Seeking the Flying Sword Path

"A mighty figure like Dragonlord could see your treasure halo at a glance. Of course he could determine that all the treasures you have added together are still far from a superior-grade Numinous treasure," said Ancestral Master Zhang.

Qin Yun’s heart chilled.

He only had one Numinous treasure on him, the Cosmic Bangles. Although his Intrinsic Flying Sword was more powerful, that was only when it was used by him. If it was given to others, it would only be an ordinary transcendent-grade flying sword.

"Senior Zhang," asked Qin Yun immediately. "Do Numinous treasures have grades too? What grade are my Cosmic Bangles?"

Qin Yun stretched out his hand as the black bangles on his wrist flew out and floated in front of Ancestral Master Zhang.

Ancestral Master Zhang gently touched them and said, "This is an inferior-grade Numinous treasure. It is also the most common kind. In our homeworld, most Numinous treasures are inferior-grade Numinous treasures."

"Inferior-grade? How many grades of Numinous treasures are there? How much is a superior-grade Numinous treasure worth?" pressed Qin Yun.

"Numinous treasures have four grades—inferior-grade, medial-grade, superior-grade, and supreme-grade," explained Ancestral Master Zhang. "Inferior-grade Numinous treasures are very common. Even people like me are able to refine one. For example, every peak third Firmament Essence Soul realm cultivator like Yi Yan typically has a Numinous treasure to protect them. Of course, it is an inferior-grade Numinous treasure."

"As for a superior-grade Numinous treasure, its value is about ten times that of an inferior-grade Numinous treasure," said Ancestral Master Zhang. "In our world, there are only three known superior-grade Numinous treasures."

"Three?" Qin Yun’s eyes lit up.

"The first one is the Stellar Heavenly Cycle on Numinous Treasure Mountain. In using it, Old Bai has performed deeds of valor for humanity. He has fought countless battles and experienced numerous wars. He is able to remain alive all thanks to the Stellar Heavenly Cycle," said Ancestral Master Zhang with a sigh. "And the other item is the Godfiend lineage’s heritage treasure, Earth-shattering Stellar Armor. It is presently in the hands of Human Emperor. The Godfiend lineage has been passed down from the ancient Connate Godfiends. It once went into decline but it has never been terminated. This Earth-shattering Stellar Armor has a lot to do with its continued survival! A peak third Firmament Godfiend can use the Earth-shattering Stellar Armor to match a Skygod. Furthermore, it is extremely powerful when it comes to life preservation."

"The final item is the East Sea Dragon race’s Cosmo Flying Ship. If the dragons ever decided that the situation here is untenable, they can use the Cosmo Flying Ship to evacuate their entire race from this world."

These matters were all considered top secret but with Qin Yun’s strength and status, he was qualified to be privy to them.

However, Qin Yun instantly understood that he had no hopes of getting any of the three superior-grade Numinous treasures after Ancestral Master Zhang’s description. All of them were critical to each lineage! Why would they ever give them up to save Qin Yun’s wife?

"How can I find another superior-grade Numinous treasure?" Qin Yun felt a little wry after hearing the information. "I lucked out at the Ancient Skydragon Palace by obtaining this set of Cosmic Bangles. It’s understandable that I got lucky once, but for me to be lucky another nine times?"

"It’s hard to tell," Ancestral Master Zhang said with a smile, "For instance, the Cosmic Bangles you have now are something no one knew existed previously. Perhaps there is an impressive treasure hidden in a particular location in our world that is unknown to us."

Qin Yun said, "That’s trying my luck. I can’t just rely on luck, can I?"

"You are a mortal and that is an advantage in its own way," said Ancestral Master Zhang. "For instance, if you fight with Essence Souls, you will not suffer Heavenly Punishment even though your Dharmic powers are a lot weaker. You could even head to other worlds. It is a lot easier to send mortal beings there."

Qin Yun’s eyes lit up.

Immediately, he had many ideas.

"However, it is just too difficult to gather the equivalent of a superior-grade Numinous treasure." Qin Yun felt the pressure. It was an extremely demanding goal.

A superior-grade Numinous Treasure Mountain was able to hold down the light shined on the Godfiend lineage by providence. Same for the Daoist sacred land like Numinous Treasure Mountain!

For instance, the Divine Firmament Chapter, Primordial Chaos Sect, and Mahākāśyapa Monastery did not even have superior-grade Numinous treasures.

Of course, Ancestral Master Zhang had many treasures too. Added together, they naturally matched a superior-grade Numinous treasure. However, at his level, what benefited him the most was having something suitable! There was no need to have a superior-grade Numinous treasure.

"It’s very difficult. However, given his Dragonlord status, it is normal for him to request a superior-grade Numinous treasure in exchange for saving someone across endless space," said Ancestral Master Zhang.

