In the courtyard, the Ancient Bodhi Tree stood in quiet stillness.
Bathed in moonlight, every leaf shimmered with an emerald glow.
Though it had weathered more than two thousand years, its branches remained vigorous and full of vibrant life.
If one stared at it long enough, a certain resonance of the Dao could be felt coursing through it.
Yet beyond this, the Ancient Bodhi Tree showed nothing out of the ordinary.
"The global mutation may seem to be unfolding silently, but its scope is still exceedingly small. To outsiders, it appears as nothing more than ordinary natural phenomena. But once that day arrives a little over a month from now, everything will be completely different. Anomalies will erupt across the entire world like a blowout."
Lu Yuan pondered this as he walked toward the villa's main hall.
At this stage, the vast majority of divine treasures showed no signs of abnormality.
Thus, even if outsiders stumbled upon them, they wouldn't take them seriously—and might even ignore them entirely.
Yet after that day, everything would change.
Naturally, there were certain items that already possessed wondrous uses before the mutation, but most of those had likely been secured in advance by mysterious factions led by groups like the Wuzhou Group.
Lu Yuan's advantage was having lived through a full ten years of the new era, possessing a wealth of firsthand experience.
And that was something no one in today's world could rival.
It was also the fundamental reason he knew precisely how to plan for the future and keep himself steps ahead of everyone else.
Returning to the main hall, Lu Yuan went straight down to the basement. After typing a passcode into a keypad beside a heavy door, the alloy door swung open, and the lights inside clicked on automatically.
There wasn't much inside.
Only three items: a bead, a tattered Daoist robe, and a bow. All looked utterly ordinary, showing nothing unusual.
Seeing them, Lu Yuan walked in and set the Ghost Seal he had acquired from Jubaozhai onto a counter.
He first picked up the first item, stroking it gently.
It was a bead—unevenly shaped, its surface marred by minor impurities. If left on the roadside, it wouldn't draw a second glance from anyone.
Yet in reality, Lu Yuan alone knew that this was a relic left behind by an eminent monk after attaining nirvana—commonly known as a sarira. It had been unearthed from an ancient tomb in the plateau snow regions, and hidden within it was a terrifyingly formidable Buddhist divine ability.
Naturally, even if ordinary people possessed it, they wouldn't know how to unlock it.
Because this object would reveal its true supernatural wonder only after the global mutation, once consecrated under the Ancient Bodhi Tree.
As for the second item, a tattered, patched Daoist robe, it was the Innate Qi Robe. Wearing it allowed one to automatically absorb the power of heaven and earth. Not only could it temper the physical body, but it also warded off hundreds of poisons and was impervious to water and fire. More importantly, its defensive resilience was astonishing, capable of withstanding lightning.
Finally, the bow was called the Heaven-Shaking Bow. Legend had it that ancient people had crafted it in imitation of the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow.
Once drawn, it would automatically gather the power of heaven and earth to form arrows, capable of striking and slaying targets across thousands of miles.
Although its power fell short of Dayi's original bow, in this modern day, it was undeniably a divine treasure.
In his previous life, Lu Yuan had witnessed a powerhouse wielding this very Heaven-Shaking Bow, shooting down stars from beyond the world with supreme divine might.
All three items were things he had purchased at great cost after his rebirth, relying on his memories to track them down in antique markets or domestic auction houses. Because they were essentially genuine antiquities and respectable collector's pieces, their prices had not been cheap.
In particular, the Heaven-Shaking Bow, exceptionally well preserved, had cost well over fifty million yuan.
Yet to Lu Yuan, their intrinsic worth could never be measured in money.
Perhaps in some people's eyes, spending like this was pure squandering, but how could they ever understand his true objective?
The Ancient Bodhi Tree would awaken the innate spirit and divine wisdom, granting hundreds of millions of times the innate talent.
The sarira contained a supreme Buddhist divine ability.
The Innate Qi Robe tempered the flesh, resisted fire and water, and withstood lightning.
The Heaven-Shaking Bow gathered the power of heaven and earth to slay foes thousands of miles away.
The complete Daodejing would awaken the Cosmic Visualization Diagram, hailed as the paramount visualization technique under heaven.
The Ghost Seal and Chen Song's heirloom cauldron were the two most critical keys to entering the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
Lu Yuan took mental stock. Aside from the final two items, every single one of the others would grant him immense benefits, arming him to the teeth so he could face any catastrophe following the global mutation and embark upon an invincible path.
"Not enough. It's still not enough. Mount Longhu's wordless stele, the extraterrestrial sword core, the Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda, Old Man Ge's Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace..."
"To reach the pinnacle of supremacy, I have to obtain these as well. Every single one is indispensable."
Ten years of struggling at the bottom in his previous life had taught Lu Yuan the true meaning of cruelty.
He did not want to experience it again, nor was he willing to endure it ever again.
Therefore, once he wrapped up his current affairs, he planned to prepare to leave Shanghai and put everything in order before the mutation fully descended.
With that, Lu Yuan once again checked through the items in his possession that would transform into divine treasures, then turned and left the basement.
This underground room had also been specially constructed; no one else could possibly enter.
Over the days that followed, Lu Yuan continued his preparations, exercising his body while watching for any other potential gains. Whenever he had free time, he would visit Old Man Ge's place to see if there was anything he could help with.
During this period, he received the complete Daodejing shipped from overseas and met with Chen Song to secure the small cauldron. The collection in the basement grew even richer than before.
One morning, having just finished his workout and washed up, Lu Yuan ate breakfast while deep in thought.
"Ordinary exercise can only achieve basic physical fitness. To truly forge a superhuman physique, special methods are required. So I must get my hands on that Ziwu Heaven-Mending Furnace at Old Man Ge's house."
He pondered how to speed up the process.
After all, that was one of the few items that could prove useful even before the global mutation.
It would allow him to lay a solid foundation and yield all sorts of unexpected wonders later on.
Ring, ring, ring.
Right at that moment, the phone rang.
Lu Yuan picked it up, took a look, and his eyes lit up. "Hello, Manager Lin? How did it go?"
Indeed, the caller was Manager Lin from the sixth floor of Jubaozhai.
"Mr. Lu, it's arranged! The person will arrive at my place by ten o'clock. But... whether a deal can be reached, I can't say for sure," Manager Lin's voice came through the line. "So when the time comes, you'll still have to talk to him in person."
What they were referring to was the Eleven-Tier Blood Pagoda—another item Lu Yuan was determined to obtain.
Hearing this, Lu Yuan smiled. "Don't worry. As long as he shows up, things will be manageable. I'll head over right away."
Hanging up the phone, he didn't hesitate. After tidying up, he drove away from the villa.
The man was coming, which meant there was interest, even if it wasn't particularly strong.
What he needed to do was steadily expand that willingness until the man agreed to part with the item. On that front, Lu Yuan was quite confident.
Chapter 11