"It's the Purple-Gold Gourd!"
Liuyun replied with a bit of a headache. Alice tittered and added,
"It's the Purple-Gold Gourd — replica."
"Is there a difference?" Ningguang looked at Alice in puzzlement. Alice immediately turned serious.
"Of course there's a difference! The Sect Master's Pure World Glazed Bottle is a top-tier treasure, practically an incomparable artifact second only to celestial implements."
"But didn't the Sect Master just call it a replica?" Ningguang sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"The Sect Master's standards aren't necessarily our standards, are they?"
"Strictly speaking, the Pure World Glazed Bottle is said to be the magical implement of the great Daoyī powerhouse, the Guanyin Bodhisattva. Calling it a replica isn't wrong."
Alice huffed. "Then this Purple-Gold Gourd is even more of a replica! Do you know whose gourd the original belongs to?"
At that, Ningguang perked up. She'd been reading a lot about the cultivation world and even the celestial realms lately — she knew about deities like Nuwa. Anything tied to Nuwa would be no small matter.
"Taishang Laozu? Who's that?" Liuyun also leaned in, curious. She had crafted this gourd — Alice had narrated its lore and the item behaved strangely but effectively; the story had sounded convincing, but where did Alice get the information?
Alice put on a conspiratorial face and lowered her voice.
"This Purple-Gold Gourd has quite the origin. In the beginning, when chaos first split into Heaven and Earth, there was a primordial patriarch called Taishang Laozu who assisted Nuwa in mending the heavens, saving the mortal realms. At the foot of Kunlun, an immortal vine grew, bearing this purple-gold gourd, and the tale passed down through the ages."
"You guess which great god this gourd belongs to?"
Ningguang got interested — this sounded grand. She knew Nuwa's legend: a great creator deity who shaped humankind. Anything connected to Nuwa or the earliest immortals would be monumental.
"Taishang Laozu? Who's that?" Liuyun asked again. Ningguang, impatient, said, "Alice Elder, stop teasing."
"All right." Alice spread her hands.
"Taishang Laojun is one of the three highest Taoist deities — an incarnation of the Supreme Pure One, Daode Tianzun. He's a true great-roaming immortal, one of the mightiest among the great immortals. He represents the beginning of the Dao and everything primordial — the sovereign of the Great Way and the origin of all teachings. A heavenly being born before Heaven itself."
"Enough pedigree for you?" she grinned.
Ningguang frowned slightly and looked at the Purple-Gold Gourd in the Hall of Merit. After a pause she said softly,
"The origin of the Purple-Gold Gourd is indeed enormous — to the point I won't even imagine it. But… what does that have to do with the Purple-Gold Gourd Liuyun made? Do you mean to say Liuyun's gourd can be compared to that?"
The remark was blunt and a little rude, but Liuyun felt it keenly and watched Alice warily. "Alice Elder, don't mess with me! I'm only at late Refining Essence to Qi — how dare I compare to such a being?"
"I said replica!" Alice laughed and waved her hand.
"Relax. The great immortals don't bother with us. With so many worlds and countless people praying their names every day, they're far too busy. I'm only saying this: this Purple-Gold Gourd is really worth eight thousand contribution points! Given its abilities and similarity to the original, it's worth it!"
Ningguang regarded Alice curiously. "Really?"
"It's just that the effects are similar. The original Purple-Gold Gourd — even a Golden-immortal powerhouse trapped inside would be reduced to rot in a moment," Alice shrugged.
Ningguang didn't pay much mind to the hyperbole about the original; it didn't concern her. "Can I use it first, try it out?"
She looked to Liuyun. Liuyun nodded and took out the Purple-Gold Gourd.
Ningguang turned it over and over, then asked, "How do you use this?"
"I know! I know!" Alice perked up. She scanned the hall and happened to spot an outer-sect elder watching in the Hall of Merit, searching for a suitable treasure.
"Hey… that outer-sect elder — come here!"
The elder looked... puzzled, then pointed at himself. "Me?"
"Yes! You — come here!"
The Archon bounded over excitedly. "Alice Elder, did you call me for something?"
Alice patted his shoulder and gauged his strength; he was a mid-level Archon. After thinking it over — Ningguang being late Refining-Refining Essence into Qi meant it should be safe — Alice's expression turned kindly.
"I need you to help with an important test. I have a magic treasure to experiment with — would you assist?"
The Archon hesitated, then brightened when Alice added, "If it succeeds, I'll give you ten low-grade spirit stones!"
At those words his face instantly filled with righteous courage. All outer-sect elders were still only hearing about such stones, and ten low-grade spirit stones would give him a real boost over other mid-level Archons.
