Beichen Sword Sect's Headmaster's Secret Records

Chapter 457 Return of the property to its original owner
After beheading Tian Gui, Tie Dan wandered around the treasure ship and took inventory of the so-called Shanglin treasures.

No wonder the families in Liuzhuang could do nothing but work; this was truly a treasure trove in the literal sense. The cabin was filled with gold, silver, silk, elixirs, rhinoceros horn, pearls, and mountains of glittering coins. The strings holding the coins together were rotten. It was enough to keep them living off their wealth for generations.

Moreover, it wasn't just the gold and silver treasures that mortals sought; the bottom of the ship's hold also contained over two hundred enormous alloy containers, piled high like an iron mountain. Tie Dan recognized them at a glance as company property. The special material on the outer walls of the containers could shield them from divine sense; when his primordial spirit swept over them, they were completely black, like stubborn rocks, making it impossible to see the contents. There wasn't a trace of spiritual energy or precious light leaking out. It seemed that rare and precious resources, cultivation materials, and the like were hidden inside. No wonder he couldn't find the treasure no matter how hard he searched.

Tie Dan circled the container, studied it carefully, and understood why Tian Gui and his group were so determined to seize the Ruyi Sword Manual.

The opening of the container was sealed by a sword formation set up by Tian Gang. Moreover, the sword formation was not facing outwards, but inwards. Obviously, Tian Gang had made special preparations to prevent this. If any outsider tried to forcibly open the container and seize the treasure, the sword formation would strangle and destroy the contents of the container.

Hmm, looking at the surrounding scrap metal, one box has already been forcibly opened and destroyed, shredded to pieces by the sword light...

So Tie Dan carefully studied the sword formation seal, and indeed, just as Tian Gui and the others had guessed, the only safe way to open the treasure chest was to use the sect leader's secret sword control technique to break the sword formation set up by Tian Gang.

As a true successor of the Sword Sect recognized by Tian Gang, this matter was naturally not difficult for Tie Dan. After all, the locks on the warehouse doors on Mount Jiuyin were all similar. As long as he sent a wisp of secretly refined sword qi into the sword formation, passing through the layers of array patterns and talismans of the sword formation like a gossamer thread without triggering the defense mechanism, and finally severing the sword intent that Tian Gang left in the core of the sword formation, he could replace the core of the sword seal in the sword formation with his own sword qi, and then he could convert the formation to his own use and freely open and remove the seal of the sword formation.

Of course, to wield a sword aura as easily as one's own fingers and limbs, one must avoid activating the sword formation while severing the remaining sword intent of Tian Gang. This requires at least a hundred years of refining and purifying the Ruyi Sword Scripture. Iron Egg took a shortcut and first refined the Nine Luminaries Return to One and the Northern Star Sword Aura. This made it seem simple, but it was not difficult to do. With a thought, he broke Tian Gang's sword formation.

"Squeak."

Upon opening a treasure chest, the fragrant aroma of herbs wafted out from the sealed container. The highly concentrated spiritual liquid almost condensed into a verdant mist, transforming the cabin into a misty, ethereal paradise.

Tie Dan went into the box and looked inside. The box was piled high with all kinds of ores, pills, herbs, and pearls. Although most of them were basic foundation-building materials, the quantity was large and enough to satisfy everyone. One box was already full, and there were at least two hundred boxes on the ship. It was probably enough for dozens of new disciples to cultivate all the way to the Golden Core realm.

Well, while Tian Gang the Old Dog is indeed a worthless scoundrel, these things are indeed prepared as the start-up capital for a sect. And according to Tian Gui, that old dog is cunning and has multiple burrows, meaning there are far more treasures of this scale in more than one place. It seems he has indeed calculated things well. Even if the Sword Sect is wiped out one day and Nine Yin Mountain falls into the hands of others, the remaining disciples of the Sword Sect will still have a chance to make a comeback with these funds.

Moreover, this treasure chest clearly contains more than just these basic resources.

As the spiritual energy flowed into the cabin, a flash of precious light appeared, and Kong Liuzi's head floated in like a pink human-shaped balloon, hovering in the air, emitting light and electricity from its mouth and nose. Clearly, the precious pearl hidden in the skull had been attracted by the spiritual energy.

Tie Dan knew that the pink pearl was probably originally hidden in the first container. It was likely that Kong Liuzi tried to force open the container but failed. Although the contents of the container were destroyed by the sword formation, the pearl, being of special material and possessing immense magical power, survived the ordeal and fell into the hands of the other party.

