Dividing the Spoils
The stone chamber was filled with items, which were divided in half, but Chongming Sect had to choose first.
This was something Kang Dabao had agreed upon beforehand with the heads of the other two families. A box of black iron and a breakthrough pill might both be worth five hundred Spirit Stone on the market, but the latter was undoubtedly much rarer than the former, which was a bargain that Kang Dabao was determined to gain.
Not only was this stone chamber turned upside down, but the cultivators from the Lu and Xue families were also quite skilled at digging deep. They even picked up the loincloth in Zhao Gu's bedroom and shook it several times, as if afraid that some good things might have been left behind.
It took another half a day to finally clear out the den of the Ghost Horse Owls. The Lu Household head and Xue Hu, holding the booklet, stood on either side of each other, announcing the spoils:
"A total of 841 cartloads of black iron, 606 cartloads of wind copper, and 125 cartloads of other First Tier miscellaneous ores."
"It contains 29 and a half dou of Red Spirit Grain, 11 shi and 7 dou of Tea-Colored Grain, First-Tier Middle-Grade black wooden steamer, and First-Tier Lower-Grade large cauldron."
"There are five low-grade magical Law Artifact and eighty-three high-grade Talisman Artifact."
"There are three First-Tier Superior-Grade talismans, two mid-grade talismans, and eighty-eight low-grade talismans."
"There are eleven incomplete Desolate-Tier Lower-Grade Desolate Rank Cultivation Method and one incomplete mid-grade Cultivation Method."
Just as Sect Leader Kang Da had predicted, although there were many things in the thief's den, none of them were worth much.
Black iron and wind copper are arguably the two cheapest materials for refining weapons in the cultivation world. Normally, one Spirit Stone can buy three cartloads of them, and if you can buy them in bulk, they will naturally be even cheaper.
The two minerals occupy two-thirds of the Ghost Horse Owls's treasure vault, but their value is probably less than five hundred Spirit Stone. They were mostly accumulated over the years through robbery, and were hoarded because they were considered cheap and cumbersome, making them difficult to sell. They are not very valuable.
Other miscellaneous ores are slightly more expensive, but there are far fewer of them. After a rough inventory, they are estimated to be worth around five hundred Spirit Stone.
Red Spirit Grain is a good type of spirit rice for Qi Refinement cultivators. It is very beneficial for cultivators in the Late Qi Refinement to eat it for a long time, but it is expensive, costing six Spirit Stone per bushel. Tea-Colored Grain is cheaper, costing only two Spirit Stone per bushel, but it is still difficult for ordinary Rogue Cultivator to obtain.
The five low-grade magic Law Artifact inside the stone chamber were all junk with mixed spiritual light, each perhaps worth twenty Spirit Stone at most. Sect Leader Kang Da didn't take a liking to them and handed them over to Patriarch Lu Household, telling him to split them with Xue Hu.
As for those dozens of Talisman Artifacts, they could probably be worth about twenty Spirit Stone.
A bundle of less than a hundred talismans of various ranks could be worth a hundred Spirit Stone.
The most valuable items here are probably those two Law Artifact cooking utensils. This is because in places like Pingrong County where the path of immortality is not flourishing, such Law Artifact are still quite rare even among small forces. Based on this alone, these two cooking utensils are worth two hundred Spirit Stone.
The Sect Leader Kang Da, had been cultivating for nearly thirty years, but he had hardly ever tasted food cooked with Law Artifact and cooking utensils. He first pulled these two cooking utensils in front of him. In the Chongming Sect, these two cooking utensils could probably be used for several generations, and they would be fine as family heirlooms.
As for what to choose next, Kang Dabao thought it over carefully. He wouldn't even look at those Talisman Artifacts and Sect Leader Kang Da, so he ruled them out first.
As for those talismans, Kang Dabao only glanced at them before he could see that the brushstrokes were messy and irregular, the talisman heads were misaligned, and the talisman cores were weak and insubstantial.
Several flaws can be spotted at a glance. This must have been made by a wild talisman maker among the independent cultivators without any Rogue Cultivator. It has little value and might even fail in a crucial moment if used in a battle.
As for the spirit ores, such as Wind Copper and Black Iron, there's not much to choose from; they can be bought anywhere, just with Spirit Stone when needed. Among the other miscellaneous ores, there are some rare items that Yuan Jin should find useful, so he can take them.
As for the spirit grain, let's choose the Red Spirit Grain. Sect Leader Kang Da hasn't been able to eat it many times over the years. He was reluctant to buy it even when he had money before. Now that he can get it for free, there's no reason for him to miss it.
