: Checking the Treasure

March 16, 2025, Author: Gu Zhenren

In a deserted cave, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Roaming Dragon lay silently on the rocky ground.

Inside the mechanism cabin, Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes.

He let out a long, turbid breath, feeling refreshed and fully healed.

For one, Ning Zhuo’s injuries weren’t severe to begin with. The Heaven and Earth Ghosts had intended to capture him alive, so they had held back in many areas.

Secondly, thanks were due to Lin Bufan. The Ten-Thousand Medicine Sect was inherently a healer’s faction, and as its leader, Lin Bufan was the finest physician. His personal care for Ning Zhuo’s wounds proved far more effective than simply consuming medicinal pills.

After scanning his body with spiritual sense to confirm his recovery, Ning Zhuo stood up and opened the cabin door.

He made his way to the dragon-head cabin to meet up with Sun Lingtong.

Sun Lingtong was idly fiddling with the mechanisms in the dragon-head cabin, occasionally glancing at the storage pouch placed on the table.

Seeing Ning Zhuo arrive, Sun Lingtong jumped up excitedly. "Hahaha, Little Zhuo, you’re finally here! Great! Let’s open the storage pouch and see what’s inside."

A warm feeling welled up in Ning Zhuo’s heart.

Over the past decade or so in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, similar scenes had occurred many times.

Sun Lingtong never examined stolen goods alone; he always shared the spoils with Ning Zhuo, enjoying the thrill of the unknown together.

The two sat cross-legged, placing the storage pouch before them.

Sun Lingtong began rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Ning Zhuo also felt anticipation. After all, this was the lifelong accumulation of a Heavenly Ghost—a genuine Nascent Soul-level expert. What kind of wealth could such a figure possess?

Of course, before leaving, Tian Shuang had taken all the combat-ready treasures and artifacts with him.

Even so, there was plenty to look forward to.

Just the storage pouch itself kept Sun and Ning occupied for a while.

This was a Nascent Soul-level storage pouch, snow-white in appearance, made of silk, and exuding a chilling glow. Its quality was evident at a glance.

Come to think of it, the duo had previously obtained a Nascent Soul-level storage pouch from the supply team of the Two Notes Kingdom. However, it was locked, and despite numerous attempts, Sun Lingtong had failed to open it.

Tian Shuang’s storage pouch, gifted willingly by its original owner, was naturally unlocked.

The two opened the pouch and channeled their spiritual sense inside, finding it filled to the brim with all sorts of treasures.

The largest portion consisted of spirit stones.

Spirit stones!

So many that Sun and Ning couldn’t count them all at first glance.

Next were various rare materials.

For example: Mysterious Yin Cold Jade, Ice Thread Mushrooms, Frost Spirit Vines, Extreme Cold Snow Dots, Soul Flowers, Ghost Grass, Resentment Stones, and more.

There were also creatures sealed within tokens, such as Snow Yetis, Ice Wolves, as well as Wailing Souls of the Cold Prison, Snow Bone Rakshasas, Crystal Ice Ghosts, and others.

Sun and Ning widened their eyes, carefully examining each item one by one.

Underworld wine like the Yellow Spring Brew, pills to guide lost souls like the Ghost Path Guiding Pills, Ghost Path cultivation aids like the Yin Silkworm Soul-Shedding Pills, soul-repairing pills like the Nether Spirit Soul-Restoring Pills...

There were talismans for teleporting to specific waystations—Yin Road Passes, talismans to trap enemies like the Wailing Wall Talismans, talismans to enhance absorption of nether energy like the Death Absorption Talismans...

A Yin Vein Comb made of white bones, specially designed to untangle congested and chaotic Yin energy within souls.

A River of Forgetfulness Boat capable of crossing the Nether River and Yellow Springs.

A Soul Nurturing Box for soul cultivation, enhancing the foundation of one’s spirit.

A Yin Chess Board with pieces made of condensed skulls.

Large amounts of Hell Money—Passing Yin Coins—for往返 the ghost market.

