Chen Chuan thought it over. Hongfu was an active conscious entity. If placed among martial artists, she could be considered a martial artist of the Visage of the Divine, though with some differences. By analogy, she was even closer to an entity from the other side.
In that sense, this "divine embryo" might be of some benefit to Hongfu.
He communicated with Hongfu and confirmed this thought.
Then this object could also be taken out along with him.
Besides these lacquer boxes, there were also several exquisitely shaped two-eared pottery jars arranged here.
However, no materials that isolated spiritual fields were used on them. With just a sweep of his spirit, he had a clear idea of what lay within.
A few were second- and third-tier relics whose functions were all meant for maintaining and preserving items, while most of the rest were medicines and pills used in cultivating the Divine and Aberrant Visages, present in great quantities.
Only, these things were of little use to him.
In the early stages of a martial artist, resources that aided spiritual growth had still been useful to him, but at his current level, what he needed more were resources that matched himself.
So he merely took the two boxes and left the rest untouched for now, to be dealt with later.
He walked out from within. Pilingzi was waiting at the mouth of the grotto, offering him a faint smile. "It seems Xuanji has reaped some gains. Shall we proceed to the second secret vault now?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "I must trouble High Cultivator to lead the way."
Pilingzi smiled. "Please follow me, Xuanji."
The three peak pillars were connected by suspension plank bridges, so emerging from here, one could simply follow the bridge along the side to reach the next secret vault.
The two arrived before the second vault via the plank bridge. As before, Pilingzi removed the esoteric ritual arrangements placed upon it. This time, he did not follow him inside, but merely waited outside.
Chen Chuan stepped inside alone and saw that the layout here was essentially identical to the first secret vault, with many crates from the Ding Dynasty era piled within the grotto.
Having learned from his previous experience, he did not look around much and headed straight to the innermost depths. Arriving before the stone door of identical make, he raised the tooth ornament on his wrist and gave it a slight wave, opening the passage.
Reaching the bottom, the layout was no different from that of the first vault, and at the same time, the relic he carried began to grow hot.
It seemed what lay here also held something he needed.
A long table held over a dozen gold and silver vessels of varying sizes. Because rare and precious items were bound to be shielded with special materials, it amounted to an advance sorting of value, which made his search quite convenient.
Coming to the front of the table, he opened one and glanced inside; it was some kind of melon-seed-shaped substance.
"A precious material?"
It appeared what was placed here were precious materials—things Dongxuan View martial artists needed to reach the higher realm.
However, regarding the one before his eyes, although there was a decent quantity, its feel leaned more toward the spiritual direction; it was likely used by martial artists of the Visage of the Divine.
He glanced at the other vessels. According to the prompts from his relic, the remaining ones definitely contained what he needed as well—he just did not know how much.
Right at this moment, the civet stone tablet in his pocket began stirring restlessly as well; clearly, these items held tremendous appeal for it.
A pat from his hand, however, settled it down for the time being.
Next, he opened the remaining vessels one by one. Most involved the Visage of the Divine and the Aberrant Visage. When he opened the final two, he finally struck gold.
This was a silver flagon shaped like a rhinoceros. When the saddle-part of its back was lifted, within lay a translucent lump of fat the size of a silkworm cocoon. Merely laying eyes upon it caused a fierce pang of hunger to rise from his mutated tissue.
Earlier, he had found a piece of precious material among Emperor Wenguang's abandoned belongings and had specifically discussed it with Mingchengzi. He had learned that the old imperial household possessed an ancient tradition of capturing extraterrestrial demons, devils, and deities, condensing their essence into precious materials, and dividing them to be consumed.
This tradition actually traced back to the ancient emperors. Later, it gradually evolved into an old rite of imperial sacrificial worship—except they no longer divided and ate them, turning the precious materials into pure sacrificial offerings instead.
So long as one regarded oneself as an orthodox emperor, every year when performing sacrificial rites to Heaven, Earth, and the ancestors, this ceremonial protocol had to be strictly observed.
Thus, the item Emperor Wenguang carried had very likely not been for cultivation, but served merely as a ceremonial vessel indicating his status, akin to the imperial seal.
Chen Chuan's gaze fell upon it, and one of the fat lumps floated up, promptly vanishing as it was absorbed into his field.
He sensed it for a moment. He had no idea how much essence of demons and spirits had been integrated here originally; just such a tiny piece of precious material had caused the hunger in his mutated tissue to ease slightly.
As for what was held in the two vessels, adding them together amounted to roughly a hundred or so. He made a rough estimate: if these precious materials were used to break through to the higher realm, they could cover at least nearly half of his requirements.
They truly lived up to being the accumulation of an entire dynasty, though he felt what was stored here probably went beyond just the Chang Dynasty; perhaps some hailed from even earlier dynasties.
After all, in the old era, practitioners of the Exotic and Divine Visages had been the most numerous, so their collection must have been the largest. Perhaps after the sacrificial rites, some were distributed to the imperial clan, leaving quite a few precious materials for the Visage of Man remaining.
He closed the lids, preparing to take both items back with him.
His mood was quite good at this moment. In this way, nearly most of the resources required for his breakthrough had been gathered all at once.
Naturally, it was impossible for him to take away all the items in the secret vault, but according to the tradition of Great Shun, as a martial artist and frontline commander, he held the right of first selection regarding the spoils of war.
