-------------------------------------------------------
Ding!
Notification: You've managed to stir the emotions of numerous powerful figures, each with their own grand destinies.
Rewards:
➤ A hefty 500,000 emotion points.
Bonus Reward:
➤ A Cultivation Encyclopedia covering up to the Lower Holy Domain.
-------------------------------------------------------
The numbers flared before my eyes, twinkling like stars tumbling through a midnight sky. Five million cultivation points. All in one breathtaking sweep. My chest swelled with a rush of exhilaration, and a crooked grin slipped onto my lips. It was colossal—almost too vast for even me to grasp. But then the bonus reward blinked into sight, and the warmth flooding my face turned to ash.
— An encyclopedia for the Lower Holy Domain? Is this some kind of joke? — I thought, my brow creasing in frustration. I'd long surpassed that realm. It was nothing more than a tattered old tome gathering dust on a forgotten shelf—utterly useless. The points, though… those were the real prize. Each one carried ten times its weight in cultivation potential. Five million could hurl me straight into the Upper Holy Domain. Yet a nagging truth gnawed at me: my body craved more than raw power, my soul hungered for readiness. This wasn't just about piling up strength—I had to temper myself for the ascent.
The hall thrummed with a restless energy, a swarm of muted voices and ravenous gazes. Envy danced in their eyes, tinged with curiosity and a whisper of dread. I let it slide past me. The festivities still concealed hidden gambits, and I wasn't about to stand idle.
Pulling myself from my reverie, I found the world unchanged. The air hung heavy, thick with stares that tracked us like hawks on the hunt. Every word we spoke was a golden thread to them, precious and coveted.
— "Nael, I didn't bring any gift," — Elowen tossed the words into the air, her tone breezy, almost teasing, as if being dubbed his servant were a private jest between them.
She bowed to no one, and that unyielding spirit hooked me. Nael, ever the frost-clad fortress, remained unmoved.
— "And since when is not having a gift a problem?" — he replied, his voice a chill blade, his face an unreadable mask.
— "It'll look weird. Everyone else offering something, and me standing here, empty-handed," — she shot back, arms folding, a stubborn gleam flickering in her eyes.
The hall seemed to hold its breath, every corner taut with the sense that something was about to fracture. Before the silence could choke the life from the room, a faint voice—soft as a sigh—pierced the tension. It was Wang Ai, her smile a veiled riddle, revealing little and hiding much.
— "I like her," she said, her words a fleeting beam cutting through a storm-laden sky.
Her brother beside her went rigid in an instant, eyes widening, sweat beading on his brow as if her simple remark might set the ground ablaze. The rest of us watched, hearts pounding, poised for what might come next.
Nael didn't so much as flinch. He turned his head with deliberate slowness, his gaze drifting to some unreachable horizon.
— "If I don't have anything, that's no surprise. Since I awakened, I've gained nothing worthwhile," he murmured, his voice low and parched, like wind scraping over withered leaves.
Elowen, her stare sharp enough to slice, pointed at his finger without a moment's pause.
— "But you're wearing a storage ring. There must be something in there."
Nael let out a brief sigh—almost a dry chuckle—and tugged the ring free with a swift flick of his hand.
— "Take it."
The hall froze. The ring didn't fall; it lingered in the air, obstinate, as if it had a soul of its own and refused to abandon its master. When it stilled, I saw it: pitch-black, twin dragon heads etched into the metal, their eyes locked in an eternal duel. Odd lines traced its surface, pulsing faintly, as though the ring drew breath.
I reached for it. The air thickened, pressing against me, and the ring darted back—swift as a startled bird evading a snare. A hushed gasp rippled through the crowd. Elowen tilted her head, eyes alight with fascination. My pulse hammered in my ears, blood surging hot through my veins.
Nael stood motionless, but his gaze fell on the ring—icy, vacant, yet edged with command. The ring obeyed, halting its flight and hovering meekly. When I reached again, it was as if the universe itself shoved me back. My arms quaked, cold sweat trickled down my skin, and the hall blurred, time stretching into an endless heartbeat.
Then it gave way. The metal brushed my skin, warm and alive, sending a shiver racing up my spine. Before I could catch my breath, a voice erupted in my mind—feminine, gravelly, brimming with fury.
— "Who the hell do you think you are to hold me like this?"
It felt as if I'd kicked down the gates of a forbidden realm. My eyes widened, my chest seized. Elowen stepped closer, her voice a reverent whisper laced with awe.
— "Spiritual… He has a treasure spirit."
The hall trembled with a swelling tide of murmurs. This wasn't just a ring. It was a living entity, worth more than gold, more than vows.
-------------------------------------------------------
Ding!
Notification: You have acquired an Innate Chaos Treasure: Dimensional Ring.
Reward:
➤ 1 billion destiny points.
Bonus Reward:
➤ 1 Semi-Immortal Herb
➤ 10 Great Emperor Herbs
➤ 100 Emperor Herbs
➤ 1,000 King Level Herbs
➤ 10,000 Upper Holy Level Herbs
➤ 100,000 Lower Holy Level Herbs
➤ …
-------------------------------------------------------
The words scorched through my mind, a thunderbolt that nearly toppled me. One billion destiny points. The sheer scale of it loomed like a titan, too immense to fully seize. And the herbs—a bounty vast enough to purchase mountains, to forge empires from dust. My vision spun, the floor swayed beneath me, but I steadied myself, the ring an anchor on my finger.
