Chapter 345: A Superb Harvest
It took a full eight days since they set out for Mount Wenyan before they finally succeeded in passing through the last ninth-level spirit array. What lay before them was a stone chamber covering no less than a thousand square meters. Inside, nearly a hundred night pearls shone brightly, illuminating this deep underground space as if it were day. The smooth marble floor, the dust-free stone furniture, and various lifelike stone sculptures adorned the space. Aside from these night pearls, stepping inside felt like being in a world made of stone.
“This is quite an impressive feat!” Lin Dong couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
While Yun Lan and Old Ding were busy breaking the array, Lin Dong, having nothing to do, had asked Yu Linglong about the mechanisms involved. He already knew that it was actually a large iron block that accidentally triggered the mechanism to open the Wuyou Cave.
To open it normally, one had to step on a surface that appeared identical to the surroundings. Beneath that surface lay a silver needle over twenty meters long. If someone weighing over a hundred pounds stepped on it, the needle would sink slightly, activating the mechanism deep underground. Yu Linglong also discovered the Wuyou Cave by accidentally stepping right on the center of the silver needle. When they tried to enter further, they were blocked by the spirit array. Out of necessity to uncover the value of the Wuyou Cave, they asked the disciples of nearby sects if any peak-level warriors without sects had lived on Mount Wenyan, which led to them being noticed by the informed Huan Yu Sect.
With just two mechanisms hidden twenty meters underground that left no trace after activation and deactivation, the Wuyou Cave was already incredibly mysterious. Coupled with the high-level spirit arrays scattered throughout narrow passages, which retained their power, Lin Dong grew increasingly curious about the owner of this cave.
To his surprise, twenty or thirty meters below, there was another stone world that remained intact and even dust-free for hundreds of years. If this were done by a single person, even a peak-level warrior would likely need decades to accomplish it.
After all, this was twenty or thirty meters underground, not on the surface. Whether it was arranging high-level spirit arrays in such a small space, transporting stones and soil, or taking special measures to prevent the stone chamber from collapsing… no matter how powerful a peak-level warrior might be, it was impossible to do all this in a short time.
“Well, in this stone chamber alone, there are dozens of various strange spiritual arrays. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have remained in its original state for hundreds of years.” Yun Lan nodded gently, excitement flashing in her eyes. From the passage to the stone chamber, the spiritual arrays encountered—whether low-level or high-level—were all unprecedented. Even if there was nothing else in the chamber, merely understanding how to arrange these arrays would already be an invaluable discovery.
“Feeling full and idle!”
Elder Ding grabbed the wine jar and started drinking. Everyone could tell it had a slight sour taste. As peak warriors themselves, the things left behind by others hundreds of years ago still amazed them. Look at themselves—everything they could show off was just this jar of thyme in their hands, worth only three to five hundred coins.
“Does that mean we still have to break the arrays?” Lin Dong and Yu Linglong had the weakest focus, and their eyes quickly settled on three large stone chests in the corner. Each of these chests was 1.5 meters tall and 2 meters long and wide. It was obvious they were used to storing treasures.
“No need. These spiritual arrays are quite unique; they’re not even part of the three major spiritual arrays,” Yun Lan said, shaking her head. “These arrays have no effect on people; they only prevent dust and pressure from damaging the stone chamber.”
“Not part of the three major spiritual arrays?” Lin Dong was astonished. Besides the Illusion Array, the Killing Array, and the Illusion-Killing Array, were there other spiritual arrays?
“They can be called auxiliary spiritual arrays,” Yun Lan nodded excitedly. Such arrays, lacking lethal power and even unable to trap enemies, held no value to others—but for her, they were even more worth studying than the various ninth-level spiritual arrays in the passage.
Lin Dong’s expression darkened. He could hear the excitement in Yun Lan’s voice. It was the first time he’d seen her so excited, which gave him a bad feeling.
Seeing that none of the three were interested, Yu Linglong wanted to step forward but dared not act rashly, which annoyed Lin Dong. She blushed and spoke up to remind him, “Owner, those stone chests…”
“Go take a look!”
Lin Dong put Yun Lan’s matter aside for now and strode toward the corner of the stone chamber. Yu Linglong hurried after him, her excitement no less than Yun Lan’s, who was already studying the arrays at the entrance to the passage.
Among the four, Elder Ding, who seemed the most idle, shook his wine jar, suddenly leaped up, and lay diagonally on the stone bed, leisurely drinking his thyme. For him, even if the stone chamber contained all the wealth in the world, it wouldn’t compare to half a jar of thyme worth a few hundred coins in his hands.
