Chapter 181: Legacy Jade Slip · Secret Chamber Gift · Hundred Grasses Island

Chapter 181: Legacy Jade Slip · Secret Chamber Gift · Hundred Grasses Island

After the Yellow Spring Miasma dissipated, a Legacy Jade Slip half an inch long appeared inside the Golden Coffin. Its unique cyan hue stood out starkly against the golden interior.

That was the only object within the vast Golden Coffin.

“This must be the Legacy Jade Slip of the Yellow Spring Path!”

Ancient legacies often compressed cultivation manuals and essential techniques into jade slips for preservation. They frequently included the cultivator’s personal insights to help successors grasp the fundamentals quickly.

Xiao Chen bent down and picked up the jade slip, attempting to infuse a thread of mana into it, but nothing happened. When he tried using his spiritual sense, it remained completely unresponsive.

Thinking carefully, he mimicked an illustration he’d seen in ancient texts and pressed the jade slip directly against the Shenting Acupoint on his forehead.

As he redirected his spiritual sense into the slip, a torrent of information surged into his spirit sea.

A series of vivid scenes flashed before Xiao Chen’s eyes like a flickering lantern, while countless cultivationheart sutras emerged like cascading waterfalls. In just a quarter of an hour, his mind absorbed an overwhelming amount of unfamiliar knowledge, leaving his spirit sea feeling swollen.

“Phew! At least there was no danger this time.”

After the infusion ended, Xiao Chen rubbed his temples and quickly scanned his surroundings. This was his first encounter with a Transmission Jade Slip—his lack of experience showed.

Fortunately, he was still alone. “I was careless. Next time, I must remember to find a safer environment before reading it.”

Still, the efficiency of this method was undeniable. In such a short time, he’d fully grasped the situation.

“It turns out the true legacy of the Yellow Spring Palace was almost entirely preserved within this jade slip.”

Through the recent infusion, Xiao Chen had obtained the complete Yellow Spring Sovereign’s World Salvation and Punishment Secret Manual.

Though it appeared to be a single manual, it contained the entire essence of the Yellow Spring Path. This secret text was a Heaven-tier legacy, containing cultivation methods that directly pointed toward the golden core.

Additionally, it included three supplementary Earth-tier legacies, each capable of advancing one to the late golden core stage.

The Yellow Spring Secret Canon True Interpretation Xiao Chen had previously encountered was derived from this very manual, though simplified for disciples with inferior aptitude. The version he now held was the authentic original.

“This… is this a blessing or a curse?”

Xiao Chen felt a pang of regret. Heaven-grade cultivation manuals couldn’t benefit from the Hex’s amplification, requiring pure self-cultivation.

However, according to the jade slip’s records, the legacy’s creator was the fifth and final Dao Lord of the Yellow Spring Path. The Dao Lord explicitly stated that if the inheritor possessed the Yellow Spring Spirit Body, they could reach the True Sovereign Realm in less than a century.

If the inheritor merely had the Yellow Spring Dharma Body, it wouldn’t be a problem either—achieving Nascent Soul Formation would take around two hundred years.

For those with only a heavenly spirit root, the path would be arduous. Even with four centuries of dedicated cultivation, success wasn’t guaranteed.

But it wasn’t hopeless. The Yellow Spring Path had unique Life Extension Secret Techniques to compensate.

As for dual spirit root cultivators, they technically couldn’t inherit the legacy. In such cases, the Dao Lord advised settling for one of the Earth-tier legacies instead, then seeking a talented disciple to achieve Nascent Soul Formation and later assist the master.

There was no further explanation beyond that.

Xiao Chen carefully recalled the text, confirming it didn’t mention solutions for low-grade spirit roots. He’d heard before that Heaven-tier legacies had strict aptitude requirements, but he hadn’t expected them to be this stringent.

To him, this manual now felt somewhat useless.

“Well, better to have it than not. At least it can serve as a reference.”

Xiao Chen wasn’t overly disappointed. His primary goal in entering the palace had been to gather malevolent qi, which he’d already accomplished. Everything else was a bonus.

Even if the manual proved impractical, he could resell it or keep it as a collector’s item.

“Besides, as the saying goes, another’s stone can sharpen your own jade.”

Xiao Chen was preparing to break through to the golden core stage. Even if this Heaven-tier legacy was only useful for reference, it might still offer some benefit.

“Alright, let’s check out the Secret Chamber first.”

The jade slip’s final passage described the location of a Secret Chamber, rumored to contain a gift specifically left for the legacy inheritor.

He could sort out the details of the cultivation manual later. For now, he needed to see what this “gift” was.

