A dazzling, kaleidoscopic array of treasures!
When Luo Chen dumped everything from Duan Qiankun's storage bag into the room, it formed a veritable small mountain.
Swallowing hard, Luo Chen couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Now this is the kind of legacy a clan passed down for three hundred years should have!"
Dharma artifacts, Dharma artifacts, and more Dharma artifacts!
Everywhere his eyes turned, there were at least ten high-grade Dharma artifacts alone.
And they were not ordinary high-grade flying swords either.
With Luo Chen's discerning eye, glancing at just two was enough to get a rough idea of their effects.
Even among high-grade artifacts, these were premium pieces. A few were even esoteric, eccentric artifacts with unique utilities.
"Duan Qiankun probably kept these on hand to reward clan members who performed meritorious service."
Aside from the Dharma artifacts, there were two objects wrapped inside thick silver clumps.
The silver clumps were not solid; rather, they resembled flowing liquids, sealing whatever was inside tight and secure.
"This stuff looks like mithril?"
Luo Chen had seen a similar material before in the Duan family's treasury, but that had only been a single chunk, and unrefined at that.
Nothing like this—two massive lumps, and pure essence from top to bottom.
"I wonder what's sealed inside. I'll find a chance to ask Duan Feng."
In addition to these items, there were spirit stones.
Not ordinary low-grade spirit stones, but mid-grade spirit stones—two hundred of them.
In other words, that was equivalent to twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones right there!
And that wasn't all!
"Is this a high-grade spirit stone?"
Luo Chen picked up a crystal-clear, diamond-shaped crystal exuding intense spiritual energy fluctuations in astonishment.
It was twice the size of standard low-grade or mid-grade spirit stones, as long as a middle finger. The spiritual energy contained within was no longer a hazy mist, but wound like silk threads, thick like liquid syrup.
"Purity to such a degree?"
With a thought, Luo Chen held the crystal firmly in one hand.
A wisp of incomparably pure spiritual energy trickled forth, flowing into the meridians within his body.
"It can actually be absorbed directly!"
Shock stirred in Luo Chen's heart.
In the cultivation world, spirit stones were more of a currency than a usable cultivation resource. They were typically circulated as equivalent units of measurement for the value of goods. The spiritual energy inside could not be casually drawn and used!
The reason was that the spiritual energy within standard spirit stones was extremely violent. Once it entered the body, it was like an unbroken wild horse galloping and crashing around erratically, inflicting severe trauma upon a cultivator's meridians and dantian.
Unless driven to desperate straits, very few people would ever actively absorb spiritual energy from spirit stones.
Luo Chen had once researched this phenomenon. The conclusion he reached was that whoever manufactured spirit stones injected a special substance into them, turning what should have been pure, gentle spiritual energy violent and volatile. Only disciples of major sects possessed secret techniques capable of neutralizing that substance to absorb it directly.
This was also why sect disciples were often far stronger than ordinary rogue cultivators of the same realm.
When two cultivators shared identical cultivation levels and comparable methods, their spiritual power capacity became the crucial factor determining life and death. Beyond their own reserves, sect disciples could draw upon the spiritual energy within spirit stones on the fly, which was why rogue cultivators were routinely suppressed.
Luo Chen had tried looking for such secret techniques at black market auctions, but came up empty-handed every time. It was as though Tianxingzi had deliberately kept them hidden. As time went on, Luo Chen abandoned the futile pursuit.
He had never expected to obtain a high-grade spirit stone today.
"Going by the base-hundred conversion rate, a single high-grade spirit stone is worth over ten thousand!"
Not simply equal to ten thousand, but over ten thousand. Its premium could easily exceed another thousand—that was Luo Chen's assessment.
All because the spiritual energy inside could be absorbed directly.
In the heat of battle, it could serve as a tide-turning trump card. In the hands of a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator especially, it was nothing short of a life-saving reserve!
"No wonder the spirit stones in the Duan family's treasury were so sparse back then."
"I assumed Duan Qiankun feared the family's decline after his passing and had converted all the liquid spirit stones into resources."
"Who knew he had thirty thousand tucked away in his pockets all along?"
Delightedly stowing the spirit stones away, Luo Chen was overjoyed.
