Chapter 260 - 181: Escape, Harvest, Secret Technique, Thousand-Year Red Ginseng

Chapter 260: Chapter 181: Escape, Harvest, Secret Technique, Thousand-Year Red Ginseng

This time, Liu Heng used the Earthquake Technique to create an Underground Space, but he was clearly not as skilled as Shen Yunjiao. The resulting space was much smaller, and the surrounding walls were so loose they looked like they might collapse at any moment.

The temperature underground was low, so the three of them sat huddled around a fire, warming their dry rations. After witnessing Zhao Zuo’s true strength, Wang Yao had become somewhat reserved.

"The Talisman you borrowed for the Foundation Establishment Cave Mansion costs about three thousand Spirit Stones," Zhao Zuo said to them. "You can pay with Artifact Refining materials or old, damaged Magical Artifacts to offset the cost. Of course, paying with Spirit Stones directly is fine too."

"Here are the Artifact Refining materials and damaged Magical Artifacts we found in the Cave Mansion." Liu Heng nodded and emptied a large pile of Artifact Refining materials and two damaged Magical Artifacts from his Storage Bag.

Zhao Zuo’s eyes narrowed as he mentally calculated the value of the materials. Most of them were One Tier, but luckily, the quantity was substantial.

Only three were Second Tier Artifact Refining materials.

The first was a fist-sized piece of Earth Mother Meteorite Copper, a relatively common Second Tier Artifact Refining material. It was characterized by its extreme hardness but possessed no other attributes, so it wasn’t very expensive.

There was also a head-sized piece of Primordial Magnetic Mica. This was a very special, heavy material often added when refining heavy-class Magical Artifacts. Despite being only the size of a human head, it weighed around seven hundred pounds.

Zhao Zuo could tell this piece of Primordial Magnetic Mica was just an unrefined raw material. Otherwise, a piece this size would have weighed closer to fourteen hundred pounds after Refinement.

He couldn’t name the third Second Tier material, but he could sense the surging Fire Series Energy within it far surpassed the limit for a One Tier material, which was how he inferred its rank.

’These materials... all together, they should be worth around twelve thousand Spirit Stones. But the buying price would naturally be a bit lower.’ In the end, he settled on an offer of eleven thousand Spirit Stones.

"These Artifact Refining materials are worth around ten thousand Spirit Stones. I’ll make up the difference with eight thousand Spirit Stones and take the lot. How about it?"

Although Liu Heng was an Outer Sect disciple of the Earth Fire Hall and hadn’t mastered the art of refining Lower Grade Magical Artifacts, he still had a good idea of what the materials were worth. He knew Zhao Zuo’s offer was perfectly fine. He glanced at Wang Yao, who nodded in agreement.

"That price is more than fair."

Zhao Zuo counted out eight thousand Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and handed them to Liu Heng. With a wave of his hand, he swept the Artifact Refining materials into his own Storage Bag. Then... he reached out to touch the two damaged Magical Artifacts.

The first Magical Artifact was a metal ring. It was a brilliant, glittering yellow, as if forged from pure Gold. Intricate patterns were carved on its surface, faintly resembling two dragons, but the details had become too blurry to make out.

Most importantly, the Spirit within the Magical Artifact was extremely weak.

Zhao Zuo already had a suspicion. He extended a finger and tapped it, but the familiar transparent panel didn’t appear. ’It’s completely useless,’ he thought. Still, he didn’t pull his finger away immediately, instead pretending to inject Mana and inspect it for several dozen seconds before speaking.

"This Magical Artifact is completely ruined."

Liu Heng’s expression remained unchanged. He had already inspected both Magical Artifacts in detail beforehand. The Spirit Patterns inside the metal ring were indeed destroyed, and after so much time, a large portion of the material’s inherent Spiritual Power had dissipated, leaving it with no real value.

The second Magical Artifact was a beautiful, glazed bottle, but its body was covered in a web of fine cracks, looking as if it might shatter at any moment. Though it gave off a bit of Spiritual Light, it was extremely faint.

Zhao Zuo held no expectations, and sure enough, his Golden Finger didn’t activate. He shook his head.

Perhaps because he had already expected this outcome, Liu Heng showed no sign of disappointment. He simply waved his hand and put the two Magical Artifacts back into his Storage Bag.

"We also found a few Cultivation Techniques. Brother Zhao, would you like to make a copy?"

