Chapter 115 - 114: Mystic Association Treasury

Chapter 115: Chapter 114: Mystic Association Treasury

Gu Qingyin had envisioned a massive, golden handprint descending from the sky, just like The Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain that suppressed the Sun Monkey. For some reason, though, the palm had fused together and turned into a ball.

’Hmm... maybe it flew too far, and I lost some control over the Spiritual Power.’

While Gu Qingyin was busy analyzing what went wrong, Dongfang Ran was busy fighting for her life.

The little sun was even more powerful than she had imagined. Her previous defenses were torn apart like scrap paper, layer by layer, yet the sun’s speed didn’t diminish in the slightest until it struck the Spiritual Power palm above her head.

Dongfang Ran’s face was deathly pale. Gritting her teeth, she pulled a brilliant golden talisman from her bag.

The talisman was activated, transforming into a pale golden light shield that enveloped Dongfang Ran.

Within seconds, the palm was burned through by the little sun, which then slammed against the light shield.

But the shield, as thin as a cicada’s wing, was incredibly tough. It didn’t show the slightest crack, no matter how fiercely the little sun burned, with only faint ripples spreading across its surface.

Gu Qingyin was quite surprised. ’To think Dongfang Ran had something this good. What kind of talisman is that? Its defensive power is incredible!’

The people in the crowd were also discussing it. Before Dongfang Ran took out that Defense Talisman, everyone had been worried she would be defeated and injured. But after witnessing its power, they were all captivated by the talisman—they wanted one for themselves!

Eventually, the little sun’s Spiritual Power was exhausted, and it slowly dissipated.

Protected by the Golden Light Shield, Dongfang Ran let out a huge sigh of relief. ’Good. I blocked it.’

"You’re in a bit of a state, you know." Gu Qingyin clicked her tongue. "Elder Dongfang, you should wipe the sweat from your face before it starts dripping."

Dongfang Ran’s expression flickered. She instinctively raised a hand, dabbing at her forehead with her sleeve, and the light gray fabric instantly darkened with moisture.

"Wanna keep going?" Gu Qingyin raised her hand. "That last palm strike was a bit of a misfire. I promise it won’t turn into a sun next time."

Dongfang Ran gave her a complicated look. After two seconds, she reluctantly shook her head. "That won’t be necessary. I admit defeat."

Gu Qingyin felt a pang of regret. ’It’s not every day you find someone who can help test the power of your spells.’

The only person present who was truly happy was probably Liu Ergou.

Liu Ergou announced the successful conclusion of the competition, with Gu Qingyin as the victor.

Although the Mystic Association elders were resentful, they couldn’t afford to lose face in public, so they had no choice but to begrudgingly accept the outcome.

Gu Qingyin came down from the stage, walked up to them, and urged matter-of-factly, "We can go claim it now, right? I didn’t use up too much Spiritual Power, so I don’t need to rest."

The elders were skeptical. How could she not have used up a lot of Spiritual Power after three consecutive battles? They exchanged a glance, and Elder Zhang, speaking for the group, cleared his throat. "You only get one chance to bond with it, so you’d better make it count. If you fail, don’t say we didn’t warn you."

’The other elders’ eyes widened. ’What is he saying? What if Gu Qingyin decides to rest and recover before trying to bond with the artifact?! How can this Elder Zhang be so stupid? He doesn’t even know how to properly goad someone!’’

But to their surprise, Gu Qingyin lifted her chin, looking insufferably arrogant. "I have complete confidence in my abilities. Let’s go bond with the artifact now."

The elders were delighted. They quickly stepped aside to lead the way. "This way!"

The storage location for the Divine Artifact was underneath the building. They took an elevator down. It was only one floor, but the descent took a full five minutes. When the elevator doors opened, a cool, damp breeze blew in. They had arrived deep underground.

This was also Gu Qingyin’s first time here. She looked around and remarked, "You guys sure know how to hide things."

Outside the elevator was a silvery-white metal corridor, brightly lit but completely empty.

At the end of the corridor lay the main door to the vault where the Divine Artifacts were stored. The door was warded with seals that required three elders to simultaneously use different hand signs to unlock. In addition, there was a key that had been passed down for generations.

To put it simply, the hand signs verified their identities, but only the key could open the door. If someone with the wrong identity tried to use the key, they would be attacked by the door’s wards.

The vault door swung open. "Go on in," Elder Zhang said flatly.

Gu Qingyin stepped inside first, with an excited Liu Ergou following right behind her. He’d lived for half a century, but today, he felt he was finally seeing the world.

The vault door closed automatically after the elders stepped inside.

Gu Qingyin glanced back.

Dongfang Ran explained without being asked, "The vault door has to be unlocked whether you’re entering or leaving."

Gu Qingyin nodded, understanding. ’After all, the Mystic Association only has these three Divine Artifacts. Well, soon to be two. They definitely need to be well-protected.’

The inside of the vault looked like a museum exhibit. Besides the Divine Artifacts, there were many other powerful Magic Artifacts, each stored in a glass case. If she wasn’t mistaken, the cases were likely all under defensive and offensive wards.

"Whoa! Heavens! Is this that treasure from all those years ago?!"

As they walked deeper inside, the only sound was Liu Ergou’s continuous gasps of awe and wonder.

The elders were torn between disdain and pride. ’This is the true heritage of our Xuan Technique Association!’

Then, Liu Ergou spotted a horsetail whisk. His eyes instantly widened. He took a few steps closer to examine it carefully.

At first, the elders paid him no mind. But when they noticed he wasn’t following, they turned back, and their expressions immediately changed.

Just then, Liu Ergou turned to them, his expression a mixture of shock and suspicion. He pointed at the horsetail whisk and asked, "This is my Martial Grand-uncle’s Magic Artifact, isn’t it? There’s a chip missing from the end of the handle—it was damaged by mishandling right after he first acquired it."

For a moment, the elders were silent. This was so sudden, they hadn’t yet decided how to respond.

Liu Ergou’s beard trembled. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could finally ask, "This horsetail whisk... how did it end up in your possession?"

The incident had happened long ago; even Dongfang Ran didn’t know the details. She, too, looked at the other elders in confusion.

Elder Zhang hesitated. "Actually... we don’t know the full story ourselves. This is just what we heard from our predecessors."

"Senior Chu and the Mystic Association’s president at the time went to exterminate a demon together. After Senior Chu tragically fell in battle, the president brought back his horsetail whisk as a memorial, a symbol of the great contribution he made to the Mystical World."

Liu Ergou turned back to the horsetail whisk. "I want to take it home," he said. "It belongs to us, to Dragon Tiger Mountain."

The elders exchanged a glance. They couldn’t find a reason to refuse. After all, the horsetail whisk had been sitting here, useless, for so many years. If the man wanted to take it back, they might as well let him.

Elder Zhang stepped forward, cast a spell, and opened the glass case. Stepping aside, he said, "Take it."

Liu Ergou hadn’t expected it to be this easy. He froze for a second, then reached out, his expression full of emotion.

He reverently held the horsetail whisk with both hands. Once it was out of the case, he retrieved a box from his storage bag, carefully placed the whisk inside it, and then put the box away in his storage bag.

Once he was finished, Liu Ergou gave them a solemn nod of thanks. "Dragon Tiger Mountain is now in your debt."

Hearing this, Elder Zhang’s expression improved considerably.

Gu Qingyin patted Liu Ergou’s shoulder, genuinely happy for him.

After the brief interlude, the group continued deeper into the vault. At last, in the furthest depths, they finally laid eyes upon the Divine Artifacts.