The Shrinking Little Treasury (Final): His Heart Bleeds

"Qiuyue, have people move the things. From the floors above ground, as well as the first basement level—gold, silver, treasures, weapons, precious medicines, miraculous pills, all kinds of materials—move half of every resource. As for cultivation techniques and martial arts, copy a set of each and take it as well.

"For every type of item that is one of a kind, move it all and send it to Zhu Wushi and the others' courtyard."

"Haitang, have people come here later and take half of the Seven Treasures Great Pills, Spirit Refining Pills, heavenly treasures, spirit medicines, and all kinds of materials.

"Take three Thunder Refined Crystals as well, along with two Blood Jade Spirit Ginseng roots. Take that Demon Eye Fruit and unique items like Jade Heart Essence too. Count them as funding for Dragon Guard Manor."

After saying that, Chu Xuanao's expression remained calm, but his heart was already bleeding. More than half of the fortune he had amassed over a dozen years had just gone up in smoke.

But for Dragon Guard Manor, he would go all in. As long as Dragon Guard Manor could develop, he would not be losing out.

The value of covert agents and intelligence was immeasurable.

Hearing this, Haitang was overjoyed. Dragon Guard Manor's expansion and recruitment of manpower would naturally not be easy. Over these past days, she and the Divine Marquis had worried themselves sick over what was needed.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

With His Highness's full support, even Ascension Realm experts would be tempted by these things. And when temptation struck, action followed—why fear that they could not win those people over?

"Oh, right. Don't take those Famous Weapons. Quite a few people know they are in my possession, and they could easily expose a flaw.

"You can take the Nine Clan Ball. There is only one bottle of Night Moon Dew, so there's no need to leave half behind. Take it all."

Qiuyue had gone to prepare manpower. Just as Chu Xuanao was about to head upstairs, he recalled this and instructed the still-excited Haitang.

Quite a few people knew that those Famous Weapons were with him, Chu Xuanao. Taking them out would make it easy to be discovered.

Better not to take them.

As for why the Nine Clan Ball could be taken, that thing was actually called an Explosive Pill. His Imperial Father had given it to him for self-defense, and it could be considered a one-use Famous Weapon.

It looked like a small ball covered in patches of purplish-red paint, about the size of an apple. It appeared utterly unremarkable, ordinary.

As for why it was called the Nine Clan Ball, there was a reason for that.

Once that thing was thrown out, everything within several hundred meters would be blasted to pieces. Would you believe that one ball could create an artificial lake?

It could be said that once one went off, nothing beneath the Heaven Realm should survive. Perhaps a few Peak Ascension Realm experts with deep cultivation might live!

But their fate would be either crippling injury or mutilation. They would not be far from death.

Well, he had never tested it himself, so he was not quite sure just how powerful it was. Still, he had heard that the few used before had possessed quite considerable power.

He wondered whether his Imperial Father had given him this for self-defense or with some other intention.

With something like this for protection, it was certainly excellent. At the very least, it was good for scaring people when taken out; its power was quite intimidating.

But if it were actually used, could Chu Xuanao escape?

Without exaggeration, if it exploded here, Ghost Servant probably would not be able to protect him. He might not even be able to save himself.

This item had appeared in the Martial World before, but it was extraordinarily valuable, and its materials were far too expensive. After its creator died, the method of making it vanished into the yellow earth and was never passed down.

It was not as though no one had tried to imitate or recreate it, but the results had been far from ideal. A few of the better imitations could at most threaten ordinary Ascension Realm experts, yet they could not kill them. Their power was also vastly inferior to the Explosive Pill.

This item was now extremely precious. Even his Imperial Father had given him only one.

It was said that making this thing cost a fortune and required quite a few Thunder Refined Crystals. Well, that was only hearsay.

Thunder Refined Crystals were formed when the thunder of heaven and earth poured down and tempered crystal ore. Lightning had to strike a crystal mine, and only after the passage of time and the cleansing of spiritual energy could a mutation possibly occur, producing a Thunder Refined Crystal.

Only then did Haitang come back to her senses upon hearing her prince's words, unable to hide the smile on her face.

"Rest assured, Your Highness. I understand."

After saying that, Chu Xuanao hurriedly led his people out. He could not stay any longer—the longer he remained, the more reluctant he would be to part with it.

