The wound on her waist was the most severe one on Chu Yunhuang's body. Although there were many other large and small wounds elsewhere, none of them were fatal. After applying medicine to herself, Chu Qinghuang broke out in a sweat from the pain, and sat weakly on the ground, leaning against the shelf behind her to rest.
Chu Qinghuang remembered hearing someone mention looking for something just before she passed out, though she had no idea what it was. Those people also said their young mistress hated her because of Prince Duan. Was it the Chu family? Chu Nanxi? Since they hadn't found what they were looking for, she wondered if they would send people back to retrieve it. It seemed she had better leave this place as quickly as possible.
Thinking of the courtyard full of corpses in the front hall, Chu Qinghuang let out a slight sigh. No matter what, they were the family of that Chu Qinghuang, so she would go to the ancestral hall and burn a stick of incense on her behalf. From now on, there was no one left in this Chu Family.
After resting for a moment, Chu Qinghuang leaned against the shelf to steady herself, stood up, and walked toward the ancestral hall. Although the ancestral hall had also been tossed about somewhat messily, it was in much better shape than the Treasure Pavilion. Chu Qinghuang straightened the toppled ancestral spirit tablets, found a stick of incense that was still relatively intact, lit it, and bowed respectfully three times.
"Respected ancestors and predecessors, since this junior has entered Chu Qinghuang's body and assumed Chu Qinghuang's identity, this junior will certainly remember the Chu Family's enmity. I will personally execute the enemies and bring their heads to pay tribute to the Chu Family."
After bowing once more, Chu Qinghuang stepped forward and inserted the incense in her hand into the censer. Just as she wanted to step back, a sudden surge of vital energy roiled within her, and Chu Yunhuang spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto the censer.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough..." Chu Qinghuang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. After coughing up this stagnant blood, she felt her body become much lighter.
Suddenly, the censer in front of her, along with the tabletop beneath it, rose upward and shifted to the right, revealing a pitch-black wooden box that slowly ascended from inside the table.
Chu Qinghuang looked in surprise at the rising wooden box. Just as she reached out to take it down and take a look, the wooden box opened automatically. Inside was an egg the size of an adult's head, its shell covered in intricate patterns. Next to the egg was a smaller box. Chu Qinghuang took the small box out of the wooden box and opened it to find a ring inlaid with a black stone.
Chu Qinghuang took out the ring, and the blood from the wound on her finger seeped through the black stone. A silver radiance lit up around the black stone, and then the ring automatically flew up, placed itself on Chu Qinghuang's left hand, and adjusted its size on its own.
Startled, Chu Qinghuang reached out to pull the ring off, but try as she might with every possible method, it wouldn't budge, so she had no choice but to give up. Chu Qinghuang looked back at the egg in the box and noticed a letter beneath it. It had been hidden earlier by the box containing the ring, which was why she hadn't seen it. Chu Qinghuang took out the letter; the edges of the envelope had already turned yellow, suggesting it had some years to it.
Unfolding the letter, she saw the opening lines: "To my descendants." Chu Qinghuang raised an eyebrow. Was this written by a senior of the Chu Family? She read through the letter once, and the more she read, the more alarmed she became. No wonder the Chu family had been wiped out and people came looking for treasures—the Chu Family truly possessed treasures.
The letter stated that the two items in the box were the Holy Spirit Fallen Ring and a Vermilion Bird Egg. The Vermilion Bird was an ancient divine beast, obtained by a senior of the Chu Family through sheer fortune. They had originally hoped that with the ancient divine beast Vermilion Bird, the Chu Family's status could rise to even greater heights. However, the Vermilion Bird had never hatched, and the Chu Family had no choice but to keep guarding this Vermilion Bird Egg.
As for the ring on Chu Qinghuang's finger, it was the Holy Spirit Fallen Ring, a spatial ring that contained its own miniature world. The black stone on top was a meteorite that could automatically absorb Spiritual Power and convert it into the body to promote cultivation. Because no one in the Chu Family had ever been able to make this ring recognize its master, it had been left alongside the Vermilion Bird Egg, waiting for fated owner.
