The Rise of a Family: Starting from Daily Intelligence - Chapter 391 (Patreon)

Chapter 391: Nascent Soul Sects, Seizing the Treasure, An Unexpected Turn

The auspicious radiance over Gloomcloud Valley lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour. The entire valley was bathed in that dazzling glow, as if all the spiritual energy between heaven and earth had gathered here. Treasure-light rose like a pillar to the heavens, piercing the clouds; even the surrounding peaks were washed in a mysterious golden sheen.

Buzz!

With a low hum, the sky-piercing pillar gradually drew in. All visions dispersed as if they had never appeared.

Yet the atmosphere inside Gloomcloud Valley tightened at once.

Elder Shi and Shangguan Yun exchanged a glance. Expectation flashed in both their eyes, but more than that, unease.

Because the treasure was about to reveal itself.

Which meant a hard battle was at hand.

High in midair, Luo Haitang touched the storage ring on her finger.

Twelve jade-green lotus platforms flashed into existence and dropped to different points around Gloomcloud Valley. As Luo Haitang sent threads of icy-blue mana into them, the lotus petals peeled back with a hum, exposing array hubs carved of profound ice. Each hub bore sealing runes of the seventh layer of the Weakwater Profound Ice Technique.

“Shift Kan to Li, Zi-water turns to Wu-fire!”

She shouted, fingers joined like a sword.

A long river of Weakwater surged out from her sleeve.

The instant the flow touched the lotus platforms, twelve icy-blue beams shot into the sky and wove together into a web-like barrier. Strangely, the “threads” were flowing Weakwater—each droplet ordinarily heavy as a thousand catties, now compressed to hair-thin lines of lethal intent.

With a lift of her hand,

A Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array was set:

“Haitian, Haiyue—into the array, quickly!”

“Understood!”

Luo Haitian and his sister, along with Elder Shi and Shangguan Yu, answered in unison.

Defend by formation.

At the very least, when the fighting started,

it would give them a few more measures of safety.

Just then,

Luo Haitang’s expression stirred. She turned north.

A rainbow light streaked toward them across the horizon.

The voice arrived before the man did:

“Fellow Daoist Luo, you’ve led a crowd to attack the Purple Mansion tribe under my banner—do you mean to spark a war between Great Zhou and the royal court?”

The rainbow drew in.

The returnee was none other than Perfected Tianyang.

He glanced over Gloomcloud Valley.

Before leaving, he had not discovered any heaven-and-earth treasure hidden here, nor had the man from Ten Thousand Dragons Abyss told him there was anything precious underground. Otherwise, how could he have left so rashly? He had simply let this woman Luo Haitang gain the upper hand.

He took in the formation laid over the valley.

A trace of wariness glinted in Perfected Tianyang’s eyes.

Luo Haitang smiled faintly. “Fellow Daoist Tianyang, you and I both know who did it on White Tiger Mountain. Crying thief to catch a thief won’t fly with me.”

At that,

Perfected Tianyang’s face changed.

He snorted coldly. “What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Luo?”

A thread of panic flickered in his heart.

But

on careful thought, he knew that only he was aware of the Gloomcloud Valley affair. Clearly this woman was fishing for a confession. His eyes narrowed, unceremonious now. “Fellow Daoist Luo, our royal court recently welcomed a new True Lord, Wang Yun—she happens to be my kin, a grandaunt by blood. If your Luo Clan still wants to remain in the Eastern Wilds, I advise you to leave at once.”

It was kinship separated by over ten generations.

Luo Haitang acted as though she hadn’t heard.

Seeing this,

Perfected Tianyang’s eyes narrowed further. “Since you refuse a toast only to drink a penalty cup, don’t blame me for crushing flowers with a cruel hand!”

Delays bring change.

He decided to strike first.

With a thought,

the Burning-Heaven Gourd roared forth. A spell-seal sank into it, and it let out a harsh, cawing cry. A myriad fire crows surged from its mouth, blotting the sky as they dove for the Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array.

Bang, bang, bang!

The crows touched the flowing barrier and were instantly devoured by Weakwater, vanishing into wisps of blue smoke.

Perfected Tianyang’s pupils shrank.

Luo Haitang’s array was fiercer than he had expected.

At the same time,

Luo Haitang’s hands flew through seals. The Weakwater within the formation churned and transformed into countless fine needles that shot at Perfected Tianyang.