Following the jade slip’s guidance, Xiao Chen returned to the underground palace’s corridor.

Navigating through the demonic qi, he pressed eighteen distinct wall bricks in sequence.

A blinding white light flashed, instantly teleporting him into a sealed chamber.

The room was about three zhang wide, with six walls embedded with exactly one thousand and one Night Bright Pearls. Their cold white glow illuminated the modest space.

In the center stood a pair of Rosewood Cabinets, where the legacy gift was stored.

Xiao Chen opened the first cabinet, revealing two tiers. On the left was a pitch-black silk cloth, and on the right sat three white jade boxes.

“Don’t tell me each box contains another smaller box?”

He opened one of the white jade boxes. “Spirit stones?”

“No, this isn’t spirit stone!”

Inside the box lay a crimson-red ring, five inches in diameter. The jade surface bore intricate overlapping patterns resembling a phoenix poised to take flight.

As the lid lifted, a surge of dense fire spiritual energy burst forth, bringing an almost suffocating heat.

Xiao Chen quickly recalled his studies. “Could this be the Lingji Zhuque Bi?”

He remembered the Eastern Journey mentioning a similar treasure. This was a top-tier third-grade Spirit Herb, invaluable for pill forging, talismans, or arrays.

More importantly, it could directly aid a cultivator in comprehending the Dao of fire. Even Golden Core cultivators would deem it an invaluable treasure.

The author of the Eastern Journey once attended an auction at Jingkong Sea’s Jingkong Island. He witnessed a three-inch Lingji Zhuque Bi sell for an astronomical price of one hundred and thirty-eight thousand spirit stones.

Xiao Chen inhaled sharply.

“If mine is five inches, it should be worth at least two hundred thousand spirit stones!”

Larger pieces were even more valuable. Two hundred thousand was a conservative estimate. In the Southern Domain, this was already one of the rarest treasures among top-tier Spirit Herbs.

Carefully packing the jade ring into his storage bag, he turned to the remaining two white jade boxes.

“Since they’re in the same box, they’re probably similar treasures.”

Indeed, the second box contained a massive Linglong Xishui Pearl.

Its effects were nearly identical to the Lingji Zhuque Bi, except as a water-element Spirit Herb, it also had healing properties.

Though there was no recorded price—since the author of the Eastern Journey had never seen such a transaction—it didn’t matter. Xiao Chen could use it himself.

With his Yin Water Qi, his compatibility with water mana had improved significantly. Cultivating water-attribute spells would now be far more efficient.

“In short, this is a great find.”

Xiao Chen carefully placed the Linglong Xishui Pearl into his storage bag as well.

He paused before opening the last white jade box.

Taking a deep breath, he made a silent wish. “May all divine beings bless me—let this third box contain a wood-element Spirit Herb!”

After all, he had a wood spirit root, albeit of slightly lower quality. Acquiring a wood-element Spirit Herb to help him comprehend the Dao of wood would certainly aid his golden core Formation.

“Open!”

The lid flew open, revealing a dazzling golden light. Pure metal mana surged outward like sharp blades.

“Bang!”

He slammed the lid shut and reopened it cautiously.

Still, the box contained a golden-yellow Huajin Hualong Stone.

“No way! Even with a one-in-three chance, I still got the wrong element!”

Though pleased, Xiao Chen wasn’t as excited as when he first saw the Lingji Zhuque Bi. A hint of disappointment crept in.

“Well, I shouldn’t be too greedy. Getting such a valuable treasure for free and still complaining is unreasonable.”

He turned to the silk cloth on the cabinet’s left side. “What’s the point of leaving a piece of cloth here?”

As he reached out, he realized it wasn’t silk at all. The fabric was woven from thousand-cicada silk, embroidered with mysterious runes. Inside was a flagpole resembling white jade, crowned with a glowing white skull.

Wait a minute—

Xiao Chen examined the flagpole closely. It was actually made of bone, though it looked like jade.

“Could this be a magic artifact?”

He tried infusing mana into it, but it felt like pouring water into the ocean.

At first, he thought he wasn’t using enough mana. But after channeling dozens, even hundreds of threads of mana, the flag remained completely unresponsive.

“No, this isn’t about quantity.”

He stopped the infusion and pondered. “It must be a quality issue. Could this be a spiritual artifact?”

Spiritual artifacts were typically used by golden core cultivators to replace ordinary magic artifacts. After breaking through to the golden core, a cultivator’s mana transformed into true mana, which was required to activate most spiritual artifacts.

Generally, a spiritual artifact’s price wouldn’t drop below two hundred thousand spirit stones.

