The Rise of a Family: Starting from Daily Intelligence - Chapter 426 (Patreon)

Chapter 426: The Octagonal Pavilion, the Xuanpin Pearl, and a World of Ice and Fire

Fu Changsheng turned toward the voice. It was Wu Liangba and his two companions.

He swiftly swept his gaze across the arena.

Aside from those three, two figures sat in the northwest corner, and another person occupied the southeast.

But he didn’t see Qingru and the others anywhere. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t panic, young friend. Your wife and daughter are most likely still inside the illusion. Only by passing it will one be transmitted to this Ice-and-Fire Arena.”

Fu Changsheng hadn’t expected Wu Liangba to take the initiative to explain. It seemed the man was quite pleased that he’d cleared the illusion—or rather, that he was eyeing the Black-Scaled Profound Python and the Ethereal Cloud Mica. Fu Changsheng didn’t stand on ceremony and asked directly, “Fellow Daoist, what if one can’t break the illusion?”

Wu Liangba was about to answer when the short-sleeved youth in the southeast suddenly spoke.

“Entry to the Taixu Illusion has a time limit. If you fail to break it, you’ll be transmitted out of the Taixu Hall once time’s up. You can set your mind at ease.”

Then the short-sleeved youth sent Fu Changsheng a few quick voice transmissions.

Fu Changsheng’s heart jolted. He shot a fast glance at the two in the northwest.

Beyond his expectations, aside from Wu Liangba’s trio being in the False Core realm, the other three were all true Golden Core cultivators.

No wonder they had exited the illusion before him. Golden Core cultivators could access richer troves of spirit items. Yet they’d hidden their auras and come to this Taixu Hall, which meant the treasure on the final floor was no trivial thing.

“Could there really be a Life-Extending Spirit Pill that adds three hundred years of lifespan?”

That said, such a pill wasn’t very useful to him.

The short-sleeved youth’s voice sounded again. “Young friend, this seat finds you pleasing to the eye. I’m a solitary man with my end approaching. If you’re willing, why not acknowledge me as your master? A hundred years from now, when I’m gone, you can inherit my mantle.”

“Master Mu jests. I’m just a common three-spirit-root cultivator—how could I be qualified to inherit your mantle?”

“Oh? How coincidental. I’m also three-root. If I’m not mistaken, you cultivate a dual-attribute wood-and-fire Technique of the same lineage as mine. Young friend, where are you from? When we leave the Kunlun Minor World, I’ll pay a visit to your door. You can decide about becoming my disciple then.”

So he’d been targeted.

Fu Changsheng had no words. He didn’t believe Master Mu was that kind. He’d thought about spouting a random place, but feared he’d be seen through. After a steadying breath, he answered honestly. He also wanted to probe their true goal—but snuffed that thought out at once. Wu Liangba’s trio were False Core; even they were a handful. The other three were genuine Golden Cores. Whatever their goal, he intended to wade in as little as possible.

A low hum rippled out as time passed.

People began to exit the Taixu Illusion one after another—yet their number was less than half of before.

Fortunately, Yao Yao, Qingru, and his fourth sister Changli all cleared the illusion.

Regrettably, the Cao Clan had only their patriarch, Auntie Cao Xianger’s aunt Cao Yuehua, and Elder Cao Three return. Besides them, Wuzhou’s Ouyang patriarch, the Lei patriarch, and Ancestor Wu also passed.

After two runs through the Taixu trials, the Lei patriarch—who had relied on his maternal grandfather, the Seventh Commandery Prince’s name—had clearly learned humility. Even Ancestor Wu came to stand with Fu Changsheng and the Cao Clan, intending to huddle together for warmth in this last stage.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, while the crowd was still discussing what the next trial would be—

Rumble!

Ripples spread across the void. A brilliant beam of spiritual light bloomed from nothingness and turned into a towering octagonal pavilion, hanging over the center of the Ice-and-Fire Arena.

The pavilion was carved entirely from mysterious jade. Dense sigils wound up its columns, faint spiritual light coursing through them. Glazed tiles covered the roof; under the arena’s shifting glow they refracted seven-colored radiance like an immortal’s dwelling. A bronze bell hung from each eave-corner; they chimed without wind, a clear tone that seemed to wash the heart.

The interior space was small, yet like a world of its own.

A crystal-clear jade stele floated at the center. Golden seal-script slowly circled across its face:

“Those who enter shall take treasures in the order they exited the Taixu Illusion—one item per person.”

The characters grew clearer.

Fu Changsheng’s eyes lit up—so there was a reward for clearing the stage.

