Beginning with the Five Animals Fist to Become a Saint

The Gate of Immortal Crossing.

Upon hearing the news about Zhuge Qingsong, Jiang Ning and Shen Wenyuan were greatly encouraged.

Shen Wenyuan also understood why Zhuge Qingsong insisted on waiting for Jiang Ning to come to his senses before revealing this matter.

The secret vault, also known as the inner vault.

Unlike ordinary storerooms, this one contains the sect's most precious treasures.

Thinking of this, Shen Wenyuan couldn't help but glance at Zhuge Qingsong a few more times.

Then, Zhuge Qingsong led Jiang Ning and Shen Wenyuan to the back of the main hall.

All that could be seen was an inconspicuous stone wall behind them, carved with intricate cloud patterns.

Beside the stone wall, an elder of the Zhuge family and a member of the Inspectorate looked at an elderly man with silver hair on either side.

"Greetings, Your Excellencies. I am the Grand Elder of the Immortal Crossing Sect, also known as Yun Yinzi!" Upon seeing Jiang Ning and Shen Wenyuan's arrival, the old man hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to them.

"We urge the Grand Elder to cooperate in opening the secret vault!" Zhuge Qingsong said.

"Please put your minds at ease, my lords. I will do my best to cooperate. I only hope that you will treat my disciples of the Immortal Crossing Sect kindly and try not to harm the innocent! In fact, my Immortal Crossing Sect also has its own difficulties, and sometimes we are not in control of our own destiny!" Yun Yinzi said to Jiang Ning and Shen Wenyuan with great politeness.

The two nodded.

Both of them were now perfectly clear-headed and understood the meaning behind Yun Yinzi's words.

Seeing the two nod, Yun Yinzi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He then went to the stone wall and used intricate techniques to photograph seven hidden protrusions.

Boom—

With a loud bang, the stone wall silently slid inward, revealing a downward staircase.

Luminous pearls are embedded on both sides of the staircase to illuminate the way ahead.

About ten feet down, the view suddenly opens up to a naturally formed grotto, about five feet in circumference and three feet in height.

Inside the grotto, several stone shelves are neatly arranged, on which are placed jade slips, silk books, pottery jars, jade bottles, and two iron and wooden boxes.

"My two lords, please!" Yun Yinzi cupped his hands in greeting.

Jiang Ning swept his divine sense across the grotto below in an instant.

Knowing there were no further secrets within, I felt at ease.

He then stepped onto the stairs first, and Shen Wenyuan quickly followed.

Zhuge Qingsong and Yun Yinzi followed behind.

Descending the steps, the group arrived in front of the stone frame.

"Brother Jiang, please take everything usable here!" Shen Wenyuan said.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Jiang Ning said.

His gaze first fell on the books on the stone shelf.

He walked to the stone shelf and casually picked up a jade slip.

The jade slip consists of only five pieces joined together, with five large characters engraved on it.

The Secret of Nourishing Qi in the Clouds and Mist.

It was actually a jade slip containing the inheritance of immortality. His gaze narrowed slightly.

"My lord, this is a cultivation method of immortality bestowed by the heavens, called the Cloud and Mist Nourishing Qi Technique!" Yun Yinzi explained from behind.

"Hmm!" Jiang Ning nodded, then probed with his divine sense, and the information in the jade slip flooded into his mind like a torrent.

In the blink of an eye, he had digested the information contained within.

The Cloud and Mist Nourishing Qi Technique is a foundational method of the Daoist path.

It is by using the roots of immortality as a guide, and drawing the spiritual energy of mountains, rivers, clouds and mist into the body.

This is also the first step on the path to immortality.

After learning a little about it, he looked away.

[Literacy and Character Interpretation Experience Points +337]

Looking at the increasing experience points in front of him, he nodded to himself in approval.

A single jade slip brought him over three hundred points of experience in reading and writing.

In terms of efficiency, it's practically free experience points.

Then he looked at the remaining letters and books.

Most of them are Taoist cultivation methods, elixir recipes, formation techniques, and miscellaneous records of ancient mountains, rivers, geography, and legends of grotto-heavens.

One of the ancient scrolls made of animal hide caught his attention. The scroll had seven or eight locations that appeared to be blessed lands and grottoes marked on it, along with brief comments.

For example, the Kunlun Ruins are devoid of spiritual energy, with hidden entrances that occasionally open without any discernible pattern.

Penglai Island in the East China Sea retains some of its original formations, making it an extremely dangerous and unpredictable place. Entering it means certain death; it is a place of great misfortune.

"Sure enough, there are such records..." Jiang Ning thought to himself.

This information was crucial for his future exploration of the secrets of heaven and earth and his dealings with the forces of the cave heavens.

He put away the scroll containing the record about the grotto-heaven.

Then he looked at the two iron and wooden crates.