Striding up to the stone box, Lin Dong took a deep breath, grabbed the lid, and pushed it upward with force. A colorful glow instantly covered the faint light emitted by the night pearls in the stone chamber, prompting Old Ding and Yun Lan to look up involuntarily. “They’re spiritual artifacts—all of them.” Yu Linglong jumped excitedly, her plump body bouncing around like a giant meatball on the ground. “They should all be high-tier spiritual artifacts.” Lin Dong’s eyes also sparkled as he picked up one of the blue metal gloves and flipped it over, finding a small piece of paper attached underneath. “Mie Chun Claw, a ninth-tier spiritual artifact. Created by Wang Dongyun, a ninth-tier alchemist, using sky-blue stone over a year. Gifted by the Yutian Sect.” “Mie Chun Claw, the Yutian Sect?” Old Ding suddenly raised his head. “What’s wrong?” Lin Dong asked in confusion. “Could the owner of this stone chamber be Chang You Shan?” Old Ding said in surprise. “If it was indeed gifted by the Yutian Sect to the chamber’s owner, then it must be Chang You Shan,” Yun Lan replied from afar with a nod. “An eighth-tier spiritual artifact—this one is an eighth-tier spiritual artifact.” Yu Linglong held up a fiery red armor set and shouted. “Tell us about this armor,” Old Ding said. Suppressing her excitement, Yu Linglong quickly read out the contents of the note: “Fire Cloud Armor, an eighth-tier spiritual artifact. Created a hundred years ago by Yang Shan, a ninth-tier alchemist, using the skin of a Fire Cloud Beast. Gifted by the Fenglin Sect.” “It’s definitely Chang You Shan,” Old Ding said, lying down again. “Kid, you’re lucky—you’ve found a treasure.” Lin Dong glanced at Yun Lan. Even Old Ding, who usually had no interest in anything except fine wine, said he’d found a treasure. This Chang You Shan must be quite remarkable. “According to records, Chang You Shan was a ninth-tier spiritual array master for over three hundred years and one of the rare genius spiritual array masters in the history of the Great Han Nation,” Yun Lan explained. “It is said that he created more than twenty ninth-tier spiritual arrays in his lifetime, making him the greatest spiritual array master ever recorded. Additionally, though he had no sect or faction, he had a wide circle of friends. As a result, he often fought on others’ behalf, making him an outlier among the peak warriors.” Lin Dong laughed. Now he understood why Old Ding said he’d found a treasure. Fighting on others’ behalf, even if it didn’t reach the level of destroying entire sects or clans, was still quite dangerous. The more times he fought for others, the more gifts he would receive from various sects. Saving an entire sect or clan meant getting plenty of valuable things. No wonder the spiritual artifacts all mentioned being gifts from others.
Lin Dong and Yu Linglong took them out one by one—Grade 8 spiritual artifacts, Grade 9 spiritual artifacts, Grade 8 spiritual artifacts… The entire large stone chest was filled with spiritual artifacts, with even the lowest-grade ones being Grade 8. Upon careful counting, there were 35 Grade 9 spiritual artifacts and 27 Grade 8 spiritual artifacts.
Just the spiritual artifacts in this large stone chest were enough to make the largest alchemy sects in the Great Han Nation feel ashamed. For a major sect to possess 30 to 50 Grade 9 spiritual artifacts meant it had a history of at least several hundred years, because it would take centuries to gather so many such artifacts. Even the largest alchemy sects in the Great Han Nation had at most 10 to 20 Grade 9 spiritual artifacts, which was still far less compared to this chest.
“Next, it can’t be spiritual pills or materials, right?”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but lick his lips. Holding the Ruyi Stool, and with Yun Lan currently working on integrating spiritual arrays with spiritual artifacts, these spiritual artifacts, though astonishing enough to shock the world, weren’t enough to make Lin Dong overjoyed, to be honest.
What he valued more were spiritual pills and materials. In Lin Dong’s eyes, one or two high-grade spiritual pills or materials that aided in cultivation were worth more than an entire chest of Grade 9 spiritual artifacts.
“Shopkeeper, I… I…” Yu Linglong hesitated. Unlike Lin Dong, she valued these high-grade spiritual artifacts in the chest more.
As for cultivation levels, after confirming that Lin Dong wasn’t lying about advancing three levels each year, she no longer worried. Her only regrets were lacking advanced spiritual techniques and spiritual artifacts. If she could obtain them, she believed her path to revenge would be smoother.
