Chapter 277: Storage Ring
Zhao Changhe’s judgment was correct.
This place was originally hollow. So, where had the jelly come from? The jelly seemed to have formed in time, as the energy mixed with the sand and soil and condensed into its current state. By digging through the jelly, he should be able to find other things inside.
For example, the Azure Dragon Seal was something similar to the glowing gemstone, but it had been modified by the Azure Dragon of the previous era into a jade seal, leaving behind a legacy within it at the same time. It was not purely a heavenly treasure.
In contrast, the gemstone they had found now appeared to be unmodified and unpolished. So, Zhao Changhe could not help but wonder if there was anything else left behind.
After carefully digging around, truly digging deeply and meticulously, he finally found something.
After digging directly beneath the floating gemstone, there was a small stone platform resembling an altar with carvings of the four idols. On the front was the depiction of the Black Tortoise, bearing the image of tortoise and snake.
Apart from the carvings, the altar itself had no energy reaction. In the center, there was a small concavity containing a precious-looking ring that seemed to be made of platinum.
Zhao Changhe immediately wondered if it was a storage ring.
It was inconvenient to lug around such a large saber, along with various pieces of luggage, medicines, the golden foil, and the jade pendant. The fact that he had not lost anything in battles so far was incredibly lucky. It was truly hard to imagine how he had managed to do that.
If this ring before him was truly a storage ring, he felt that the value of the ring itself would be greater to him than whatever might be inside.
Zhao Changhe picked up the ring, examining it closely for some time. It was quite beautiful, but he could not sense any energy from it, nor could he figure out how to activate it. Although he had already begun interacting with the golden foil with his spirit, it seemed that his mental energy was too weak to interact with the ring when he tried probing into it.
Meanwhile, Yue Hongling was silently sensing the state of her body as it was being transformed by the energy of the gem. She was considering whether the changes truly were suitable for her, and she had yet to enter a state of deep meditation to truly accept the transformation. Seeing that he found a ring, she curiously poked her head over and asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Zhao Changhe handed her the ring. “You’re on the verge of unlocking the Profound Mysteries, so your spiritual sense should be stronger than mine. Can you check and see if you can sense anything about this?” VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels
Yue Hongling took the ring, closed her eyes, and probed it with her spiritual sense. She then opened her eyes in shock and said, “There is a small space inside! It contains books and a sword!”
Zhao Changhe was ecstatic. “Can you take them out?”
Yue Hongling shook her head and said, “We don’t have the mental energy required to retrieve things from the ring. That is the power of immortals. However, if we can learn a technique to retrieve items, we should be able to use internal energy to grab items from afar as long as we can see them.”
Zhao Changhe remembered that he had discussed this with Xuan Chong, and Xuan Chong had said the same.
Xuan Chong also mentioned that techniques for retrieving items were best learned from the Thieves Guild as they were the most skilled in such arts.
Rocky Mountain was barren, with very little vegetation and scattered rocks. The rocks were not particularly large or tall, so a quick glance would reveal everything within any pile of rocks. Even caves or holes would be easily noticed when searching through the mountains, but they had been unable to find any trace of them.
After two days, Ubalu sent more troops to search Rocky Mountain, expanding the search to other peaks. Even Tngri Temple sent a high-ranking shaman along with a group of warrior monks to aid in the search. Yet, it truly was as if the two had vanished into thin air.
Ubalu held a small meeting with Chi Li and the others. “There’s only one possible explanation for this situation. There must be a secret realm here. We’ve actually long suspected this, and we’ve searched the lake at Huangsha Market for five years but we found nothing. It seems that the entrance to the secret realm truly is somewhere in these mountains.”
Chi Li asked, “Commander, have you not checked the nearby mountains during the past five years?”
Ubalu shook his head and replied, “We focused our efforts on the lake, so we haven’t paid much attention to this barren mountain.”
The temple shaman spoke slowly, “But as far as we know, Commander Ubalu, you might have actually found something in the lake but simply kept it a secret. At such a time, shouldn’t you share any valuable information you have with us?”
Ubalu narrowed his eyes. “Who spread those rumors? If I found anything, do you think I’d be standing here not knowing what to do?”
The shaman frowned and said nothing further.
Ubalu continued coldly, “I don’t know why your temple is supporting Third Lady Yuan. In my opinion, she’s likely a spy for the Xia Empire. She’s probably just here to stir up trouble. Instead of suspecting me of hiding something, you should be questioning her for any information she might have.”
The shaman replied slowly, “I will.”
Ubalu continued, “Also, the Warring Lion Tribe raided the Desolate Wolf Tribe, killed the Desolate Wolf King’s entire family, conscripted their able-bodied men, and seized a large amount of grain. Does your temple have any thoughts on this?”
Batu and Chi Li had traveled to Jiangnan together and had a good personal relationship. Chi Li, being a direct disciple of the Great Shaman from the temple, made Ubalu wary of the temple’s stance on this matter.
Chi Li said coldly, “The temple has never been involved in tribal disputes. You want to know the temple’s stance? Where was your concern when the Warring Lion Tribe was embroiled in internal strife and the other tribes were eyeing them ravenously?”
Ubalu asked, “So you’re saying that if we stand up for the Desolate Wolf King, your temple won’t interfere?”
Chi Li turned around and headed into the mountains. “I’m only interested in finding Yue Hongling. Don’t bother me with anything else.”
Ubalu watched his retreating figure, a fierce look emerging in his eyes.
The conflicts among the tribes of the Grasslands tended to snowball. If Batu assimilated the Desolate Wolf Tribe and secured enough grain, he would gain significant strength. With that increased strength and power, Batu could immediately become a proper and major contender to quell the internal strife taking place in the Warring Lion Tribe. If he managed to absorb the brother tribes, he could unify the Warring Lion Tribe and would then be commanding an army of tens of thousands.
He Lei was loyal to the khagan, but what about him? Should I cut off Batu’s rise before he gains too much momentum?