Cultivation Daddy

Chapter 201: Chapter 200: The Treasure that Ate Itself

The man carefully opened the wooden box, revealing a round, delicate glass-like bottle that was no bigger than a child’s fist. It was beautifully crafted with intricate, flowing runes carved on its surface. Tiny cloud-like patterns moved across it, as if spiritual energy were flowing under the surface.

’So beautiful...’ Li Zhang thought with bright eyes. He was naturally attracted to beautiful things.

"Look at this, young master," the leader whispered: "This is an ancient, supreme treasure we got from a dangerous secret realm. We wanted to offer it to your esteemed father. We heard he cooks legendary spiritual dishes. We are willing to trade this priceless heirloom for just two of his Instant Breakthrough dishes! What do you say? Can you take this to him?"

The scammers were inwardly sneering. The bottle was actually a cheap, strange artifact they had picked up for a few low-grade spirit stones. It looked pretty, but they had never been able to open it or get it to do anything. They hoped to trick the naive kid into trading his father’s priceless cultivation dishes for it.

Li Zhang frowned: "If it is that good, why don’t you keep it?"

The three men froze, speechlessly. They weren’t expecting him to ask that.

The tall man quickly recovered and laughed: "Young master, treasures need suitable owners. In our hands, it cannot show its true value. But in Owner Li’s hands, it may become famous. This bottle can gather spiritual energy by itself. If Owner Li uses it in cooking, the effect of his dishes will have stronger effects."

Li Zhang looked at the bottle again. Two Instant Breakthrough dishes were very expensive. Also, they were limited every day. These people came to him instead of going through the counter, which already meant they were trying to avoid the rules and cheat him.

Li Zhang squinted at the bottle. He was naturally carefree but not foolish: "A treasure? It looks like a small perfume bottle." He shook his head: "No. If you want to sell things, go to the counter. Uncle Bai Lian will take care of it."

The rat-faced man’s expression stiffened: "Young master, why be so rigid? We are not asking for spirit stones. We only want dishes. Your father owns the tavern. For him, two dishes should be nothing."

Li Zhang’s face immediately became unhappy: "Who said it’s nothing? My father has to wake early every day to cook, he barely gets any rest."

The three men did not expect him to get offended and were taken aback.

The tall man hurriedly said: "Of course, of course. Owner Li works hard. We only mean this treasure is worthy. You won’t regret this trade."

Li Zhang looked at them suspiciously and didn’t move.

The rat-faced man suddenly lifted the bottle from the box and held it out: "Young master, why not take a closer look first? Once you touch it, you will know whether it is real."

Li Zhang hesitated for a moment, before he reached out and picked up the delicate bottle. It felt surprisingly heavy and warm in his hand, and the earth spiritual energy in his body gave a sudden reaction which startled him.

"Careful, don’t drop it!... you-" the scammer shouted when he saw how unstable Li Zhang’s movement became. They haven’t gotten anything from this bottle yet. They refuse to let it break."

But before the man could finish his sentence, the round bottle suddenly vibrated violently in Li Zhang’s hand.

Li Zhang’s eyes widened: "Eh?"

Whoosh!

Before anyone could react, the bottle flew out of Li Zhang’s grasp. Instead of falling, it hovered in the air, then shot directly toward Li Zhang’s face. His mouth was forced wide open by a sudden gust of spiritual pressure, and the bottle zipped straight down his throat!

Gulp.

Li Zhang’s throat bulged briefly as the bottle went straight down. He clutched his neck, coughing and sputtering, his face turning a little red: "Cough... Hack! What was that?!"

The three scammers stood frozen, their jaws dropping so low they nearly hit the cobblestones. They stared at Li Zhang as if he were a monster.

"You... you ate it?!" the leader shrieked, his voice cracking: "That was our ancestral treasure! How dare you just swallow it?!"

"I didn’t mean to! It jumped into my mouth!" Li Zhang protested, rubbing his stomach, which felt strangely warm but not painful: "Who the hell would eat a glass bottle?"

"Oh, so you’re saying the treasure ate itself?"

"Don’t lie! You better tell your father to compensate us! Give us the dishes, or we’ll tear down your father’s tavern!" The scammers panicked, realizing their scam had gone horribly off rails.

"It’s your treasure’s fault for going into my mouth. You should be worried if I get a bad stomach because of this, I will tell my father to hunt you."

The tall man immediately grabbed toward him: "Come with us to see your father. Owner Li must compensate us!"

Li Zhang dodged to the side. "If you want to see my father, walk properly. Why are you grabbing me?"

They lunged again to grab him.

