Mingzhi and Stella returned with the resources.
Without a word, they made their way to the Treasury after returning to the Second Void Dust Sanctuary.
Inside, amidst glowing artifact shelves and crystal-stacked vaults, Sophie was already preparing her formation tools, her sleeves rolled up and hair tied in a high knot.
Iesha sat nearby, flipping through a jade tablet, her white eyes sharp and fingers occasionally dancing across the air to tally projected records.
The door creaked open.
Mingzhi held up her hand, "Nearly seventy High-Level Empyrean Grade treasures. Countless others below that, so don't faint~"
Stella smirked, dropping her ring onto a pedestal, "Thanks to our expedition party, we're rich once again. Oh- if there's any space-attributed treasures inside, then I'll take a bit."
She giggled, looking forward to eating some rare space oddities.
Iesha's brow twitched, "Seventy... High-Level Empyrean…?"
She exhaled, wondering if she should also go to the secret realm. After all, if she couldn't go with Natalya, she began wondering if she should become a Heaven-Tier Spirit sooner or later for Natalya's sake.
She shook her head, focusing on the matter at hand.
"Alright. Let's categorize by energy resonance first. Sophie, please~"
Sophie stood, already swiping to another projection from an array of jade stones, "Got it. This is probably going to break the entire treasury's detection formation... again."
Mingzhi tossed a sly glance their way, "Better the array collapses than us being worked to death. We're supposed to chill, not work hard. Hehe~"
Stella, Sophie, and Iesha also laughed.
While Sophie and Iesha were working, Mingzhi looked around.
She had to admit that their Treasury was better than what she had seen in science fiction. The pedestal contained a sorting formation that would take out items from the spatial ring with a gentle pull and place them inside sealed vaults or shelves depending on the nature of the item.
This was done with the help of the detection formation that grades and values each item.
The collected information would then be injected into new jade crystals or jade discs, which people could then use to view the treasure they are looking for or just want to browse like they're looking at a terminal.
New jade crystals were used because once they take in information, they don't accept information a second time usually.
After some time, Iesha and the others took a deep breath.
The value of the items they collected neared eight trillion Peak-Level Immortal Crystals at the roughest estimate. Their true value wasn't accounted for since they were valued by their grade and not their uses. Regardless, Mingzhi and the others could tell that their total value exceeded eight trillion Peak-Level Immortal Crystals.
To put that in perspective, it was perfectly capable of helping a major power produce more than a hundred thousand Empyreans in the period of a thousand years.
Furthermore, the Divine Sentinel Order only offered ten trillion High-Level Immortal Crystals for killing the Divine Emperor of Death.
"Rich!" Sophie threw her hands up, "We're rich once again."
"That- we are…" Mingzhi wryly smiled, "It seems like multiple trips to the Elemental Dimension are a must for our family for us to gain all we can before we enter the Upper Realm so that we can protect ourselves."
"True." Sophie nodded, "Ideally, we should all be ready to reach the next stage before entering the Upper Realms."
"Mhm~" Mingzhi nodded.
She was also excited about the prospects of entering the Exalt Stage. However, she knew how law comprehension was important, so obtaining resources from the shard world of the Elemental Dimension was like the best thing that could have happened to them or any supreme genius wishing to enter the Exalt Stage or Primarch Stage sooner or later.
"With the treasures we obtained from the Venerable Knights, we have accumulated treasures worth more than fifteen trillion Peak-Level Immortal Crystals," Iesha announced.
"This is excluding the Immortal Crystal mountains that exist in the spatial rings like heaps of trash mountain."
Mingzhi giggled, "In any case, I need to go see a prisoner and interrogate him. I'll leave this to you guys."
As an investigator, she liked… investigating a lot… especially… when she didn't need to care about human rights for scum that didn't deserve it.
"Sure."
"Take care~"
Sophie and Iesha waved her goodbye and continued doing their work, manually looking to adjust the prices or inject descriptions. Thankfully, Dalila already differentiated a lot of them and recorded descriptions for them, so it was just a matter of copy and paste.
Stella and Mingzhi left.
The former took her to another Void Dust Sanctuary, where prisoners of their family were held, like Heaven's Warrior Yubin and other misfits like Young Master Reiwu, who was Master Taiwu's son. They didn't forget to take Davis, who was having fun with Fiora.
