Chapter 3066 - A Heavenly Fate Elixir, a Wooden Hairpin, and a Jade Box

They could easily picture what would have happened to them had Su Yi not sensed the Fate Tribulation Light and decisively led them away in time.

“Fortunately for us, your wondrous, unparalleled treasure helped us escape disaster,” River Ancestor Luo Yu said gratefully.

Su Yi just smiled and said, “I heard that throughout the ages, countless rare and strange treasures have been lost to the Sea of Fate, but that the Fate Tribulation Light causes a disturbance that reaches the ocean floor and sometimes even carries the lost treasures up to the surface. Is that true?”

“It’s absolutely true,” said River Ancestor Hu Chan. He didn’t even pause to think. “I acquired good fortune that way myself once, a long, long time ago.”

He flipped his palm, and a walnut-sized Daoist seal floated into the air. Its surface was mottled, and the words “Malevolent Flames” were carved on the base in ancient characters.

“Please have a look, Your Excellency. This is the mysterious treasure I acquired in the Sea of Fate, the Malevolent Flames Seal. It was refined from a fragment of a destroyed Eternal Throne, making it a true Heavenly Sovereign-level weapon. It’s wondrously powerful.

“I acquired this treasure during the storm that followed a burst of Fate Tribulation Light. The entire stretch of ocean churned, and all manner of fragmented treasures floated to the surface. Most were just scrap iron of little value, but a few were wondrous, unfathomable treasures like the Malevolent Flames Seal.”

River Ancestor Hu Chan sighed. “At the time, I was beside myself with joy, but alas... such treasures are far too rare. I’ve seen Fate Tribulation Light several times in the long years that followed, but every time, I’ve missed my opportunity.”

“What do you mean, missed your opportunity?” asked Su Yi.

River Ancestor Hu Chan explained, “When the Fate Tribulation Light dissipates, the treasures pulled to the surface will soon sink back into the depths. They appear for but a few moments, then vanish in a flash.”

River Ancestor Luo Yu chimed in, “The Sea of Fate’s waters are treacherous and unpredictable. You investigated earlier, Your Excellency, so I’m sure you realized that no divine ability can get through these waters. The moment they touch the surface, they silently collapse.

“That means that even when treasures appear on the surface of the sea, acquiring them is extraordinarily difficult. To succeed, you need to be at just the right place at just the right time. There’s no forcing it.”

Su Yi nodded. He’d tried slicing the water’s surface earlier, and it was indeed just as River Ancestor Luo Yu said. No matter how strong his sword qi was, it vanished upon hitting the surface.

The Sea of Fate’s waters had a unique and strange corrosive power. They ground everything away.

“Come on, let’s have a look,” said Su Yi. He’d just noticed that the Fate Tribulation Light was dissipating.

Both River Ancestors were all too eager to join him. This was a grand stroke of good fortune. Their odds of successfully acquiring anything good were low, but what if they did?

When the group arrived, the Fate Tribulation Light had receded, but the waters were still churning unpredictably. Numerous strange objects were visible in the waves, but most were already sinking back into the depths.

Only a few were pushed onto the water’s surface.

Whoosh!

River Ancestor Luo Yu was the first to stretch out his hand and grab. A giant, glittering golden hand condensed out of the powers of the Grand Dao and reached for the water’s surface. In a flash, he’d scooped up dozens of treasures.

However, even as he gathered the treasures, the churning waves assailed the giant golden hand, which silently fell apart, as fragile as tissue paper.

All of the treasures it had scooped up sank back into the sea.

“See that, Your Excellency? That’s what makes acquiring these treasures so difficult,” River Ancestor Luo Yu said with a soft sigh.

River Ancestor Hu Chan tried, but it was like trying to gather water in a bamboo basket. He could only watch helplessly as everything he picked up sank back into the water.

Su Yi had long since spread out his divine sense like an invisible web enveloping the entire area. He instantly detected every last treasure near the water’s surface.

Most were just fragments of broken treasures, mere scrap metal. Almost nothing was intact.

However, Su Yi noticed three treasures different from the rest.

The first was a bright red lotus root shaped almost like ginseng. It was only about a foot long, but it had nine segments, and its surface was covered in natural Dao Markings.

Its base scattered a rain of red light, which condensed into a mysterious diagram. The diagram depicted a snow-white, miniature person in meditation. Countless flames flowed around him, illuminating him in their flickering light.

This was obviously a Grand Dao Elixir imbued with the wondrous truths of Heavenly Fate, a Heavenly Fate Elixir!

Heavenly Fate elixirs were full of the aura of destiny and unbelievable source energies of the Grand Dao. They were incredibly rare, the sort of treasure that could only be happened upon by chance.

Whenever they appeared, a storm of bloodshed followed.

Even Heavenly Sovereign orthodoxies saw them as the rarest and most supreme of treasures. They were the ultimate cultivation resources of the Path of Eternity!

The second treasure was a wooden hairpin. It was as thin as a chopstick, with no carving or embellishment, so it would have been easy to overlook. It seemed to have been carved from a single piece of wood, and there was nothing overtly special about its matte surface.