Fighting alone against an enemy from a sect by advancing two or three minor levels wasn’t as effective as acquiring one or two high-grade spiritual techniques and artifacts. At the very least, she wouldn’t have to worry about being surrounded by numerous enemies, leading to exhaustion and defeat. With high-grade spiritual techniques and artifacts, her strength might not be as great as directly advancing two or three levels, but in facing attacks from many enemies, she would be more durable.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Dong turned to look at Yu Linglong.
“Th-These spiritual artifacts…” Yu Linglong found it hard to speak. Before they came here, she had already discussed the division of benefits with Lin Dong.
Among spiritual artifacts, spiritual pills, and spiritual techniques, Yu Linglong could choose two from each category. In other words, regardless of the value of Wuyou Cave, if Yu Linglong provided the location, and Lin Dong handled breaking the array and blocking external threats, if they each got only two items from each category, everything would belong to Yu Linglong, leaving Lin Dong’s efforts in vain.
If there are hundreds of items in each of the three categories, Yulongling can select the two most valuable items from each category. Assuming the treasures in Wuyoudong aren’t too different, Lin Dong will gain even more benefits.
This distribution plan far exceeded Yulongling’s expectations. After all, if Lin Dong didn’t step in, she alone would never be able to enter Wuyoudong. Moreover, Lin Dong wasn’t particularly interested in Wuyoudong, and his strength meant he could keep everything for himself afterward. Without another powerful ally who wouldn’t try to seize everything, the initiative was in Lin Dong’s hands. As long as she could safely get a share, Yulongling would be satisfied, let alone be able to choose the best two items from each category.
Lin Dong proposed this distribution plan solely because Yulongling was the top chef at Lin’s Inn. Even without knowing the location of Wuyoudong, he would still find a way to provide the two sisters with some high-grade spiritual weapons for protection before avenging them.
Yulongling understood that it was she who would truly benefit.
Yet the first large stone chest already contained over thirty ninth-grade spiritual weapons. Among the ninth-grade spiritual weapons she had seen, she had already picked out three: a spirit sword, armor, and a shield. If she could obtain these three, as long as her speed wasn’t too poor, she could move in and out effortlessly even among armies.
That was just three items, not to mention Yu Mudan also needed high-grade spiritual weapons.
Since Lin Dong had accidentally activated the mechanism to open Wuyoudong, Yulongling had merely provided a general direction. To get more benefits, even though the value of Wuyoudong exceeded expectations, it was somewhat difficult to ask for more.
“Pick whatever you like. The only condition is…”
Lin Dong flipped open the second large stone chest. The contents made his smile as bright as the summer sun. Inside, jade bottles and wooden boxes of various sizes were neatly arranged, clearly containing spiritual elixirs and materials.
“What is it?” Yulongling, whose focus was entirely on the spiritual weapons, couldn’t help but ask.
“The only condition is…” Lin Dong pointed at the large stone chest and said proudly, “If there are spiritual elixirs and materials for cultivation assistance inside, in quantities exceeding four people’s shares, you and Yu Mudan can each get one share. If not, they’ll go to me.”
“Okay!” Yulongling was overjoyed. Lin Dong’s words meant that even for other types of spiritual elixirs, such as those for combat assistance, she would have her share, and even for those for cultivation assistance, she wasn’t completely without hope.
These conditions were entirely within Yu Linglong’s acceptance range. Even if nothing else worked out, she could still accept them.
“Then take your time choosing the spiritual artifacts!”
Lin Dong said no more. He picked up a small porcelain bottle at the front, turned his palm, and a note stuck to the bottle came into view.
Sky Rainbow Water, one of the ingredients for the ninth-tier spiritual pill, Wan Yu Dan. Forty-seven drops. When taken alone, one drop can restore spiritual energy to those below the ninth level of the Heart Reversal stage in an instant. The effect on those at the peak of the Heart Riding stage depends on their level. Gift from the Blood Shadow Sect.
“Great stuff!”
Lin Dong praised it. If he had had such a bottle of Sky Rainbow Water earlier, he would have been confident enough to prevent Dai Qingyi from breaking free from the large iron block until the water ran out.
It was indeed great stuff, but it still wasn’t Lin Dong’s greatest expectation.
Putting down the Sky Rainbow Water, Lin Dong took out another small porcelain bottle and glanced at it—it was also Sky Rainbow Water.
