Volume 1, Chapter 123 – Void Crystal

Shi Lan did not speak again. She simply walked quietly deeper into the treasure vault. She had her own code when it came to how a person should conduct themselves.

Getting no response from Shi Lan, Samsara also fell silent. Treasures belonged to the strong; that was the unspoken rule throughout all the heavens and myriad worlds.

Besides, it had already spared these people’s lives and avoided a slaughter. It truly could not understand why Shi Lan was still so hung up on this so-called benevolence and righteousness.

Of course Samsara did not understand. What Shi Lan clung to at the root was not the words “benevolence” or “righteousness,” but the moral bottom line of being human.

Morality could not be seen or touched, yet it granted people reason and wisdom. It was the greatest difference between humans and other species.

After about a quarter of an hour, just as Shi Lan was about to finish walking through the entire treasure vault, Samsara finally spoke again. “Ahead on the right, second row of shelves, third level from the top, in the middle. There is something you want there.”

Shi Lan’s steps faltered for a moment. She changed direction and, following Samsara’s instructions, stopped before a palm-sized brocade box.

“Void Crystal…”

Looking at the label beneath the brocade box, Shi Lan opened it and took out a fist-sized cyan crystal, about the size of a chicken egg.

“What is this?”

“There is spatial power contained within the Void Crystal. I can help you create a storage artifact. With the Void Crystal, crafting such a storage artifact will not consume much energy,” Samsara explained.

It still did not quite understand why Shi Lan was a little angry, but it did not wish for some trivial matter like this to create a rift between them.

Shi Lan had long been yearning for a storage-type artifact. The fact that Samsara brought it up at this moment could not help but carry a hint of currying favor.

Shi Lan did not hesitate for long. She put the Void Crystal back into the brocade box, picked the box up, and walked toward the jade door.

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Lei Chen was standing outside the door. He glanced at the brocade box in Shi Lan’s hand, then waved his hand. “You can go back on your own.” With that, he stepped into the treasure vault.

Shi Lan did not say anything more. Walking on air, she headed toward the hilltop from the day before.

Lei Chen swept his gaze around the treasure vault. When he saw the few small hills formed by piles of spirit crystals, his brows suddenly drew together. He raised his palm and flattened the little hills with one swipe.

The spirit crystals pressed at the very bottom of the piles already had portions that had lost their luster, the spiritual energy completely gone.

Gathering those crystals before him, Lei Chen studied them for a long time, secretly puzzled. How had these spirit crystals suddenly lost their energy…

……

Shen Tianlan strode quickly into the main hall. Inside, Gu Rongyue was sitting with her eyes closed, regulating her breathing.

Hearing movement, Gu Rongyue opened her eyes. Seeing Shen Tianlan enter the hall, a trace of joy flashed in her gaze. When she sensed the undisguised aura on his body, her joy grew even stronger. She hurriedly stood and said, “Senior Brother Shen, congratulations on breaking through to the Earth Fiend Realm.”

Shen Tianlan nodded, not making much of it. “There are some matters I need to take care of. I must excuse myself for now. I ask Junior Sister Gu to forgive me.” With that, he quickly headed toward the rear hall.

Gu Rongyue felt slightly disappointed as she watched Shen Tianlan enter the rear hall. Envy stirred quietly in her heart. Senior Brother Shen has cultivated the martial path for eight years and has already stepped into the Earth Fiend Realm, unrivaled among the younger generation. In the future he will surely reach the Myriad Phenomena Realm, and perhaps even the Nascent Soul Realm is within reach.

Not long after Shen Tianlan entered the rear hall, that elder from Miaoyin Valley walked slowly into the main hall, his expression very strange.

“Elder Feng, what happened?” Gu Rongyue asked in puzzlement.

“Just now, in his fight on the arena, Shen Tianlan broke through to the Earth Fiend Realm…”

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“Senior Brother Shen did not even take the Seven-Treasure Enlightening Jade Dew?” Gu Rongyue was taken aback, and her admiration for Shen Tianlan’s talent only grew.

