Chapter 265: Chapter 262: Radiant Star Wood

In the sky between Flying Snow City and Silver Moon City.

A streak of dark silver Escape Light was speeding by. Upon closer inspection, one would find that within the light was actually a Flying Ship several dozen feet long.

And at the prow of the Flying Ship, a figure in a pale blue Magic Robe stood with a calm expression.

It was none other than Li Ping, who had left Flying Snow City not long ago.

After leaving Flying Snow City, he didn’t head directly south across the Desert Grassland to return to the Western Wilderness. Instead, he flew north toward Silver Moon City.

This was, of course, not some brilliant, counter-intuitive maneuver.

Earth is round, but the Cultivation Realm is not. Heading south by going north was utterly impossible here.

In truth, the reason he was heading north was to retrieve a treasure.

What treasure?

It was the Tier Three Materials that Gao Ji Master had promised him!

According to Gao Ji Taoist, the amount of Tier Three Spiritual Materials he had hidden in his treasury was more than enough to craft a Tier Three Lower Grade Puppet.

After Li Ping returned to the Western Wilderness this time, he would find the right opportunity to switch to cultivating the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Secret Scripture.

Switching between main Cultivation Techniques of different attributes was not much different from dissipating one’s cultivation and starting over. When that happened, he would likely experience a period of weakness.

If he had a Tier Three Puppet for protection during that time, his own safety would be much better guaranteed. Therefore, he absolutely had to craft the Tier Three Puppet in advance.

Gao Ji Taoist’s treasury was located beneath a glacier less than 30,000 kilometers from Silver Moon City.

Li Ping believed these Spiritual Materials were well worth the trip.

...

Standing at the prow of the Flying Ship and looking down at the world of ice and snow below, Li Ping’s expression suddenly shifted. He slapped the Spirit Beast Pouch at his waist.

SLAP!

The Earth Spirit Rat rolled out of the Spirit Beast Pouch. Its small, beady eyes looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings in a daze, as if it couldn’t understand what was happening.

Li Ping shook his head slightly. He reached a hand into the Storage Bag at his waist, and when he pulled it out, a pale golden fruit was already resting in his palm.

This was the thousand-year Bloodline Fruit he had grown while experimenting with the special effects of his second floating island during his seclusion in Flying Snow City.

A thousand-year-old Bloodline Fruit could purify the bloodline of a Tier Three Demon Beast, making it an exceptionally rare Celestial and Earthly Treasure for them.

However, this Bloodline Fruit was useless for the Desolate Fire Sparrow. The trace of Vermilion Bird bloodline within the sparrow would allow it to reach Tier Four or even Tier Five, whereas the Bloodline Fruit, even a thousand-year one, was only effective for Tier Three bloodlines.

Take the Earth Spirit Rat, for example. Its bloodline could, in reality, only support its cultivation up to the Tier Two Late Stage. Breaking through to Tier Three was an incredibly difficult task for it.

However, the Earth Spirit Rat was skilled at finding Celestial and Earthly Treasures. This was a unique talent separate from its bloodline, which was another matter entirely.

Li Ping planned to feed this thousand-year Bloodline Fruit to the Earth Spirit Rat for it to refine. Once it digested the fruit’s medicinal power, its chances of breaking through to Tier Three in the future would certainly increase.

SNIFF...

The moment Li Ping took out the thousand-year Bloodline Fruit, the Earth Spirit Rat instantly perked up. Its tiny nostrils twitched continuously; it had clearly smelled the aura of a Treasure.

Finally, its small eyes fixated on the palm of Li Ping’s hand.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

The Earth Spirit Rat grew excited. It stood up on its hind legs and repeatedly bowed with its slender forelimbs, trying to beg for the Bloodline Fruit. ’Please, great master! This little rat wants to improve so badly!’

Sensing the message transmitted from the Earth Spirit Rat’s consciousness, Li Ping couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.

