Hong Huang: I am the cowherd

Chapter 27 Opportunity—The Dinghai Pearls!

After returning from Biyou Palace, Su Chen made his way to Kui Niu’s cave dwelling.

“Old friend!”

Sensing that Kui Niu was still in seclusion, Su Chen knew he had to say goodbye before leaving. After all, Kui Niu was the first true friend he had made since transmigrating, and if he left without telling him, Kui Niu would definitely be upset.

Besides Su Chen also wanted to have a good conversation with him and pass on his improved ‘Ground-Shrinking Light’ technique as a parting gift.

“Swish!”

The moment Kui Niu awoke from his seclusion, he instantly appeared beside Su Chen. But as soon as he laid eyes on him, Kui Niu’s expression froze in disbelief.

“Su Chen… y-you… you’ve changed so much!”

Seeing Su Chen’s complete transformation and his breakthrough to the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm, Kui Niu was utterly stunned. After a moment, however, he recovered and felt genuine joy for his friend.

After being formally accepted as a disciple of Tongtian, Kui Niu’s status within Jie Sect had risen significantly. Even though his treatment hadn’t changed much, the symbolic meaning was extraordinary. He could now inherit Jie Sect’s destiny, accept disciples, and even teach the orthodox cultivation method Shangqing Immortal Sutra.

Inside Kui Niu’s cave, Su Chen casually took out a few jars of immortal wine he had ‘borrowed’ from Tongtian.

“Su Chen… is that ‘Shangqing Immortal Brew’! And you have so much of it!”

Kui Niu’s bull-like eyes widened in shock.

He knew very well that Shangqing Immortal Brew was an extremely rare treasure. Tongtian Sect Master personally gathered countless innate spirit fruits and rare immortal herbs, spending nearly 100,000 years to brew just a small amount of it.

Even the Grandmaster Senior Brother, Duo Bao, found it difficult to obtain. Yet here was Su Chen, taking out ten jars at once!

Had he completely looted Tongtian’s stash?

This only further confirmed just how much Tongtian valued Su Chen.

“Don’t worry, old friend—drink as much as you want! If we run out, I’ll just go get more from Master!”

Aside from leaving a Saint’s imprint to protect him, Tongtian had also given him a lot of resources before he set out on his journey. As for this immortal brew?

Well, Su Chen may have ‘borrowed’ a few extra jars while his Master wasn’t looking…

Thinking back to Tongtian’s pained expression, Su Chen knew this Shangqing Immortal Brew was no ordinary wine. But Kui Niu, seeing Su Chen’s generosity, also realized just how much Tongtian favored him.

______

The moment Su Chen took a sip, he felt like he was floating among the clouds, savoring the indescribable richness of the brew. As for Kui Niu, he was so overjoyed and honored that his face turned completely red.

After a few sips, Su Chen could already tell.

“The flavors of some spirit fruits and herbs haven’t fully fused—there’s room for improvement in the brewing process. When I get time, I should try brewing something even better!”

______

Fifty years later, after spending fifty years with Kui Niu, Su Chen finally bid him farewell and left Jin’ao Island. Thanks to the rough map from Tongtian, he was able to quickly determine the general location of the Chaos Bead.

“I can’t believe the Chaos Bead is actually located in the Eastern Sea—it’s practically in my backyard!”

Jin’ao Island itself was situated above the Eastern Sea, meaning that the entire surrounding area was within Jie Sect’s sphere of influence. But as soon as he left the island, Su Chen realized just how vast the Eastern Sea truly was.

Even with his enhanced ‘Ground-Shrinking Light’, capable of traversing ten million kilometers in a single step, it still took him months just to leave Jie Sect’s territory. The scale of the Eastern Sea was beyond imagination.

_____

Following the map’s guidance, Su Chen continued heading east. After 100 years, he stopped at a small island to rest. Just as he was about to leave, however, he suddenly sensed a faint surge of ‘Innate Spiritual Energy’ emanating from the island’s center.

“Hmm!”

His spirit sharpened instantly.

“Swish!”

In a flash, Su Chen arrived at the source of the energy. There, in the center of the island, he found a dark, icy spring, with occasional bubbles rising to the surface. Each time a bubble burst, it released a wisp of Innate Spiritual Energy.

“I never expected to stumble upon an Innate Spiritual Treasure here—what incredible luck!”

Su Chen smiled slightly, then began setting up defensive formations around the area to prevent others from detecting it.

In the Great Desolate, the dominant energy was Postnatal Spiritual Energy. Even if an Innate Spiritual Treasure were to be born, it would gradually degrade into a Postnatal Treasure due to the surrounding environment.

However, if the treasure was located within a hidden blessed land, it could continue maturing as long as its Innate Spiritual Energy remained intact. Clearly, the treasure within this spring was one such case.

______

Without hesitation, Su Chen leapt into the spring to investigate. As soon as he entered, he immediately recognized the unusual properties of the water.

“Hmm? This is… One-Yuan Heavy Water?”

Feeling the bone-chilling cold and immense pressure, Su Chen instantly identified the spring’s composition.

One-Yuan Heavy Water was an extremely rare and valuable material—especially for tempering the soul. Countless cultivators coveted this treasure, yet here was an entire lake of it, spanning hundreds of square meters and plunging over a thousand meters deep!

“Amazing—only by venturing into the world can one encounter such miraculous opportunities!”

Brimming with excitement, Su Chen dived deeper, heading toward the source of the energy.

_____

At the very bottom of the spring, he finally found it a cluster of six luminous, pearl-like orbs, radiating a brilliant white light. The moment he laid eyes on them, Su Chen’s heart trembled.

“These… These are the Dinghai Pearls!”

The legendary treasures that could stabilize vast oceans and suppress entire realms…

Su Chen had stumbled upon one of the greatest treasures of the Eastern Sea!