Chapter Thirty-Four: The Strange Stone
Shi Qi was busy stuffing treasures into the dimensional pouch.
Meanwhile, Yuan Chengtian had already engaged the White Tiger in battle. After being forcibly summoned from his seclusion, Yuan Chengtian transformed into a streak of golden light and soared into the sky. By now, Yuan Chenglu had already fought several rounds against the White Tiger. He was covered in blood, clearly no match for the thousand-year-old beast.
Yuan Chengtian flew overhead, golden light flashing between his hands, and struck the White Tiger’s back with a powerful palm. The White Tiger had just sent Yuan Chenglu flying when it suddenly felt a sharp pain behind it. A tremendous force overwhelmed its body, causing it to tumble uncontrollably toward the ground.
“Boom!”
The White Tiger crashed heavily onto the ground before the gates of Starpoint Manor.
“Roar!” The beast howled in pain, its ferocity unleashed as it glared skyward.
Yuan Chengtian pressed his advantage, allowing the White Tiger no respite. He formed intricate hand seals, and a streak of golden true energy shot from his fingertips. The true energy danced through the air, transforming into swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, tridents, cudgels, whips, maces, hammers, claws—eighteen types of weaponry, all striking the White Tiger together!
It was none other than the advanced metal spell—“Ten Thousand Radiant Golden Arms!”
Had Shi Qi witnessed the scene, he would surely be amazed at whether this was indeed the same spell. For Yuan Chengtian’s “Ten Thousand Radiant Golden Arms” was several times more powerful than his younger brother’s.
The night sky was illuminated by golden light. Yuan Chengtian floated in midair above countless weapons forged from golden radiance. Their numbers far exceeded Yuan Chenglu’s, and the golden light continued to converge, ever increasing the arsenal.
Clutching his wounded chest, Yuan Chenglu glared viciously at his elder brother above. He thought to himself, “Has this bastard’s metal spell really reached such a realm? Damn Yuan Chengtian—if you hadn’t monopolized all the treasures, how could I have fallen so far behind you!”
Resentment simmered in Yuan Chenglu’s heart. From childhood, he’d always been overshadowed by his elder brother—talent, cultivation, never once had he surpassed Yuan Chengtian. Their family always favored Yuan Chengtian, neglecting him. This bred a deep hatred for his brother, who in turn had never truly regarded his younger sibling, always seeing him as a useless waste.
“Heh,” Yuan Chengtian mused, “From childhood, I was never your equal in anything. But, heh heh, you never imagined this, did you? Your wife, your child—they are mine!”
In midair, the golden weapons multiplied, their brilliance intensifying. Seeing this, the White Tiger, flattened on the ground, began to falter.
It roared toward the sky, unfurled its wings, and turned to flee.
Nearby, the brown tiger, beset by disciples, was steadily losing ground. Hearing the White Tiger’s roar, it too turned and flew toward its companion.
“Trying to escape?” Yuan Chengtian’s face was expressionless. “Do you think you can?”
With a sweep of his golden robe, the myriad golden weapons surged toward the two beasts!
They had barely risen into the air before the golden weapons caught up, raining upon them with deadly force.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two tigers were instantly engulfed in golden light, the air filled with thunderous explosions. After a few breaths, the golden light began to fade, and silence gradually settled.
The tigers had fallen from the sky, lying motionless on the ground, clearly lifeless.
Yuan Chengtian spoke coldly, “Mere beasts, how dare you cause trouble at my Starpoint Manor!”
“The Master is formidable!”
“Master is amazing!”
...
The disciples of the manor cheered, stunned by Yuan Chengtian’s display.
He descended slowly from the sky, landing beside Yuan Chenglu.
Yuan Chenglu, bloodied and lying on the ground, gazed up at Yuan Chengtian.
“Useless!” Yuan Chengtian didn’t even spare him a glance, only sneered contemptuously. “Collect the bodies of these beasts. Leave their thousand-year pelts for me.”
With that, he left without looking back, leaving Yuan Chenglu gnashing his teeth and glaring at his brother’s retreating figure.
On the other side, Shi Qi had stuffed several cabinets into the dimensional pouch and circled the stone chamber, finding nothing else of value and preparing to leave.
Just as Shi Qi was about to turn away, he noticed a tiny crack in the center of the stone bed.
“Hmm? Is there something hidden here?”
He approached, crouched over the stone bed, and examined it closely. Indeed, there was a small crack at the center. Shi Qi condensed water into ice at his fingertip, forming a slender ice needle.
He inserted the ice needle into the crack and pried upward with force.
“Click.”
A small stone slab above the crack was lifted.
There was something hidden after all!
Shi Qi uncovered the slab and peered inside. Within was a small wooden box, finely carved with ornate patterns.
He gently picked up the box and slowly opened it.
A burst of golden light shone forth. Shi Qi focused his gaze—it was an irregularly shaped bead, glowing a brilliant gold.
Without hesitation, Shi Qi closed the box and tossed it into the dimensional pouch. Anything hidden under a stone bed in a secret chamber was surely extraordinary.
