Light-Clasping Mirror Sand, Inspecting the Treasury Ledger

Sky Treasury was where the Heaven-Gazing Sect stored and distributed all manner of spiritual treasures.

Most rewards were collected from this manor.

Like the Talent Selection Office, Sky Treasury also stood above the Cloud Sea, accessible only to cultivators at Qi Refining or above.

Fortunately, this no longer posed a challenge to Lu Xuan.

He transformed his Cloud Qi into light and, before long, came to a halt before a towering hall of golden bricks and jade tiles.

The Embryonic Breath Realm attendant busy within the hall immediately came out to greet him, calling respectfully:

"Greetings, Senior Brother!"

"May I ask what brings Senior Brother to Sky Treasury?"

Lu Xuan had already changed into the golden disc and jade talisman of an inner-sect disciple, so the hall attendant recognized his identity at once.

He was merely curious, for he seemed never to have seen Lu Xuan before.

"By sect rules, I have come to claim a spiritual treasure for Opening the Orifices."

Lu Xuan did not waste words. He went straight to the point and handed his jade talisman to the attendant.

The jade talisman contained his information, which could be used to collect spiritual treasures.

"Please wait a moment, Senior Brother. I will verify it."

The attendant respectfully accepted the jade talisman, led Lu Xuan into the hall, then took out the Sky Treasury Ledger and began checking it.

Before long, a smile appeared on the attendant's face. "So it is Senior Brother Lu, who succeeded in the Second Grand Rite. By sect rules, you are indeed to be granted a spiritual treasure that opens the Mind Root. Please wait a moment, Senior Brother. I will fetch it."

With that, he prepared to turn and enter the treasury vault.

Lu Xuan relaxed slightly and waited in the hall.

Not long afterward, the attendant returned carrying a jade bottle. "Senior Brother, the spiritual treasure is inside the bottle. Please verify that it is correct, then sign the ledger."

Lu Xuan nodded and accepted the jade bottle. Yet after only one glance, his brows drew together slightly.

On the bottle's seal were four pale-gold characters: "Light-Clasping Mirror Sand!"

Lu Xuan raised his head and asked the attendant, "What grade is this sand?"

The attendant did not dare conceal anything and answered respectfully, "This sand can clasp light and condense a spirit mirror. It is a lower-grade Character Jia spiritual treasure."

Lower-grade Character Jia!

During his nine years at Hibernation Academy, Lu Xuan had read countless Daoist scriptures. Although he did not know much about the rites of offering, verification, and fasting, he understood ordinary secrets and the grades of spiritual treasures.

The spiritual treasures of every realm were divided into five grades: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, while above Character Jia were innate divine treasures. Yet divine treasures could only be encountered by chance, not sought after, so they were generally not counted among the four grades.

Within the four grades, there were further upper, middle, and lower ranks. Upper grade was the finest, middle grade came next, and lower grade fell short by two measures.

Anything that could enter Character Jia was naturally extraordinary, but a lower-grade treasure was ultimately inferior to a middle-grade one.

The slightest difference might show no change at all in one's future cultivation—or it might prove crucial.

Remembering Lin Shanhai's words, Lu Xuan immediately asked, "According to sect rules and this term's stored treasures, I should receive a middle-grade Character Jia [Primordial Fire Sword Sand]. Why, then, is this [Light-Clasping Mirror Sand] being given instead?"

The attendant froze, hastily flipping through the ledger again and again. In the end, however, he could only answer, "Th-this... this humble clerk truly does not know. According to the ledger, among the currently available spiritual treasures, only this [Light-Clasping Mirror Sand] suits Senior Brother's Qi and conforms to the sect rules regarding a Character Jia reward."

"This humble clerk merely acts according to the ledger."

According to the ledger?

Lu Xuan pondered.

Inner-sect disciples receiving Character Jia spiritual treasures did indeed conform to sect rules. As for whether they received middle or lower grade, that depended on the treasures stored in a given term.

If the spiritual treasures of that term were of superior grade, middle-grade items could naturally be granted. If their grade was ordinary, then only lower-grade items would be available.

Had Lin Shanhai not mentioned the [Primordial Fire Sword Sand], Lu Xuan might have simply taken the [Light-Clasping Mirror Sand] and left. But with the [Primordial Fire Sword Sand] in mind, looking at this [Light-Clasping Mirror Sand] now left him unwilling to accept it.