So Chongming Sect took away two First Tier cooking utensils, a hundred carts of First Tier miscellaneous ore, and all the Red Spirit Grain, and copied the Cultivation Method from all three families.
The two leaders were fairly satisfied with this division of assets. The Sect Leader Kang Da could be considered a reasonable person; the items he took were worth about half the value of the precious mine, so he didn't take too much advantage.
The Lu Household head and the Xue Household head argued for a long time, even taking out a piece of yellow silk to calculate the value of the goods, before finally satisfying both sides. In the end, each of them received goods worth several hundred Spirit Stone, which was considered a happy ending for everyone.
Don't underestimate the profit of a few hundred Spirit Stone. Not long ago, Kang Dabao didn't even have three hundred Spirit Stone in total, while that was almost the entire Chongming Sect's working capital.
Therefore, the Lu Household and Xue Household family heads were already quite satisfied. They had more cultivators in their families, but their expenses were also high, and their available funds were probably not as good as those of Kang Dabao, who had managed the household well before.
After all, in previous years, even his two junior brothers' annual salaries were only paid out when Sect Leader Kang Da remembered them.
No one was seriously injured in this expedition. Only two members of the Xue Household, who were not very skilled, suffered minor external injuries. They used some medicine and the wounds scabbed over in no time. Their bones and muscles were not damaged.
So Kang Dabao held a meeting with the three family heads, and they decided to rest and reorganize in the bandit's den before setting off the next day. However, they decided not to leave too early, but rather after everyone had had a good night's sleep.
The allied forces pressed on and within ten days destroyed the stronghold of the Jia Mountain Bandits in Xuping County.
This time, Kang Dabao didn't suppress Jiang Qing anymore. He was a thrifty person after all, and he also felt it was a pity that the Storage Bag had been taken away.
So he pulled Pei Yi along to watch from the sidelines, watching as Jiang Qing brandished his flying sword a few times, then casually picked up Storage Bag from the corpses of the bandit cultivators as if they were picking up money.
It's hard to say whether the Lu and Xue families have any objections, but after seeing that bright red flying sword, they probably have no objections.
This time, the defeat was much smoother than the attack on Ghost Horse Owls. Not a single Middle Qi Refinement cultivator remained in the bandit's lair left by the Jia Mountain Bandits.
The reason it took ten days was that the group of Jia Mountain Bandits who went to Heng Mountain Ye Household were lucky; they were all killed. Without a guide, the "Allied Forces" wandered around Xuping County for several days.
In the end, it was only through connections that the Xue Household head managed to find the lair of the Jia Mountain Bandits, after several twists and turns, by asking a Rogue Cultivator in Xuping County to lead the way.
The Jia Mountain Bandits were a level below Ghost Horse Owls in terms of strength, so the loot from their hideout was far less plentiful than what they had gotten from Ghost Horse Owls. The total value of the loot was less than five hundred coins, and one-tenth of it had to be used as payment for the Rogue Cultivator cultivators who led the way.
Sweep away the remaining enemies and keep an eye on the two cultivators, making sure to seize all their spoils.
Kang Dabao first rejected the Lu Household head's suggestion to kill the Rogue Cultivator who was leading the way. Then he picked out some miscellaneous spirit ores and four or five decent First Tier spirit fruits. Finally, he chose a hexagonal bronze mirror that was also acceptable and threw it to Ye Pinglin. Then he listened to a series of compliments from the Xue and Lu family heads.
"Given how desperate this young clan leader is, if he doesn't have a defensive Law Artifact, he'll probably die in the next battle," Kang Dabao thought, glancing at Ye Pinglin's still bleeding chest.
Since Jiang Qing had already picked up most of the Storage Bag of the bandits outside, Sect Leader Kang Da didn't bother to argue too much. The other items were of low quality anyway, so he didn't bother to look at them. He considered that he had already finished picking them out, and left the rest to the other two families, which was a way of giving them a little advantage.
"I wonder if there's anything good at Fire Saber Stronghold."
Thank you to Brother Musi and Brother Feicheng for the 100-point reward, and thank you to Brother Yangtuo Qidian and Brother Ni Ye Ai Chi Pao Fu for the monthly ticket encouragement.
I Lao Bai wanted to post this earlier today, but I worked the night shift from 5:30 PM to 8:00 AM today (completing the paperwork for that committee was really painful), so it's a bit late. Please forgive me.
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