Discounting the days he had spent asleep, this trip into the Grotto-Heaven had not actually lasted very long, but it could be called his most perilous venture yet.
Unlike last time, he had slipped in secretly, and Purple Mansion cultivators were everywhere within the Grotto-Heaven. Jiang Yang's movements had thus been restricted, and his gains had fallen short of those from his previous visit.
The greatest benefit had been the nourishment of the Clear-Heaven Spring. Beyond that, his gains had been scant.
Fine rays of light shone, illuminating the dark chamber.
Jiang Yang lowered his head. Although a dazzling array lay before him, the only truly valuable things among them were a gourd, a jade bottle, and two golden scrolls. The rest were odds and ends he had picked up along the way, mostly of little value.
There were metals, stones, lead, and mercury pried from medicine cases, meditation cushions and lamps from the Mysterious Temple, and unusual spirit flowers and herbs he had never seen before. Precious or cheap, he had taken most of them simply to marvel at something new. This had always been a little habit of his.
His gaze swept over these odds and ends, and Jiang Yang first picked up the gourd to examine it.
He had taken this gourd from an offering altar. Narrow above and round below, it was no larger than his palm, dark yellow all over, with a fine-grained surface. A single red cord was tied around its slender waist, and its design was simple and antique.
There was an opening at the top. He tried pulling out the stopper, but it would not budge, so he left it alone.
It weighed heavily in his hand. Jiang Yang toyed with it for a while, rather reluctant to put it down.
One