Faces all around brightened as one. After resentful spirits and illusions, they were finally getting a taste of sweetness.

People were itching to move.

“Father, the treasures in that pavilion won’t be worthless trinkets like those outside, right?” Yao Yao asked, excited.

“Hard to say.”

He shook his head. After so many years, countless people had cleared the trials. The good things would have been picked clean long ago. There might not even be enough for everyone to get one.

Still, he had been the seventh to clear; with that spot, his turn should come. As for the Lei patriarch, Ancestor Wu, and Elder Cao Five who’d made it in under the wire—that would be up to luck.

Clearly, the three of them had realized the same. For a moment, their moods were mixed.

Boom!

All eight doors of the octagonal pavilion opened at once.

Inside, rainbow mist churned. He could only vaguely see treasures floating up and down within—neither their outlines nor their number was clear.

Master Mu in the southeast rose first. “Fellow Daoists, by the rules, this old man will go first.”

Fu Changsheng narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t expected Master Mu to be the first to clear the illusion. He had thought it would be the two rock-still Golden Cores in the northwest.

“So Master Mu is the strongest of the Golden Cores here.”

He considered whether to feign acceptance of Master Mu as his teacher. Whatever the man’s motive, it might be best to find a tall tree to lean on first.

Master Mu flicked his sleeves; his figure glided like a crane into the pavilion. The moment he stepped into the rainbow fog—

Hum!

The mist billowed and swallowed him whole. Only the bells on the eaves swayed, chiming lightly.

Everyone held their breath, eyes locked on the pavilion.

A moment later, the fog rippled. Master Mu walked out, holding a lustrous jade slip veined with faint sigils. He lowered his gaze to it; satisfaction flashed in his eyes. He slid it into his sleeve, returned to his seat, and closed his eyes to rest.

“Looks like they’re real treasures!” Wu Liangba’s eyes glittered. He leapt after, vanishing into the pavilion.

Fu Changsheng’s eyes tightened. “A man with his end approaching cares only for extending life or forming a Nascent Soul. That jade slip—could it be a formula for a Life-Extending Spirit Pill? Or a clue to a Nascent Soul-formation item?”

While he pondered, Wu Liangba emerged, cradling a crimson pill. Pill lines flickered like flames, heat rippling off it. He grinned wide—very satisfied.

“A fire-aspect spirit pill? Suits him,” Fu Changsheng thought.

Next, the black-robed cultivator and the white-haired crone from the northwest entered in turn, taking a pitch-black short sword and a silver-glimmering jade talisman.

“Father, it’s your turn,” Yao Yao said, counting heads. The crone had barely stepped out before she urged him on, unable to wait.

Fu Changsheng drew a deep breath. Expectation stirred in his chest. He tapped the floor and rose, landing in the rainbow mist.

Fog swirled. The surroundings blurred like another world. He glimpsed tens of thousands of light pillars hanging in the air—almost all empty, the treasures within long since taken. Only a few dozen remained, each item different, each radiating its own aura.

“One per person…”

His gaze roved.

In the far-left emerald pillar, a crystal seed floated, gossamer wood aura twining around it, brimming with life.

“A Wood-Spirit Seed?”

His heart moved. He faintly felt it matched his cultivation like a key in a lock—perhaps enough to crack his bottleneck. But the pillar blocked spiritual sense; he could only feel a general aura, not the exact nature.

He didn’t rush.

There was no time limit mentioned inside the pavilion. He let his eyes pass over the rest.

In a red-gold pillar drifted a torn sheet of talisman paper. Dense golden lines crawled across it, sharp killing intent bleeding through.

“An attacking talisman treasure?”

But torn meant incomplete power. Counting Wu Liangba’s trio of False Cores, there were six Golden Cores present, and he had clearly been marked. He needed a card that could let him contend with a Golden Core.

“Hm?”

In a dusky blue pillar, a palm-sized crystal shield slowly turned, icy air pouring off it. A defensive treasure; if he could drive it, it might block one strike from a Golden Core.

“Pure defense won’t carry me through.”

In a dark-purple pillar, gauze-thin silk floated, shadowy lines flowing over it as if it could merge into the void—a fine thing for concealment. But he already had a mysterious robe, and what he needed now was a means to face things head-on, not a way to run.

Those were the only ones he could roughly sense. A dozen more gave him nothing at all.

“Looks like I’ll have to trade for intelligence.”

His will sank into the sea of consciousness.

“Redeem intelligence.”

Hum!

His inner panel trembled. Yellow light surged.

