Chapter 66: The Mysterious Green Copper
"Chi chi chi"
The sound of tearing air was unending as streaks of divine multicolored light shot toward the shattered stone mountain, like a meteor shower in flight.
Just now, the Treasure-Gathering Plate had flashed into existence briefly. Though it had already flown far away, its radiance had shaken the boundless brilliance, attracting all the nearby sentient weapons.
"What fortune! What fortune!" The fat Daoist laughed so hard his mouth couldn't close. Abandoning Ye Fan, he nimbly shot into the sky, charging straight toward that rain of light.
At the same time, beams of divine rainbow light streaked through the air as all the cultivators in this area rushed forward, meeting the rain of light formed by the sentient weapons.
"Ah..."
But this was no feast. The sentient weapons, flying at extreme speed, were ferocious and deadly. They pierced through over a dozen people on the spot, passing through in a single charge, leaving only a trail of blood and a dozen corpses.
The fat Daoist screamed in agony, hopping and scrambling as he fled back. A golden short sword was stuck in his rear, while in his hand he firmly clutched a shield as red as fresh blood.
Though he was grimacing in pain, there was no wound on his body. After pulling the golden short sword from his backside, no blood flowed out. As if nothing had happened, he said, "Sentient weapons—if they don't stop on their own, they're very hard to intercept."
Relatively speaking, he was lucky. Most of the people who had charged forward just now were directly pierced through, and many died on the spot.
With a "swish," the fat Daoist chased after them again. The other cultivators also rode divine rainbows, pursuing relentlessly, hoping to seize the spiritual treasures.
Just then, more rain of light shot over, some of it landing directly on the nearby mountain peaks. Quite a few multicolored rays fell near Ye Fan as well. But when he saw what these things were, he immediately lost interest. Most of them were just rubble that had flown out after the Demon Emperor's tomb collapsed.
Many cultivators rushed over, searching the mountain peaks, occasionally glancing at Ye Fan.
"Dang"
At that moment, another object fell from the sky, smashing directly into the ground. The moment Ye Fan picked it up, he was surrounded by several cultivators. This made him feel very frustrated. There was no way he could gain anything today. Even if he were lucky enough to obtain a hundred sentient weapons, he wouldn't be able to keep them.
"If anyone wants it, take it." He directly threw the object in his hand to the ground.
"Who wants a piece of green iron?!"
"We thought it was some treasure, but it's just a piece of scrap copper."
Though the cultivators said this, they still picked it up and examined it carefully. After confirming it was a piece of waste copper, they directly tossed it back to Ye Fan.
"You'd better keep it yourself."
"Whose child is this? So young and running around everywhere—he really has a death wish."
The cultivators left in disappointment, charging toward other mountain peaks.
Ye Fan grabbed the palm-sized copper plate from the ground, weighing it in his hands. It felt very heavy, like a fragment broken off from some vessel.
"Shua shua shua"
Another dozen or so cultivators landed. First, they thoroughly searched this mountain peak, then demanded the scrap copper from Ye Fan's hand, probing it with their divine sense. Finally, they tossed it back to him and flew away.
And so, one after another, over a dozen groups of cultivators appeared on this mountain peak. Almost all of them examined the scrap copper in Ye Fan's hand, only to throw it back to him in the end. Ye Fan was speechless. These people would dig three feet into the ground if they could, even checking the green copper in his hand so carefully. For him to obtain a sentient weapon today was harder than ascending to heaven.
Finally, the fat Daoist flew back with a wide grin, laughing nonstop. It seemed he had made a good haul.
"Hey, kid, what are you hiding? Don't run! Let me, Daoist, have a look. Has some demon possessed you again? Let me help you subdue it."
"I'm not giving you this treasure no matter what." Ye Fan pretended to stuff the scrap copper into his bosom.
Hearing this, the fat Daoist immediately beamed with joy. "It seems this poor Daoist is truly fated with you, young friend. I can exorcise demons for you a fourth time."
"Cut it out! If you want this treasure, you have to trade something for it." Ye Fan extended a hand, demanding payment. Though he found this fat Daoist despicable and annoying, he wasn't utterly evil—he wouldn't turn hostile and kill on the spot—so Ye Fan wasn't too afraid of him.
