The two jade carvings were all red as though there was blazing flame inside, and yet, they were also lifelike, like two living creatures. However, there was a slightly invisible grey imprint on each head of the two jade carvings. Fortunately, Tang Xiu had sharp eyes and he could catch it. He wouldn"t have been able to do so with the naked eye if he were an average person.

Miao Wentang, in fear that Tang Xiu couldn"t tell the good quality of these two objects, hastily explained, "Brother Tang, these two jade carvings are the most precious treasures of my family and have been pa.s.sed down for generations. Legend has it that this jade carving is part of a set of twelve pieces, each shaped according to the twelve zodiac signs. Although my family cannot figure out the mystery of this jade carving, it"s been doc.u.mented in my family"s historic records that whoever can get ahold of the whole set of the twelve jade zodiac signs, he can reveal a certain secret and obtain enormous benefits."

Tang Xiu"s expression at this time, however, was very solemn and his eyes were fixated at the dragon and tiger jade carvings. He picked them up and was especially careful in holding them separately.

There was energy contained within them. The torrential energy was the most colossal energy contained within an object Tang Xiu had ever encountered on Earth. If the Qin Emperor Imperial Jade Seal contained energy that was as vast as the ocean, then each of these jade carvings contained the energy of countless stars!

If… if there was someone who could detonate this jade carving, Tang Xiu was absolutely sure that it wouldn"t only be able to destroy Earth, but even a hundred Earth would be blown into smithereens.

Tang Xiu cautiously seeped his Primal Chaos Force into the jade dragon, yet he felt like his power was like a fish in the water and was not rejected in the slightest. But after he moved his injected power into the gray imprint in the head of the jade dragon, his body suddenly shook and all of his consciousness was sucked inside—no… accurately speaking… it was sucked into the gray imprint.

It was a sea of stars in the vast universe.

Tang Xiu suddenly found himself standing in this vast universe. Countless stars revolved around him everywhere, while a series of golden lines connected the boundless stars together to form a three-dimensional celestial map filled with infinite mystery.

"These golden threads are…"

Tang Xiu"s lips trembled and his eyes turned fiery. For cultivators on Earth, they wouldn"t be able to recognize these golden threads, but he was able to do so since he had once used these golden lines like an arm directing their fingers.

These lines were… the Heavenly Dao trajectory—the route of Heavenly Dao in Earth"s plane.

"Who exactly did this? Who could possibly possess such a terrifying ability to imprint this plane"s Heavenly Dao trajectory onto these jade carvings? Not even I can do it. Even when I was still a Supreme in the Immortal World and possessed the might to tear the earth and sky asunder, I wouldn"t have been able to achieve this. Unless… unless it was done by someone who has reached divinity and has broken through the shackles of the Immortal World to ascend to a higher plane—to reach G.o.dhood?

"But then… does that mean that there was once a real Divinity on Earth? If this G.o.d was not a native of the plane, it would be impossible to imprint the Heavenly Dao trajectory of this plane onto these jade carvings at all. Those who have reached G.o.dhood from other planes may all be extremely powerful and terrifying, but they can only destroy the plane world, never able to control the Heavenly Dao laws of the world.

"Destroying it is very easy, but controlling it is very difficult."

Suddenly, Tang Xiu felt pained like there was a needle p.r.i.c.king his brain. It caused his consciousness to be driven out from that particular s.p.a.ce instantly. Not only did he spray out a mouthful of blood at this moment, but his blood also flowed out of his eyes, even his nostrils.

"Brother Tang!" Miao Wentang"s face drastically turned shocked and he hurriedly called out.

Tang Xiu composed his mind back, shook his head and said, "I"m fine. It"s just a backlash. Brother Miao, these two jade carvings are truly precious, so precious that even those who have been cultivating for thousands of years will find them very difficult to control. I won"t hide anything from you. Those who have ascended to the Immortal World, or even the true Perfected Golden Immortal, won"t be able to control them. Unless…"

"Unless what?" asked Miao Wentang quickly.

"Unless you can reach a Supremacy stage in the Immortal World; only then will you barely be able to control them," said Tang Xiu in a line. "Also, if my guess I correct, once one collects the entire set of twelve and can control them completely, these objects will be able to aid the Immortal World"s Supreme to pa.s.s through the Heavenly Tribulation smoothly, breaking through the shackles of the Immortal World and ascend to the G.o.ds Realm."

"Hiss…"

Miao Wentang gasped as "Immortal" was very far away for him. More so the Supremacy stage and the G.o.ds Realm. They were all out of his comprehension.

"Brother Tang, do the Immortal World and the G.o.ds Realm really exist?" asked Miao Wentang prudently.

Tang Xiu shot him a deep look and solemnly nodded, "I don"t want to hide them from you anymore now. There are indeed other higher planes aside from the plane our Earth is located on, such as the Immortal World, Buddhist Realm, Demon Realm, Monster Realm, Specter Realm, Spirit Realm, and so on. But above these realms is the G.o.ds Realm, which has myriads of races of monsters, demons, ghosts, immortals, buddhas, and saints.

"Let me tell you one thing. If our Earth plane is just a grain of sand, then the Immortal World is the Milky Way, while the G.o.ds Realm is the vast and boundless universe."