I glanced at it, then at Nael. He stood there, still as a windless sea, his face smooth and untroubled. As if he'd handed me a worn rag instead of a key to chaos. But I knew. He knew. This was a tremor masquerading as a stone.
The hall pulsed with restless breath, every eye fixed on me. They didn't fully comprehend, but they felt it—the air had shifted, grown denser, more vibrant. A lopsided smile tugged at my lips.
— Let's see how far this takes us, — I thought, the ring's heat a steady pulse against my skin.
We were in the thick of it now, and luck would have to swallow us whole.
The hall lay shrouded in a silence so deep it seemed to clutch its own breath. A thick, tangible stillness, as if the air had hardened into lead. No one grasped the full weight of what had just unfolded, but the sensation was unmistakable—something colossal, something transformative, had erupted among us. Gazes darted across the room, sparking with unspoken questions, yearning for a word or gesture to shatter the charged hush.
I let a faint smile slip free as I mulled over the rewards blazing in my mind. It wasn't mere relief—it was conviction. We were on the right path. These weren't just scraps; they were a lifeline, a golden chance for Nael and me. We hadn't been born with prodigious gifts or unrivaled might, but this? This could balance the scales. Still, the herbs I now held were only a beginning—a scattering of seeds on arid ground. They wouldn't last. But the destiny points? One hundred quadrillion. A number that twisted the mind into knots yet planted my feet firmly on solid earth.
I looked down at the storage ring on my finger. It thrummed, almost beckoning me closer.
— Well, let's see what we can unearth here, — I mused, sensing something monumental lay within.
— "Hey, ring spirit, I need your help," — I called, my voice steady but firm, braced for her inevitable griping.
— "You again?! Don't you ever get tired of bothering me?" — Her voice slashed through my thoughts, sharp with irritation and a trace of exhaustion.
— "Trust me, I'm not fond of this either, but now's not the time for squabbles. You know we can do this quick and easy, or slow and tedious. Up to you."
A long sigh rumbled in my head, weighty as a far-off storm.
— "Alright, alright. What do you want?" — she relented, reluctance dripping from every syllable.
— "A decent gift for someone in the King Domain. Nothing ordinary. And please, no whining while I pick."
— "'Decent,' he says. Like it's that easy. Fine, give me a second," — she huffed, but the ring quivered on my finger, a soft glow kindling within.
When the treasures emerged, it was like lifting a curtain to a dazzling new realm. They shimmered, each with its own tale, but one snared me completely. It was the kind of marvel that stopped your heart, that made even the mightiest catch their breath and rethink everything.
Elowen drifted forward, her steps light as if she floated, yet her eyes burned with a fierce intensity. She raised her hand, and the black ring—etched with those twin dragons—cast a cold, piercing light, an aura that iced the hall.
— "This will be my gift to the Peak Master," — she said, her voice weaving provocation with poise, her bow a subtle nod to her own strength rather than deference.
A bluish glow spilled from the ring, frigid as a breeze from a lost mountain. Slowly, it shaped itself: a sword. No common blade—this was Great Emperor tier. The air around it shivered, as if begging not to be sundered. You could sense it had once been greater, that time had chipped away at its luster, yet it stood majestic, impossible to overlook.
The hall fell mute. Mouths gaped, eyes stretched wide. No one had seen this coming—not from Elowen, who'd been a quiet wraith among us until now. But there, wielding that sword, she was something else entirely.
Mei Xiu, the Peak Master, approached with poised elegance, her eyes aglow with a brilliance I'd never witnessed. She took the sword, fingers gliding over the hilt like greeting an old companion. For a moment, she lingered, silent, the weapon's aura melding with hers. Then—rare and radiant—she smiled.
— "I sincerely thank you for this gift," — she said, her voice tender yet rich with warmth, her slight bow carrying a hint of humility.
The silence crashed like a stone, only to be overtaken by a rising buzz of murmurs. Treasures like this were fables, whispered about but never beheld. Now it rested in the Peak Master's hands, as if it were nothing extraordinary. True, Nael's offering had been otherworldly, beyond this plane's grasp. But Elowen's act—no one would forget it soon. Eyes flicked between her and Nael, probing for the truth of who they were.
Nael watched, his face a slab of stone, not a flicker of motion. Yet Elowen caught something in his gaze—a brief spark, perhaps a silent well done, or just the blankness of one who'd already glimpsed the tale's end.
The voices swelled, blending shock and awe, but Elowen held her ground. She stood tall, her gaze sweeping the hall like she owned it. And in that moment, she did.
The air grew heavy, laden with secrets the walls clutched tight. Spiritual lamps threw jagged shadows across the faces, each glint murmuring: something had changed here, and its depth was yet unfathomed.
The hall quaked beneath the jade lamps' gentle glow, a verdant shimmer rippling along the walls like water in a still lake. But peace was absent. The air crackled, sliced by glances that sparked like embers on dry tinder. Whispers slithered among the guests, hushed and restrained, as if no one dared breathe too loudly.