370: Chapter 370 Apology: Xuan Tian Approaches the Ancient City, A Lazy Man in Green Robes Rejects Immortal Treasures

The morning in Chunyu City always awakens with the first cry of a soybean milk vendor from deep within the alleys.

Last night's rain had already ceased, and a touch of fish-belly white appeared on the horizon. The cobblestone streets were uneven, filled with puddles of murky mud that reflected the gradually brightening sky. Early-rising vendors were nimbly setting up their oilcloth stalls and lighting fires to boil water; the crackling of burning wood and the white mist of steam added a touch of lively mundane atmosphere to this Mortal city.

Everything seemed utterly ordinary.

However.

Just as the first ray of golden sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the mottled walls of Chunyu City.

"Rumble—"

A terrifying roar, like the explosion of Nine Heavens thunder, erupted without warning in the sky outside Chunyu City.

The Mortals in the city looked up in terror.

They saw the originally azure sky seemingly torn apart by a pair of invisible giant hands. Dozens of brilliant streaks of light, each thousands of feet long and of various colors, were hurtling from the horizon like falling stars, accompanied by the sharp whistle of tearing air.

Within every streak of light, a massive fluctuation of Spiritual Qi emanated, causing the surrounding Void Realm to distort.

This was the phenomenon created by the friction between the Laws of heaven and earth when Nascent Soul Stage and Golden Core Stage powerhouses flew at full speed.

Normally, if such high and mighty immortal powerhouses were passing by a Mortal city, they wouldn't even spare it a second glance, passing through the sky as mere flashes of light.

But today, these dozens of terrifying streaks of light came to a sudden, almost clumsy halt ten miles away from Chunyu City.

The light dissipated.

Sect Master Tianshuzi of the Xuantian Taoist Sect, wearing a Purple Gold Star Crown and a magnificent Daoist robe embroidered with the sun, moon, and stars, hovered in mid-air with a deathly pale face.

Behind him followed over a dozen core Elders of the Xuantian Taoist Sect, each an influential figure capable of summoning wind and rain within the Sect. But at this moment, the faces of these old monsters were devoid of their usual majesty and arrogance, leaving only deep panic and trembling.

"Sect Master... we have arrived." An Elder swallowed hard, his voice involuntarily shaking as he looked at the Mortal city below, partially hidden in the morning mist.

Sect Master Tianshuzi took a deep breath.

The cold morning wind filled his lungs, but it could not extinguish the fear burning in his heart.

The tragic sight of Elder Tianming bleeding from his seven orifices with a withered Primordial Spirit, and the image of the ten-thousand-year Legacy zhoutian instrument shattering into pieces, replayed in his mind like a nightmare.

"Descend."

Sect Master Tianshuzi's voice was hoarse, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

"From here on, everyone, retract your protective Qi, dissipate your flight light, and enter the city on foot."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the Elders changed.

Enter the city on foot? They, the high-level members of the number one Sect in the Qingping Realm, were actually going to use their feet to step into those mud-filled streets like common Mortals?

But such thoughts only flashed through their minds for an instant before being completely suppressed by a deeper fear.

No one dared to raise an objection.

"Swish, swish, swish."

Dozens of figures descended from the sky, landing steadily on the dirt road outside Chunyu City.

Sect Master Tianshuzi walked at the very front.

He deliberately restrained all his aura and strode into the open city gate.

The guards on both sides of the gate had already collapsed in terror from the phenomena in the sky; seeing this group of immortals in magnificent Daoist robes and extraordinary bearing walking toward them, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

They entered Chunyu City.

The puddles and mud on the street mercilessly soiled the hems of their priceless Daoist robes, woven from Ice Silkworm Silk.

Cold mud seeped into their cloud-patterned boots. That slimy sensation belonging to the Mortal world caused these old monsters, who hadn't touched the ground in centuries, to feel waves of discomfort.

But Sect Master Tianshuzi did not stop, nor did he use any dust-repelling Spells.

He walked steadily, letting the mud splash onto his gold-embroidered hem.

Along the sides of the street.

The vendors who had just set up their stalls and the laborers eating breakfast from coarse porcelain bowls.

They all turned into stone and wood carvings.

Their mouths hung open as they stared blankly at this bizarre procession.

"That... that's the symbol of the Xuantian Taoist Sect..." A destitute Loose Cultivator with a bit of knowledge hid under the eaves, pointing at the star patterns on Sect Master Tianshuzi's robe and stammering.

"My god... the Sect Master of the number one Sect in the Qingping Realm... is actually walking in these mud pits..."

Suppressed exclamations erupted from the crowd.

Sect Master Tianshuzi remained indifferent to the surrounding gazes.

There was only one thought in his heart.

To appease the wrath of that supreme existence.

