Soul Emperor Awakening

’So this Five-Colored Spirit Wood mutated because a Phoenix’s remains were buried beneath it.’ Lin Xuan frowned. The memory was simple.

A Phoenix, injured by an unknown assailant, had fallen here while fleeing and eventually succumbed to its wounds. In its final moments, to prevent its remains from being exploited by humans, it incinerated itself, leaving behind only a pile of ash.

But that wasn’t the crucial part. What truly mattered was the connection to Bingxin of the Ice and Fire Phoenix. This dead Phoenix had merely been Bingxin’s Attendant. The sheer volume of memories was an immense shock to him.

’So Bingxin’s real identity is the Princess of the Phoenix Race...’

The memory was overwhelming. It contained many other shocking revelations, but they were useless to him at the moment, and he couldn’t help Bingxin in any way. A heavy pressure settled in his heart. No wonder Bingxin had said it would be a matter of life and death. Her return truly was a gamble with her life.

According to the memories, trying to help her without reaching the Core Formation Stage was just a pipe dream. He recalled Bingxin once telling him it was better to know as little as possible about these matters, as knowing would be useless anyway.

Clearly, at his current level of strength, this knowledge was completely useless. His cultivation was simply too low. ’Heavens only knows when I’ll be able to break through to the Core Formation Stage,’ he thought. ’Forget the Core Formation Stage, I need to reach the Spirit Pill Stage first.’

"What is it? Did you have some sort of epiphany?" Shang Hua asked as he walked over.

Lin Xuan was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized they had misunderstood. They thought he had been deep in comprehension with his eyes closed. Since they’d already jumped to that conclusion, he decided to play along. "I sensed a little something, but I couldn’t quite grasp it..."

"That’s exactly it. Comprehension is just like that—an intangible feeling. The fact that you were able to sense something will be a great help to you in the future," Shang Hua said approvingly.

"I hope so," Lin Xuan replied evasively. He was just making it up; he hadn’t had any new insights. He then changed the subject, "This Five-Colored Spirit Wood... it seems a bit small."

"It doesn’t look that different from an ordinary Spirit Wood, does it? The main distinction is just the color, right?" Shang Hua said.

"It must not be mature yet. I assume it will put on a more amazing display when it is, right?" Lin Xuan said.

"Yes. Only when it matures will this Five-Colored Spirit Wood grow incredibly tall overnight. And when it does, it will become a target for countless people!" Shang Hua said excitedly. "Our current observations indicate that it will be fully mature in three days at most! Then, we’ll be able to witness the Five-Colored Spirit Wood’s explosive growth."

Lin Xuan already knew this part. The most important thing he’d learned was that the Five-Colored Spirit Wood’s existence was due to the Phoenix’s remains. Although the Phoenix had incinerated itself, its ashes were scattered here, and their absorption had caused the mutation.

"Three days..." Lin Xuan frowned. "It sounds like we won’t be able to hide it any longer after that. It’s bound to attract a lot of unwanted attention, won’t it?"

"That’s inevitable!" Shang Hua’s earlier elation vanished, his expression turning grim in an instant. "With our Shang Family’s strength, it’s impossible to protect this Five-Colored Spirit Wood. We have to rely on outside help to keep this tree safe!"

He wasn’t hiding anything, nor was he arrogant enough to claim they could protect the Five-Colored Spirit Wood on their own. The tree was simply too rare, and the Shang Family only had two Spirit Pill Stage experts. How could they possibly fend off all comers? If a Core Formation Stage expert showed up, they could take the Five-Colored Spirit Wood with ease—it would be like taking candy from a baby.

"So, which backer are you thinking of finding, Senior?" Lin Xuan asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Qingcheng Mansion!" Shang Hua answered without a moment’s hesitation. "The Royal Family is not an option, at least not right now. As for the Divine Rune Sect... I suspect they were the ones who ambushed our Patriarch!"

"The Divine Rune Sect?" Lin Xuan’s brow furrowed. That would make things complicated. "Logically, cooperating with the Divine Rune Sect should be the best option. Why would they choose to ambush you?"

Qingcheng Mansion has Pattern Masters, but they are a far cry from those in the Divine Rune Sect. It’s clear that only the Divine Rune Sect could utilize the Five-Colored Spirit Wood to its full potential. Besides, if there was an ambush, suspicion should fall on the Eldest Prince. With the current political turmoil, constantly weakening the Third Prince’s faction would be his best move.

