-Petal Meritorious Golden Lotus (incomplete, missing three petals), a teaching-stabilizing treasure forged by the Buddha, a primordial spiritual treasure, exchange price: one and a half billion Moral Virtue.

Nine Heavens Divine Thunder True Armor, a protective treasure forged by the ancient Thunder God, a post-heavenly spiritual treasure, exchange price: one and a half billion Moral Virtue...

"The Supreme Yin-Yang Fan—isn’t that one of the Three Supreme Treasures, the teaching-stabilizing treasure of the Doushui Palace? Could it be that Doushui Palace, like Louguan Dao, has fallen into decline and suffered calamity?" Qian Chen stared at the text on the exchange list, surprised. The Master of Reincarnation was indeed a formidable being—he had somehow acquired even half of the Supreme Yin-Yang Fan, one of the Three Supreme Treasures. Though incomplete, it was no trivial matter.

The Three Supreme Treasures: Supreme Eight Trigrams Furnace, Supreme Yin-Yang Fan, and Supreme Dao Dust Pearl—these were the personal items of the Supreme Dao Ancestor before his attainment of the Dao, later bestowed upon his disciples as symbols of the Supreme Dao lineage. Those who possessed these three treasures were the three orthodox branches of the Supreme Dao—Taiqing Sect, Doushui Palace, and Louguan Dao—true inheritors of the Dao lineage.

Though Louguan Dao had declined to the point that only one Foundation Establishment cultivator remained in this generation, as long as one held any of the Three Treasures, one was still regarded as the superior sect before any other lineage of the Supreme Dao not originating from these three sources.

Qian Chen did not wish to return to the Supreme Dao because if his identity were discovered, countless sects would fight bloody battles over him, and the victor would joyfully welcome him back as their ancestral master, eagerly awaiting his ascension so they could openly declare themselves the rightful inheritors of the Supreme Dao Dust Pearl and thus become the true Supreme Disciple.

This had nothing to do with quiet non-action, nor even with profit—it was about the Dao lineage itself. Even in its current state of ruin, no Dao sect dared to covet this treasure—precisely for this reason...

Otherwise, upon ascension to the higher realm, Louguan Dao’s predecessors would surely come to observe. Then those Dao Lords would chuckle: "Young brother, I heard you took my teaching-stabilizing treasure." Wouldn’t the offender be stunned?

Taking half of the Supreme Yin-Yang Fan held by Doushui Palace—even if Doushui Palace had the gentlest disposition, they would fight to the death.

Add to that the missing three petals of the Nine-Petal Golden Lotus, the teaching-stabilizing treasure of the Pure Land Sect, and as for the Demon Ancestor’s side, Qian Chen was not fully aware, but since it was transmitted by the Nine You Demon Ancestor, it must be the lifeblood of the Nine You Sect. The ancient demonic emperor was the leader of the demonic race; the ancient Thunder God was a high minister of the Divine Court; and Yuan Yang Shangdi was one of the nine successive Heavenly Emperors.

The fact that the Reincarnation Realm has not been destroyed indicates that its origins must be astonishingly powerful.

Otherwise, the Dao, Buddhist, Divine, Demon, and Demon races would have long since joined forces to storm the Reincarnation Realm and seize all these legacy treasures...

As far as Qian Chen knew, the Supreme Dao would not mind if a few Dao Lords descended to the mortal realm; the Pure Land Sect would gladly send over several of their Bodhisattvas; the Nine You Sect’s Demon Sovereigns would surely be eager to act; the ancient Divine deities would also be stirred, and the several Emperor Lords who divided the Nine Heavens would not mind sending agents to seize the Imperial Authority and prove themselves the true sovereigns of the Heavenly Court, thereby unifying the heavens.

Among the myriad worlds, apart from Shenzhou—the land where Qian Chen resided—all other realms could only be called the myriad worlds.

Only the Heavenly Court of the ancient past, the Three Heavens later opened by the three Dao Ancestors, the Two Western Heavens where the two Buddhist Saints resided, and the domains established by other teaching masters could be called Heavenly Realms. These were the true Celestial Realms.

Qian Chen silently whistled inwardly, raising a thumb for the Master of Reincarnation—he was a ruthless one.

