Chapter 216: The Matter of the Beiyuan Sacred Relic

Graceful started, looking around, but saw nothing. Just as she was about to ask, a hearty burst of laughter rang out from behind her.

"Hahaha! Daoist Qing, what formidable divine sense! I thought I had hidden myself well enough, but I still couldn't escape your eyes."

Before his laughter faded, a viscous black shadow abruptly congealed in midair, turning into a lean, handsome man. His muscles were sharply defined, and his entire being radiated a fierce edge forged by countless life-and-death battles.

"Saint Teacher Bao!" Graceful gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. She took an involuntary half-step back, the tips of her ears turning pink. Realizing he had likely seen every bit of her bashful awkwardness just now, she felt she had nowhere to hide.

At the same time, she was secretly shocked. Saint Teacher Bao practiced a stealth body technique called the "Scorpion Art Technique," capable of completely concealing his aura. Even the other twelve Saint Teachers in the alliance might not have immediately detected his presence. Yet Brother Qing You had seen through his hiding spot with utter ease. Such divine sense had likely touched a level no Nascent Soul cultivator had any right to reach.

Saint Teacher Bao cleared his throat and assumed a solemn expression.

"Fellow Daoist. I heard from Ancient Sacred Master that your cultivation is profound and your sword Dao divine. In this life, my greatest joy is challenging the strong. I have reached where I am today thanking neither heaven nor earth, but only these two fists of mine. I presumed to come here tonight because I wish to exchange a few pointers with you. Would Daoist Qing do me the honor?"

He spoke openly, his tone carrying both a probing intent and genuine anticipation.

Jiuyou glanced at him, showing no extra expression on his face, though several thoughts had already crossed his mind.

It seemed that what Gu Daobian and Graceful had said upon their return had still not completely dispelled the suspicions of these Saint Teachers of Beiyuan. If he did not appropriately display some of his methods, probes like this would likely keep coming without end.

"Since you have the interest, Fellow Daoist, I shall accompany you for a round," Jiuyou said calmly. "Conveniently, I also wish to witness the methods of the Northern Plains physical cultivators and see exactly what makes them so remarkable."

As he spoke, the aura around him clearly did not fluctuate in the slightest, yet the surrounding spiritual energy began to subtly stir.

Graceful opened her mouth to speak, but after sweeping her gaze back and forth between the two men, she ultimately said nothing and silently retreated to the side of a pillar. She felt a faint worry in her heart, but she also knew that nothing she said in this situation would be appropriate.

A few incense sticks of time later, a black-grey streak of escape light flew clumsily out of Jiuyou's residence.

Within the escape light, Saint Teacher Bao's figure was faintly visible. His robes were torn in several places, and several shallow sword marks could be seen on his exposed skin. Every single mark had precisely avoided his vitals, the force measured to perfection; the one who struck had clearly held back with immense restraint. As he flew away, he glanced back at the small palace and pushed his flight speed even faster, unwilling to linger for another moment.

During their clash just now, he had driven his body arts with all his strength and charged three times. Each time, the other party had effortlessly defused his attack. A turn of the body, a raised hand, sword Qi condensing into lines—it was so fast he simply couldn't see the movements. He only felt a cold chill across his robes, and the sword marks had already fallen. He had not even managed to figure out the man's footwork before being forced all the way to the edge of the mountain. At this thought, he couldn't help but speed up his escape light once more, quickly vanishing into the night.

Graceful stood by the pillar, watching that receding escape light. She turned her head to look at the closed palace doors, her lips parting slightly, her eyes full of bewilderment.

The next day, a piece of news spread through the upper echelons of the Tribal Alliance. A Peak Nascent Soul Stage sword cultivator from Ganzhou had temporarily joined forces with the Northern Plains to jointly crusade against the Blood Abyss Sect.

These words came from the mouths of several Saint Teachers, so their weight was naturally not light.

There were even rumors saying that Saint Teacher Bao had paid a personal visit to test him the previous night, only to be defeated in a mere three rounds. Even his robes had been torn open in several places by sword Qi, while that sword cultivator had not moved a single footstep from start to finish.

With this level of combat prowess, let alone in the Northern Plains, even looking across the entirety of Ganzhou, there might not be many who could match it.

After Saint Teacher Bao departed the previous night, Graceful had not left immediately. She had stood outside the palace doors for a moment, hesitated, and ultimately walked back inside to speak with Jiuyou a while longer.

This time, they did not speak of the war, but of matters regarding cultivation.

Jiuyou listened as she spoke a few lines about her cultivation insights, asked her a few questions, and roughly grasped her current situation. She possessed an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivation and held two top-grade ancient treasures, yet she still found it difficult to gain any advantage against the Middle Nascent Soul Stage.

She wanted to go to the front lines and share the burden for the warriors of the Northern Plains, but her status as the Saintess instead made it hard for her to move a single step.

An iron rule had been passed down through the generations: if the Saintess did not break through to the Middle Nascent Soul Stage, she was not qualified to wield the Sacred Relic, nor was she permitted to set foot on the frontline battlefield. Following the incident a few years prior, the twelve Saint Teachers had even jointly issued a ban; at least until she made that breakthrough, it would be difficult for her to even leave the Headquarters.

Jiuyou listened without rushing to express an opinion. He merely casually shared a few of his own experiences in cultivation and brought out several cultivation notebooks he had obtained in his early years, handing them over. Most of those notebooks had been acquired from cultivators he had slain; though their contents were a mixed bag, they held much worth pondering.

Graceful took them and flipped through the pages. Her eyes first showed surprise, which soon turned into seriousness, as she truly committed these words to heart.

Stowing the notebooks, she thanked him and was just about to stand up and take her leave. When she reached the palace doorway, Jiuyou pretended to suddenly remember something and asked casually, "By the way, that Sacred Relic you mentioned, what exactly is it?"

Graceful paused her steps and turned back. This time she did not brush the matter off, and her expression was a few degrees more serious than before.

"The Sacred Relic of our Northern Plains has been passed down for ten thousand years; it is named the Purple Gold Furnace. Legend has it that it is an item from high antiquity residing in the hinterlands of the Northern Plains, sustained by the faith and offerings of cultivators and mortals for ten thousand years. In appearance, it resembles an ancient three-legged furnace. Its power is said to be unfathomable—it can spew smoke and fire, and it can also devour a person's vitality. But I have only seen it once from afar; I have never touched it with my own hands. To truly control it, one must first break through to the Middle Nascent Soul Stage."

After speaking, she stood in place for another moment. She carried a faint sliver of expectation in her eyes, wanting to wait for Jiuyou to ask another question, but he did not pursue the matter, so the young woman turned and took her leave.

A night breeze blew through the corridor, brushed across her shoulders, and scattered away.

The lamps inside the palace remained lit. Jiuyou still sat where he was, his gaze resting on the door through which she had departed, not moving away immediately, while an additional calculation formed in his heart.

'The Purple Gold Furnace?'

For the entire Northern Plains to call it a sacred relic, this treasure was most likely a Heaven-grade Spiritual Treasure as well. Even if it wasn't, or if it had some defect, the mere words "spirit treasure" were enough to stir restless thoughts in a person's heart.