One by one, the treasures flashed before him, each with a line of text beneath:

[1: The emerald pillar appears to hold a Wood-Spirit Seed, but in truth it is the source of ‘Yimu Divine Thunder’ condensed by an ancient thunder cultivator. Refining it grants three casts of a Golden Core–early-level lightning attack. Highly compatible with your Green Emperor Longevity Technique.]

[2: Red-gold pillar: a remnant of the ‘Nine Heavens Thunder Talisman’ left by the ancient talisman master Heavenly Talisman Adept. Requires ‘Thunder-Pattern Sand’ as ink.]

[3: Ashen pillar: a Life-Substitution Puppet that can block one fatal blow.]

[4: Dark-red pillar: a Blood-Refining Pill that burns essence blood to temporarily raise the user to False Core for one hour. You will drop a minor realm afterward.]

[5: Ink-black pillar: relic of an ancient demonic cultivator, saturated with baleful qi and likely to trigger heart demons. Avoid unless you walk the demonic path.]

[6: Seven-colored pillar: a replica Myriad Phenomena Mirror. Can copy one enemy spell and rebound it; usable once per day, with bonus effect against illusion Techniques.]

[7: Pillar No. 66: Nine Nether Ghost Armor. Automatically blocks three Golden Core–level lethal strikes, but each trigger drains the user’s qi and blood. Using it twice within a day may cause yin-cold backlash.]

[18: Dark-cyan pillar: ‘Two Rites Sword Orb,’ forged by ancient sword cultivators with yin–yang qi. Once activated, it splits into twin swords that specialize in breaking Five-Element body-guard qi. Must be nourished with essence blood for a hundred days to recognize a master, and will continuously consume thirty percent of your spiritual power during that time.]

[19: Milky-white pillar: a replica ‘Xuanpin Pearl’ that can seal a Golden Core cultivator’s life-bound magic treasure for ten breaths. Using it creates a strong spiritual fluctuation that easily exposes your position.]

[20: Gilded pillar: a remnant ‘Ground-Shrinking Talisman.’ Upon activation, instantly teleports you to any location within three hundred li. Due to missing glyphs, the landing may deviate by up to fifty li and cannot pass through formation barriers.]

Hum!

The exchange ended. His contribution points dropped to eleven thousand five hundred.

Fu Changsheng’s eyes brightened. He’d practically mapped the pavilion’s offerings. He could only take one, but he could pass the information to Yao Yao and the others so they could choose well.

However, as his gaze hovered over the treasures, a bold idea flashed through his mind. His heart began to pound.

“Try it!”

His will stirred.

Hum!

The next heartbeat, tens of thousands of Spirit-Devouring Insects surged out from the Five Elements Space.

He swayed and shot straight toward the emerald pillar—the “Yimu Divine Thunder” source—while sending the insects to array themselves before the other pillars.

He drew in a steadying breath.

He reached toward the emerald pillar.

The instant his fingers touched the thunder source, he snapped a command to the poised swarm.

“Seize.”

Hum!

The entire pavilion shuddered. Sigils along the jade columns flared to life. The windless bronze bells shrieked like knives; sound-waves swept the air like substance.

The pavilion’s restrictions had triggered!

“What happened?!”

Below, onlookers stared dumbly. Restrictions only triggered if someone got greedy and tried to take multiple treasures at once. They all remembered how someone had tried to seize a teleportation array before—only to be annihilated by the hall’s wards in an instant.

Challenge the Taixu Hall’s restrictions with a mere Purple Mansion cultivation? Was Fu Changsheng tired of living?!

Wu Liangba snorted. “Damn it, that wasted one of my Anti-Restriction Pearls.”

In his eyes, Fu Changsheng had zero chance of surviving.

Guishimei and Brother Yin exchanged a glance, brows knitting. If Fu Changsheng died, they would lose the Black-Scaled Profound Python and the Azure Flood Dragon, and their odds at later treasures would plummet.

Master Mu also frowned. He hadn’t pegged Fu Changsheng for a reckless man. His earlier offer to take him as a disciple had been eighty percent sincere. “Pity,” Master Mu murmured, shaking his head.

The eighth to take a turn—a cultivator who’d been next in line—cursed openly. “If you want to die, couldn’t you wait till I’d taken my treasure? Damn you.”

Yu Qingru heard the muttering, stared at the roaring pavilion, and blanched. Yao Yao, anxious but worried about upsetting her pregnancy, soothed her quickly. “Aunt Yu, don’t worry. Father always has a measure. He’ll be fine.”