He packed away the pouch, thinking it was time to leave. If the White Tiger couldn’t hold out much longer and the secluded master returned, he would surely be no match.
With this in mind, Shi Qi quickly exited the stone chamber, passed through the corridor, and dashed out of the cave.
Just as Shi Qi emerged from the cave, he saw Yuan Chengtian stepping out from the back door.
“Damn!” Shi Qi thought. Although he was still invisible, he knew he couldn’t escape the sensing of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Yuan Chengtian exited, noticed Madam Wang fainted nearby, frowned, and glanced at the boulder. The cave entrance beneath was wide open!
“Time to risk it all!”
Seeing Yuan Chengtian’s gaze shift in his direction, Shi Qi hurriedly pulled out a “Thousand-Mile Fleet Talisman” from the pouch, infused it with true energy, and slapped it onto his leg.
The moment the talisman adhered, Shi Qi’s legs moved uncontrollably, carrying him at breakneck speed toward the dense forest.
“Hm?!” Yuan Chengtian sensed a dark shadow dart from the boulder toward the woods. Without hesitation, he transformed into golden light and gave chase!
“Aah...”
Shi Qi was running wildly, unsure where he was headed. Trees smashed into his face, and he had already lost count of how many he’d broken. His legs had gone numb, yet he kept running at full speed.
Behind him, Yuan Chengtian, a streak of golden light, was hot on his trail, brows furrowed. As a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, his speed was formidable, yet he found himself steadily losing ground to the fleeing figure. Shock grew in his heart—just who was this mysterious person?
After half a stick of incense’s time, Yuan Chengtian could no longer see Shi Qi’s shadow, only the dust he had stirred.
Yuan Chengtian halted, thought for a moment, and realized he could not catch up. He turned and flew back toward Starpoint Manor.
Before long, he returned to the boulder, ignored Madam Wang lying on the ground, and strode straight into the cave.
He entered the stone chamber, found it empty, and his face remained impassive as he approached the stone bed and lifted the central slab.
At last, Yuan Chengtian’s expression shifted—anger appeared as he clenched his fist and stormed out of the cave, heading directly to the manor gates.
At the gate of Starpoint Manor, Yuan Chenglu and Yuan He were with others handling the remains of the two tigers.
Seeing Yuan Chengtian arrive, the disciples bowed their heads respectfully. “Master.”
Yuan Chenglu looked up at his brother and murmured, “Elder Brother.”
“Smack!”
Yuan Chengtian slapped Yuan Chenglu’s face, making him stagger.
“Speak. What happened?” Yuan Chengtian demanded.
Yuan Chenglu, clutching his face, recognized his brother’s fury and did not dare resist. He recounted the day's events, step by step.
No sooner had Yuan Chenglu finished than Yuan He ran over crying, “Father! It must be this little one who alerted the big one, bringing it back for revenge!”
Yuan Chengtian glanced at Yuan He. “Beasts are mindless. How would it know you’re disciples of the manor?”
Yuan He was stunned. “This...”
Yuan Chengtian said, “I’ll deal with you later. For now, immediately sketch the portrait of the boy who used ice magic today and send it to all major sects in Yongzhou overnight. There are few who wield ice spells—he’ll be easy to identify. I want him to never leave Yongzhou alive!”
Yuan He stammered, “Yes... yes, Father.”
Yuan Chenglu stepped forward. “Brother, did the manor lose something?”
Yuan Chengtian shot him a cold look. “That’s none of your concern. Do as I say.”
With that, he strode into the manor.
Yuan Chenglu thought to himself, It must have been that boy with the ice spell who lured the two tigers here, then snuck into his brother’s secluded chamber and stole something. Judging by his brother’s rage, the Golden Sunstone must be gone. Hmph, just as well—when I find it and claim it for myself, I’ll master the metal arts, and then we’ll see if I still have to bow and scrape to you!
-------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Shi Qi had stopped, seeing no pursuers.
He didn’t know how far he’d run. Sitting on the ground, he felt sensation returning to his lower body; a burning pain flared in his feet. Shi Qi quickly employed Water Healing, channeling a stream of water to soothe his legs.
A cool feeling spread through his feet. He lifted them—his shoes had been worn away.
“Good heavens, this thing is incredible.” Shi Qi fetched a new pair of shoes from the pouch, put them on, and took out the box to examine the strange stone.
He held it in his hand. The stone emitted waves of golden light, its shape irregular, no different from a pebble picked up on the roadside.
Shi Qi squeezed it hard—it was solid. He tried with greater force but it did not budge, exceptionally hard.
Next, he poured true energy into it.
“Bang!” His true energy was repelled!
Shi Qi muttered, “This thing seems to resist my true energy. It must contain pure metal power within.”
He tossed it back into the pouch, planning to let Bai Qiu examine it later. After stretching and finding his legs nearly recovered, Shi Qi summoned Wind Riding, fixed his direction, and flew onward.