Taking Stock of the Gains

That night.

In the east wing of the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion.

This journey had basically unfolded entirely according to Chen Heng's calculations, and he had not wasted a shred of spiritual power.

Yet he had returned laden with gains.

Only when the night had grown deep and still did Chen Heng begin taking stock of what he had gained on this journey.

The most important gains were undoubtedly the three cultivation techniques Water Wood Hermit had left behind in the underground cavern hall. Upon returning to Southern Foothills Market, Chen Heng had headed straight to the Garrison Mansion and, through Patriarch Chen Tianrui, submitted the techniques directly to the Lineage.

This patriarch was exceptionally forthright. With a grand sweep of his hand, he directly awarded Chen Heng three thousand merit points.

However, considering that Chen Heng would enter the Azure Profound Sect in less than a year, and that the Lineage's merit points would be of little use to him, the reward had been exchanged at an equal rate for three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

The two cultivation techniques were somewhat unremarkable to the Chen Family. After all, the Chen Family was a cultivating family that had once produced a Violet Palace Venerable, and it still possessed a water-attribute cultivation technique capable of reaching the Violet Palace realm.

But the Water Forging Secret Canon, which recorded water-method artifact forging, filled a gap in the Chen Family's artifact-forging path.

Jade Spring Mountain already had many cold springs and frigid springs, making it exceptionally suitable for water-method artifact forging.

Yet inheritances of water-method artifact forging had always been scarce. Among the five great cultivation sects, it was said that only the Azure Water Palace and the Nether Spring Sect possessed partial inheritances.

Even the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, whose branch pavilions were spread throughout the major markets of the Southern Profound Domain, rarely possessed such a rare inheritance.

Even if the Chen Family wanted to buy one, it had no avenue to do so.

Second, he had gained a fiercely loyal maidservant, Wen Ning, who was also a high-grade first-rank talisman master.

Finally, there were the storage pouches of Luo Yu Lei, Wang Yi, Li Zheng, and the others.

These were what Chen Heng looked forward to most. Even though he had lived two lives and his mind had matured considerably, he still loved the feeling of opening blind boxes.

What if there was some unexpected windfall?

He set aside the storage pouch of the Luo Family's eldest young master, Luo Yu Lei, intending to open it last.

Chen Heng casually selected one from the remaining five storage pouches. Forming a sword with two fingers, true essence surged within him as a wisp of spiritual power entered the spiritual-power imprint and restriction at the pouch's opening.

Not long after.

With a soft sound, he easily opened the somewhat shabby storage pouch. Yet the items inside immediately left Chen Heng torn between laughter and tears.

Most of its contents were actually things used by women: low-grade first-rank Beauty-Nourishing Pills, mid-grade first-rank Youth-Preserving Pills, and high-grade first-rank Complexion-Fixing Pills.

Only a high-grade first-rank Flying Cloud Talisman held any value for him. It was a relatively rare flight talisman.

Other than that, there was not even half a Spirit Stone.

Without question, this had to be the storage pouch of that old lecher Wang Yi, who loved listening to music in pleasure houses and discussing the Dao behind closed doors.

Chen Heng had never expected that this man had fallen into such straits.

After all, he was a seventh-level Qi Refining talisman master.

Look at how substantial Wen Ning's wealth was—she had gifted him five hundred Spirit Stones and still had five hundred left over.

It seemed that listening to music in pleasure houses and discussing the Dao behind closed doors truly was the most Spirit Stone-draining hobby in the cultivation world.

Chen Heng shook his head and put away the old lecher's storage pouch. At the very least, those pills ought to fetch quite a few Spirit Stones if sold to female cultivators.

Next, he opened the storage pouches of Luo San Mu and Luo San Shi. Both pouches bore obvious Luo Family markings, so Chen Heng took them out together.

Though they were late Qi Refining cultivators, they were merely Luo Family guards, and their wealth was equally modest.

Chen Heng obtained only two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones and four standard first-rank Luo Family artifacts from them. The remaining items had little value.

