Unfortunately, until Ancestor Li Zhan ascended to the celestial realm, no descendants in the Li Family showed good aptitude for cultivation. The few Mixed Spirit Root Clan members barely had any Divine Sense.
Disappointed, Ancestor Zhan was also concerned that after his departure, should his descendants lack the power, the Spirit Stones and Magic Treasures within the Jade Pendant, once exposed, could not only fail to safeguard their resources but also invite disaster upon the clan.
So, he deliberately made the Jade Pendant appear ugly and left behind the ancestral instruction "To be passed down through the generations, fated to those with destiny," hoping that when a future generation grew strong enough, they would uncover the secret of the world-class Spiritual Pendant.
However, man's plans never surpass the heavens'. Not long after Ancestor Zhan's ascension, the process of transforming Chaos Qi, expected to last millennia, suddenly accelerated. Within a hundred years, Chaos Qi was completely replaced by Spiritual Energy.
Without the guide of Chaos Qi, even if the Li Family had begun to stand out in the cultivation world, they couldn't unlock its internal space.
Thus, the secret of the world-class Spiritual Pendant lay dormant in the annals of time until it reached the hands of the current Jade Nurturer, Li Xing, who traversed into a world where Spiritual Power and Chaotic Power coexisted.
After reading the handwritten notes of Ancestor Zhan, Li Xing couldn't help but develop a deep admiration and respect for this exceptionally talented ancestor.
To start with nothing and, through sheer determination, master not one but two of the most resource-intensive professions in the cultivation world, protecting a family considered feeble with only the highest combat power at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Even after his ascension, his influence and benevolent fate continued to guide the family's steady growth until it transformed into a formidable cultivation force. What remarkable character!
Putting down the Jade Scroll, Li Xing respectfully opened the first chest. With a "clank," a cool sensation spread over his feet. Looking down, he saw white, glistening Spirit Stones, round and smooth, the size of a child's fist, spilling over the floor like a tide.
"This, this is—supreme-grade Spirit Stones?"
Li Xing was dumbfounded; in the age of declining magic, Spirit Stones were increasingly rare, and supreme-grade ones were legendary rarities. Never had he imagined that one day he would stand ankle-deep in supreme-grade Spirit Stones as abundant as seawater.
Exhilarating—!
Excited, Li Xing opened twenty more chests to find them all filled with Spirit Stones. Among them, three-fifths were supreme-grade, the rest top-grade, with a rough estimate reaching hundreds of trillions. How many Spirit Vein mines had to be exhausted to gather these?
Such wealth of Spirit Stones, in the world outside, let alone the age of declining magic, would overturn the cultivation world's structure even in the era of Ancestor Zhan's practice.
Li Xing secretly lamented the misfortune of the Li Family ancestors for not unlocking the Jade Pendant sooner. Otherwise, even a clan of five Spirit Roots could leverage these Spirit Stones to transcend into Divinity Transformation or even Tribulation Crossing.
Alas, regret now serves no purpose. Even she, confronted with so many Spirit Stones, feels as disheartened as a eunuch visiting a brothel—her Dantian shattered, rendering her utilization of supreme-grade Spirit Stones less effective than eating a bowl of green rice.
Pain and joy intermingled, Li Xing continued to unbox.
The next chest was filled with Jade Scrolls and talismans, containing a plethora of Cultivation Techniques, Dan formulas, talisman books, Array Maps, Artifact Refining, Travel Records, Biographies, and more, a diverse assortment of everything imaginable. It seemed this was the library Ancestor Zhan prepared for future generations.
The following chest contained only two items: an imposing and mighty saber, and a Medicine Cauldron barely larger than an incense burner.
Li Xing first extended his Divine Sense towards the saber. The blade was broad and entirely black with golden cloud patterns, a blood groove running through it. The collar was engraved with auspicious cloud patterns in Red Essence Copper, and the handle was wrapped in Red Flood Dragon Skin, its pommel sculpted into a fierce Blue-faced, Tooth-baring Sky Wolf head.
