Chapter 1892 - 200: The Nine Treasury Guardian Treasures! (Part 2)

"Then I’ll trouble Mr. Xie!" Jiang Ning said.

"The Prince is too kind!" Xie Xun cupped his hands towards Jiang Ning.

At this moment, the carriage began moving again.

The wheels rumbled, pressing over the stone slabs of the Imperial Palace’s ground.

...

Almost thirty minutes later.

The carriage slowly came to a halt.

Xie Xun and Zhou Wenyuan stepped out one after the other.

"Your Highness, please step out!" Zhou Wenyuan called from outside the carriage.

Jiang Ning also swept open the carriage curtain.

Ahead stood a towering structure.

The building was tower-shaped, with seven floors.

At the entrance, eight guards clad in full armor stood on each side, tall and burly, their gaze sharp, clearly true Martial Arts Strongmen.

At this moment, Xie Xun stepped forward and handed out a token to show to the guards.

After verification was passed, the guards stepped aside and opened up their formation at opposing angles.

"Your Highness, please!" Xie Xun gestured with a cupped-hand salute.

Jiang Ning then jumped down from the carriage.

In the next moment.

The three of them proceeded through the entrance formation and stepped inside the tower.

Light and shadow shifted, with mottled beams of light shining down from the tower’s summit, providing the enclosed tower with some illumination.

"Are the three of you here by the Holy Emperor’s decree to retrieve the treasures from the treasury?" An old woman with a face like bark walked out from the shadows of the tower.

Jiang Ning’s gaze instantly locked onto the old woman’s hands.

Unlike her aged face, her hands were delicate and fair, like those of a young maiden.

"Granny Bai?" Jiang Ning tentatively asked.

"Good observational skills!" Granny Bai looked at Jiang Ning, a smile of ambiguous meaning playing on her lips.

"It’s not the eyesight, but the aura." Jiang Ning said.

"I never expected that the unremarkable boy from back then would grow into a towering tree today!" Granny Bai looked at Jiang Ning, her expression filled with emotion.

"Granny Bai, you overpraise!" Jiang Ning responded with a faint smile.

"It’s not praise for you." Granny Bai chuckled softly, her voice still gentle, contrasting sharply with her aged appearance, "For you, it is a heartfelt amazement. Back then in Luoshui County, you seemed like just an average Martial Arts talent; who could have thought you’d reach such heights today."

"I watched that battle yesterday with my own eyes."

"I must thank you. Had you not intervened, that Sword Immortal would have come seeking trouble with me."

At these words.

Jiang Ning smiled faintly.

"With Granny Bai’s means, even if the Sword Immortal came, he probably wouldn’t gain much!"

"You’re wrong!" Granny Bai shook her head and said, "What you perceive as miraculous means is merely the result of living longer! As for strength, it’s just that, hardly worthy of elegance."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning chuckled.

He did not delve further into this matter.

Along the way.

From Luoshui County, to Dongling City, to Guangning Prefecture, to the Royal Capital, he had seen Granny Bai’s presence.

Her means are undeniably magical.

As for strength.

He dared not make a rash statement now.

Without having exchanged blows, it was impossible to judge.

But in his heart, Granny Bai was indeed one of the most mysterious powerhouses in Great Xia, with undoubtedly extraordinary strength.

"Alright, let’s not talk about these trivial matters!" Granny Bai glanced at Jiang Ning, waved her hand, and turned to walk deeper into the tower.

As she walked, she spoke: "You have come by the Holy Emperor’s decree to retrieve treasures, and I am aware of this, come with me!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning, Xie Xun, and Zhou Wenyuan exchanged a glance and followed behind Granny Bai into the depths of the tower.

The light inside the tower was dim, with only mottled beams falling from the eaves around the tower’s summit, forming distinct beams in the air.

The group arrived at an unknown statue.

"This is the Great Xia Ancestor, the one who established Great Xia," Granny Bai noted briefly.

Then she looked at Xie Xun.

"Mr. Xie, please bring out the Holy Emperor’s token key."

"Senior, here it is!" Xie Xun took out a token no larger than a palm from his chest, which was dark gold in color.