Fu Changli added her own comfort, though it sounded like she was convincing herself.

The Lei patriarch was about to jeer, but the Cao patriarch shot him a glare. Wuzhou’s cultivators were one camp now. He swallowed the words.

Inside the pavilion, “As expected—there’s a backhand!”

Fu Changsheng had prepared. He formed a seal; the Green Emperor Longevity Technique roared to life. Wood-and-fire spiritual power twined into blue-red chains that yanked the Yimu Divine Thunder’s source right out of the pillar. The “seed” cracked the instant it touched his palm, the green shell splintering to reveal purple lightning within. Wild thunder shot up his arm toward his dantian.

At the same time, tens of thousands of Spirit-Devouring Insects split into twenty torrents and hurled themselves at the other pillars.

These variant insects, tempered by the Five Elements Space, now showed a seven-colored sheen akin to the pavilion’s own wards—the camouflage they’d gained from devouring fragments of the earlier illusions.

Sizzle!

The first swarm to hit the ashen pillar spontaneously combusted; a ghastly white flame erupted from the Life-Substitution Puppet’s pillar, burning three thousand insects to ash in a blink. But more swarms surged forward. Two elite groups lunged for the gilded “Ground-Shrinking Talisman” and the milky “Xuanpin Pearl,” bellies swelling as if to swallow the treasures whole.

Boom-boom-boom!!

The pavilion’s glazed tiles flipped, exposing demon-banishing thunder glyphs etched beneath. Nine bolts of violet judgment struck down, turning the swarm assaulting the Nine Nether Ghost Armor into powder. Worse, two jade columns in the northwest twisted into golden-armored guardians. Thunder halberds swept in brutal arcs, mowing through insects.

“Return!”

Gritting his teeth, Fu Changsheng pulled on the Five Elements Space. The burnt-red swarms retreated like tide—but most died en route under the grinding wards.

Two mutated insects broke through.

One clamped a remnant Ground-Shrinking Talisman in its mandibles, six legs shattered.

The other, carapace split and belly swollen, had fused the replica Xuanpin Pearl into its body.

The instant they slipped into the Five Elements Space, the two golden guardians froze with halberds poised above Fu Changsheng’s head—then halted. The rainbow fog rolled back, and all returned to normal.

“Whew.”

He let out a long breath. He’d nearly ducked into the Five Elements Space just then. His awareness brushed the Ground-Shrinking Talisman remnant and the Xuanpin Pearl replica inside. Joy rose in his chest.

The Ground-Shrinking Talisman could save his life.

The Xuanpin Pearl could seal a Golden Core’s life-bound treasure for ten breaths.

Add the Yimu Divine Thunder source, and he now had one or two cards to play even against Golden Core cultivators.

The gamble had paid off.

When he stepped out of the rainbow mist, the entire arena fell dead silent—then erupted.

“He—he didn’t die? He walked out in one piece?!”

“This is the Taixu Hall’s restriction. Even Golden Cores don’t dare take it head-on. How did he do that?”

“I want to know how many he took.”

“If so… can we grab multiple at once too?”

Wu Liangba stared deeply at him. At first, Fu Changsheng had been a pawn. Now, the “pawn” looked hard to control—even at Purple Mansion eighth layer.

The two Golden Cores in the northwest also gave him an extra glance.

Master Mu laughed and sent a voice transmission. “Good disciple! I knew I picked well. Excellent—excellent! Even the Taixu Hall’s wards fall for your tricks. Inheriting my mantle, you’ll surely carry it forward.”

Fu Changsheng offered an awkward smile. So soon, Master Mu had changed the way he addressed him. After a beat, Fu Changsheng grabbed the ladder he’d been handed. “Many thanks for the praise, Master.”

He hoped Master Mu would shelter him a little in what came next.

Master Mu hadn’t expected him to be so quick on the uptake and grinned until his eyes vanished.

Yu Qingru and the two girls hurried over to check him from head to toe. Seeing no harm, they finally relaxed. Yu Qingru rested a hand on her belly, eyes reddening as she spoke harshly for the first time. “Husband, think of us—mother and children—when you act next time!”

“Qingru, you’re right. I frightened you.”

He knew how poorly a pregnant woman took a scare and admitted fault at once.

The Cao patriarch said with open envy, “Fellow Daoist Fu truly is blessed by fortune.”

The Ouyang patriarch nodded, already mulling an alliance by marriage for when they returned; at this pace, Golden Core was well within Fu Changsheng’s reach.

The Lei patriarch coughed and couldn’t help asking, “Fellow Daoist Fu, could you tell us what happened in there?”

