Dazzling and diverse! When Luo Chen poured out the contents of Duan Qiankun’s storage pouch, they spilled across the floor, forming a small mountain. He swallowed hard and muttered to himself, "Now this is the kind of inheritance a three-hundred-year-old family should have." Enchanted artifacts, enchanted artifacts, and more enchanted artifacts! From what Luo Chen could see at a glance, there were at least ten top-grade ones, and they weren’t just ordinary flying swords. With his discerning eye, it only took a moment to roughly identify their functions. These weren’t ordinary top-grade enchanted artifacts, they were refined and exquisite. A few even reached the level of mystical enchanted artifacts, each possessing unique abilities. "Duan Qiankun most likely kept these to reward distinguished members of his family," muttered Luo Chen. Aside from the enchanted artifacts, there were two items wrapped in dense clusters of silver material. It wasn’t solid silver but a fluid-like substance, glistening and constantly shifting. Whatever was sealed inside, it was completely enveloped by this shimmering barrier. "This stuff... looks like a refined mithril[1]?" Luo Chen had encountered a similar material once before, which was hidden deep within the Duan family’s vault. Back then, it had only been a single, unrefined chunk, raw and untouched by any forging process. This was different; it was two full bundles, and each was made entirely of purified essence. Luo Chen thought, No idea what’s inside for now,I’ll ask Duan Feng when there’s time. In addition to those, there were spirit stones, and not just any kind but mid-grade spirit stones. There were a full two hundred of them. That alone was equivalent to twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones! And yet, the surprises didn’t end there. "Is this... a top-grade spirit stone?" Luo Chen picked up a crystal-clear, diamond-shaped stone, its spirit energy radiating in dense waves. It was twice the size of normal spirit stones, about the length of a man’s middle finger in diameter, and the spirit energy inside wasn’t misty or diffuse. It was like flowing silk, almost liquid, almost viscous. Something crossed his mind, and he gripped the crystal tightly. A stream of the purest spirit energy flowed out steadily, pouring into his meridians. "It can actually be directly absorbed!" Luo Chen was stunned. In the cultivation world, spirit stones were valued less as cultivation resources and more as currency. They served as the standard medium of exchange, a universal unit by which goods were measured and traded across the realms. Normally, the spirit energy sealed within these stones couldn’t be directly absorbed! The reason was that the energy was violent. Once it entered the body, it rampaged like a wild horse, and it could cause serious damage to a cultivator’s meridians and dantian. Aside from desperate situations, no one ever chose to absorb spirit stone spirit energy directly. But this stone was different. Luo Chen had researched this matter before. According to his findings, the violent nature within the spirit stone energy wasn’t natural. It was the result of a special substance introduced during the forging process. This substance corrupted the originally pure and gentle spirit energy, turning it violent. Only disciples of major sects possessed secret arts to purge this substance, allowing them to safely absorb the spirit energy directly. That was one of the reasons major sect disciples often outclassed rogue cultivators of the same realms. When cultivation realms were equal and techniques comparable, it was one’s spirit power capacity that determined victory or death. Major sect disciples could temporarily draw upon the spirit energy within spirit stones, bolstering their spirit power reserves mid-fight and suppressing their opponents with ease. Luo Chen had once scoured black market auctions in search of such secret arts, but time and again, he came up empty-handed. It is as if Tian Xingzi himself had deliberately kept it hidden from the public. Eventually, Luo Chen gave up on the fruitless pursuit. What he didn’t expect was to stumble upon a top-grade spirit stone now. "Based on the one-to-one-hundred conversion ratio," Luo Chen murmured, "this single top-grade spirit stone is worth more than ten thousand low-grade ones. Not just equal to ten thousand, but greater than. Its premium value could even exceed a thousandfold markup. " That was Luo Chen’s judgment. After all, the spirit energy within the stone could be directly absorbed without refinement. In battle, it could completely turn the tide. Especially in the hands of a Foundation Establishment Initiate, it could serve as a trump card! "No wonder the Duan family’s treasury had so few spirit stones left," Luo Chen muttered, understanding dawning in his eyes. "I had assumed Duan Qiankun had converted his stockpile into cultivation resources to prepare for his eventual death. Turns out, he had nearly thirty thousand stashed in his storage pouch." Beaming with delight, Luo Chen swept the spirit stones into his pouch. Whether mid-grade or