Zhang Baisan's Gains

Li Yue Valley.

Suddenly, a loud explosion shattered the silence.

A section of the rocky cliff diagonally above abruptly crumbled, sending shards of stone flying and dust billowing into the air.

From within emerged a figure.

“Finally, I’m out.”

Qing Yuan exhaled deeply.

This valley of Li Yue had been fraught with peril at every turn, but after he forged the ancient mirror, the Five Elements formation dissipated, removing most obstacles. Following the original path, he had made his way here, breaking through in a single stroke.

He glanced back, feeling a surge of mixed emotions.

Many cultivators had been buried here, including four masters of the upper realms, all of whom had perished utterly.

Qing Yuan was the sole survivor, and thus truly gained the opportunity bestowed by the Grandmaster of the Guangyuan Ancient Legacy.

He withdrew his gaze, his eyes gradually settling into calm.

His escape had been largely a matter of luck, relying primarily on the residual treasure of the upper masters—the Red River White Night Shadow Cart. But in the end, facing Gan Huan and Sun Yu, it was his genuine skill that prevailed.

The ancient mirror, the iron rod, and the power of thunder were all intimately connected to him, as if part of his very being—indeed, they were his true strength.

When confronting Sun Yu, it was his mastery of the Five Elements Dao Technique, combining forces head-on, that ultimately struck down this fourth-tier upper master.

Only such authentic skill, unassisted by external tools, brought Qing Yuan a true sense of security.

“I’ve gained a great deal this time as well.”

…

Now, the fortunes of the four upper masters were almost entirely in Qing Yuan’s hands. Yet, hailing from the Purple Dawn Palace, his perspective was broad, and only a few of these treasures truly held value for him.

First, from Gan Huan and Sun Yu, he secured a divine thunder each.

Though they might have previously refined other divine thunders, they had not employed their thunder techniques during battle. It seemed what they obtained were not thunder-based powers but perhaps thunder Dao cultivation methods or thunder spells. These divine thunders remained unrefined, preserved through secret techniques.

Qing Yuan roughly deduced that these divine thunders pertained to the future affairs of the Heavenly Thunder Mansion and represented excellent opportunities. Perhaps they intended to pass these down to their descendants or offer them to the Sun family patriarch.

Aside from the divine thunders, Qing Yuan acquired many items from Gan Huan, but what he truly valued was the “Primordial Spirit Capture Hand” Dao Technique. Within it were some notes and markings, suggesting Gan Huan was recently teaching this art to his disciple, Lu Yu.

Additionally, there was a spell on Gan Huan’s person, originally obtained from Han Yu. This was Han Yu’s renowned and peculiar technique—the Blood Transformation Primordial Art. Anyone struck by this spell, even if not killed outright, would suffer like a festering wound attached to their bones, ravaging them until their agonizing death. Yet Qing Yuan only obtained this single spell and a bottle of pills; he did not find Han Yu’s infamous sinister technique said to “extract others’ essence and blood to nourish oneself.” It was unclear whether Han Yu left no records or if they were destroyed in the magma.

As for the pills, they were half-black in color, resembling poison pills, totaling ten. After examination, Qing Yuan still could not discern their true effect. Despite this uncertainty, the pills appeared to carry minor restorative properties for spiritual power or vital energy, so they likely were not poisons.

Regarding Sun Yu, he carried many items as well, including a treasure of the magical artifact rank. Apart from this, the “Azure Dragon Transformation Primordial Art” was particularly remarkable.

The Azure Dragon Transformation Primordial Art was a secret ancestral technique of the Sun family. The copy in hand was a handwritten manuscript, not the original. The handwriting was somewhat immature, likely left by Sun Wenpeng, who practiced this art and passed on his insights to Sun Yu for correction. Unexpectedly, this manuscript fell into Qing Yuan’s hands, allowing him to study the cultivation method of this art.

Moreover, Sun Yu possessed a scripture that, from the beginning, appeared to be a secret transmission of the Seven Spirits Sect. It was probably taken from the corpse of Daoist He during Sun Yu’s escape from the magma, aided by Han Yu’s protection.

Unfortunately, this Seven Spirits Sect technique was extremely complex, with sequences that were difficult to arrange.

“The founder of the Seven Spirits Sect was once an outer disciple of the Orthodox Dao Sect, having reached the seventh heaven and stepping into the realm of the True Immortal.”

Qing Yuan frowned slightly, pondering silently, “Could it be that the Seven Spirits Sect borrowed the secret transmission of the Orthodox Dao Sect? Even if someone obtains the scripture, they cannot fathom its profound mysteries?”

He stored this scripture away. Though unable to grasp the subtle arts of the Seven Spirits Sect, which was a slight regret, he already possessed immortal methods and various skills, so it did not trouble him greatly.

Putting aside this Seven Spirits Sect technique, from the other three upper masters, he had gained much.

What truly mattered to him were the Azure Dragon Transformation Primordial Art, the Primordial Spirit Capture Hand, and the Blood Transformation Primordial Art.

As for the magical artifact, Qing Yuan had cast it into the ancient mirror, where it would enhance the power of the Divine Treasure Milky Way in the future.

After gathering his belongings, mostly storing them within the ancient mirror, he proceeded forward.

His gaze swept over the devastation—shattered earth, collapsed peaks, broken rocks and trees, fallen leaves and withered flowers. All vitality had been extinguished; no living creatures remained. Birds, beasts, ants, insects, and spirits had long since fled.

The desolation before him was shocking.

Qing Yuan vaguely sensed that this devastation was connected to his removal of the ancient mirror.

…

Boom!

Between the fractured mountain peaks, the ground suddenly ruptured. Countless boulders tumbled down, and among them, a massive stone flickered with thunderous radiance before contracting and vanishing.

From the gaping hole leaped a figure.

His voice was agile and primate-like, his forearms reaching past his knees, his body cloaked in white robes, his face concealed beneath a hood, revealing only two golden eyes.

“Finally refined.”

Gu Cang held an object about two inches in size—a stone shimmering with the light of thunder.

This was the Thunder Stone. Now refined, it had become a treasure capable of offensive use. When expanded, it could restore its original massive form, spanning three or four yards in diameter, one yard thick, enveloped in layers of thunderlight. When small, it shrank to fit in the palm, only two inches wide.

“My teacher said the Giant Stone Technique was difficult to perfect initially and easily broken. It relies solely on weight and hardness to crush enemies. Now that I have the Thunder Stone, my efforts are doubled. The added thunderlight greatly increases its destructive power and effectiveness compared to ordinary Giant Stone Techniques.”

Gu Cang smiled faintly, rubbing his head, then his eyes swept over the ravaged Fu Zhong Mountain.

The mountains had collapsed, the earth cracked, trees toppled—silence reigned everywhere. Birds and beasts had scattered.

He looked on in stunned disbelief.

“What happened?”

As he was still processing, a sharp sound rang out.

Gu Cang quickly dodged and turned to see the newcomer—a third-tier cultivator, about forty years old, dressed in pale yellow robes, leaping urgently toward him.

Gu Cang recognized this cultivator; he had seen him before—he was the one who ascended the mountain earlier than the teacher, apparently named Wu Nan.

“What’s going on here?”

Gu Cang was somewhat surprised. Wu Nan glanced at him, a flicker of brightness in his eyes, then changed direction and hurried toward him.