Taking Stock of the Haul (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Chapter 29: Taking Stock of the Haul (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Inside a small courtyard, Ye Jingcheng opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and put away the Jade Slip containing his notes and summary.

Naturally, he needed to deeply reflect upon and summarize this battle with another cultivator.

For instance, Crimson Flame Fox was linked to his heart and mind, so why had it been trapped by that bell Dharma Artifact so quickly?

And why, when he clearly did not excel at close combat, had he cast that Spirit Shield? What help had that tiny increase in casting distance been?

Secondly, could Crimson Flame Fox's triple Fireball Spell and his Ironwood Plate coordinate as seamlessly as Lizard Elder and his Third Uncle, Ye Xingliu?

When he counted carefully, the experience and intricacies of battling were no simpler than a pill formula.

One had to know that this time, he had only faced a Rogue Cultivator, with elders watching over the battle. If he did not improve, then when he went out alone in the future and encountered vicious family cultivators harboring ill intent, how would he deal with them? Ye Jingcheng also prepared to make some adjustments to his upcoming cultivation.

He could not stop refining pills, at least not until he had refined the pill formula from that Ancient Book. Furthermore, nighttime cultivation was also indispensable.

But he had to carve out time to improve his coordination with Crimson Flame Fox. At the very least, when they attacked together, the enemy cultivator had to be hit by one of them—or be forced to withstand both attacks head-on! With his mind made up, he finally let out a relieved breath.

Next, brimming with joy, he began examining the gains from this trip. A palm-sized Storage Bag fell into his hand.

This Storage Bag was about the same size as his own. Since its owner was already dead, he only needed to leave a simple spiritual imprint on it with his divine sense to open it directly.

As spiritual light flashed, Ye Jingcheng quickly took out everything within the Storage Bag.

There was not much, only barely enough to fill the stone table.

The most conspicuous items were over fifty Spirit Stones. Besides those, there were three Spirit Talismans. Two were First-Order Grade-Middle Water Shield Talismans, while the last was a Ground Spike Talisman.

There were also some bottles and jars left over, but when Ye Jingcheng opened them, disappointment immediately washed over him. They were all ordinary pills, or inferior spirit pills of the sort sold from marketplace stalls. Even the Grain Avoidance Pills seemed like low-grade products to him.

He shook his head. As expected of a Rogue Cultivator.

After putting away all the Spirit Stones and Spirit Talismans, he began inspecting the three Dharma Artifacts he had acquired.

The one that interested him most was the bell Dharma Artifact. The large bell it transformed into was quite effective at trapping both people and Spirit Beasts. If he could use this Dharma Artifact in his next battle, he would be even better able to capitalize on the innate advantage of having many against one.

"For now, I'll call you the Heaven Trapping Bell!" Ye Jingcheng stroked the bell's patterns, feeling its antique-bronze texture, yet it carried the warm coolness of fine jade.

Besides the Heaven Trapping Bell, Ye Jingcheng took out nine Silver Snow Needles and spread them across the stone table. Every Silver Snow Needle was as thin as a strand of snow silk. Without divine sense, one might not even spot them with the naked eye.

That cultivator's use of the Silver Snow Needles had also left a deep impression on him. However, in his view, the Silver Snow Needles were better suited for sneak attacks. That Black Face Cultivator had lacked any other suitable offensive Dharma Artifacts and had no choice but to treat the Silver Snow Needles as his primary Dharma Artifact.

Otherwise, this encounter would have been even more perilous.

However, these Silver Snow Needles consumed an enormous amount of divine sense. He estimated that if he controlled an entire set of them, he would be unable to use any other Dharma Artifacts.

In contrast, controlling just one would be far easier.

Ye Jingcheng put away the Silver Snow Needles with immense satisfaction, then finally took out a scorched black-gold Ironwood Plate.