Merely two hundred jin of first-rank Spirit Rice and a few first-rank talismans.

After thinking it over, he realized that both were family cultivators. Most of their accumulated resources were likely in the form of contribution points, achievements, and merit points within the Lineage. The materials needed for their daily cultivation could simply be exchanged directly from the Lineage.

Their duties were also those of guards, so naturally they would not carry any spare spiritual treasures.

Three storage pouches in a row had yielded nothing valuable. Fortunately, having lived two lives, Chen Heng had a rather good mindset.

He immediately opened the storage pouches of Li Zheng and the other man together.

He did not even use his spiritual sense to inspect them, simply giving them a light shake and scattering everything onto the table.

Then Chen Heng's breathing stopped.

It turned out these two were the leaders of this band of ill-intentioned robber cultivators, and their wealth was exceedingly substantial.

The first thing that met his eyes was a full two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, glittering with crystalline light atop the table.

Although this sum was still less than the reward issued by the Chen Family, how could the two be mentioned in the same breath?

These were unexpected gains, after all, and they had cost him nothing.

Moreover, atop the pile of Spirit Stones lay four especially eye-catching stones, crystalline throughout, with fine purple lightning patterns flickering intermittently across their surfaces.

They were actually the exceedingly rare mid-grade Lightning Spirit Stones.

Just as the spiritual roots within human bodies varied in grade and attribute, Spirit Stones were no exception.

Low-grade Spirit Stones of the five elemental attributes were the most common.

Chen Heng carefully picked up a mid-grade Lightning Spirit Stone and placed it in his palm. It felt warm and smooth as jade, completely unlike the feel of a low-grade Spirit Stone.

The spiritual qi contained within it was several times purer and richer.

Simply holding it in his hand, without needing to refine it, he could feel the dense fluctuations of spiritual qi within.

"No wonder one mid-grade Spirit Stone can be exchanged for a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, and even then they are often priceless and unavailable," Chen Heng murmured.

More importantly, two of these were the exceptionally rare Lightning Spirit Stones. To cultivators possessing Lightning Spiritual Roots, they were simply priceless treasures.

There were also over a hundred talismans, but all of them were first-rank talismans and not worth mentioning.

If they had possessed any truly formidable talismans, they would not have been slain on the spot by Luo Yu Lei and the other two.

As for their artifacts, they had all been destroyed in the battle against Luo Yu Lei and the others, and were worth only a few Spirit Stones.

The cultivation techniques and spells recorded on the jade slips were likewise nothing worth mentioning. They were all fairly ordinary methods found everywhere in the markets.

Fortunately, there were quite a few first-rank spiritual herbs and precious materials. Yet what drew Chen Heng's attention most were two green jade boxes.

Without any hesitation, he opened them both with a casual motion.

At once, two utterly different auras rushed at him: bone-piercing cold and face-scorching heat.

Chen Heng looked closely. One was a low-grade second-rank spiritual herb, Ice Mist Grass, crystalline as jade from stem to leaf, its leaves like ice crystals carved by hand. The other was a Crimson Flame Flower, likewise a low-grade second-rank spiritual herb, its petals red as blood and shaped like leaping flames.

As the cold mist and heat waves met, a wisp of incomparably dense spiritual mist rose up.

Chen Heng immediately felt that his chance to break through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation had arrived. At once, he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, circulating his cultivation technique, the Water Fire Defense Scripture, and began absorbing and refining the spiritual mist that was so exceptionally compatible with him.

Over the past half year, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining.

With this opportunity, breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Condensation was merely a matter of water flowing into its channel.

By then, the sky had already begun to brighten.

Chen Heng sorted and put away the possessions of Li Zheng and the other man. This was a fortune of astonishing value.

Especially those two low-grade second-rank spiritual herbs, each worth one or two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

That made him all the more eager to see what was in Luo Yu Lei's storage pouch.

Chen Heng had once asked Patriarch Chen Tianrui to inspect it personally. There were no tracking methods left behind by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which was why he dared to open Luo Yu Lei's storage pouch within the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion without worry.