"Excellent!" Alice smiled approvingly. "What's your name?"
"Vashak!" he answered promptly. Alice nodded and turned to Ningguang.
"Later, open the mouth of the Purple-Gold Gourd and shout at him."
"Vashak, when I call your name, you must answer — understand?" Alice instructed. The procedure sounded odd, but Ningguang thought it amusing and nodded.
She took the gourd and faced Vashak. Gathering herself, she pointed the mouth at him and called out in as bold a voice as she could manage, "Vashak — when I say your name, do you dare answer?"
Vashak looked to Alice in confusion. "Alice Elder, am I supposed to say yes or no?"
Alice, exasperated, snapped, "Vashak is your name! Why won't you answer when someone calls your name?!"
"Oh—sorry, Alice Elder. One more time!" Vashak perked up and made a solemn face. Ningguang couldn't help feeling a little mortified, but under Alice's expectant look she shouted again.
"Vashak — when I call your name, do you dare answer?"
"I dare!" Vashak replied loudly. Immediately the Purple-Gold Gourd flashed with flowing light. A powerful suction burst forth and sucked the baffled Vashak straight into the gourd.
Ningguang blinked, surprised. She'd only used a tiny bit of true qi — yet it had drawn him in.
"It actually trapped him? Strange."
"Even though the usage is peculiar, it's a wondrous treasure." Alice beamed.
Ningguang shook the gourd. Alice said proudly, "See? Isn't this magic artifact amazing? I even asked the Sect Master about it for a long time to figure it out."
Ningguang nodded, then asked, "What if someone doesn't answer when you call them?"
Alice scratched her cheek, a little sheepish. "I don't think anyone would refuse, right?"
Ningguang fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "Five thousand."
"Five thousand is too little! Liuyun and I spent way more than five thousand on the materials!"
Alice looked resistant. Liuyun opened her mouth to speak but Alice cut her off. Ningguang pursed her lips and tried, "Then… five thousand and one?"
"Done!" Alice grabbed Ningguang's hand. Ningguang felt queasy — a business magnate of her standing had just been hustled by Alice. Such unpredictable people were the worst.
"Come, let me show you some other uses of the Purple-Gold Gourd." Alice looped her arm through Ningguang's and began happily explaining.
Liuyun raised a hand and said softly, "Have you forgotten something?"
"Huh?" Alice looked blank. Liuyun pointed at the gourd.
"If you don't let him out, he's going to liquefy in there."
Ningguang snapped to and hurriedly shook the gourd. "That's not how you use it! You have to call him out: 'Come out, Vashak!' Stop wobbling it — you'll shake him to death!"
Alice hurried to stop Ningguang. Ningguang felt embarrassed — Alice's random incantations were mortifying — but she didn't delay. She raised the Purple-Gold Gourd and, red-faced, called, "Come out, Vashak!"
From the gourd's mouth a seven-colored stream of light gushed forth like water. Vashak gasped and tumbled out, panting and bewildered. When he realized he'd been released he drew a long breath and looked at Alice with grudging resentment.
His robes had been partially dissolved; there were scars on his body. Worse, a lump protruded from his head — probably from being shaken around in the gourd — and he looked rather pitiable. One could only imagine what he'd gone through inside.
Alice's plan to get his candid impressions was quickly abandoned.
"Alice Elder…" Vashak looked at her with indignation. "You didn't say it was so dangerous! I nearly died in there."
"It wasn't that bad," Alice smiled and waved. "You're at mid Refining-Refining Essence into Qi as an Archon — you don't melt that easily." She added, "If it had been a mid-tier spirit implement instead of a mid-tier magic tool, then yes — you'd really be in trouble."
Vashak eyed the Purple-Gold Gourd in Ningguang's hand and shuddered, promising himself that from now on he'd never answer if anyone called his name. Immortal artifacts were truly bizarre.
Still, there was some envy in his gaze. This sort of treasure would be hard to obtain even after he cultivated further. Ningguang and the others had become so wealthy thanks to that risky gamble in the Nine Nether Secret Realm, and now the Nine-Nether region was in turmoil — Jiang Yan had forbidden anyone from entering. In short, contribution points would be hard to come by for a while.
"All right, that's enough. This isn't your concern — go on," Alice tossed a dozen low-grade spirit stones to Vashak. He blinked and hurriedly said, "Alice Elder—you gave me five extra."
"Consider it compensation for your mental trauma," Alice waved it off.
Vashak's face lit up; the sadness of being the test subject evaporated. Getting spirit stones for being experimented on? He might volunteer again.
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