Xiao Yu set the paper down and began searching for anything else. On the index finger of the skeleton's right hand, he found a ring.
"A Storage Ring?!"
The ring looked plain and unremarkable, worn with age, but how could it escape Xiao Yu's discerning eye?
He released Returning-to-Truth Lightning, stripping away the accumulated grime of the years and revealing the ring's original appearance.
It was engraved with unusual patterns, and under the stimulation of Returning-to-Truth Lightning, waves of spatial fluctuations radiated from it.
"It's definitely a Storage Ring, and from the looks of it, no ordinary one, either."
He carefully removed it and channeled his dou qi, intending to see exactly what was inside.
His soul power reached into it, and everything within appeared in his mind.
"Holy shit!"
Even with Xiao Yu's steady temperament, he could not help crying out.
The space inside was enormous, with a dazzling array of items divided into several sections.
There were six sections in total: one for cultivation techniques, one for Dou Techniques, one for pills, one for medicinal ingredients, one for pill formulas, and one for miscellaneous items.
Faced with so many things, Xiao Yu's breathing grew heavier.
"A Profound Tier Low Grade cultivation technique..."
"A Profound Tier Mid Grade cultivation technique..."
"?!"
"An Earth Tier Mid Grade cultivation technique?"
"So many Profound-tier Dou Techniques. This one... an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique?"
Although Xiao Yu had no need for Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, the sight of so many fairly high-ranking ones still drew murmurs of astonishment from him.
By his rough count, there were over twenty Profound-tier cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques alone, along with an Earth Tier Low Grade cultivation technique, an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, and an Earth Tier Mid Grade cultivation technique.
Even a colossus of the Jia Ma Empire like the Misty Cloud Sect probably could not match such reserves. At any rate, he had never seen the Misty Cloud Sect possess Earth-tier cultivation techniques or Dou Techniques in the original novel.
Among the Profound-tier Dou Techniques was one Xiao Yu knew fairly well: the Profound-tier High-grade Dou Technique-the Great Wind Hand Seal!
"It looks like this senior really did have some connection to the Misty Cloud Sect."
If there had been no connection, why would Fei Huang's Storage Ring contain the Misty Cloud Sect's Dou Technique, the Great Wind Hand Seal?
Putting the cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques aside for the moment, Xiao Yu began examining the other sections.
Moving to the pill section, he sent his soul power through the jade bottles to inspect the pills within.
"Qi Recovery Pills..."
"Blood Refining Pills..."
"Qi Gathering Powder..."
"Mystic Essence Pills..."
"Ah..."
After inspecting practically all the pills, Xiao Yu sighed.
Most had lost their medicinal potency over the long years. Even jade bottles designed to seal that potency inside could not withstand the erosion of so much time.
The medicinal ingredients in the neighboring section were in the same state. They crumbled at a touch, clearly nothing more than empty shells of their former selves.
But after a brief sigh, Xiao Yu stopped dwelling on it. Even if these pills had retained their potency, he would not have taken them.
The pills he refined with his Lightning-Fire Pill Refining Method were far superior to other pills in both efficacy and purity. Their pill poison was negligible, and they had no side effects. Only the loss of those medicinal ingredients was a pity.
He turned to the pill formula section. This was what Xiao Yu valued most, and he silently prayed that it would not disappoint him.
He began examining it.
At first, he found only low-grade pill formulas of the first and second grades, which held no appeal for him.
Looking farther down, Xiao Yu finally found something worthwhile.
"A third-grade pill formula, the Blood Refining Pill..."
"A fourth-grade pill formula, Qi Gathering Powder..."
"A third-grade pill formula, the Bone-Growing Pill..."
"A fourth-grade pill, the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill."
"The Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill..."
"The Green Spirit Blood-Building Pill..."
"A top fourth-grade pill formula, the Mystic Essence Pill..."
"A top fifth-grade pill formula, the Dou Ling Pill..."
"A top sixth-grade pill formula, the Emperor-grade Pill..."
"Huh? There's even a Transformation Pill formula?"
"This senior's collection really was extensive. He actually had this many seventh-grade pill formulas."
"Counting them all, there are over fifty pill formulas. Most are below the fourth grade, with ten fourth-grade formulas, seven fifth-grade formulas, five sixth-grade formulas, and three seventh-grade formulas. And all of them can be consulted repeatedly."
