After hearing this information from Chase, John's mind drifted back towards his mission.
'My biggest hurdle for sneaking through the sect was my cultivation, which clearly identifies me as a disciple. However, if I could get my hands on one of those artifacts, I would be able to assume the status of an Elder. I can only do so about twice before the burden on my soul from the mask becomes too great, but that should be more than enough.'
He had thought about all sorts of ideas regarding the mysterious area he found, as well as how to get inside unnoticed. However, none of his ideas had a good chance of working out, and would only serve in his capture and the ending of his mission prematurely.
'If I assume the status of an Elder who uses a cultivation shrouding artifact, I have a good chance of getting into that chamber without anyone finding out. I guess the next thing to do is visit this artifact hall.'
John stood up from his seat, and smiled towards Chase.
"Thanks for the conversation. I'll see you around!"
Chase nodded his head as he watched John stand up and leave.
John quickly worked his way through the Bloodfiend Sect, and arrived in front of the Artificer Hall a short while later. He stood there, slightly awe-struck, at the size of the building. He had seen this building from the far distance as he walked through the sect previously, but assumed it was something else.
The building stood roughly five hundred yards tall, but its width and length were incredible. The building was two miles long and wide on each side, making it the largest building by base size in the entire sect. A unique aura emanated from within the building, as if something powerful lingered within. Not only that, but John felt the Qi in the air lessen, as if it was being pulled out of the air.
After standing there for a moment, John walked forward towards the entrance of the building. Unlike the other trade halls within the sect, there was not a constant stream of cultivators entering and exiting the building.
'I thought Chase said this hall was incredibly important. I wonder why not many people visit it.'
John arrived at the front entrance, which was guarded by two Peak Meridian Forging experts. They stopped John with loud, commanding voices.
'Pay the tribute to enter, or leave the premises,' the guards spoke up in unison.
"Tribute?" John asked, as he had never heard of such a thing.
"Yes. Pay it now, or leave," one of the guards replied.
"How much is the tribute?" John asked.
"Twenty thousand spirit crystals," the guard replied with a stern voice and serious face.
"Twenty thousand!" John exclaimed in shock. "Isn't that a bit much just to enter a building?"
"Pay it now, or leave," the guard replied, revealing there was no wiggle room.
John shook his head as he heard this, and suddenly came to the realization of why there were so little people entering and exiting the building. Twenty thousand spirit crystals just to enter a building was an incredibly steep price.
However, John grit his teeth and took out the sum of money to hand to the guards.
'I need to get this artifact, no matter what. I'm sure I can have my sect reimburse me for my expenses after this is all set and done.'
The guard inspected the spirit crystals John had given him momentarily before he stepped aside, as did the other.
"You may enter," the guard stated.
John strode past the two guards, who quickly reformed their close guard of the entrance.
He entered the building, which led not to the main lobby, but instead was a long hallway. The hallway was twenty yards wide and tall, and was incredibly detailed. In fact, the ornate carvings on the wall were more detailed than any other building he had seen on the Yuan Continent, making it look incredibly regal and grand.
'Seems like this Hall is well off with money,' John mused as he walked deeper into the building.
He occasionally passed by an Elder leaving, who looked at John with slight surprise. A disciple having the expendable funds to enter this building was quite rare. John ignored those stares as he walked, and after nearly two hundred yards, he finally arrived in the main lobby.
His eyes once again opened wide at the sight before him. The interior of the building was completely hollow, and stretched for a mile and a half in each direction. The ceiling, hundreds of yards above, was completely covered in thousands of formation lines, as were the walls and floor.
The formation lines glowed with incredible power, and seemed to be siphoning the nearby Qi in the air.
'So this was the mysterious power I felt emanating from the building, as well as the reason why the Qi in the air feels thin here.'
His gaze shifted, focusing on what he could see within this massive room. Dozens of Elders, clad in blood red robes with blue formation line designs all over, were going about their work.
There were several different areas, which seemed to be separated from each other by translucent barrier formations. Each section had different formation lines on the ground, which seemed to have different purposes.
The formation lines on the ground resonated with the Qi siphoning lines on the wall and ceiling, which formed stunning designs of Qi in the air. The designs were formation runes themselves, which seemed to be concentrating power in the air above the Elders.
Boom!
A loud boom suddenly echoed out, catching John's attention. In one of the sections, the aerial formation runes began to fade, as a small artifact was revealed within. The artifact floated to the ground below, which was caught by an Elder.
The Elder stored the artifact, before the section once again began to work on the next artifact. Aerial formation runes made of Qi sprung up once again, as the process began anew.
John stood there in stunned silence as he watched this all take place. After quite some time, he snapped out of it.
"Incredible."