top-grade, their true value far exceeded their role as currency. They were strategic assets! Only with such spirit stones could one power massive puppets, large formations, or absorb spirit energy directly, none of which low-grade spirit stones could accomplish. When he advanced to Foundation Establishment, he had used up all of his mid-grade stones. In desperation, he had even struck a deal with Kang Dongyue at the Golden Stone Pavilion, scraping together an extra two hundred stones just to get by. Now, another windfall has come his way. For the time being, he could finally breathe easy. There was no need to worry about running short of spirit stones. With the spirit stones sorted, Luo Chen turned his attention to the enchanted artifacts. There are two enchanted artifacts that had been placed separately from the ten top-grade ones, and their spirit glow was entirely distinct. One was the Rattle Drum, and the other was the Sword Sheath. Luo Chen recognized the Rattle Drum instantly. It was a supreme-grade water-element enchanted artifact that Duan Qiankun had wielded before. Back at Xiao Huan Mountain, Duan Qiankun had used it along with a weapon technique to strike Wang Yuan deep into the earth. Had Luo Chen not intervened with a direct strike from Solar Flare? Duan Qiankun could’ve easily finished off the severely wounded Wang Yuan. At that time, the might of a Foundation Establishment Initiate was not something Wang Yuan could have withstood. "This enchanted artifact doesn’t suit me, but I can give it to Duan Feng," Luo Chen mused. It wasn’t that Luo Chen favoured Duan Feng. It was simply because Duan Qiankun’s storage pouch didn’t belong to him alone. Its contents were meant to be shared, one portion for himself, another for Wang Yuan, and the last for Duan Feng, who had led the charge in breaking through the defensive formation at Xiao Huan Mountain. Even that supreme-grade Heluo Sword had been awarded to Duan Feng based on merit. Now with the Rattle Drum added, Duan Feng would possess nearly the entire arsenal once held by the Duan family’s patriarch. A sword and a drum, just missing the diagram. Shaking his head, Luo Chen turned his attention to the Sword Sheath. "This must be the item Xu Ji from the Luoyun Sect came for, huh?" Back then, Xu Ji had come to Dahe Market under Tian Xingzi’s direct orders to retrieve Mi Shuhua’s human puppet, fulfill the Foundation Establishment pill agreement with Luo Chen, and collect a custom-made enchanted artifact from Duan Qiankun. The enchanted artifact was none other than the Sword Sheath! "Why a Sword Sheath and not a flying sword?" Luo Chen murmured as he turned the item over in his hand. It was a soft gray in color, about six chi long, with a fairly standard design. But when it came to its grade... "Strange. It gives off an energy flow not weaker than the Rattle Drum... so why is it only low-grade?" Luo Chen’s eyes landed on seven colored slots embedded in the Sword Sheath. "These slot sizes..." Suddenly, an idea struck him. He opened his mouth and spat out a golden sword orb. A low hum resonated through the air as a layer of gray light flared across the surface of the Sword Sheath. Still somewhat skeptical, Luo Chen carefully placed the sword orb into the golden slot. The orb clicked into place, and in the next instant, the Sword Sheath burst forth with a brilliant beam of sword light! Luo Chen’s eyes widened. He reflexively tilted his head, just in time. A blazing Sword Ray grazed past his temple, slicing off a wisp of hair. The strand drifted gently to the ground. With lingering dread, he turned his head. A searing streak of sword light had already torn through the meditation chamber and blasted into the sky. The shot of pressure had stirred the quiet beyond the meditation chamber. Outside, Min Longyu, who had been laying down formation nodes, paused and looked up, his expression puzzled."A Sword Ray? Why would a burst of sword energy, something only a Foundation Establishment sword cultivator could exert, come from the president’s room?" Hurried footsteps sounded, followed quickly by a voice outside the door."President, is everything alright?" It was Sima Xian. He had been patrolling the skies nearby with the Battle Hall cultivators, maintaining vigilance and defense, when he noticed the burst of sword light. “It’s nothing. You may go,” came a calm voice from within. Luo Chen did not explain, and none was needed. Sima Xian let out a quiet breath and turned away. Inside the meditation chamber, Luo Chen cautiously examined the Sword Sheath in his hand. After the initial outburst, it now sat quietly in his palm. Once infused with his spirit power, it no longer reacted with violence but returned to its dull, unassuming gray. Yet, a streak of golden light now gleamed at the foremost section of the sheath and its grade. "It actually leapt from low-grade to mid-grade! This is an enchanted artifact capable of growth, and that’s with only a single sword orb. Yet this Sword Sheath has seven slots," Luo Chen muttered under his breath. "If I gather all seven sword orbs... could this thing surpass the enchanted artifact