178: Zheng's Treasure House

Chapter 177 Zheng Clan Treasure Trove

Led by Chen Liancang, Zheng Yi once again arrived inside the Emperor Taizus Mausoleum on Tianshou Mountain.

Inside the Emperor Taizus Mausoleum was dead silent now, with only dozens of Shadow Guards cleaning inside.

These people were all the most loyal to Zheng Yi, born as death warriors, and would never betray Zheng Yi.

Inside the Golden Luan Hall, that huge golden coffin had long been removed, and even the Dragon throne had been pushed aside.

A pitch-black entrance appeared before Zheng Yi.

"Your Majesty, please look, the jade steps located right in the middle of the Emperor Taizus Mausoleum are actually hollow."

Chen Liancang explained: "Not only does it contain the main pivot of the three major Formations here, but there is also a huge 'Zheng Clan Treasure Trove'."

"That treasure trove has no traps, as if it was specially prepared for Your Majesty."

"This old slave entered personally to check, and there is no danger."

"Let's go, let's go down and take a look."

"Understood!"

Liu Chengen led the way in front, and Zheng Yi followed closely behind, stepping into the Taizus Treasure Trove.

This was a spiraling downward staircase. After walking for less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a huge hollow plaza once again appeared before Zheng Yi's eyes.

Three Formation Plates separated in three directions appeared before Zheng Yi's eyes.

Each Formation Plate was composed of hundreds or even thousands of special Formation patterns, which was extremely complicated.

Among them, there were also a large number of holes, which were obviously places to place Spirit Stones.

"Your Majesty, these are the Formation Plates of the three major Formations. At that time, we only need to use Spirit Stones to activate the Formation cores, or have Cultivators personally garrison them, to open the three major Formations."

"It is a pity that none of us have Spirit Stones in our hands, so this Formation can only be regarded as a decoration."

Zheng Yi's heart stirred as he said: "There are no Spirit Stones in the Taizus Treasure Trove either?"

Chen Liancang shook his head and said: "None, Your Majesty, please~"

Chen Liancang continued downwards, and soon a gate taller than a person appeared before Zheng Yi's eyes.

"Your Majesty, this is the Taizus Treasure Trove."

"It preserves a large number of cultivation items left behind by Taizu, many of which this old slave does not recognize."

Zheng Yi carefully looked it over and found that this gate only had two panels, but the surrounding walls were carved with dragons and phoenixes, fully displaying the royal style.

On it, the four large characters 'Zheng Clan Treasure Trove' were also engraved.

"Let's go in and take a look."

"Understood!"

The treasure trove gate was opened, and when Zheng Yi walked in to take a look, his nostrils were filled with a faint decaying odor.

Obviously, no one had entered this treasure trove for more than three hundred years.

The area of this treasure trove was not very large, and one could see the end at a single glance.

From Zheng Yi's perspective, it was roughly equivalent to the size of a football field.

However, the height was very high, reaching about ten meters, with the entire space approaching nearly 80,000 cubic meters.

On both sides of the secret vault, rows upon rows of huge iron blocks taller than a person were placed, numbering over a thousand.

"What kind of thing is this?"

Zheng Yi tapped on the iron block, making a clanging sound, feeling that it was very hard.

Chen Liancang said: "Your Majesty, this old slave is not too clear either. It should be a kind of Material used by Cultivators for Artifact Refining."

Zheng Yi walked a few more steps and immediately said: "Old Chen, please return to the capital and have Consort Cui, Consort Chan, and Consort Yu make a trip here. Neither of us are Cultivators, so we cannot enter a treasure mountain and return empty-handed."

"Understood!"

Chen Liancang said respectfully, and immediately turned around to leave to convey the imperial decree.

As for Zheng Yi, he walked forward with his hands behind his back and began to inspect.

Rows of huge stones spanned over a hundred meters. Zheng Yi stopped from time to time to look them over, finding it quite novel.

