Devour

Lan Xinqi wore a blue and white long-sleeved robe, which was dignified and elegant without losing her scholarly charm. A pair of cloud-patterned jade pendants hung at her waist, and the occasional clear and pleasant sound of her steps further highlighted her extraordinary taste.

She styled her hair in a man's style, adding a touch of dashing elegance, especially her beautiful eyes, which shone with a crystal-clear emerald green as she looked around.

An Yiren bowed respectfully and said, "Yiren greets Senior Sister."

Lan Xinqi glanced indifferently at the newcomers, her gaze lingering briefly on Cheng Bai. A ripple appeared in her emerald eyes, and she immediately spoke: "Seventh Brother, what brings you here so early with all of you fellow Daoists?"

An Yiren quickly approached Lan Xinqi and lowered his voice to explain his purpose: "In that case... I hope Senior Sister will be accommodating."

"Nonsense!" Lan Xinqi frowned slightly, her voice cold but without much anger. "To spy on the treasures to be displayed at the Immortal Gathering in advance, doesn't that violate the academy's long-standing principles of fairness and integrity?"

An Yiren said with a forced smile, "Senior sister, you are very magnanimous. Just be lenient, and the teacher won't know..."

Lan Xinqi raised her hand to stop him from speaking, then turned to look at Cheng Bai and Guo Xieke, and said thoughtfully, "However, since distinguished guests have arrived, I cannot bear to let you all make a wasted trip."

Her expression hardened slightly, and her tone turned cold: "The treasure vault is newly constructed, and the restrictions are not yet perfect. It can only be viewed within the range of an incense stick burning. Once you step inside, you must not touch any items. Remember, this is a one-time exception!"

Guo Xieke was overjoyed and bowed, saying, "Thank you very much for your generous help, Mr. Lan!"

Lan Xinqi ignored him and instead looked at Cheng Bai, saying meaningfully, "What is the Holy Lord Bai's opinion on this arrangement?"

Cheng Bai keenly sensed the hidden meaning in the words and felt solemn. He cupped his hands and said, "It is a great honor for me to be able to witness the academy's treasures with my own eyes. I will certainly abide by the rules set by Master Lan."

"Very good! Please follow me." Lan Xinqi made hand seals and chanted incantations, then quickly pointed her fingers. A smooth jade wall in the hall rumbled and slid open in two to the sides.

Bright light shone through, and the view suddenly opened up. Inside, there was no light, yet everything was illuminated, and precious light shone everywhere.

This is the Treasure Hall, which can be described as:

The magnificent hall, with its radiant star-shaped roof, and its exquisite jade corridors, imbued with spiritual treasures.

As everyone followed Lan Xinqi on their tour, they immediately felt a warm yet intimidating invisible pressure, mixed with the ancient and rustic atmosphere solidified by time.

Cheng Bai calmed himself down and inquired, "In my opinion, the precious treasures of the Immortal Gathering should usually be stored in a more secluded and important place."

A single hidden door is rather simple and unlikely to fool high-level cultivators.

Lan Xinqi slowly explained, "The Treasure Hall of Yilan Terrace is the second largest secret vault after Qingyun Tower. After the restrictions were lifted, its atmosphere was almost identical to that of Qingyun Tower. The storage place for these treasures used to be extremely secretive. It wasn't until last night that all the collections were moved here. Now that we have some free time and our teacher is not here, we are making an exception and allowing you to take a look."

She emphasized the phrase "the teacher is not here" intentionally or unintentionally.

Cheng Bai couldn't help but tease, "With the gates wide open now, aren't you afraid someone with ulterior motives will seize them? Or is there some other hidden agenda?"

Lan Xinqi chuckled and replied, "The Holy Lord Baidi is overthinking it. Yilan Terrace is heavily fortified, and I am personally guarding it... Even if the enemy's cultivation is higher than mine, it will be difficult to strike, let alone escape unscathed."

After saying this, she walked to the corner of the hall, lit an incense stick on the incense stand, and reminded him, "Time is limited, please appreciate it as soon as possible."

The interior of the Treasure Hall is spacious and open, with a high dome that seems to hang like clouds from the sky.

On the floor of the hall, twenty-eight restrictive magic arrays were arranged in sequence from near to far along the long corridor. A powerful, almost transparent force field rose from each array, tightly enveloping the treasures hidden within.

Guo Xieke's eyes widened, unable to hide his excitement, and he exclaimed, "The Taotie Academy has a rich collection and an exquisite layout, far exceeding my expectations!"

"Let's begin examining each item one by one." Cheng Bai strolled leisurely, glancing around and noticing that the bottom of each magic array was neatly engraved with a number, from number one to number twenty-eight.

A colossal spirit stone instantly attracted everyone's attention, and Cheng Bai couldn't help but exclaim, "Look! What a huge piece of True Martial Rock!"

