Supreme Elder Bo, Guardian of the Tian Clan Treasury, stirred from his slumber to the sound of the gigantic gates creaking open. The Patriarch had informed him earlier that he should expect the Junior Patriarch's visit. However, he hadn't anticipated it would be so soon. Now, he found himself on babysitting duty.
With a click of his tongue and a gentle gyration of his waist to ease his old, quaking bones, Elder Bo trutted out of his little cultivation section of the treasury. "Little," of course, was a relative term. The space inside expanded billions of meters in all directions. Accessing it required strength of his level or a special key to the formation that separated the two spaces.
His piercing gaze saw through all the restrictions and formations dividing the various sections of the Treasury, right up to the entrance. The Treasury, as the Tian Clan called it, was a plane of its own, filled with myriad realms and weaker planes that held various wealth and treasures amassed by the clan over the years. Only those who inherited his position had the qualifications to know the true depth of this place, which rivaled Divine Planes in size and sheer complexity.
What a rare talent,he thought upon seeing Tian Shi's figure. Innate Human Bloodline of the purest quality, yet balanced perfectly with the Heaven Devouring Lion's bloodline. Where did the chap find a member of the Heaven Devouring Lion Clan?
Elder Bo turned his gaze upwards. In an instant, he pierced through the barrier separating the treasury from the normal world. That was not the end. His gaze speared right through the tethers that held reality together, arriving at the core. There, a terrifying eye stared back at him. Its shape was formed from the gathering of uncountable pupils, stuck together by a black gelatinous substance. Within the core, tentacles of all shapes moved in unison, like water in waves, accompanied by the rhythmic writhing of purple-brown, rotting flesh. The intensity of the gaze made Elder Bo sweat. He quickly cut off the flow of power.
Yikes. I didn't mean to offend you. Is it wrong for an old man to be curious?
Elder Bo clicked his tongue again and walked to a desk. He picked up a random artifact from a box of discarded pieces and threw it into the air. It slipped through space and landed near a pile of "weak artifacts." Boredom had a way of creeping in. Even he, a person so close to transcending reality, experienced it at times. One of his favorite pastimes was tossing random trinkets he had made into the pile of artifacts, likely to be ignored. It always amazed him when some lucky kid managed to find something extraordinary.
"Time to entertain the brat now," Elder Bo said. "Well, who should I send?"
He clicked his fingers. Purple light glowed in his eyes, and a powerful aura burst forth from his tiny frame. In one of the realms, Tian Shi came to an abrupt halt. He was not the only one affected. Every clan member granted the authority to visit the treasury paused, unable to move or think. Elder Bo's power rippled outward, affecting the rest of existence. It flowed into the heart of the river of time, pausing it indefinitely.
Powerful auras belonging to beings of his level flared across time and space, urging him to release his relentless hold on time. He sighed, the force of his strength reverberating through the fabric of reality, intertwining with a strand of his own aura. It served as a fair warning.
After dealing with the pesky busybodies, Elder Bo stroked his lengthy white beard and began to think. A few million ethereal figures that vaguely resembled him materialized before him. Each had different body shapes and slight differences in facial features compared to him.
"No. Not that batch," he said.
More than half of the figures vanished. Squinting, he examined the remaining figures and sighed.
"Not that batch either."
A hundred thousand figures disappeared.
"Too muscle-bound."
Another hundred figures vanished.
"I don't like these ones at all. They make me look odd."
More vanished. Elder Bo spent what felt like an eternity going through his options before finally settling on an avatar after sensing the Patriarch's aura reverberate through the fabric of existence. Sad that he was rushed to make a choice, he snapped his fingers.
The gears of existence loosened as motion and the concept of time returned to the waking world.
Tian Shi did not notice that time had stopped and then started again. To him, the flow remained constant. He felt a bit annoyed that he needed to sift through so many artifacts to find what he needed. The Treasury was a massive hall that eclipsed large stars in volume and size. Without the token that allowed him to travel instantly to his destination, he might have spent several minutes picking and choosing.
In the few minutes since his arrival, he had already managed to extract a few consumable artifacts. Most of them were void-breaking talismans. The Transcendent Heavenly Dao was a strict entity that ensured balance across all existence. It enforced special authorities tied to certain levels of strength in most situations. Breaking the void was one such restriction that the Heavenly Dao was adamant about. Fortunately, the restriction only applied to beings from higher planes. Perhaps it was its way of evening the playing field for weaker lifeforms. Any attempts to break the void using cultivation often led to the cultivator being ejected from the mortal plane.
One of the main items he came to collect was coffins. Tian Shi never embarked on an expedition without premium-grade coffins. They always came in handy for various situations.
He teleported to the section that held 1-star Divine Rank artifacts and contemplated. Did he really require one? Not necessarily. The premium-grade coffins, though subpar and almost useless, allowed him to solve problems. He was unsure what these artifacts could be used for.
After some additional thought, he realized it was best to be cautious. So, he flew straight to the top shelf that held the strongest 1-star Divine Rank artifacts. He removed a sword from its pedestal. Crafted by one of the best Divine Swordsmiths, it boasted the finest abilities known to cultivators in the early stages of the God Realm. Most of its abilities would be useless in the mortal plane since the Heavens would not allow it, but he believed it could prove useful.
The sword was known as Existence Bane, its core ability being the power to set up a domain that could nullify most energies flowing below the God Realm, including Qi, Essence, and various other forms. However, when wielded by a mortal, it could only nullify energies below the cultivation stage of that mortal. For instance, if he were an ordinary person, he would only be able to nullify energies within the Heavenly Step Realm and below. But in his hands, he could nullify energies at the lower bounds of the Immortal Realm.
"This could prove to be handy."