In the royal palace of Ji Xia.
Eight people were gathered around a table, staring at a small bottle placed upon it. Among the eight, seven were the ones who had reviewed the jade slip that day. Meng Gui was in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Ninth Heaven realm. The additional person present was the agricultural scholar, Gu Shu.
"Your Majesty, are you really certain that such a small bottle can pour out a lot of rice?" Gu Shu squinted his eyes and studied the bottle carefully, his tone filled with uncontrollable excitement.
"The ruler of the wind walks with great power, and what is given by the wind can never be measured by ordinary logic," said Lu Yu, stroking his beard with a broad smile.
Just yesterday, he had been deeply troubled by the food shortage in Tai Cang and had spent the night awake. Now, today, the King had given him a tremendous surprise. If what Ji Xia said was true and the bottle could indeed pour out massive amounts of rice, it would solve Tai Cang's urgent problem. He would laugh even in his dreams.
On the side, Pei Xian noticed that Ji Xia's face seemed uneasy despite the joyous atmosphere around him. He asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty, is there some sort of limitation on this treasure?"
Ji Xia nodded, picking up the bottle and saying, "If it could pour out an unlimited amount of rice, why would I even need to call you here? I could just hang it in the granary. This bottle is called the Myriad Grains Treasure Vase. Theoretically, it can pour out countless grains, but before that happens, it needs to devour enough spiritual crystals."
"I summoned you here to ask: As the trusted ministers of Tai Cang, do any of you have spiritual crystals hidden away? Most of the crystals in the palace treasury were used to negotiate peace with the Jiu Quan, and there are very few left."
Lu Yu, Zhao Qu, and Gu Shu all shook their heads. Zhao Qu said, "Our cultivation is too weak, and we cannot absorb spiritual energy from spiritual crystals before we break through the Earth Barrier. So, we have not collected any."
Zhe and Qing, two other high-ranking officials, also shook their heads. "The spiritual crystals we had were given to the national treasury as part of the peace offering to the Jiu Quan."
Ji Qianqing nodded. "Your Majesty previously gifted me many spiritual crystals, but I've used most of them. Now, I only have eight left."
Pei Xian was more straightforward. "I still have thirty."
Upon hearing these words, Ji Xia's face finally showed a hint of joy. "Then let's see how much food this treasure vase can pour out."
Everyone looked at the Myriad Grains Treasure Vase. The bottle was black, with brown lines etched into its surface. Upon closer inspection, the lines depicted fields of grain, acre by acre.
Ji Xia walked over to a small wooden box beside his bed. He carefully opened the box, and a burst of blue light shot out the moment it was opened, illuminating the room and adding some color to the otherwise dull space. The light was coming from the spiritual crystals—each one roughly the size of a thumb, emitting a faint blue glow. When hundreds of them gathered together, the light became blinding.
Ji Xia felt a surge of spiritual energy, as each crystal contained a vast amount of spiritual power. Cultivators could draw energy from these crystals once they broke through the Earth Barrier. Having a large number of crystals made cultivation much more efficient.
Unfortunately, spiritual crystals were rare and extremely valuable. Few nations had an unlimited supply, so in places with slightly stronger cultivators or nations, spiritual crystals became a form of currency. Many transactions were completed with them.
It seemed that the Myriad Grains Treasure Vase could sense the presence of the spiritual crystals. When Ji Xia opened the box filled with crystals, the brown lines on the bottle began to glow faintly, harmonizing with the blue glow of the crystals, creating a beautiful spectacle.
Ji Xia picked up the bottle and a crystal, hesitating for a moment. "I'm not sure how to feed this spiritual crystal to the vase."
The Myriad Grains Treasure Vase seemed to understand his words. The brown lines vibrated strangely, then detached from the bottle like tiny worms, quickly swirling through the air to land on the crystal, wrapping it tightly.
The crystal, surrounded by the lines, began to shrink rapidly. In just a few breaths, the spiritual energy within it disappeared entirely.
"How extraordinary!" Gu Shu exclaimed. "A gift from the great wind, indeed—it's like it has a life of its own."
"The great wind is an ancient god of the Boundless Wilderness. His strength is beyond our comprehension, and anything he bestows must be truly remarkable," Lu Yu nodded, stroking his beard.