If he only chose the previous two items and these precious materials, it was well within his permissible range—in fact, he was taking less than his share.
Therefore, once the other items were handed over, the higher-ups would convert them into equivalent compensations for him.
He wondered what lay inside the third secret vault.
However, he had promised that one would be left for the Cao clan, so he would not touch it.
Glancing around once more, the remainder on display consisted of high-grade esoteric ritual materials, mutated tissues of rare and exotic species, scarce flora, relics that likewise possessed storage capabilities, and the like.
These held no benefit for his cultivation, but among them were a few that might aid Chaoming's growth, so he decided to take them along, not forgetting to pick out some "ingredients" for the civet stone tablet as well.
Thus, he simply organized a crate, placed these items inside, made it levitate behind him, and walked out.
Once outside, after exchanging a few words with Pilingzi, he returned to the front mountain and saw Empress Cao still waiting there.
Earlier, after Mingchengzi's avatar returned, Chen Chuan had received a spiritual transmission from him, learning that she had joined the Duanchen Sect through Mi Zhuzi's recommendation and taken him as her master, which was why she addressed Pilingzi as martial uncle.
Furthermore, it was precisely Emperor Wenguang's agreement to let the empress go to the Duanchen Sect to cultivate the esoteric arts that had secured Mi Zhuzi's assistance in stepping out of seclusion.
He said to Empress Cao, "Madame Cao, I have inspected the secret vaults. My previous promise will be honored. Furthermore, your presentation of the secret vaults is of service to the state, and you personally have committed no misdeeds, so I will seek a pardon on your behalf.
"With this letter of pardon, you may move about and reside within Great Shun's territory in the future. However, there is one matter I need Madame Cao to convey back to your honored master."
Empress Cao said with a solemn expression, "Please speak, Xuanji."
Chen Chuan said, "Mi Zhuzi stepped forward to oppose our Great Shun back then. Though he was hired by Yuan Xin, I hope he can offer Great Shun a reasonable explanation."
Empress Cao bowed to him and said solemnly, "This humble woman will certainly deliver Xuanji's words."
Pilingzi said with a smile, "Martial Niece Cao, as I was the one who brought you here, it is only right that I see you back."
Empress Cao said, "I trouble Martial Uncle."
Pilingzi smiled faintly, turning to Chen Chuan. "Now that I have completed this practice, I should return to my sect's gate once before seeking a secluded place for quiet cultivation. If I succeed, I will remember the karmic affinity Chen Xuanji granted me today. Well then, Chen Xuanji, farewell for now."
With that, a light emanated from him, enveloping Empress Cao, Ji Shaoyou, and several child attendants. Bowing once more to Chen Chuan's trio, he turned into a rainbow streak of light and flew toward the outside of the mountain. Then, with a flash in the sky, he broke through the domain and flew away.
Seeing him depart, Chen Chuan also prepared to head back. He exited this external heaven alongside Mu Xiaoren and Mingchengzi, gave a few instructions to Jiang Linghuai waiting outside, and returned straight to Youdu.
Upon reaching the military encampment, he drafted a report regarding the secret vaults and sent it to headquarters. Right at this time, the covert department happened to deliver intelligence concerning Prince Yi.
He glanced through it. The report showed that Prince Yi and the two Dongxuan View practitioners under his command were all adept at naval combat, capable of fighting deep underwater; indeed, his regular residence was even situated on the seabed.
No wonder Prince Yi had not feared the old dynasty in the past. Finding someone across the vast ocean was exceedingly difficult. Granted, Prince Yi still had a base on Huya Islet, but while one could target that, he could equally strike at one's own territories, forming a kind of deterrence.
Therefore, to deal with Prince Yi, the first step was to determine his approximate location. After the fall of Youdu, this puppet king was bound to hide even deeper, perhaps even using relics and esoteric rituals to conceal himself.
Tracking him down would likely be no easy task.
He gave it some thought and recalled that Mingchengzi knew and was familiar with many things regarding the old dynasty. Thus, he summoned him over via spiritual transmission and asked how much he knew about Prince Yi.
Mingchengzi asked, "Xuanji, may I venture to ask, does Great Shun intend to deal with Prince Yi, yet fears he might flee elsewhere?"
Chen Chuan did not conceal it, replying candidly, "Indeed."
Mingchengzi's spirits lifted. "Then this humble self can help."
"Oh? Is High Cultivator quite familiar with Prince Yi?"
Mingchengzi said, "Familiar would be an overstatement. It was only that back then, in order to deal with that puppet emperor, this humble self also lingered at Prince Yi's place for a time. I have a slight understanding of this puppet prince, though it does not run deep. However, if your side wishes to find him, while there might have been difficulties in the past, it will not be difficult now."
Stroking his beard, he said, "My Fulong Faction possesses a secret art called the 'Dragon-Seeking Technique.' As for this dragon, first comes dragon qi, then dragon form, and finally its spirit. This technique is precisely an art for tracking a hidden dragon.
"Prince Yi is a man of vast ambition. Though nestled in a corner, he constantly thought of replacing the puppet emperor. With the puppet Emperor Wenguang dead, he will surely proclaim himself orthodox and view himself as the successor to the old dynasty.
"If he considers himself as such, yet has not truly ascended the throne, he is like a hidden dragon—and the secret art of our Fulong Faction can track him down without fail!"
Chapter 1453