Inside the Treasure Pavilion, streaks of five colors met his eyes. Rows upon rows of jade, each in its square compartment, glowed with dazzling radiance. Treasure vases, small swords, jade pendants, and precious pearls were everywhere, causing Meng Hao's breathing to quicken, his heart to pound. It was as if, in that instant, blood rushed to his brain, leaving him utterly stunned.
In all his years, Meng Hao had never seen so much treasure and wealth. At this moment, he was completely enveloped by the luminous treasures, his mind buzzing, and unconsciously, a thought arose: he had to steal all the treasures here.
"These treasures... they're all priceless! I'm rich! The benefits of working for an immortal are this good!"
Meng Hao muttered, walking past the rows of jade, his face full of excitement. He instinctively looked upwards, thinking to himself, this Treasure Pavilion has three floors. If the first floor is already like this, then wouldn't the treasures on the two upper floors be even more valuable?
"Immortals... are truly wealthy!"
Meng Hao took a deep breath. At this moment, he suddenly narrowed his eyes, seeing a bronze mirror displayed in a very prominent position within the Treasure Pavilion.
This mirror had rust spots and didn't look very appealing. Its surface lacked any precious radiance, completely unlike the surrounding treasures.
Filled with surprise, Meng Hao picked up the bronze mirror and carefully examined it several times. The more he looked at it, the more ordinary it seemed, like a mundane object with no magical qualities whatsoever. But Meng Hao thought that if it was placed in the Treasure Pavilion, it must have some value.
"Junior Brother has sharp eyes."
A voice sounded from behind Meng Hao. He didn't know when the shrewd man had appeared, but he was now looking at the bronze mirror in Meng Hao's hand, speaking with an appreciative tone.
"If Junior Brother has picked up this mirror, it proves that you and it share an affinity. This mirror has quite a few legends surrounding it, which only adds to its mystique. It's said that to obtain this item, besides great fortune, one also needs great destiny. Thus, Junior Brother is precisely the kind of person who possesses this quality. The day you hold this mirror and laugh proudly at the heavens and earth must be drawing near."
The shrewd man continuously exclaimed, his voice carrying a strange power that left Meng Hao dumbfounded.
"This mirror..."
Meng Hao curiously lowered his head to look at the mirror. There were no complex patterns on it, and the rust spots on its surface made it impossible to reflect anything clearly.
"Junior Brother, don't look down on this mirror just because it doesn't display precious radiance. You should know that all spiritual treasures hide their true nature in the mundane. The more ordinary they appear, the more extraordinary they truly are."
The shrewd man saw Meng Hao about to put the bronze mirror back into its compartment and quickly stepped forward to stop him, gazing intently at Meng Hao.
"Junior Brother, picking it up means you have an affinity with it. How can you discard it just because it looks mundane? Your Senior Brother has been in charge of this Treasure Pavilion for many years and knows the origin of every single item here. This bronze mirror once caused a stir throughout the Zhao Kingdom in the past. It was formed by a ray of light descending from beyond the heavens. Afterwards, Patriarch Mount Reliance obtained it and devoted himself to studying it, believing it to be a heaven-connecting treasure. Though he never fully understood its true nature, he concluded that if this mirror met a fated person, it could surely roam the world freely."
Hearing the name of Patriarch Mount Reliance, Meng Hao was taken aback. He had just entered the outer sect and still didn't understand many things, so he hesitated.
"If Patriarch Mount Reliance couldn't even figure it out, then I..."
– Junior Brother, that’s not right. Let me tell you, the fact that Old Ancestor Kao Shan couldn’t figure out its secrets only proves how heaven-defying this treasure is. Besides, dozens of people before you have taken this treasure, and though none of them figured anything out, they all had no regrets. What if… you are the one fated to be connected with this mirror? What’s more, you can rest assured taking this mirror. Quite a few fellow disciples before you returned it within two or three months. As for me, your Senior Brother, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, and you’ll come to know that I’m easy to talk to and don’t like to make things difficult for fellow disciples, so I can allow you to exchange it for another treasure. If you take it and can’t figure it out, you can return it anytime and just exchange it for another treasure. But this opportunity… if you let it slip by, and you happen to be the fated one, you might regret it for a lifetime!
