Upon the ancient, desolate altar lay a full dozen or more mysterious objects, each shrouded beneath a layer of murky, dark light as though a bowl had been placed over them. Through that hazy veil of luminescence, though the details were not entirely clear, one could still make out rough outlines.
The items sealed within that barrier were remarkably diverse in kind, encompassing a vast array.
There were hammer-shaped, sword-shaped, and dagger-shaped Artifacts, as well as cultivation manuals yellowed with age and jade bottles that clearly dated back countless years. Every single piece appeared extraordinary, and the Artifacts in particular radiated immensely powerful energy fluctuations — the weakest among them was at minimum a Dao Origin grade Artifact.
Yang Kai watched with eyes burning bright.
He was not the only one. The other warriors who had gathered here gazed up at the altar with equal parts greed and covetous desire, each consumed by avarice.
"Could these things be what those great powers deposited here? Perhaps the Dao Origin Fruit is located in this place as well!" a warrior nearby suddenly exclaimed.
"That's not the case!" another person responded. "I arrived earlier. I heard that this altar suddenly emerged from underground — it was not here originally. It seems some friend of ours triggered a restriction here, causing the altar to manifest. And the items upon it all radiate an ancient aura. They are definitely not what those great powers planted."
"If that's true, then these altar treasures have been here all along? Leftover relics from the primordial era?"
"Could well be!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's grab them!"
Relics preserved in such pristine condition from the primordial era — their value was virtually beyond estimation, worth countless times more than the treasures those great powers had placed here. Once this news spread, the crowd of warriors erupted into a fever of excitement.
Many who had intended to observe a while longer could restrain themselves no longer and mustered the courage to charge forward. Their movement immediately set others on edge, and more and more warriors began to surge ahead.
Even Yang Kai started to walk forward. However, he did not rush to the front ranks, instead holding back to a middle position. That way, he would have ample time to observe the movements of the warriors ahead of him, lest he stumble into some hidden trap.
"Everyone, please hold!" At that moment, a powerful, resonant shout rang out, and a moment later, a young man dressed in white robes soared gracefully into the sky.
The young man had rosy lips and white teeth, a dashing and refined appearance, keen eyes, and an extraordinary bearing — clearly a person of distinguished origin.
"Everyone, please calm yourselves and hear me out," the young man called again.
Many warriors frowned and looked up with impatience. After all, treasure lay right before their eyes, and for someone to suddenly try to halt their advance was deeply unpleasant. Blocking another's path to fortune was no different from murdering their parents — a grudge of the deepest kind.
However, once the crowd made out the young man's face, quite a few obediently halted in their tracks, while others showed expressions of sudden recognition.
"So it's Young Master Jiang Chuhe!" A warrior in the crowd cupped his fists and spoke. "May I ask what Young Master Jiang means by this? Surely you don't intend to use the Jiang family's prestige to monopolize the treasures on this altar? If so, I'd advise Young Master Jiang not to bother."
"Indeed — treasures belong to the fated. The Jiang family may be respectable back in Maple Forest City, but this is the Five-Colored Pagoda. If Young Master Jiang wishes to claim it all, he might want to reconsider," another person immediately chimed in.
Hearing them speak, Yang Kai instantly understood the young man's identity.
A member of the Jiang family from Maple Forest City!
Beneath the City Lord's Manor in Maple Forest City, there existed a number of clan organizations, and the Jiang family was among the more formidable — they boasted a Dao Origin First Stage ancestor. Though Yang Kai had never had any dealings with the Jiang family, he had previously encountered a few Jiang family warriors' corpses in Jade Pure Mountain, killed by the young luan phoenix.
Virtually everyone who had entered the Five-Colored Pagoda this time was a warrior from Maple Forest City. Naturally, many recognized Jiang Chuhe, and even those who did not had heard his name.
But... as the previous speaker had said, back in Maple Forest City, people might have shown deference to the Jiang family's ancestor and given Jiang Chuhe face. Here inside the Five-Colored Pagoda, however, the Jiang family's name carried no weight whatsoever.
Moreover, treasure lay right before their eyes.
Men die for wealth as birds die for food — an eternal truth. Forget Jiang Chuhe, even if the Jiang family's ancestor had come in person, these hundreds of Void King Realm warriors would not have been the least bit intimidated.
Jiang Chuhe, for his part, showed no anger. He smiled at the words and replied, "Friend, you go too far. With several hundred fellow cultivators gathered here, even if I had the胆量 of heaven itself, I would never dare provoke such a crowd. Monopolizing the treasure — that thought has never once crossed my mind."
"Then what does Young Master Jiang want?"
Jiang Chuhe continued with a smile, "I merely wish to remind everyone that wherever there is profit, there is inevitably danger. Besides, this is the Five-Colored Pagoda! Do you truly believe those items on the altar are there for the taking? If that were the case, they would surely be long gone — why would they still be waiting here for the likes of you and me to collect?"
"Of course we know that. But... if the mere presence of danger were enough to give us pause, why bother cultivating at all? We have already steeled ourselves for this!" the previous speaker retorted with a cold snort.