Suddenly, someone tugged him. Confirming the person inside was sound asleep, the two began to speak in hushed tones.
“What are you looking at? Search!”
“This looks like just a rundown Daoist temple, full of creepy paper effigies, and damn, there are even coffins. Could there really be a Spiritual Vessel here?”
“Everyone outside is searching like mad. Those rich folks and officials are buying up all sorts of ancient artifacts. The more dilapidated and aged they are, the more likely they are to be vessels favored by Spiritual Energy.”
A’Diao recognized the voices as those of the two ruffians from the shop. She had initially thought they were after the red ant repellent herbs, but it turned out their real purpose was this.
What the hell? Even if that kind of talk is reliable, this rundown Daoist temple of theirs really doesn’t have any old artifacts.
Does the Old Daoist Priest’s foot-wiping cloth count?
The two searched around some more. They were young and strong, not someone a weakling like her could handle. A’Diao just hoped they would grab what they could and leave, as there wasn’t anything valuable anyway. However, after their disappointment, they became frustrated and angry, and one of them got a wicked idea.
“Brother, that room…”
“Damn it, I think you’re sex-crazed! We’re here to get rich, not to end up in the government office!”
“Hey, no, I’m not interested in that ugly hag. It’s just that I saw by the moonlight just now, that Buddha statue looks pretty old.”
“Really?”
A’Diao really wanted to get up and tell them: Old my ass! I bought it at the market fair last year, three for one Star Coin during a clearance sale! If this is a Spiritual Vessel, I’ll eat that toilet! And who are you calling an ugly hag?
But with a creak, the two actually started prying the door lock.
A’Diao was scared to death, hiding under her quilt…
Click. The lock fell, and the door slowly creaked open. Two shadowy figures slipped in. One watched the “sound asleep” A’Diao, to prevent her from suddenly waking up, while the other went to examine the Buddha statue.
He ran his fingers over it, like feeling a mahjong tile, a light rub with his fingertips.
“Damn, the paint chipped!”
“!”
A’Diao was also startled: Damn it! That crooked merchant said it was cheap, good quality, and guaranteed! He actually tricked me! 0.3 Star Coins could get me 10 paper effigies, that dead swindler!
But now these two local thieves should leave, right?
A’Diao had just glimpsed the daggers at their waists and didn’t dare to confront them directly.
The two were indeed thoroughly disappointed and fuming. One of them suddenly stared at the quilt-covered outline on the bed.
“Brother…”
The latter also noticed his gaze, his expression shifting slightly. “I said no… she’s just a little girl.”
“I saw her today. Her face is swollen like a pig’s head, but her skin is okay. Plus, she’s young, probably still a virgin. Much better than those old women in the brothels. And she’s timid, with no one backing her up, so she wouldn’t dare make a fuss.”
Hearing this, the latter’s expression became hesitant.
If one harbored the wicked intent of burglary, it was easy for murderous intent to arise. Besides, they weren’t killing anyone, just…
After exchanging glances, the two were about to approach the bed and get closer to A’Diao.
Suddenly!
The sleeping person abruptly threw off the quilt, holding a water-gun-like object in her hand. She pulled the trigger at the two of them, with two consecutive ‘thwack’ sounds.
A Forbidden Item, equipment representing super-modern technology. This was why she hadn’t run away earlier when she was being beaten by the monkey; it was to snatch this thing during the chaotic fight.
But she hadn’t told anyone, not even Zhang San or the Old Daoist Priest.
Two sticky balls instantly hit their legs, and sticky nets shot out, enveloping their legs.
“Not good!”
The two men’s faces changed drastically. They drew the daggers from their waists and lunged towards the bed while stumbling. But A’Diao on the bed had already flung the quilt up, covering them. Then, she rolled sideways, and as she tumbled from the bed to the floor, she smoothly pulled out a thick, round wooden club from under the bed.
She leaped up and delivered two precise blows to their heads.