class and become an enchanted treasure?" Luo Chen swallowed hard as he thought. No wonder Tian Xingzi had gone to such lengths, even sending someone across the vast distance to Dahe Market just to retrieve it.This enchanted artifact....no, this wasn’t just an enchanted artifact... it had to be an enchanted treasure embryo! And not the kind that needed decades of refinement and nourishment. It was an enchanted treasure embryo capable of rapid advancement! "Tian Xingzi must have commissioned Duan Qiankun to craft this with the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect’s sword cultivators in mind,” Luo Chen speculated."Throughout the entire Jade Cauldron Domain, the majority of sword orb users belong to the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. There may be deeper secrets to this Sword Sheath!" Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen removed the sword orb and swallowed it back into his core. At this stage, a mere mid-grade enchanted artifact offered little benefit compared to the sword orb itself, which rivaled even supreme-grade enchanted artifacts in power. Still, if he truly managed to gather all seven sword orbs in the future, this Sword Sheath would become an extraordinary enchanted treasure. Luo Chen had no intention of returning the Sword Sheath to Tian Xingzi. It was his rightful spoils of war! Thus, he carefully stowed away the Sword Sheath and then turned his attention to the rest of the items. A pile of mineral ores and spirit medicines! Such resources weren’t uncommon among families with a legacy in artifact forging. What made this collection exceptional, however, was the quality; nearly all the ores and spirit medicines were third-tier. "These should go to the Artifact Hall, to be used for forging." Luo Chen had little personal interest in forging materials. What drew his attention instead were the other items, especially the pills. Second-tier pills tailored for Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Ascending Dragon pills! He uncorked a jade bottle and murmured to himself as he looked inside. Indeed, this was a common pill among Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Ascending Dragon pill was compatible with all five elemental roots, with no particular restrictions. Yet, surprisingly, it wasn’t a creation of the Medicine King Sect. Instead, it was a specialty pill from the Green Pill Valley. The only drawback was that they were merely third-turn versions. Three-turn Ascending Dragon pills were considered low-grade among second-tier pills. If refined to six-turn, they would be mid-grade. Rumor had it that the Green Pill Valley could even produce nine-turn versions, reserved exclusively for Dao Scions within major sects. What Duan Qiankun had left behind was modest, just three bottles. It was likely tied to his decision to abandon cultivation altogether, having deemed further breakthroughs beyond his reach. Luo Chen stowed the pills away. They weren’t much, but better than nothing. Altogether, the three bottles were worth no more than one thousand five hundred spirit stones. Second-tier pills typically started at three hundred spirit stones. The Ascending Dragon pill, which was well-suited for cultivation, usually sold for five hundred spirit stones per bottle. For now, Luo Chen was still affected by the pill toxins, and he couldn’t make use of them right away. Only after the pill toxins were purged could he test them out to see if they were viable as the cultivation pill for his Foundation Establishment Realm. Hmm? As he opened a small cloth pouch, the items inside instantly drew Luo Chen’s attention. There were more than a dozen jade bottles of varying sizes, each with a small label pasted on it. First-tier Spirit Purification pill, revitalization liquid, Glazed Balm... These all appeared to be commonly used by Qi-Refining ninth stage cultivators attempting to break into Foundation Establishment. If those alone weren’t enough to confirm Luo Chen’s suspicions, then the sight of a tuber shaped like a curled tongue left no further doubt. Heaven and Earth Root! It was that very root, an eight-hundred-year-old Heaven and Earth Root, once discovered in the Golden Core ruins! This root could increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment by twenty percent, second only to the Foundation Establishment pill itself! In fact, in terms of stability and safety, it surpassed the violent medicinal effects of Foundation Establishment pills. Luo Chen murmured. "So, this pouch of pills was meant to assist someone in advancing to Foundation Establishment. But why wasn't Heaven and Earth Root used?"Didn’t Duan Rui use it?" Luo Chen had always assumed that Duan Qiankun would’ve long given the root to Duan Rui. And yet, it had been preserved. He picked up the Heaven and Earth Root, and the moment it touched his fingers, he sensed something off. Turning over, he found a small note affixed to it. It bore a single name. Luo Chen’s gaze froze. The sound came again at the door. Luo Chen had just finished sorting the items into three separate portions. Hearing the noise, he frowned slightly. "What is it?" A crisp voice came from outside; it was Sima Huiniang. "Reporting to the President, there’s an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator blocking our path. He claims to be a disciple of the Green Pill Valley." Hm? Luo Chen stepped out of the cabin at once. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he caught sight of the newcomer, a striking figure hovering midair, surrounded by drifting white clouds. The young man was handsome, with a faint flush to his cheeks, dressed in finely tailored azure robes embroidered with the nine-cloud emblem of the Green Pill Valley. His entire bearing exuded a sense of refinement and detachment, as though he stood apart from the mundane world. He had come alone, yet he single-handedly halted three entire flying boats. It didn’t take long before others became aware of the situation. From the other two vessels, Li Yixian and Nangong Jin quickly stepped out. Upon seeing them, the young man's expression flickered. A trace of uncertainty crossed his face. Though he remained composed on the surface, the hint of retreat in his eyes did not escape notice. "Fellow Daoist, why have you stopped us?" Luo Chen asked calmly. Luo Chen could see clearly the vigilance in the other man’s posture. The young man’s spirit power was fully primed, ready to be triggered at a moment’s notice. Understandably so, standing alone against three Foundation Establishment cultivators would put anyone on edge. The young man gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain calm. "Who are you, and which faction are you from?" The three exchanged a glance, then decided to introduce themselves. "Luo Chen of the Luo Tian Society." "Nangong Jin of the Nangong family." "Li Yixian of the Li family." "The three of us hail from Dahe Market, and we are heading to Tianlan Immortal City," Luo Chen concluded. Hearing the introductions, the young cultivator visibly relaxed. "So you’re Fellow Daoists from Dahe Market!" He cupped his fists and said respectfully, "I am Tao Yisheng from the Green Pill Valley. Well met!" Now that introductions were made, the tension between them finally eased. Facing three Foundation Establishment cultivators, Tao Yisheng dared not show arrogance. Likewise, Luo Chen and the others offered a degree of respect befitting a major Golden Core sect like the Green Pill Valley. Still, some questions needed to be addressed. "May I ask, Fellow Daoist Tao, why did you stop the three of us?" Luo Chen asked. Tao Yisheng pointed behind him. "Ahead lies the Yuan Zhao Nation, an affiliated mortal kingdom under Green Pill Valley’s jurisdiction. Qi-Refining cultivators may not linger for more than half a year, and Foundation Establishment Initiates are limited to a stay of ten days. I’m here simply to give a friendly warning." Hearing this, both Li Yixian and Nangong Jin nodded in sudden understanding. Ah, so that was the reason! Everything made sense now. The cultivation world had its own set of rules, or rather, the lofty major sects had issued special decrees. Cultivators were not permitted to dwell in the mortal world for extended periods, and there were several reasons for this. First, because spirit energy was sparse in the mundane world, it was unsuitable for cultivation. Second, there was always the danger that cultivators who wielded power far beyond mortals might abuse their strength against them and bring chaos and suffering to the common people. Or perhaps, there was a third reason. Most mortal nations occupied vast territories. Even if spirit energy was lacking, they often produced large quantities of basic resources. These resources weren’t valuable, but they existed in great abundance. Sects would usually dispatch disciples to reside there on rotation, collecting these resources at regular intervals. If rogue cultivators stayed there for too long, they would inevitably start gathering resources in secret. And that would be considered infringing upon the sects’ interests. Moreover, populations numbering in the millions were a resource in themselves. In mortal kingdoms, if someone chanced upon a breakthrough into the Qi-Refining Realm, one of two outcomes would usually follow, either they would leave on their own initiative, or they’d be approached by disciples stationed nearby, who would either persuade them to depart or bring them into the sect as recruits. In any case, there was one ironclad rule. Those who chose the path of cultivation should stay within the cultivation world; leave the mortal realm to fight for their place. Luo Chen was, of course, well aware of this principle. Even if he hadn’t known it in the beginning and had entertained fantasies of becoming a wealthy landlord in a mortal nation, Wang Yuan had eventually set him straight. What surprised him now was something else entirely. "That’s the Yuan Zhao Nation ahead?" Luo Chen asked. 1. 秘银 (mi yin), it usually refers to a rare, top-grade, and enchanting conductive metal often used to forge enchanted artifacts. It's the Chinese equivalent of "Mithril" in Western fantasy, though the exact properties may vary by setting. ☜