Miao Wentang trembled and gasped as he asked, "Can you tell me something, Brother Tang? How do you know all of this?"

"It"s inconvenient to tell you for now, but give me some time." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "I"ll naturally tell you once I shatter the void and ascend to the Immortal World one day."

Breaking the void and ascending to the Immortal World?

Miao Wentang"s body froze as though he was struck by a lightning bolt.

Tang Xiu looked at the two jade carvings with fascination. Only after a long time did he slowly say, "Brother Miao, how about making a deal with me?"

"What deal?" asked Miao Wentang.

"Give these two jade carvings to me and I"ll give you a real immortal cultivation technique," said Tang Xiu. "You will definitely see the hope to ascend to the Immortal World in the future if you cultivate well. If you want it, I promise to protect you until you become the peak stage of a Golden Core expert."

The peak stage of Golden Core? Wasn"t that the existence in legends?

Miao Wentang nearly shouted that he agreed with it. But he then recalled his purpose of meeting Tang Xiu tonight and immediately said, "Brother Tang, about the disaster that will befall upon my family a few years later…"

"I"ll help you and solve it once and for all," said Tang Xiu with a deep voice.

"A deal, then!" said Miao Wentang excitedly.

He just weighed the pros and cons inwardly and thought that he had figured out some issues. These two jade carvings evidently had tremendous aid for Tang Xiu while they were of no effect on him and his family. Other than them being kept and pa.s.sed down for generations in his family, they had no other use, so it was better to exchange them for the immortal cultivation technique from Tang Xiu.

Two hours later, Tang Xiu had imparted a cultivation technique from the Immortal World to Miao Wentang. He watched his shocked yet overjoyed expression and then said with all seriousness, "You already have a foundation of Daoist cultivation, so if you practice this immortal cultivation technique, you can take your cultivation a step further. If you want to speed up, however, you"ll have to cultivate a.s.siduously in the future; I"ll make sure to provide you with resources for your cultivation. I can guarantee that you"ll be a powerhouse at the peak stage of Golden Core in ten years at the most—that is, as long as you work hard."

Becoming a peak stage Golden Core within ten years?

Miao Wentang was so excited that he nearly cried out. This was a huge opportunity he had never dared to imagine or dream about. He even felt like he was dreaming when he recalled that he had learned an immortal cultivation technique.

"Then, about my family…" Yet, Miao Wentang still didn"t forget the purpose of his visit.

"About that… there are two methods," said Tang Xiu. "One, the Miao Family cannot have new family members within three years, while each one of you must make a sacrifice by cutting one of your arms and legs. Only after you"ve broken your hands, feet, and bloodline will you be able to cast away the disaster that will bring about the utter destruction of your Miao Family."

Miao Wentang"s expression enormously changed and he hastily asked again, "What about the second one?"

"The origin of the calamitous destruction is because of one person. He must shave his head, be driven out of the Miao family tree, and leave China. Only if he doesn"t set foot in China for the rest of life can your family be safe from danger."

"Miao Jinlei?" Miao Wentang thought inwardly and immediately chose the second option.

Had it been before, Miao Wentang could only believe 99% of everything Tang Xiu said—there was still that 1% of doubt and suspicion. But after Tang Xiu taught him the immortal cultivation technique, only then did he fully realize how terrifying Tang Xiu"s means and abilities were.

"I know what has to be done, Brother Tang," said Miao Wentang solemnly.

Tang Xiu nodded and then took out a bottle of medicinal pills. He handed it to Miao Wentang and said, "There are ten Essence Ama.s.sing Pills inside; you"ll take one every two weeks You should be broken through to the peak stage of Foundation Establishment once you take all of them. Five months later, go to Jingmen Island"s Everlasting Feast Hall to find Ji Chimei, and she"ll give the next pills that you"ll need."

"Got it, and thanks, Brother Tang."

Miao Wentang received it excitedly and sincerely conveyed his heartfelt grat.i.tude.

Tang Xiu shook his head while sighing inwardly since he had actually taken advantage of this guy with a cheap exchange. However, though he could only help him with this for the time being, he promised to help him again if he encountered something difficult in the future.

Amidst the obscurity of the night, Tang Xiu walked Miao Wentang to the parking lot of the Paradise Club. Then he inquired about the issue he most wanted to find out about, "Brother Miao, your family only has the jade dragon and tiger out of the twelve sets of zodiac signs. Where should I find the rest of these jade carvings?"

"My family really only has these two, but I can help you find the rest in secret if you want to, though," said Miao Wentang. "I"ll notify you right away once I get the news."

Tang Xiu thought about it for a while before he shook his head and said, "There"s no need to find them secretly. Let"s just do this openly. As long as the rest of the jade carvings are still in our country, I believe they will be found soon, so I"ll be issuing an announcement that I"ll provide 100 million US dollars for anyone who has a zodiac jade carving. 10 million US dollars will go to anyone who provides accurate information of its whereabouts."

Miao Wentang produced a wry smile and said, "Aren"t you playing it a bit big, Brother Tang? The whole country will be swept over by a huge sensation once you announce that."

"If I can find more jade carvings, then even only one of them is worth the money and announcement," said Tang Xiu.