"Fellow Daoist Song deserves it," Xu Yunhe said, having caught his breath, clearly agreeing.
Zhu Yiqun shrugged and added, "I've got no objections either. We've made it this far all thanks to Changsheng. He could've taken everything for himself, honestly."
With just a few words, everyone acknowledged that the main credit belonged to Song Changsheng. Naturally, he didn't pretend to be modest and accepted their goodwill graciously.
In front of him lay twelve jade boxes, five jade vials, three jade slips, and three mysterious jade tokens of unknown purpose.
Without overthinking it, Song Changsheng casually picked one jade box, one vial, and one purple jade slip, then stepped aside.
At that moment, Zhuang Yuechan spoke again, "Fellow Daoist Zhu was the organizer of this expedition he should pick next."
"Heh, since Fellow Daoist Zhuang says so, I won't be shy about it," Zhu Yiqun said with a grin as he stepped forward and chose a jade box.
Zhuang Yuechan had intentionally placed herself at the end of the picking order. After a few rounds, only one jade vial and the three jade tokens remained.
When it was Song Changsheng's turn again, everyone thought he'd choose the vial. To their surprise, he picked a blood-red jade token instead.
"Changsheng, do you know what that thing does?" Zhu Yiqun asked curiously.
Song Changsheng shook his head. "I just felt a connection to it. As for its use, I've no idea."
No one pressed further. They followed the order Zhuang Yuechan had set, each picking one item. Zhu Yiqun and Zhuang Yuechan each took a jade token, and the jade vial ended up with Xu Yunhe.
Once the treasures were all divided, Song Changsheng cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoists, if any of you happened to obtain an inheritance related to formations or artifact crafting, and are willing to part with it, I'm willing to offer a good price or a fair trade that will surely satisfy."
Among the items from the storage pouch, there had been three jade slips that possibly held inheritances. Song Changsheng had taken one, and after briefly examining it earlier, he found it to be a sword technique. It was intricate and powerful but of no use to him.
What he truly sought was the cave master's legacy in formation arrays or artifact crafting.
"I have one on artifact crafting," Xu Yunhe said, pulling out a jade slip and handing it to Song Changsheng.
"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Xu. What would you like in return?" Song Changsheng was overjoyed. So the cave master had left behind such knowledge!
"Take it, it's yours. It's not something I'd use anyway," Xu Yunhe replied nonchalantly, waving his hand. He had always lived by the sword one man, one blade was enough for him.
"That won't do. While it may be of little use to you, it's invaluable to me. As it happens, I obtained a sword technique I'd be happy to trade it with you," Song Changsheng said, retrieving the jade slip he had received.
Xu Yunhe's interest was immediately piqued upon hearing it was a sword technique. In a cultivator's journey, four elements were essential: techniques, companions, wealth, and territory.
Among them, cultivation techniques were the foundation. As a lone cultivator, Xu Yunhe had stumbled upon a sword inheritance early on, which had set him on his path.
But by now, he had hit a bottleneck. He wasn't like Song Changsheng, who had a family behind him, nor did he have the mysterious background of Zhu Yiqun or Zhuang Yuechan. This new sword technique was truly a gift from the heavens.
"This is exactly what I needed. Let's do as you suggest," Xu Yunhe said, slightly embarrassed after all, he had just said he'd give it away for free.
After their exchange, Zhuang Yuechan also took out a jade slip and said, "It seems luck wasn't on Fellow Daoist Song's side today. I, too, obtained an inheritance on formation techniques."
Song Changsheng's face immediately darkened. Out of the three jade slips, two were exactly what he needed and he had managed to miss them both. "Unlucky" didn't even begin to describe it this was just tragic.
With a bitter smile, he cupped his hands toward Zhuang Yuechan and asked, "What would Fellow Daoist Zhuang like in exchange?"
A faint smile curved Zhuang Yuechan's lips beneath her veil. She pointed to the pile of still-unclaimed resources on the ground and said, "I want those cultivation resources and that green jade box you picked earlier."
"Fellow Daoist Zhuang, isn't that a bit greedy?" Zhu Yiqun chimed in. "That pile alone must be worth no less than six thousand spirit stones, and Changsheng's share is at least fifteen hundred. And now you want the jade box too? Is your inheritance worth that much?"
Zhu Yiqun's beady eyes were fixed on the jade slip in Zhuang Yuechan's hand, clearly suspicious.
Zhuang Yuechan, however, didn't get upset. She simply handed the jade slip to Song Changsheng and said calmly, "Whether it's worth the price or not, Fellow Daoist Song can judge for himself. I have no intention of asking for an outrageous trade."
Song Changsheng took the jade slip and pressed it to his forehead. After just a brief glimpse at its contents, his heart was already surging like a raging storm.
Without hesitation, he took out the jade box. He hadn't even opened it yet, but whatever was inside couldn't possibly compare to the value of this inheritance in his eyes.
"Thank you for your generosity, Fellow Daoist. I'm truly grateful," Song Changsheng said solemnly, cupping his hands toward Zhuang Yuechan. This time, he knew he had gotten the better end of the deal.
Zhuang Yuechan gave him a complicated look but said nothing.
"Something is going on between those two," Zhu Yiqun thought, his gaze shifting back and forth between them, already spinning all kinds of wild and not-so-wild theories in his mind.
Soon after, the remaining pile of cultivation resources was divided into four shares, with Zhuang Yuechan taking two for herself.
Although Song Changsheng didn't receive any of those cultivation materials, he had obtained the cave master's inheritance on formations and artifact crafting, along with a secret technique. It was more than enough he was genuinely satisfied.
Just as the group was preparing to tally up their gains, Song Changsheng's expression suddenly changed. "This is bad the Blood Demons must've used some method to disrupt the Xuan Yang Heavenly Steel Array. It's about to be breached!"
"What?!" Everyone was stunned. Even a demon-suppressing formation couldn't stop the Blood Demons?
"Fellow Daoist Song, we'll need you to hold the formation a bit longer," Zhuang Yuechan said seriously. "A senior from my sect should be arriving soon."
"Alright. I'll do my best."
The group quickly made their way outside the cave-dwelling, only to find the sky already shrouded in a thick, foul black-red mist. The sunlight-powered barrier was being slowly eaten away.
"This is the Blood Demon Yinbane Formation a dark formation that requires special means to set up. Damn those Blood Demons!" Song Changsheng was fuming.
Piecing everything together, Song Changsheng suddenly understood why those demonic cultivators had ambushed them three years ago. It had all been to pave the way for this vile formation everything had been part of a larger scheme!
Thinking of Song Changjiu, Song Luding, and the others who had perished in that battle, his fury reached a boiling point.
"Fellow Daoist Song, everything depends on you now," Zhuang Yuechan said gravely, while quietly tightening her grip on the jade pendant at her waist.
"Formation, rise! Heavenly Windsteel Slash!"
With a thunderous shout, Song Changsheng activated the array. The formation roared to life, unleashing gale-force winds that turned into countless blades, slashing furiously at the sea of blood looming over the barrier…
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