What he really wanted to know was how Fu Changsheng had skirted the restrictions to steal two or more items—and whether he could exploit the same loophole.

Ears all around pricked up.

Fu Changsheng wasn’t stupid. He said a few vague words and moved on, sending voice transmissions to Yao Yao, Fu Changli, and Yu Qingru to tell them what lay in the pillars so they could decide in advance.

His gaze fell on Cao Yuehua. For her slight resemblance to Cao Xianger’s features, he hesitated, then passed her a hint or two. “Miss Yuehua, don’t share this with your patriarch.”

“I won’t. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Fu!”

Cao Yuehua was moved. She had never expected him to reveal something so secret. A notion flickered in her heart and brought color to her cheeks—but one look at the breathtaking Yu Qingru snuffed that thought. She was a beauty, but beside Yu Qingru, Liu Meizhen, and Cao Xianger, she fell short—never mind the famed first beauty, Shangguan Hongyu.

While the crowd was still reeling from Fu Changsheng’s safe return, the eighth to clear the trial—Yun Xiangshang—could no longer hold back her greed.

Draped in deep-violet gauze, brows proud, she was of False Core cultivation—three minor realms above Fu Changsheng’s Purple Mansion eighth layer. Seeing him break the restriction to steal treasures, her avarice overflowed. “If he can do it, this fairy can too!”

She leapt into the pavilion without the least caution. Instead of testing like Fu Changsheng, she drove a secret art and thrust both hands at two pillars at once—

One pillar blazed scarlet like fire, likely a pill.

One glowed dark blue like ice, likely a treasure.

“Heh. Mere warding—what can it do to me?” She sneered, spiritual light flaring at her fingertips as she yanked both items free in one go.

However—

Hum!

The pavilion bucked. The jade columns’ sigils burst into blinding blood light—far fiercer than when Fu Changsheng had triggered them.

“Not good!”

Boom!

Every last glazed tile overhead detonated. Nine violet punishment bolts speared down, striking Yun Xiangshang dead on. Her hastily raised shield shattered like paper; thunder cored through her, flesh and bone turning to dust inch by inch.

Her scream cut off. When the light faded, only a thread of smoke remained. Not even her storage pouch survived.

The arena went mute.

Wu Liangba’s mouth twitched. “Idiot… think you’re Fu Changsheng?”

Cold sweat beaded on the Lei patriarch’s brow. “These wards… adjust to the intruder’s strength?!”

He shot a quick look at Fu Changsheng. If the man had evaded the wards, it wasn’t luck but personal power—meaning he already stood above False Core, separated from Golden Core by a hair.

Once this youth matured…

His throat bobbed. He regretted crossing the Fu Clan.

With a cautionary corpse fresh in mind, no one dared make trouble. The rest proceeded in order.

At last, Yao Yao took the replica Myriad Phenomena Mirror from the seven-colored pillar; Yu Qingru chose the Nine Nether Ghost Armor from Pillar Sixty-Six; and Fu Changli picked the Two Rites Sword Orb from the dark-cyan pillar.

For the Fu family, it was a happy haul.

Hum!

When the choosing ended, mist billowed. The octagonal pavilion shivered and sank back into the void.

Everyone rose to their feet.

Next should be the final gate to the true Taixu Hall.

Rumble—

The entire Ice-and-Fire Arena convulsed. The ground cracked like a spiderweb; fractures raced outward. The floor of black ice and crimson flame crumbled, revealing a bottomless abyss below.

“Back!”

Fu Changsheng barked. His sleeve swept out; a surge of spiritual power formed a shield around Yu Qingru and the two girls. The others raised their artifacts warily, eyes on the collapsing ground.

Crack!

With a deafening report, the floor gave way entirely. Two completely different passageways slowly rose from the abyss.

The left channel was an icy blue; cold surged out like floodwaters, freezing the floor into a thick sheet of black ice where it passed.

“Hiss—this chill… it can even gnaw Purple Mansion body-guard light!”

Fu Changsheng’s face tightened and he unconsciously retreated half a step.

The right channel burned crimson as blood. Molten rock ran along its surface; from the depths came a dull roar, as if earthfire and lava were rolling and ready to erupt at any moment.

Thanks for reading! That was a wild heist in the mist—our guy just stole thunder from under heaven’s nose. If you’re enjoying the ride, please consider supporting me on Patreon; even a small pledge keeps the chapters flowing and means the world to me. Also, if you have a moment, drop a rating or review on NovelUpdates—your feedback helps more readers find this series.

Next Chapter >