In the courtyard, Chu Xuanao sat blankly in the pavilion, looking at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion before him as guards carried box after box of items out. His heart stirred with no small amount of emotion.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

Though he knew full well that these things were meant for Dragon Guard Manor's development.

To develop, to succeed—without spending blood, where would blood-earned profits come from?

But he had accumulated this fortune over so many years. Before this, he had come to look over these things once every month.

Taking nearly two-thirds in one go had truly cut into his flesh.

Gold and silver alone—ordinary yellow and white metals—were worth more than a million taels of silver.

And then there were the Thunder Refined Crystals, Purple Blood Fine Copper, Jade Heart Essence, Seven Treasures Great Pills, Spirit Refining Pills, Night Moon Dew, those rare precious materials, and top-tier pills. Taking so much at once was no longer merely cutting flesh—it was practically carving out his heart.

What pained Chu Xuanao most was still that Demon Eye Fruit.

The Demon Eye Fruit was formed through the sacrifice of countless Exotic Beasts' blood essence and demon souls, its essence condensed over long years. It could improve one's cultivation and strengthen the body.

Most importantly, every Demon Eye Fruit contained a divine ability. After consuming it, one could awaken a divine ability independent of cultivation techniques and martial skills.

It was somewhat like an innate divine ability, just like his aunt Chu Shenghuang. The Phoenix Divine Mark on her back had granted her a divine ability uniquely hers from birth.

Before the system arrived, Chu Xuanao had intended to keep this Demon Eye Fruit for himself.

Now that he had the system, he believed he would draw better things in the future. He had originally planned to give this Demon Eye Fruit to his younger sister, but after thinking it over, he still took it out.

The Marrow Cleansing Flower was simply too hard to find. Otherwise, would he have waited until now instead of eating it himself long ago?

If one consumed the Demon Eye Fruit alone, one would later be eroded by the demon qi and demon blood within it, turning into a monster neither human nor demon.

In short, a Human-Demon.

So when refining the Demon Eye Fruit, one had to take a Marrow Cleansing Flower to wash away the inhuman power within it.

It had been more than two years since he obtained the Demon Eye Fruit, yet Chu Xuanao had not received the slightest news of a Marrow Cleansing Flower.

It was not as though there had been no news at all. Chu Xuanao had previously asked his Imperial Father about it. Of the several Marrow Cleansing Flowers stored by the imperial clan, two had been used by his second sister, one by his third brother, and others by his Crown Prince elder brother and the rest of the imperial clan's talented juniors.

At present, there was none for him.

The rest were still seedlings, not yet mature enough to have any medicinal effect.

Chu Xuanao had spent the past two years searching as well. The Bai Family had once obtained a Marrow Cleansing Flower, but it had already been used on a junior of their clan.

Finding a Marrow Cleansing Flower really was no easy task. It had an exceptional effect in cleansing a martial artist's body and laying a solid foundation, while its growing conditions were harsh and it was exceedingly rare.

Even if others had one, they would mostly use it on their own juniors. Virtually no one would put one up for sale. It was something with a price but no market.

Thus, Chu Xuanao's Demon Eye Fruit had truly been left sitting there. He did not want to become a Human-Demon, nor could he let his younger sister become one, or his consort mother would kill him.

So in the end, he decided to take out that Demon Eye Fruit. He could compensate his younger sister with something better in the future.

A treasure like this could not be better suited for winning people over. Plenty of people would be willing to risk their lives for it.

As the saying went, the hearts of parents everywhere were pitiable. Who did not hope their children would have a better future?

Who would not want the talented juniors of their family to become stronger? He did not expect to win over an entire faction with a single item, but at least his sincerity was sufficient. As for everything else, Chu Xuanao was not worried.

He had the qualifications.

The same old saying: if you wanted others to risk their lives for you, you needed personal ability, strength, influence, and wealth.

You had to let them know how formidable you were. It was both deterrence and the confidence you gave them, allowing them to act boldly.

And others' efforts had to be rewarded sufficiently. Otherwise, why would they work so hard for you?

By drawing them a pie in the sky? That would never hold people's hearts.

You also needed personal ability, so people could look forward to the future. If they could see the end at a glance, if the outcome was decided from the very beginning, how could you make them keep going?

Only in this way could one hold people's hearts. Chu Xuanao had never believed he possessed the charisma to raise an arm in a call and have countless people willingly die for him.

Only profit was the eternal topic of this world!