Thump! Thump!
Two muffled groans came from inside the room.
The two were directly knocked unconscious.
“Ugly hag? Who are you calling an ugly hag?!”
“And you dare try to steal my toilet!”
Knocking them out should have been enough, but A’Diao was afraid they would wake up again, so she struck their legs a few more times, only stopping when she heard the sound of bones breaking.
In case the Forbidden Item’s effect wore off and these two woke up, they wouldn’t be able to harm her.
A’Diao took the daggers from the two men but didn’t remove their sheaths. This was to leave evidence for the government officials later, proving the daggers were brought by them.
“So heavy! This is exhausting!”
After dragging the two to the main hall, she tied them up like rice dumplings with hemp rope. Midway, A’Diao smelled a foul odor from them and thought they had wet themselves out of fear.
A’Diao felt disgusted by this and didn’t examine them closely. Finally, exhausted, she slumped to the ground.
Outside, the night was very dark. She was all alone in the neither large nor small Daoist temple. There were many ‘people’ hanging from the beams and on the walls, but they were motionless. Even though she had made them herself, they looked exceptionally terrifying at this moment.
It felt as if the entire world was a black, empty box.
Trapping her inside.
What should she do now? Call the authorities? These two had a group of friends in the village; they would retaliate against her later.
The Old Daoist Priest wasn’t here, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if he was.
Her earlier actions had been fierce as a tiger, but once it was over, her youthful disposition surfaced. However, she quickly encouraged herself.
The villains came, but at least she had subdued them. She would report it to the authorities later, and everything would be alright.
She patted her face to sober herself up a bit, stood up, and prepared to go to the kitchen to get a steamed bun to eat. But her foot slipped on something slick, and as she fell, a thought flashed through her mind: It’s over, it’s the slippery liquid from the dissolved Forbidden Item’s spiderweb.
Thud!!
When A’Diao’s head hit the toilet lid, she didn’t even let out a muffled groan before collapsing limply beside the toilet.
Blood trickled from her temple. Her eyes were open, her whole body paralyzed, but a sliver of consciousness remained—clear enough for her to see the clock on the wall pointing exactly to 12 midnight, and to see the faint moonlight that had been in the main hall instantly vanish.
In the darkness, the blood from her forehead merged with the bloodstains on the toilet lid.
In the breath she took as she closed her eyes in weakness, she thought she saw the toilet glowing.
But this light was quickly swallowed by another light.
In the First Age, a peerless great figure once said this piece of nonsense—in this world, only light can defeat darkness, and what defeats light, is still light.
And a thousand years ago, there was a nursery rhyme about the origin of the First Age’s Spiritual Energy. It went like this:
—Moon hangs heavy, stars shine bright, a dark box seals me from the light.
—Sky turns black, moon grows dim, stars no longer gleam. Trees begin to glow, the earth alight, everywhere a brilliant white, bad people cannot hide from sight.
—It left, it came, opened a small door. Sun, moon, and stars all turn; Heaven and Earth descend the Spirit King.
—Spirit King comes, Celestial Gate opens, open, open, open!
Open!
Open!
Open!
Heaven and earth roared, darkness descended abruptly, Celestial Gate newly opened, chasms cracking open upon the earth, like the pupils of myriad gods and demons opening after slumbering for millions of years.
It saw antiquity, it saw time, it saw the brilliant river of stars.
Spiritual Energy revived, the origin of all things.
Spirit Gates, Vessels, all returned to the mortal realm in an instant.
Night fell, and the world darkened together. Day broke, and the world was awash in white haze together.
Everyone was nearly blinded.
Once this revival period’s state of white haze passed, Qishan also returned to normal. But aboard a spaceship near the mountain’s outskirts, the Jiang Family, Qishan’s wealthiest, whose vision had recovered, were ecstatic amidst their shock.
Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Energy has truly revived!
Heavens, so the news this time was actually accurate.