Liu Heng said enthusiastically, nodding to Wang Yao. She took a jade slip and two Beast Hide Scrolls from her Storage Bag and handed them all to Zhao Zuo.

"The jade slip contains several Pill Formulas and their refining methods, recorded by a Foundation Establishment Powerhouse over his lifetime. The Beast Hide Scrolls contain two rather rare Secret Techniques: the Concealing Breath Technique and Golden Clear Jade Eyes."

From the introduction, Zhao Zuo understood the contents of these legacies. The Pill Refining Inheritance included the refining methods for four One Tier and two Second Tier Pill Medicines. The annotations were detailed, leading him to believe the Cave Mansion’s previous owner must have been a Second Tier Alchemist.

The effect of the Concealing Breath Technique was the same as his Breath-Concealing Ring, so there was no point in spending time to learn it.

Golden Clear Jade Eyes was a Secret Technique for tempering one’s eyes to ultimately strengthen their Divine Thought. It wasn’t particularly difficult to cultivate, but it required a specially prepared Spiritual Liquid as a supplement. In fact, the entire technique could be summed up in three words.

"Throw Spirit Stones."

In terms of both its effects and its potential, it was inferior to the Soul-Forging Technique and wouldn’t be of much help to Zhao Zuo. Still, he made copies of all three legacies. The Pill Refining Inheritance could be auctioned elsewhere for Spirit Stones, and the Golden Clear Jade Eyes could be given to Shen Yunjiao to cultivate.

Zhao Zuo had intended to offer some Spirit Stones for them, but Liu Heng refused, so he had to let the matter drop.

Although their relationship was decent enough, Zhao Zuo was still cautious. He didn’t use the time to practice his Golden Body Technique, instead cultivating his Soul-Forging Technique for a while before taking out a piece of Spirit Wood to practice inscribing Thick Earth Spirit Patterns.

The night passed uneventfully. After breakfast the next morning, the three of them set out again. The several hours of rest had allowed Liu Heng and Wang Yao to recover from their exhaustion, and their travel speed returned to normal for those in the Late Period of Qi Cultivation.

The next two days passed without incident, and the trio returned safely to Moyun Workshop. The moment they stepped into the Market, Liu Heng and Wang Yao announced their departure. They were likely eager to sell their miscellaneous loot and buy some Pill Medicine to improve their Cultivation.

Although their expedition to the Foundation Establishment Cave Mansion had been dangerous, the rewards were enough for the pair to break through their current cultivation levels and even take several more steps forward on the path of the Late Period of Qi Cultivation.

However, this haul was not enough for them to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. Unless they had some more lucky encounters in the future, it would be another twenty years before they could even think of attempting the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Moyun Workshop was as bustling as ever. People hurried through the streets, and occasionally, a pedestrian would pass by covered in injuries, wrapped in bandages, and reeking of blood, their face pale.

The number of stalls selling Demon Beast meat in the marketplace had increased. In fact, on their way back, the three of them had already sensed that the surrounding Demon Beasts seemed to be following some kind of summons, converging on Moyun Workshop. Among them were a fair number of High Level, One Tier Demon Beasts.

Clearly, the annual Demon Beast Rampage was not far off.

Zhao Zuo paused. Amid the din, he heard a baby crying. At a nearby stall, a woman who looked to be in her thirties held a rosy-cheeked baby in swaddling clothes. Her Cultivation was around the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer. She was quite beautiful, with smooth skin. The tips of her brows were slightly upturned, giving her a gentle look, and her facial features were soft yet well-defined.

She had a stall set up in front of her, displaying various animals woven from Spiritual Bamboo. These woven toys, however, lacked any spirituality and were just ordinary playthings. Next to the toys were some fresh Spiritual Medicines, though they were all just Lower Grade of the One Tier.

Zhao Zuo guessed her husband was probably a Medicine Gatherer who made a living on the outskirts of the Yunlan Mountain Range. He likely went into the mountains to gather herbs during the day, leaving her in charge of the stall.

"Sigh, an extra two Spirit Stones every month this year... It’s getting hard to make a living."

She rocked the wailing baby in her arms, murmuring softly. Yet as she spoke, her eyes held no despair. On the contrary, they were clear and filled with hope. Her hair, smooth as silk, seemed to shimmer with a golden sheen.

Zhao Zuo took a couple of steps forward and crouched down, pointing to the Spiritual Medicines on the stall.

"How much for these Spiritual Medicines?"