Chapter 2251 — What Treasure

When they reached the cave, the Heaven-Rank Madman collapsed where he stood and fell asleep—that fight had truly worn him out. Wei Zhao had only healed the old man's wounds without channeling any true qi into him; after all, since the Heaven-Rank Madman did not circulate the cultivation mantra of his internal art to draw in spiritual energy of his own accord, there was no way for Wei Zhao to force true qi into him.

Besides, Wei Zhao had no wish to make too shocking a display. The Heaven-Rank Madman was merely injured and greatly drained of stamina—a depletion of that sort was natural and would recover with rest. Wei Zhao's own expenditure of true qi, by contrast, was a real loss, and one that could not be replenished by simple rest.

Looking at the old man sprawled out in sleep, Wei Zhao shook his head helplessly, then pointed at the small iron box in Sun Jingyan's hands, signaling for her to open it and see.

Sun Jingyan had in fact been curious all along as to what could possibly be inside that little iron box, that it should drive the Grand Protector to snatch at it so frantically.

Wei Zhao, of course, had more on his mind: for the treasure in this box to have brought about the annihilation of Uncle Qing's sect, it must be something truly extraordinary!

"Can I open it? It won't be like the ginseng fruit in Journey to the West, will it—the moment it touches the ground, it's gone? What if the thing inside spoils or loses its power the instant I open the box?" Now that the moment had come, Sun Jingyan hesitated.

Deep down she felt a touch of regret. The box surely held some treasure, but what she had hoped for was a clue to her parents—that was why she had come here, to search for a trace of them. Had she known it was a precious treasure, she would not have been so eager to come with Wei Zhao.

In the end, they had nearly lost their lives here. Had noble people and noble beasts not come to their aid time and again, the two of them would likely have perished on the spot.

"Of course you can. You've certainly got an imagination—where would you find anything that magical?" Wei Zhao laughed.

"Then... you help me..." Sun Jingyan hesitated a moment, then handed the small iron box to Wei Zhao.

"All right, I'll open it for you." Smiling, Wei Zhao took the box.

"If... if the thing inside is ruined, you'll have to compensate me," Sun Jingyan said.

"Ha... and how would I compensate you?" Wei Zhao laughed. "Isn't that a bit unfair? I'm doing you a favor!"

"I don't care. Though I haven't decided yet how you'll compensate me." A faint blush rose to Sun Jingyan's cheeks, and she glanced at Wei Zhao nervously, afraid he might see through her thoughts.

This trip to the Ulanghot Mountains had drawn the two of them considerably closer. Sun Jingyan suddenly found that Wei Zhao was really quite wonderful! No wonder so many girls liked him—should she perhaps upgrade herself to one of his lovers?

But then she reflected that even if she wanted to upgrade herself now, it would probably be difficult. There were plenty of women around Wei Zhao already, and several more queued up waiting their turn!

Never mind Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu—even Qiu Lingshan had long since taken a number. That left Sun Jingyan unable to make up her mind; if she were rejected, wouldn't she lose face badly?

What was more, Sun Jingyan could not be sure whether this was a passing rush of gratitude and impulse, or whether she had truly fallen for Wei Zhao.

Forget it. Don't overthink it—take it one step at a time.

Sun Jingyan sighed.

"Fine. Then if it really is ruined, I'll compensate you once you've made up your mind." Wei Zhao thought nothing of it, taking her words for a joke, and picked up the small iron box to examine it.

On top of the box was a mechanism made of a small iron clasp. Wei Zhao pressed it lightly, the mechanism sprang open, and the lid rose of its own accord.

What met Wei Zhao's eyes was a pure white, crystalline stone!

The stone's appearance was most peculiar—like a piece of jade, or perhaps a piece of glass, and yet neither!

In his search for pure yellow jade, blue crystal powder, and other materials for refining jade pendants, Wei Zhao had consulted a great many texts, yet he had never seen such a strange substance—jade-like yet not jade, crystal-like yet not crystal. It resembled amber somewhat, and yet it was not amber either.

"What a beautiful stone!" Sun Jingyan could not help exclaiming at the sight of the strange stone in the box in Wei Zhao's hands.

"It certainly is beautiful." Wei Zhao nodded, but his attention was not fixed on how lovely the stone was. Something hailed as the treasure of a sect could not be prized merely for its beauty; to these ancient sects and cultivators, however beautiful gold and silver and jewels might be, they were still just gold and silver and jewels—mere external possessions, of no great use!

Money could be earned anywhere; there was no need to muster a great force, come to an ancient sect to rob and kill for a treasure, still less to leave a Heaven-Rank expert guarding this place for so many years, just to wait for someone of that sect to return and retrieve it.

So this thing was surely not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Only—what use was it?

Wei Zhao reached out and carefully took the strange stone from the box, weighed it in his hand, and examined it closely.

The stone felt very cold to the touch, and yet it gave Wei Zhao a curiously familiar sensation. His heart stirred faintly, as though he and the stone had exchanged some slight interaction, some resonance—which surprised him.

"What is it?" Seeing Wei Zhao frown, Sun Jingyan asked at once. "What on earth is this thing?"

"I don't know yet..." Wei Zhao shook his head, carefully savoring that fleeting sensation. It had come and gone in an instant, leaving him unable to catch hold of it.

Seeing Wei Zhao sunk in thought, Sun Jingyan did not disturb him. She sat quietly to one side, hugging her knees, waiting for his answer.

So much had happened in the past two days. It had brought Sun Jingyan and Wei Zhao closer, and at the same time left her both physically and mentally exhausted. This journey through the Ulanghot Mountains had been simply too perilous; even now it made her shudder with lingering fear.

Wei Zhao, unable to recapture that faint sensation, reached out and grasped the stone, slowly channeling his true qi into it... In that instant, a flicker of surprise crossed his face! The stone actually repelled the true qi he sent into it!

And when Wei Zhao circulated the mantra of his internal art, a continuous stream of true qi came surging out of the stone and into his body!

In that moment, Wei Zhao finally understood: this stone was much like his own jade-pendant space—it could supply a cultivator with an unending flow of energy!

Of course, compared with the energy in the jade-pendant space, the stone's energy was like a drop in the bucket—nowhere near as pure, and its transfer far slower... (To be continued)