Of course, the verses I recited also carried a tone of mockery—he was gone, and the place was empty. If he hadn’t been so arrogant back then, acting solely on his whims and never considering others, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state. You could say he brought it all upon himself.

Otherwise, with his abilities at the time, plus five thousand years of cultivation—no, perhaps it wouldn’t even take that long—if only he could have opened the Golden Hall and Jade Pillars and obtained the treasures hidden by the previous master. Even though I have now achieved mastery in the demonic path, I’m afraid my abilities are still far inferior to his.

Huangjing Hall—

The hall doors were already open. I walked in without the slightest hesitation—there was no reason to hesitate, was there!?

Main Hall—

No need to search any further; this was exactly what I was looking for: twenty-one jade tables, neatly arranged in the hall. On these twenty-one jade tables, each of different hues and forms, were displayed all the treasures, magical artifacts, divine weapons, and implements he had crafted during his lifetime.

On the foremost table, made of ten-thousand-year warm jade, lay nine magical artifacts—his proudest creations.

Filled with emotion, I approached the jade table made of ten-thousand-year warm jade and gently picked up the first magical artifact with my right hand.

The Severing Gold Gui, no longer than the width of a palm, was black-gold in color, with faint, overlapping talismanic inscriptions—who knew how many layers there were? This was the Severing Gold Gui, which he once claimed as his greatest treasure. By channeling one’s true energy into it, it would emit a strange black-gold light, like a blade or sword aura. Forged from the finest western metals, it was said to be able to sever divine weapons and sharp blades. When I fought him back then, a single sweep of the Severing Gold Gui shattered my Six-Guard Blade Aura and left me gravely wounded.

The fourth item in my right hand was a small short ruler—the Swirling Light Ruler.

The Swirling Light Ruler, huh!? You wounded me badly with this back then. I picked up the Swirling Light Ruler and gave it a slight wave; radiant light burst forth, conjuring countless interlocking rings of light.

All my life, I focused solely on cultivating myself, never bothering to forge magical treasures. Ever since I achieved mastery, all 108,000 of my feathers could transform at will, and I took great pride in this. In battle, I would turn my feathers into golden arrows of light, with endless wondrous uses.

But that time, when he unleashed the Swirling Light Ruler, the rings of light it produced nearly shredded all my feathers. I looked almost like a roast chicken hanging in a shop window—bare and shameful, unable to face anyone. It took me fifty years to recover my original appearance. Seeing these masterless magical treasures now, I couldn’t help but sigh; the memories were hard to bear.

There was no need to look further. With a light wave of my hand, I swept all nine magical artifacts from the jade table into my pouch.

Of the remaining twenty jade tables, ten displayed weapons—the most common type of magical artifact, similar to William Brooks’s Qingming sword. But here, there were sabers, spears, swords, halberds—all of the highest quality. Of course, swords were the most numerous; after all, cultivators have always favored swords.

Among the swords, there were single-bladed, double-edged, and even several matched sets. I casually drew one, silently recited an incantation, and the sword transformed into a cold rainbow, flashing like lightning and stars. The sword light swirling around the beams resembled a dragon—clearly, even this casually chosen sword was highly spiritual and no ordinary item. It far surpassed William Brooks’s Qingming sword by countless degrees.

I withdrew the sword light and put it away. Looking further—

The other ten tables held all sorts of things: jade artifacts, musical instruments, ornaments, pearls, implements, even clothing—dazzling and radiant.

There were also all kinds of elixirs he had refined in his life, dozens of bottles, jars, and gourds of various sizes. In addition, there were several dozen scrolls of cultivation techniques, the culmination of his life’s learning: the “Jiazi Divine Book.”

Needless to say, I knew exactly why I had come here—I was, of course, going to take all of these.

My body is like a void, storing all treasures.

Within my body is infinite space; I could even contain Mount Tai, let alone these magical treasures and divine weapons.

Alright, my goal was achieved—it was time to leave. After all, this was a place where immortals dwelled; who knew if other immortals might show up? Since I practice the demonic path, it would be most inconvenient if I ran into them, especially since what I was doing here was not exactly honorable.

It was only then that I remembered William Brooks—I hadn’t come alone. I’d left him under the Jade Palace archway, and who knew how he was doing now? I hadn’t planned to burn the bridge after crossing the river, though to be honest, I didn’t rely on his “ladder” to cross in the first place.

Along the way, I had already broken the sealing spells, so he should be fine. I’d better go find him!

With just a slight sense, I already knew where he was. There were only the two of us here, and that faint trace of demonic energy could only be him.

I had already thoroughly explored this underground palace. Judging by the direction, he must be in the Hall of Righteous Words. He sure could wander around. As I thought of this, my body vanished from where I stood, and when I reappeared, I was already in the Hall of Righteous Words. When I arrived, the kid was rummaging around, and when he saw me, he sheepishly wiped his mouth.

I was in such a good mood that I couldn’t help teasing him: “Kid, you really don’t know what’s what. That Purple Cloud Pill is just a common detox and remedy for minor ailments in cultivation. Even if you ate a thousand or ten thousand of them, it wouldn’t do you any good.” I casually picked up a gourd from a table and tossed it to him. “This True Water of Heaven is used by cultivators to transform their bodies. One sip can increase your power by a hundred years, but it’s only useful for beginners. No matter how much you drink, it’ll only have a slight effect.”