A Soul Shaking Bell to control numerous ghosts.

A Rebirth Sedan Chair, specially designed for ghost cultivators seeking reincarnation and a chance at new life...

Although Tian Shuang had taken all the combat treasures, he had left behind a vast number of items essential for daily cultivation and life.

"Tian Shuang is really thoughtful. To prevent us from being confused about the uses of these items, he even kindly provided brief introductions in the jade slips," Sun Lingtong remarked with admiration.

Ning Zhuo said, "Let’s start by counting the spirit stones."

On this point, Tian Shuang had not provided clear details in the jade slips.

As a top-tier Nascent Soul cultivator, Tian Shuang had a substantial reserve of spirit stones, mostly mid-grade, with a smaller portion of high-grade and low-grade stones.

Generally, Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators primarily use low-grade spirit stones. Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators use mid-grade stones.

At the Soul Transformation and Void Refining stages, high-grade spirit stones become the most efficient.

After a rough estimate, Sun and Ning discovered that the spirit stones in Tian Shuang’s storage pouch, when converted to mid-grade, exceeded 100 million.

Over 100 million mid-grade spirit stones!

"This is the first time I’ve ever seen so many spirit stones."

"As expected of the wealth of the Heaven and Earth Ghosts."

Sun and Ning were utterly amazed.

They exchanged glances, each seeing the excitement in the other’s eyes.

Originally, Ning Zhuo had joined the campaign to pacify the Two Notes Kingdom to seize an opportunity to reclaim his mother’s keepsake. Little did he expect that the benefits gained along the way would far exceed his expectations!

"Before, when we looted the battlefield, we obtained mid-grade spirit stones worth over 10 million. Who would have thought this time would be even more lucrative!"

"But thinking about it, 100 million isn’t that much. It’s just like looting the battlefield nine more times as the Old Man in the Stone."

Sun Lingtong spoke nonchalantly, but his hands were on his hips, betraying his smug delight.

Ning Zhuo remained more level-headed. "Actually, we didn’t have many opportunities to play the Old Man in the Stone and loot the battlefield."

"We never encountered such chances again afterward. In fact, pretending to be the Old Man in the Stone became extremely dangerous, attracting suppression from two Soul Transformation experts."

"Tian Shuang’s voluntary gift is truly a rare opportunity."

"Even if I use Buddhist thoughts to fill others’ spiritual seas in the future, it’s unlikely they’ll be as determined as Tian Shuang to fight to the death and gift their wealth before battle."

"Moreover, this time I took advantage of a clever trick. I first used the Life Thread technique to connect with Tian Shuang’s ghost mask, then indirectly influenced Tian Shuang through the connection between the mask and his true body."

Sun Lingtong nodded, acknowledging Ning Zhuo’s analysis, and the joy on his face diminished slightly.

The two continued their inspection.

What remained were items like jade slips and jade discs.

These contained vast amounts of intelligence, cultivation techniques, spells, and even divine abilities.

For instance, internal materials on the Soul Devourer Sect, records on improvements to the Soul Devouring Technique, methods for refining the Ghost Gate Pass treasure, and techniques for raising Snow Bone Rakshasas, Earth Molten Ghosts, Ice Corpses, and more.

There were also the main cultivation techniques of Tian Shuang and Di Gui—the "Nine Prisons Cold Soul Record" and the "Burning Fiend Molten Soul Scripture," respectively, as well as their Heaven and Earth Combined Strike technique.

"Unfortunately, these are mostly focused on soul path cultivation. They’re not very relevant to us, at best expanding our understanding of the Heaven and Earth Ghosts and broadening our horizons," Sun Lingtong said regretfully.

Ning Zhuo reminded him, "Boss, don’t forget, there are also the spoils from others."

The Heaven and Earth Combined Strike executed by Tian Shuang and Di Hui was immensely powerful, shaking and distorting space, instantly killing nearly ten Nascent Soul cultivators.

Only three managed to escape alive; the rest lost their lives.