Yet the wooden hairpin was perfectly preserved, without the slightest blemish, even in the Sea of Fate!

Moreover, when Su Yi examined it, he sensed a heart-palpitating, icy and austere murderous intent.

Su Yi suspected that the hairpin was the work of a Heavenly Sovereign. Its aura was far too extraordinary and transcendent to be the work of a lower-level expert.

The third treasure was a badly damaged box. It was gray, and there was no telling what was inside.

Yet its interior remained sealed even submerged in the Sea of Fate. It, too, was obviously an extraordinary treasure.

In truth, nothing in these waters was ordinary, not even the badly battered scrap iron. Anything ordinary had been destroyed long ago.

Time was short. Su Yi dared not delay; even as he pondered, numerous treasures sank back into the depths.

“Let me ask you this: how can I acquire the treasures here without revealing my true strength?” Su Yi sent a wisp of his heart power into the ancient battlefield in the Cauldron of Fate. His voice boomed above the dried-up well.

An excited, reverent, delighted, yet deeply nervous voice rasped from the well’s depths, "You want to avoid attention, Senior? I know several methods that would work, but time is short, and distant waters cannot put out nearby fires, so I suggest this one: use your divine sense to power the Cauldron of Fate and erect a barrier. That will prevent the treasures from sinking, and you’ll be able to acquire them easily.”

The voice responded at top speed, volunteering information of his own accord. There was no need for Su Yi to ask any further follow-up questions.

The "pitiful worm" was indeed quite excited. No, he was beside himself with joy. He finally had an opportunity to use his strength to help that supreme being.

He was so eager that he hated that he couldn’t just gouge out his heart and lungs and offer them up as proof of his loyalty.

But just as he was about to use words to announce his fealty, Su Yi said, “Ah, I see,” and withdrew his divine sense.

The mysterious man in the well closed his mouth. All of his excitement vanished.

He tried to comfort himself. No matter how powerful that supreme being is, there’s no way he understands the Sea of Fate as I do. That’s why he asked me that question.

And that’s wonderful news for me! It’s enough so long as I’m prepared to answer his questions as soon as they arrive!

Had Su Yi been able to hear the voice of his heart, he’d have been astonished. The man was just too servile and understanding!

Of course, Su Yi didn’t know any of that.

As soon as he got his answer, he poured his strength into the Cauldron of Fate, which rumbled and boomed. The Primordial Inscriptions on its surface lit up, scattering a rain of blue-gray light.

The light flew through the air, condensing into a radiant curtain.

The two River Ancestors watched in shock as Su Yi shifted through the air, arrived at a stretch of ocean, and grabbed.

The curtain of blue-gray light was like a Water-Repelling Pearl. The waters parted around it.

The red lotus root floating in those waters was now exposed. All Su Yi had to do was reach out and grab it!

He succeeded!? The River Ancestors exchanged glances. Both were stunned. They could never have anticipated that a mere fist-sized jade cauldron could have such wondrous applications.

Su Yi went on to do the same twice more, seizing the wooden hairpin first, then the rusted box.

He wanted to continue, but to his disappointment, most of the treasures had already sunk back into the depths. Those that remained were nothing but worthless scrap metal.

Even so, Su Yi scooped the fragments up without pausing to sort through them. He planned to examine them later to check that he hadn’t overlooked anything.

Rather, he planned to have the River Ancestors comb through them; he couldn’t be bothered to do it himself.

Meanwhile, he started examining the three treasures.

The nine-segmented lotus root was a Heavenly Fate Elixir. It was only about a foot long, but it was incomparably mystical.

Su Yi was certain that if he refined it, his cultivation base would increase significantly!

The wooden hairpin was a Heavenly Sovereign-level treasure, just as he expected. It was refined from a fragment of an Eternal Throne, and the name “White Hair” was carved at its base in tiny, ancient characters.

It was obviously a relic of the Primordial Era.

Su Yi hadn’t yet learned any of the hairpin’s wondrous applications, but an image rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind. I bet this would look absolutely lovely in Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep’s long black hair.

He hesitated, but nonetheless put the hairpin away. He planned to find a chance to give it to Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep later.

It was the third treasure, the badly damaged box, that really surprised Su Yi.

The box was made out of jade, and it was badly damaged, but there was a strange power sealed within it. Despite Su Yi’s cultivation base and abilities, he couldn’t even budge it!

Interesting. What kind of secrets are hidden in this box? How could its seal have survived the corrosive power of the Sea of Fate all this time?

Su Yi examined the box and was just starting to consider wrenching it open by force or using the Sword of the Nine Hells to undo the seal when something suddenly occurred to him. His heart shook.

When he first attempted to pry into the Cauldron of Fate’s secrets, he almost met with disaster. Thus, he couldn’t help but be cautious in the face of the badly damaged box.

I’ll have to find an opportunity to ask Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep about it. If she doesn’t know either, I’ll ask the mysterious man in the well, thought Su Yi.

It was then that River Ancestor Luo Yu said suddenly, “Your Excellency, I just received word from my avatar. The situation has changed!”