The Prodigies War

Zhao Jingxuan was surprised as well. She never imagined that she would obtain a ‘treasure’ after Toady had failed so many times earlier.

However, she soon frowned because she did not recognize the ‘treasure.’

It was shaped like a pebble, was entirely black, felt heavy, and looked dull like a random stone on the ground that no one would notice.

However, Zhao Jingxuan revealed a look of surprise and happiness instead of disappointment because she could not damage it no matter how much strength she used!

She muttered, “Is it some kind of divine material?”

It seemed like metal yet wasn’t metal, like rock yet wasn’t rock. It felt solid, indestructible, and looked ordinary, but gave off a sensation of returning to simplicity.

“Let this king see!”

Toady was already drooling with desire. He snatched the black stone and did something that shocked both Lin Xun and Zhao Jingxuan: he bit down hard on the black stone with his teeth!

He yelped in pain a split second later. The hard stone had nearly shattered his teeth.

“It isn’t a divine material.”

Toady held his jaw in agony, his golden pupils gleaming as he stared at the black stone. A while later, he gave an answer that surprised Lin Xun and Zhao Jingxuan.

“If this king is correct, it should be a seed.”

There was a slightly odd look on his face. “Or should I say an egg or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a stone embryo? There is primal maternal qi inside it. If planted, it could grow into a plant. If incubated, it could hatch into a baby beast. If treated as some kind of stone embryo, it might…”

“It might what?”

Lin Xun and Zhao Jingxuan asked in unison.

“It might hatch into some kind of spirit entity!”

Toady’s words made Lin Xun realize that Zhao Jingxuan had picked up an amazing treasure!

Anything from this mysterious temple was already not going to be normal. An object that could be hatched into various kinds of mysterious life forms would definitely be extraordinary.

“In the ancient era, a treasure like this was known as the ‘Origin Stone’ because it can give birth to an unpredictable life form.”

Toady shiftily looked at the black stone in Zhao Jingxuan’s hands. “It’s a pity that a special secret method and timing must be used to incubate or plant the stone.”

“Toady, what are you trying to imply?” Zhao Jingxuan frowned.

“Cough, cough, this king is only trying to say that it will be very difficult for you to hatch this treasure. Why not give it to this king instead?”

Toady displayed a hopeful look as he continued, “I’ll pass it back to you after I nurture some kind of exceptional herb, ancient divine beast, or spirit entity. How about it?”

“In your dreams!”

Zhao Jingxuan immediately rejected his offer and quickly stored the mysterious black Origin Stone away.

Toady felt dejected and soon glared at the nearby platform, which was still filled with treasures.

“This king refuses to believe that I can’t get anything!”

With a roar, Toady threw himself at the platform again. However, even after countless tries, all of the treasures still disappeared like bubbles.

“Unfair! So god damn unfair! This king is an always lucky Three-Legged Golden Toad. Why can’t I obtain even a single treasure?”

Toady was going crazy with anger, and even his eyes had turned red.

Lin Xun sympathetically looked at the greedy, pitiful bugger before he walked forward and said, “Let me give it a try.”

He waved his sleeve, but instead of trying to grab the treasures on the platform, he tried to take the entire platform itself!

Toady’s eyeballs nearly dropped out from their sockets as he jumped in agitation. “F*ck his granny, you can do that? Why didn’t this king think of it?”

Zhao Jingxuan was also somewhat stunned. Lin Xun perfectly displayed the phrase ‘dig three feet deep to remove even the roots.’

Who would have dared to imagine that he would attempt to take the entire platform?

Rumble!

However, something unexpected occurred. Not only did Lin Xun fail to take the platform, but his actions also caused it to abruptly shoot out dazzling dao light with a loud rumble.

Swoosh!

Lin Xun and the others felt their bodies shudder while stars rapidly shifted before their eyes as if they had been thrown into a spatial tunnel and they soon disappeared from the temple.

……

Mists swirled around nine majestic mountains.

It was a mysterious new area.

Space vibrated as Lin Xun and the others fell out. They had been teleported here by some mysterious force.

“No! This king’s treasures, this king’s blessing! This king doesn’t want to leave yet―”

Toady roared in frustration.

After being briefly dazed, Zhao Jingxuan rolled her eyes at Lin Xun as if resenting him for being too brazen earlier and triggering some mechanism in the platform that teleported them away.

No matter how thick Lin Xun’s skin was, he felt a little embarrassed and said, “Sorry, it was an accident, an accident.”

“Accident my ass! This king so painstakingly found the blessing only for it to be ruined by you!”

Toady was so angry that he wished he could bite Lin Xun to death.