“How was it? Did any of you see the opening of the Spiritual Energy revival, the Spirit Gate! And the Spiritual Vessels?” The tall young man was extremely anxious, pressing those around him if they had seen anything, but everyone looked troubled, mostly saying they hadn’t.
That white light was too dense; almost the entire world was plunged into a white haze. How could mere mortals like them possibly see anything?
And the Jiang Family’s spaceship was just a basic model, not equipped with the function to capture Spiritual Energy.
Just as gloom set in, an employee, after some internal struggle, finally reported, “Young Master, I think I just saw a flash on that old detector Old Master bought.”
What!
Jiang Chun’s gaze sharpened as he looked towards a primitive, heavy instrument on the side of the spaceship. It had a numerical marking on it—Ding-89432.
The number was the production serial, and Ding was the grade assessment.
Three hundred years ago, in the world of Spiritual Energy, Forbidden Items were divided into 4 grades—Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding.
Jia was the strongest, Ding the weakest, but all were rare items. If not for the disappearance of Spiritual Energy, these ancient Forbidden Items that required Spiritual Energy to function would not have lost their effectiveness, and new types of Forbidden Items that didn’t require Spiritual Energy would not have become prevalent.
But if not for this, his old man wouldn’t have been able to buy it.
Half a month ago, after Father Jiang heard the news of the Spiritual Energy revival, he became hopeful and specially spent two hundred thousand Star Coins to acquire it.
At the time, Jiang Chun hadn’t paid it much mind, never expecting…
“Really?”
“I think I saw it. It flashed just before the white haze descended. It might have been when the Spiritual Energy revived; it absorbed a wisp of Spiritual Energy and became effective.”
This was a heaven-sent, unparalleled opportunity. Who wouldn’t yearn for the First Age, when Spiritual Energy flourished, and the extraordinary world where peerless experts could fly through the sky and traverse the earth?
The employee had actually considered concealing it and then coming to search privately himself. But as an ordinary person, he didn’t have the capability to conduct such a search. Moreover, neither Spirit Gates nor Spiritual Vessels could remain hidden for too long. If someone else got to it long before he found it, then it would truly be a case of losing both the chicken and the eggs.
Besides, if it were exposed later, he would inevitably face retaliation from the Jiang Family. It was better to report it.
If something was discovered, he could receive a reward of one hundred thousand Star Coins. The Jiang Family had promised this before they set out.
Jiang Chun was not old, but he was ambitious. He immediately ordered: “To Qishan! It must be in Qishan!”
The advent of Spiritual Energy in the First Age held revelations for later generations: deep mountains and old forests, ancient antiques, priceless treasures, or even pinnacles of civilization were generally the preferred locations for Spirit Gates to open and for Vessels to appear.
He had to possess it!
After a pause, he lowered his voice and said, “I remember there are residents in the mountains?”
Several people exchanged glances.
“Yes, there are seven or eight households in total. The day before yesterday, Old Master sent people to search them all and also bought some old artifacts.”
“However, there’s an old Daoist temple in these mountains, and the Old Daoist Priest there is somewhat peculiar.”
“Oh? Tell me in detail.” A Daoist temple plus an Old Daoist Priest—Jiang Chun felt this fit the background of a Spiritual Energy revival very well.
The subordinate found it hard to explain: “Compared to other households that hemmed and hawed, unwilling to part with their old items, that Daoist priest kept trying to sell things from his temple. He even insisted that the rotten sweet potatoes piled in his backyard were hundred-year-old roots that could prolong life if eaten… And he boasted that the ancestral tablet for the Three Pure Ones he worshipped was made of five-hundred-year-old golden silk nanmu wood. We did check the things in his temple; they were all paper effigies for funerals, and coffins. How could we buy those? When we were about to leave, he still wouldn’t give up, clutching the tablet and following us for a long way. So annoying.”
