184: The spirit and Emperor Taizong's armor

Zhou Yan looked at the dazzling array of rare treasures and immediately opened his panel to scan them.

Fortunately, he could directly view most of the items here. If they all required appraisal, it would have been troublesome.

He ignored the resentful gaze behind him; the more resentful the other party was, the more it proved the value of these items.

After a few steps, perhaps due to the little emperor's Luck acting up again, Zhou Yan quickly locked onto his first target.

[Earth Marrow Solution (Tier 3)]

[Quality: Excellent]

Zhou Yan's gaze fell on the small box, and with a casual gesture, he drew it into his hand.

Opening the box, he found a bottle the size of a mineral water bottle. He shook it, confirming it was filled with Earth Marrow Solution.

However, this action displeased Emperor Gaozong.

"Hey, hey, don't rummage around. That's enough."

Zhou Yan ignored Emperor Gaozong's complaint, put the bottle back in the box, and stored the box and its contents into his profound ring.

"Senior, why the rush? There are six items in total."

"There's no harm in me picking carefully, is there?"

This first item wasn't of a high grade, and its rarity was average, but its advantage lay in its large quantity.

Earth Marrow Solution forms in underground cave (karst caves) in places rich in Spiritual Qi, accumulating over years from the essence dripping from stalagmites, with an extremely high earth attribute content.

Such a large bottle would be more than enough for him to refine his internal organs with plenty left over.

This was a good start, directly solving the need for an earth-attribute spiritual item.

Next, he needed to find a fire-attribute spiritual item.

Zhou Yan suddenly felt a warmth. Following the sensation, he walked a few steps and began rummaging through a pile of resources.

He initially thought he had found the fire-attribute spiritual item he was looking for, but instead, it was a strangely shaped weapon, like an unfinished wood carving, though the material didn't quite match.

Although this was a good item for a Core Formation Stage Cultivator to use as a Lifebound Treasure, he couldn't use it now. Even if he fed it to yuanwu xielü as a snack, the improvement wouldn't be significant.

However, out of curiosity, Zhou Yan still wanted to take a closer look.

Since it was a Magic Treasure and had such a peculiar shape, it meant it had its own unique qualities. So Zhou Yan decided to examine its function through direct contact, using his restricted Divine Sense.

"If I were you, I wouldn't touch it."

Hearing the voice behind him, Zhou Yan frowned.

Since Emperor Gaozong spoke to stop him, it meant this item might not be simple.

But he also suspected that the other party might be deliberately using his psychology to set a trap for him in reverse.

To be safe, Zhou Yan withdrew the hand he was reaching towards the Magic Treasure and turned to ask.

"Senior Gaozong, I truly have no use for this item, but I'm curious. Since I'm not taking it, could you tell me what it is? Why is its shape so peculiar?"

In his eyes, this item displayed as:

[Blazing Sun Whip (Tier 3)]

[Quality: Excellent ★★★]

It was evident that its quality surpassed most Lifebound Treasures that Core Formation Stage Cultivators could choose.

It was only one grade lower than the treasures prepared by Qingxu Grotto-Heaven for Reserve Holy Sons.

Emperor Gaozong, however, showed a strange smile.

After all, he had lived for a long time and quickly adjusted his mindset after two rounds of torment. But his next words made Zhou Yan gasp.

"That was the Lifebound Treasure of a certain Emperor of Great Yu."

"It's just that he had bad Luck. The Magic Treasure had just been refined, not yet fully tempered, when he suffered Qi Deviation and died."

"So this semi-finished product was stored in the treasury."

"As for what it is..."

"That is precisely the 'treasure' that the emperor's personal eunuch had cut off when he entered the palace."

"The other party possessed a Fire Spirit Physique, and that item was originally a Yang-attribute object."

"After he damaged his Dao body to cultivate Yin Fire, this item absorbed the excess Yang Qi, making its fire attribute even stronger, naturally becoming an excellent fire-attribute Core Formation material."

Emperor Gaozong spoke casually, but Zhou Yan subconsciously clamped his legs together.