The treasures these cultivators left behind on the battlefield were not collected by the Heaven and Earth Ghosts and ultimately fell into the hands of the Three Generals Camp.

When the Three Generals Camp returned to report, they took some with them but handed the rest over to Ning Zhuo.

On one hand, the Three Generals Camp had an agreement with Ning Zhuo, granting him 30% of the spoils. On the other hand, since Ning Zhuo played the key role in defeating the Heaven and Earth Ghosts, the majority of the spoils rightfully belonged to him.

There was the Great Sun Sky Banner from Lieyang Zhenren.

Only half of this banner remained, depicting a yellow sun soaring in the sky. Shaking it could summon sunlight and flames.

The Tai Chi Yin Yang Cloak from the Yin Yang Scholar.

This black-and-white cloak concealed mysteries—the white side painted with celestial stars, the black side embroidered with the Nine Springs of the Yellow Spring. Unfortunately, only 30% of it remained.

The Cloud Light Heart Mirror from the Valley Zither Immortal.

This was a mechanism at the treasure level, containing twelve-pitch reed plates. Once attacked, it could release sound waves to neutralize damage.

But it, too, was severely damaged.

These battlefield spoils shared a common trait: they were all broken.

After all, if they had been intact, their owners would have been the victors, not the casualties.

Even so, these damaged treasures held significant value.

First, any artifact that survived the Heaven and Earth Combined Strike was extraordinary. Second, their current broken state didn’t mean they couldn’t be restored. With the right craftsmen and refining methods, they could be rejuvenated.

Third, even if left unrepaired, they could be sold. Damaged treasures had a stable market.

Sun and Ning examined these spoils one by one but didn’t delve too deeply.

"If only their storage pouches and belts had survived, how great would that be!" Ning Zhuo sighed.

"Hah, wishful thinking! Under the Heaven and Earth Combined Strike, most cultivators were reduced to dust, let alone their belongings," Sun Lingtong retorted, rolling his eyes.

Then he added, "However, when the Three Generals Camp returns to headquarters, they’ll bring some spoils with them. Plus, our victory over the Heaven and Earth Ghosts means our military merits are something to look forward to."

The second-to-last gain was Tian Shuang’s ghost mask.

This mask had been specially left to Ning Zhuo by Tian Shuang.

Finally, there was the Wood Central Flame.

After reuniting with Ning Zhuo, Lin Bufan briefly explained his experiences and handed the Wood Central Flame over to him.

Ning Zhuo gave it a preliminary inspection before storing it away.

This was the first time in his life he had obtained such a precious flame.

Under normal circumstances, he would have studied it thoroughly.

But now was not the time for research. He needed to replenish his puppet arsenal and restore his combat strength as quickly as possible!

"The battle with the Heaven and Earth Ghosts might lead to Tian Gui’s recovery and their reunion, after which they could come after me again."

"Although the Buddhist thoughts are plentiful, they’re like a spring without a source. Without me replenishing them, once the normal thoughts in Tian Shuang’s spiritual sea reach a certain scale, he’ll be able to think rationally again."

"Di Hui understands his condition well, so all he needs to do is stall, consume, and prolong the battle until Tian Shuang returns to his original state."

Ning Zhuo never held much hope for Tian Shuang’s pursuit of Di Hui.

But he couldn’t dissuade him.

Tian Shuang’s spiritual sea was filled with Buddhist thoughts,一心 seeking redemption. Ning Zhuo had no way to stop him. Allowing Tian Shuang to regain normal thoughts posed too great a risk.

Since Tian Shuang was determined to pursue Di Hui for atonement, Ning Zhuo couldn’t persuade him otherwise and could only let things take their course.

Thus, Ning Zhuo had to strive for improvement with all his might before the Heaven and Earth Ghosts returned.

"I can’t predict when the Heaven and Earth Ghosts will come back."

"So, the longer we stay in this battlefield, the greater the danger."

"Ah, when will the opportunity to attack the Six Caves Sect finally arrive?"

(End of )