Given the Yellow Spring Path’s resources, leaving a spiritual artifact for the inheritor wasn’t impossible—especially since the white jade boxes contained third-grade Spirit Herbs.

Clearly, these gifts were meant to cultivate a qualified Golden Core Zhenren.

“Wait a second… why didn’t they consider whether the inheritor could even form a golden core?”

A sudden thought struck Xiao Chen. “What if the inheritor fails to form the golden core? Then this prepared spiritual artifact would be useless!”

“This cultivation plan is clearly flawed.”

Actually, when the Yellow Spring Palace was originally designed, this issue had been considered. However, the eighteen trials inscribed on the coffin lid were meant to filter out only the most exceptional inheritors, so the designers hadn’t worried about it.

After all, no one could have predicted it back then. As a Foundation Building cultivator, Xiao Chen had actually managed to ignore the supreme illusion formation within the underground palace. He didn’t even participate in any of the trials but instead directly opened the Golden Coffin and obtained the legacy.

"Unfortunately, this spiritual artifact won’t be usable until after golden core formation", Xiao Chen said, tucking away the White Bone Banner. "But from another perspective, this is actually a good thing."

Ordinary Golden Core Zhenren, even after successfully forming their golden core, still needed to travel extensively to trade with other Golden Core cultivators or painstakingly gather materials to craft spiritual artifacts. Sword cultivators who awakened their sword’s spirit or nurtured a life-bound flying sword also required significant time. Before obtaining a spiritual artifact, they’d inevitably be at a disadvantage if they clashed or dueled with peers of the same cultivation stage.

Yet Xiao Chen had acquired a spiritual artifact ahead of schedule. Once he achieved golden core formation, he’d already have a powerful tool to rely on.

"Since this spiritual artifact was left specifically for the legacy’s recipient, its power should be formidable", he mused, feeling it was indeed a fortunate gain. After all, he already possessed top-grade magic artifacts, so preparing in advance for the future made sense.

After confirming nothing was left behind, he approached another Rosewood Cabinet. Slowly opening the cabinet door, he found it divided into upper and lower sections. On the upper level sat two white jade boxes side by side, identical in design to the previous three.

"Ah, could it be..."

Xiao Chen gently lifted the lid of the left box. Instantly, pure Wood Qi wafted out, making the air around him feel noticeably fresher. Peering inside, he saw a green branch with two tender sprouts. Each leaf was emerald and glistening, as if it might drip at any moment.

"Could this be the legendary Great Golden-thread Nanmu branch?"

He recalled reading in Southern Domain Strange Tales that during ancient times, the Yellow Spring Path had stormed the Xuanmu Palace, felling its most precious Great Golden-thread Nanmu tree as raw material. Even the splinters from the felling had been burned alongside the wooden palace.

At the time, Xuanmu Palace’s first-seat disciple, having narrowly escaped, had returned in a rage, sword in hand. Under the watchful eye of a Golden Core cultivator from the Yellow Spring Path who deliberately let him pass, he traded his life for six Foundation Building demonic cultivators. Tragically, he never faced the Golden Core opponent directly, instead being overwhelmed by waves of Foundation Building demonic cultivators while enduring their mockery.

Back then, Xiao Chen had sighed at howre xue passion couldn’t overcome a vast cultivation gap. One must form a golden core to stand a chance against demonic sect invasions.

This green branch was likely a trophy from that ancient battle. From its broken cross-section, a faint golden thread was visible. With this Great Golden-thread Nanmu branch, he could now comprehend theda dao of Wood, bringing him one step closer to golden core formation.

"The last box should contain Earth-element Spirit Herbs", he said, stowing the green branch before opening the final jade box. As expected, it brimmed with Central Qihuang Sand.

So they’d prepared all five elements’ Spirit Herbs from the start. He’d been so focused on hoping for a lucky draw earlier!

Beneath the Rosewood Cabinet lay a grayish shield. Its surface shimmered with spiritual light, and azheng ning demonic face was carved on the front, sending chills down the spine just to look at it.

Xiao Chen reached out to grab it, feeling as if it weighed a thousand jin. Its texture was neither metal nor stone, bone nor wood—its material was a mystery. When he tried channeling mana into it, the energy vanished like a stone dropped into the sea.

"Looks like another spiritual artifact", he noted. Fortunately, the shield was compact—six feet tall and two feet wide—easily storable in a storage bag.

"Now that they specifically prepared a shield, the previous White Bone Banner must be an offensive spiritual artifact", Xiao Chen mused. "The Yellow Spring Path certainly went all out for their legacy recipient."

"After golden core formation, I’ll have both an offensive and defensive artifact ready to use", he thought. "Such treatment would make even Golden Core cultivators from other sects envious."

