“Alright then, let Consort Chan open it first.”

“Okay, okay!”

Yue Chan jumped excitedly off the wooden box and turned around carefully to open it.

The box was somewhat heavy, and as Yue Chan pushed it open, it produced a ‘creak’ sound.

The lid of the wooden box had just been half opened when she suddenly let out a shriek and quickly jumped back, ‘bang,’ the lid slammed shut again, echoing loudly in the empty treasure vault.

“What’s wrong, Consort Chan?”

Zheng Yi stepped forward, quickly holding the startled Yue Chan in his arms.

Meanwhile, Chen Liancang quickly moved to shield Zheng Yi.

Noble Consort Cui and Consort Yu also formed hand seals, ready to act at any moment.

“I’m fine, Your Majesty.”

Yue Chan whispered, “That-that was not a wooden box, it was a coffin!”

“Inside… there’s a corpse!”

“Hmm?”

Zheng Yi frowned slightly, slightly nodding his head as a gesture.

Chen Liancang nodded and silently approached the coffin, one hand behind his back, quietly opening it.

“Creak,” another unpleasant sound of friction, as Chen Liancang forcefully pushed it upwards.

“Bang,” the coffin lid was pushed open, revealing its contents.

After a few moments and seeing no movement, Chen Liancang said, “Your Majesty, it’s not a corpse, it seems to be a puppet.”

“A puppet?”

Zheng Yi leaned closer to take a look, and sure enough, although it looked human, it was not a corpse.

It was a puppet made of special materials.

Its skin was a black-red color, and its eyes had no pupils but were made of special black crystals.

Its mouth was tightly shut, resembling some kind of mechanism.

The skin was carved with dense and special patterns, which were hard to notice without a close look.

“A puppet?”

Yue Chan leaned over to take a closer look, then patted her chest, trembling slightly.

“It’s not a corpse, I thought it was a dead body; who would have thought it’s a puppet?”

The other two women also moved closer to examine it up and down.

“This puppet looks just like a corpse, no wonder it startled Consort Chan.”

“Indeed, it would be hard to tell without looking closely. That mouth, those eyes, those ears seem like some kind of mechanism…”

Yue Chan glanced inside and suddenly said, “Huh? Your Majesty, look, there’s a piece of paper here!”

Chen Liancang retrieved it and respectfully handed it to Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi opened it and his eyes lit up slightly.

“This thing… is actually a Golden Core Realm puppet!”

“What?”

All four of them were stunned and then quickly said, “A Golden Core Realm puppet? Seriously!”

“Wow! The item I picked is indeed impressive!”

“Golden Core Realm…”

Indeed, this is a puppet with Golden Core Realm combat power!

The record on this paper clearly indicates that it is one of the treasures Grand Ancestor left for his descendants.

This puppet is named ‘Xuan Ye,’ made entirely of precious Spirit Marrow Essence, capable of automatically absorbing Spiritual Qi for self-repair and movement.

Its skeletal structure is a fusion with the Four-legged Golden-devouring Beast, extremely tough and flexible, able to operate in any harsh environment, covering thousands of miles in a day.

Its eyes are made of Five Spirits Radiant Crystal, capable of causing illusions and stunning opponents, catching them off guard.

Apart from these basic functions, the inside of this puppet also contains three top-grade magical artifacts.

They are the Dragon-slaying Sword, Blazing Fire Banner, and Windwalker Boots.

These enhance the puppet’s attack, defense, and speed, making it the perfect tool for killing and looting!

Moreover, aside from recording the materials and usage of this puppet, this paper also describes a method to refine the puppet’s core.

Once the core of this puppet is refined, Zheng Yi will be able to control it at will.

Of course, there are two prerequisites for Zheng Yi to control this puppet easily.

First, his cultivation must reach the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage can possess Divine Thought to fully control this puppet.

Second, every time he controls this puppet, a mid-grade spirit stone must be placed inside it.

Each mid-grade spirit stone allows the puppet to operate for a quarter of an hour.

Using magic and controlling magical artifacts will consume even more.

Of course, the best choice is to use top-grade spirit stones.

Unfortunately, Zheng Yi doesn’t have any mid-grade spirit stones, not even Spirit Sand.

He’ll have to wait a bit longer to control this puppet.

“Alright, stop looking at it.”

Zheng Yi drew everyone’s attention, “Let’s keep it for now. We have no spirit stones, so even if we refine it, we can’t use it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Now, whose choice shall we look at next?”

“Let’s look at mine first.”

Noble Consort Cui smiled, “This wooden box I’m holding may look small, and it’s very light.”

“I have heard from Master that all lightweight treasures in the Cultivation Realm possess highly unique properties.”

“They are either jade scrolls recording certain contents or special refining materials.”

“I wonder what’s inside this wooden box I have?”

At this moment, Yue Chan, with a newfound playful interest, leaned over and said: “Just open it and you’ll find out.”

Under the expectant gazes of the few, Noble Consort Cui slowly opened the wooden box.

Yue Chan and Consort Yu craned their necks, looking at it.

“Is this… a silver needle?”

“What an exquisite silver needle.”