He shook his head and tossed the Bloodline Fruit directly to the Earth Spirit Rat, instructing, "Take this Spirit Fruit and refine it well."

A moment later, he put the Earth Spirit Rat, which had swallowed the Bloodline Fruit, back into the Spirit Beast Pouch.

Li Ping then reached behind him and took out a bulging, ice-blue Storage Bag.

This Storage Bag had belonged to Long Jie, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Cloud Sect.

Over thirty years ago, Mu Yun Master had fallen, and Flying Snow City was thrown into chaos.

While Li Ping was out avoiding the turmoil, he happened to run into Long Jie, who was returning from looting the Flying Snow Sect. After a great battle, Long Jie died by his Dharma Artifact, and the Storage Bag naturally fell into his hands.

However, there was a precious Spiritual Object inside Long Jie’s Storage Bag that had been stolen from the Flying Snow Sect. Li Ping worried that the Flying Snow Sect might have left a tracking mark on it.

With a guilty conscience, he didn’t even open Long Jie’s Storage Bag, let alone inspect the Spiritual Object inside. Instead, he buried the Storage Bag and its contents in a hidden spot outside the city.

It wasn’t until now, as he was preparing to leave the Land of the Far North, that he conveniently dug up the Storage Bag.

In those thirty years, the Flying Snow Sect had never found the Storage Bag. It seemed his earlier caution had been excessive, leading to a lot of wasted effort and unnecessary worry.

’Just what kind of Spiritual Object is it?’ Li Ping was very curious about the item in the Storage Bag.

This Spiritual Object must have been very important to the Flying Snow Sect. After it was lost, Shi Yutong had even specifically asked Xiao Yunzhi to help retrieve it after killing Long Jie.

However, since Long Jie had long since died at Li Ping’s hands, her plan had naturally come to nothing.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

Aboard the speeding Flying Ship, Li Ping held the Storage Bag and gave it a shake. A large pile of materials, Dharma Artifacts, and other items poured out, forming a small mound.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the surfaces of some Dharma Artifacts were still stained with traces of blood. Clearly, these artifacts had not been acquired through legitimate means.

Of the many Tier Two Materials in Long Jie’s Storage Bag, Li Ping kept some of the Spirit Medicines to refine into Cultivation Elixirs. He put everything else back into Long Jie’s Storage Bag, planning to sell it all for cash after arriving in Silver Moon City.

After all this was done, the only thing left in Li Ping’s sight was a Jade Box covered in Sealing Spirit Talismans.

With an expressionless face, he made a slight beckoning gesture. Under the control of his Magical Power, the Jade Box rose into the air and floated into his hand.

Li Ping gently swept a hand across the surface of the Jade Box. The Sealing Spirit Talismans fell away one by one, revealing the box itself.

CLICK.

With a crisp sound, the Jade Box opened, revealing its contents.

It was a bare, vibrant stalk, a little over a foot tall and brimming with Spiritual Qi. Its roots at the bottom were as gnarled and powerful as coiling dragons. The gold-and-silver-streaked trunk was covered in dense, mystical patterns that glimmered with specks of starlight.

’The Spiritual Object Long Jie stole was a Spirit Medicine? Or is it a Spirit Wood?’ Li Ping silently guessed to himself.

However, after examining it for a moment, he couldn’t identify the Spiritual Object at all. After some thought, he decided to phone a friend.

SHING!

The Mustard Seed Realm appeared in his other hand.

Li Ping held the Jade Box in one hand and the Mustard Seed Realm in the other. He smiled and asked, "Senior Gao Ji, I wonder if you can recognize the origin of this Spiritual Object."

"A Spiritual Object, you say? Let me have a look," Gao Ji Taoist’s voice came from within the Mustard Seed Realm.

But his voice quickly turned to surprise. "Huh? No, that’s not right! Fellow Daoist Li, you’ve broken through to the Core Formation Stage!"