Whether mid-grade or high-grade spirit stones, their practical value had already surpassed mere currency. They could be utilized as strategic resources—powering massive puppets, fueling large-scale formations, or even being directly absorbed for spiritual energy. None of those were feats low-grade spirit stones could accomplish.
When breaking through to Foundation Establishment earlier, he had exhausted every mid-grade spirit stone he had accumulated. He had to exchange for two hundred mid-grade spirit stones from Kang Dongyue at the Gold and Stone Pavilion just to resolve his urgent needs.
Now, with this massive influx of wealth, he wouldn't have to worry about funds for quite a while.
Past the spirit stones came the Dharma artifacts.
Two of them were placed apart from the ten high-grade artifacts, radiating distinctly different spiritual auras.
A rattle drum, and a scabbard.
Luo Chen was very familiar with the rattle drum. A peak-grade water-attribute Dharma artifact, it was what Duan Qiankun had used back then to combine artifact and art, smashing Wang Yuan deep into the subterranean earth of Mount Xiaohuan. Had Luo Chen not blasted Duan Qiankun from above with his Blazing Sun Art, Duan Qiankun could have effortlessly slain the heavily wounded, helpless Wang Yuan right then and there.
The might of a Foundation Establishment cultivator truly was not something Wang Yuan could have brazenly challenged at that time.
"I have no use for this artifact, but I can give it to Duan Feng."
It wasn't that Luo Chen favored Duan Feng out of sentiment.
Rather, this storage bag had never belonged to Luo Chen alone in the first place.
The contents within belonged in part to Luo Chen, in part to Wang Yuan, and in part to Duan Feng, who had led their forces to breach Mount Xiaohuan's defensive formation. That peak-grade Heluo Sword had also been allocated to Duan Feng based on merit, as he had contributed the most back then.
Giving him the rattle drum now would round out the standard heirloom regalia of a Duan family patriarch—one sword, one drum, lacking only the map.
Shaking his head, Luo Chen turned his gaze toward the scabbard.
"This must be the item Xu Ji from the Falling Cloud Sect was looking for, right?"
Back then, Xu Ji had come to Dahe Market on Tianxingzi's orders: to retrieve Mi Shuhua's human puppet, fulfill the Foundation Establishment Pill agreement with Luo Chen, and collect a custom-made Dharma artifact from Duan Qiankun.
A scabbard!
"Why a scabbard instead of a flying sword?"
Toying with the scabbard in his hands, Luo Chen examined it closely.
It was a pale gray color, six feet in length—quite standard dimensions. As for its grade...
"Strange. It gives me a feeling no weaker than the rattle drum, so why is it only low-grade?"
His gaze fell upon seven differently colored apertures along its surface.
"These dimensions..."
Suddenly, an idea struck Luo Chen.
Opening his mouth, he spat out a golden sword pill.
*Hum!* An audible drone resonated, and the scabbard instantly flared with a layer of gray light.
Half in doubt, Luo Chen pressed the sword pill toward the golden aperture.
The sword pill slotted into the aperture.
The scabbard spat a ray of light!
*Swoosh!*
Luo Chen jerked his head aside.
A beam of sword light grazed past his hair, shearing a wisp that drifted lightly downward.
Looking back with lingering dread, he saw the sword beam had pierced clean through the quiet room and soared high into the sky.
This commotion instantly alerted everyone outside.
Min Longyu, who was in the middle of setting up a formation, looked up with suspicion and uncertainty in his eyes.
"Sword light?"
"Why would a sword beam that only a Foundation Establishment sword cultivator can unleash burst out from the guildmaster's quarters?"
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Hurried footsteps sounded, followed quickly by a voice from outside.
"Guildmaster, has something happened?"
It was Sima Xian's voice. He had been leading the War Hall cultivators on patrol outside to guard their surroundings.
"Nothing. Dismissed!" a calm voice replied from inside.
Though Luo Chen offered no explanation, none was needed. Sima Xian breathed a sigh of relief and departed at once.
Inside the room, Luo Chen gingerly examined the scabbard in his hand.
Once his own spiritual power was infused into it, it no longer displayed any reactive hostility, settling back into its initial gray color. However, a glimmer of golden light now occupied the top section of the scabbard.
