Chapter 155: Chapter 154: Storage Magical Treasure

Half a day later, the group gathered once more in the main hall of Stone King Cave.

Aside from the Evil Qi that each of them had harvested, dozens of commoners who had been abducted by the Stone King Cave from the foot of the mountain were also gathered in the hall. They gazed at the group, trembling with a mixture of fear and hope.

"Two chests of gold, silver, and jewels."

Yunyang stacked a second chest on top of the first and opened the lid, revealing gold and silver ingots, jewelry, jade ornaments, and more.

"Several weapons and Magical Artifacts."

Taoist Yi Hong held a bundle containing weapons and Magical Artifacts imbued with Corpse Qi and Yin Qi. They were naturally useless to the Daoists, but they were quite harmful to ordinary people.

"Two items made of a very special material. It seems they’re for refining Magical Treasures?"

Taoist Yan Song held two metal-like objects in his hand as he walked over. "I can sense some kind of power within them," he said, "but I’m not sure what they’re used for."

"Is the material the same as this Copper Pot?"

Taoist Ming Yu walked in holding a palm-sized Copper Pot, with a Copper Bottle in his left hand—the very bottle Rong Wen had used to release a large amount of poisonous gas.

Taoist Yan Song took the Copper Pot, and his eyes lit up. "It really is the same! What is this stuff?"

As he spoke, he opened the Copper Pot. Taoist Ming Yu tried to stop him, but it was too late. "Be careful, it’s—"

The next moment, a bone-chilling wave of Evil Qi surged out of the Copper Pot, making Taoist Yan Song shiver. He quickly slammed the lid back on.

"What was that?"

"Behind Stone King Cave, nestled among the mountains, is an ancient battlefield with bad feng shui. Hundreds of thousands of corpses are buried beneath the ground. Over many years, they’ve fermented, creating a land of Yin Evil that spans over a dozen li."

"So this cold Evil Qi was taken from the ancient battlefield?"

"Exactly. I found this Copper Pot in the Stone King’s chambers. It’s full of cold Evil Qi, which he probably used for his daily Cultivation."

After their exchange, everyone’s gaze fell on the Copper Pot in Taoist Ming Yu’s hand. Of course, they weren’t looking at the cold Evil Qi inside it, but at the pot itself.

"A Copper Pot this small shouldn’t be able to hold so much cold Evil Qi, and it’s not like he condensed all the gas into a solid," Taoist Yan Song said meaningfully.

"Even if it were condensed into a solid, it couldn’t hold this much," Taoist Ming Yu said with a smile.

"I remember that Poison Corpse earlier released a lot of poisonous gas from that Small Copper Bottle, right?" Yunyang asked.

"Correct." Taoist Ming Yu nodded. "Did something come to mind?"

Yunyang’s eyes gleamed. "The Cyan Mirage Bottle?"

Taoist Yi Hong and Taoist Yan Song said in unison, "A Pot World."

"Correct, it is a Pot World." Taoist Ming Yu nodded, then said to Yunyang, "You’re also right to say Cyan Mirage Bottle, because these two vessels can only hold gases and liquids, nothing else."

"Why?" Gu Zhao asked. "If it’s a Storage Magical Treasure, shouldn’t it be able to hold anything?"

"Because the refining technique is too crude." Taoist Ming Yu hefted the Copper Pot in his hand. "The space inside is indeed quite large, but the opening is too small to fit anything through!"

The group fell silent.

"You have a way to fix it?" Yunyang asked.

"I’ll try when we get back." Taoist Ming Yu nodded confidently. "Since Senior Brother Yan Song was able to refine that turtle shell, this should be similar in principle."

Taoist Yi Hong smiled and nodded. "We’ll try when we get back. If we can turn them into Storage Magical Treasures, it’ll be very convenient."

Taoist Yan Song looked at the two pieces of identical material in his hands. "Not bad, not bad. Maybe we can each have one."

