Chapter 47: The Peerless Treasure (Part Two)

Moving further ahead, the piles of gold, silver, and jewelry were distinctly different from those behind. Any piece picked up at random had an unbroken pedigree of heritage, and each one could be called an incomparable peerless treasure.

The firelight cut the 14th Ming Imperial Tomb into several grid-like sections. Arriving here, I finally understood that these partitions were not randomly assigned; the items were stacked methodically. For instance, gold was piled together, and silver was neatly arranged separately.

The further forward we went, the more precious the displayed treasures became. I suddenly stopped in my tracks when the treasures piled in a compartment on the right caught my attention.

Among a heap of gold artifacts, my gaze fell upon a golden pagoda. The pagoda consisted of three main parts: the base, the body, and the spire. The base was designed in the Sumeru style, with upper and lower concave-convex embedded lines, a constricted waist in the middle, and delicate carvings. On the protruding parts of the upper foundation, auspicious treasure-phase flowers, lotus petals, and thunderbolts for warding off evil and demons were meticulously hand-carved on all four sides.

Each side of the constricted waist was inlaid with two protruding, roaring lions serving as the mounts of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Interspersed among the lotus petals were various natural gemstones, exquisite and translucent. The Sumeru pedestal symbolized holiness and nobility.

The pagoda body consisted of four tiers with a triple foundation. Inscribed upon it was a Cundī Dharani, symbolizing the extension of life, prayer for blessings, and the elimination of disasters and misfortune.

Above the pagoda body was the spire, adorned with a pagoda parasol, the sun and moon wheels, and miscellaneous precious finials. The sun and moon wheels were decorated with natural red agate and turquoise respectively, while the wish-fulfilling bead on top of the finials was ground from turquoise, radiating auspicious light and the universal illumination of the Buddha.

I lowered my head and looked at the pagoda body in astonishment, spotting a few characters on the side of the third tier just as expected.

"The Vairocana Supreme Pagoda."

I smiled somewhat helplessly and muttered to myself in a soft voice, "If they knew this pagoda was here, they would definitely be overjoyed."

"Who are 'they'?" asked Xiao Lianshan from beside me, panting heavily as he cradled a chunk of gold.

The "they" I spoke of were Wu Zetian and Shangguan Wan'er. With a faint smile, I said, "I thought of Aunt Li and Aunt Qing. They would certainly love this golden pagoda."

"Is this golden pagoda from the Tang dynasty?" Gu Anqi asked curiously from the side.

"This golden pagoda was commissioned by Wu Zetian, the sole female emperor, to enshrine the true physical relics of the Buddha. The entire pagoda employed various techniques such as chasing, hammering, and inlaying, making it delicate and exquisite. Nearly sixteen hundred gemstones of various kinds are dotted across it, highlighting its nobility and extravagance. It is hailed as the premier golden pagoda of Cathay. Unfortunately, in the fourth year of the Chuigong era, the Qianyuan Hall in the Luoyang Palace was destroyed in a fire, and the whereabouts of this golden pagoda remained unknown ever since," I said calmly. "Never did I expect that after many twists and turns, it would be discovered by Zhu Yuanzhu."

"You mean this golden pagoda is a sarira pagoda?!" Gu Anqi asked in surprise.

I nodded and, with a devout attitude, slowly opened the uppermost door of the pagoda. From the outside, one could clearly see a crimson sarira placed quietly and solemnly inside.

"To make offerings to the Buddha's sarira brings boundless blessings," I said with a faint smile. "I don't know which emperor of the Ming dynasty actually placed this golden pagoda in these deep mountains. But perhaps it is precisely because of this that the pagoda has been preserved down to the present day."

Xiao Lianshan's attention was not on the golden pagoda at all. He picked up a bowl from the ground and wiped the dust off its surface, revealing a glittering golden sheen that he found impossible to put down.

"This thing is masterfully made. They always say they want to find a golden rice bowl, but I doubt there is any golden rice bowl more valuable than the one in my hand."

The golden bowl in Xiao Lianshan's hands was forged from solid, pure gold, utilizing the long-lost thousand-year-old filigree inlay technique. Pure gold was processed into thin sheets through dozens of procedures, including pushing, filigreeing, weaving, drawing the base, rough chasing, partial casting, and fine chasing.

What was most captivating was that the collection employed an extremely rare craftsmanship, carving nine distinct layers within a space of less than three centimeters on the bowl's surface. It had undergone hundreds of firings and thousands of fine chasings, resulting in a breathtaking masterpiece of exquisite artistry.

Xiao Lianshan counted twenty-five embedded emeralds and seventy-five various precious gemstones around the rim, with the character for "fasting" or "abstinence" symmetrically carved on both left and right sides.

The only flaw was that one of the twenty-five emeralds on the golden bowl was missing.

I lowered my head to look and asked tentatively, "Is the inscription 'Imperial Sanzang' carved on the bottom of this golden bowl?"

Xiao Lianshan flipped the golden bowl over and indeed spotted those three characters. He asked curiously, "How did you know these three characters were here?"

"This is the golden alms bowl bestowed by Emperor Taizong of Tang upon Master Xuanzang," I explained, fearing Xiao Lianshan wouldn't understand. "It's the rice bowl Master Xuanzang used for alms-gathering, awarded to honor his great virtue in journeying to the West for Buddhist scriptures. The wide brim signifies that the sea accepts all rivers and possesses a vast and broad mind. The continuous meander pattern along the rim and foot symbolizes endless wealth and prosperity, while the rounded and slightly bulging belly manifests an aura of embracing the universe and receiving blessings bestowed by heaven."