’For the Divine Rune Sect to get involved... that doesn’t seem logical, does it?’

"Brother Lin, we can never cooperate with the Divine Rune Sect. Never!" Shang Zhihao cut in, his face contorted with anger. It was clear the Divine Rune Sect and the Shang Family had a history of major conflict.

"Is it about the Spirit Wood?" That was the only reason Lin Xuan could think of.

"Correct!" Shang Hua snorted coldly. "Our Shang Family is a Spirit Wood Family. For years, the Spirit Wood we’ve cultivated has been far superior to any grown elsewhere. The Divine Rune Sect came to us with ’terms,’ which were essentially for the Shang Family to become a complete vassal of the Sect, entirely under their control! What’s the difference between that and being slaves? And the benefit they offered? Merely allowing our most outstanding disciples to become disciples of the Divine Rune Sect!"

Shang Hua was furious as he spoke, as the conditions offered were abysmal. Would an outstanding disciple really worry about their future? They could join the Pattern Master Association, so why would they need the Divine Rune Sect?

While the Divine Rune Sect was undeniably superior, the benefit offered was pitiful. It was as if they were being told that being allowed to become a vassal was a great honor, a stroke of immense luck.

After being flatly rejected by the Shang Family, the Divine Rune Sect was furious, but they didn’t dare to use force. The Shang Family, after all, had some deep-seated power of its own. If a real fight broke out, the Divine Rune Sect wouldn’t escape unscathed.

"So, we refuse to provide any Spirit Wood to the Divine Rune Sect, and over time, their resentment has surely grown. The news of the Five-Colored Spirit Wood was bound to get out eventually. Based on the current situation, we can’t think of any other culprit besides the Divine Rune Sect. While we don’t side with the Eldest Prince, our relationship isn’t hostile either. If we were to negotiate, we would be willing to part with a small portion of the Five-Colored Spirit Wood."

Shang Hua continued, "Given the current complex political climate, approaching the Royal Family is not an option for now. Therefore, the only backer we can think of is Qingcheng Mansion!"

The Shang Family was relatively neutral, though they leaned slightly toward the Third Prince. In any case, the Royal Family was in a precarious situation, making it inappropriate to approach either side.

"That does sound rather unreasonable of them. From what you’re saying, Senior, it seems you had originally considered the Royal Family, correct?" Lin Xuan asked with a faint smile.

"Correct. Originally, our only choice was to rely on the Royal Family." Shang Hua smiled at Lin Xuan. "However, now that we have you to act as a bridge, we’ve decided to seek Qingcheng Mansion as our backer instead!"

"What do you mean by that?" Lin Xuan’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected to be dragged into this. When he glanced at Shang Zhihao, the other man just shrugged, looking equally baffled.

"Qingcheng Mansion has relatively few Pattern Masters, and even fewer who specialize in this field. From the standpoint of needing the Five-Colored Spirit Wood, their requirement isn’t particularly high. But even so, they will still be very interested," Shang Hua explained. "The main problem is that we lack a liaison. You are the perfect person for the job."

"Your talent is exceptional, which makes you the ideal envoy. I believe Qingcheng Mansion will take your potential into account. Having them frequently send you to liaise with us would be the best possible outcome," Shang Hua said. "However, the old rules still apply: their terms cannot be too harsh. First and foremost, we will not hand over the Five-Colored Spirit Wood to anyone. That is the non-negotiable premise for any negotiation. As for what percentage they get, that will depend on Qingcheng Mansion’s offer."

Lin Xuan finally understood Shang Hua’s plan. He wanted him to go back and negotiate, using his status as the champion of the Pattern Master competition to show Qingcheng Mansion that they now possessed a Pattern Master of astonishing talent.

’For the sake of my own development, it would be best to accept this negotiation!’ he thought. Of course, he didn’t have that much influence on his own. While Qingcheng Mansion might lack a homegrown genius Pattern Master, the Five-Colored Spirit Wood was so rare that they could simply hire a powerful Pattern Master to inscribe it. That wouldn’t be an issue for them.

For the Shang Family, however, the important thing was having Lin Xuan be the point of contact. They couldn’t let anyone else interfere—that was the crucial part. For example, if after the deal was struck, Qingcheng Mansion sent some foul-tempered Elder to take over, things would surely turn unpleasant.

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