After passing this pile of stones, there were rows of neatly stacked wooden boxes. Opening them, it was another pile of things Zheng Yi did not recognize.

Continuing forward, various different Materials appeared before his eyes.

Special woods, metals, and bones; some were piled casually there, while others were packed in wooden boxes and scattered all over the ground.

Continuing forward.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Zheng Yi arrived at the very innermost part of the treasure trove.

This should be the most precious thing in the treasure trove. On a huge platform, twelve wooden boxes and jade bottles, big or small, were placed.

Zheng Yi carefully counted them. There were seven wooden boxes and five jade bottles among them, quietly resting there.

For over three hundred years, no one had touched them.

But this place was located underground, so even after more than three hundred years, there was not a trace of dust on these wooden boxes and jade bottles, and they were almost as good as new.

"These things..."

Zheng Yi did not intend to open them yet; it would be better to wait until Consort Cui and the others arrived to open them together.

After all, if he didn't recognize them after opening, wouldn't it be a bit awkward?

"Huh? This is..."

Zheng Yi's eyes suddenly lit up. In the middle of several wooden boxes, there was unexpectedly placed a... book?

"How could there be a book in this place?"

He picked it up and flipped through it, only to find that this was not a book at all, but... a booklet recording some secret anecdotes.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Zheng Yi rubbed his slightly sore neck before closing the booklet in his hand.

"I see. The sudden dissipation of Spiritual Qi in this world is not due to a Spiritual Qi tide. A Spiritual Qi tide is a long process, taking at least several thousand or even tens of thousands of years."

"Yet the dissipation of Spiritual Qi in this world is as if more than half of it has been absorbed by some mysterious person, mysterious species, or mysterious change, and it is still slowly absorbing it even until now."

Zheng Yi muttered: "Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs."

"The more Cultivators there are, the more Spiritual Qi they occupy privately, which will make the Spiritual Qi of the entire world become thin."

"But at the same time, once a Cultivator dies, the magical power within their body will once again return to heaven and earth, transforming back into Spiritual Qi."

"However, with this great change in heaven and earth, no matter how many Cultivators die, the Spiritual Qi does not recover. That is to say, there is some kind of existence that has been secretly absorbing Spiritual Qi, and the speed is extremely fast!"

These secret messages were all seen by him from this booklet.

"Their Zheng ancestor was originally an Inner Sect Disciple of the Yellow Springs Sect. After obtaining this secret, they had been preparing for this matter all along."

"Under the great calamity of heaven and earth, the ten major Sects and over a thousand Sects launched a great battle for survival, and even beat the entire continent into countless fragments."

"The continent where Great Yu currently stays is actually a part of the original sites of Sects such as the Fu You Sect, Yellow Springs Sect, and Tianmo Sect, while the other continents were beaten overseas."

"After the Yellow Springs Sect fought with other Sects in this great calamity of heaven and earth until their blood was almost drained, and the entire Sect migrated overseas, the Zheng ancestor stayed behind."

"Relying on plotting and some resources snatched from the great calamity, they established Great Yu!"

Zheng Yi muttered: "The original intention of the Taizu of Zheng was to rely on the Mortal Imperial Dynasty to consolidate his own power, and at the same time use the secret method of the Yellow Springs Sect to transform himself into a spiritual corpse body, surviving for ten thousand years, waiting for the recovery of Spiritual Qi."

"Who would have known that in just over three hundred years, it was interrupted by me!"

"And these things..."

Zheng Yi turned back, opened his arms, and said: "These things are all cultivation items specially preserved by the Taizu of Zheng for his future Cultivation, and they are all fine products!"

"It is a pity that the booklet records that among these cultivation items, Spiritual Plants and Medicinal Pills did not have much preserved because Spiritual Qi would leak away."

"I wonder if the Spiritual Qi in the few remaining Medicinal Pills has also dissipated?"

Just at this moment, a commotion came from the entrance of the treasure trove, and it was Chen Liancang and the others.