"Ah! Help! Scammers are trying to kidnap me!" Li Zhang yelled, immediately utilizing his immense leg strength to dash toward the Spiritual Tavern like a startled rabbit.

The scammers chased him in hot pursuit, yelling and cursing.

"Stop! Thief! Treasure eater."

People on the street immediately turned to look at them strangely. Li Zhang’s face burned with anger.

Li Zhang burst through the doors of the Spiritual Tavern, nearly knocking over a customer. "Dad! Dad! Someone is trying to eat me!... I mean, I ate something!"

Li Jain, who was standing behind the counter discussing the evening menu with Bai Lian, looked up in surprise. "Xiao Zhang?" Before he could ask what was going on, the three scammers rushed in, panting and pointing angrily at Li Zhang.

"Owner Li! Your son just stole and swallowed our priceless ancestral treasure!" the leader roared, trying to sound righteous in front of the crowd: "He ate it right in front of us! You must compensate us with two Instant Breakthrough dishes, or we won’t leave this tavern!"

The tavern quieted down as guests watched the scene with curiosity.

Li Jain frowned slightly, his kind and straightforward nature making him calm. He looked at Li Zhang, who was hiding behind his robe: "Zhang’er, what happened?"

Li Zhang looked up and explained everything that happened honestly: "I didn’t swallow it on purpose! Dad, they stopped me outside and showed me this round, delicate little bottle. They said they wanted to trade it to you for two breakthrough dishes. But when I picked it up to look at it, it suddenly started shaking, flew out of my hand, forced my mouth open, and went straight down my throat! I didn’t even chew!"

Li Jain looked at his son’s serious and wrong expression. He wanted to laugh, but he held it back.

The guests in the tavern were amused, but they could all tell from the situation that these three men were not genuine. Li Jain placed his hand on Li Zhang’s shoulder, sending a thread of his spiritual energy into his son’s meridian pathways to examine him.

As Li Jain’s spiritual energy swept through Li Zhang’s body, he located the object. It was sitting snugly near Li Zhang’s dantian. It wasn’t causing any harm; instead, it was greedily but gently absorbing the surrounding earth-attribute spiritual energy from Li Zhang’s body, purifying it, and slowly releasing it back.

Li Jain’s eyes narrow slightly. He could tell that this was no ordinary or fake item. The bottle possessed an incredibly pure spiritual core that was perfectly compatible with Li Zhang’s Earth spiritual root and his physique. It was a sentient spiritual treasure that had actively chosen Li Zhang as its master!

Li Jain looked at the three scammers, who were sweating under his gaze. He knew they were likely trying to scam his son, but since the treasure had indeed been absorbed by Li Zhang, and it was a genuine, high-grade spiritual artifact, Li Jain felt it was only fair to settle the trade.

"Very well," Li Jain said, his tone calm and straightforward. "Since my son has indeed eaten your object, I will honor the trade. Bai Lian, fetch two of the sealed Instant Breakthrough dishes from the kitchen and hand them to these guests."

Bai Lian bowed and quickly returned with two beautifully crafted, dark wooden sealed boxes, identical to the one Meirong had collected.

The scammers were utterly stunned. They had expected a massive fight, or to be thrown out. They knew the bottle was a mystery item they couldn’t use, and getting two legendary Instant Breakthrough dishes for it was an absolute jackpot!

Grabbing the boxes with trembling, greedy hands, the leader bowed hastily. "Thank you, Boss Li! A fair trade indeed! We shall take our leave! Let’s chat another day." They scrambled out of the tavern as fast as their legs could carry them, terrified Li Jain would change his mind.

Once they were gone, Li Jain led Li Zhang into the quiet back pavilion.

"Dad, am I going to die? Is the bottle going to break inside me?" Li Zhang asked, looking a bit worried for once.

"No, silly boy," Li Jain laughed softly, patting his head: "It’s a storage and refining treasure. It chose you because of your pure earth spiritual root and strong vitality. But you cannot leave it running wild inside you. Sit down, and Dad will teach you how to refine its spiritual energy."

Li Zhang sat cross-legged on a stone platform. Li Jain placed his hands on Li Zhang’s back, guiding him: "Focus your mind on your dantian. Feel the warmth of the bottle. Use your earth’s spiritual root to wrap around it. Guide your spiritual energy to flow into the bottle’s mouth, let it refine, and then draw it back out."

Following his father’s gentle guidance, Li Zhang closed his eyes. He felt a sudden, massive surge of purified, highly concentrated spiritual energy erupting from the bottle. It was like a dam breaking, filling his meridians with incredibly dense earth-attribute energy.

Boom!

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