Chapter 1065

Chapter 1065: Earth Origin Mat

Wang Chen took a deep breath and bowed deeply to the cultivator seated on the ground.

“Junior Wang Chen pays his respects to the senior.”

He spoke in a deep voice, “I have come to explore the cave left behind by ancient practitioners. Discovering your cave must be a stroke of fate. If I have caused any offense, I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”

With that, Wang Chen offered another respectful bow.

Though the other party had been in meditation for countless years and could not suddenly come back to life to cause trouble,

Wang Chen believed that respecting the ancients was also a way of respecting oneself!

As soon as he finished speaking, the gray-robed cultivator suddenly opened his eyes!

Wang Chen felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively formed a sword gesture with his hands.

The cultivator’s body silently crumbled, turning into a pile of dust in the blink of an eye.

An indescribable air of desolation lingered in the hidden chamber for a long time.

Wang Chen bowed deeply and said, “Junior pays his respects to the senior!”

“Dust to dust, earth to earth, souls return to the Thick Earth…”

He softly recited the Rebirth Incantation, feeling a profound sense of peace and calm within.

The desolate atmosphere filling the hidden chamber gradually dissipated with the incantation, until it completely vanished.

Wang Chen exhaled and retrieved a jade box from the Cangqing Ring, used for storing spiritual materials.

He carefully gathered all the remnants of ash from the ground and placed them into the box.

The unnamed cultivator left behind for Wang Chen a ring, a mat, and a copper token.

Wang Chen first set the three items aside. He then used the Earth and Stone Technique to construct a small stone tomb, placing the jade box containing the ashes inside and sealing it shut.

Finally, he erected a stone tablet in front of the tomb.

Since he did not know the identity of this senior cultivator, he left the tablet blank for the time being.

After completing the posthumous arrangements, Wang Chen picked up the mat from the ground.

He was startled!

Among the three relics of the ancient practitioner, this mat was the largest but the least conspicuous.

The ring was unmistakably the Xumi Ring, capable of holding countless treasures, and it was clear that many things were hidden within.

The copper token, ancient in design and engraved with intricate runes, was also quite extraordinary.

But this mat seemed utterly ordinary. Though Wang Chen had cleaned away all the ash, it still exuded an aged aura.

However, the moment he held it, Wang Chen realized he had misjudged it!

This mat, woven from an unknown material, was a dark brown color, and each vine thread had a thick layer of patina, yet it reflected no shine at all.

The long passage of time had not diminished it; instead, it had bestowed upon it an indescribable sense of historical weight.

In an instant, Wang Chen felt a refreshing aura surge within his body!

A fourth-tier spiritual treasure!!

It was unexpectedly a truly valuable fourth-tier spiritual treasure.

He had struck gold.

Wang Chen’s heart was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of joy.

In the Haotian Realm, third-grade treasures are considered mainstream high-level artifacts. A Golden Core true master owning three or four such treasures would be considered quite well-off.

As for fourth-tier spiritual treasures, it is already quite impressive for a Nascent Soul true immortal to possess one or two, as most still rely on regular treasures.

The creation of a spiritual treasure not only requires a master-level weapon refiner but also extremely rare and precious materials, making it impossible to gather without substantial wealth.

Moreover, the emergence of a spiritual treasure inevitably attracts heavenly tribulation, making the chances of failure quite high!

Now, Wang Chen had unexpectedly obtained a spiritual treasure, and the nearly twenty thousand points of luck he had accumulated indeed felt incredibly powerful.

From this, he could deduce that the predecessor cultivator who had meditated here must have been a figure far beyond the Golden Core level.

Wang Chen couldn’t help but fondle the Earth Origin Mat with great affection, attempting to refine it by infusing it with his own power.

To his surprise, he effortlessly imprinted his magical seal onto it!

This was because the mat contained no restrictions, and any marks left by its original master had likely been eroded by the relentless passage of time.

Additionally, the mat was an auxiliary cultivation artifact, lacking any offensive capabilities. It was relatively low-end within the artifact system, making its refinement and manipulation significantly simpler.

However, Wang Chen soon discovered that this mat truly lived up to its status as a spiritual treasure.

First, it possessed a special effect similar to a spirit gathering formation. No matter where it was placed, as long as there was spiritual energy in the surrounding space, sitting on it would continuously gather and absorb that energy into the body.

If placed on a ley line, the spirit gathering effect would be incredibly potent. Not only would it suffice for a Golden Core cultivator, but even a Nascent Soul true immortal would find it more than adequate for their cultivation needs!

No portable spirit gathering formation plate could compare to it.

This made the mat extremely practical for Wang Chen.

In the future, during his outdoor adventures, carrying this mat would be akin to bringing along a higher-level spirit gathering formation!

Secondly, the mat also had the ability to calm the mind and protect the spirit. Sitting on it to cultivate would prevent invasions by Evil Spirits or inner demons, greatly reducing the risk of falling into madness.

This was yet another powerful feature.

Finally, by activating the built-in formation within the mat, it could create a strong protective barrier around him.

This ensured safety during cultivation, preventing any external enemies from easily launching surprise attacks!

Wang Chen spent nearly an hour exploring the abilities of the mat, which was named "Earth Origin."

As expected, its name appeared in the equipment section of the Cultivation Panel.

However, it seemed that due to its long period of disuse, much of its spiritual resonance had dissipated, and it would require nurturing to restore it to its optimal condition.

Despite this, Wang Chen’s initial thoughts had changed.

When he first discovered that the mat was a fourth-tier spiritual treasure, his immediate idea was to trade it at the Four Seas Trading Association, estimating that it could cover seventy percent of the unpaid materials.

This would have solved Wang Chen’s biggest problem.

But now, he felt differently.

Trading the Earth Origin Mat would be a great loss; keeping it for himself was the wiser choice.

Such a treasure was rare and hard to come by!

After some contemplation, Wang Chen stored the Earth Origin Mat and picked up the copper token.

However, after examining it, he was quite disappointed.

The copper token was not a treasure but rather an artifact used to control the cave’s formation.

With this token, Wang Chen became the new master of this place.

Upon further exploration, he discovered that the cave’s formation was built on a small ley line, and the spot where the mat had been placed was precisely at the spiritual energy spring.

However, after countless years, the ley line had nearly dried up, and the cave’s formation, which had been running automatically for an unknown length of time, was on the verge of collapse.

This was the reason Wang Chen had been teleported here—most of the formation’s preset mechanisms had failed.

Yet, Wang Chen lacked the ability to repair the formation. What use was the artifact in his hand?

It wasn’t entirely useless; he could still use the copper token to teleport out.

That was its only remaining function.

In truth, even without the copper token, Wang Chen could find a way out without much difficulty!