Chapter 195: Collection Complete

According to Shi Tianlei, this Immortal Vine must have an impressive origin.

Even the Ancient Mirror couldn’t identify it. The name "Immortal Vine" was likely just something the ancestor of the Shi Country had come up with himself.

Lu Bai observed it for a moment but couldn’t see anything special about it.

He went outside, washed the dirt off the Immortal Vine with clean water, and revealed a grayish-black, crooked vine.

Lu Bai wiped the Immortal Vine dry, returned to his room, and once again stimulated the Ancient Mirror with his Blood Qi, directing its light at the vine.

The Ancient Mirror vibrated slightly again, emitting a gentle warmth.

Lu Bai continued to channel his Blood Qi, waiting to see what would happen next.

A moment later, the Ancient Mirror suddenly shot out an ethereal beam of light that enveloped the Immortal Vine.

The next moment, the Immortal Vine followed the ethereal light and vanished into Lu Bai’s chest!

"Hmm?"

Lu Bai stared at his empty palm, stunned for a moment, before immersing his Heart and Spirit into the Ancient Mirror.

The Immortal Vine was inside the Ancient Mirror.

It wasn’t reflected on the mirror’s surface but was instead located in the space beneath it.

If the mirror’s surface was like the surface of a lake, then the Immortal Vine was currently suspended right in the middle of the water.

Previously, while cultivating the Dragon Elephant Skill, two souls—a True Dragon and a Giant Elephant Soul—had suddenly risen from the darkness deep within the Ancient Mirror.

At that time, Lu Bai had realized the Ancient Mirror wasn’t just a simple reflective surface.

It contained a world of its own!

Lu Bai had tried to store things in the Ancient Mirror before, but nothing had ever happened.

He never expected that upon encountering this Immortal Vine, the Ancient Mirror would pull it in on its own.

’This vine might actually be an object from the Immortal Realm,’ Lu Bai thought.

However, the vine was clearly incomplete, and he couldn’t tell what kind of vine it was.

Even if it was impervious to weapons, fire, and water, its uses were limited.

With a thought, Lu Bai made the Immortal Vine reappear in his hand.

After fiddling with it for a long while, the only use Lu Bai could come up with was... whipping people with it.

The Cyan Cloud Sword’s power would soar when stimulated by Blood Qi.

But this Immortal Vine had no reaction to the stimulation of his Blood Qi.

An idea struck Lu Bai. He used the tip of his Cyan Cloud Sword to prick his finger, squeezing out a drop of blood onto the Immortal Vine.

The blood landed on it without any reaction and simply slid off.

Lu Bai gave a helpless smile.

’I was being naive.’

’When the ancestor of the Shi Country obtained this treasure, he must have used countless methods to study it. He certainly would have tried a common technique like a blood offering long ago.’

After studying it for a while to no avail, Lu Bai sent the Immortal Vine back into the Ancient Mirror.

’In any case, anything that can make the Ancient Mirror react is definitely no ordinary object.’

’I’ll just hang onto it for now and worry about it later.’

「The next day.」

Lu Bai brought some gifts and headed to Li Qian’s residence.

The cultivators from Danding Temple had all been staying at Li Qian’s residence for the past few days.

While visiting Li Qian, he took the opportunity to tell True Master Dan Ding about his arrangement to meet with Shi Tianlei.

Lu Bai didn’t go into the specifics.

But upon hearing it was related to the cause of Xue Chen’s death, True Master Dan Ding became extremely serious. After a moment’s thought, he nodded in agreement.

"Xiaolu, I was just looking for you."

Just then, Li Qian waved to Lu Bai from a short distance away. "I’ll take you to see some good stuff," he said.

Lu Bai excused himself from True Master Dan Ding and followed Li Qian.

After winding through many twists and turns, they arrived at a study in the rear courtyard of the Marquis’s Mansion.

Li Qian pushed the door open and went inside.

The moment Lu Bai stepped inside, his eyes lit up.

The study was filled with a dazzling array of various antiques.

One row, in particular, was dedicated to displaying a wide variety of ancient coins.

Li Qian asked, "How is your collection of the Five Emperors Mother Coins coming along?"

Lu Bai replied, "Counting the one the Marquis gave me yesterday, I’m just missing one Black Emperor Mother Coin."