“Hmph, petty tricks!”

Though he said so, he didn’t dare underestimate them. He tapped the Burning-Heaven Gourd, and with a boom, a mass of scorching flame gushed out. It quivered and became a red shield before him.

Ting-ting-ting!

The needles rang endlessly against the shield. Each drop was heavy as a mountain, numbing his arms.

Perfected Tianyang fell back again and again.

This Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array was not something he could break with his strength alone.

His mind raced.

At that moment,

three escape lights split the air. The leader was an old crone gripping a bone staff; set in the head of the staff was a Golden Core cultivator’s heart that still beat.

“Granny Jinhua!”

Seeing her,

Perfected Tianyang’s pupils contracted.

Granny Jinhua hailed from Myriad Flower Valley.

Myriad Flower Valley was one of the few sects that could stand firm in the Eastern Wilds; rumor said a Nascent Soul True Lord sat in residence. Usually they kept to themselves—only Granny Jinhua dealt with the outside world.

A hundred years ago,

she had already reached peak Golden Core.

The two veiled women behind her both gave off mid-stage Golden Core auras.

Luo Haitang’s brows knit. She grew wary. Though she had set the Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array, facing a veteran peak Golden Core like Granny Jinhua, she dared not relax in the least—especially with two mid-stage Golden Core assistants clearly here prepared.

Perfected Tianyang, on the other hand, rejoiced.

Granny Jinhua’s arrival might break the deadlock between him and Luo Haitang.

He cupped his hands at once. “Senior Jinhua, you’ve come at just the right time! The treasure in this Gloomcloud Valley belongs to our royal court, yet Luo Haitang seizes it by force. Please uphold justice!”

Granny Jinhua let out a cold laugh.

Her gaze swept over Perfected Tianyang and Luo Haitang. “Since when did Gloomcloud Valley’s treasure become your royal court’s private property? This old body came only to see what mysteries this heaven-and-earth treasure holds. As for its owner—let the capable take it.”

As her voice fell,

she flicked her bone staff. The heart embedded in the head sent out a strange pulse, as if summoning something. The ground of Gloomcloud Valley began to tremble; a chill emanated from deep underground.

Luo Haitang’s face changed.

Granny Jinhua was clearly casting some secret art to rouse the thing below. Luo Haitang dared not tarry; seals flew, and the Weakwater within the array rose more violently, forming a massive water dragon that lunged at Granny Jinhua.

“Hmph. Mere Weakwater dares to flaunt itself before me?”

Granny Jinhua snorted, stabbing the bone staff into the earth. The heart at its tip burst into blinding bloodlight. Bloodlight and water dragon collided with a deafening boom that shook the valley.

Seeing this,

Perfected Tianyang grit his teeth and joined the fray.

Whatever else, the Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array had to be broken before anything else could happen.

He urged the Burning-Heaven Gourd hard. A viper-dragon pattern crawled over its body. This time it spat not fire, but a tar-like stream of Black Chi-Dragon Fiend Qi!

Boom!

The instant the black tide struck the Weakwater barrier, the twelve jade lotus platforms shuddered together. The lotus at the southeast corner suddenly stained blood-red!

In the next instant—

Crack!

The seventh platform exploded with a bang; spiderweb fissures raced across the profound-ice hub.

So,

this was Perfected Tianyang’s true strength.

Luo Haitang watched the southeast corner of the array buckle under the Black Chi-Dragon Fiend Qi. Her face tightened, but she calmed quickly. Her hands danced. “Shift Kan to Li, Weakwater Return!”

At her command, Weakwater within the array flowed swiftly, filling the southeast breach and slowly dissolving the fiendish tide.

Granny Jinhua sneered. “Little Luo, your Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array is strong, but before this old body it’s just a parlor trick!”

She waved her staff again. The beating heart erupted in a fiercer bloodlight that condensed into a blood-red rainbow, thrusting straight at Luo Haitang.

At the same time,

the two veiled Golden Core women moved as well. With a thought, each sent a spirit pill flying from her crown—their life-bonded artifacts were pill-refining treasures. The twin pills spun in the air, shining brilliantly, then streaked out as two flowing lights—one at Luo Haitang, the other at the array’s core.

“Not good!”

Luo Haitang could not fight four hands with two.

In haste,

she poured mana into the formation. Weakwater gathered once more into a gigantic water dragon to intercept. But the two flowing lights were too fast; the dragon failed to stop them both.

