Daily life of a cultivation judge

On seeing the worried look on Yen Xun who was usually calm and composed, Yang Qing asked,

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

After confirming nothing was wrong with Yang Qing's body and nodding to the slender, tall man next to her, Yen Xu said,

"A few hours ago the location containing the egg of the bifang niao and that sword I told you about suddenly vanished.

We couldn't sense the area at all. There was even someone from the spirit council present but they could not detect where it went. 

I then got information that you had left the branch and when I searched for you all over, I couldn't find a trace of your aura.

It only reappeared now when you left that cavern. Don't tell me there is an illusory treasure in there that i able to mask your presence.

But that's not right, I didn't detect anything like that when I surveyed the area. Do you remember noting anything like it when we were here, Xiang He?" said Yen Xu as she addressed the man next to her.

"No, this area had nothing capable of shielding itself against our domain sense. If it did we would have never noticed the parasitic purple flower spore sycamore tree.." answered the man.

From his robes, Yang Qing guessed he was the special inquisitor who was investigating the blue soul flame crow syndicate case and had done the survey of the Deer Mountain Range with Ye Xun.

"The change likely has to do with why that gorge suddenly disappeared without a trace.." he added as his gaze fell on Yang Qing.

"Did you experience or see anything out of the ordinary, Judge Yang Qing?" asked Xiang He.

"I did, but maybe we can continue the conversation at the branch?" said Yang Qing.

The duo nodded as Yen Xun covered Yang Qing with her domain space which she used to carry him back to the branch.

In just a few breaths they were already at the branch and in the branch chief's office.

Yang Qing as a dutiful host and junior poured the two, snow ginseng teas before he recounted his interaction with the middle-aged man, the abilities he showed, his suspicions about him being the owner of the sword that was being refined by the flames produced from the egg of the bifang niao before he finally showed them the wine jar given by him.

The information Yang Qing was shocking to the two, as Yang Qing expected however, their shock seemed to have experienced a dramatic increase when he pulled out the wine gourd.

"He gave you that?!" asked Special Inquisitor Xiang He with clear agitation in his tone.

"He did... you know what this is, seniors?" asked Yang Qing when he noticed their reactions.

Their reactions were that of people who clearly knew what the white wood was.

After calming himself, Xiang He said,

"That is the empyrean world jade tree. One could consider it the king among jade trees with the ten thousand dao leaf jade tree of the Jade Leaf Empire being the emperor of the known jade trees..." 

Xiang He paused as he took a sip of his ginseng tea, still slightly shaken by the wine gourd in Yang Qing's hands.

Yang Qing looked puzzledly at the wine gourd with waves of excitement washing his body. He could detect a unique energy coming from the gourd from the moment he came in contact with it, so he figured the material had to be pretty unique considering it was unfamiliar to him despite the trove of information about spiritual herbs and plants he had consumed at the Order.

He had no doubt the material had to be unique but even then, he didn't expect it to be at the level of something titled a jade tree king.

Jade trees were rare and each had unique properties that made it stand out among millions of other spiritual plants, and for one to stand out even amongst its kind, how special was it?

"The empyrean jade tree can form multiple realms within its body, with each realm having its a complete system with complete laws that is no different from the real world.

It's like a blend of a mysterious realm and a grotto. It's the absolute perfection of both of them and there is even a rumor if one's talent in comprehension were high enough one could have a chance of grasping the traces of origin dao by cultivating inside one of its powerful realms.

It's unknown if the rumor is true but if it is, then it's no less powerful than the ten thousand dao leaf jade tree that is rumored to have been birthed by the aura of the origin dao.."

Xiang He shook his head in disbelief as he added,

"I can't believe someone used its wood to make a wine gourd, and they even gifted it away..."

One could hear the bitterness in his tone, as for Yang Qing, now that he heard the origins of the wood, his heart started racing faster.

Just who had he shared drinks with? 

A tree with ties to the Origin Dao. The Origin Dao was the mother of all Daos, he/ she who mastered it, mastered them all. 

It was said if immortality was real, then the Origin Dao was the key. However, even if most knew of it, no one has ever been recorded as having mastered it. 

Even the Jade Leaf Empire where the famous ten thousand dao leaf jade tree grew didn't have anyone who had sensed traces of it despite the tree being rumored to have been birthed from the aura of the Origin Dao.

What was known and confirmed was the tree had ten thousand Daos with each Dao emblazoned on one leaf, but when it came to the Origin Dao there was nothing.

"I am holding something so precious? Then what about the wine stored in there? an immortal's wine, divine wine, world wine. How would it taste?"

Yang Qing instantly started feeling faint as his head started spinning. He thought Meifeng had been the one to have profited the most from the encounter, but it turns out he was the real beneficiary of the whole meeting.

Yang Qing instantly clutched the wine gourd afraid someone would pop out of thin air and snatch it away.

If something like that were to happen, the heart demon he would form after was something that he felt the auspicious wood grove tree would not help him out of.

The two domain experts smiled when they saw Yang Qing's excessive reaction seemingly reading his thoughts which left Yang Qing rubbing his nose in embarrassment, though he didn't let go of the wine gourd.

After hearing its origins he would be a fool to let it out of his sight. He even had thoughts of having it stored at the Dragon Meadows.

The Order wasn't safe, he was friends with those who would potentially mug him if they knew about it. Dai Chen the wine hound was at the very top.

"Whoever gave you that, their origins are not simple. The spirit council, the vice presidents, and maybe even the president will have to be informed of this.." said Ye Xun with a sigh.

Laying down an array that covered the whole range would have to be altered now. The Order despite its fame couldn't act recklessly. 

How powerful was someone who gifted out wine gourds made out of empyrean world jade tree like it was nothing?

If that person was connected with the sword as Yang Qing suspected, they had to be cautious with their conduct, or at the very least let those at the top know, maybe one of them might have an idea as to the identity of the middle-aged man.

Xiang He nodded in agreement to Ye Xun's suggestion as both of them left soon after to relay the information Yang Qing had shared with them, along with the discovery of the wine gourd to the spirit council member already in the area.

Whatever happened next would be up to them.