The ninth hall… How can this be possible?
They have been to six halls. How do they suddenly arrive at the ninth hall?
There are nine halls in the Jiuhua Palace and each of the halls stores treasures of different levels. They did take a nap, but it is so strange that they just skipped the seventh and the eighth hall.
“The ninth hall? How can this be possible?” Xin Yuanping is always so calm. Now, she starts to panic.
Clearly, An is not so familiar with the Dragon Palace as Xin and Rong are. He is surprised when he notices their change of expressions, “The Hall of Nothingness? What’s wrong with it? Since we’re at the ninth hall, we shall just go in.”
Xin Yuanping sneers. She doesn’t even bother to talk to An.
Rong says seriously,
“The hall is called nothingness. This is where the top treasure of the Dragon Palace is. In order to protect the top treasure, some fake ones are placed here. Every stranger who enters the Hall of Nothingness has to pick one as we did in the first hall… The problem is, you won’t know what you’ll get. It might be a grain of sand, a dead boy, or the authentic top treasure.
Li Anping has been trying to reduce his sense of presence by staying quiet. Hearing this, he can’t help asking,
“Isn’t this hall just like the first one? Everything is about luck.” Li can’t help stroking the jade belt on his waist. He has been quite lucky during this trip to the Dragon Palace. Both of the women who dumped him before were both dead, and he has got an item of the dragons. Li now has a secret plan in his mind.
However, Xin Yuanping says coldly, “Shut up and listen to him!”
Rong points at the stone tablet and continues, “Most of these shining treasures are traps set to protect the top treasure. What ends up in our hands may kill us instantly or trap us in this palace forever to serve as the guardian of the top treasure… Of course, the precondition is that ordinary people like you and I have a soul after we’re dead.”
The treasures are attractive, but you must stay alive to use it!
An only wants two things in the Dragon Palace. First is the Dragon Marrow his master told him to get, and second is the “Wooden-universe Bolus” he saw at the first hall. An has no interest in fighting against anyone for the top treasure. One must reserve his life first for enjoying the treasure.
An tells his intentions to everyone. Rong shakes his head and says, “Everybody has to pick. It’s not up to you. Just look around.”
Look around? The stone tablet turns and they are out of the hall!
They are surrounded by shining treasures, yet every one of them feels creepy.
No one is not afraid to die, even Xin Yuanping, who is on the path of demonized cultivation. She reborn as a demonized cultivator in the blood pool only because of her desire to live.
Now, they don’t have another option.
They must pick a treasure after entering the Hall of Nothingness. The door of the hall has been closed. It’s all up to luck whether they will die and be trapped here forever or get out with a treasure in hand.
Shining treasures are displayed on the exhibition stand.
What are these treasures?
Even people who have won the lottery won’t have confidence in themselves in this situation.
Silence. So much silence. Nobody dares to pick first.
Xin Yuanping looks around and points at Li Anping. She says, “You first.”
I first! Li Anping holds his breath.
…
Every treasure on the display stand looks so real in terms of Reiki and power. Xin and An both can’t tell the real ones from the fake ones. Li Anping has nothing but his luck. He starts to sweat.
Li’s eyes sweep through the treasures. He feels dizzy because of all of these shiny treasures.
Which should he pick?
Will he become rich, or die here…? This is a choice of life and death. Li Anping is nervous and serious. He walks among the display stands. Every time he reaches out, he draws back his shaking hand.
Unexpectedly, Xin Yuanping doesn’t urge him.
Everyone’s pick is important right now, even Li Anping, who Xin never thinks highly of.
Their fates are bond together!
Finally, Li Anping closes his eyes. Under the pressure, he loses his courage of making any choice. It seems that he is going to leave his future to fate. What will happen?
Li reaches his right hand out with eyes closed. On his right, there is a bronze knife. It’s not very shiny, yet it gives out a dreadful atmosphere.
Li’s fingers touch the knife. Everybody holds their breath.
Gradually, Li Anping holds the knife in his hand.
Everybody is staring at this knife without blinking… What will it really be?