Boom!

One struck the array’s core dead on. The profound-ice hub shattered in an instant, and the whole array trembled violently. Luo Haitang’s face blanched. She tried desperately to steady it, but it was too late.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The twelve jade lotus platforms exploded in succession. The Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array collapsed completely. Luo Haitang swayed; blood traced the corner of her lips—clearly backlash.

Perfected Tianyang’s eyes shone with delight. He laughed, “Fellow Daoist Luo, your formation is broken. Why not submit quietly?” He slapped the Burning-Heaven Gourd; Black Chi-Dragon Fiend Qi poured forth once more, surging at Luo Haitang.

She snorted, forcibly suppressing her injuries. Weakwater streamed from her sleeve, becoming a curtain that blocked the fiend tide. But her face grew even paler—she was an arrow at the end of its flight.

Granny Jinhua’s staff swept again. The blood-red rainbow drove straight for Luo Haitang.

Meanwhile, the two veiled women urged their spirit pills once more; they streaked as flowing lights at Luo Haitang.

At that hairbreadth moment, the ground of Gloomcloud Valley suddenly convulsed. A powerful aura erupted from deep below. A dazzling radiance speared into the sky, shrouding the valley anew.

“The treasure has appeared!” Perfected Tianyang gasped, greed flashing in his eyes.

Granny Jinhua halted as well, gaze locked on the light. She murmured, “A heaven-and-earth treasure indeed. This old body’s trip was not in vain.”

As she spoke,

the pillar of light abruptly drew in. A thunderous roar split the air. The ground heaved as if some colossal thing were breaking free from the earth.

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, a towering black pagoda rose slowly from beneath Gloomcloud Valley. Its whole body was pitch-dark, its surface carved with ancient runes—the Azure Dragon pattern aligned with the eastern wind-water, a bat clasping plum blossoms concealed a spirit-gathering node, and seventy-two worthies sat in shadow about the gate.

Its crown pierced the clouds as if joined to the sky, exuding an indescribable pressure.

“A Postnatal Spirit Treasure!”

Greed flashed in Perfected Tianyang’s eyes. He cast a secret art and shot like lightning toward the tower to snatch it first.

Granny Jinhua snorted. “Courting death.”

“This treasure belongs to my Myriad Flower Valley!”

Her bone staff thrust at his fleeing afterimage; the heart on its tip burst with soul-devouring bloodlight.

At the instant the staff was about to pierce Perfected Tianyang, he flared with mana and slipped aside in a blur, narrowly evading. He chuckled coldly. “Senior Jinhua, the treasure has emerged—each by our own ability. Why press so hard?”

Her gaze was frigid. “Boy Tianyang, you’re merely mid-stage Golden Core, and you dare posture before this old body? Do you think you can touch a Postnatal Spirit Treasure?”

A vicious light flashed in his eyes. He snarled, “Senior Jinhua, you may be peak Golden Core, but my royal court is no soft persimmon! This treasure—mine!”

He slapped the Burning-Heaven Gourd. Blazing flames roared out, weaving into a fire dragon that swept at Granny Jinhua. She snorted. The heart upon her staff erupted again; the bloodlight swallowed the fire dragon in an instant.

As the two fought hotly,

Luo Haitang would never let the chance pass. She stamped the Weakwater Treasure Lotus beneath her feet; azure silk and ghostly blue halos twined, turning into chains to bind the tower.

The two veiled women moved to intercept at once.

Their twin spirit pills, one yin and one yang, drew together in the air into a Taiji diagram, then flashed at Luo Haitang like a single stream. Luo Haitang’s face changed; she pushed her mana, and the treasure lotus’ blue halo billowed into a water curtain to block.

Boom!

Taiji met water curtain in a violent surge. Luo Haitang staggered, nearly thrown back. She gritted her teeth, forcing the binding chains onward to lock the pagoda.

But at the instant the chains were about to touch, the ancient runes on the pagoda’s surface lit at once. The Azure Dragon lines answered the eastern wind-water; the bat with plum traced the hidden node; the seventy-two worthies’ phantoms seemed to come alive, chanting low in unison.

Buzz!

The pagoda shuddered. A powerful repulsive force erupted, shattering the binding chains outright. Luo Haitang groaned and shot backward, fresh blood at her lips.

Her strike

seemed to fully awaken the pagoda.

Buzz!