Before entering seclusion to attempt Core Formation, Li Ping had "locked Gao Ji Taoist in a dark room," only letting him out now. That was why Gao Ji Taoist lost his composure upon sensing the change in Li Ping’s aura.

Li Ping smiled and nodded. "Your eyes do not deceive you, Senior. This junior was indeed fortunate enough to form a Golden Core not long ago."

"There’s no such thing as luck in Core Formation. It took me countless hardships to reach this step back in my day," Gao Ji Taoist said with a sigh, clearly unimpressed by Li Ping’s modesty.

Seeing him seemingly lost in memories, Li Ping smiled and said, "We can talk about Core Formation later. For now, could I ask you to help me identify this Spiritual Object in my hand, Senior?"

"What’s the rush," Gao Ji Taoist grumbled, but he stopped reminiscing about his glory days and began to examine the Spiritual Object in the Jade Box.

But as he looked, he fell silent.

After a long while, Gao Ji Taoist finally spoke in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist Li, where did you get this Radiant Star Wood? If the ancient texts I’ve read are correct, this type of Spirit Wood should have gone extinct in the Cultivation Realm long ago."

’Radiant Star Wood?’ Li Ping keenly caught the name Gao Ji Taoist used for the Spirit Wood in his hand.

Gao Ji Taoist spoke with a sigh of admiration, "Yes. This is a renowned celestial treasure of the Cultivation Realm. Although I knew of its existence, this is the first time I have ever seen it in person."

"A celestial treasure?" Upon hearing this, Li Ping first froze, then was overcome with joy.

To craft the All Heaven Star Banner, he needed a star-attribute Spirit Wood as the main material!

Suppressing his excitement, Li Ping smiled and asked, "Senior, could you tell me what’s so special about this Radiant Star Wood?"

"But of course. Even if you hadn’t asked, I would have told you everything I know," Gao Ji Taoist’s voice came from within the Mustard Seed Realm.

Then, he began to tell Li Ping about the Radiant Star Wood, a top-tier, star-attribute Spirit Wood.

Gao Ji Taoist spoke at length, while Li Ping listened quietly, nodding slightly from time to time.

According to Gao Ji Taoist, his knowledge of the Radiant Star Wood actually came from a volume of the Chronicles of Observation he had read in his early years. The author of the chronicles was named Qian Ji Master.

Qian Ji Master loved Magical Treasures more than anything. After achieving Nascent Soul Formation, he traveled the Cultivation Realm, gathering information on powerful Magical Treasures, which he compiled into an illustrated catalog named the Universal Treasure Chronicles.

For some of the Magical Treasures Qian Ji Master cataloged, detailed crafting methods survived; for others, only legends remained.

The crafting method for the Sun and Moon Ring Magical Treasure that Gao Ji Taoist had previously given to Xiao Yunzhi came from this very catalog.

However, according to Qian Ji Master’s rankings, the Sun and Moon Ring was only in the lower-middle tier of the Universal Treasure Chronicles. The ones that truly ranked at the top were Spirit Treasures from ancient legends!

Among them, ranked seventh by Qian Ji Master, was the Ninefold Profound Celestial Treasure Tower, the personal Spirit Treasure of a legendary figure from antiquity.

Legend says this treasure was forged by using nine types of top-tier Spirit Wood—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Ice, and Star (Light)—to cast each of the tower’s nine levels, fusing the nine powers into one.

Once unleashed, it could break through almost any technique!

Each of the nine top-tier Spirit Woods had a frighteningly impressive origin.

And the wood used to forge the Star level of the tower was none other than the Radiant Star Wood.

According to the information Qian Ji Master had gathered, that legendary figure later ascended and left this realm, taking the personal Spirit Treasure with them. The method for crafting it was thus lost to time.

Of course, even if it hadn’t been lost...

...no one would be able to gather all nine top-tier Spirit Woods to re-forge the Magical Treasure anyway.

Because these Spirit Woods were now all but extinct.

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