“After Shen Tianlan broke into the Earth Fiend Realm, he admitted defeat. The champion of this martial meet… is Shi Lan.”

Ah?

Gu Rongyue stood there in a daze, unable to recover for a long while.

……

Shen Tianlan entered the rear hall and, neither hurried nor slow, walked to a side hall. He had just raised his hand to knock when the hall doors swung open on their own and a familiar voice sounded in his mind.

“Come in.”

Shen Tianlan lifted his feet and entered. After two steps, his knees bent and he knelt before an old man in gray robes.

The gray-robed elder sat cross-legged on a jade couch. He looked to be about sixty, his hair black as ink and gleaming, his expression calm. There was a sense of distance coiled around him, something that made him feel unapproachable.

This was the founding ancestor of the Sky Thunder Hall, Lei Wuji,

an old relic whose lifespan had already neared three thousand years. Shen Tianlan bowed his head to the floor. “This disciple has failed to live up to Master’s teachings and has disobeyed your orders. This disciple…”

“I know everything already. Get up. This time you were not in the wrong.” The old man shook his head slightly and swung his legs off the couch. As he moved, that sense of distance that had hung about him slowly dissipated.

“Tianlan, the fact that you could calmly concede this time makes me very pleased as your master. Only when you can put things down can you truly pick them up.”

Lei Wuji took two steps, then shifted the topic. “But in how you handled things, you were still a bit green. What you said on the arena may bring some trouble to that young lady.”

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Shen Tianlan was slightly stunned. “Why?”

“No matter what that girl took from the treasure vault, the treasures in our Sky Thunder Hall’s vault are enough to make Heavenly Astral Realm martial artists lower their pride to scheme and snatch… Do you understand now?”

“How would they dare…” Midway through his words, Shen Tianlan fell silent.

“Within tens of thousands of li around here, on the surface my Sky Thunder Hall stands supreme. But in the shadows, the monsters and devils skittering about are such that even ten Sky Thunder Halls could not suppress them.”

Lei Wuji gave a small shake of his head. “You do not need to worry too much either. That girl’s background is likely far more terrifying than you imagine.”

To have such strength at such a young age, there was no doubt she had top-tier experts guiding her.

A fleeting hint of surprise flashed through Lei Wuji’s eyes. He turned his head slightly and cast a meaningful glance in the direction of the treasure vault. She had entered the vault and taken only a single Void Crystal.

From that alone, it seemed there must be an expert above the Myriad Phenomena Realm traveling at her side.

After all, martial artists below the Myriad Phenomena Realm had no right to touch the power of space. Even if they obtained a Void Crystal, it would be useless.

Shen Tianlan was silent for a long moment, then bowed deeply. “Your disciple has learned.”

“Go back. You have only just broken through. Steady your cultivation well.”

Lei Wuji waved his hand and a jade bottle appeared before Shen Tianlan.

“Yes.”

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Shen Tianlan answered, swept up the jade bottle with a wave of his hand, and turned to leave the side hall.

The doors of the side hall closed once again.

Not long after Shen Tianlan left, Lei Chen pushed the doors open and walked up to Lei Wuji, bowing respectfully.

“Grandfather, you sent for me?”

Lei Wuji nodded slightly. “Spread the word. Anyone who sets their sights on Shi Lan is making an enemy of my Sky Thunder Hall.”

“Why is that?” Lei Chen asked in confusion.

“Just go and do it.”

Lei Wuji’s order to Lei Chen was nothing more than a bit of posturing. It would put Shen Tianlan’s mind at ease and, at the same time, sell a small favor to the powerful figure behind Shi Lan.

“Yes.” Lei Chen agreed, though a little reluctantly.

“Stop scheming every day over those petty things that cannot see the light of day. You are at least the master of a regional power. Show some breadth of mind. In this, you are not as good as Tianlan,” Lei Wuji scolded.

Lei Chen sighed inwardly. If he did not calculate tightly, everyone in the hall would be left with nothing to eat. That was what he thought in his heart, but out loud he still answered respectfully.

“Grandfather’s rebuke is right. I will give the orders at once.”