Even if they couldn’t get anything else from the temple, there were still a huge number of saint corpses and saint treasures in the passageway!

The robe made from Purple Soul Silver Silk, the Ruyi Scepter overflowing with saint aura…etc. These were all priceless treasures!

But now…

They were all gone!

Toady felt as if his heart was bleeding.

Lin Xun was also feeling regretful as well, but since it had already happened, there was no point in dwelling on it.

“How hateful. You guys got an invaluable Origin Stone and a Buddhist verse containing a great secret while this king got nothing!”

Toady’s face was bitter with resentment.

Lin Xun could no longer stand Toady’s resentful appearance and suddenly said, “Toady, look around, there are nine sacred mountains. Could this be the true blessed land?”

Toady was taken aback. He quickly scanned the surroundings and realized that they had arrived at a mysterious area where nine giant mountains towered in the distance, giving off a boundless and sacred aura.

Upon closer inspection, they saw that there were palaces atop each of the nine peaks. The palaces were barely discernible through the mists, making them appear rather mysterious.

“This is?”

Toady’s attention had been successfully shifted. With an excited expression, he began to carefully study their surroundings.

This made Lin Xun breathe a sigh of relief. Toady was just too greedy, and his resentful appearance when he couldn’t obtain a treasure could honestly be described as horrifying.

“Look over there. There are fifty-four altars that seem to be the same as the ones we saw on the Violet Cloud Sacred Mountain.”

Astonished, Zhao Jingxuan pointed at a spot in the distance.

“This king understands. This is still the world derived from the lotus flower!”

Toady slapped his thigh in excitement as he continued, “These fifty-four altars are probably paired with the fifty-four altars on Violet Cloud Sacred Mountain. The cultivators that entered from the altars outside were likely teleported to the corresponding altar here.”

Lin Xun was taken aback. “Doesn’t that mean that this is also a land of opportunity?”

“Precisely!”

Toady grew increasingly happy. “Do you still recall what that voice said? A single grain of sand can contain a thousand worlds, all arts originate from the same source, and ten thousand reincarnations pass in an instant. This opportunity will only be bestowed to the destined person! That Buddhist verse implies that this is the place where the true blessing is hidden!”

“Then what was that temple we were in earlier?”

Lin Xun was somewhat confused. “Could there be not one but two blessings in the Violet Cloud Sacred Mountain?”

“You might be right. This king is only certain that the blessing here is left for a single individual!”

Toady seemed to realize something as his eyes flickered with a golden light. “The person behind this is not only adept in Buddhist dao, but also possesses a dao inheritance of supreme power! Only someone like that could have set up such an unimaginable ploy in this Violet Cloud Sacred Mountain.”

“Think about it. When we arrived at the mountain, everything we saw seemed to be related to Buddhist cultivators from the ancient era. The lotus flower, the Buddhist verse, and the Mahayana secret script on the altars all seem to be indicating that the blessing in Violet Cloud Sacred Mountain was left by a saint Buddhist cultivator.”

“But everything was different in the mysterious temple. It was divided into thirty-three levels, each level connected by nine steps, while a prayer mat lay at the end that ultimately transformed into a three-foot-wide platform…”

Toady rapidly speculated, “All of this seems to be linked to a dao clan from the ancient era!”

At this point, he looked at Lin Xun and said, “The crux is the Buddhist verse you obtained! It is different from regular Buddhist verses and is likely the secret language of a dao clan!”

Lin Xun and Zhao Jingxuan were unable to stay calm as they listened. As they recalled everything that had transpired, they realized that it was exactly as Toady had speculated.

“When we combine everything, we can roughly infer that the Violet Cloud Sacred Mountain was set up through Buddhist cultivator power and is the exterior side of the mountain that anyone can see. However, there is another hidden blessing within belonging to the dao clan. That is the concealed blessing that only we have managed to discover.”

Toady’s expression was filled with amazement. “Buddhist exterior with a dao interior. Together, they form one body of Buddhist dao. The mastermind behind this must have been a true hegemon even in the ancient era!”

“It is indeed inconceivable. I dare not imagine which great power from the ancient era had set this up.”

Lin Xun’s heart shuddered as respect rose within him. It was a feeling of admiration and longing.

“In other words, this location also contains a blessing?”

Zhao Jingxuan looked at the nine mighty mountains in the distance with unconcealed shock on her face.

There were too many secrets and unimaginable wonders here. Such godlike methods were something they could only look up to in awe.

“Correct!”

Toady’s eyes glowed as he rubbed his fists. “This is called there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. This king might not have gotten anything previously, but I will win big this time!”