“There’s paper here too!”

Noble Consort Cui took out the paper from the wooden box, spread it open, and began to read it.

“Seven Killings Soul-annihilating Needle, a top-grade magical artifact, refined by mixing Heaven and Earth Evil Qi with Spirit Marrow Essence, highly effective in breaking cultivators’ protective magical shields and artifacts.”

“Moreover, it has an extremely corrosive effect on cultivators’ physical bodies, its movements are concealed, and it can evade cultivators’ Divine Thought detection… hiss…”

Before finishing reading the contents on the paper, Noble Consort Cui took a deep breath involuntarily.

Even the others had somewhat shocked expressions.

Consort Yu added: “Master once said that among all types of magical artifacts in the Cultivation Realm, needle-type artifacts are the most insidious and treacherous, incredibly hard to defend against.”

“Furthermore, refining materials for needle-type artifacts are extremely rare. Who would’ve thought that there’d be a set here, and it’s even a top-grade magical artifact!”

“Your Majesty, even thousands of years ago, this item would sell for at least ten thousand lower-grade spirit stones!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Noble Consort Cui felt the wooden box in her hand weigh a thousand pounds heavier, and hurriedly placed it on the platform.

“This item is too precious, I should…”

“You should keep it.”

Zheng Yi interrupted Noble Consort Cui, saying: “This item is called the Seven Killings Soul-annihilating Needle, and the cultivation technique you practice, ‘Pure Maiden Yin Sha Technique’, is a perfect match for it.”

“Besides, you were the one who acquired it; it’s destined for you, meant for you to master.”

Noble Consort Cui was slightly tempted but shook her head: “Your Majesty, it’s still too precious, I…”

Zheng Yi directly handed the wooden box to Noble Consort Cui: “Just take it as instructed, why hesitate so?”

“You are the most suited to use the Seven Killings Soul-annihilating Needle. Who among me, Consort Chan, Consort Yu, or Elder Chen would use needles?”

“Furthermore, in the entire Imperial Palace now, only the four of us are cultivators, whom else would you use it for?”

Thinking it through, Noble Consort Cui finally accepted the item gratefully: “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

“I will diligently cultivate to repay Your Majesty!”

“My beloved, you speak too seriously.”

Zheng Yi laughed and turned to Consort Yu: “I wonder what good items Consort Yu holds?”

Consort Yu took out the wooden box she carried behind her. This wooden box was about three feet long and over a foot high, resembling a zither box.

“Upon taking hold of this item, all I felt was a gust of cold wind, it should be a yin-type magical artifact too.”

As she spoke, Consort Yu opened it.

Sure enough, the wooden box contained a two-foot-square small banner, earthy yellow in color, appearing extremely primitive.

Yet it was engraved with densely packed runes, tiny like tadpoles, resembling hundreds of ghosts entangled together, very bizarre.

“This item…”

Consort Yu, with a face as expected, also found a folded paper within the wooden box.

After opening it and reading for a few moments, Consort Yu recited: “Netherworld Soul Summoning Banner, a top-grade magical artifact that inner sect disciples of the Netherworld Sect are qualified to exchange for from their Sect.”

“It is said to be made from the fur of ghosts in the Yellow Springs Underworld, containing a Sumeru World of ghosts, capable of summoning and commanding ghosts when holding this banner…”

While reading, Consort Yu handed the paper to Zheng Yi.

“Your Majesty, this item seems to be the signature magical artifact of Netherworld Sect disciples.”

After pondering for a while, Zheng Yi handed the paper to Chen Liancang.

“Elder Chen, this item I reward to you.”

“No need to decline, as long as you remain loyal to me, I certainly won’t mistreat you.”

“You’ve been devoted and meticulous in executing all my orders for years; this item is your reward.”

Chen Liancang, full of excitement, immediately knelt and said: “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

This item is exceptionally precious; I never expected that His Majesty would reward it to me.

Feeling deeply moved, Chen Liancang was filled with the sentiment of sacrificing oneself for a true confidant.

“You may rise, Elder Chen. Now, it’s your turn, what good thing have you chosen?”

Standing up, Chen Liancang said: “The item I chose surely pales in comparison to those of the three ladies and Your Majesty.”

He then opened the stopper of the jade bottle, pouring out its contents.

Noble Consort Cui remarked: “Master once said that elixirs are stored in jade bottles to maintain their potency for a long time.”

“I wonder what’s inside Elder Chen’s jade bottle?”

As soon as she finished speaking, a dragon-flame-sized elixir rolled out of the jade bottle.

This elixir was entirely black red, but its surface lacked any glow and emitted no scent.

Instead, there were tiny fissures appearing on its surface, very peculiar.

“What is this… elixir?”

Curious, Chen Lao turned the jade bottle upside down and poured out ten identical elixirs in one go.

Apart from these elixirs, Chen Liancang also pulled a paper from the bottom of the jade bottle.

“There’s folded paper here too!”

“Elder Chen, quickly see what’s written on it?”

Chen Liancang hesitantly read: “This elixir is called… Foundation Establishment Pill.”

“What? Foundation Establishment Pill!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep