Chapter 1996, Soaring Dragon Altar

On the ancient desolate altar, there were a dozen or so unknown objects, all of them covered by some kind of faint black light curtains that resembled upside-down bowls. Although these light curtains blocked people from seeing what these objects were, they were just translucent enough for some faint outlines to be seen.

The things shrouded by these light curtains were quite diverse in shape and size.

There were hammers, swords, and dagger-like artifacts as well as yellow-coloured Secret Arts and Secret Books. There were also some jade bottles and boxes. Each of these objects was quite attractive, especially the artifacts which seemed to exude extremely powerful energy fluctuations, even the lowest of which was Dao Source Grade.

This caused Yang Kai’s eyes to flash.

Not only him, but all the other cultivators who rushed had greedy eyes as they stared covetously towards the altar.

“Were these things put here by the various great forces? Perhaps the Dao Source Fruit is here!” Suddenly, a cultivator called out.

“No!” Someone replied, “I came here earlier and heard that this altar had suddenly emerged from the ground. It seems someone activated some hidden array, causing it to appear. What’s more, all the items on the altar, as well as the altar itself exude an ancient aura, not like something that was placed here recently.”

“So, what you mean to say is that this altar is something that exited here from the beginning, and the treasures atop it are from ancient times?”

“Quite possibly!”

“Then what are we waiting for, we need to grab them quickly!”

Treasures leftover from ancient times that were so well preserved had inestimable value, countless times more than the treasures which were tossed inside by the various Southern Territory great forces. As soon as the news spread, many more cultivators could immediately come here to try to snatch them.

Many cultivators who wanted to observe for a while first couldn’t hold themselves back anymore and mustered their courage to rush forward. Their action immediately affected those around them, and more and more people leapt into the fray.

Even Yang Kai started to move, but instead of rushing up to the front of the pack, he maintained a position somewhere in the middle, leaving himself some leeway to observe the situation of the cultivators in front of him to ensure he did not accidentally fall into some kind of trap.

“Everyone, wait!” At that moment, a shout suddenly rang out and immediately, a handsome young man dressed in white robes flew up into the sky above the crowd.

This young man’s lips were red, and his teeth were white, giving him a suave look and judging from his extraordinary temperament, at first glance one could tell he came from a good background.

“Everyone, please stay calm and listen to me,” The young man shouted again.

Many cultivators frowned and looked up impatiently; after all, there were treasures in front of them, yet at this moment someone suddenly prevented them from moving forward. It was extremely unpleasant, tantamount to killing their parents or robbing them of their wealth. Such hatred was absolutely irreconcilable…

However, when everyone saw this person’s face clearly, many people stopped in place obediently while others showed looks of awe and fear.

“So, it is Young Lord Jiang Chu He!” From the crowd, a cultivator who recognized this youth cupped his fists and said, “I wonder what Young Master Jiang’s intentions are? Could it be that Young Master Jiang wishes to use his Jiang Family’s authority to monopolize the treasures on the altar? If so, I would advise Young Master Jiang to reconsider.”

“That’s right, these treasures are all without owners currently, and although the Jiang Family is a powerful force in Maplewood City, this is the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda. If Young Master Jiang wants to take charge here, he should consider his own weight first,” someone immediately agreed.

Hearing what they said, Yang Kai immediately understood the identity of this young man.

He was the Young Master of Maplewood City’s Jiang Family!

In Maplewood City, under the City Lord’s Mansion, there were some powerful families and great forces. Among them, the Jiang Family was considered quite powerful as it had an Old Ancestor at the First Order Dao Source Realm. Although Yang Kai had not had any dealings with the Jiang Family, he had seen several Jiang Family cultivators killed by the Luan Feng in Clear Jade Mountain.

This time, all those who entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda were basically from Maplewood City, so naturally many people recognized Jiang Chu He. Even if one didn’t know him, they would have at least heard his name.

However… just as the previous people had said, if this was Maplewood City, everyone might still be concerned about the strength of the Jiang Family’s Old Ancestor and have to give Jiang Chu He face, but inside this Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, the Jiang Family was not much of a deterrent.

What’s more, the treasures were right in front of them now.

Men die for wealth just as birds die for food, this was a well-known fact, so let alone a mere Jiang Chu He, even if the Old Ancestor from the Jiang Family was here, these hundreds of Origin Kings would not back down.

Jiang Chu He didn’t show any annoyance on his face though and said with a smile, “These friends are too serious. There are hundreds of fellow cultivators here, so even if this Jiang would not dare provoke public anger by trying to monopolize these treasures. This Jiang never had such intentions.”

“Then what does Young Master Jiang want to say?”

Jiang Chu He continued with a smile, “This Jiang simply wanted to warn everyone that where there are benefits, there must be risks. What’s more, this is the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda! Do any of you really think obtaining the things on this altar will be that easy? If that were the case, these items would have long ago been snatched up.”

“We naturally understand this, but… even if there are risks, we must not hesitate to push forward. Otherwise, what point would there have been in cultivating until now? I’m already prepared to face whatever consequences may come!” The man who spoke first coldly snorted and declared.

“This friend’s courage is admirable!” Jiang Chu He smiled and said, “But… doesn’t this friend think he should first inquire about what this altar is? Know thyself and know thine enemy and thou shalt be triumphant even in a hundred battles, no?”

“This is the first time any of us has entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, so how should we know what this altar is?” The man shook his head for, but quickly looked at Jiang Chu He in surprise and asked, “Could it be that Young Master Jiang knows something? If that is so, please enlighten us, Young Master Jiang.”

Jiang Chu He shook his head, “This Jiang is not clear, but I believe… there is someone here who should know about it.”

Saying so, he turned his head and looked towards a certain spot in the crowd with a smile on his face and asked, “Young Lady Qin, what do you think?”

Everyone followed his gaze and saw a woman standing in the middle of a group of cultivators like the bright moon among the stars. This woman looked quite young, about twenty-five or sixty-six years of age and seemed to be suffering from some kind of disease, her complexion somewhat pale and her build slightly thin.

If not for her current condition, she would definitely be a great beauty, but even so, seeing her in her frail condition, like a flower swaying in the wind and rain, still aroused great pity from others.

Seeing Jiang Chu He shifting everyone’s attention onto herself, this Young Lady Qin frowned and revealed a look of annoyance. The cultivators around her also glared at Jiang Chu He in dissatisfaction.

“Young Lady Qin? Young Lady Qin Yu from the Qin Family?” Exclamations rang out from the crowd, as if this Qin Yu was very famous.

“I heard that Young Lady Qin Yu is extremely well learnt, especially about the secrets of the ancient past. Could Young Lady Qin know something about this altar? If that is the case, and Young Lady Qin could enlighten all of us, this Jiang would be incredibly grateful,” Jiang Chu He smiled gently and asked, only causing the glares from Qin Yu and her guards to increase further.

Yang Kai’s brow also rose slightly as he suddenly understood what Jiang Chu He’s intentions were this time.

This guy obviously wanted to inquire about the situation of this altar.

However, if he were to simply ask Qin Yu on his own, she might not be willing to say anything, but by involving everyone here in this matter, he forced Qin Yu into a situation where even if she was reluctant, she had to comply.

No one wanted to become the target of public anger.

This Jiang Chu He looked like an upright and righteous man, but his methods… were quite despicable.

There were many other cultivators present who like Yang Kai understood the crux of this matter, but because it was related to their own interests, they didn’t speak up and instead turned to Qin Yu with interest.

“Yes, Young Lady Qin, if you know something about this altar, please enlighten us. If you can warn us about any potential dangers here, all of us friends will be exceptionally grateful!”

Under the attention of countless pairs of eyes, Qin Yu seemed a little uncomfortable, or perhaps the pressure here was simply too much, forcing her to cover her mouth with her handkerchief as she coughed.

“My Young Lady has been ill since childhood and is not accustomed to speaking too much; please do not make things difficult for her here!” Beside Qin Yu, a forty or fifty-year-old guard at the Third-Order Origin King Realm spoke coldly as he reluctantly cupped his fists.

Qin Yu, however, lifted her hand to him and said softly, “It’s fine. Since Young Master Jiang and all these friends wish for it so earnestly… This Mistress will share what she knows.”

It was impossible to tell what kind of disease she was afflicted with, but whatever it was, not only did it seem to limit the strength she could exert, it also seemed to be sapping her strength, a truly worrying condition.

However, when they heard that she was willing to address the situation about the altar, everyone couldn’t help gazing towards her expectantly.

“Young Lady Qin really has heard of this altar; this Jiang is sincerely impressed!” Jiang Chu He also beamed. He had previously just been trying his luck, but didn’t expect to actually be rewarded for his efforts.

On the one hand, he hoped Qin Yu would reveal everything she knew about this altar so that he could better take advantage of the situation, but on the other hand, he was worried that this information would also help his many competitors, causing Jiang Chu He to feel somewhat complicated.

“If this Mistress is not mistaken, this is the Soaring Dragon Altar…” Qin Yu slowly said as the surrounding cultivators all went silent. It was as if in the entire first layer of the Five-Coloured Treasure Pagoda, only Qin Yu’s existed, “With this altar, it is supposedly possible for a fish to leap over the Dragon Gate and soar into the skies to become a true Dragon!”

“This Soaring Dragon Altar… does not appear at any fixed interval or position. It may appear in the first, second, or possibly even fifth layer. Rumour has it that it has existed since ancient times, but even if those from Star Soul Palace enter here frequently, it is not easy for them to encounter the Soaring Dragon Altar.”

“In the records of the ancient books of Star Soul Palace, the Soaring Dragon Altar has appeared a total of eight times… With each appearance, some rare treasures will appear along with it. If one is able to obtain one of these treasures… perhaps, they really can leap over the Dragon Gate and cultivate to the Emperor Realm.”

“Leap over the Dragon Gate!”

“The Emperor Realm!”

Numerous cultivators whispered amongst each other, their eyes glowing hotly.

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Most of the cultivators from Maplewood City could only be described as average. Although their strength wasn’t bad in the grand scheme of things, because they lacked powerful backgrounds and backing, rising above the Origin King Realm in their lifetime was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens.

However, Qin Yu’s words gave them hope, as if there was a road laid out before them, leading directly to the Emperor Realm!