Shi Feiyang led a group of immortals to worship the Yellow Emperor, and after coming out of the Underground Palace, they began dividing the treasure on the mountain.

Again, however, they failed to retrieve all the treasure from Yuan River.

This was because the topmost golden sphere in the ship's tower contained a golden basin sealed by ancient prohibitions, similar in complexity to the Liangyi Dust Formation, and Jiang Shu's magical power was insufficient to quickly unravel it.

Later, Grandmaster Ha Ha arrived at the last moment when the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor had just killed Cui Wu, Zheng Dianxian, Si Taixu, and Wu Li, preparing to claim the Nine Palace Divine Sword, before going above to seize the treasures.

Grandmaster Ha Ha was taken by surprise upon seeing the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, as Shi Feiyang had obscured Heaven's Secret and altered the calculations, leading Grandmaster Ha Ha to predict only the initial four individuals in the ship.

When the two met, both were somewhat stunned.

From Grandmaster Ha Ha's perspective, Zen Master Xiao Yue had betrayed him, and ran off to follow Deng Yin. Although he had many disciples, none were capable of founding a lineage or fit to be a sect leader.

The Wutai Sect had been almost annihilated since the Star Constellations Sea and was now in a weakened state; they had also committed to a swordfight duel with the Emei Sect a cycle later, and if he could take them under his wing, it would be perfect.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, however, thought this old demon had strong magical power, and since he had come for the treasure, it was best if they stayed clear of each other's ways.

Neither wanted to fight the other, yet, Chi You disagreed!

Emperor Chi You had recently merged part of his Primordial Spirit and had now recovered two-thirds of it; it was he who influenced the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor to challenge Shi Feiyang and forcefully seize the Nine Palace Divine Sword.

Just now, he had devoured the spiritual energy of four superlative Sword Immortals, greatly boosting his own divine power and reviving his former grandiose ambitions. In his eyes, Grandmaster Ha Ha appeared a feast more scrumptious than the previous four combined!

He then influenced the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor's mind, making him slay Grandmaster Ha Ha and absorb his essence and divine blood, which would greatly amplify their magical powers.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, however, was reluctant, despite an intense internal longing: What if I killed Grandmaster Ha Ha and absorbed his vital essence? How much would my power increase? Would I still need to be so cautious? Who in the world could compete against me then? Killing Xuan Zhenzi and Qi Shuming would be as easy as slicing melons and vegetables…

But the last shred of rationality suppressed this idea, maintaining restraint, despite his body swelling red and his eyes bloodshot, he still didn't initiate the attack.

Seeing that he steadfastly refused to act, Chi You began to remotely manipulate Grandmaster Ha Ha, tempting him into greed: If one could possess the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, would there still be any need to avoid the old monks and nuns? Such a sword in this child's hands is simply a waste, only in my hands can its full potential be realized…

Of course, Grandmaster Ha Ha wasn't so easily fooled, but the Demon Sword started inciting anger within him: Am I not taking the sword because I fear it? Am I afraid of a young successor wielding this Demon Sword? Definitely not! So why don't I just seize it? What am I afraid of?

He, who always acted on clear-minded impulses and feelings of justice and revenge, immediately suggested taking the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor as his disciple, and if the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor agreed, he would not vie for the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword but only take the Nine Palace Divine Sword.

Grandmaster Ha Ha knew that the Demon Sword possessed by the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor was forged from Chi You's Primordial Spirit, and could counter it only using the Xuanyuan Nine Palace Divine Sword. By obtaining these nine swords, he would not have to fear any future rebellion.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor initially planned to leave after retrieving the nine swords, and if Grandmaster Ha Ha chose to go upstairs to fetch the treasures, he would not stop him. However, Grandmaster Ha Ha demanded he become his disciple at the outset, which the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor certainly would not agree to, prompting Grandmaster Ha Ha to immediately turn hostile and attempt to kill and seize the sword.

The two then started dueling below the decks of the Golden Ship!

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, originally a notch below Grandmaster Ha Ha but still outstanding among top-level experts, had significantly increased his strength ever since achieving Human Sword Unity with the Demon Sword, despite numerous side effects and aftermath issues. Over the years, he continued his sword refining and magical power grew continuously; he had recently enhanced the Demon Sword's power twofold with the Daoist books he acquired from Geng Kun, stepping into the realm of super-first class.

Grandmaster Ha Ha had thought he could easily subdue his opponent, yet when the actual fight ensued, with the opponent in Human Sword Unity mode, he was unstoppable. Despite consecutively deploying four formidable spells, each appearing to overwhelm the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, the latter did not bother dismantling the spells, but charged forward undauntedly with the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, tackling whatever smoke, sand, fire, or light was thrown at him, focusing solely on attacking Grandmaster Ha Ha!

Thus, initially taken by surprise, Grandmaster Ha Ha found himself in disarray, desperately deploying magical treasures, which were then pierced and shattered by the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, destroying six treasures in succession!

Grandmaster Ha Ha grew furious!

He felt humiliated for not being able to defeat Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, and having his spells continuously broken and his Magical Treasures destroyed was more than he could bear!

Grandmaster Ha Ha took out the mountain treasure to properly deal with Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor. The two sides fought swiftly inside the Golden Tower, and after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Grandmaster Ha Ha still hadn't subdued his opponent.

At that time, due to the increasingly fierce duel, the Golden Ship began to shake violently, casting various golden lights, blood qi, and yellow smoke from every portal in the Golden Tower outward.