The group crossed most of Chunyu City and finally arrived before the two-story building on the west side of the city that bore the worn-out sign of "Yuelai Inn."

The wooden door of the inn was half-ajar, and a faint scent of low-quality sandalwood and firewood drifted from within.

Sect Master Tianshuzi stopped three zhang away from the inn's threshold.

He straightened his mud-splattered purple-gold Daoist robe and took a deep breath.

Then.

Under the gaze of hundreds of Mortal eyes along the entire street.

This Late Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse, who awed the Qingping Realm and could decide the life and death of billions with a single word.

Bent his knees.

"Thud."

The dull sound of knees hitting the cobblestones spread clearly through the silent morning street.

Mud splashed onto his face, but he didn't even dare to wipe it away.

Seeing their Sect Master kneel, the dozen or so Golden Core and Nascent Soul Elders behind him also knelt down in unison, like a mountain of gold collapsing or a jade pillar toppling.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud!"

A series of dull sounds followed.

The street in front of the inn, which was reasonably wide, was now packed with the top figures of the Qingping Realm kneeling.

The fat innkeeper, who had been hiding behind the counter clicking his abacus, heard the commotion outside and curiously poked his head out.

At this sight, the fat innkeeper felt his vision go dark, nearly fainting on the spot.

This display was ten thousand times more terrifying than those few fiends from the Iron Blood Sect yesterday!

"The unworthy Junior of the Xuantian Taoist Sect, Tianshuzi, along with all the Elders of the Sect, has come specifically to beg for your Excellency's forgiveness!"

Sect Master Tianshuzi's voice, laced with a trace of True Qi, echoed softly along the street.

He didn't dare to shout loudly, fearing he might disturb the peaceful dreams of the existence inside the inn.

"Li Batian was blind and offended your Excellency; he deserved his death. My Xuantian Taoist Sect failed in its discipline and cannot escape blame. Today, we have prepared a small gift to express the remorse of our entire Sect, and we beg for your Excellency's mercy!"

After speaking, Sect Master Tianshuzi held up a large treasure chest made of Thousand-year Sunken Yin Wood with both hands, raising it high above his head.

The lid of the treasure chest was not fastened shut.

As he raised his hands, the lid opened slightly, revealing a small gap.

"Hum—"

A tide of Spiritual Qi, so dense it almost turned into a solid liquid, instantly surged out from that gap!

Inside the treasure chest.

Lay three Ten-thousand-year Purple Rhyme Dragon Emperor Ginsengs, their bodies deep purple and their roots coiled like true dragons. Such divine items, even if one only bit off a tiny root hair, could allow a Mortal to achieve Ascension in broad daylight or instantly heal a heavily injured Nascent Soul powerhouse.

Beside the Dragon Emperor Ginsengs, ten mutton-fat jade bottles were neatly arranged. The bottle openings faintly emitted the cold, holy luster of Taiyi Condensate.

And at the very center of the chest was a palm-sized black tortoise shell covered in ancient cracks. This was the Black Tortoise Shell, one of the foundational treasures of the Xuantian Taoist Sect, a half-step Soul Transformation Stage protective Dao Artifact. Once activated, it could withstand a full-strength blow from a Soul Transformation Stage old monster.

The spiritual lights emitted by these treasures intertwined to form a brilliant rainbow that shot straight into the clouds.

The rich medicinal fragrance and Spiritual Qi instantly transformed this dilapidated Mortal street into a blessed land.

The surrounding Mortals, by merely sniffing the medicinal fragrance, felt their chronic illnesses swept away, their bodies filled with inexhaustible strength.

However, in the face of such peerless treasures that would drive any Cultivator in the Qingping Realm mad.

On the second floor of the inn.

The carved wooden window of Heaven Room No. 3.

Remained tightly shut.

There was not the slightest movement.

Sect Master Tianshuzi held the treasure chest high; his arms had already begun to ache, and mud dripped from his chin. But he still maintained that humble posture, not daring to move an inch.

Time passed bit by bit.

The sun gradually rose, and the sunlight dispersed the morning mist.

The Mortals on both sides of the street, hiding behind door cracks and under eaves, were already numb with shock as they watched this group of immortals kneeling motionless in the mud.

A full half-hour passed.

"Creak—"

The harsh sound of a wooden hinge finally broke the suffocating silence.

The wooden window on the second floor facing the street.

Was slowly pushed open from the inside.

Zhou Wannian, wearing his faded green robe, appeared at the window.

He had clearly just woken up.

His hair was loosely tied behind his head with a wooden hairpin, with several strands hanging slightly disheveled over his forehead.

He let out a long yawn.

He reached out and rubbed the corners of his eyes.

On that handsome and easygoing face hung a sort of groggy laziness and casualness.

