The Dao Seeking Sect's Treasury

Yun Zhi had indeed forgotten all about the patent royalties. The Dao Seeking Sect had two major sources of revenue: one was the patent royalties from Hundred Refinements Peak, and the other was the pill revenue from Pill Cauldron Peak. Added together, these two streams covered nearly half of the sect's operational expenses. Every month, the Fifth Elder and the Seventh Elder had to hand over spirit stones to her, the Acting Sect Master. The Fifth Elder in particular submitted royalties under numerous different categories, and Lu Yang's cut was mixed in among them. In a momentary oversight, Yun Zhi had simply overlooked it. She flipped through the ledger and located Lu Yang's share. "There are two months of flying car royalties, totaling one hundred and ten thousand spirit stones." The flying car had only just been invented and was not yet widespread, so the initial patent earnings were relatively modest. "Come with me to the treasury to retrieve it." Lu Yang's royalties had already been absorbed into the public coffers, so they naturally had to be withdrawn from the sect's official accounts. "The treasury?" Both Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy were surprised; they had never imagined the Dao Seeking Sect possessed such a place. On second thought, it made sense. Even a shabby outfit like the Nine Nether Cult had a treasury. There was no reason the Dao Seeking Sect wouldn't have one—if it didn't, where would the sect store its funds? It was merely that Lu Yang had never had reason to visit it before. "Is it far?" "It is right here on Tianmen Peak." Yun Zhi led the way along a winding path and through a pine forest—the very place where Daoist Buyu had once been confined. Emerging from the pines, she walked another two hundred meters or so before stopping. "We have arrived." Under the watchful eyes of Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy, Yun Zhi tapped lightly on the rock wall. Dense cracks spiderwebbed across the stone before it collapsed with a crash, shattering to pieces across the ground. "Here it is." Lu Yang was amazed that the treasury was located right on Tianmen Peak. What struck him as even stranger, however, was that a treasury was practically the lifeblood and bedrock of a sect. Normally, it should be guarded by elders and enveloped in protective formations. Why didn't their Dao Seeking Sect's treasury have a single guard? Even if the Dao Seeking Sect had a grand defensive formation and had nothing to fear from outside enemies, weren't they worried about an insider sneaking in? Eldest Senior Sister didn't stay on Tianmen Peak every day either; she left on business quite often. The Immortal Fairy gave a chuckle. "Who says no one is guarding it?" "Who is it?" The Immortal Fairy wore a mischievous grin and refused to answer, no matter how many times Lu Yang pressed her. Sharing a single body, the two squabbled as they stepped into the treasury, then instantly fell silent. Inside sat a myriad of treasures the likes of which Lu Yang had never seen before—natural wonders, refined magic treasures—their functions and grades completely beyond his ability to discern. The Immortal Fairy, however, recognized every single one. "That landscape painting holds mountains and rivers within; it was brushed by a grandmaster of ink, with the power to stabilize the land. It dates back ages, and its function clashes with national destiny. It is very likely a relic of the Great Yu Dynasty." "Do you see that little red cauldron? It's forged from Blood Vein Iron. Blood Vein Iron is found in perilous extremes—the abyssal seabed, the cradle of glaciers, the deepest heart of a star core... It can occur anywhere like that, a creation of nature. Some claim the blood-like veins in the iron are the blood of heaven, but that's an exaggeration. Blood Vein Iron is exceedingly rare under heaven and is attuned primarily to slaughter. Even a piece the size of a fingernail could incite Body Integration cultivators into a bloody brawl, let alone a chunk this large." "And that fruit—don't be fooled by its translucent, jade-like look; it really is a fruit. It's called the Azure Nether Jade Fruit. Eating one can transform an ordinary five-element mixed spiritual root into the purest single spiritual root, and you can freely choose which element it becomes." "Ocean Soul Crystal, the essence of the sea's soul..." "A shield forged from Xuanhuang Qi..." "Good stuff, all of it." The Immortal Fairy was genuinely surprised. The wealth stored in this treasury exceeded her expectations. It was second only to an immortal's