Moreover, its grade...
"It jumped straight from low-grade to mid-grade!"
"It's actually a growth-type Dharma artifact!"
"And that's from just a single sword pill. There are seven full apertures on this scabbard."
"If I gather all seven sword pills, could its grade break through to the magic treasure rank?"
Luo Chen swallowed hard.
No wonder Tianxingzi valued this item so highly, not hesitating to dispatch someone thousands of li to Dahe Market. This artifact... no, it shouldn't be called a Dharma artifact, but rather a magic treasure embryo!
And not the kind of magic treasure embryo that required years of slow tempering and nurturing, but one that could advance rapidly through upgrades!
"Tianxingzi commissioned Duan Qiankun to craft this treasure likely to target the sword cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect."
"Throughout the Jade Cauldron Domain, almost everyone using sword pills belongs to the Jade Cauldron sect."
"Perhaps this scabbard holds other profound secrets as well!"
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen extracted the sword pill and swallowed it back into his belly.
A mere mid-grade Dharma artifact was of little help to him at present; it couldn't compare to a sword pill rivaling a peak-grade artifact. But in the future, if he truly could gather all seven sword pills, this scabbard would be priceless.
Luo Chen had no intention of returning the scabbard to Tianxingzi. This was his legitimate battle spoil!
Carefully putting away the scabbard, Luo Chen turned his attention to the remaining items.
A pile of ores, materials, and spiritual liquids!
For a clan with an artifact-forging heritage, this was hardly unusual. What was unusual was that these ores and liquids were mostly around the third tier.
"These can also go to the Artifact Hall for forging materials!"
Luo Chen had no personal interest in these ores. What intrigued him were the other things—such as pills!
Second-tier pills suitable for Foundation Establishment True Cultivators!
"Dragon Ascending Pills!"
Picking up a jade bottle and opening it, Luo Chen muttered to himself.
Indeed, this was a common pill used by Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, compatible across the five elements without restrictions. However, it was not concocted by the Medicine King Sect, but was a specialty of Azure Pill Valley.
The only pity was that these were only of the three-revolution level.
Three revolutions corresponded to a second-tier, low-grade Dragon Ascending Pill; if it reached six revolutions, it would be mid-grade. It was said that Azure Pill Valley could craft nine-revolution Dragon Ascending Pills, reserved exclusively for the sect's Dao Seeds.
Duan Qiankun had not left many behind—only three bottles. That was tied to the fact that he had abandoned all-out cultivation once he saw no hope of breaking through to the next realm.
Luo Chen put them away; better than nothing. Added together, these three bottles were worth only about fifteen hundred spirit stones. Second-tier pills generally started at three hundred spirit stones a bottle, and Dragon Ascending Pills suitable for routine cultivation normally sold for five hundred a bottle.
Since Luo Chen had not yet purged his pill toxins, he couldn't use them for now. Once the threat of pill toxins was eliminated, he could give them a try to see if they were suitable for long-term consumption during his Foundation Establishment stage.
"Huh?"
Opening a small cloth pouch, the items inside instantly seized Luo Chen's attention.
Over a dozen jade bottles of various sizes, each bearing a small paper label.
"First-tier Spirit Purifying Pill, Yang Restoring Water, Glazed Paste..."
These were all preparations used by ninth-layer Qi Refinement cultivators when charging toward Foundation Establishment, weren't they?
If that hadn't been enough to confirm Luo Chen's suspicions, the moment a tongue-shaped tuber met his eyes, all doubt vanished.
The Root of Heaven and Earth!
It was that very eight-hundred-year Root of Heaven and Earth that had surfaced from the Golden Core ruin!
For breaking through to Foundation Establishment, it could boost one's chances by twenty percent, second only to a Foundation Establishment Pill! In terms of safety, it was actually superior to the violently potent Foundation Establishment Pill!
"It seems this entire pouch of pills was meant to aid someone's breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. But why wasn't the Root of Heaven and Earth consumed?"
"Did Duan Rui not use it?"
In Luo Chen's earlier assumptions, Duan Qiankun should have given this item to Duan Rui long ago. Yet it had actually been left behind.