Bei Tingjun said timidly, "Your Excellency, this treasure numbered one contains two boxes of miraculous elixirs. Why didn't you tell me about them first?"

Cheng Bai exclaimed in surprise, "You don't even recognize the Emperor's Pill? You're an experienced person, after all. Where is such a pill used? Are you going to play dumb with me?"

Bei Tingjun was quite embarrassed and stammered, "I...I was ignorant. Never mind what I said."

An Yiren also skipped the first treasure and pointed to the Zhenwu Rock, number two. He traced the outline of the spirit stone in the air with his finger, measured its length, width and thickness, and estimated: "This is a very rare and complete piece of material. It is well-shaped and full. This one piece alone weighs at least ten tons. It is extremely rare! If it is refined into a spirit stone bed for cultivators to sit on and cultivate... tsk tsk, its value is unimaginable."

Cheng Bai silently calculated the size and weight in his mind, judging that after carving, the finished product of this spirit stone could be comparable to his own True Martial Stone Bed. He estimated the price: "The stone is large enough and deeply imbued with spirituality! According to the market price, it is worth about 500 million taels of gold."

Guo Xieke's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands excitedly, laughing, "Ordinary cultivators can at most guess the name and rank. Only the White Emperor Saint Lord can determine the price and the result with a single word, without any error!"

Lan Xinqi smiled knowingly and said, "The further you go in, the higher the quality of the treasures in the storehouse usually is. But at the Immortal Gathering, we never measure things by their monetary value. If you still focus on gold and silver items when evaluating them, aren't you just following the crowd in the mundane market?"

Cheng Bai followed up on the topic and suggested, "Sir, your idea is brilliant! Since gold and white are common things, why don't we go a step further and use green gold, which is rare in the cultivation world, as the valuation standard, which would be in line with the reputation of our elegant gathering?"

"This plan is brilliant!" Guo Xieke knew that the price difference between the two precious metals was a thousand times, and immediately agreed. "In this way, the identification and determination of authenticity and value will be a piece of cake."

An Yiren smiled and, not to be outdone, examined the items in the third magic array: "Azure Lang Grass, a top-grade third-tier medicinal herb root, the 'Azure Lang Pill' refined from it is one of the essential antidotes for traveling the martial world. Though hidden arrows are hard to guard against, carrying this will keep you safe. There are a thousand of them inside the enclosure, worth 2,250 taels of green gold."

Within the fourth magic circle, a runic lantern sat silently, its crystal lampshade edged with frost that never melts throughout the seasons. Inside the lantern, a peculiar cluster of ice-blue flames burned quietly, emitting not heat but rather a bone-chilling cold.

"The Source of Divine Fire!" An Yiren exclaimed excitedly, "They actually ranked this treasure so high, so there must be even more precious ones coming up!"

He approached the magic circle set up for the lanterns, rubbed his hands together, and his breath instantly condensed into icy mist. Before it could drift away, it was melted away by the inexplicable warm power that enveloped the entire hall.

Upon seeing this, Guo Xieke inquired, "I am but a humble man, and I hope you two experts in weapon crafting can enlighten me. May I ask what the origin of this treasure is?"

A sudden silence fell over the room. Unlike regular auction venues, there were no descriptions of the treasures inside; appraisal relied entirely on the individual's judgment.

Cheng Bai flipped his left hand, and the Inheritance Rubik's Cube quietly appeared in his palm.

At this moment, the Rubik's Cube did not reveal Li Tong's face; it resembled an ancient metal block and did not attract much attention.

Cheng Bai secretly communicated with the spirit of the artifact through his divine sense: "Li Tong, what kind of divine fire source is this?"

Li Tong frankly told Cheng Bai, who had grasped the mystery, that "the third-tier supreme divine fire source, 'Frost Demon Fire,' is both fire and ice. This magical property burns 'temperature' itself, which can convert heat into icy power, thereby unleashing certain extraordinary abilities."

He paused slightly, then said, "Since each divine fire source is unique and has vastly different effects in the hands of different cultivators, it is extremely difficult to accurately value them! If I had to give a rough estimate, I would say they are worth 21,000 taels of green gold."

After listening to the clear and concise explanation, Guo Xieke clapped his hands and praised, "That's very true! This rare treasure is indeed powerful, but it has no chance with my Zhenyu Sword Sect."

Everyone present was focused on discussing rare and precious materials, but Lan Xinqi's gaze swept over the inherited Rubik's Cube in Cheng Bai's left palm, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

The wine numbered five caused Guo Xieke to lose his composure on the spot, his mouth watering.

Twelve wine barrels, each about half a person's height, were neatly arranged, all made of the finest rosewood, with their bodies tightly bound by oriental bronze rings adorned with elegant patterns.

A piece of glass, clear as a mirror, was inlaid on the barrel wall, reflecting the deep purple liquid inside. Suddenly, strings of purple bubbles rose up, bursting into tiny, purplish-red sparks as they did so.