hoard. Though she was the foremost of the Five Ancient Celestials, she had been the poorest among the five. She had few planets, little territory, and sparse tributes; occasionally, she even had to feign death to scam gift money. Even so, she had still been richer than the Dao Seeking Sect! In the ancient era, aside from the five immortals, there were numerous cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence stage who founded factions large and small. The Dao Seeking Sect's reserves could rival those of the greatest Tribulation Transcendence factions! Lu Yang said with an upturned, proud tone, "Our Dao Seeking Sect has stood for one hundred and twenty thousand years, guided by the founding patriarch Daoist Xiantian, the originator of the immortal sect concept Heavenly Venerable Guiyuan, and the patriarch of restoration Daoist Lord Hanhai. It's hardly surprising we have such treasures!" The Immortal Fairy thought about it and found that reasonable enough. Hearing Lu Yang's boastful tone, Yun Zhi reminded him, "Our Dao Seeking Sect wasn't always this wealthy. Daoist Lord Hanhai lived fifty thousand years ago, and the foundation left by his venerable self could not possibly have lasted until now. Besides, two or three thousand years ago, the sect endured a period of decline. To maintain normal operations, we consumed quite a few precious treasures. Most of what you see here was actually swindled from the Nine Nether Cult nine hundred years ago." Lu Yang: "..." This was merely the outer perimeter of the treasury. Yun Zhi led them deeper inside, where the items grew increasingly astonishing in value. Roughly halfway into the treasury, Yun Zhi stopped. Flanking her on either side were two miniature mountains piled high with top-grade spirit stones. From the mountains of top-grade spirit stones, Yun Zhi rummaged out ten high-grade spirit stones. Though quite valuable themselves, the high-grade spirit stones looked utterly unremarkable amid the heaps of top-grade stones, like mere impurities. The market value of ten high-grade spirit stones was equivalent to one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones. However, that was only the market rate. In practice, exchanging low-grade spirit stones for high-grade ones incurred a premium; ten high-grade spirit stones could typically fetch around one hundred and ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. The Immortal Fairy was still in control of Lu Yang's body. As Eldest Senior Sister handed over the high-grade spirit stones, she noticed the fairy staring blankly toward the depths of the treasury. She realized she had been careless. The Dao Seeking Sect's foundation was far more astonishing than she had imagined—it might well be worth more than her own personal vault! If the outer perimeter held items used by the Body Integration and Tribulation Transcendence stages, then these two mountains of top-grade spirit stones were the dividing line: the interior was filled entirely with half-immortal grade magic treasures, talismans, and natural treasures that could benefit even half-immortal figures! In the deepest recesses of the treasury, faint spots of light flickered, blurred and indistinct. The Immortal Fairy couldn't tell what it was, but judging by its aura, it resembled an unseen rudimentary Dao fruit—no, that aura was even more intense than a rudimentary Dao fruit... "Fairy? Fairy?" Lu Yang called out twice, snapping the Immortal Fairy back to reality. "What's wrong?" Lu Yang asked, curious. "Nothing. This Immortal merely feels that your sect's foundation is barely worthy of my title as First of All Eternity!" The Immortal Fairy held her head high, brimming with confidence. Leaving the treasury, the Immortal Fairy returned control of the body to Lu Yang. His face immediately paled. "Damn it, I've been maintaining Village in the Palm this entire time!" Even if sustaining Village in the Palm didn't consume much spiritual energy, prolonged use was more than his reserves could bear. He hurriedly deactivated the spell and dumped everything from his palm: stones, tree branches, a squawking duck... Lu Yang stared silently at the duck flapping its wings all over the place. Having the Immortal Fairy on Tianmen Peak was annoying enough; he certainly couldn't raise a duck here as well. ... As night fell, the tantalizing aroma of roast duck filled the air. After a hard-fought battle, Lu Yang had first defeated the duck, then conquered the Immortal Fairy, finally earning the right to cook. He presented the roasted duck to Eldest Senior Sister, who had been waiting for quite some time.