Jiang Chun: “…”
“However, during that time, one of our men also had a spiderweb gun stolen by a cunning monkey thief.”
There are many dangerous wild beasts in Qishan. It was normal for them to carry some low-grade Forbidden Items for self-defense. That spiderweb gun wasn’t expensive either, only two or three hundred Star Coins. Jiang Chun didn’t care. “Bring the equipment.”
Everyone’s gaze fell upon the weapon rack.
The Authorities had controls on firearms and ammunition, and the sale of Forbidden Items and the like were all registered. However, other weapons were not strictly regulated, and families that employed enforcers were mostly well-prepared.
At this moment, A’Diao had already woken up, looking thoughtfully at the toilet before her.
She had some understanding of the Spiritual Energy revival; after all, her praying to Buddha hadn’t been for nothing.
Before the white haze appeared, it had flashed. What she saw wasn’t an illusion. Among the Old Daoist Priest’s pile of tattered books, there were documents about the advent of Spiritual Energy in the First Age, which recorded some information about Spiritual Vessels.
Qishan might not have a Spirit Gate, but it very likely had a Spiritual Vessel—this very toilet.
If so, then it signified an immense opportunity and great fortune.
Aiyo, it used to be a toilet, but it’s different now—it, it might have gained sentience!
A’Diao’s heart burned with excitement. She was about to open the toilet lid, but then she suddenly thought: what if opening it released Spiritual Energy, and this Spiritual Energy was detected by others?
Never mind other places, even the rich people in the county town were shamelessly worshipping turtles for the sake of the Spiritual Energy revival, and the enforcers they dispatched everywhere were countless.
It couldn’t be opened in the main hall; the Spiritual Energy would leak out.
However, she could follow the method recorded in the documents to quickly and simply verify if it was a Spiritual Vessel.
“The documents say that a Spiritual Vessel is an object that carries the revived Spiritual Energy. Although the Spiritual Energy it releases is not as stable or powerful as that from a Spirit Gate, and is smaller in scale, its advantage lies in its portability. Moreover, it generally possesses a spirit and can be absorbed into the body. It is often favored by the strongest experts over fixed, immovable Spirit Gates because they are skilled in using spiritual energy. After cultivating to a certain level, they can easily absorb a Spiritual Vessel into their bodies. In the First Age, the strongest experts basically all had many Spiritual Vessels. They would choose the strongest and best one as their primary life-bound Spiritual Vessel, with the others as auxiliary. Used in combination, they could release more Spiritual Energy than a Spirit Gate and could also serve as offensive equipment.”
“There are many specific testing methods, but the simplest is to test it with a substance that also contains a trace amount of spirituality, such as…”
Such as blood.
Humans are also spiritual beings.
“If the person has an affinity with the Spiritual Vessel, when their blood touches it, it will be absorbed. If there is no affinity, it will be repelled.”
Hmm, this is a bit like verifying kinship by dripping blood?
It always feels a bit strange.
A’Diao immediately wiped the blood from her forehead and touched her finger to the snow-white toilet lid. Visibly to the naked eye, the bloodstain on the toilet lid quickly disappeared.
Indeed!
It is a Spiritual Vessel, and it’s related to her—ah no, it has an affinity with her.
A’Diao, after all, had a youthful temperament. Overjoyed for a moment, she was about to drag the toilet into her room, close the door and windows, and release its Spiritual Energy to take a look. Suddenly, she sensed a change in the wind. Startled, she saw a dark shadow approaching from a distance.
It was a spaceship, very high up, but it was a spaceship nonetheless, and a low-end version at that; its movements couldn’t be completely concealed.
It was high in the sky, clearly preparing to descend upon Qishan, looking for a landing spot.
Exposed!
There must be some kind of sensing device on the spaceship that detected a possible Spiritual Vessel here.
She definitely wouldn’t be able to keep this toilet!
If she insisted on keeping it, she would very likely be killed.
The duck in hand is about to fly away?
What to do!?