He didn't even look down; instead, he first tilted his head back to look at the sun in the sky.

"These Mortal bedboards are a bit hard after all; my back and waist ache from sleeping on them."

Zhou Wannian muttered in a steady tone.

Only then did he slowly lower his head.

His eyes, deep as ancient wells, faintly swept over the crowd from the Xuantian Taoist Sect kneeling all over the ground below.

As well as the treasure chest held high above Sect Master Tianshuzi's head, which was emitting a sky-piercing Spiritual Qi.

There was no shock.

No greed.

There wasn't even the slightest hint of surprise.

Zhou Wannian leaned one hand on the windowsill, his posture relaxed to the extreme.

"Why are you wailing like it's a funeral in the street so early in the morning?"

Zhou Wannian's tone was flat, without any pressure, yet it made the hearts of all the Nascent Soul powerhouses below skip a beat.

Sect Master Tianshuzi's entire body jolted, and he hurriedly lowered his head even further.

"This Junior has disturbed your Excellency's peaceful dreams; I deserve ten thousand deaths!"

"These mundane items are a small token from the entire Xuantian Taoist Sect. We beg your Excellency to please accept them and give us a chance to atone for our sins!"

Zhou Wannian listened to Sect Master Tianshuzi's humble plea, which was practically in the dust.

His gaze swept over the Dragon Emperor Ginseng and the Black Tortoise Shell in the treasure chest once more.

"Mundane items? You've used a very appropriate term."

Zhou Wannian casually commented.

"A few stalks of weeds that have grown for a bit longer, and a broken shell stripped from a dead turtle."

"Treating these pieces of junk as treasures and even eagerly running here to give them to me as gifts."

He shook his head, his eyes full of lack of interest.

"Take them back. My room in this inn is small to begin with; there's no place to pile up this space-consuming trash."

If anyone else had said these words, Sect Master Tianshuzi would have certainly slapped them into meat paste.

But coming from this taboo existence who had casually crushed a Core Formation stage ancestor and caused a lethal backlash to Elder Tianming.

Sect Master Tianshuzi not only didn't dare to have the slightest anger, but instead felt a deep sense of despair.

If even these foundational treasures were looked down upon, how should he apologize?

If the other party truly got angry, wouldn't the Xuantian Taoist Sect be wiped off the face of the Qingping Realm?

Just as Sect Master Tianshuzi was in utter despair and about to open his mouth to plead.

Zhou Wannian's gaze, which was originally about to be withdrawn.

Suddenly paused for a moment at the bottom of the treasure chest held by Sect Master Tianshuzi.

Because Sect Master Tianshuzi held it so high, the base of the chest was slightly tilted.

Beneath the three Dragon Emperor Ginsengs emitting purple immortal light.

In the gap used to prop up the herbs and prevent the loss of medicinal properties.

Was a flat wooden box, only palm-sized, completely black and utterly unremarkable.

The wood of this box was dry and decayed, and the surface was even covered with worm-eaten holes. There were no Formations added, nor was there any leak of Spiritual Qi.

It looked like a piece of rotten wood picked up randomly from a corner of a woodshed, used as a spacer and casually stuffed under those peerless treasures.

But.

At the moment Zhou Wannian's deep eyes saw this black wooden box.

His pupils contracted slightly.

He did not use his Divine Sense to investigate.

Because it wasn't necessary.

Deep within his inner universe Primordial Spirit, which was sealed by 99,999 layers.

That Law chain that had produced a faint ripple last night.

At this very moment.

Once again.

Vibrated extremely clearly!

It was a resonance of the same source.

A response that crossed dimensions.

On Zhou Wannian's originally lazy face, all the casualness instantly vanished.

A cold, deep smile, tinged with a bit of dangerous interest, slowly curled at the corners of his mouth.

That unknown power that had hidden in the shadows last night, attempting to nudge his Seal through the cracks of Karma.

That high-dimensional aura that had tried to "knock on the door."

Surprisingly.

Was exactly the same as the scent emanating from this piece of junk wooden box propped at the bottom of the chest!

"Interesting."

Zhou Wannian crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the black wooden box.

"In the time it took to take a nap, this clue has actually delivered itself to my door."

He stood before the second-floor window.

Facing the morning wind.

He did not look at those priceless Immortal Plants and Magic Treasures.

Instead, he extended a long, fair index finger.

Across the air.

He pointed at the lowest, most unremarkable corner of the treasure chest in Sect Master Tianshuzi's hands.

"Take those few stalks of grass back and stew them into soup for yourself to drink."

Zhou Wannian's voice was still steady, but it carried an unquestionable tone of command.

"That piece of black wood propping up the bottom of your chest."

"Bring it up and let me have a look."