As unwillingness rose in his heart, the character [Sharpness] on the Jade Disc in his mind began to sway once more.

The shadow of that character, which had become somewhat more solid after he chose the Sea-Calming Bureau, now showed signs of scattering again.

Lu Xuan lifted his head and stared at the attendant before him, his gaze blazing as he said each word distinctly:

"I request that the Sky Treasury steward inspect the Treasury Ledger!"

"What?"

The attendant was instantly startled.

He wanted a Foundation Establishment Realm steward to inspect the Treasury Ledger?!

"Please wait a moment, Adept. I will report this to the steward."

Just then, a middle-aged Daoist emerged from within Sky Treasury. He soothed Lu Xuan briefly, then hurried toward the rear hall.

Sky Treasury bore the name of a manor, so naturally it was not limited to a single hall.

At that moment, deep within the boundless Cloud Sea, two Foundation Establishment cultivators were playing chess in a quiet ancient hall.

One wore white robes, with handsome features and eyes like jade. The other wore black robes, with ordinary features and eyes deep as a pool.

One held white pieces and the other black, matching the colors of their robes.

"Junior Brother Xie, your attainments in the Way of chess have grown ever more profound. You contain heaven and earth, hide seas of stars, and lay out your game like a bank of mist!"

Seeing that the game had turned against him, the black-robed cultivator immediately tossed aside his chess piece and let out a long sigh.

"It is only a minor art. It cannot compare to Senior Brother's cultivation of the Great Dao. We have not met for several years, yet Senior Brother has already broken through to the third level of Foundation Establishment."

The white-robed cultivator also set down his piece and congratulated the man before him.

The black-robed cultivator smiled. "Junior Brother, do you know why I was able to break through?"

"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother!"

The white-robed cultivator's expression turned solemn as he assumed an attentive posture.

"In the East Sea, I slew a Flood Dragon."

"Senior Brother's divine might is astonishing—you actually slew a Flood Dragon!"

The white-robed cultivator was astonished and could not help clasping his hands.

"Before that Flood Dragon died, he asked me this: he had never harmed a disciple of our sect, nor had he ever devoured a cultivator. He had merely indulged his appetite and eaten a hundred or so mortals from the nearby islands. Why did I dare risk death to fight him to the end?"

"I gave him only four words in reply."

"Junior Brother, can you guess which four?"

The black-robed cultivator smiled faintly as he stared at the white-robed cultivator.

"Senior Brother's chivalry..."

The white-robed cultivator lowered his head slightly and answered blandly.

"Not so. Though this act was indeed chivalrous, I am not one who follows the path of chivalry. I did it because—Life-Valuing Principle of the immortal Dao."

"The immortal Dao values life, extending its grace to all things. As one of the chiefs of the Sea-Calming Bureau, I must naturally pacify the East Sea, bring peace to the universe, and allow all living things to live."

"With that wicked Flood Dragon present, all living beings lived and died for no reason, unable to truly live. Naturally, I had to eliminate him."

"After slaying that dragon, added to my previous two tribulations, my true scripture was finally completed and my thoughts became clear. Thus I broke through to the third realm, my Dao foundation reached perfection, and my form became naturally complete."

The black-robed cultivator's voice was clear and resonant. Clear Qi surfaced around him, like a sea of clouds.

"I greatly admire Senior Brother's act of extending grace to all things. It is only... the immortal Dao values life, and first and foremost it values one's own life. Senior Brother should also act within your means."

The white-robed cultivator's expression remained calm, seemingly unmoved.

Just then, a streak of light flew in from outside the hall and landed in the white-robed cultivator's hand.

The white-robed cultivator received the light. Sweeping it with his spiritual sense, he frowned slightly and looked at the man before him. "So Senior Brother came prepared today. Have you come to hold me accountable by borrowing the momentum of your breakthrough?"

The black-robed cultivator was somewhat surprised as well, but his expression did not show it. He merely asked, "What crime has Junior Brother committed?"

"A mere Qi Refining cultivator actually wants me to inspect the Treasury Ledger?"

"Does he think I have embezzled the spiritual materials in this manor?"

The black-robed cultivator beckoned, and the Flowing-Light Flying Talisman fell into his hand. After scanning it with his spiritual sense, he immediately understood the entire matter and asked the white-robed cultivator:

"Junior Brother, where is the [Primordial Fire Sword Sand] now?"

"I have already taken it."

The white-robed cultivator answered frankly.