As expected, the next moment, a string of pleasant system notifications rang in Ao Qing's ears:
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Innate Spiritual Treasure: Mountains and Rivers State Map!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Fire-Tipped Spear!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Cosmic Ribbon!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Demon-Slaying Sword!"
"Congratulations! You have obtained the Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Wind-Fire Wheels!"
"Congratulations! Your Dragon Clan's Fortune has increased by 3 points!"
"You have gained 1000 Reputation Points."
"You have gained 1 Evolution Point (distributable to subordinates)."
"You have gained 1 Evolution Point (distributable to self)."
Ao Qing was briefly stunned—and then thrilled. He hadn't expected his trip to Chentang Pass to be so richly rewarding. Even putting aside the reputation and treasures, just these Acquired Spiritual Treasures alone were enough to significantly boost his power.
Let alone the Mountains and Rivers State Map, which was as mighty as Li Jing's Exquisite Pagoda—it could suppress countless demons and absorb monstrous beings at will.
Without hesitation, Ao Qing swept all of the Acquired Treasures into his spatial pouch. He planned to return to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace and study them one by one.
As for the Evolution Points, Ao Qing wasn't in a rush to use them just yet. They were highly versatile, and he didn't want to squander them. That said, he was eager to evolve into an Eight-Clawed Golden Dragon.
While pondering this, several new system prompts caught his attention:
"Your Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Demon-Slaying Sword is eligible for evolution. Proceed with evolution?"
"After evolution, Demon-Slaying Sword will become the Innate Spiritual Treasure: Demon-Suppressing Sword. Capable of suppressing all evil beings and increases damage to demons by 50%. Proceed?"
"Your Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Wind-Fire Wheels is eligible for evolution. Proceed with evolution?"
"After evolution, Wind-Fire Wheels will become the Innate Spiritual Treasure: Super Wind-Fire Wheels. Boosts user speed by 200%, rivaling Sun Wukong's Somersault Cloud. Proceed?"
"Your Innate Spiritual Treasure: Mountains and Rivers State Map is eligible for evolution. Proceed with evolution?"
"After evolution, Mountains and Rivers State Map will become the Quasi-Chaos Supreme Treasure: Mountains and Rivers Destiny Map. This map can absorb any demon, immortal, or human under 2000 years of cultivation, and seize their fortune."
At first, Ao Qing had been ignoring these evolution prompts—after all, since he gained Evolution Points, almost everything was eligible for evolution, and he had grown used to skimming past them.
But when his gaze landed on the Mountains and Rivers State Map's evolution option, he froze.
It wasn't just the absurd power to absorb beings.
It was the shocking secondary effect: the ability to seize another's fortune (qi luck).
In other words, if he could suppress someone within the Mountains and Rivers Destiny Map, he could directly steal their luck. That was beyond overpowered—it was a system-breaking mechanic.
Just in time, too. He had left Taiyi Zhenren, Li Jing, and Madam Yin alive for the sake of farming Dragon Clan fortune—now with this evolved treasure, he could start with them.
Though they weren't quite like Nezha, a true "Child of Destiny," their luck was formidable. Taiyi was one of the Twelve Golden Immortals under Yuanshi Tianzun, which was already extraordinary.
And Li Jing, later on, would become entwined with the Buddhist sect and receive the Exquisite Pagoda from them.
If Ao Qing could seize their fate and fortunes, those future karmic boons would become his.
In fact, this was why he had received Nezha's artifacts—by killing Nezha and taking his destiny, the world itself had begun to redirect that future fortune toward Ao Qing.
Such was the terrifying power of fate-theft.
Without hesitation, Ao Qing assigned his evolution point to the Mountains and Rivers State Map.
"Your Innate Spiritual Treasure: Mountains and Rivers State Map has received an Evolution Point!"
"Congratulations! Your Innate Spiritual Treasure: Mountains and Rivers State Map has evolved into the Quasi-Chaos Supreme Treasure: Mountains and Rivers Destiny Map!"
"This map can absorb any demon, immortal, or human under 2000 years of cultivation into its realm and seize their fortune!"
Ao Qing nodded in satisfaction as the final message landed. A grin curled at the corners of his mouth—this system just kept getting better and better. No matter what he needed, it always delivered.
Still, this treasure's true function was not something to announce publicly.
He'd wait until he returned to the Dragon Palace before extracting Taiyi and the others' fortune. It would be far more convenient and controlled there.
Glancing toward Prime Minister Turtle, Ao Qing sent him a look—and then disappeared in a flash of golden light.
Seeing their Dragon King vanish, the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan, shrimp soldiers, and crab generals followed suit, dissolving into streaks of light and heading back home.
This campaign had left them deeply exhilarated—finally, they had stood tall and vented their resentment.
Why should the Dragon Clan be anyone's stepping stone?
Why were they labeled hideous monsters?
Why should they be slaughtered in the name of false human righteousness?
As the Dragon Clan departed, the oppressive storm clouds that had blanketed the sky cleared in an instant. Sunshine broke through, as if the darkness had never existed.
"Whew…"
Even though the danger had passed, the citizens of Chentang Pass remained frozen in fear.
The memory of Prime Minister Turtle singlehandedly overpowering their top human cultivators would haunt them for a long time.
"My lord Patriarch, Li Jing, Madam Yin, and Immortal Taiyi have all been captured by that—uh, by the Dragon King. What do we do?"
Several frightened residents turned to the village elder.
The white-haired old man stared blankly in the direction the Dragon King had gone and snapped:
"What do you mean what do we do?! What can I do?! Didn't you hear what the Dragon King said? Hurry up and start building a Dragon King Temple!"
"A… Dragon King Temple?"
The people were stunned. They had always worshipped deities like Nuwa—who had ever heard of offering incense to a dragon?
"I said build it, so build it!"
The old clan chief barked. Inwardly, he was already planning how best to curry favor with this terrifying new Dragon King...