Taoist Ming Yu put away the Copper Pot and Copper Bottle and took out two books. "These are the Stone King’s Cultivation Methods. One is a Corpse Refining Skill, and the other is the *Gathering Yin Evil Qi Cultivation Great Method*. We have no use for them, but we can put them in the Scripture Pavilion as spoils of war."

Gu Zhao smiled. "Last time we got a copy of the *Red Slaughter Corpse Refining Skill*, and later at Three Extremes Mountain we found a Soul Extraction Magic. Now we have new additions to the collection."

Taoist Yi Hong shook his head. "None of them are righteous paths."

After cataloging their unexpected gains, Gu Zhao gathered the commoners from Stone King Cave, gave them a chest of jewels to share, and then led them down the mountain to the nearest main road, sending them on their way home.

「...」

On the way home, Taoist Yi Hong asked, "Can we add new members now?"

Gu Zhao nodded and held up one finger. "The Stone King’s evil deeds, in the end, weren’t as extensive as those at Three Extremes Mountain. Even adding the Poison Corpse from Infinite Cave, we only managed to form a single Thunder Seed."

The old Daoists all nodded, not interfering with Gu Zhao’s choice of whom to bring over.

Only Yunyang spoke up. "My uncle can be brought over last. He’s not that old, and he’s in great shape. He can afford to wait."

Gu Zhao gave him a thumbs-up. "Such a thoughtful nephew. I hope he doesn’t beat you up when he gets here."

Yunyang raised an eyebrow and grinned. "By then, he won’t be able to beat me!"

He said that, but Yunyang actually had great confidence in his uncle. He had no doubt his uncle would be able to activate a Thunder Seed.

"Let’s head back first and discuss it later. We took out a Poison Corpse this time, so the gains were significant." Gu Zhao felt the feedback from the Five Thunders Order in his Sea of Consciousness. ’Once we’ve digested these gains, it will be time to deal with the Golden Wind Sect.’

Taoist Yi Hong’s eyes narrowed; he could already feel the Magical Power within him stirring restlessly.

Taoist Ming Yu glanced at Taoist Yi Hong, then looked south, in the direction of Bai Shi Prefecture.

Taoist Yan Song held the special materials in one hand and the Copper Pot in the other. He probed it with his Magical Power and sensed it with his Divine Sense, already beginning to research how to refine a Storage Magical Treasure.

They traveled from Changye County through Wuhe County to Xiuyue County.

The group’s Dao Practice was profound. Although they couldn’t fly, they traveled through mountains and forests as if they were flying. By the next day, they had returned to Daluo Palace. They put the gold and silver in the treasury, the weapons and Magical Artifacts in the collection room, and the books in the Scripture Pavilion.

"Finally, we can rest for a few days."

Everyone ate a meal together, and Gu Zhao took a walk with Zhuo Qingyan. Afterward, he gathered the Daoists. "I haven’t been back for several days. If I don’t go back soon, I’ll be listed as a missing person. Do any of you need to return?"

"We’re not going back." The Daoists shook their heads in unison.

Taoist Yan Song, Taoist Yi Hong, and Taoist Ming Yu had already made arrangements back home, so they didn’t need to report in. As for Yunyang, he wished he could spend twenty-four hours a day here. Even without the aid of Evil Qi, the efficiency of just breathing and cultivating was still very high.

So, Gu Zhao used the excuse of entering seclusion to travel between worlds from a quiet room in Daluo Palace.

He hadn’t been back in a few days, so his phone’s battery was dead. Gu Zhao charged it for a while, then turned it on to see a constant stream of notifications popping up on the screen.

"Hmm?" Gu Zhao’s eyebrow twitched. "So Siam really does have Black Magic Masters!"

He saw messages from Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi, as well as a missed call from Wang Runheng. He then realized all this had happened three days ago. Judging from the latest messages, the two women had already returned to Yangcheng.

Looking at their messages and their social media feeds, Gu Zhao saw that they had a concert tonight and had, as usual, sent him a ticket.