Chapter 351 – Entering the Treasure Storeroom
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In front of Lin Ming was a rock wall several hundreds of feet high; it was a steep cliff that looked like it was carved from a saber.
Zhou Xinyu crouched in front of the wall and took out a red symbol paper, then began to feel along the wall bit-by-bit until runes on the red symbol paper began to flash. Carefully, Zhou Xinyu pasted the symbol paper onto the wall, and a short time after, the symbol paper began to burn.
After it burned to ashes, there was a crackling sound along the stone wall as a palm-sized hexagram hole appeared in the cliff.
Lin Ming swiped his spatial ring and pulled out the reddish-gold hexagonal key box and handed it over to Zhou Xinyu.
Zhou Xinyu pressed gently on the center moon symbol of the key box and watched as it began to expand with a snapping sound. Six triangular pieces of metals stuck out from the edges of the box, turning the box into a hexagonal shape that matched the hole on the wall.
Then, Zhou Xinyu fit the key box into the hole, twisted halfway to the left, and stepped back. After several breaths of time, a white curtain of light flashed on the red cliff, and then enveloped Lin Ming and Zhou Xinyu.
Lin Ming could see that this curtain of of light with an illusory magic array enchantment that was used to prevent others from peeking in.
Within the magic array, Lin Ming and Zhou Xinyu looked as if they had vanished from where they stood, and only the original cliff remained.
But within the magic array, the deep red rock rumbled and moved, revealing a human-high hole that extended in a red stairway all the way down into the darkness.
Zhou Xinyu glanced at Lin Ming and walked in first. She saw that Lin Ming hadn’t been too trusting of her, so she decided to be a bit generous and lead the way.
The stairs stretched down for a few hundred few before they came to an end. There, they saw an altar with an array engraved in the middle. Around this array formation were 18 low-grade true essence stones.
To use a short distance transmission array, normally a few low-grade true essence stones were enough. Lin Ming saw that these true essence stones still had more than half their energy remaining, and thought that Zhou Xinyu would immediately start the transmission array. However, she slowly picked up 12 of the 18 true essence stones and switched six with medium-grade true essence stones and the other six with impure lowest-grade true essence stones. Each of the true essence stones were placed in different positions that were matched with a chart in the jade slip.
This caused Lin Ming to be secretly speechless. If one didn’t know the true essence arrangements and opened the transmission array hastily, then they probably wouldn’t have a good ending.
Especially because of those six impure true essence stones that cost four to five hundred gold each; those were true essence stones that only common martial artists would use. A sect genius would never bring those along with them.
“Come on.” Zhou Xinyu said to Lin Ming.
After Lin Ming carefully observed the transmission array for a moment, he was able to understand the principles behind it. After he confirmed that there wasn’t a problem, he stood on the altar.
The array formation started, and the 18 true essence stones began to glow. Lin Ming felt startled for a moment, and then suddenly appeared in an enclosed main hall. There was a damp and dull feeling in the air; Lin Ming guessed he was underground – very deep underground.
To have the treasure storehouse built here and only be connected to the outside world with a transmission array was truly very subtle and secretive.
The main hall was 300 feet wide, and the fluorescent materials were lined up on the walls. A dim green light illuminated the hall, allowing Lin Ming to clearly see what was there.
There were four or five separate rooms that were divided by walls, and also rows of wooden shelves. These shelves had armor, weapons, jade slips, and several boxes as large as a person. Besides the boxes there were also stone doors, it was unknown just what those stone doors were for.
“Will anything happen if I open the box, like traps?”
Lin Ming asked Zhou Xinyu. Zhou Xinyu’s head still hurt at this moment. After passing through space via the transmission array, she wasn’t able to adapt to that strange feeling so quickly, so she stood there rubbing her temples. After she heard Lin Ming’s question, she stopped.
“No. If you’re worried, I can open them for you.” Zhou Xinyu’s voice was a bit icy.
Although Lin Ming could hear the resentment in Zhou Xinyu’s heart, he still had her open the box as she suggested. The Moon Seizing Sect used to be a top third-grade sect after all. In the sect, there were many Xiantian masters. Any one of them could create a trap or curse that could instantly kill him.
Pa! Pa! With the sound of two golden locks opening, Zhou Xinyu opened the closest two boxes.
In the these two boxes were rows of true essence stones. Not only that, but they were pure medium-grade true essence stones, and there were several thousand of them; this was just a fortune.
Facing all these true essence stones, even Lin Ming’s heart stirred a bit. However, he had agreed that he wouldn’t take any true essence stones, so he naturally didn’t covet them.
Zhou Xinyu looked at these shining medium-grade true essence stones and silently took several hundred of them into her spatial ring, then covered up the rest. After all, this secret chamber was still the safest place for them to be. It wouldn’t be safe to bring such a great wealth outside.
Zhou Xinyu was clearly planning on using these true-essence stones to cultivate. A few hundred medium-grade true essence stones for a few months of practice was not a waste of wealth that the Moon Seizing Sect would ever splurge on. However, they naturally weren’t able to manage this anymore.