After taking out three bottles in a row, the contents finally changed.
Six Heart Cutting Pills. Ninth-tier spiritual pills, colorless and tasteless. After taking them, those below the ninth level of the Heart Reversal stage would die instantly, while those at the peak of the Heart Riding stage would see their strength greatly reduced. Gift from the Right Blade Sect.
Lin Dong immediately put them aside and took out another small porcelain bottle, scanning the note on it.
Thirteen Wind and Moon Pills. Ninth-tier spiritual pills. After taking them, those below the ninth level of the Heart Reversal stage could instantly advance three minor stages to one major stage. The effect lasted for a day. After it wore off, they would suffer severe internal injuries at worst or a significant loss of vital energy at best. Gift from the Great Snail Sect.
“Great stuff!”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but praise it again. Compared to the previous two items, these Wind and Moon Pills were second only to the spiritual pills that aided in cultivation for him.
He continued to check, finding over a dozen more—spiritual pills and materials of the eighth or ninth tier with remarkable effects, or spiritual beast internal pills and strange ores. Finally, the treasure that made Lin Dong’s eyes shine appeared.
A small blue brocade box with a few words written on the note.
Six Han Feng Fruits. Taking one could accelerate the cultivation of those below the ninth level of the Heart Reversal stage. The effect depended on their cultivation talent and strength at the time of consumption. Taking all six would nullify the effect. It could raise their level by one or two major stages at best, or three or four minor stages at worst. Gift from the Pavilion Sea Sect.
“Sure enough, there are spiritual pills and materials that aid in cultivation!”
Lin Dong exclaimed in delight, causing Yun Lan and the others to look over instinctively. What they saw was Lin Dong dancing with excitement.
“Boring,” grumbled Old Ding.
“Congratulations, shopkeeper!” After checking the stone box and confirming there were no identical brocade boxes, and thus no threat to herself, Yu Linglong reluctantly turned her gaze back to the array of high-grade spiritual artifacts scattered on the ground.
Yun Lan’s face was filled with joy—she hadn’t seen Lin Dong act so out of his usual composure in a long time.
Without hesitation, Lin Dong placed the brocade box on the mobile counter. He suppressed his excitement, took a deep breath, and began taking out small porcelain bottles or wooden boxes from the stone box one by one.
It took nearly half an hour to count all the spiritual pills and materials in the stone box. There were 62 types of ninth-grade spiritual pills, materials, or spiritual beast cores, and 39 types of eighth-grade ones. Among them, three were useful for cultivation assistance. Aside from the Hanfeng Fruit, which was only enough for one person, the other two were sufficient for more than four people, though their medicinal effects were inferior to those of the Hanfeng Fruit.
Lin Dong roughly estimated that if used properly, these three cultivation-assisting materials would be enough to elevate him by five to seven minor realms. In other words, once he had processed all these spiritual pills and materials, he would possess the strength to defeat Dai Qingyi as soon as he left Wuyou Cave.
Another significant surprise was that among these three cultivation-assisting materials was a plant called the Lingyun Tree. Its method of aiding cultivation involved placing it within two meters during practice, allowing one to absorb the spiritual herbs emitted by its branches, thereby removing impurities that slowed down the flow of spiritual energy in the meridians and speeding up cultivation.
The cultivation methods for high-grade spiritual trees relied on using their branches, with higher grades resulting in lower success rates. Given the small garden at Lin’s Inn, there was no need to worry about success rates. This meant that, in addition to the Qinglan Tree and Wanhong Tree, Lin’s Inn could now add another type of cultivation-assisting material that could be planted in large quantities.
Although the maximum medicinal effect of the Lingyun Tree was not as good as that of the Hanfeng Fruit or Qinglan Fruit, its value was still much higher than that of the Wanhong Fruit, enough to elevate the overall strength of the guard team by a significant margin.
Just with these three cultivation-assisting materials, Lin Dong felt inclined to declare it a huge success.
For this trip to Wenyan Mountain, even just obtaining fragrant herbs made Lin Dong feel it was worthwhile. And these three cultivation-assisting materials made this trip the most profitable one he had ever had so far, even surpassing his initial acquisition of the Qinglan Fruit.
Not to mention, there were also numerous ninth-grade spiritual artifacts and other types of spiritual pills and materials that even major sects would covet.
After taking out three more cultivation-assisting materials and confirming they were correct, he put them back into the mobile counter.
Only then did Lin Dong turn his gaze to the last large stone box.