Taking Stock of the Gains

Origin Crystals—these were truly good things!

Chen Ping'an was quite satisfied with this haul.

Other than weapons, he had gained nothing from Gu Wu, Guan Yuping, and the others. At last, he had managed to fish up something worthwhile.

"Not bad!"

A trace of delight appeared on Chen Ping'an's face.

Besides serving as a safeguard when True Qi ran dry, nourishing the body and preventing damage to a Cultivator's foundation, Origin Crystals could also be used as universal currency at certain high-end Trading Conventions.

Their purchasing power was far more solid than any amount of gold!

Seven Origin Crystals—adding the three he had taken from Fang Qixian earlier, he now had ten Origin Crystals! His wealth had risen by quite a bit.

Moving his gaze away from the Origin Crystals, Chen Ping'an looked at a Dark Soft Sword beside them. The soft sword appeared somewhat delicate and had superb flexibility. He had obtained it from Xing Rongzi's waist.

"It should be a backup weapon! Judging by its quality, it ought to be a Treasure Weapon as well! But its quality is quite a bit worse than that longsword!"

After a brief examination, Chen Ping'an reached his conclusion.

As an expert swordsman, Xing Rongzi naturally would not have owned just one sword. Otherwise, if he accidentally lost his longsword, his combat strength would drop by far more than a little.

"Two genuine Treasure Weapons. As expected of someone at the Profound Light Middle Stage—he really was rich and imposing." Chen Ping'an sighed softly.

If these two Treasure Weapons could be sold off smoothly, they should fetch quite a considerable sum!

However, the gap between one Treasure Weapon and another could be enormous.

Ordinary Profound Light Realm cultivators generally carried inferior Treasure Weapons. These were the least valuable, likely worth only several tens of thousands of taels of silver. Converted into Origin Crystals, that amounted to only a few.

Meanwhile, Profound Light Realm experts with strong backing, or certain powerful lone cultivators, would carry a genuine Treasure Weapon. Some experts with exceptionally deep foundations might even possess two, or perhaps three!

Still, genuine Treasure Weapons were divided by quality as well; their value could not be judged solely by quantity.

Genuine Treasure Weapons were generally divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. Upper-grade ones could also be called Exquisite Treasure Weapons.

A lower-grade Treasure Weapon like this was generally worth somewhere between seven or eight Origin Crystals and over ten Origin Crystals. This Dark Soft Sword belonged to the lower-grade category.

The pair of Mandarin Duck Blades, one long and one short, that he had obtained from Guan Yuping were likewise lower-grade Treasure Weapons. However, because they were a matched set, they were worth more than the Dark Soft Sword. If sold successfully, they would probably be worth thirteen or fourteen Origin Crystals.

Guan Yuping was merely at the Profound Light Initial Realm and had no powerful backing, yet he possessed such Treasure Weapons. He must have skimmed quite a bit of fat from the Town Pacification Office over the years!

Middle-grade Treasure Weapons were worth roughly from over ten to over thirty Origin Crystals. The Pitch-Black Longsword on Xing Rongzi and Gu Wu's Cold Iron Spear both fell within the middle-grade category.

Xing Rongzi was at the Profound Light Middle Stage, while Gu Wu was a rising genius deeply valued by the Heavenly Luo Sect. Naturally, the weapons on their persons were no poor things.

It was worth mentioning that the Azure Rainbow Sword Chen Ping'an had obtained from Fang Qixian was also a middle-grade Treasure Weapon.

Although Fang Qixian's cultivation was ordinary, as a Fang Family Clan Elder, his wealth far surpassed that of ordinary Profound Light Realm experts.

As for upper-grade Treasure Weapons—Exquisite Treasure Weapons—their value was vastly greater than that of middle-grade Treasure Weapons. Even a forging master of exceptional skill could not guarantee success every time, even with meticulous preparation.

"By that calculation, I have the equivalent of sixty or seventy Origin Crystals in wealth!" Looking at the dark sword, Chen Ping'an made a rough calculation and worked out the extent of his assets.

"Not bad! Not bad!"

After examining the dark sword, Chen Ping'an's gaze fell upon a piece of turtle shell.

