Chapter 270: The Cub

Yuan Tong saw Wang Yu looking over and smiled slightly, then chanted a Buddhist mantra and said:

"Wang Dao you, you're no ordinary Qi Condensation disciple—your final strike was immensely powerful, likely on par with a Foundation Establishment cultivator's direct attack, otherwise it couldn't have shattered such a sturdy soul casket."

"As far as I know, human soul caskets are forged from at least second-rank materials."

"This thing is second-rank material?" Wang Yu perked up immediately, rose to his feet, and walked over to the ground to pick up more than ten black fragments the size of fingernails.

Judging from these fragments, the soul casket must have originally been palm-sized; its miniature form earlier was clearly a special state induced by the old monk's secret technique.

Since it had been agreed in advance that all loot except the Venerable Body Relic belonged to him, Wang Yu had no hesitation placing all these second-rank fragments into a wooden box and storing it in his storage pouch.

These were second-rank materials—even as shattered fragments, they were invaluable, far surpassing the first-rank materials he'd ever encountered before.

Moreover, the soul casket was so resilient it had withstood the first two strikes of the Mother-Child Floating Mirror; it must have been intricately forged. If he could reconstruct the inscriptions on these fragments, he might learn something from them.

Not only that, Wang Yu walked over to the seven or eight piles of ash and examined each one, eventually pulling out a purple bottle with a charred surface from one pile—the same bottle the old monk had used to hold his pills. Nothing else remained.

Wang Yu still wasn't satisfied; he carefully inspected the ashes again, but found nothing.

Yuan Tong, watching this, also showed a look of surprise.

Wang Yu was deeply frustrated, wondering whether he should ask Yuan Tong for extra compensation.

After all, he'd taken such great risks, yet the rewards were pitifully small.

At that moment, a faint male voice came from high above:

"Kid, don't bother searching anymore. This human body, along with all its belongings and storage pouch, was completely incinerated by the soul flame summoned by the secret technique's backlash. Only this pill bottle seems to have been mixed with a bit of soul silver, which is why it survived."

Wang Yu was startled and quickly looked up, respectfully calling, "Lord Gong."

Above, a silver glow slowly seeped through the white curtain, then expanded in the wind, revealing a middle-aged man stepping out—it was Gong Yue.

"Lord Gong, wasn't it supposed to be a stick of incense time? How did you return so quickly?" Yuan Tong, forgetting his abdominal wound, swallowed the emerald leaf in his hand and hurried over, bowing deeply to the sky with trepidation.

"I finished the task faster than expected, so I returned sooner—and just happened to see your final combined strike. Also, this is the extra benefit I promised you." Gong Yue smiled faintly at Yuan Tong, then turned to Wang Yu, holding in his hand a small creature the size of a Pekingese, covered in soft pale green fur.

Faster?

How long had this battle lasted? He must have never left this place at all.

Yuan Tong couldn't help but grumble inwardly.

"Lord, what is this…?"

Wang Yu, however, stared at the small creature in Gong Yue's hand and instantly recognized it as a wolf pup—but its aura was unlike that of ordinary first-rank wolves.

Though its aura was faint, it carried an indescribable air of majesty, stirring something in Wang Yu's heart.

"This is the pup of the second-rank Azure Wind Wolf from the secret realm. That Azure Wind Wolf was placed there by Master Jialan himself, said to carry special bloodlines, extremely long lifespan, and even a trace of third-rank potential."

"But the secret realm lacks second-rank spiritual veins, and its restrictions have suppressed it—so after reaching early second-rank, it could advance no further."

"I teleported directly to the den earlier and grabbed one at random." Gong Yue gave a casual explanation, then tossed the pup toward them.

"Thank you, Lord!" Wang Yu, overjoyed, carefully caught the pup.

According to Gong Yue's words, this was a spirit beast pup with potential equivalent to a trace of Golden Core elder's power—its value was unimaginable.

The moment the pup left Gong Yue's palm, it struggled violently, opening its few-toothed mouth and biting straight into his arm.

Wang Yu dared not grip too hard, fearing he'd injure the pup, and was momentarily flustered.

"A disciple of the Four Symbols Sect doesn't even carry a spirit beast pouch? The Four Symbols Sect was famed throughout Wu State for spirit beast taming—has it really lost this skill?"

"Never mind. Here, take this spirit beast pouch too." Gong Yue shook his head, then pulled out a black leather pouch from his sleeve and tossed it over.

Wang Yu caught the black pouch, scanned it with his spiritual sense, and instantly shuddered—his face lit up with ecstatic joy. He thanked Gong Yue again before carefully placing the pup inside.

"Now there's only one of your reincarnations left—what about your promise, Lord?" Yuan Tong could no longer hold back and asked Gong Yue, while internally reeling at how quickly he'd returned.

"Here, this is the Venerable Body Relic for you." Before the young monk could finish speaking, Gong Yue flicked his finger downward—a dark speck shot down, then slowed in midair to reveal its true form: the golden crystal.

"Thank you, Lord, for this gift!"

Yuan Tong seized the golden crystal with joy, opened his mouth, and swallowed it without hesitation, then bowed repeatedly to the sky with a beaming smile.

"Don't thank me—it was all Master Jialan's arrangement. Now everything is done. I'll answer one final question each from you both, then I'm leaving." Gong Yue spoke indifferently.

This enigmatic spirit vessel was leaving immediately!

Wang Yu and Yuan Tong were both startled, glancing at each other.

After a pause, Yuan Tong spoke first:

"Lord Gong, after you leave, what will become of this secret realm?"

"This realm is useless to both me and Master Jialan. Let anyone else do as they please with it."

"Oh, and I just tossed the fifth key somewhere in the realm while teleporting back—see who finds it." Gong Yue waved his hand, giving two answers that left both men speechless.

"From your tone, Master Jialan is still alive?" Wang Yu's mind raced, then he asked.

"Is that your question? I can only answer one sentence: Master Jialan is alive—and yet not alive in this world." Gong Yue gazed deeply at Wang Yu, then replied softly.

Wang Yu felt this statement was profoundly cryptic, yet brimming with meaning.

Beside him, Yuan Tong also wore a thoughtful expression, as if he'd grasped something.

But at that moment, Gong Yue shook his sleeves—and ripples appeared in the surrounding void.

A vast white array diagram bloomed beneath their feet.

In a flash of white light, the two vanished from the green stone ground.