Chapter 515: The Astonishingly Valuable Chest

“What is it?”
Looking at the completely black chest with no seams visible, Lin Dong was utterly confused.
Ma Chun shook his head. “It was sent to the shop owner by County Magistrate Hu of Chengfeng County. He said it has been passed down through generations in his family—impermeable to water and fire, unharmed by knives and swords. County Magistrate Hu didn’t have anything to offer in return, so after much thought, he sent over this chest.”
“County Magistrate Hu doesn’t know what’s inside either?” Lin Dong was surprised.
“He says he doesn’t. It’s just been passed down from generation to generation. The Hu family’s ancestors haven’t produced any remarkable figures. They knew this chest alone was priceless and feared it might bring disaster, so they never dared to have it opened. The same is true for County Magistrate Hu’s generation,” Ma Chun explained.
Lin Dong nodded. Holding such a valuable item could be a curse—having something too precious in hand wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
He raised his arm and gently pressed it against the chest, secreting spiritual energy. Yet, it vanished without a trace, as if it had disappeared into the sea; no spiritual energy rebounded at all.
Extending his mind outward, Lin Dong was shocked. With his strength at the seventh stage of Xin Ni, his mind couldn’t even penetrate the chest.
“Shop owner, what’s wrong?” Seeing Lin Dong’s unusual expression, Ma Chun asked.
“The material of this chest is very strange,” Lin Dong said, running his hand lightly over it. Apart from being rough, it offered no other texture—neither the coldness of metal nor the softness of wood.
“So, County Magistrate Hu sent over a great treasure?” Ma Chun was somewhat excited. If the material of the chest was already so unusual, anything inside would be extraordinary if it weren’t already.
Lin Dong nodded. After thinking for a moment, he took out an eighth-tier spiritual sword from the mobile cabinet. Spiritual energy surged within the sword as he swung it at a corner of the chest.
Buzz…
The spiritual sword bounced back, and upon checking the corner, not a single scratch could be found.
This chest wasn’t just impervious to knives and swords—it was even resistant to an eighth-tier spiritual sword and a powerful warrior at the seventh stage of Xin Ni.
“Interesting!”
Lin Dong’s interest grew even more. Just like Ma Chun thought, such a strange chest couldn’t possibly contain anything inferior to it. Gold, silver, jewels, and jade—all were worthless compared to the material of this chest.

Just this box—if there’s a way to dissolve it and use it to make armor—it would at the very least ensure protection against even the strongest opponents at the seventh level of the Reverse Phase. Of course, this assumes every part of the body is covered by the armor. Still, once utilized, whether as weapons or armor, the material of this large box surpasses even ninth-grade spiritual minerals in terms of properties. Some ninth-grade spiritual minerals may have astonishing hardness but cannot prevent spiritual energy from penetrating them. Others may block spiritual energy but definitely cannot guarantee they won’t be damaged in the face of high-grade spiritual weapons. These two traits are already the limits of ninth-grade spiritual weapons, requiring the abandonment of one or the other—yet the material of this large box can achieve both.

Of course, such extraordinary material is either extremely rare or must have some counterbalancing flaw; otherwise, warriors armed with weapons or armor made from it would become invincible.

If someone truly could achieve invincibility, thepattern of the Great Han Empire would no longer be as it is. Whether this vast continent could still be called the Great Han Empire would be a question.

The Sky Control Technique was quietly activated, causing the large box to float upward. Lin Dong felt its weight—it was only about a hundred pounds, including its contents.

“Go get busy! I’ll go see Yun Lan,” Lin Dong instructed.

Ma Chun nodded and headed back to the main hall.

Lin Dong then went to the backyard and knocked on Yun Lan’s door.

The door creaked open. Yun Lan looked puzzled at the large box floating behind Lin Dong.

“County Magistrate Hu from Chengfeng County sent it as a gift. I can’t identify the material of this box; spiritual energy can’t penetrate it, and with my strength, I can’t even break it. It’s said to be immune to fire and water as well,” Lin Dong said with a smile as he entered and controlled the wooden box to land on the floor of the room.

Yun Lan stepped forward and examined it carefully for a while. She stretched out her delicate hands and gently pressed on the box, but unlike Lin Dong, she didn’t use spiritual energy to test it. Instead, she stroked its surface for a long time before suddenly saying, “It must have been made from spiritual pills.”

“Spiritual pills?” Lin Dong was astonished. Some spiritual pills indeed had the properties of blocking spiritual energy and possessing extremely high hardness, but to create such a large box, how many batches of pills would be needed? Spiritual pills with these properties were all of the highest grade, and using them to make a box was an extreme waste of such precious materials.

Yun Lan nodded slowly, her expression serious. “If I’m not mistaken, this box was made from un-solidified Thousand Illusion Pills.”