"This old slave greets Your Majesty." Chen Liancang said: "All three consorts have arrived."

Behind him, Consort Cui, Consort Chan, and Consort Yu all bowed in salute.

"Your concubine greets Your Majesty."

"My three Beloved Consorts, please rise quickly. You and I are both husband and wife and Fellow Daoists, there is no need for such formalities."

Consort Cui said: "Your Majesty, among us Fellow Daoists, monarch and ministers come first, husband and wife come second, and finally Fellow Daoists. Etiquette cannot be discarded."

Zheng Yi smiled and said: "Beloved Consort still thinks things through thoroughly. Right, Beloved Consort, these things were all left to us by Taizu. Unfortunately, Chen Lao and I are just cultivation novices, and we are not very familiar with these cultivation items."

"I wonder if my three Beloved Consorts can clear up my confusion?"

"Then let us concubines take a look."

The three split up and began inspecting the things throughout the treasure trove.

Soon Cui Xiabing shouted: "Your Majesty, please come over."

"What has Beloved Consort discovered?"

At the entrance of the treasure trove, Consort Cui looked at the largest and most numerous black iron blocks among them and said: "This item should be the most basic Material for Cultivators to carry out Artifact Refining, refined iron!"

"Your concubine has seen it from Revered Master, but Revered Master only had a small piece, about the size of a bronze mirror."

"I didn't expect... there to actually be so much here in the Taizus Treasure Trove!"

While speaking, she also gestured with her hands, looking extremely surprised, her small mouth agape.

"Refined iron?"

Zheng Yi looked up and down at this pile of large black iron blocks and asked directly: "How to use it?"

Consort Cui smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, Cultivators in the Qi Refinement Phase cannot use it. Only Cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage can use their own magical power to condense spiritual fire to melt and forge it."

"Or find some heaven and earth spiritual fire to melt it."

"I think Taizu back then must have also consumed tremendous manpower and material resources to refine so much refined iron."

"With so much refined iron, your concubine even feels that it can forge the most basic Magical Artifacts for all Disciples of a Sect!"

"A Sect... tsk tsk tsk, it must have at least several hundred to a thousand people."

Zheng Yi also praised it with a tsk. At this time, Consort Yu not far away also shouted: "Your Majesty, your concubine recognizes this item."

Zheng Yi and Consort Cui crowded over to take a look and found that Consort Yu was standing in front of a pile of wooden boxes.

Several of the boxes had already been opened, and Consort Yu was counting the things inside.

Zheng Yi took a look; it seemed to be a pile of yellow paper, stacked layer upon layer in a huge pile.

"Your Majesty, this item is Talisman paper. Your concubine has seen it from Revered Master. The Spirit Testing Talisman previously bestowed by Revered Master was drawn with this Talisman paper."

Consort Yu pointed to several other boxes and said: "Those boxes contain cinnabar, aged ink, and other items, which are essential Materials for drawing Talismans."

"Beloved Consort knows how to draw Talismans?"

Consort Yu said with embarrassment: "Your concubine asked Revered Master for guidance, and Revered Master bestowed a book titled Introduction to Talismans, but until now your concubine only knows how to draw two basic Talismans: the Spirit Testing Talisman and the Divine Travel Talisman, and the success rate is very low."

Zheng Yi said: "As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Beloved Consort's success rate in drawing Talismans is not high because the number of Talismans drawn is very small."

"With so much Talisman paper here, Beloved Consort can take and use it at will, rapidly improving the skill of drawing Talismans, especially the Spirit Testing Talisman."

"I hope that in our Great Yu, many people possessing Spiritual Roots can emerge."

"Spirit Testing Talisman?"

Consort Yu suddenly said: "That's right, Your Majesty, didn't your concubine have a few Spirit Testing Talismans in hand before? I tried them out on some of the sisters in the palace."

"I didn't expect that there really is someone possessing a Spiritual Root."

"Oh? Who is it? What kind of Spiritual Root?"