Yet he also stomped his foot in frustration: "Master of Reincarnation, why is it that the Yin-Yang Fan, also one of the Three Supreme Treasures, is worth two and a half billion Moral Virtue even though it’s only half, while my complete Dao Dust Pearl is priced at only thirty million? Do you look down on my Dao Dust Pearl?"

"Recycling price: eleven..."

The vast voice replied: "The Supreme Dao Dust Pearl is a primordial spiritual treasure, possessing no offensive power, no defensive prowess, incapable of stabilizing a teaching, nor capable of destroying the world—it is a treasure for realizing the Dao, symbolizing the Supreme Dao lineage. Yet its utility for users outside the Supreme Dao lineage is limited, and its ability to aid in Dao realization does not appear particularly outstanding. Thus, though the myriad realms acknowledge its high status, its practical efficacy is weak."

"Like the Imperial Authority of the Heavenly Emperor—it is a symbol."

"Yet the Yuan Yang Shangdi’s lineage has no heir, whereas the Supreme Dao’s lineage has long been settled."

"In other words, to powerful beings, this thing is a useless burden—it offers no practical use, yet it would certainly brand you as an enemy of Louguan Dao’s Dao Lords, and perhaps even draw the attention of Wenshi Daozun," Qian Chen sighed. "Apart from me, few can legitimately possess this pearl."

Qian Chen no longer examined these unattainable spiritual treasures in detail, glancing quickly. Indeed, further down were items such as the Taiqing Primordial Qi Divine Talisman, the Blood Sea Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the Vajrayana Great Sun Tathagata Body, and the Northern Dipper Blessing and Exorcism Crown—complex relics with illustrious reputations. Qian Chen recognized them because they were the very treasures frequently mentioned by Louguan Dao disciples since ancient times.

Additionally, there were many spiritual treasures he recognized well—such as the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl, the Golden Serpent Scissors, the Primordial Golden Dipper, the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron, the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan, the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover, the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword, the Willow Jade Pure Vase, the Kongtong Seal, and others—many of which had become archetypes of magic treasures, making Qian Chen’s eyelids twitch.

Upon checking their origins, most were forged by Dao sects. A few were highly suspicious—such as Frostmourn, Leviathan’s Axe, Agni and Rudra, and the Blade of Chaos—causing Qian Chen to suspect they might be early works of the Supreme Dao Ancestor. Why could he recognize them? Because the text on the exchange list read: Frostmourn, Leviathan...

The style was completely different.

These were all potential bargains... Even those names that closely matched this world’s style and were familiar to Qian Chen—such as the Taiqing Formless Sword, the Ziying Sword—even if not forged by the Supreme One, were certainly of the same lineage, meaning their sealing patterns were highly refined and the cultivation methods used to forge them were top-tier.

Not to mention unique treasures like the Primordial Golden Dipper and the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl.

But the downside was that the Master of Reincarnation was extremely discerning—these spiritual treasures all carried prices matching their status. He could never afford any of these top-tier treasures; he could only look at the magic artifact section to see if there were any similar, unrefined artifacts. Qian Chen memorized the appearances and characteristics of these spiritual treasures, planning to search specifically when he reached the magic artifact listings.

Otherwise, with the sheer volume of magic artifacts in the Reincarnation Realm, every name had already been used—searching by name alone would be utterly unreliable.

Qian Chen also saw Qingqing Sword and Yuxu Apricot Yellow Flag—other Dao sects’ lineage spiritual treasures.

If one were to act against the Reincarnation Realm now, the Dao Lords of Yuanshi and Lingbao would also have to join in.

Further down the spiritual treasure list, Qian Chen skimmed quickly—most were things he had never heard of. When the required Moral Virtue dropped to one hundred thousand, there were no more spiritual treasures he recognized. But even the best spiritual treasures were beyond his reach—even the lowliest primordial spiritual treasures at the very end of the list, such as the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon-Subduing Wood or the Shen Dragon Pearl, were unaffordable.

A spiritual treasure is a magic treasure with its own consciousness. When a magic treasure’s sealing patterns are perfected, it often spontaneously develops consciousness and possesses full sentience.

A post-heavenly spiritual treasure is a magic treasure that has developed complete sentience; a primordial spiritual treasure is one whose sentience arises naturally.

Primordial spiritual treasures are mostly living beings, or born from living beings.