"After all, Numinous treasures at this level have little use for a mighty figure at the Ancestral Dragon realm. Typically, they are gifted to juniors! It is only because this Puqu Dragonlord enjoys collecting treasures that he raised such a condition. Typical mighty figures would not be that amenable. Haha, in fact, many dragons enjoy collecting treasures."

Qin Yun nodded.

The Dragonlord had given him a chance because he enjoyed collecting treasures.

By using his status as a mortal, making full use of his identity... he had to gather a superior-grade Numinous treasure?

He had to make detailed preparations! He needed luck and strength!

"Senior Zhang, if I were to obtain a Numinous treasure, how am I to judge its grade?" inquired Qin Yun.

"Check the runic patterns on the Numinous treasure and compare them to your Cosmic Bangle’s. Those of relatively similar levels will be inferior-grade Numinous treasures. If they are more profound, they are likely medial-grade or superior-grade Numinous treasures," explained Ancestral Master Zhang. "Your realm is still rather low. So that’s all you can do to make a rough judgment. If you gain the strength of a Skyimmortal, it might become a lot easier to make the analysis."

"Understood." Qin Yun nodded. "If I gather a few inferior-grade Numinous treasures as well as some rare items that match a superior-grade Numinous treasure in value, would the Dragonlord be willing to take that?"

"Dragonlord specifically said a superior-grade Numinous treasure so that means you need to produce a superior-grade Numinous treasure," said Ancestral Master Zhang. "Rest assured. If you are able to gather the required treasures, East Sea Skydragon and I have means to help you exchange them."

Qin Yun nodded gently.

"It is very difficult to find a superior-grade Numinous treasure in a short period of time. Therefore, I would have to use extreme measures. Senior Zhang, I can only think of three methods for the time being," said Qin Yun. "One is to gather intelligence. I’ll try my best to seek out treasures hiding in our homeworld. This will require some lucky opportunities. Second, I need to know if I can head to other worlds! I’m a mortal Connate Golden Core so it shouldn’t be that difficult to be sent to other words. Third, I could pursue the Nine Lineage Fiendish Demons’ fiendcelestials. If I have the chance, I can rob the treasures from these fiendcelestials after killing them. Apart from these methods, do you have any other ideas?"

"Your ideas are very thorough. Our homeworld has existed for a very long time. It has also experienced many major wars. There might be hidden ruins or Grotto-heavens in particular places," said Ancestral Master Zhang. "We will try to gather that intelligence for you. You can then seek out the opportunities. As for heading to other worlds? That requires some specific timing and chance. It has to be a world close enough and with a chance of obtaining treasures. In short, we will help you keep an eye out for them. As for pursuing fiendcelestials? That is something rather suitable for you. Typically, when we pursue fiendcelestials, they are forced into a corner and use mortals to threaten us. Unless we can kill the fiendcelestial without implicating mortals... it is rather difficult for us to kill fiendcelestials. You, on the other hand, are not held ransom to such considerations."

"However, the fiendcelestials are very careful too. Especially after what has happened, they will guess that you are definitely filled with killing intent," said Ancestral Master Zhang.

Qin Yun nodded.

His eyes flashed with a sliver of hate.

"These fiendish demons were born into our homeworld but they ignore the lives of billions of fellow beings. They are a scourge as long as they remain alive. It’s best to get rid of them as soon as possible," said Qin Yun. His killing intent was brimming. Xiaoxiao’s abduction was a result of the fiendish demons.

"The number of humans that have been killed since time immemorial is countless. Who knows when this will end?" Ancestral Master Zhang gently shook his head.

Qin Yun fell silent.

Compared to the entire world’s history, his wife’s situation was only trivial. Of course, to Qin Yun, it felt like the sky was collapsing on him. He burned with anxiety just thinking about his pregnant wife.

"Old Bai, Human Emperor, East Sea Skydragon, Skydemon, Mahākāśyapa, and I will discuss this matter and try to help you as much as we can." Ancestral Master Zhang looked at Qin Yun. "That is probably all that we can do for you."

"Senior, sorry for troubling all of you," said Qin Yun.

Ancestral Master Zhang nodded before he departed.

Beside the mirror lake’s bank, Qin Yun watched Ancestral Master Zhang leave before he silently turned around to walk into his residence.

Qin Yun only felt lonely and helpless without Yi Xiao.

...

In the following days, Qin Yun tried his best to gather all sorts of information.

He went to the sects with a long history such as the Yue Chapter and Sword Tower to seek out clues of powerful existences that had existed since ancient times. He also spoke with the Dragon race for intelligence. Through the Inspector Heavenly Alliance and Myriad Temple, he proceeded with his investigations and intelligence gathering. He even used the manpower of his Qin household by ordering the servants to gather ancient tomes from the commoners as he investigated all sorts of clues.

He wished he could find an undiscovered relic.

Of course, Qin Yun knew that the chances were slim. All he could do was try.