Indeed, one always had to lose something on the path of cultivation.

But why were the Emperors of Great Yu stranger than the last? There was one who dressed as a woman to entertain guests, and another who used a eunuch's "good brother" as a Magic Treasure.

Zhou Yan even suspected whether that eunuch had a hand in the emperor suffering Qi Deviation.

He composed himself, pulled the surrounding resources back, and re-buried the Magic Treasure.

Such "good stuff" should be left for future generations.

Putting aside this interlude, Zhou Yan's subsequent search went quite smoothly.

He first found the required fire-attribute spiritual item, "Crimson Ganoderma," and then discovered a gold-water dual-attribute spiritual item, "Glimmering Moon Soul Shell."

Originally, he hadn't planned to choose gold-water spiritual items from the treasury, but this item seemed to have a very high compatibility with his Physique, and his body even subtly emitted a sense of longing.

Since it was beneficial to his Physique and could serve as two items in one, he simply took it.

Soon, Zhou Yan had selected three spiritual items.

As for the remaining three slots, he found himself having some difficulty choosing.

If he chose Magic Treasures, yuanwu xielü's growth potential and versatility were very high, so his future Magic Treasures would lean more towards functionality.

Most of the items here were combat-oriented or Lifebound Treasure embryos, and taking them would only be temporary.

As for Materials, Zhou Yan's knowledge was limited. Apart from the fire and earth spiritual items and that gold-water spiritual item, he could only guess the use of other items through the panel's rating and quality. If they turned out to be useless and just gathered dust in his bag, it would be too wasteful.

Ultimately, he decided to choose some Cultivation Techniques or secret arts.

Just then, Zhou Yan's gaze swept towards the armor next to Emperor Gaozong in the distance.

He almost forgot about it; that was a good item!

Equipment for a Void Refining stage Cultivator should last a long time, and even feeding it to his Lifebound Treasure in the future could save a lot of resources.

Zhou Yan immediately discarded his previous thoughts. Taking ordinary Magic Treasures would be a loss, but this was no ordinary Magic Treasure!

He quickly approached, and just as he was about to reach out, Emperor Gaozong grabbed his wrist.

"You cannot take this armor."

Hearing this flat yet unquestionable voice, and seeing the other party's serious expression, Zhou Yan felt a bit awkward.

He admitted that part of his desire to take the armor was because Emperor Gaozong was residing in it.

After all, being able to incidentally acquire a "Void Refining stage old grandpa" wouldn't be bad.

But being directly refused still made him somewhat unhappy.

"Didn't we agree I could take six items freely? Why can't I take this one?"

Zhou Yan actually knew in his heart that although it was said to be "take freely," this armor was now somewhat like the other party's urn, and taking it directly would indeed be inappropriate.

Emperor Gaozong's expression flickered, then he explained.

"This armor no longer has any practical use. If you don't believe me, you can use your Divine Sense to investigate; I will release partial authority."

Zhou Yan felt a clarity in his mind, and a pre-set "channel" appeared before him, leading to a small space that perfectly enveloped the armor.

Since the other party had opened the authority, he naturally wouldn't pass up the chance to look. He first made contact with his Divine Sense, then scanned with the panel.

[Great Yu Dragon Armor · Incomplete (Tier 2)]

[Quality: Inferior]

Description: An armor that once contained immense power. Due to the source of its power being stripped away, its quality has significantly decreased, and its material has rapidly deteriorated. It requires regular maintenance with the power of Law to remain intact.

It is now merely a decorative item requiring cumbersome upkeep, with no practical value for wearing.

Zhou Yan carefully observed the armor.

What his Divine Sense could perceive was more detailed than the panel. He could clearly feel a small piece, about the size of a fingernail, missing from the inner side of the armor at the chest.

And the faint residual aura from that spot felt unusually familiar to him.

The additional effect brought by his Cooking Skill made him exceptionally sensitive to the original flavor of ingredients.

And he had tasted that very flavor not long ago.

This was... the taste of a Demon Venerable.