"You and I keep meeting. It seems we really are fated. How about this: I'll give you a legendary treasure." As the fat Daoist spoke, he reached into his bosom.
"Who's fated with you? I hope we never see each other again in this life." When Ye Fan saw the jade pendant the fat Daoist handed him, he grew even more indignant. This jade pendant was dull and lusterless. Calling it jade was an overstatement—it was no different from a broken stone. Worst of all, it was missing a corner.
Ye Fan wanted to throw it away immediately, but the fat Daoist stopped him, forcibly stuffing it into his bosom. "Keep it. This is a good thing. It might just save your life someday." With that, the fat Daoist deftly took the scrap copper.
"Wuliang his mother's Heavenly Venerable, this is the treasure you were talking about? Isn't it just a piece of rotten copper?!" The fat Daoist glanced sideways at Ye Fan, but showed no sign of carelessness. He turned it over and over, examining it seriously and carefully for a full quarter-hour. Finally, he extended his divine sense, observing it repeatedly.
"Bang"
In the end, the fat Daoist threw the copper block to the ground, his face full of disappointment. "It seems I was overthinking things. You'd better keep this treasure yourself."
Ye Fan deeply despised this unscrupulous Daoist. He had never seen anyone so greedy—even a rusty copper plate had to be studied for so long.
"A pearl hidden in the dust, unrecognized by anyone. Fine, I'll keep it myself." Ye Fan casually grabbed the copper plate. Since so many cultivators had repeatedly examined the scrap copper, he didn't think it was any treasure. He was just trying to spite the unscrupulous Daoist.
At this moment, he had no desire to stay in this ruin any longer. He wanted to leave.
The unscrupulous Daoist didn't stop him, muttering to himself, "Where is the Eastern Wasteland human race's supreme treasure..." He paced back and forth on the mountain with his hands behind his back.
Before long, Ye Fan had distanced himself from that area. With no cultivators in sight, he began to circulate the profound method recorded in the Dao Scripture, quickly rushing out of the ruins.
Golden threads overflowed from his golden Sea of Suffering, flowing to every part of his body, nourishing his flesh, organs, and bones. This filled him with strength, and his running speed was extremely fast.
"Eh!"
At that moment, Ye Fan was greatly startled. Looking down, he found that the scrap copper had undergone a strange change. Much of the rust had fallen off, revealing an ancient and majestic appearance.
Indeed, at a glance, it still seemed ordinary, like a fragment broken off from some vessel. But upon closer inspection, it now exuded an indescribable charm, giving an endless sense of ancientness and weathered grandeur.
Ye Fan circulated the Dao Scripture's profound method, sending strands of golden light from his fingertips toward the copper plate. Yet no matter how he channeled the golden power of his Sea of Suffering, the green copper remained unchanged—still ancient and silent.
"This thing seems unusual..."
Ye Fan put the green copper into his bosom and stopped investigating. He continued running. At this moment, his golden Sea of Suffering kept overflowing with golden threads, continuously supplying him with vital energy, making him run faster and faster.
"Ss!"
Just then, Ye Fan was startled. He felt a sudden chill below his navel, and then it seemed as if something extra had appeared in his Sea of Suffering. He quickly stopped. The green copper in his bosom had vanished. In an instant, he realized what had happened and hurriedly looked inward.
"This..." The green copper had actually appeared in his Sea of Suffering, lying there quietly, motionless, like an eternal boulder—steady and majestic.
His golden Sea of Suffering, the size of a soybean, hung like a bright moon in the darkness. Inside, besides a single extremely tiny golden page, there was now an additional piece of ancient green copper. It occupied the center, actually pushing the golden page to the side.
Though the golden paper radiated divine light, flowing with starlike brilliance, it could not budge the green copper in the slightest. It could only be squeezed to the edge of the golden Sea of Suffering.
"What exactly is this green copper..." Ye Fan was deeply shocked. Carefully examining his golden Sea of Suffering, he discovered that many mysterious "Dao patterns" had appeared on the ancient green copper.