Granny Bai took the token Xie Xun handed over and walked under the altar of the Great Xia Ancestor, pressing the token into an indented platform below.

She then retrieved another highly conspicuous token from her person and pressed it into another indented platform.

Both tokens were embedded perfectly into the recesses.

Buzz—

A deep rumbling sound came from the depths of the tower, with the ground slightly trembling.

Then, the stone slabs in front of the altar slowly split open on each side, revealing a descending stone passage.

Above the stone passage, fist-sized Luminous Pearls were embedded.

Within the dark passage, each Luminous Pearl emitted a gentle glow.

"Please follow me!" Granny Bai said and took the lead toward the stone passage.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning followed suit, with Xie Xun and Zhou Wenyuan also trailing.

Step by step, they descended the staircase.

After dozens of steps.

The space suddenly expanded.

It was an underground chamber, not large, about three zhang (ten meters) wide.

The surrounding walls were forged with fine iron of a blue color, and under the illumination of the overhead night pearls, the entire chamber exuded a dim glow.

In the center of the chamber, an ancient stone altar hosted five treasures of varying shapes, each emitting a different radiance.

Jiang Ning swept his gaze over the entire chamber, his heart slightly moved.

This Inner Treasury was not large, but with his discerning eye, he could see that any treasure placed here was exceptional.

Then his gaze fell on the stone altar ahead.

"As you see, on this altar are five of the Treasury’s nine guardian treasures."

"And where are the remaining four?" Jiang Ning asked.

"Over the past eight hundred years, four have been taken, either granted or consumed. Hence, as the Holy Emperor said, you are to choose one from the Treasury’s nine guardian treasures, but actually, you may choose one from these five."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning’s gaze fell on the five varied treasures upon the altar.

The five treasures were respectively a fully red longsword, a fist-sized jade slip, a dark yellow stone, a palm-sized, one-legged Three-legged Tripod, and an Ancient Mirror covered in verdigris.

Noticing Jiang Ning’s gaze, Granny Bai said.

"These five treasures are all precious items left from the Ancestor’s era."

Granny Bai pointed at the fully red longsword and said.

"This sword is named Red Cloud, the natal Immortal Sword of an ancient Sword Immortal. The sword is forged from Sun Essence Gold; wielding this sword can incinerate all things."

She then pointed at the fist-sized jade slip and continued.

"This jade slip records the Supreme Technique of the Ji Clan, the Imperial Extreme World Suppressing Skill. By acquiring the teachings from the jade slip, one can directly enter the Mastery Realm, but with this choice, you cannot take it away, only accept the teachings it holds."

After speaking, she pointed at the dark yellow stone.

"Within this item is contained Profound Yellow Mother Qi, which, if extracted and refined, serves as a top-tier aid for Body Refinement."

Lastly, she pointed to the Three-legged Tripod and the verdigris-covered Ancient Mirror.

"As for these two items, their names and effects remain unknown! Should you choose them, be cautious and deliberate your decision."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning’s gaze slowly swept over the five treasures.

His mind was already made up.

Then his gaze landed on the red-long sword.

"I choose this sword!" Jiang Ning said.

At his words, Granny Bai looked at Jiang Ning with surprise.

She had seen Jiang Ning in action and understood him well.

She knew Jiang Ning’s foundation of the Primordial Spirit was formed with Yin and Yang Qi, unrelated to the Sword Dao, nor involved with the Fire Element.

For Martial Arts, strength lay in the physical body, in physique.

To a powerhouse at Jiang Ning’s level, a weapon like this sword hardly mattered.

This item could not enhance Jiang Ning practically in strength.

"Have you thought it over?" Granny Bai asked.

"I’ve thought it over." Jiang Ning nodded.

"Very well!" Granny Bai, seeing this, said no more, "Go and take it yourself."

Jiang Ning then stepped forward.

He reached out to grasp the sword hilt.

In an instant.

The longsword in his hand burst into a bright red light, emitting an astounding high temperature from the hilt.

He exerted slight force.

Buzz—

The sword hummed lightly, vibrating in his hand as if it had a spirit of its own.

A few breaths later, the longsword in his hand calmed down, ceasing its wondrous display.

"Choose your remaining two treasures now!" Granny Bai’s voice rang out once again.