Living Off One's Reserves
The passageway was pitch black.
Liang Qu lit up his Golden Eye and saw an oil lamp hanging on the wall.
He took the tinderbox from Ke Wenbin, unscrewed the cap, and blew out the sparks.
Sparks landed on the oil surface and ignited.
Ke Wenbin watched Liang Qu move freely and without hindrance in the darkness, marveling at his movements.
"Just how many Dharma Gate have you practiced? How come you seem to know everything?"
The darkness, the houses, Earthly Dao all weakened the light, making it difficult even for him to see clearly.
Adding to the previous Evil-Warding Method and that strange hearing ability, none of these kinds of Cultivation Method are easy to learn.
The focus was entirely on Liang Qu, who was not yet of age; he wouldn't have been so surprised if it were a middle-aged person.
"I am exceptionally gifted."
"That's true."
Ke Wenbin stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He didn't take that as a joke; he genuinely felt it.
"Don't stand there, it's getting light early now, we need to get back before it gets dark."
Xiang Fangsu handed over a torch.
Liang Qu also took one.
The corner after entering the passage was full of torches with strips of cloth wrapped around their heads, obviously left by the Ghost Mother Sect for their own use, which made things convenient for them.
The firelight flickered, and the blue bricks reflected a clear white light.
Xiang Fangsu walked at the front, Ke Wenbin brought up the rear, and Liang Qu walked in the middle.
The passageway is not wide; you can reach out and touch the top. The terrain slopes downwards, and you can occasionally see one or two steps, which means they are going deeper and deeper into the ground.
Liang Qu silently estimated the distance, and after walking about five hundred steps, the firelight illuminated a dark cave entrance.
Ke Wenbin crossed the Liang Qu and stood with Xiang Fangsu on either side of the passage.
They exchanged a glance and rushed out at the same time.
"No problem."
Two voices came from the darkness, and Liang Qu then came out.
He looked around. At the end of the passageway was a huge space, where the torchlight could only illuminate the blue bricks under his feet.
A half-step protrudes from the wall, leading to an oil trough. Liang Qu lowers the torch and ignites the cotton rope soaked in oil.
Flames spread along the oil duct, the Golden Bright Oil burned fiercely, and a flood of light burst forth, illuminating the empty, dark hall.
The first thing that catches the eye is a Pill Cauldron that is at least ten feet tall.
The cauldron is square and round, entirely black, with a tightly closed lid. Nine Black Dragon are carved all over the body, together holding a round pearl at the top.
The Black Dragon was incredibly lifelike; if you weren't staring at it intently, you might even think it was alive! "The Black Dragon Myriad Square Cauldron!"
Xiang Fangsu looked up, her eyes filled with amazement.
"I've only ever seen artists' catalogs in the academy before, I never thought I'd see the real thing today." Ke Wenbin couldn't resist touching it, but as soon as he did, his expression changed slightly, and his eyes revealed disbelief. "There's dust on it?"
He raised his hand in surprise, rubbed the black ash on his fingertips, and wondered if he was hallucinating.
He then grabbed his sleeve and wiped the cauldron, revealing a large, conspicuous black spot that seemed to pierce through Ke Wenbin's childhood dream.
Xiang Fangsu wiped it as well, leaving behind a black spot as well.
"The Ghost Mother Sect has no Alchemist worthy of it, so it has been abandoned."
It's not just dilapidated, there isn't even a single servant to come and clean it!
Liang Qu had never attended a clan school, but he could guess that the Great Cauldron in front of him was some kind of heirloom.
He stepped over the black cauldron, and further away were several other Great Cauldron, each with a different shape.
On the other side of the Cauldron of the Water Marsh were the tools for refining weapons.
The square hammer adorned with mysterious patterns and the Furnace several meters high, though neglected for decades, still possess a breathtaking beauty.
Any item inside the main hall that were to fall into the outside world would likely be pursued by Alchemist and blacksmiths with a frenzy.
However, they have now been buried on a deserted island for decades, following the Ghost Mother Sect.
It is easy to imagine the decline of the Ghost Mother Sect in recent years.
The "large shipment" that Xu Yuelong mentioned should refer to these items.