Li Qian chuckled. "What a coincidence. I have one here. You can take it with you later."

Li Qian had mentioned this to Lu Bai yesterday across from Wangjiang Tower.

He had originally planned to send the twenty-three ancient coins Lu Bai was missing to the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Since Lu Bai was here today, he decided to let him pick them out himself.

It was also a chance to share his collection with Lu Bai.

After all, it was rare to meet a fellow connoisseur.

To someone who didn’t know their value, these things were worthless.

But Lu Bai was clearly in the know.

The moment he handled an ancient coin, he could tell if it was authentic. His eye for it was even sharper and more experienced than Li Qian’s own!

Li Qian said, "If you enjoy collecting ancient coins, then you can’t miss out on the Five Emperors Ancestral Coins."

Lu Bai smiled. "I hear there are only five Five Emperors Ancestral Coins in the world. They aren’t so easy to come by."

"Of the Five Emperors Ancestral Coins, four are in the imperial palaces of the Four Great Dominator Countries. The Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin is right here in our Wu Dynasty Imperial Palace."

Li Qian continued, "And I’ve heard that the prize for first place in this year’s Golden Platform Martial Arts Discussion is an Exotic Treasure—quite possibly that very Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin."

"What?"

Lu Bai was a little surprised.

He had heard about the Golden Platform Martial Arts Discussion from Mo Tang. It was supposedly a competition to select the First True Master of the Wu Dynasty.

He never imagined the prize would be so lavish as to include an Exotic Treasure.

Li Qian said, "Although the Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin is an Exotic Treasure, it’s not actually that useful. It’s considered a low-tier Exotic Treasure, valued more for its rarity."

After a pause, Li Qian added, "However, there’s also a rumor that if one could gather all five of the Five Emperors Ancestral Coins, they would possess unimaginable power, becoming the greatest of the Seventy-Two Exotic Treasures."

Lu Bai said, "Offering an Exotic Treasure as a prize... it seems Your Highness places great importance on this Golden Platform Martial Arts Discussion."

"I’m guessing this Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin is just a gimmick."

Li Qian explained, "After all, it’s an Exotic Treasure, and a one-of-a-kind one at that, so it can be taken as a prize. But by the time of the next Golden Platform Martial Arts Discussion, the Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin must be returned and passed on to the new First True Master."

Lu Bai nodded.

’That makes sense.’

Li Qian said, "It’s a shame your cultivation isn’t high enough to participate this time. You can try for the next one. If you manage to get that Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin, remember to let me see it."

"Of course, of course," Lu Bai chuckled.

The two of them chatted in the study until afternoon, with Li Qian introducing him to many of his antiques.

In truth, Lu Bai didn’t know the first thing about any of it.

He could only tell real from fake because of the Ancient Mirror.

For most of the items, he could only feign interest and force the conversation.

Li Qian didn’t let Lu Bai go until dinnertime.

After having dinner at the Marquis’s Mansion, Lu Bai finally returned to the Evil Extermination Bureau.

’This trip to the Marquis’s Mansion was quite fruitful.’

The Five Emperors Coins were all collected.

That included all five of the Five Emperors Mother Coins!

’I’ll have to find a chance to forge them into the Five Emperors Gold Coin Sword. With the boost from the Five Emperors Mother Coins, its power will be even greater.’

Around the third watch of the night, Lu Bai left the Evil Extermination Bureau again and headed for the abandoned residence in the eastern part of the city.

Shi Tianlei had been waiting for a long time.

A short while later, True Master Dan Ding arrived alone.

Lu Bai nodded at him.

"Greetings, True Master!" Shi Tianlei hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

Seeing Shi Tianlei covered in filth and reeking, True Master Dan Ding couldn’t help but frown. Still, he nodded and said, "Rise. I hear you know the cause of Xue Chen’s death?"

"Yes." Shi Tianlei quickly recounted everything he knew in detail. His story was identical to the one he had told Lu Bai the previous night.

Upon hearing this, True Master Dan Ding did his best to control his emotions, but the sharp glint that flashed in his eyes revealed the shock that shook him to his core.

"Marquis Jingzhong, the Governor of Jingzhou, the Demon Suppression Bureau, the Fujiao Gang..." True Master Dan Ding murmured softly.