After Master Longbrow left, Ye Qiu took out paper and a pen, wrote two sentences, placed them in the wooden chest, and then moved forward.
Fairy Hundred Flowers asked Green, “The God-Slaying Bow entered your forehead. It hasn’t caused any negative effects, has it?”
Green shook her head. “No, I feel the same as usual.”
“That’s good,” Fairy Hundred Flowers said. “Before your cultivation reaches the Divine Connection realm, it’s best not to let others know you possess a sacred weapon, to avoid attracting envy.”
“Mm,” Green nodded.
Soon, three more glowing characters appeared ahead.
“Inheritance Four!”
Master Longbrow, walking at the front, saw the characters and rushed forward like lightning.
As before, beneath the glowing characters was a wooden chest.
“This treasure is mine,” Master Longbrow declared, reaching to open the chest. Suddenly, a white light burst from it.
“Bang!”
Master Longbrow was blasted back, his back crashing into the stone wall, breaking two bones, and he fell heavily to the ground.
“Ouch, that hurts like hell,” Master Longbrow cried out in pain.
Ye Qiu walked over, helped him up, and asked, “You’re not going to die, are you?”
This earned him a glare from Master Longbrow. “You little brat, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you hoping I’ll kick the bucket?”
“Of course not, I’m concerned about you,” Ye Qiu said.
“Concerned, my foot,” Master Longbrow retorted. “My back’s broken. Hurry up and heal me.”
Ye Qiu immediately used his Heaven-Mending Hand, quickly healing Master Longbrow’s injuries.
Then, Master Longbrow approached the chest again.
This time, he was much more cautious, channeling his true qi to protect his body before slowly reaching to open the chest.
However, the moment his hands touched it, the white light appeared again.
“Bang!”
Master Longbrow was thrown back once more. Fortunately, he was prepared this time and wasn’t injured.
“Old man, need my help?” Ye Qiu asked.
“No need. A mere chest won’t stump me,” Master Longbrow said, extending his arm. The Demon-Subduing Sword wrapped around it appeared in his hand.
“Slash!”
Master Longbrow struck the chest with his sword.
To his surprise, the chest didn’t even have a scratch. It was incredibly sturdy.
“A senior once told me, if one strike doesn’t work, try two,” Master Longbrow said.
He struck the chest twice in succession, but it still showed no damage.
“Another senior told me, if two strikes don’t work, keep hacking at it.”
Master Longbrow went all out, unleashing over a hundred strikes in one go.
Horizontal and vertical slashes.
Sparks flew as the sword clashed with the chest, but no matter what he did, the chest remained unscathed.
“Damn it, why is this thing so tough?”
Helpless, Master Longbrow sheathed his sword and tossed out a few flame talismans.
“You’re made of wood. I refuse to believe flame talismans can’t burn you.”
Whoosh!
The talismans landed on the chest, igniting a roaring fire.
“Old man, aren’t you afraid the treasure inside will get burned?” Ye Qiu said.
“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Master Longbrow replied, but just as he spoke, the flames abruptly went out.
“Huh?”
Master Longbrow stared at the chest, baffled, and said, “Looks like I’ll have to use my hands after all. I’m starting to think this chest is a lonely bachelor.”
Ye Qiu was speechless. Driving a joke on such a flimsy pretext?
Master Longbrow rubbed his hands and approached the chest again, carefully attempting to open it.
“Boom!”
The white light appeared once more, sending Master Longbrow sprawling, covered in dust.
“Old man, let me help you,” Ye Qiu said.
“No way. I’ll open it myself,” Master Longbrow refused.
In the end, Master Longbrow was blasted back over a hundred times, ending up bruised, disheveled, and utterly battered.
“Bringing it on yourself,” Ye Qiu remarked.
Green, feeling pity, asked, “Young Master Ye, are you really not going to help him?”
Ye Qiu replied, “Didn’t you hear him earlier? He said he didn’t want my help.”
Fairy Hundred Flowers said, “He’s been thrown around so badly and still won’t give up. I suspect he might have a masochistic streak.”
Ye Qiu knew she was joking and laughed. “The old man doesn’t want my help because he’s afraid I’ll steal his treasure. He’s judging a gentleman with a petty mind.”
After being blasted back 231 times, Master Longbrow finally gave in and called for help.
“Little brat, help me out,” Master Longbrow said, lying on the ground, panting from exhaustion.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t need my help?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow glared. “Are we friends or not? If we’re friends, help me.”
“You should’ve thought of that earlier,” Ye Qiu said, summoning his Qiankun Cauldron.
The cauldron flew out, hovering above the chest, casting down rays of golden light.
“Old man, go open the chest,” Ye Qiu said.
“Will this work?” Master Longbrow asked.
“Just try and find out.”
“Try? Easy for you to say. If it doesn’t work, I’ll get blasted again.”
“You’ve been blasted over two hundred times. What’s one more?”
Master Longbrow paused, realizing Ye Qiu had a point. He got up, walked to the chest, and reached out.
This time, no white light appeared.
Master Longbrow successfully opened the chest.
“The Qiankun Cauldron is indeed a divine artifact. Impressive,” Master Longbrow said, beaming. But when he looked inside the chest, his smile vanished.
“What’s the treasure inside?” Ye Qiu asked.
Master Longbrow snapped back, furious. “Damn it all to hell.”
Ye Qiu, Fairy Hundred Flowers, and Green exchanged glances, puzzled. The chest was open, so why was Master Longbrow so angry?
They stepped forward and looked inside.
The next moment, their expressions turned odd.
“A brick?”
Ye Qiu was astonished.
Inside the chest was a rectangular stone brick, about twenty centimeters long and ten centimeters wide, pitch black and lusterless, looking utterly ordinary.
“I got blasted so many times, finally opened the chest, thinking there’d be some great treasure, only to find a damn brick,” Master Longbrow fumed, pulling the brick out of the chest. It felt weightless, almost identical to the red bricks used for building in the mortal world, except for its color.
“Old man, there’s a piece of parchment at the bottom,” Ye Qiu pointed out.
Master Longbrow picked it up. It bore a few lines of small text.
“This object is square, with sharp edges, black and dazzling to the eye, cold and terrifying. It suits both close defense and long-range attack, its greatest virtue being its unremarkable appearance.”
“This is a supreme divine artifact!”
“You deserve to possess it!”