Coincidentally, the two Young Masters were held together in the opposite cells.
One was the Young Master of the Opulent Shell Company, and the other was the Young Master of the True Emporium.
Young Master Reiwu was important because he was the weakness of Master Taiwu. It could be said he embodied Master Taiwu's weakness, so they had absolute control over the Opulent Shell Company. However, the same couldn't be said about Young Master Ragoon.
They couldn't obtain his weakness and had resorted to instilling fear in him. At the very least, Isabella and Shirley chose to do that.
Mingzhi was of the idea that fear can only suppress one's emotions so much until it turns into rebellious intent. She needed a decisive piece of something that could crush that hope within him or effectively make him think there was no escape and all he needed to do was obey them.
But realistically, she didn't think it would happen because Young Master Ragoon innately looked down upon them.
As a wealthy individual with enough wealth to even buy the aid of Primarchs, Young Master Ragoon would not plan on working for them.
Mingzhi was well aware of this information, so she was wondering what to do when Davis stepped forward.
"Are you sober now?"
"…" Young Master Ragoon, held in chains and stuffed inside a walled chair that looked like a throne but more of a box, slowly nodded his head.
He was now perfectly aware that he was played by the Earth Dragon Villainess and Icefire Phoenix Demoness once again. After leaving the secret realm, he had taken tens of antidotes and healing pills, hoping that they would cure the poison, but ultimately, they didn't.
Why? Because it was ultimately his energy that had been corrupted, and all he had to do was expel all his energy, starve himself to the limit and then let his body restore itself.
But he didn't dare to test that since if he was wrong, it could lead to his demise. It didn't even pass his mind with all the vertigo.
Nonetheless, he kept his head cool.
"First of all," Davis started, "I would like to avoid violence since you already seemed to have received enough of it. Still, that depends on your next words. Why did you try to hurt my women?"
"…"
Young Master Ragoon's expression scrunched. He had never experienced such humiliation, getting manhandled by multiple women.
Nevertheless, he obediently confessed that he tried to capture them so that he could have them come out and die.
"Finally, a supreme genius who actually wants to use the Covenant to kill me."
Davis turned to look at Mingzhi, appearing impressed. She rolled her eyes.
"No wonder you got tortured so badly. We don't take any wrongs against him lightly."
Mingzhi strode forward. She grabbed his wrist, placed it on the handrest, and quickly made a horizontal stabbing motion.
"...!"
In between the nails, a sharp dagger sliced off the top of the index finger's skin, causing Young Master Ragoon to stiffen and almost scream out in pain. He took a deep breath, and his eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Mingzhi.
"Seems like you want another clipping~" Mingzhi's lips curled.
"Wait…!"
Young Master Ragoon worded out, lowering his head as he begged, "I know… I know I was wrong. I am willing to make amends. Please…. Please let me go…"
Mingzhi nodded, "Being cooperative is fine but punishment comes first. I didn't see you suffer yet."
"No…! I'll do… I'll do anything!"
Young Master Ragoon struggled and roared in fear, but he was unable to escape. His energy levels were still low, and his cultivation was sealed. His rings were stripped, and his life-saving talismans were removed. He was nothing but meat on a chopping block at this moment.
"Enough, Mingzhi." Davis sent a soul transmission, "His emotions peaked. He already is at a breaking point, probably from the trauma your sisters caused him."
"…"
Mingzhi didn't turn to look back. She also possessed Heart Intent, so she knew the levels to break someone as though having a meter bar right in front of her eyes. Her experience in torturing said that she was only moments away from breaking him.
"If we're going to use him, we would need him sane."
Mingzhi said through soul transmission, "I understand that, but he's too dangerous for the current us. Here, he is a sheep but in the Upper Realms, he could move the heaven and earth. I investigated the True Peak Emporium a bit, and I learned they at least have twelve Primarchs, so like Isabella and Shirley, I'm of the opinion that we should instill absolute fear in him."
"That's because we don't have his weakness. Let me find one."
"…"
Mingzhi heaved a breath. She stared at Young Master Ragoon, wondering if an influential and hedonistic silk-pants like him would have any weakness other than caring about himself the most.