He picked up the tuber, but as soon as his fingers touched it, he noticed something amiss.
Turning it over, a small paper label was pasted on the back.
"Duan Feng."
Luo Chen's gaze froze.
...
*Knock, knock, knock!*
A knock sounded at the door once more.
Luo Chen, who had just finished dividing the spoils into three portions, frowned upon hearing it.
"What is it?"
A crisp, efficient voice came from outside—it was Sima Huiniang.
"Reporting to the guildmaster: an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator has blocked our path outside, claiming to be a disciple of Azure Pill Valley."
"Oh?"
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow and immediately stepped out of the room.
Coming into view was a handsome young man with a faintly flushed complexion, treading on a white cloud and standing suspended in midair.
His green robes fit him impeccably, embroidered with nine cloud patterns across the chest. He looked ethereal and detached, far removed from the mortal dust. Single-handedly, he had brought all three flying boats to a halt.
Having received reports as well, Li Yixian and Nangong Jin also stepped out from the other two flying boats.
Seeing this scene, the green-robed young man's expression shifted slightly. Faint traces of hesitation and retreat surfaced in his stance.
"Fellow Daoist, on what business do you bar our way?"
Luo Chen could see the wariness radiating from the man; even the spiritual power throughout his body was poised to erupt at a moment's notice. Evidently, facing three Foundation Establishment cultivators at once placed immense pressure on him.
Gritting his teeth, the young man forced himself to remain composed. "Who are you, and which faction do you hail from?"
Luo Chen and the other two exchanged glances before deciding to introduce themselves.
"Luo Chen of the Luotian Association."
"Nangong Jin of the Nangong family."
"Li Yixian of the Li family."
"The three of us hail from Dahe Market and are journeying toward Tianlan Immortal City," Luo Chen concluded.
Upon hearing their introductions, the young man visibly relaxed.
"So you are fellow Daoists from Dahe Market!"
He cupped his hands. "I am Tao Yisheng of Azure Pill Valley. Greetings!"
With introductions made, the atmosphere became far less tense. Facing three Foundation Establishment cultivators, Tao Yisheng naturally dared not put on airs. Meanwhile, Luo Chen and his companions still maintained a degree of respect toward the prestigious name of a major Golden Core sect like Azure Pill Valley.
Even so, what needed to be asked still had to be asked.
"May I ask why Fellow Daoist Tao stopped the three of us?"
Tao Yisheng pointed behind himself. "The Yuanzhao Kingdom ahead is a mortal tributary state under my Azure Pill Valley. Qi Refinement cultivators may not remain for more than half a year, and Foundation Establishment True Cultivators may not stay for more than ten days."
"I came specifically to offer a reminder."
Hearing these words, Li Yixian and Nangong Jin came to an enlightened realization.
So that was it!
That made perfect sense. There were strict rules in the cultivation world—or rather, special decrees set by the exalted major sects—forbidding cultivators from lingering in the mortal realm for long periods.
First, spiritual energy was thin in the mortal realm, making it unsuitable for cultivation.
Second, they feared cultivators would leverage their transcendent might to act tyrannically and sow chaos among the common mortals.
Or perhaps there was a third reason: secular mortal nations covered vast territories. Even if spiritual energy was sparse, they routinely produced abundant foundational resources. These resources weren't precious, but they came in massive volumes. Sects typically assigned disciples to garrison them periodically and collect the yield. If rogue cultivators took up long-term residence, they would inevitably harvest those resources in secret, which infringed upon the sect's profits.
Moreover, populations numbering in the millions or tens of millions were a resource in their own right. If someone in a mortal realm fortuitously broke through to the Qi Refinement stage, they either had to leave on their own or be persuaded to depart—or recruited into the ranks—by the stationed sect disciples.
Either way, the iron rule stood: those who cultivate the Dao must scramble in the cultivation world, not linger in mortal realms.
Luo Chen naturally understood this principle. Even if he hadn't known early on, when he had harbored naive thoughts of becoming a wealthy patriarch in a mortal kingdom, Wang Yuan had set him straight later on.
What surprised him now was something else.
"The land ahead is the Yuanzhao Kingdom?"
Chapter 220