This Ironwood Plate was also a small shield Dharma Artifact, a First-Order Grade-Middle item. It had merely been blasted slightly out of shape, which showed that Crimson Flame Fox's Fireball Spell truly was no ordinary fireball.

This shield would have to be repaired by an Artifact Crafter.

Though it would not be worth much even after being repaired, it was still a considerable income for him.

Thus, he carefully put away the small shield Dharma Artifact as well.

Creak!

The breeze swayed the wooden window. He looked outside and saw that a fine drizzle had begun to fall again.

The fickleness of the spring equinox season, coupled with the hazy twilight among the mountains, seemed to unfurl a misty landscape painting.

The mountains' tender charm was displayed to the fullest at this moment.

As usual, Ye Jingcheng released both Crimson Flame Fox and Jade Ring Rat. He no longer had Spring Water with traces of spiritual energy, so he used ordinary mountain spring water from the Ye Family instead.

Along with two Spirit Feeding Pills and two Body Tempering Pills each, there were several jin of Spirit Beast Meat. Since he had gained quite a few additional Spirit Stones and several Dharma Artifacts, Ye Jingcheng had also prepared two Body Tempering Pills and a large chunk of Spirit Beast Meat for Jade Ring Rat this time.

Jade Ring Rat had never received such treatment before.

This time, Jade Ring Rat's pair of large ears had once again demonstrated their warning effect, allowing Ye Jingcheng to see its potential.

Crimson Flame Fox did not react much. Such quantities of spirit pills and Spirit Beast Meat had already become commonplace to it. Jade Ring Rat, on the other hand, held a trace of surprise in its bright eyes.

Clearly, it had not expected that it would receive Body Tempering Pills this time, along with two Spirit Feeding Pills and plenty of Spirit Beast Meat.

In the past, it generally received only one Spirit Feeding Pill and a small amount of Spirit Beast Meat.

"Eat. Keep being this sharp in the future!" Ye Jingcheng encouraged it.

The two beasts quickly swallowed the spirit pills and began gnawing on the Spirit Beast Meat!

After they had finished these spiritual foods, Ye Jingcheng infused both Spirit Beasts with some Treasure Light.

Crimson Flame Fox was more intelligent and favored Ye Jingcheng more. Its fur became even smoother, and its warm feel made him unable to resist giving it a few more rubs every time he stopped.

Under the Treasure Light, Jade Ring Rat squeaked excitedly, utterly thrilled.

In the past, Ye Jingcheng had used less Treasure Light on Jade Ring Rat in order to lower the guard of the others.

This time, he did not stint on the Treasure Light.

Perhaps because it felt so comfortable, Jade Ring Rat's pair of large jade-ring ears flapped rhythmically.

After feeding the Spirit Beasts, Ye Jingcheng climbed onto the Stone Bed and began cultivating.

He took out a pill bottle. Inside was an Azure Spirit Pill.

But after thinking of something, he put the pill away again.

He slowly immersed himself in cultivation.

Such days continued for a total of five days!

Just as Ye Jingcheng was still hesitating, beneath the misty evening rain, a streak of spiritual light appeared before his window.

The spiritual light had still been sent by Ye Xingliu.

This time, it was similarly urgent, though it did not say what the matter was. Yet Ye Jingcheng recalled the preparations Ye Xingyu had mentioned before leaving.

A faint anticipation rose in his heart.

So, he cast a small spell to make the family robe appear cleaner and fresher.

After taking a deep breath, he followed the spiritual light's guidance to the front of the Council Hall. Ye Xingliu was already waiting at the entrance, dressed in an exceptionally neat set of family attire.

"Family Head!" Ye Jingcheng hurriedly bowed.

"Jingcheng, come with me!" Ye Xingliu said nothing more and continued walking toward the mountainside. Ye Jingcheng felt slightly excited and hurriedly followed.

They soon reached a higher area of Lingyun Peak, where the mist was even thicker.

A Family Ancestral Shrine appeared in Ye Jingcheng's sight from afar.