"The Ghost Mother Sect we are fighting is probably not the same as the one that Duke Xu fought back then."
"The balance of power has shifted. The Ghost Mother Sect has lost half to us and half to time."
Liang Qu suddenly asked, "How many branches of the Ghost Mother Sect have fled to the Great Marsh Swamp?"
"The research shows that there are eighteen branches," Xiang Fangsu replied. "The branch we're fighting was also of the Duke generation back then, and their surname is Huang, so many of the direct descendants here have the surname Huang."
"There are seventeen more like this?"
Liang Qu was astonished. If one branch alone possessed such immense wealth, imagine the combined wealth of all eighteen branches...
"Wrong!" Ke Wenbin shook his head. "There are only nine branches like this. Of the remaining eight, five are vassal kings, two are princes, and one is from the main family! They are far stronger than the branch we eliminated. Perhaps even Martial Saint would have to come in person."
However, things are different now than before. In the past, the Ghost Mother Sect was united as one, but more than sixty years have passed, so it's hard to say.
Who knows, the credit for completely eradicating the Ghost Mother Sect might fall on us, and then my father might get a promotion.
After a moment of amazement, the three continued walking along the passageway behind the main hall.
Upon arriving at the second main hall, the atmosphere suddenly became bizarre.
Several corpses leaned against the corner, their faces mottled with grayish-yellow, their muscles and skin shrunken and clung to their bones, even their eyeballs were dehydrated and empty, their gazes cast into the infinite darkness.
The most striking feature was the corpse's open ribs, resembling two rickety doors.
Liang Qu was very familiar with this.
Mountain Ghost.
After being consumed by the Mountain Ghost, it appears as it does now.
To the left of the main hall, there is a stone door. Pushing open the stone door, you will find corpses lying haphazardly inside.
There were countless Liang Qu, perhaps dozens or even hundreds. Dried bloodstains were splattered on the brick and stone ground, giving no one the slightest desire to go inside and explore.
The three of them quickly browsed through the exhibits and arrived at the third main hall, where the contents were quite invigorating.
Longsword, broadsword, armor, Arm Guard, long robe...
Liang Qu unleashed his senses and discovered that nearly half of the items inside were Spirit Artifact! Ke Wenbin bypassed the two men and rushed to a garment.
"Phoenix Cry Rainbow Feather Wind! Holy crap, these are some of the last treasures from Master Shao Jiyi Jiyi's life! They're fucking beautiful, even more beautiful than the paintings!"
Ke Wenbin loved it so much that he reached out and took it down.
Xiang Fangsu was surprised. "Two items for one person, you're not going to take this? To give to your fiancée? Have you thought it through?"
Ke Wenbin became conflicted upon hearing this.
"Take my advice, wait and see before you decide. If there's nothing suitable, then come back for it."
Ke Wenbin was persuaded and put down the clothes he was holding.
Love makes people blind.
Liang Qu sighed.
The group entered the fourth room, pushed open the door, and a faint, exotic fragrance wafted in. There were rows of cabinets and shelves filled with small medicine bottles.
Treasure Plant, precious pills! The most valuable things!
Weapons and armor may be good, but they are ultimately external things. The essence of everything lies in strength!
The three of them each ran towards a shipping container.
One of the Liang Qu was removed, and it was completely empty.
He was taken aback, thinking it was a coincidence, but when he opened another one, it was still empty!
Liang Qu quickly pulled aside the few people next to him.
Empty.
Empty.
It's all empty!
He turned to look at Xiang Fangsu and Ke Wenbin, and the three of them met in mid-air at the same time.
"Why are they all empty?"
"It's been used up?"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then their expressions twisted as they thought of the ashes-covered Cauldron of the Water Marsh.
If there's only outflow and no inflow, isn't it just empty?
There's still plenty of metal left over from weapons, since Spirit Artifact can regenerate and grow on their own, consuming far less than medicine.
Treasure Plant and Bao Dan are completely squandering their wealth! They can't even feed themselves, let alone leave anything for their successors.
Liang Qu and his men were not giving up. They searched high and low, but in the end they only found two cabinets with items inside.