The Golden Ship itself was an extremely powerful Magical Treasure, containing ancient Immortal prohibitions, and the farther it was from the water's eye, the heavier it became. With the aid of Long Meng and Wu Longzi, lifting the Golden Ship was extremely strenuous, and as the two men caused such a commotion atop it, it grew even harder to control. Several times it nearly fell back into the water, only to be forcibly pulled up again by the three of them.

Jiang Shu felt the ship shaking more violently and heard bursts of thunderous explosions, realizing that something was amiss. He dared not delay and quickly broke the prohibitions, collecting the treasures from each level into the box.

By the time he reached the top level, although there were more than a hundred pieces of Magical Treasure in the Golden Ship and even more if the sets of knives, swords, spears, and halberds were counted separately, they all paled in comparison to the golden basin and the few treasures within it.

He wanted to try and break the seal, but the Golden Ship suddenly plunged into the water. Although it halted immediately, most of it had already sunk into the river, submerging up to the fifth level.

Shi Feiyang had warned Jiang Shu that if the Golden Ship was submerged up to the fifth level by the river, he must leave immediately, no matter how many treasures he had collected.

Trusting Shi Feiyang's words, Jiang Shu immediately ceased his efforts, exited through the sixth level's door, and transformed into a streak of azure light, flying up the Rainbow Bridge.

Seeing him emerge, the utterly exhausted Golden Spider quickly retracted its silk, and the Golden Ship, like a massive mountain, fiercely accelerated its drop and sank back into the water's eye...

The two still fighting within managed to fly out in the final moment. Knowing he couldn't overcome Grandmaster Ha Ha, Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor burst through the tower window as a streak of blood light, flying away towards the Northwest; Grandmaster Ha Ha, recognizing the difficulty of apprehending him, didn't waste more effort, quickly collecting the Xuanyuan Nine Swords, and after cursing his fortune, flew towards the Southwest.

Shi Feiyang had anticipated that Grandmaster Ha Ha would come to Yuan River to vie for the treasures and had pre-emptively set up his strategy, utilizing the enmity between Xuanyuan Nine Swords and Chi You, using Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor to first eliminate Cui Wu and the four others, then blocking Grandmaster Ha Ha on the first level, buying Jiang Shu enough time to collect the treasures above.

As he grew older, Grandmaster Ha Ha became more cautious, planning everything from the shadows, choosing only the perfect moment to act and reap the benefits.

Essentially, his will to fight wasn't strong; he would fight if he could, flee if he couldn't, taking advantage of the situation when possible, and retreating when benefits were secured...

He thought he had come at the right time, but in reality, he was late. If he had led his disciples in a raid from the start, Huo Wuhai and the others would have been no match, but then, Shi Feiyang would have implemented a contingency plan: immediately ceasing the retrieval of treasures and sinking the ship into the water's eye, leaving no treasures for anyone.

His visit resulted in the destruction of several treasures, and he didn't obtain much else; the anticipated scene of sweeping through hundreds of Magical Treasures didn't occur, but he did secure the Xuanyuan Nine Swords, so he didn't consider it a loss. After returning, he would carefully refine them, and once re-emerging, he would traverse the world unchallenged, seeing which monk or nun would dare to stop him!

In Shi Feiyang's plot, losing the nine swords was a tough yet necessary sacrifice, for more would have been lost otherwise.

However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Since the Xuanyuan Nine Swords had slain Chi You, they weren't exactly the nemesis of the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword but at least represented a millennia-old obsession and shadow in Chi You's mind. He would likely continue to manipulate Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor to seize the nine swords, melt them away or assimilate them into his own body. In time, Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor would repeatedly trouble Grandmaster Ha Ha. Once Shi Feiyang mastered the Xuanyuan Two Treasures and freed up his hands, he would find an opportune moment to retrieve the nine swords.

Fortunately, other than the Nine Palace Divine Sword and the treasures in the golden basin at the tower's top, the rest were successfully extracted. Jiang Shu handed the Qiankun Jade Box back to Shi Feiyang to distribute.

Although there were many treasures, distributing them equally among the numerous Sword Immortals on Qiao Mountain was not an easy task; ensuring fairness and suitability for each individual was crucial.

Shi Feiyang had the younger generation wait outside while he, Jiang Shu, and Ling Hun studied the situation, then came out to start the distribution.

The first was Zhu Zaiyu, to whom Shi Feiyang gave a set of Jade Scrolls, a total of one hundred and eight sticks, each detailing four ancient stories that introduced the concept of longevity and vision; followed by a set of Life-Sustaining Techniques vastly different from Guang Chengzi's Dan Book, related to the legendary archer Shooting God.

Zhu Zaiyu was advanced in age, his essence energy prematurely declining. Although he practiced Cultivation halfway and took Immortal Medicine, his Innate Pure Yang Qi was insufficient, and his potential achievements were limited. Becoming an Earth Immortal was already his ceiling, and even then, his mana wasn't high. Strictly speaking, he should have transitioned through a calamity, but he was unwilling; this cultivation technique suited him better.

Next was Cui Wugu, who received three Divine Arrows, once used by Emperor Xuanyuan, with immense power, though not quite apt for modern Immortals' use. She would need to reforge them, increasing their numerous miraculous uses. Although only three, they would ultimately surpass her Vajra Divine Fire Arrow in strength.

He then handed two Copper Talismans to Cang Lingzi. Cang Lingzi was an offshoot Heavenly Immortal with a very weak foundation and was destined to undergo a calamity which, due to Shi Feiyang, was avoided…

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