Three days later, the three gathered.
Lu Zhiyuan took out a silencing talisman and activated it with Law Power, preventing their discussion from reaching the outside.
Still worried it might not be enough, he took out another talisman bearing the Golden Light Incantation.
Seeing this, Chen Shuangbai sighed softly. "Senior Brother Lu truly deserves to be called cautious."
Lu Zhiyuan did not argue. He merely chuckled.
The two talismans ensured that word would not get out and no one would come in and disturb them.
Only then did Jiang Xunzhen take the spoils of their journey out of his Storage Bag, one by one.
Their haul had been considerable.
Besides the various books and curios they had obtained and the pills that had lost most of their medicinal potency, there were three Law Treasures, a volume on alchemy, and a volume of cultivation notes.
After a moment's thought, Chen Shuangbai also took a seed out of his Storage Bag. It had lost most of its spiritual vitality, and he did not know what kind of Spirit Plant it belonged to. He was about to add it to the pile.
But Jiang Xunzhen spoke up.
"There's no need to put that spirit seed in. You can keep it yourself, Junior Brother."
Chen Shuangbai's hand paused. "Senior Brother Jiang, this..."
Lu Zhiyuan added, "We both looked at that spirit seed before. Most of its vitality has faded, so it's worth next to nothing, unless you spend a great deal of Merit Points to find a Spirit Plant cultivator to nurture it. But that would take both time and Merit Points."
"You might as well keep it to play with, Junior Brother. Neither of us has any objection."
Hearing this, Chen Shuangbai studied the two of them carefully.
Both were smiling, and their tones were relaxed.
He understood, more or less. Cupping his hands to them, he said, "Then I thank you both for your kindness, Senior Brothers."
On this trip to the cave abode,
these two senior brothers had maintained their dignity as senior brothers, both during and after the exploration, and had taken considerable care of him, their junior brother. It truly filled Chen Shuangbai's heart with warmth.
Next came the division of the remaining items.
Jiang Xunzhen first pointed to the old books and curios. "I've looked through these and made three copies of each. We'll have Junior Brother Lu hand them over to the Scripture Transmission Hall, and we'll divide the Merit Points equally."
The Jade Spring Sect's Scripture Transmission Hall strongly encouraged disciples to hand over books and curios it had never seen before.
In return, they would receive a certain amount of Merit Points as a reward.
Lu Zhiyuan nodded slightly to show that he understood.
Jiang Xunzhen then handed two of the three copying Jade Slips to Lu Zhiyuan and Chen Shuangbai.
Next were the three Law Treasures.
The Listening to the Waves Sword, the Life-Accepting Gourd, and the Whirling Waves Shield.
"Of these three Law Treasures, the Listening to the Waves Sword and the Whirling Waves Shield are both low-grade Spirit Artifacts, while the Life-Accepting Gourd is a high-grade Law Artifact. Based on our contributions during the trip, we should..."
At that moment, Chen Shuangbai suddenly interrupted him.
"Senior Brother Jiang, I'll take the Life-Accepting Gourd. You and Senior Brother Lu can have the Listening to the Waves Sword and the Whirling Waves Shield."
Before either of them could say anything else, Chen Shuangbai explained further.
"I already have a flying sword, and shield-type Law Treasures don't suit me. Besides, you two made the greatest contributions in the fighting. I only helped out a little, so my contribution can't compare to yours."
"Please don't refuse, Senior Brother. Let's leave it at that."
Jiang Xunzhen and Lu Zhiyuan had wanted to say more, but since Chen Shuangbai had put it that way, they naturally went along with him.
"In that case... Junior Brother Lu?"
Jiang Xunzhen looked at Lu Zhiyuan, who nodded slightly and picked up the Whirling Waves Shield. "I have water and earth dual-element aptitude, with earth as my main element and water as my secondary. I'll take the Whirling Waves Shield, then. Hope you don't mind, Senior Brother."
Jiang Xunzhen shook his head to show he did not mind.
The Listening to the Waves Sword thus fell into his hands.
The Life-Accepting Gourd went to Chen Shuangbai without a hitch.
Next came the Listening to the Waves Notes and the Green Wood Pill Explanation.
These two items were relatively easy to divide as well.
Jiang Xunzhen took out blank copying Jade Slips again and made three copies of each, one for each of them. The originals would also be handed over to the Scripture Transmission Hall.
"Unlike the books and curios, these two contain a Foundation Establishment cultivator's insights into cultivation and alchemy. Handing them over to the sect will earn us a substantial reward in Merit Points. Once I receive it, I'll divide it into three shares and give the two of you yours. How does that sound?" Jiang Xunzhen proposed.
This was already the best way to handle it, so Chen Shuangbai and Lu Zhiyuan naturally had no objections.
In truth, this was already a case of eating twice from the same dish.
Though they received copies, the insights recorded within were exactly the same.
The Listening to the Waves Notes were one thing. They contained a Foundation Establishment cultivator's insights into cultivation, which would greatly benefit the three cultivators before them, none of whom had yet reached Foundation Establishment.
As for the Green Wood Pill Explanation...
Jiang Xunzhen had fire and earth dual-element Spirit Roots, with fire as his main element and earth as his secondary, so it was no surprise that he had chosen to study alchemy.
Lu Zhiyuan had already chosen to study formations, so presumably he would hand it over to the Huangshan Lu Clan, where he came from. After all, the Lu Clan had helped him get where he was today, and as a clansman, he ought to give back.
All three were satisfied with this "treasure-dividing gathering."
Later, an attendant brought in a tableful of spirit dishes, complete with color, fragrance, and flavor, and all three enjoyed their meal.
Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Chen Shuangbai bade his two senior brothers farewell and returned to his cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak.
After returning to his cave abode, Chen Shuangbai recalled that he had not contacted Fu Qianlan or He Qi for some time, so he sent each of them a message through his disciple's jade token.
He Qi replied quickly, saying outright that he was outside on patrol with a senior brother from the Jade Guarding Hall. He also asked whether something had happened to Chen Shuangbai.
Chen Shuangbai told him not to let himself be distracted, then ended the call.
As for Fu Qianlan... there was no reply.
Presumably, she was in seclusion.
Come to think of it... Qianlan should be at the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer Middle Stage by now, shouldn't she? She's so diligent. I should follow her example.
Chen Shuangbai was currently at the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer Early Stage and needed to keep taking pills and cultivate slowly.
Cultivation could not be rushed, so he felt no impatience.
The cultivation world regarded the Qi Refining First Layer through the Third Layer of Qi Refinement as Early Qi Refining, the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer through the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining as the Middle Qi Refining Stage, and the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining through the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining as the Late Qi Refining Stage.
As for the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining... that was the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.
Only upon reaching the Great Perfection of Qi Refining was one qualified to temper one's Law Power, spiritual sense, and physical body, then ultimately attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment, either with the aid of pills or perhaps through one's own sudden enlightenment.
For Chen Shuangbai to have reached the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer within five years was already a fairly good achievement among the current intake of outer sect disciples.
As far as he knew, some disciples from his own intake were still trying to break through to the Third Layer of Qi Refinement.
He sat in his cave abode as the daylight gradually faded. Moonlight, bright as water, fell upon him, making him look like an immortal from the moon.
Chen Shuangbai did not rush to cultivate. Instead, he laid out the things he had gained on this trip before him, one by one.
The Life-Accepting Gourd, the Listening to the Waves Notes, and the Green Wood Pill Explanation.
There were also copies of the old books, which Chen Shuangbai planned to read when he had time. For now, his priority was to get a clear understanding of these items first.