Chapter 23: Unequal Exchange

This supreme-grade demon artifact was very important to Lei Yan. He didn’t know what difficulties awaited him on the journey to Niu Family Village, so having extra strength meant extra security. Yet now, You Wen wanted Lei Yan to hand over the artifact. Lei Yan fell silent. He knew the temptation of a supreme-grade demon artifact could easily drive You Wen to sudden violence, so he had to be cautious.

You Wen glanced at Lei Yan’s determined expression, then awkwardly said, “Old man knows this might sound abrupt, but the temptation of this supreme-grade demon artifact is just too great for me. How about this… if you want, you can choose anything you like from this cave. Oh, and there’s this too. I’ve been keeping it safe for you.” With that, the old man pulled a jade bottle from his wide sleeve, sealed with a talisman.

“Keeping it safe? What do you mean? Did I lose something? Impossible. Everything I carry is inside the demon artifact.” Lei Yan muttered to himself as he accepted the jade bottle and tore off the seal. Inside floated a golden orb, emitting a mist-like glow.

“This... this is...”

“That is the golden core of that Zi Yue you killed. The golden core is a condensation of energy. If left unattended, it will simply return to nature. Only by sealing it can it be preserved,” You Wen explained, saliva involuntarily leaking from his mouth.

Lei Yan poured the golden core from the bottle and rolled it between his fingers. “So this is a golden core.” As if responding to his words, the core radiated a surging primal energy, which seemed to stir Lei Yan’s own body. His once-depleted primal energy began to slowly recover. Surprised by this change, a faint smile appeared on his face. “Sure enough, this is something good.”

“Of course,” You Wen said casually, then patted the green branch twice. He knew that to get the green branch, he had to entice Lei Yan’s interest. He couldn’t just kill him outright. Besides, there were indeed some decent cultivation techniques in this cave, though utterly useless to a beast like him. “How about this, little brother? I’ll give you a tour of the cave, and then you can decide.”

At that moment, Lei Yan had also regained some strength. He put away the golden core and followed after him.

“To impress cultivators like you, there’s nothing better than pills and techniques. Hmm… I’ve already consumed the pills, so what’s left are the techniques,” You Wen began to introduce eagerly. “This cave has a great origin. Back in the day, the True Immortal Feng Ming ascended here and left this cave behind. There are countless talismans and techniques…” Listening to You Wen’s introduction, Lei Yan was indeed tempted. This was a cave left by an ascended cultivator; its treasures couldn’t be bad.

After walking about half a li, two caves appeared on either side of Lei Yan. Above the left cave hung the character "Fa" (Technique), while above the right cave was "Dan" (Pill). The inscriptions were faded and obscured by moss in the dim cave. If not for Lei Yan’s keen eyesight, he wouldn’t have been able to make them out.

“You may choose any technique from the left side. The pills on the right have long been depleted,” You Wen gestured.

Lei Yan stepped forward but suddenly felt a strange sensation. He turned his head sharply and saw You Wen stuffing the green branch into his sleeve before vanishing in a flash. Not even his supernatural senses could track him. Only You Wen’s voice echoed through the cave, confirming his presence. “Little brother, the techniques here are truly superior. You won’t lose out. As for the green branch, I won’t hold back. Consider it a personal favor from me, You Wen. Next time we meet, I’ll repay you.”

Lei Yan smiled wryly. You Wen had been so righteous a moment ago—how quickly he changed. But at least he hadn’t turned hostile and killed him. Since he was here, Lei Yan wouldn’t leave empty-handed. He stepped into the cave.

The cave was like a hollowed-out sphere. The ceiling formed a half-circle, resembling an inverted wok. At the top was a stone emitting a faint glow, illuminating the surroundings. The cave was refreshingly clear and uncluttered. Aside from a few small holes in the walls containing some bamboo slips and jade pieces, there was nothing else.

Lei Yan casually grabbed a golden bamboo slip from the wall and began to leaf through it.

“One, two, three... nine,” Lei Yan muttered helplessly. The characters on the first slip were unfamiliar to him—nine tadpole-like symbols. He flipped to the next slips, relieved to find the rest recognizable.

“Metal, wood, water, fire, earth are the origins of all things. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, as well as the earth, mountains, rivers, forests, and even humans are concrete manifestations of these primal forces. And so-called cultivation techniques are merely ways to harness one’s own primal power to communicate with heaven and earth, borrowing their momentum for oneself…”

“Not bad. Borrowing heaven and earth’s momentum for oneself. Just as I thought. The more you understand the ‘Dao,’ the more you can harness the forces of heaven and earth,” Lei Yan thought, flicking his wrist to store the golden bamboo slip into the demon artifact.

He grabbed another bamboo slip and continued reading. This one shocked him. It recorded dozens of magical formulas and a few incantations, followed by explanations of the technique’s power. It specifically warned that performing this technique would consume vast amounts of primal energy, and if one’s realm was insufficient, one might be drained to a ‘human husk’ without being able to execute it. The most aggravating part was that it didn’t specify the required cultivation level for use.

Lei Yan flipped through several more slips with similar content, growing somewhat disappointed. Still, he wasn’t shy about taking them all—bamboo slips and jade pieces alike—storing them into the demon artifact before leaving the cave.

Strangely, as soon as he stepped out, the cave collapsed with a thunderous crash. The collapse triggered a chain reaction; the entire cave began to tremble. Lei Yan took a deep breath and sprinted away, the sounds of falling rocks relentless behind him.

But soon his expression changed. His supernatural senses detected a mountain wall ahead. With a thought, a flash of red light appeared in his body. His right hand suddenly ignited as he dashed toward the wall and swung a fierce punch, breaking through the mountain.

“Bang.”

Lei Yan lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground. His punch hadn’t touched anything solid—the wall was an illusionary formation. Turning back, he saw the cave’s collapse had broken the formation, revealing the original cave mouth on the mountainside, now sealed by fallen boulders. Dusting himself off, Lei Yan left Feng Ming Mountain.

No sooner had Lei Yan departed than You Wen appeared from who-knows-where. Looking at the ruined cave, he winced and said, “Good grief, even my old hideout’s been destroyed.” Then, glancing at the green branch in his hand, a broad smile spread across his face. “Worth it. Everything was worth it.”