Daoist Competition

Inside the cave mansion, Zhang Yan seated himself on a cushion, exhaling and inhaling spiritual breath through his mouth and nose. He held a sleeve bag shimmering with spirit light within the clear qi, manipulating it to expand and contract in rhythm with his breaths.

Yet every few moments, the sleeve bag would struggle and twist violently as if the true recognition within it still refused to submit completely.

Over the past few days, Zhang Yan had repeatedly conducted sacrificial refinement on the item, purging all traces of mixed energy. However, deep within the sleeve bag remained a cluster of essence qi, which had condensed from Xiao Han's heart blood and infused with some sort of secret technique. Even though Xiao Han had already perished and faded from the Dao, the true recognition of the sleeve bag stubbornly fortified itself in this spot, defiant and unyielding.

Zhang Yan had previously attempted many gentle dharma techniques to eradicate it without success. Using a more forceful method would risk destroying the contents of the sleeve bag altogether, an outcome that would be counterproductive. Thus, he opted to apply the water mill technique, gradually wearing it down bit by bit.

After several days and nights of nonstop refinement, the essence qi within the sleeve bag had dwindled to a single lingering thread—reaching the most critical stage.

The sleeve bag began to tremble faintly under the pressure of his spiritual energy and then started to thrash about violently, as though making a final desperate struggle. Zhang Yan's eyes flashed with sharp focus. Recognizing the moment had come, he let out a commanding shout and exhaled several strong bursts of spiritual energy onto it.

These bursts of spiritual energy were akin to the last straw breaking the camel's back. Accompanied by soft hissing sounds, the sleeve bag let out a mournful screech. A wisp of green smoke rose from it before it fell to the ground with a "thud."

Zhang Yan burst into hearty laughter and waved his sleeve to sweep away the foul energy dispersed around him. With a flick of his hand, he drew it into his grasp.

A faint smile graced his lips. After all the effort and time invested, he had finally completely refined this item today. He hoped its contents would not disappoint.

After regulating his breathing briefly, he reached out unhurriedly, dissolved the forbidden locking, and slowly unraveled the sleeve bag.

Probing inside with his heart and spirit, he felt a surge of vitality. Indeed, this was no ordinary mystical artifact; it far surpassed the sleeve bag he had previously used.

The interior of the bag was divided into three portals: heavenly, earth, and human. Items were meticulously categorized and stored accordingly—in stark contrast to the chaotic mingling of items within his old sleeve bag.

He first retrieved the objects stored in the human portal one by one, arranging them on his desk.

After a careful inventory, he discovered over three thousand high-grade spiritual shells, more than one hundred smooth and lustrous sea spirit pearls, and various jade stones and jade talismans.

Aside from these, there were miscellaneous items such as utensils crafted from gold and silver, robes, crowns, and belts. These objects, though diverse, were not particularly rare. Zhang Yan gave them a quick glance and swept them away into his sleeve bag.

Setting the human portal aside, he now opened the earth portal and emptied its contents. A flicker of excitement appeared in his eyes.

The earth portal housed a variety of elixir pills, spirit water, beast bone herbs, rare spiritual flora—large and small—that filled the tabletop completely.

As his gaze wandered across the treasures, he picked up a bottle, uncorked it, and brought it to his nose to sniff. His eyebrows lifted slightly as a smile curved his lips: "It's the 'Bone Marrow Great Virtue Ointment.' A remarkable find, indeed—very rare."

The Bone Marrow Great Virtue Ointment was a high-grade injury medicine. It not only could mend severed limbs and regenerate flesh and bones but also enabled limb regrowth within an hour if consumed in sufficient quantity, even for severely crippled bodies.

He meticulously identified each medicine and found them all to be rare elixir pills. The Xiao Family indeed demonstrated its immense wealth and resources; even a low-level disciple carried so many precious items.

At last, he picked up an unassuming porcelain bottle, gave it a sniff, and paused before erupting in laughter: "This single item alone makes all the effort of the past few days worthwhile."

Inside the bottle was a single elixir pill known as the "Five Heart Reviving Pill."

This pill ranked among the thirty-six rare pills in existence. If held beneath the tongue beforehand, it could keep one alive for a brief period even after suffering severe bodily damage.

Even decapitation posed no hindrance—so long as the body could be retrieved in time, the pill could restore life and prolong existence.

The pill was exceptionally valuable, and its elixir recipe had long been lost to the ages. According to Zhang Yan's knowledge, Zhou Chongju himself possessed no more than four of these pills.

If he were to sell this pill, it would be sufficient to exchange for a top-tier mystical artifact.

Zhang Yan pondered to himself, "The earth portal alone contained such treasures. I wonder what the heavenly portal might hold?"

A sense of anticipation stirred within him. After collecting the bottles and jars arrayed on the table, he reached for the heavenly portal's forbidden locking.

As soon as the restrictions were lifted, several streams of treasure qi radiated outward, accompanied by auspicious beams of light that caused Zhang Yan's eyes to squint slightly in response.