I Was Forced to Marry a “Trash” Cultivator, But She Turned Out to Be a Reborn Empress!

Chapter 246: Within the Five Materials Realm, Treasure Hunting Begins

Several days later, the second round of the Refining Assembly commenced.

The morning mist still clung to the eaves of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, but the plaza below was already boiling with noise.

The 20 grandmasters who had survived the brutal elimination round stood in the center of the arena. Each radiated a unique aura of power and confidence, but all eyes were drawn to one figure.

Shen Xian stood on the high platform, hands clasped behind his back, his ink-black robes fluttering in the morning breeze.

Unlike his entrance in the preliminaries, where he was just another face in the crowd, his appearance now triggered a ripple of excitement that spread through the audience like a shockwave.

“Look! That’s Master Wang, the one who took first place!”

“I heard he didn’t just break the record; he shattered it by half. That kind of talent is terrifying…”

The whispers washed over the platform.

Nearby, Chi Xiaozi narrowed his eyes. The seven fire jades in his hand grew uncomfortably hot, leaking wisps of restless, aggressive Qi. He had always prided himself on his fire control, but the “Resonance Smelting” Shen Xian had displayed—that perfect, musical vibration—had made his own Nine Revolutions Flame Dragon Art look crude by comparison.

I must regain my standing today, Chi Xiaozi thought, his jaw setting tight.

Elder Xuanji stood a few paces away, gently stroking the patina of his small bronze cauldron. He appeared the picture of Daoist calm, but his Divine Sense was tightly locked onto Shen Xian. His fingers traced the cauldron’s relief patterns in a nervous rhythm.

This young man’s methods are bizarre. I cannot afford to be careless.

Even Fairy Bing Po felt the pressure. The perpetual chill surrounding her seemed to stagnate, and the pale flame dancing on her ice lotus flickered uncertainly. She had secretly inspected the Mystic Nether Black Iron Shen Xian had purified. The purity was absolute—a level of perfection her “Ice and Fire Origin” technique could not hope to achieve.

Instinctively, these proud masters shifted their positions, creating a subtle physical distance between themselves and Shen Xian. They were united by a single, silent resolve: in this round, they would reclaim their honor.

High above on the judges’ throne, Elder Mo observed the tension with a faint smile. His gaze lingered on Shen Xian.

“Little monster,” he murmured to himself. “Let’s see what other surprises you have buried in your sleeves.”

Elder Mo stood and swept his wide sleeve across the air.

Hum—

Space distorted in the center of the plaza. A massive, five-colored light gate unfolded like a blooming flower. Through the shimmering portal, spectators caught glimpses of a chaotic, primeval world: volcanoes spewing magma next to frozen glaciers, metallic forests growing from diamond soil.

“The second round begins now,” Elder Mo’s voice boomed, carrying the weight of authority. “Enter the Five Materials Realm and seek the essences of the Five Elements. This realm naturally gestates treasures of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. You must rely on your eyes, your experience, and your luck to find them.”

He paused, and the temperature in the plaza seemed to drop.

“However, remember this: The Hundred Arts Sect strictly forbids the seizing of treasures between competitors. If anyone dares to attack another participant or steal their harvest, they will be immediately disqualified and permanently blacklisted from the Assembly.”

A hush fell over the crowd.

The Hundred Arts Sect’s hatred for bandits was legendary in the Northern Region. It was said that centuries ago, after a particularly talented disciple was robbed and killed, an enraged Elder hunted the perpetrator for 30,000 miles. When he caught the thief, he didn’t kill him—he refined him, living and screaming, into an artifact spirit.

Shen Xian looked at the light gate. His expression remained placid, but his Divine Sense quietly extended, probing the turbulent flow of elemental Qi leaking from the portal.

“Hmph.”

Chi Xiaozi snorted, breaking the silence. He stepped forward, wreathed in flame, and was the first to vanish into the gate.

Elder Xuanji stroked his beard, pulled out an intricate bronze compass, and followed with a thoughtful expression.

Fairy Bing Po’s aura condensed into a protective shell of diamond-hard ice. She drifted into the portal like a snowflake carried by the wind.

One by one, the refining masters activated their defensive Dharma Treasures or divination spells and crossed the threshold.

Shen Xian waited until the end. Unhurried, he stepped through the light gate as if entering his own garden.

As the participants disappeared, the spectators in the plaza erupted into debate. Mirrors floating above the arena began to broadcast the scenes from inside the realm.

“This round isn’t like the first,” a white-haired old man lectured his juniors, stroking his beard sagely. “Fire control is mechanical skill. Treasure hunting requires experience, geology, and a lifetime of accumulation. Master Wang is a genius, yes, but he is young. How can his eyes compare to old foxes like Master Chi Xiao?”