After thoroughly checking the cabinet for overlooked items, Xiao Chen followed the jade slip’s instructions. He stepped aside and pressed the Night Bright Pearls embedded in the wall.

Though the pearls looked identical, pressing them triggered no reaction. But when he pressed 108 in a specific sequence, a grinding sound echoed through the Secret Chamber.

The two Rosewood Cabinets rumbled as they sank into the floor. A broad stone platform then rose, displaying a map and a pitch-black token. Several lines of small text explained:

Xiao Chen read carefully, learning the map depicted Wanxian Island in the Eastern Territory—a place called Hundred Grasses Island. On this island lay a forbidden realm known as the Hundred Grasses Forbidden Realm.

This realm opened every fifty years, unrestricted by cultivation stage. Its abundant spiritual energy nurtured hundreds of rare Spirit Herbs, including third-tier varieties, attracting countless cultivators.

The Yellow Spring Path had discovered a hidden cave within the realm, protected by a formation. This Spirit Medicine Garden overflowed with spiritual energy, housing countless third-tier herbs already harvested elsewhere, along with rare fourth-tier Spirit Herbs, flowers, and fruits—a true treasure trove.

Thankfully, nearly half the herbs hadn’t matured at the time, sparing them from destruction. Now, with the token and the map’s guidance, Xiao Chen could bypass the formation and harvest its celestial treasures.

The stone platform highlighted two key points:

First, the Spirit Medicine Garden’s unique environment allowed cultivation of high-tier Spirit Herbs that couldn’t survive outside. The Yellow Spring Path had once planted a batch of fourth-tier Amethyst Bodhi Trees there.

The Amethyst Bodhi Tree was a treasure capable of temporarily enhancing a cultivator’s cultivation aptitude, effective for cultivators at or below the fourth tier. Compared to the Azure Lotus Seed he’d previously consumed, this was like comparing weeds to jewels.

A Golden Core cultivator using the Amethyst Bodhi Tree could amplify their cultivation progress and spell effects several times over. Especially during bottlenecks, it could even aid in breakthroughs, making it nearly half a tier-breakingling yao.

Though Xiao Chen didn’t know the Eastern Territory’s current market, he was certain the Amethyst Bodhi Tree was an invaluable treasure.

Second, due to the open cultivation realm policy, the forbidden realm attracted mixed crowds, including Golden Core cultivators seeking third-tier herbs. He must wait until after golden core formation to avoid danger.

"Who knew such a secret existed?" Though unsure how reliable this information remained after so many years, the thought of the Amethyst Bodhi Tree spurred him to stow the token and memorize the route.

To be safe, he retrieved paper and brush from his storage bag, sketching an unmarked map. Later, this would help him navigate without error. He placed the map and token in a separate storage box, securing it within his bag.

"After golden core formation, I’ll definitely make time to visit", he resolved. With fourth-tier Spirit Herbs at stake, even a sliver of hope justified the journey.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a violent explosion echoed outside. Though hidden in the Secret Chamber, Xiao Chen heard it clearly. Thejie lian blasts shook the chamber itself.

"What’s happening? Why such a commotion?" He frowned.

Though he couldn’t see outside, he could imagine the chaos. According to the legacy’s guidance, he now had two choices:

First, use the wall mechanism to return to the underground palace. This would let him hunt more demonic cultivators for resources. Originally, he’d planned this—his Foundation Building realm made him nearly invincible among peers. Even united, the Demonic Dao Foundation Building cultivators might not stand a chance.

Second, use the Random Teleportation Formation on the stone platform to escape the Yellow Spring Palace, reappearing randomly within a ten-thousand-mile radius.

This option was designed to evade Orthodox Dao cultivators. As the Yellow Spring Path’s chosen heir, he’d be hunted if he exited normally. The fifth Dao Lord had arranged this formation to solve that problem.

Xiao Chen, normally orthodox, wouldn’t usually use such a method. Random teleportation risked landing anywhere. But now, he hesitated.

"The battle outside must involve Golden Core Zhenren", he mused. "If so, the Yellow Spring Palace is no longer safe."

He’d already gained immense treasures—malevolent qi and the Yellow Spring Path heir’s gifts. He’d profited handsomely.

No need to be greedy. Time to leave.

Resolving his thoughts, he stepped onto the stone platform and activated the Random Teleportation Formation as described in the jade slip.

"Whoosh!"

A blinding white light flashed.

Xiao Chen vanished without a trace.

After his departure, the formation continued operating until it collapsed, exploding and obliterating the entire Secret Chamber without a trace.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end