"Tsk, tsk. What a windfall."
These pill formulas left Xiao Yu clicking his tongue in amazement.
If others learned of such a collection, it would probably draw the covetous eyes of Dou Zong or even Dou Zun experts, bringing a fatal calamity down upon him.
After marveling for a while, Xiao Yu turned his attention to the miscellaneous section.
There was nothing particularly remarkable here, just clothing, weapons, and some everyday necessities.
Only a greatsword and a set of white robes were good enough to catch his eye.
The greatsword was nearly two meters long and over twenty centimeters wide, with unusual patterns engraved all over it. A magic core was set into its hilt, though he did not know what rank of magical beast it had come from.
Even after so many years, a sheen still flowed across the white robes. Their design was excellent, dignified yet refined, and suited Xiao Yu's taste perfectly. They had probably received some special enhancement.
"Phew..."
Withdrawing from the Storage Ring, Xiao Yu let out a soft breath. Its contents were the most valuable things he had seen since coming to this world.
They made him feel that he had truly been a country bumpkin before, with far too narrow a view of things.
Taking the Storage Ring, he slipped it onto his own right index finger, then bowed to the skeleton on the stone platform.
"Senior, I accidentally intruded upon your final resting place today and disturbed you. Please accept this junior's apology."
"The contents of your Storage Ring are far too tempting, so this junior will shamelessly accept them. Thank you, Senior."
After finishing his bow, Xiao Yu bowed again. Then he gently lifted the skeleton with his dou qi, moved it aside, and protected it before channeling lightning attribute dou qi to blast apart the stone platform.
"Boom!"
Stone shattered with a crash as Xiao Yu leveled the platform, leaving a deep pit beneath it.
He was not trying to see whether anything else lay beneath the platform. Finding that Storage Ring had already left him more than satisfied.
Using fire attribute dou qi to smooth away the sharp edges inside the pit, Xiao Yu placed the skeleton within. Then he piled the shattered stones over it, piece by piece, reinforcing them with fire attribute dou qi until they formed a mound.
Next, he cut a stone tablet from the wall, engraved it with the words "Tomb of Medicine Sect Fei Huang," and set it before the mound.
A simple grave was complete.
Clasping his hands, he bowed once more to the gravestone. "Senior, there is little this junior can do. All I can offer is to lay you to rest in the earth and build you a proper grave. I hope you will not take offense."
"Rest in peace, Senior..."
Once everything was settled, Xiao Yu took out the white robes and changed out of his tattered clothes.
Already extraordinarily handsome, Xiao Yu looked instantly transformed in those robes. He was even more striking than before, with a gentler, more refined air.
Perhaps his brush with life and death had played a part as well. In any case, the impression he gave now was different from before.
Stepping out onto the ledge, Xiao Yu used his dou qi to destroy the cave entrance.
A massive stone blocked the opening, and Xiao Yu smoothed away the remaining traces until it looked as though no entrance had ever existed.
He had already taken the best things inside, leaving nothing for anyone who might come later. Since that was the case, it was better to erase all traces of the cave dwelling.
One reason was that he did not want anyone else disturbing Senior Fei Huang.
The second was this: if someone really came and found nothing inside except a grave, what would they do?
At best, they might dig up the grave. At worst, they might destroy Senior Fei Huang's remains.
He could not guarantee that whoever came would act as he had. A person's heart was hidden behind their ribs; heaven only knew what sort of person might come here next.
Having received such a great kindness from Senior Fei Huang, Xiao Yu naturally did not want him denied peace even after death, with his remains left unprotected.
He glanced upward. The ledge was still some distance from the top of the cliff, but with Xiao Yu's current strength, getting up would not be difficult.
"Rumble!"
Then he stamped his left foot down. Overwhelming force traveled through his foot into the ledge beneath him, and with a tremendous crash, it collapsed into the fathomless abyss.
Using the force of that stomp, Xiao Yu shot upward. Then he hooked his hands like claws, sinking them deep into the rock face as he bounded upward bit by bit.
Reaching the top of the cliff, Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He looked down into the bottomless depths and lingered for a while before leaving.
This chapter has been slightly revised. A reader previously pointed out that this part was unreasonable, so I changed it.
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