"What a grand gesture. To casually give away an entire chest full of golden spirit crystals... The Celestials truly are formidable," Yi Tianxing remarked as he stepped forward, clicking his tongue in admiration.
Spirit crystal mines produced crystals of varying quality. The lowest grade was Black Iron Crystals—while richer in spiritual energy than ambient world energy, they ranked lowest in both quality and quantity.
Above them were the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and the rarest of all, Purple-Gold Crystals. According to legend, Purple-Gold Crystals could only be nurtured in Innate Crystal Mines, and even there, they were extremely rare. Unlike ordinary crystals, they were said to contain Innate Spiritual Energy, vastly superior in purity and power.
Such crystals were regarded as true treasures.
While Golden Crystals weren't as rare, they were still precious. Not only did they contain abundant and refined energy, but unless completely drained in one go, they could slowly absorb ambient world energy and replenish themselves—in effect, making them usable indefinitely. They were strategic resources for any major faction.
And here, there was an entire chest of them. The chest itself wasn't ordinary—it had been expanded using spatial techniques, appearing modest in size but holding ten to twenty times the volume inside.
"Three thousand golden-grade spirit crystals... The Celestials really are wealthy," Tong Huang said in surprise, blinking in disbelief.
Even the Great Yi Dynasty possessed golden crystals—plundered during years of conquest and warfare—but three thousand was a considerable portion of their own reserves.
This was no trivial sum.
Click.
The second chest was opened.
Inside were rows of jade boxes. Yi Tianxing picked one up and opened it, revealing something extraordinary—a spiritual fruit resembling a coconut. Strange symbols representing Celestials floated over its surface, forming sacred and ancient prayers.
"Celestial Fruit, containing Celestial Nectar—a specialty of the Celestial Race," Yi Tianxing immediately recognized it.
These fruits could only be cultivated from Celestial Treasure Trees, unique to the Celestial race. The inside was hollow and filled with nectar—Celestial Nectar, a miraculous substance known for its powerful effects on the body.
It could reforge the physique of children, enhancing their natural aptitude. Even an ordinary child, after soaking in this nectar, could transform into a prodigy—or even a once-in-a-generation genius.
This made Celestial Nectar renowned across myriad races. Many would routinely send envoys to seek even a single drop.
Each jade box contained one Celestial Fruit, and there were ten such boxes in this chest.
This gift was no less valuable than the golden spirit crystals.
"They're throwing money around like madmen," Yi Tianxing laughed.
Of course, he had no intention of refusing such gifts—what you eat becomes your own; everything else can wait.
Click.
The third chest opened.
Again, ten jade boxes lay inside.
"More Celestial Fruits?" Tong Huang asked curiously. "If so, we've struck gold."
"I doubt it," Yi Tianxing shook his head. "If it were the same, they wouldn't have put them in separate chests."
He opened a box—and inside was something completely different.
"It looks like... a wristwatch? Something like our communicators?" Tong Huang's eyes widened slightly.
Indeed, a transparent crystal device lay within—wrought entirely from refined crystal, etched with intricate rune patterns that glowed faintly with noble brilliance.
"Fascinating... Combat Power Wristwatch—a piece of rune-based tech from the Three-Eyed Clan," Yi Tianxing's eyes sparkled with interest. As he inspected it, the Wordless Heavenly Tome in his mind flashed, providing detailed insight into its functions.
"It can evaluate combat power?" Tong Huang asked. "By what standard? How is it measured?"
Yi Tianxing nodded. "Let's test it. You first."
"There's no danger. It only analyzes battle strength—no harm involved."
Tong Huang took one and strapped it to his wrist.
Instantly, he felt a prick of pain—a drop of blood fused with the watch, forming a subtle spiritual bond.
Runes lit up across the device. Within moments, a display appeared:
Combat Power: 60,000
The internal system followed a specific metric:
Ordinary humans, trained but not awakened, peaked at a value of 1.
Divine Sea Realm: 1–100
Life Aperture Realm: 100–1,000
Life Diagram Realm: 1,000–10,000
Dharma Aspect Realm: 10,000–100,000
Nascent Soul Realm: 100,000–1,000,000+
"Sixty thousand? So I haven't even reached the peak of Dharma Aspect Realm?" Tong Huang frowned. He suspected the device was inaccurate.
Yi Tianxing chuckled, "You're overthinking it. While the wristwatch provides a general reference, it can't account for everything. Techniques, secret arts, or even concealed cultivation can skew the results. Anyone who relies solely on this will die without even realizing how."
"In other words... it's not useless, but not reliable either?"
"Exactly. It's useful for gauging unknown enemies in the wilderness. At a glance, you'll know whether to fight or flee. It's a tool—not the truth."
With that, Yi Tianxing put one on.
The watch blinked.
Combat Power: 10
Ten!?
Naturally, this was because he had deliberately suppressed his aura, hiding his energy within his internal cauldrons. He made himself appear like an ordinary cultivator. It worked a little too well.
"Useless thing," Tong Huang muttered. "Anyone who trusts this on the battlefield is asking for death."
Suddenly, one of the communicators flashed.
Yi Tianxing activated it. A stream of light flowed from the device and transformed into a projection in front of them—a live feed from the Great Yi Palace.
Cai Yan appeared on the screen.
"My lord, do you have a moment?" she asked.
Yi Tianxing's expression shifted. "Did something happen?"
She rarely contacted him during important missions.
"It's Xiao Qian—she's gone into labor. The midwives are already there. Can you return before the baby is born?" Cai Yan asked urgently.