Chu Qinghuang sighed. If either of these two items leaked out, it would invite the disaster of annihilation. It was already a miracle that the Chu Family had managed to guard them until today, and she had no idea how the Chu family had gotten the news.
Chu Qinghuang squeezed a few drops of blood from the wound on her finger and dripped them onto the Vermilion Bird Egg. The blood stayed on the Vermilion Bird Egg for a few seconds before seeping along the patterns on the eggshell into its interior. Chu Qinghuang raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected herself to be the fated owner chosen by both the Vermilion Bird Egg and this spatial ring, yet this body clearly could not cultivate.
The patterns on the shell of the Vermilion Bird Egg flashed with golden light. Realizing that the Vermilion Bird Egg probably wouldn't hatch anytime soon, Chu Qinghuang waved her hand and stored the Vermilion Bird Egg into her spatial ring. She bowed and paid her respects to the ancestors of the Chu Family in the ancestral hall to express her gratitude. Then, just as she was about to leave, the censer on the table dropped to the ground by itself, scattering the ash inside all over the floor.
Chu Qinghuang picked up the censer and placed it back on the table, only to accidentally notice a few words written on the bottom of its interior. She blew away the incense ash at the bottom to reveal the characters: Tianyuan Cauldron.
What on earth was this? Suddenly, a streak of green light flashed across the Tianyuan Cauldron, and sitting on its rim was a tiny figure the size of a thumb, with a pair of wings growing from its back.
"Greetings, Master. My name is Xiaoyuan."
Chu Qinghuang looked in astonishment at the tiny figure. "Are you the one talking? You're so small yet you can speak? What kind of being are you?"
"Master, I am the spirit of the Tianyuan Cauldron. Just now, Master inadvertently spat blood onto the Tianyuan Cauldron, so now the Tianyuan Cauldron belongs to Master."
Chu Qinghuang looked curiously at the Tianyuan Cauldron and asked Xiaoyuan doubtfully, "Mine? And what can this cauldron do?"
Lifting his chin proudly, Xiaoyuan said, "This cauldron has countless uses. Not only can it refine pills and forge weapons, but once my Spiritual Power has accumulated enough, as long as Master has successfully refined a certain type of pill in this cauldron once, Master just needs to prepare the medicinal ingredients and put them inside. I will be able to refine the pills myself without troubling Master to lift a finger—Master just has to wait to collect the finished pills."
"Such a marvel?" Chu Qinghuang raised an eyebrow. "Then how do you accumulate your Spiritual Power? Besides, I can't even cultivate, let alone refine pills. Xiaoyuan, would you consider changing masters?"
"Xiaoyuan refuses to change!" Anxious, Xiaoyuan flew onto Chu Yunhuang's hand. "There is a Holy Spirit Spring inside that ring from earlier, which can cleanse the marrow and save lives. Master might as well go inside and give it a try. Besides, even the Vermilion Bird Egg has recognized you as its master, so you definitely can't be wrong as my master."
"The little fellow knows quite a bit, doesn't he? Very well, I'll store you in the space first and try it out in a moment." With a wave of her hand, Chu Qinghuang stored the Tianyuan Cauldron into her space.
Following her memories, Chu Qinghuang returned to the courtyard where she lived. It had also been thoroughly ransacked. She entered her room, picked out a few sets of clean clothes, found a clean cloth, and used the water in the basin to wash away the dirt on her body. After cleaning her wounds, applying fresh medicine, and putting on clean clothes, Chu Qinghuang finally felt like she could breathe again.
After resting for a while, Chu Qinghuang returned to the Treasure Pavilion. She swept all the various treasures, gold coins, spirit stones, and other items from the Treasure Pavilion, the secret room, and the storehouse into her space. Since she was in an unfamiliar place, she needed a foundation to stand on once she left the Chu Family; otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to manage her food, clothing, housing, and transportation, let alone anything else.