Well, to be precise, it was an object resembling turtle shell!

It was somewhat larger than an ordinary person's palm, its entire body dark gray, covered in densely inscribed writing.

Chen Ping'an picked up the turtle shell and carefully examined the words upon it.

"Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger!"

Chen Ping'an's expression filled with delight, and his eyes lit up.

What was recorded on this piece of turtle shell was actually a finger technique!

Chen Ping'an could not help recalling the finger Xing Rongzi had struck out before his death!

That one finger had made his chest ache!

One had to know that with his current attainments in the Indestructible Body Divine Palace, even if ordinary weapons struck his body, he could remain utterly unfazed. Yet that moment, a single finger had made him bare his teeth in pain!

Chen Ping'an had thought that, aside from swordsmanship, Xing Rongzi had cultivated his finger technique to an extremely profound level!

But now, looking at the writing on the turtle shell, Chen Ping'an discovered that was not the case at all!

This turtle shell recorded a divine art—a genuine divine art!

Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger!

"It's actually a divine art!"

This gain left Chen Ping'an overjoyed beyond measure.

He had worn out iron shoes searching everywhere, only to find it without the slightest effort!

These past days, he had made no small effort to inquire about divine arts. Perhaps because of his own standing, his inquiries had yielded no valuable information.

If he failed to uncover any clues regarding divine arts later on, Chen Ping'an had even considered taking on an alternate identity, traveling to Azure Dragon Province City, and using the authority token left behind by the Old Man of the Mountains to attend a Trading Convention organized by the Wishful Treasure Pavilion.

The Trading Convention was of a sufficiently high level that he should be able to trade for a divine art. At the very least, there would be clues concerning divine arts.

Chen Ping'an had already prepared himself to expend great effort and painstaking toil in exchange for a divine art.

But who would have thought—

A divine skill would be placed before him so tangibly.

Chen Ping'an felt a bit stirred.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Ping'an calmed himself slightly.

The appearance of this finger technique also made Chen Ping'an understand why Xing Rongzi's finger strike had hurt him so badly.

Chen Ping'an read through the records of the Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger and roughly grasped Xing Rongzi's attainments in the technique.

"Only just at the entry level! It truly deserves to be called a divine skill. Even merely reaching the entry level gives it such power! If I hadn't cultivated the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill, that finger strike of his might really have injured me!"

The entry-level Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger already possessed such might. If its mastery were any greater, it might truly have pierced into his body.

The Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger was specially made to break hard-body arts!

After learning all this, Chen Ping'an's heart burned with excitement.

Still, there was one flaw in the jade: this Turtle Shell bore the divine skill, but it was not the original record of it—it was merely a rubbing. It contained none of the artistic conception or insights of the divine skill.

This meant that using this to cultivate the divine skill would be incredibly difficult! Even someone with extraordinary martial talent would likely need to pour in countless efforts before having even a chance of reaching the entry level.

Just like Xing Rongzi, who had repeatedly chewed over and studied it, expending immeasurable effort before barely cultivating the Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger to the entry level.

Without the corresponding divine-skill artistic conception, the Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger left Chen Ping'an feeling slightly regretful.

But after only a brief moment, Chen Ping'an smiled and shook his head.

"Obtaining a divine skill is already a stroke of fortune. How can I ask for more?"

"It doesn't matter if there is no divine-skill artistic conception. I have the Golden Finger Panel. If I cultivate diligently, I should be able to reap something different!"

Besides the Turtle Shell, he had also obtained several bottles of medicinal pills from Xing Rongzi. Chen Ping'an gave them a simple inspection, then tucked all of them into his robes.

Then his gaze sharpened slightly, and information from a panel appeared in the empty space before him—visible to him alone.

The panel displayed all the cultivation methods for the Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger. During his earlier examination, he had already entered this divine skill into the Golden Finger Panel.

Cultivating the Three Points of Human Tribulation Finger involved an immense number of aspects: the routes for circulating the Cosmic Orbit, the minute changes in True Qi's flow, the application of one's perception of vital energy, and more. Its cultivation was exceedingly complex.

Chen Ping'an did not dare be careless and began studying it with complete focus.