As the third, fourth, and fifth box opened, inside were bottles upon bottles of pills.
There were Crimson Gold Dragon Marrow Pills, Black Jade Tiger Bone Pills, Golden Snake Scarlet Pills, Blue Miracle Pills, and also many other kinds of expensive pills, all placed in large quantities. Any one of these pills were treasures that common martial artists would wish for in their dreams. For instance, the Crimson Gold Dragon Marrow Pill was what Lin Ming had obtained for becoming first place candidate in the Seven Profound Martial House’s entrance examination. After putting so much effort in, he had finally obtained one in a jade box. That pill couldn’t be bought in a mortal city, and it had caused the envious gaze of many others to fall on him.
But now, the Crimson Gold Dragon Pill and other pills of that level were gathered in in massive jars; it really caused Lin Ming to feel a bit melancholic.
After rummaging through the medicine box, Zhou Xinyu pulled out a box of pills. The box itself was made from Millennium Artic Jade, and it had a unique chilling aura. If a pill were stored inside, then none of the pure heaven and earth origin energy of the pills would dissipate.
As his soul force swept out, Lin Ming was able to probe just what was inside – Heaven Opening Pills.
He didn’t think that there would be many, there looked to be around 30 or so. There was just too great a need for Heaven Opening Pills. Normally, a sect would keep a large batch of Heaven Opening Pills in storage and slowly pass them out as the next batch was being prepared in the furnace. Most of these pills would be used to strengthen the sect – only a few dozen would be left behind for emergencies.
“I want half.” Lin Ming simply said.
Zhou Xinyu didn’t bargain with him. She opened the Arctic Jade box and counted out 18 Heaven Opening Pills, handing them over to Lin Ming.
The last box was entirely red, and also the smallest. There was a small lock on top.
To martial artists, a metal lock could simply be broken open. But, Lin Ming didn’t think this lock was so simple. If it wasn’t handled properly, it might be destroyed along with everything inside.
Zhou Xinyu carefully took out another key and opened the lock, and then slowly lifted the box’s top. The box was mostly empty, but on the bottom were 12 bottles carved from blood jade.
Lin Ming took deep breath. He didn’t need to probe with his sense to guess just what was in these 12 blood jade bottles.
Shattered Demon Heart Crystals!
These small treasures were what Lin Ming had risked his life for, and also what had caused his body to almost explode.
“As per our agreement from before, I’ll take 10!” Lin Ming’s voice was a bit excited. With these Shattered Demon Heart Crystals, he would be able to further consolidate his cultivation and continue tempering his marrow; he could even do so in this stone chamber!
Zhou Xinyu clenched her teeth, then eventually took out 10 of the blood jade bottles and handed them to Lin Ming. The remaining two were left inside the box.
This empty box had once held 72 Shattered Demon Heart Crystals. Now, there were only two left…
With the blood jade bottles in his hand, Lin Ming could clearly feel an ancient breath emitting from them. And also the remaining thoughts of the Netherworld Great Emperor’s indomitable will.
These were the key to his Tempering Marrow!
As he carefully put away the 10 Shattered Demon Heart Crystals, Lin Ming’s goal for coming here could already be considered successfully completed. As for the treasures and jade slips on the shelves, Lin Ming wasn’t very interested in them.
As he swept past the jade slips with his perception, most of them were cultivation methods. As for the treasures, most were medium-grade human-step. There were also a few earth-step treasures, but Lin Ming didn’t take a fancy towards any of them.
Finally, he used his perception to look at the several stone rooms. He didn’t have much hope for anything, but after seeing what was inside, Lin Ming was actually a bit excited.
Among the rooms, there were some very interesting things.
Lin Ming strode over and checked inside, then gasped.
These were inscription materials! Every room was full of inscription materials!
That’s right! The Moon Seizing Sect used to be a sect that excelled in symbol techniques. No matter whether it was inscription symbols, offensive or defensive symbols, the Moon Seizing Sect was skilled in them. Zhou Xinyu’s master Shui Yue was also an inscription grandmaster. In the Moon Seizing Sect’s hidden treasure trove, it would make sense to have so many inscription symbol materials.
As he made a cursory glance over these materials, Lin Ming was jubilant with happiness. These materials were all rare and precious types; collecting them wasn’t easy at all.
The value of these materials wasn’t too obscene, but collecting them was difficult. Something like the Heaven Opening Pill – as long as one paid a high enough price – could certainly be bought from any sect. But inscription materials were different. They were just too limited in quantity. Besides some sect professions, it was impossible for a seller to find buyers, or for a buyer to find sellers.
Therefore, many inscription associations built warehouses to store materials and collected a massive amount of them. Whether or not it was useful at the moment, they would store it inside. The Moon Seizing Sect was also like such. These materials had accumulated for over a thousand years.
For the past half year, Lin Ming’s inscription technique had stalled, and a major reason behind that was that he didn’t have materials to practice his technique. Now, this problem was easily solved.
Now he could finally spend some time to make some high-level medicinal inscriptions, and enhance the Heaven Opening Pills, and even the Shattered Demon Heart Crystals’ medicinal efficacy.