Turning to the Medicine Cauldron, Li Xing found it hard to describe its color—too light to be gray, yet not entirely black—but it resembled soot colored from years of exposure to smoke and fire.
The cauldron's surface was smooth and devoid of any ornamental patterns. A ring of some unknown burnt material formed a crust, tightly adhering to the base, similar to the soot at the bottom of rural cauldrons, replacing the usual three legs of a standard Medicine Cauldron, helping it stand sturdily on the ground.
Rumor had it Ancestor Zhan wielded two handy Magic Treasures, the Heavenly Wolf Saber and Shennong Cauldron—indeed, they must be these two!
Li Xing was overjoyed. She knew little about the Heavenly Wolf Saber, but as a Dan Cultivator, the name Shennong Cauldron was legendary. Crafted from a meteorite beyond the domain, its size varied as desired—capable of swallowing the sun and moon or shrinking to a mustard seed. Using it for Alchemy increased the rate of successful Elixir creation by at least thirty percent compared to ordinary Medicine Cauldrons.
After acquiring the Shennong Cauldron, Ancestor Zhan's Alchemy skills leaped several levels, earning him a reputation as a leader among Dan Cultivators.
In the fiercely competitive cultivation world, cultivators vie against each other and the heavens alike, ensuring all carry healing and rejuvenating Elixirs.
Everyone sought high-quality, reasonably-priced Elixirs, and Ancestor Zhan, as an honest seller, quickly amassed a loyal following.
The Li Family's cultivation resources were forged by Ancestor Zhan one Elixir batch at a time.
Leaving behind the Heavenly Wolf Saber and Shennong Cauldron, Ancestor Zhan surely hoped his successors would inherit his legacy and not squander the foundation of the Li Family's establishment. Li Xing carefully placed the Heavenly Wolf Saber and Shennong Cauldron back, secretly vowing not to let Ancestor Zhan down.
The next chest was the strangest of all, densely covered in seals with something extraordinary sealed within. Yet, the seal was not difficult to break; simply removing the strip would suffice.
Since Ancestor Zhan left behind such an easily breakable seal, what lay inside must not pose a significant threat to the Li Family descendants. Li Xing, after brief contemplation, reached out and peeled off the strip.
As the lid opened, a surge of heat rushed out, and amidst the heat waves, a bright flame shot up from the chest, circling around Li Xing's Divine Sense enthusiastically.
"Abnormal Fire!"
The Li Family's Abnormal Fire could only be requested from the clan's treasury for Nascent Soul cultivators to nurture in their Dantian. With her cultivation lacking, Li Xing had only been able to admire it from afar.
In the clan, even oil lamp-sized Abnormal Fire was considered top-grade. The one before her was as large as a basketball, resembling a lotus bud.
Sensing Li Xing's Divine Sense observing it, the Abnormal Fire grew even more excited. Its flaming petals unfolded layer upon layer, shifting hues between red, orange, purple, cyan, and white.
Li Xing's eyes sparkled with stars: "—Wow!"
After the Abnormal Fire showcased itself from all angles and saw no response from Li Xing, it grew anxious. A spark shot at Li Xing, who couldn't dodge in time, felt a sharp pain in her Divine Sense, then sensed a connection.
"It recognized me as its master?"
Li Xing was astonished. It was said that Abnormal Fire was wild and difficult to tame—why did this one take the initiative, even seeming eager?
Li Xing glanced into the chest, seeing it full of egg-like containers. It was unclear whether the contents had hatched or shattered by some force, with no complete eggs remaining, only fragments.
Li Xing muttered, "Could it be that the Abnormal Fire hatched from the eggs? But with so many eggshells, how did only one emerge?"
The basket fire swirled around Li Xing's head, while in her Divine Sense, a childish voice echoed: "Not one, but 3,000!"
Li Xing: (((;꒪ꈊ꒪;)))!