There is no hierarchy between primordial and post-heavenly spiritual treasures—their power depends entirely on circumstances. Many powerful beings who obtain primordial spiritual treasures still refine them into post-heavenly ones. Only the Buddha and the Supreme Dao Ancestor, who utterly disregard a treasure’s power, allow primordial spiritual treasures to retain their original consciousness—such as the Twelve-Petal Golden Lotus, which is simply a lotus flower; the Buddha never kills, so he would never specifically refine it.

The Supreme Dao Dust Pearl, however, was formed when the Supreme One severed his own sentience, and was never refined.

This is the inevitable path of magic treasures. Many ancient powerful beings disliked weapons that developed their own consciousness. Though sentient treasures are easier to wield, these ancient masters preferred hard, unyielding weapons—strong, sturdy, and convenient, without needing to respond to them, without an extra operating system.

Their weapons could still destroy heaven and earth, possessing infinite power—but such weapons were not called magic treasures; they belonged to another category, called divine weapons, or divine artifacts. The greatest characteristic of such divine weapons is that those lacking sufficient strength cannot unleash even a fraction of their power.

Thus, Qian Chen did not even look at the divine weapons section—those items required at least a Nascent Soul True Person to wield, and he, a mere lowly cultivator, had no qualification to even glance.

Primordial spiritual treasures are essentially living beings; their utility is naturally inferior to post-heavenly spiritual treasures, which are refined as tools. Thus, the main reasons primordial spiritual treasures exist are either because powerful beings do not care about power or utility, and out of principle refuse to erase a living being’s original consciousness, or because the possessor lacks the ability to refine them and must rely solely on the treasure’s innate power.

The Twelve-Petal Golden Lotus and the Supreme Dao Dust Pearl belong to the former; the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon-Subduing Wood and the Shen Dragon Pearl belong to the latter.

Below spiritual treasures came magic artifacts. Qian Chen glanced over them quickly—most were heterodox magic artifacts. Dao, Buddhist, Demon, ancient Wu sects, and demonic races each had their own sealing systems; seizing them made them hard to use. Magic artifacts could be re-refined, but refining a magic treasure down into a magic artifact would be a waste. Thus, only heterodox magic artifacts, which blended Dao, Buddhist, and Demon methods and had high adaptability, were generally usable by others; other magic artifacts chose their masters.

Some even required specific magical energy, or even designated bloodlines. The most extreme cases were loyal to only one person—these were the life-bound magic artifacts, cultivated in tandem with the master’s life force.

Almost all sword cultivators’ flying swords were life-bound magic artifacts.

Hence, the list showed many spiritual-treasure-level flying swords, countless magic-artifact-level flying swords, but very few magic-treasure-level flying swords in between.

Magic treasures surpassed magic artifacts in that they developed a spark of sentience after their sealing patterns were perfected. Qian Chen preferred to choose a magic artifact with perfected sealing patterns and compatible Dao methods, then refine it himself to develop sentience and elevate it to a magic treasure. Thus, he merely skimmed through them until he reached the magic artifact section, where he began to pay close attention.

The exchange list was vast as mountains and seas, leaving Qian Chen dazzled.

He first used the search function to select Louguan Dao’s cultivation methods, then locked onto similar magic artifacts based on the spiritual treasures he had memorized, selecting those that overlapped—the rest were magic artifacts that matched his Dao methods and were suspected to be left behind by the Supreme One, thus possessing greater potential.

Qian Chen favored several items, such as Yangpo Sword, one of the Seven-Cultivation Swords, forged by a Louguan Dao elder, with perfected sealing patterns—it had once been a magic treasure, but due to long neglect, had regressed to a magic artifact; its essence was excellent... Kexi it cost three hundred Moral Virtue—he could not afford it.

Six Yang Divine Fire Mirror, forged from Dingfang Taiyi True Gold, shaped like a bronze mirror, capable of emitting Six Yang True Fire, one hundred Moral Virtue.

Taiyi Five Luo Smoke... Qian Chen discovered that even these high-quality magic artifacts had fixed prices in the Reincarnation Realm—the Master of Reincarnation’s eyes were flawless, leaving no room for misjudgment or bargains. What Qian Chen had over others was merely his knowledge of these magic artifacts’ brand value and their excellent compatibility with Louguan Dao’s cultivation methods.