The shrewd man stared meaningfully at Meng Hao, and seeing Meng Hao’s growing hesitation, he chuckled inwardly. He thought to himself that these newly joined outer sect disciples were the easiest to trick. All it took was recounting the mirror’s origins and rumors, then adding a grand, awe-inspiring phrase, and their blood was guaranteed to boil.
He hadn’t lied to Meng Hao about the mirror’s origins and rumors, but using it as bait, he had profited quite a few spirit stones. After all, each time someone returned the mirror, he only needed to make things a little difficult, and naturally, spirit stones would be used to smooth things over.
– But…
Meng Hao, having read books since childhood, was somewhat intelligent. He naturally understood the shrewd man’s advice, knowing that the mirror was likely not as good as he claimed. But with the man blocking his way like this, it was clear he was determined not to let Meng Hao easily put the mirror back. Even throwing it down wouldn’t help, so he somewhat regretted picking up the mirror.
– Junior Brother, don’t violate the sect rules on your very first day in the sect. Once you’ve picked up a treasure in the Treasure Pavilion, you cannot put it down.
The shrewd man felt the moment was ripe. He immediately put on a stern face, as he had done many times before, and shouted. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a howling gust of wind instantly sent Meng Hao flying out of the Treasure Pavilion, landing outside.
*Bang*, the Treasure Pavilion doors closed.
– Your Senior Brother is being soft-hearted. If you truly have no connection with this mirror, you can come back after today to exchange it anytime.
The man’s voice drifted out from inside the Treasure Pavilion.
Meng Hao frowned, glaring angrily at the tightly shut Treasure Pavilion doors. He sighed inwardly, then lowered his head to look at the bronze mirror in his hand. Meng Hao thought of the opening lines in the Condensing Qi Manual, musing that if Old Ancestor Kao Shan had truly researched this thing, it might still be worth it. He shook his head, tucked the mirror into his robes, then shot a resentful glance at the Treasure Pavilion before turning and leaving.
Walking along the stone-paved path in the outer sect, Meng Hao followed the directions to his room in the jade slip. By noon, he found his accommodation in this outer sect. This place was on the northern edge of the area, seemingly secluded, with quite a few other rooms around it.
He pushed open the room door with a creak. Inside, there was a bed and a table. Meng Hao stood there looking for a long time, quite satisfied. This accommodation was much better than the room in the servant quarters.
He stepped over and sat cross-legged on the bed, taking a deep breath. He took the bronze mirror from his robes and carefully examined it. But even after the sun set in the west, night fell, and he lit a lamp to continue examining it, Meng Hao still couldn’t figure out what the bronze mirror was actually for.
No matter how one looked at it, it seemed utterly unremarkable.
Late at night, Meng Hao resolutely set the bronze mirror aside. He gazed at the bright moonlight shining outside the window, and found himself remembering the fatty, even somewhat missing his snoring.
Outside the window, the moon was exceptionally brilliant, casting its light onto the eaves. Silence reigned all around, broken only by the occasional gentle breeze that caused the leaves in the forest to rustle. Meng Hao took a deep breath, recalling the past few months of his life. He felt as if he had lived several lifetimes, and whispered softly.
“I am no longer the scholar from Yun Jie County, but have become an outer sect disciple of the Reliance Sect…”
After a long moment, Meng Hao collected his thoughts, closed his eyes, and circulated the spiritual energy within his body. This kind of life had been going on for several months, and he had long since grown accustomed to it.
The outer sect was unlike the servant quarters; here, no food was prepared for disciples. All food and drink had to be self-provided, and if one were to starve to death, no one would care. Yet, for many years, no one in the outer sect of the Reliance Sect had ever starved to death.
After all, having reached the first level of Qi Condensation, inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, while not resolving hunger and thirst, could still sustain one's survival.