Chapter 164: Initial Concept of Spiritual Treasure Transformation

This tournament concluded successfully—with the Human Sovereign delivering a refined opening speech, and four Tribulation Stage cultivators putting on an exhibition match during the closing ceremony. Ji Zhi declared that Great Zhou would continue to strive forward and create greater glory, and expressed gratitude to the Human Sovereign and the four Tribulation Stage cultivators for their support. Great Zhou would always remember it, passing it down through generations.
That, at least, was the official news heard by the people of the Nine Provinces.

“Great Zhou really is impressive. I heard Jiang the Human Sovereign is so busy that he barely returns to the Human Sovereign Hall, constantly rushing all over the Nine Provinces. My uncle works at the Hall and hasn’t seen him in decades. Yet Great Zhou actually managed to invite him to the tournament. If I’d known Jiang the Human Sovereign would be there, I’d have gone to the imperial city no matter what.”
“Right? Even those elusive Tribulation Stage powerhouses—four of them showed up. I heard they were hiding among the Nascent Soul participants, showcasing Nascent Soul combat techniques to the world. At the end of the tournament, they revealed their true identities and displayed divine powers out in space. It was mind-blowing.”
“I wasn’t in Great Zhou at the time, so I didn’t know what was happening. When I looked up and saw those four towering figures battling in the universe, I thought Outer World Demons had arrived. Only after someone pointed it out did I realize—they were our own Nine Provinces’ bigshots.”
“I heard that everyone on-site, whether it was participating cultivators or spectators, was deeply inspired by the techniques they saw at the Nascent Soul level—their bottlenecks even started to loosen.”
“And those countless types of Spiritual Treasures—before the tournament, I truly never imagined there were so many different ways to use them. I need to go home and build a better relationship with mine. I can’t rely on just the contract to maintain it.”
“If Great Zhou holds another tournament, I’m definitely joining!”
“Same here. Now that the spatial passages are connected, traveling to other countries is way more convenient than before.”
“I wonder what kind of price Great Zhou paid to get all those bigshots to help.”
“Probably something beyond our imagination.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.

If Ji Zhi were here, he would’ve said: There was no other price, I just ate a whole gourd of Heart-Calming Pills—nearly got full off them.

“And here’s the latest edition of Tianji News.” One person showed off the paper in his hand. This time, Tianji Tower printed only a limited run—it sold out fast, and anyone who got one was considered lucky.
“Tianji Tower is amazing. They actually found all four Tribulation Stage cultivators before the tournament and interviewed them—everything written here is in their own words.”
“I heard the person who wrote the article has already been taken in as a disciple by Tianming Daoist, and is being groomed as the next Tower Master.”
……

“From this day forward, place Jiang Li, Bai Hongtu, Yu Yin, the Sword Sovereign, and Li Er on Level-1 alert. They’re not allowed to take a single step into the palace. If you see them, drive them out!”
Ji Zhi said angrily. Although the publicity effect was great and the response excellent—next time, the number of participants would surely be several times higher—the more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got. The more he backed down, the more cheated he felt. There was no way he’d let this slide.
At the very least, he needed to show he was mad.

The captains of the Imperial Guards looked at each other.
You’re in the Soul Formation Stage, right?
Yeah, and you’re also in the Soul Formation Stage, right?
Our team captain’s on leave—I’m just subbing in, and I’m only Nascent Soul Stage.
……Doesn’t matter. From a Tribulation Stage point of view, there’s no real difference. With just our few weak bodies, trying to chase off those five big bosses—isn’t that basically impossible?

Of course Ji Zhi knew what they were thinking.
“Whether or not you can do it is one thing. Show the attitude first! Got it?!”
“Yes, sir!”

……

“Please wait, Fox Queen Baixue.”
After the tournament ended, Baixue Ling was preparing to leave Great Zhou when someone called out to her. She turned to see the Sect Master of the Spiritual Medicine Sect.

Though not as prestigious as Pill Refining Peak of the Dao Sect, the Spiritual Medicine Sect was still one of the top alchemy sects in the Nine Provinces, with deep heritage—their ancestors even produced a Tribulation Stage powerhouse. Many of the Baize Dynasty’s pills were bought from the Spiritual Medicine Sect.

“What is it?”
“I’d like to study the beast transformation technique. Would the Fox Queen be willing to assist?” The Sect Master spoke with a humble posture.
“Why research our transformation technique?” Baixue Ling didn’t give an immediate answer. She was also curious—what use was there in studying beast transformations? The formula for the Beast Transformation Pill was already well-known across the Nine Provinces.

“Here’s the thing. I recently saw Luban Sect puppets and got inspired. Since puppets can develop sentience and behave much like cultivators, then surely Spiritual Treasures could do the same. It’s just that their shapes are so different from humans, we’ve overlooked the possibility.”
“So?” Baixue Ling was starting to guess where he was going.
“So why don’t we develop a pill that allows Spiritual Treasures to take human form? That way, with sentience and a humanoid appearance—how great would that be?” The Sect Master had already imagined the scene of a Spiritual Treasure Transformation Pill being released—it would cause a huge stir across the Nine Provinces. Everyone would come to the Spiritual Medicine Sect to buy it.

The Spiritual Medicine Sect had long resented being overshadowed by the Dao Sect’s Pill Refining Peak. They wanted to rise up and become the top alchemy sect. But the pill formulas they had, the Dao Sect also had. And the formulas they lacked, the Dao Sect still had.
In that case, what edge did they have? They were only surviving in the Dao Sect’s shadow by relying on lower prices and sales volume.
The Dao Sect had Immortal Elder Changcun. There was no ancient pill he didn’t know. To stand out, the Spiritual Medicine Sect had to find a pill that had never existed before.
The Sect Master had racked his brain, exhausted his thoughts, and finally got the idea during this tournament.
A Spiritual Treasure Transformation Pill—what a brilliant concept.

“But I have no clear path yet. I figured that since treasure transformation might share similarities with beast transformation, I hoped the Fox Queen could lend a hand.”
“I promise, whether I succeed or not, your future purchases of our pills will always come with a discount—cheaper than Pill Refining Peak for sure.”
“That might be worth considering. But I have two questions.”
“Please ask,” the Sect Master said eagerly. The Fox Queen’s tone suggested she was mostly on board.

“How would a Spiritual Treasure take the pill?”
“It doesn’t have to be a pill! It could be a medicinal bath. Just throw the treasure in, and when it comes out—it’s in human form.”
Baixue Ling nodded. Clearly, he’d already thought this part through. “Second question: how would you handle the ethical issues after transformation? When Luban Sect disciples marry puppets, it only causes localized effects. Jiang the Human Sovereign won’t let it spread. He’s already banned the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal from enlightening more puppets.”
“If you invent a Spiritual Treasure transformation bath and start selling it on a large scale, Jiang Li won’t just sit back and do nothing.”

The Sect Master scratched his head. He hadn’t considered that at all. As expected of the Fox Queen—she thought of everything.
“How about… we deal with it when the time comes?” he suggested. “I mean, once we’ve made the discovery, Jiang the Human Sovereign should allow us to sell it, right?”

Baixue Ling sighed. She could already imagine Jiang Li’s expression if he ever saw something like a Spiritual Treasure transformation bath.
Just the emergence of sentient treasures had given him a major headache. Thankfully, he later devised the Spiritual Treasure Law and contract system to manage them.
Now this? A full-blown transformation into human form through medicinal baths? The poor guy was never going to get a break.
You could never guess what wild ideas people would come up with next.

To avoid causing more trouble for Jiang Li, Baixue Ling didn’t agree to the Sect Master’s request.