With a low hum, the tower’s body trembled. The spear of light at its crown drew in; an invisible power wrapped the entire pagoda, turning it gradually illusory.

“Not good! The pagoda is slipping into the void!”

Granny Jinhua’s face changed. She lunged, stabbing the tower with her bone staff to hold it here. But when the tip struck, it felt like piercing emptiness; the tower’s body had gone half-transparent, as if separating from this world.

Seeing this, Perfected Tianyang grew anxious. He drove the Burning-Heaven Gourd hard; a fire dragon roared forth to hold the tower down.

Buzz!

The instant the dragon touched the pagoda, that invisible force devoured it, leaving only a wisp of blue smoke.

“H—how is this possible!” Perfected Tianyang’s face went ashen with shock.

Rumble!

With a world-shaking roar, the pagoda vanished—gone as if it had never been. Gloomcloud Valley fell quiet again. Only lingering motes of light drifted slowly, whispering of what had just occurred.

“The pagoda… disappeared!”

Perfected Tianyang stood stupefied, disbelief filling his eyes. Never had he imagined a Postnatal Spirit Treasure would slip into the void before their eyes and vanish completely.

Granny Jinhua’s expression was equally sour. Her bone staff trembled; the heart at its crown dimmed, losing its vitality. She shot Perfected Tianyang a cold look. “Boy Tianyang, it seems we’ve busied ourselves for nothing today.”

He ground his teeth. “Senior Jinhua, a treasure slipping into the void doesn’t mean it’s gone forever! Perhaps it has only hidden itself. When the time is ripe, it will surface again!”

She snorted. “Even if it does, it may not fall to the likes of you and me. That’s enough for today.”

With that, she turned, swept her staff, and left as a streak of light with the two veiled women.

Perfected Tianyang watched them go, unwillingness flickering in his gaze.

His eyes slid to Luo Haitang.

He was thinking to seize the chance and kill her.

Just then,

a Golden Core aura sped over from the Luo Clan’s direction.

“Hmph.”

Luck for that woman.

Had no one been coming to aid her, he might have risked it and finished her off. But since she had reinforcements, he would not gamble. He urged the Burning-Heaven Gourd; turning to firelight, he sped away from Gloomcloud Valley.

Seeing Perfected Tianyang depart,

Luo Haitang let out a small breath.

She swiftly tossed a spirit pill into her mouth, gaze sweeping the valley with a trace of regret. “I burned a full set of the Weakwater Heaven-Sealing Array, and in the end drew water with a bamboo basket.”

Better to have been like Fu Changsheng and not touched the thing from the start.

…

The Fu fief in Yunshan Commandery, Weapon-Refining Peak.

Inside the refining chamber, firelight danced. The furnace blazed; heat filled the room. The walls were hung with all manner of tools—hammers, tongs, gravers. Racks in the corners held refining materials: spirit ores, beast bones, spiritwood, a dazzling array.

By the furnace,

Fu Yongjing was wholly absorbed in refining a second-tier, lower-grade Vermilion Jade Saber.

He wore a gray-white refiner’s robe stained with ash and sweat. Fine beads rolled down his brow and cheek, hissing to white mist when they hit the stone by the fire. His eyes were steady and intent. He gripped a refiner’s hammer, the head glowing red from the flame. Each strike landed with measured weight, precisely upon the embryonic blade.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hammerblows rang through the chamber.

His breathing was slightly hurried, yet the rhythm stayed even—each strike just right, neither too hard nor too light. Mana flowed in his body and out through his hands into the blade embryo, trying to purge every impurity and raise it to perfection.

As time passed,

Fu Yongjing’s face paled, sweat beading thicker. His mana was nearly spent—his spiritual power close to dry. But he clenched his teeth and refused to stop.

“Just a little more… just a little more,” he murmured, hammer still falling without pause.

Yet as he was about to complete the final process, his mana finally ran out. His hands trembled; the last blow lost its accuracy and fell off the mark.

Crack!

A faint snap sounded. A fine fissure crawled across the blade embryo’s surface—then raced wider. The embryo collapsed in the fire, breaking to shards.

Fu Yongjing stood there blankly, hammer sagging in his grip. The glow of the furnace colored his face a wan hue. He lowered his head to the pile of shattered jade-blade and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes—but it was swiftly replaced by resolve.

“Failed…” he muttered, a little unwilling, yet without much regret.