“Exactly!” a middle-aged cultivator agreed loudly. “Chi Xiaozi has spent centuries scouring the dangerous zones of the Northern Region. He knows the smell of rare ore before he even sees it. In this round, experience is king!”

A few younger cultivators frowned. “But Master Wang’s methods in the preliminaries were unheard of. Maybe he has a special technique for this too?”

“Heh. Naive,” an older refiner in official robes sneered. “Five Elements materials are tricky. Some high-tier ores disguise themselves as common rocks. Without decades of failure and success, talent is useless here.”

On the betting platform, the guild managers whispered among themselves.

“I put 300 Spirit Stones on Chi Xiaozi. He spent ten years cultivating in a Five Elements Secret Realm. This is his home turf.”

“I backed Elder Xuanji,” another countered. “That bronze compass of his is a specialized treasure hunter. It can smell metal a mile underground.”

In the sea of doubters, only Ai Xiao stood firm. He clenched his fists, his eyes burning with unwavering faith.

“Master Wang will create another miracle. Just watch.”

Inside the Five Materials Realm.

The air was thick and heavy, charged with a chaotic tide of elemental Spiritual Qi.

Chi Xiaozi was in his element. He soared over a sea of bubbling magma, riding a manifested fire dragon.

The seven fire jades in his hands blazed like miniature suns. As he flew, he chanted an incantation, and the jades pulled distinct threads of crimson-gold essence from the molten depths below.

The fire essence coiled around his fingers, transforming into nine tiny, serpentine dragons that hissed and snapped.

“That’s the Fire Spirit Materialization!” a spectator screamed, pointing at the projection. “The highest level of the Nine Revolutions Flame Dragon Art!”

On screen, Chi Xiaozi waved his sleeve. The nine fire dragons dove into the lava with a splash. Moments later, they erupted from the surface, each jaw clamped around a glowing object.

They dropped three fist-sized Crimson Flame Crystal Cores into Chi Xiaozi’s hand. Each core pulsed with terrifying thermal energy.

Meanwhile, in the metallic wastes.

Elder Xuanji’s bronze compass hovered before him, the needle spinning wildly before snapping to a halt, pointing straight down.

He formed a seal and slammed his palm onto the earth. The ground cracked open with a metallic groan, revealing a vein of ore that shimmered with starlight.

“Heavenly Star Iron!” someone in the crowd shouted. “Top-tier material for flying swords!”

In the frozen north of the realm, Fairy Bing Po stood atop a glacier.

She wove a complex sign with her hands. The ten-thousand-year-old ice beneath her feet groaned and shifted like a waking beast. Slowly, a pillar of transparent ice rose from the glacier. Encased within its heart was a single, perfect lotus flower made of ice.

“Profound Ice Heart Lotus…” Elder Mo nodded approvingly from his throne. “A treasure that can be sought but rarely found.”

But the most visceral display came from Master Tie Xin.

The burly master had jumped directly into a canyon of iron. His muscles swelled to unnatural proportions as he grabbed a jagged boulder the size of a small house. With a roar that shook the camera view, he lifted it overhead.

As the rock cleared the ground, the underside revealed natural, intricate patterns etched into the metal.

“Natural Dao Patterns!” The crowd went wild.

“Tie Xin is a beast!”

“See? This is what experience looks like. These masters walk in and pick up treasures like they’re groceries.”

“Hey… why hasn’t Master Wang moved yet?”

The question cut through the excitement.

On the main projection, Shen Xian stood motionless in the center of the realm. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and rhythmic. He looked less like a competitor and more like a tourist taking a nap.

In reality, Shen Xian was cheating. Or rather, he was utilizing his superior tools.

He had activated the Void Reflecting Spirit Mirror.

Combined with his Soul Formation stage Divine Sense, an invisible radar swept across the entire pocket dimension. The chaotic elemental tides were stripped away, revealing the true energetic signatures of every object in the realm.

The mountains became transparent wireframes; the lava became flows of data.

In moments, he pinpointed a specific signature. It wasn’t the loudest signal, but it was the most profound.

He opened his eyes and launched himself into the air, flying toward the southeast.

“He’s moving!” the crowd cheered.

Expectation hung heavy in the air. What treasure had the genius found? A dragon vein? A phoenix nest?

But as Shen Xian continued to fly, the crowd’s confusion grew. He flew past the Spirit Wood Forests. He ignored the Gemstone Caves. He headed straight for a desolate, rocky wasteland that looked like a scar on the land.

“Why is he going there?”

“That place is a dead zone. There’s nothing but gray rock and dust.”

“Maybe he’s lost?”

“Impossible. But seriously, did he just fly past a deposit of Spirit Gold to go to a rock pile?”

While the audience muttered in confusion, Elder Mo sat up straighter on his throne. A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his ancient eyes.

“That boy…” Mo thought, his fingers tapping the armrest. “Did he somehow obtain the map beforehand? Or are his eyes truly that sharp?”