"A bowl used by Tang Sanzang!" Xiao Lianshan said, wild with joy.

"After Master Xuanzang returned from his pilgrimage with the scriptures, he was appointed as the abbot of the Great Ci'en Temple and bestowed with this golden alms bowl. Yet after the master entered parinirvana, the whereabouts of this bowl became unknown as well," I said, looking at Xiao Lianshan with a smile. "You really called it right. This is a ritual implement used by a high monk; you can treat this golden bowl as a family heirloom, haha."

Just as I finished speaking, I caught sight of Qiunuo not far away, quietly observing something.

Walking over, I discovered that Qiunuo was squatting inside a very peculiar compartment. The firelight illuminated everything around; unlike other places, there was no gold, silver, or jewelry here—only neatly arranged bookshelves stacked with dust-covered scrolls.

Qiunuo was so engrossed in the scroll in her hands that she hadn't noticed me approaching. Perhaps only Qiunuo could remain entirely unmoved in the face of so much wealth. Having been raised since childhood by Wu Zetian and Shangguan Wan'er, what precious things had she not seen, and what luxuries had she not used?

Yet, given Qiunuo's temperament, the only thing that could captivate her entire attention was something of a specific nature—unquestionably a cultural relic from the Tang dynasty.

I lowered my head to look at the scroll in Qiunuo's hands, then said in a somewhat dazed manner, "The Autobiography Scroll?!"

Startled by my voice behind her, Qiunuo finally snapped back to reality.

"This is Huaisu's *Autobiography Scroll*! And it's an authentic original. I thought it was lost forever; never did I expect to see it here."

"Huaisu's *Autobiography Scroll* is a representative masterpiece of his wild cursive script. The entire piece spans seven hundred and two characters across one hundred and twenty-six lines, flowing effortlessly in one continuous breath. Truly, it resembles dragons and snakes racing, or a sudden flash of lightning accompanied by roaring thunder. It is an absolute peerless treasure," I remarked in wonderment as well.

"Not just the *Autobiography Scroll*, I just saw the genuine originals of *Han Xizai's Night Banquet* and the *Nymph of the Luo River*, along with many other lost masterworks of paintings and calligraphy throughout history, including those of Wang Xizhi and his son," Qiunuo said, pointing to the bookshelf.

I walked a few steps around the bookshelves. Among these dazzling works of calligraphy and painting, any single piece was enough to leave one dumbfounded—all of them miraculous masterpieces previously thought lost.

Aside from the ones Qiunuo mentioned, I even spotted *Thousands of Miles of Rivers and Mountains* and *Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains*, alongside many other breathtaking paintings and scrolls.

These paintings and calligraphies mostly dated back to the Tang and Song dynasties. From the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhu onward throughout the Ming dynasty, perhaps due to his humble origins, most rulers did not prioritize the collection of art and calligraphy. Consequently, most ancient precious paintings and writings were thought to have drifted among the common folk; little did anyone know they were safely preserved within the 14th Ming Imperial Tomb.

Taking a few more steps, my gaze was suddenly drawn to a thick, bulky volume wrapped in bright imperial yellow brocade—the exclusive color of royalty. Out of curiosity, I untied the brocade and stood frozen in place.

Qiunuo walked over with curiosity, and after just a single glance, she covered her agape mouth with her hand.

The four large characters on the cover of that thick volume had grown blurry with the passage of time, yet they remained clearly legible.

*The Yongle Encyclopaedia*!

*The Yongle Encyclopaedia* was the largest encyclopedia in Cathay and even the world. Commissioned in the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty, the entire work spanned over twenty thousand volumes comprising roughly four hundred million characters, collecting more than eight thousand types of books ranging from pre-Qin times down to the Ming dynasty, encompassing the classics, history, philosophy, literature, and drama.

This book preserved a vast number of ancient texts that had otherwise been lost, making it an immensely precious literary document. Due to various reasons, most of it had been lost or damaged, with only a tiny fraction—merely one-tenth of the original work—surviving.

I wondered what expression Yue Qianling would wear upon seeing this perfectly preserved copy of *The Yongle Encyclopaedia*. Just as I intended to call Yue Qianling over, the moment I raised my head, I caught sight of a very unusual area not far away, kept completely clean with nothing piled around it.

The instant I took a step forward, the resonance emitted by the Eight-Dragon Pearl-Embracing Pendant on my chest surged from faint to loud. This singular note was no longer intermittent, but produced a coherent and deafening roar. Though the others could not hear it, it sounded entirely too clear to my ears.

Walking slowly toward the final flight of stairs, upon a sacrificial altar constructed of white marble blocks, I saw a square box made of golden nanmu wood placed in the center, resting atop bright imperial yellow brocade that symbolized imperial authority.

Although the entire 14th Ming Imperial Tomb was a treasure trove of epic proportions, there were simply too many rare gems; no matter how priceless an object was placed elsewhere here, it became superfluous, which was why every part of the tomb appeared so casually stacked.

Only this final sacrificial altar was unmistakably the most crucial arrangement within the entire 14th Ming Imperial Tomb. It was evident that in the eyes of the tomb's designer, everything else in the 14th Ming Imperial Tomb combined could not rival the importance of this wooden box.

With trembling hands, I opened the wooden box and unwrapped the layers of carefully folded brocade. When those five characters finally appeared before my eyes, I no longer knew what to say.

*The Nine Heavens Hidden Dragon Manual*!