Tie Dan didn't have time to study the details of this magic weapon for the time being. He flicked his sleeve and released a stream of purple true qi, which wrapped around Kong Liuzi's head and turned it into wood. He then temporarily sealed the precious pearl inside and put it into the container for safekeeping.

As for the contents of this ship, needless to say, they all belonged to the Sword Sect and were to be taken back to Nine Yin Mountain. So Tie Dan wasted no time and also took the pile of dragon bones that had been dug out of Liu Village with him, and then set sail on his treasure ship back home.

However, the speed of this treasure ship is much slower than the flying sword rainbow. Moreover, with its dazzling light, it attracts attention from all directions, and its presence is sure to draw thieves.

Sure enough, after only three days of sailing, just as Tie Dan entered the territory of Zhenzhou, he sensed a streak of light chasing after him. With a sweep of his divine sense, he saw more than a dozen cultivators, each riding a streak of light, circling in front of the ship, setting up a formation, and stirring up wind and clouds to block his path.

However, these people were not very capable; most of them were only at the Golden Core stage, with shallow magical power, and their escape lights flickered like fireflies. The only difference was that the leader was an old monster who had reached the Divine Transformation stage. At first glance, he did appear to have abundant Dao Qi and powerful skills, and he even drew up a large cloud of fire from the horizon, which looked quite ostentatious.

Tie Dan was too lazy to get entangled with this group of stupid fools who couldn't even do basic math and dared to jump in his face without even checking the almanac. He simply released his sword energy, hoping to scare away the onlookers and get rid of them.

"You demon! You murderers and massacre villagers! You rob and kill! Today I will offer your head as a sacrifice to the seventy-three lives of the Liu family village!"

To everyone's surprise, these reckless individuals not only refused to retreat, but also released their Daoist energy, creating a fiery cloud that surrounded the flying boat from all sides, trapping it and forcing it to challenge them.

Since that's the case, Tie Dan stopped wasting words and flicked his finger, sending a burst of sword energy straight at the person in the fiery cloud.

"what--!"

Unexpectedly, as the sword struck, a scream rang out, and the Nascent Soul cultivator was cleaved in two...

"Ancestor!"

Seeing that their patriarch had been killed with a single sword strike, the group of rabble screamed in unison. As soon as the tree fell, the monkeys scattered and fled for their lives...

Tie Dan was dumbfounded.

...Wait, what's going on here??

However, although that 'Ancestor' was struck by a sword, he was not actually dead. It was just that this guy relied on his cultivation and was too arrogant. He never expected the power of the Northern Star Sword Qi. Caught off guard, his magic was broken by the sword, and his mind was disturbed. As a result, his crown was cut off, his scalp was shattered, and his skull was smashed open. He was in so much pain and fear that he lost his footing and fell off the cloud.

Having offended a murderous star, how could he escape so easily? Before long, this fellow was grabbed onto the ship by a Qi hand, thrown onto the deck, and pinned down with a slap.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, his 'Ancestor' appearance was indeed that of a white-haired, youthful-looking man, with a dignified bearing. He wore a fire-patterned Daoist robe embroidered with nine golden dragons, and beneath the robe, he wore dragon-scale armor, exuding the air of a supreme being from overseas. Unfortunately, his arrogant demeanor was extinguished by a single sword strike. He was now timid and submissive, disheveled, clutching his face, half his scalp exposed, and lying on the ground covered in blood, seemingly completely terrified.

Tie Dan wasn't one to respect the elderly or care for the young. Seeing that this guy was still pretending to be dead in front of him, he went up and kicked him in the chest, making him flip over. This finally woke up the 'Old Ancestor' in pain, and he fell to the ground screaming.

"Aww—Spare me—Immortal Master, spare my life—!"

Tie Dan was also quite impatient, and simply raised his eyebrows.
"Who are you?" 'Ancestor—' pleaded, prostrating himself on the ground.
"I am a wandering cultivator from overseas, residing on Fire Flame Island in the East Sea, known as Ancestor Burning Cloud..."

Tie Dan glared.

"Old monster! Known as the Burning Cloud Old Monster! I have disturbed your peace this time, Immortal Master. It is all my fault. Please, Immortal Master, spare my life in consideration of my many years of hard-won cultivation! Waaah..."

Burning Cloud Old Monster cried his eyes out, looking utterly pathetic.

Tie Dan frowned for a moment. This guy was utterly inexplicable, a ridiculous buffoon, whom he wouldn't even bother killing. But there's always something fishy going on, so he decided to do some quick calculations and asked, frowning.

"What connection do you have with Liu Family Village that you're trying to stand up for them?"

