Chapter 786: The Fire Stick and the Mysterious Beast Egg
The Lake of Treasures.
At the lake's edge, Mo Yu and his companions stared intently into its crystalline depths, their gazes sharp enough to pierce water and bone alike, as if they could will the hidden relics to reveal themselves.
"Let's begin," said Han Yue, licking his lips. "We've come all this way—now it's time to claim what we deserve."
Mo Yu and the others nodded immediately, eagerness flashing across their faces.
"Be careful not to touch the lake water," Han Yue reminded. "As for who gets what… that depends on fortune."
He moved first, stepping forward as his sleeve swept out in a grand motion. Spiritual energy surged like a raging sea, raising towering waves that revealed flashes of the immense white skeleton buried below.
Spotting a protruding bone, Han Yue landed upon it and sat cross-legged. Whirling gales of spirit power rose around him, shielding him from the lake's touch.
The three other Ximo experts followed suit, each claiming a section of exposed bone and settling into meditation without hesitation.
"Let's start too."
Mo Yu's figure flickered into the air above the vast lake. Gazing down, he could faintly see the outline of an enormous skeleton beneath the water—so massive that even death had not stripped away its ancient might.
"What a titan you must have been," he murmured, awe washing through him. Then he landed lightly atop a ridge of bone, cross-legged, and a shiver darted up his spine as the cold seeped into him.
"Let's see what kind of treasures you've left behind."
Closing his eyes, Mo Yu extended his spiritual sense, letting it creep along the cold bone, using it as an anchor to probe the depths below.
Almost immediately, an invisible weight pressed down from all directions. His perception dulled, its range narrowed by nearly ninety percent under the sharp, oppressive aura.
"So… it won't be that simple," he thought grimly.
He steadied himself and waited, focusing his energy. Impatience would mean failure.
As his spiritual sense ran along the colossal skeleton, Mo Yu realized the true scale of the creature in life.
By his estimation, the Treasure Beast had measured over a hundred thousand meters long—a mountain in motion. Even after countless ages, its bones remained harder than divine steel, far stronger than Mo Yu's own body.
If they weren't bound to this lake, their material alone could forge endless divine weapons.
Time slipped away. After half an hour of calm probing, Mo Yu's sense had only traversed about a thousand meters—barely a fraction of the beast's full size.
Then—something flickered ahead.
A strange pulse emanated from a portion of the bone.
He followed the vibration and discovered, embedded within, a gray dagger adorned with ancient runes. Faint blue light traced its edge; its aura was sharp enough to slice through thought itself.
"A divine weapon—top tier," Mo Yu murmured.
Though formidable, he dismissed it after a moment, withdrawing his mind. Such a treasure was beneath his current ambitions.
He pressed deeper, continuing his search.
The further he went, the more treasures he sensed — weapon after weapon, all of astonishing power. Every one rated as a top-grade divine artifact, with several bordering on the absolute peak.
Temptation brushed against his heart.
But then a chill ran through him, his instincts flaring in warning. He exhaled, suppressing the rising greed until his mind cleared. And as soon as that greed faded — the artifacts vanished, as if wiped from existence.
A mirage.
"Just as I thought," he mused, his wariness deepening. "The Treasure Beast was no fool. This is a test."
Had he seized those false treasures, he could only imagine the consequences — entrapment at best, destruction at worst.
He continued on carefully. The white bones around him faded, replaced by shifting darkness. It was as though his consciousness had entered another realm entirely.
Mo Yu remained calm — danger was absent, only silence and mystery.
Then, light bloomed.
Before him flowed a vast river of golden energy, filled with thousands of artifacts tumbling like stars in a current. The air pulsed with divine power.
Mo Yu's eyes widened. "So this is the treasury of the Treasure Beast…"
Countless weapons shimmered with celestial glow. Their combined value defied imagination; any one of them could create a sect, raise a dynasty.
A creature capable of refining not just weapons but relics had once lived here. Mo Yu could only sigh with admiration — and longing.
If only the Thunder Prison had such a being under its banner, its rise would be unstoppable.
But the age of the Treasure Beasts had long ended, most wiped out during the ancient wars against the Outer Demons. What few survived had vanished into myth.
As Mo Yu studied the glorious torrent, his eyes suddenly caught something—three radiant orbs suspended at the very heart of the flow.
Power radiated from them in waves, heavier and stronger than anything else in the current. Hundreds of divine weapons circled them reverently like subjects before their emperor.
"Three…?" Mo Yu's heart pounded.
The aura they released was so immense it made even his soul tremble — far beyond that of top-grade divine weapons.
"Quasi-sacred artifacts," he breathed.
Power that transcended the level of ordinary artifacts, touching upon sainthood itself.
Even his seasoned mind wavered with desire as his gaze burned toward the three.
Gradually, their forms became clear: a battle axe, a black ruler, and a stone mirror.
The axe was bronze, its surface engraved with scars of battle, as if it had split the heavens themselves.
The ruler was jet-black, swallowing all light that touched it — a void condensed into form.
The mirror appeared crude, its stony surface rough and ancient, yet it exuded unspeakable aura and depth.
Each one radiated raw, boundless energy. Together, their might was suffocating.
Mo Yu's breathing quickened. With even one of these, his strength would soar to new heights—an eighth-rank Supreme like Hei Yin Tian would fall with ease.
His composure cracked slightly, eyes blazing hot, greed whispering at the edges of his soul.
But then, recognition sparked in his gaze. He forced out a steady breath and sat back down, closing his eyes.
Calm.
He cleared his heart once more, suppressing desire until his consciousness settled into tranquility. Bit by bit, the pressure and allure faded away.
When he opened his eyes again, they were as still as calm waters, free of all longing.
And the glittering torrent of divine artifacts before him began to fade — vanishing like mist at dawn.
Illusions, every last one.
He watched them disappear without regret. When the brilliance finally died out, only the three quasi-sacred objects remained.
But even then, he did not move. Patience, not greed.
Long minutes passed. Then—
His purple-gold token began to vibrate violently.
Startled, Mo Yu retrieved it—the Primordial Ape Token, engraved with the four ancient characters for "Primordial Ancestral Ape."
As it emerged, golden light burst forth from its surface, shooting like a beam toward the three relics.
At once, the treasures responded. Their glow intensified, and slowly, impossibly, the three began to merge.
Mo Yu's eyes widened. The axe, ruler, and mirror fused together, melting into one blazing sphere of light.
When the radiance finally dimmed, two objects floated there instead.
Not three divine relics—only two simple items.
On the left, a plain black iron staff, just over a meter long. It exuded faint traces of ancient bestial power, yet looked utterly ordinary—something a villager might use to stoke a fire.
On the right, a beast egg, about the size of a human head, covered in strange glowing sigils. Its surface shimmered faintly, each line pulsing with mysterious life force.
The egg hung suspended, dark and still, yet the energy radiating from it stirred something primal in Mo Yu's soul.
He blinked in disbelief, muttering under his breath, "A… fire stick—and a beast egg?"
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10