He drew a long breath and stood. He stepped to the furnace, picked up the fragments one by one, and dropped them in the scrap box. His movements remained steady, without the least fluster—as if failure were but a small stumble on the long road of refining.

“Mana insufficient—my cultivation still isn’t enough.” He spoke softly, eyes firm. “I must train harder and raise my realm. Only then can I go further on the weapon-refining path.”

He went to a corner rack, took a new piece of vermilion jade ore, studied it for a moment, then placed it into the furnace to begin again.

The furnace blazed anew. Clang! Clang! Clang! rang again. Sweat still wet his brow, but his gaze was firmer than before, as if telling himself: failure isn’t scary—quitting is.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The hammerbeats echoed. Firelight flickered across his intent face. Just as he was about to finish the final process, a subtle ripple stirred above the chamber—as if something were tearing the void.

Fu Yongjing frowned.

He paused and looked up.

A fine crack split open in midair. A pitch-black lump dropped out of it and fell straight toward the furnace.

“What is that?”

Startled, Fu Yongjing reached out instinctively.

The instant the black lump hit his palm, an icy chill spread through him. A force ancient and mysterious seemed to be waking. His mana turned suddenly restless, as if tugged by that power, beginning to churn beyond his control.

“What’s happening?”

His face changed. He tried to fling the lump away, but it clung to his palm like glue and wouldn’t come off.

Just then, a faint glow rose on the lump’s surface. A powerful force surged from within it and poured into Fu Yongjing’s body. He jolted; his mana flooded like a burst dam, smashing through a bottleneck in an instant.

Boom!

A mighty aura erupted out of him. The furnace flame buckled under it, guttering to near extinction.

His cultivation climbed in a blink. From mere Qi Refining, he was driven straight into late-stage Foundation Establishment!

“Th-this… what’s going on?”

Fu Yongjing stared, shocked and incredulous. He lowered his eyes to the lump in his hand. Ancient characters were slowly surfacing upon it:

“Void-Heaven Tower—Acknowledgment of Master Successful.”

“Void-Heaven Tower?”

What was this?

It could feed back such force?

Until now,

he had never even heard of it!

He hadn’t yet recovered from the shock when the Void-Heaven Tower turned to a streak of spiritual light and shot into his body. On careful sensing, he found it had lodged in his Niwan Palace, which he had not even opened yet.

The most secret place in the human body.

At the same time,

a profound stream of information poured into his mind, like an ancient scripture unfurling in his heart:

“Qi is stored in the abyss; spirit hides in the void.

The primal returns to the dantian; breath gathers in nothingness.

The heart like still water; intent like an empty vale, Outwardly ordinary; within, a universe.

Not Nascent Soul, none can see; not the Great Dao, none can glimpse. Conceal the primal, hide the breath—ten thousand methods return to one.”

After a long while,

Fu Yongjing’s eyes snapped open.

Excitement flashed within.

What the Void-Heaven Tower had just imprinted on him was a technique called the Hidden Primordial Technique. According to its description, once cultivated to completion, a cultivator could completely conceal his cultivation aura; unless one was at the Golden Core realm or above, no one could discern his true level. For someone who had just leapt from Qi Refining to late-stage Foundation Establishment, it was undoubtedly a supremely practical secret art.

He sat cross-legged,

ready to begin cultivating.

But

his gaze fell to the Void-Heaven Tower in his Niwan Palace, and he hesitated.

“Should I tell Father about this?”

His father had many children, each outstanding, while he and his triplet brothers, aside from a little talent in refining, had frankly poor cultivation aptitude.

They only saw their father at clan banquets, and spoke but a few words. Compared with their many excellent elder brothers and sisters, they were, after all, the ones who dragged behind—inevitably a little self-abased. To them, Father was like a god—distant and far above.

If he told Father about the Void-Heaven Tower,

perhaps Father’s view of him would change.

Clan resources were limited. Without showing results, it would be nearly impossible to advance on his own. Besides, the Void-Heaven Tower seemed harmless for now.

But his experience was shallow.

He needed Father’s eye upon it.

Thanks for reading! Things escalated fast—tower appears, tower vanishes… and then drops into the forge?! If you’re enjoying the ride, please consider supporting me on Patreon; even a small pledge helps me keep chapters flowing and lights a fire under my translating hammer. Also, if you have a moment, rating or following the novel on NovelUpdates really helps new readers find it. Your clicks there are pure qi for the series—thank you!

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