Li Anping hopes that the knife is just a knife, and Xin Yuanping wishes it could become a magic weapon. In Xin’s mind, what Li picks will be hers.
An wants nothing but the Dragon Marrow and the Wooden-universe Bolus. He only hopes that the bronze knife is not going to kill him.
Rong Donglin looks forward to the knife becoming something disgusting and useless.
With the sound of cracking, the bronze knife stops spinning. The mist around it disperses. The knife has become a cup.
The second everybody sees the cup, the Hall of Nothingness delivers the name of the cup to their heads. It’s the Bamboo Cup Decorated with Rhinoceros Horn.
Works of art made of bamboo have been famous in the State of Huaxia since the old time. With the decoration of the rhinoceros horn at the bottom, the cup is quite delicate.
In the view of Rong Donglin, the cup is just gorgeous.
It’s a pity that this is an ordinary item!
Seeing that Xin and An are both not interested, Li Anping realizes that he just made a normal choice.
He is disappointed. Rong Donglin likes the cup actually. He thinks for a while and takes several pearls out of his backpack. Rong wants to trade with Li Anping. Though Li can’t see the value of the cup, he asks for ten pearls from Rong in exchange of it.
Rong has a bag filled with pearls so he is willing to give ten of them to Li. Then, Xin Yuanping tells Rong to make his pick. In the meantime, Rong notices that Li Anping is staring at his bag greedily.
Rong ignores Li. He goes to the display stands and reaches out carelessly.
Xin says anxiously, “Be serious!”
“Serious?” Rong laughs, “It doesn’t matter whether I’m serious or not, does it?” Xin is speechless. Rong is right. It’s all up to fate.
Rong picks an inkstone. After the spinning, the inkstone remains to be what it is — an inkstone.
There is no Reiki in it, and the Hall of Nothingness doesn’t even deliver the name of the inkstone to their minds. Rong guesses that the inkstone was never valuable.
Though Xin and An are bored, Rong puts the inkstone in his bag gladly. Even this is a normal stone, it can be considered as an antique after being in the Dragon Palace for so long.
Li Anping and Rong Donglin have made safe choices. An volunteered to pick next.
An walks around the hall and picks a magic figure. The words written on it are classic and the figure is full of Reiki. An is attracted.
Magic figures are the backbone of Qingcheng Taoist Temple. An holds it in his hand, hoping the figure won’t change into anything else.
Xin Yuanping is nervous about An’s pick. She is breathing heavily.
It seems that Xin cares about An’s pick very much. During the trip, Rong is not a weak-minded person anymore. He is smart and he has worked in various industries. Rong is always an observant person. He can see Xin’s tension. Rong can’t help thinking deeper into this.
Even if An makes a safe pick, the possibility of them all killed is high because Xin Yuanping also has to make her pick. However, Xin is so nervous about An’s pick… Does it mean that as long as An’s pick is safe, all of them will be ok?
It should not be that. Rong thinks about what is written on the stone tablet and doubts Xin has a Plan B.
An stares at the magic figure in his hand expectantly. It shines and changes.
The figure becomes larger and larger. An is disappointed. The figure is not going to remain its current form. He is indeed unlucky.
“It’s going to explode…” Rong steps away from An. Hearing this, Xin Yuanping calls out her black lotus for protection.
An’s forehead is covered with cold sweat. The item will not leave his hand until it shows its real form. The only thing An can do right now is to stay calm and wait for the judgment of fate!
Beep… Beep…
The thing in An’s hand beeps while becoming larger. The beeping sound is like a countdown, stressing everybody out.
Xin clenches her fists. She can’t stop here. Her purpose will be half-achieved if An’s pick is safe.
Xin feels she is having a hard time breathing. She looks up at something on the other side of the hall. She has suffered so many mishaps in her life. Why can’t she be lucky for once? “I will succeed this time. I will!” Xin thinks to herself. The black lotus floats in front of her, serving as a shield.
However, things don’t go as Xin wants. The item in An’s hand bursts out dazzling light and explode! Everybody is startled.
Damn. They’re going to die…