“Qianhuan Dan? What kind of pill?” Lin Dong was puzzled.
“Qianhuan Dan is a ninth-tier spiritual pill used to assist in cultivation…”
“A ninth-tier spiritual pill for cultivation assistance?” Lin Dong’s eyes shone brightly.
Yun Lan nodded with a smile. “It’s said to require thousands of ingredients, including many high-tier spiritual materials. Besides, Qianhuan Dan can also prevent spiritual energy from penetrating; once solidified, its hardness is comparable to that of ninth-tier spiritual weapons.”
“After thousands of years, its effects should still be there, right?” Lin Dong stared at the large box, unable to resist licking his lips. He wanted to wash it and take it back to his room to chew slowly, so his strength could rise rapidly—how convenient!
“If Qianhuan Dan has been stored for over ten years, it can only be swallowed, after which other spiritual materials are used to help it be gradually refined in the body,” Yun Lan said with a chuckle. “Saliva can’t dissolve it, and biting it with teeth is even worse.”
Lin Dong was stunned. Could such happiness vanish so quickly?
Seeing Lin Dong’s expression, Yun Lan realized he hadn’t understood and explained again with a smile, “There are certain spiritual materials that can help it be gradually refined in the body, and the same can be done outside the body. According to records, this Qianhuan Dan was developed by the leader of a sect called Qidan Sect. After discovering other properties of Qianhuan Dan, this leader even sacrificed all the resources of his sect along with their spiritual techniques to gather materials, thereby creating armor and weapons. With this armor and weapons, plus his own peak-level strength, he almost conquered the entire Han Empire alone. Eventually, he was trapped and killed by the Tianwei Pavilion using a spiritual array. Later, the method of crafting Qianhuan Dan was passed down, and other high-level alchemists found ways to unlock its other properties.”
After a pause, Yun Lan continued, “Qianhuan Dan can also be made by mixing three types of fifth-tier spiritual materials in certain proportions to create a liquid that can slowly melt the solidified Qianhuan Dan.”
“Will its effects still be there after melting?” Lin Dong asked anxiously.
“Yes!” Yun Lan replied firmly.
Lin Dong let out a long sigh, his worries dissolving. Fifth-tier spiritual materials, with his current strength and wealth, weren’t too difficult to obtain. This meant that part of this large box would become part of his strength.
“However… although these three types of fifth-tier spiritual materials aren’t hard to find, using such a huge amount of Qianhuan Dan to make a container for items… I’m worried about what’s inside…” Yun Lan hesitated.

“Worried that some ferocious spiritual beast that even the strongest warriors can’t contain might jump out, or some kind of smoke that would drive anyone who smells it to go on a frenzied killing spree?” Lin Dong asked.
Yun Lan nodded slowly. If it were just ordinary items, even a pile of high-grade spiritual pills, there would be no need to use the Thousand Illusion Pill as a container. Moreover, with no gaps at all and being completely sealed, there was no doubt that what was inside held a world-shocking secret that couldn’t be revealed outside. It was possible that the threats Lin Dong mentioned might indeed emerge.
Lin Dong gritted his teeth and said, “We seek wealth through danger. There’s risk, but there might also be tremendous benefits.”
“This…” Yun Lan hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Let’s keep the box with me for now. Once I’ve gathered the materials, I’ll try to open it.”
“No need for such trouble! I have defensive methods. Otherwise, if a monster that even Old Master Ding and Senior Feng can’t handle jumps out, wouldn’t I become a sinner through the ages?” Lin Dong shook his head and smiled. “You forgot—the inn has a containment pen.”
“What if it’s not a monster?” Yun Lan asked.
“Then there’s the cellar. I can place the containment pen over it,” Lin Dong said confidently. “If it’s a monster, I’ll use the pen to keep it under control. If it’s smoke or something like that, I’ll freeze it completely.”
Yun Lan considered it for a while before nodding. “It can be tried.”
“Which five spiritual materials do we need? I’ll go prepare them right away,” Lin Dong said eagerly.
“I’ll prepare the spiritual materials. They should be available on Tianfeng Street. You go prepare to open it. It’s best to choose the Gorge Inn as the location—there, even if something goes wrong, we’ll have time to find a solution,” Yun Lan reminded. “Also, bring Old Master Ding and Senior Feng along. We must be fully prepared.”
Lin Dong nodded, placed the large box in the counter, and rushed out excitedly to Old Master Ding and Feng Yue’s room. Yun Lan didn’t rest either; she vanished from the room in a flash.
After explaining the situation to Old Master Ding and Feng Yue, although both of them were peak-level warriors, they were equally fascinated by this sealed large box made from a ninth-tier auxiliary cultivation pill. Before Lin Dong could speak, they urged him to proceed.
The three of them used the transport portal to reach Lin’s Inn in the gorge. Half a year later, the inn, which had originally been crudely built from tree trunks, had been completely renovated. Lin Dong ordered the spiritual beasts in the containment pen to be moved to other inns, then accessed the inn’s system to change the location of the containment pen.

The pen and the cellar couldn’t overlap, but this didn’t stop Lin Dong from setting up the pen as a large circle with a gap in the middle. The cellar was quickly adjusted to cover an area equal to that gap, and then placed in the center of the pen. Once everything was ready, Lin Dong placed the large box in the center of the cellar. The three of them retreated inside the pen’s boundaries and waited patiently for Yun Lan to prepare the necessary spiritual materials before coming over.