"But what about our magical treasures? Didn't you say there were magical treasures here?" Song Han fearlessly asked.
"The benefits you have gained from the pond is far more valuable than the magical treasures I have given over the past. Don't be too greedy!"
"Ahemmm....also.....Tang Tang.....you need to leave and explore the world. Your temper is too abrupt. Besides, I have promised your mother that by the time you've reached the supreme dao realm, you need to experience the outside world."
The ancient voice spoke in a soft and cautious tone, especially when he was talking towards the young woman, Tang Tang. Such a weird change in his tone of voice caused the others to think that Tang Tang was probably a girl from a special background, or her mother was a very close acquaintance of this ancient voice.
"What? No way! I like it here......and I realized there are some idiots from the outside world that would make me insane!" Tang Tang clearly yelled her dissatisfaction while looking at Song Han.
At this point in time, Song Han was actually scratching his butt, which made him look even worse. But after seeing Tang Tang looking at him, he clearly understood that "idiot' was meant for him. An idea suddenly came into Song Han's thought.
"Sad.....so sad. Why are some people so heartless. All I ever wanted was a stable life, a perfect girlfriend with big boobs and a firm butt, enough money to support myself and the rest of my loved ones," Song Han pretended to cry while leaning his head on Lin Yang's shoulder. Lin Yang patted him in the back in an effort to console Song Han, but obviously he was just being used!
"You......" Tang Tang became speechless. She never thought that idiot could scheme and act so pitiful, especially in front of the ancient voice. Feeling embarrassed and outwitted, she wanted to kill Song Han at this moment; however, Song Han didn't event stop there. He continued to surprise others by kneeling down, flaying his arm to make it more dramatic, heavy tear drops falling from his eyes and snorts falling from his nose.
"Immortal ancestor, sob..sob...sob, I will always be grateful for this great opportunity you have given us, but even if my cultivation increases, I'm still no immortal! The world outside is crueler than ever before. I have almost died several times from those greedy cultivators and those noble bastards! I came here to Treasure mountain to seek the widely-known magical treasure that would change the cultivator's life for the better. Now, you're asking me to leave without a magical treasure? How can I defend myself from the cruel world outside.... and this young woman.... she seems to hate me without justified reasons!"
The big boulder had a big frown in his face. He was also shocked that Song Han could play such a scheming game. He's lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and to give in easily against a 17 year old boy? There was no way he could accept such results. That big frown of his turned into a little smirk as an idea came into his mind.
"Young brat! What you said made sense. However, I can't give each of you a magical treasure. That would be against the rules I have created for hundreds of millenniums. Your sense of duty to care for others have affected me greatly; therefore, I will give you one magical treasure that would definitely help you."
"Pop!"
Suddenly, something fell from mid-air that floated in front of everyone. It was a reddish bamboo cane that exuded a mysterious aura. Its aura wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, but everyone could sense a bottomless sensation from it. Song Han tried to grab it, thinking that it was his, but the bamboo cane evaded the hands of Song Han while continuing to float.
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"This magical treasure is called 'executioner.' It's a sword sharp enough to split the mountains, but it also has another deadly feature. It can be used to snipe others from the distance. If you can create an extremely dense Qi but still weightless, you can use this Qi as an ammo. I've never given this out, because the past winners were not qualified to hold this ancient weapon; however, I believe one of you have the destiny to own this treasure. The 'executioner' will choose its own master, so if you're lucky, you can leave with this magical treasure," the ancient voice explained.
Song Han took the first step again by reaching his hands to grab the bamboo cane, but the moment he got really close to it, it released an electric shock that resulted Song Han to dejectedly retreat his hands. Ma Qian came up next, but failed as well. Tang Tang also took a chance, but the result was the same. It wasn't until Lin Yang who slowly extended his arms to grab the bamboo cane, and became the destined person to own this magical treasure. As a swordsman, he was ecstatic that the bamboo cane had chosen him to wield its legacy.
"Fuck! This lucky bastard!"
This was the thought of Song Han, who made the greatest effort in pleading for his request of a magical treasure. All that hard effort was painlessly rewarded to another person. These were also the thought of Ye Tian and Xiang Jiao, who never even got a chance to tame the bamboo cane. Everyone except Lin Yang were sulking from the outcome. Although they were happy with increased cultivation, who wouldn't want an extremely rare and ancient magical treasure? It seemed that the biggest beneficiary from this adventure was Lin Yang.
"This event has concluded. I will no longer give out any other magical treasures. You will be transported near the Min Kingdom. Don't die too soon, hahahahaha," the ancient voice laughed with joy.
"WTF...."
Everyone else were cursing within, because they didn't like the last part of what the ancient voice said. It was like a bad omen. They had no background, they were poor, and during this expedition they had created many enemies, so of course they were worried on what would happen if the others contestants saw them.
High up in the sky, a giant cauldron quickly fell upside down that trapped everyone inside. It spun rapidly, distorting the nearby air until it disappeared, taking everyone else with it. After the cauldron disappeared, a red-haired bearded old man appeared with a flaming wolf by his side. He looked frail, but there was a sense of dread if anyone were close to him.
"It seems the guardian moons and the crimson star have awaken....." the old man murmured while looking upon the place where everyone had just disappeared. His eyes showed a touch of sadness and fear, but it was also glittering with a subtle hope. This red-haired bearded old man was actually the big boulder that was residing deep within the magma of this mountain.
Below the capital city of the Min Kingdom, there was an isolated underground base that was pitch dark with no one around.
"Shrkkkkkkkk!"
Within the pitch dark underground base, distorted light appeared surrounded with electricity. It only took a couple of breaths until the red cauldron appeared, spinning within that distorted light. Once it stopped, it floated high up in the air, revealing Ye Tian and the others. The giant cauldron that was floating, suddenly shrank to the size of a foot and flew towards Ye Tian.
Once the cauldron was held by Ye Tian, he could see a work of art crafted within the cauldron. There were several figures - a man, his wife, and his son. Besides them was a happy magma boulder with short legs and short arms that walking in parallel besides them. On the right and left side of the family, there were other families, old and young, man and woman, boy and girl, walking unitedly. The moment he touched the crafted art with his fingers, Ye Tian felt a sense of yearning and wistful. Strangely, the others were also drawn by the transcendental art, placing their hands on the red cauldron that led to the same type of emotions that Ye Tian was feeling. An array of complex feelings were going through each individual where each emotion could be felt interlacing with one another. Time appeared to be frozen when everyone's hands were placed on the red cauldron, where its glowing existence illuminated the pitch dark underground base as if they were in the middle of the starry skies.
Strangely, the moment they placed their hands on the red cauldron, bits of memories of each other's past could be seen. While it only lasted for a brief second, limitless memoried traveled through their minds.