The old monster Burning Clouds said pitifully,

“I and Kōryūko... are neighbors living across the hall…”

Tie Dan kicked him.

"Aww! Immortal Master, spare my life! It's just that Kong Liuzi has a supreme treasure, the Fire God Pearl, which is perfect for me to use. I've been coveting it for a long time, but since my skills are similar to his, I've never been able to get my hands on it."

"Upon hearing that the Liu family was destroyed by the immortal, I thought that you must have obtained that magical treasure. That's why I was momentarily bewitched and chased after you to demand it..."

Tie Dan looked at him suspiciously.
"You couldn't even handle Kong Liuzi, yet you dare to chase after me and demand my magic weapon knowing I wiped out his entire family?"

"Uh……"

This guy was stammering and wouldn't tell the truth, so Tie Dan was too lazy to argue with him and snapped off one of his legs with a flick of his finger.

The old monster Burning Cloud howled in pain.

"Aww—! Immortal, spare me! It was a villain who instigated this! He tricked me by saying that you were seriously injured by Kong Liuzi and that there were countless treasures to be had, and that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That's why I fell for his trick!"

"Oh? Who is that villain?"

Fen Yun cried out, "Uh, that person is from out of town, I don't recognize him... Waaaaah, have mercy, immortal, have mercy!"

This guy is incredibly stupid and clumsy. Heaven knows how he cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage. However, Tie Dan spared his life for now, only hanging the Burning Cloud Old Monster on the mast and ordering him to blow hard on the sails to speed up the treasure ship.

After all, Tie Dan knew in his heart that this fool had been tricked into coming to test him. If he showed any weakness, a large group of wolves would probably pounce on him and attack.

That's normal, though. Since he took on the karma of the Sword Sect and became its leader, how could he not be plotted against?

Moreover, he has this entire shipload of Shanglin treasures here, which has attracted the envy of countless people. If he wants to take the treasures back to Jiuyin Mountain, the trouble is probably just beginning.

Sure enough, after only one day of carrying Fenyun, a second group of people blocked their way.

Since one Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't defeat Tie Dan before, this time two came instead.

"Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady Holy Mother Yuanjun Great Heavenly Venerable, Qingtang Yunjiang Li."

"The Holy Mother of the Nine Heavens, the Great Heavenly Venerable, Qing Tang Chu Ruowei."

Na Yunjiang's makeup was elegant and her beauty unparalleled. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water, her eyelashes like raven feathers, her lips like cherries, and her hair was like a waterfall, loosely tied up with a jade hairpin. Her neck was like a swan's, with a faint collarbone visible. Her figure was tall and slender, like a secluded orchid in a deep valley or a flower on a high mountain, solitary and independent, with unparalleled beauty.

She wore a flowing, moon-white gown with dark cloud patterns, its wide sleeves as thin as a cicada's wing and as light as mist, layering over her body. Only slits at the shoulders and waist revealed glimpses of her snow-white skin and jade-like feet. Her skin and bones were translucent, as if sculpted from the finest cold jade. As she moved, the gown billowed like swirling clouds, exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura. A pure, crystal bracelet adorned her wrist; no other adornments graced her body. She was like a solitary moon hanging high in the sky, a celestial maiden descended to earth, pure and aloof, unlike anything of this world. Or perhaps, she was like a snow-covered ice sculpture, keeping everyone at a distance.

Chu Ruowei was naturally beautiful, her eyebrows naturally dark and her lips naturally red, exuding innocence and charm. Her peach blossom eyes held a hint of languor, a touch of laughter, and a lively spirit. When she smiled, dimples appeared, and her eyes sparkled with a captivating light. A pearl-tasseled gold hairpin adorned her temple, and a gold foil flower ornament, shaped like a flower stamen, graced her brow. A pair of red gold earrings swayed, reflecting light like glistening teardrops, evoking a sense of tenderness.

She wore a crimson and gold-sprinkled high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) made of silkworm silk. It was light and close-fitting, with the color gradually deepening from light purple to wine red. The layers of the skirt resembled blooming cherry blossoms. A soft, embroidered gold shawl was tied around her arm and wrapped around her waist. It swayed gracefully as she walked, subtly outlining the beautiful curves of her hips and legs. She was exquisite and shapely. Her figure gradually became fuller below the waist, round and plump like a ripe peach, which was captivating.

Yes, that's the Qingtang Sect.

"I have admired you for a long time."

Tie Dan cupped his hands in greeting, took out a portrait of Lady Gouge from his sleeve, and casually tossed it in front of Yun Jiangli.

"The property returns to its original owner."

(End of this chapter)