After the lines had consumed the spiritual crystal, they quickly surged toward the Myriad Grains Treasure Vase, climbing up its surface and transforming into the decorative lines once again, as if everything that had just happened was a mere illusion.
"This vase is truly magical. It can even understand my words," Ji Xia said, holding the bottle and thinking, I wonder how much food it can produce from just one spiritual crystal.
Gu Shu's eyes gleamed. As the agricultural scholar, he had borne the responsibility for Tai Cang's food crisis. He was eager to see if the vase could really pour out rice, which would help the people survive the upcoming time of famine.
Ji Xia walked to the spacious area in his bedroom where he handled state affairs, firmly holding the vase and thinking to himself, Myriad Grains Treasure Vase, pour out the rice!
Suddenly, the vase shone brilliantly. It wrenched itself from Ji Xia's hand and flew to the chandelier above. Spiritual energy surged out.
The vase grew larger in an instant, reaching a height of about ten feet!
Everyone watched eagerly as the Myriad Grains Treasure Vase floated in the air, their eyes filled with intense anticipation. This vase was Tai Cang's only hope of saving more people from death.
"It should be able to pour out at least ten thousand pounds of rice with one spiritual crystal, right?" Gu Shu remarked. "It's a pity that the fields available for cultivation around us are so scarce. I heard that in a fertile land thousands of miles away, one spiritual crystal can buy twenty thousand pounds of rice!"
"If we buy it from Da Fu, we'd probably be able to get over ten thousand pounds. But Da Fu is too far away, and the journey passes through many hostile nations. By the time it gets to Tai Cang, not only will the rice be gone, but even the soldiers transporting it would be wiped out. It's not worth it," Lu Yu sighed.
"If this vase can really pour out ten thousand pounds of rice, that would be highly beneficial. With about 140 spiritual crystals, we could get nearly 1.4 million pounds of rice," Gu Shu said.
Ji Xia glanced around his large and empty bedroom. "I have a lot of space in my room. Ten thousand pounds of rice should fit easily."
The vase continued to hover in mid-air for a long while before it finally moved. A stream of white air poured from the opening of the vase. The vase rotated, and the opening faced downward.
Then, as the ministers watched anxiously, a torrent of rice began pouring out of the massive opening of the vase!
"Your Majesty truly did not deceive us!" Zhao Qu exclaimed, his face lighting up with a wide smile.
"Lord Zuoce, did you think I was deceiving you?" Ji Xia looked at the flowing rice with delight in his voice.
"Your Majesty, you are truly Tai Cang's saving grace!" Gu Shu said tearfully as he knelt to Ji Xia. "Without you, Tai Cang wouldn't have survived the recent Jiu Quan disaster. Now, with this treasure, Tai Cang is truly blessed!"
Ji Xia helped Gu Shu to his feet but kept his eyes on the vase, still uncertain. "Don't celebrate too soon. If one spiritual crystal only yields one thousand pounds of rice, then that would be a bad deal."
Gu Shu froze, quickly wiping away his tears. His eyes were wide with fear, as he stared at the vase, afraid the rice might suddenly stop pouring.
Time passed slowly, and the rice continued to flow, gradually covering the floor of the room.
Everyone held their breath, but their faces were filled with joy.
Zhao Qu, his voice trembling, asked, "Gu Shu, this should be close to ten thousand pounds by now, right?"
Gu Shu swallowed hard, overjoyed. "Lord Zhao Qu, based on my years of experience, it's about ten thousand pounds!"
A moment later, even the usually calm Pei Xian looked delighted. "This is probably over twenty thousand pounds! Truly a great treasure!"
After some time, Ji Xia frowned as he watched the rice pouring out without stopping. "Why hasn't it stopped yet? If it keeps going, my room will be completely full. Even my bed is buried in rice."
Eventually, Ji Xia's entire room was filled with rice, and even the vase in the air was engulfed by it!
Ji Xia and the ministers had no space to move, so they had to step outside the room. Staring blankly at the palace doors, which were overflowing with rice, Ji Qianqing looked at Ji Xia and said, "Your Majesty, you might need to rebuild your palace."
Ji Xia, puzzled, responded, "Hmm?"
Just as the words left his mouth, the old, dilapidated doors and windows of the room suddenly burst open!
Countless grains of rice poured out from the palace, creating a magnificent scene!