Opening one of the openings, one could see that it shone brightly with golden light under the illumination of the luminous pearl overhead.

The box was half full of gold bars, ingots, leaves, and other gold in various shapes.

It weighs at least several hundred kilograms.

"Ten ounces a pound, that's not too much!" he muttered to himself.

He then set it aside for the time being. If there were no other treasures of much higher value, he would not have been so generous as to give the whole box of gold to Shen Wenyuan to handle.

Then he opened another iron and wooden box.

The other iron and wooden box contained no gold, silver, or other worldly items, but instead neatly stacked dozens of jade boxes and pottery jars of varying sizes, each sealed with a yellowed talisman paper, from which a faint aura of spiritual energy emanated.

Jiang Ning casually peeled off the seal of a palm-sized jade box. As soon as the lid was opened, a refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted out. Inside the box, lined with soft velvet, lay a pill the size of a longan, pure white, with cloud patterns flowing across its surface.

"It's actually the Cleansing Dust Pill."

Yun Yinzi, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but gasp. When he saw Jiang Ning's gaze sweep over, he quickly bowed and explained, "This pill has the effect of cleansing the body, removing impurities, and purifying the marrow. It is of great benefit to those who are at the Grandmaster level of martial arts, and can help them to consolidate their foundation. Back then, Sect Master Ji Mingzhou consolidated his realm when he first entered the second rank with this pill."

Jiang Ning nodded slightly, put it back in its place, and then opened several more boxes.

There is a blood-red pill, specifically for replenishing deficiencies in qi and blood.

There is a calming gel with a deep blue color that can nourish a tired mind and soul.

There was even a tightly sealed jar of earth vein spiritual milk; as soon as it was opened even slightly, the concentration of spiritual energy inside the cave suddenly increased.

These are all rare and precious natural treasures or high-grade elixirs that are hard to find elsewhere. They are clearly the reserves that the Immortal Crossing Sect has accumulated over hundreds of years for its core disciples or to deal with major challenges.

Shen Wenyuan watched quietly from the side, though a look of amazement flashed across his eyes, but there was not a trace of greed in him.

After Jiang Ning finished inspecting them, he said gently, "Brother Jiang, these spiritual items are just what you need. You have been fighting fiercely and using forbidden techniques, which has damaged your qi, blood, spirit, and soul. These pills can replenish your vital energy."

Jiang Ning nodded: "It is indeed of great use to me."

Then his gaze fell on a pottery jar on the stone shelf.

Upon opening it, a bright golden light immediately shone out, the dazzling golden light reflecting off the top of the grotto, making it extremely magnificent.

It instantly attracted the attention of Shen Wenyuan, Zhuge Qingsong, and Yun Yinzi.

"Brother Jiang, what is this?!" Shen Wenyuan couldn't help but exclaim. At this moment, Jiang Ning looked at the distinct, dazzling gold dust in the pottery jar, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

“It’s gold dust!” he said calmly.

"Gold dust!!" Shen Wenyuan immediately took a deep breath.

Zhuge Qingsong's expression also changed.

"It's gold dust, and there's even a whole jar of it!"

Jiang Ning nodded, his eyes still gleaming with a strange light as he looked at the gold dust in the jar.

Gold is expensive because of special products like gold dust.

Gold dust is a special substance extracted from gold.

These substances can help martial artists reach incredible heights.

He didn't understand before, but now he does.

Most martial artists in the world need the assistance of magical substances like gold dust to reach the stage of forging a golden body.

At the same time, if the jade bone is to be further improved, it also needs the assistance of gold dust.

For these reasons, the exchange rate between gold and silver is so vastly different.

After learning about it, he understood.

In Daxia, silver was merely a form of currency with little practical value.

Gold, however, is different. It is both currency and a consumable, a resource that the strong must possess.

This is why this phenomenon has occurred.

Looking at the gold dust in the pottery jar, Jiang Ning silently withdrew his gaze and closed the jar again.

According to his understanding, it often takes hundreds of taels of gold to extract a single grain of gold.

Moreover, the refining method is extremely special and cannot be mastered by ordinary people. Therefore, a single grain of gold dust is almost equivalent to a thousand taels of gold in terms of value.

He had only glanced at the ceramic jar briefly when he saw dozens of grains piled up together.

These gold dusts alone are equivalent to tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of taels of gold.

All the things he had just looked through, put together, were not as valuable as this jar of gold dust.

Then, Jiang Ning shifted his gaze from the pottery jar filled with gold dust to the remaining jade boxes and rustic wooden cases on the stone shelf.

He casually opened a sandalwood box next to the pottery jar.

As soon as the box lid was opened, a warm, spring-like emerald light filled the cave, making the four walls translucent like jade.

Inside the box lay a three-inch-long vine, its entire body a vibrant green, with fine silver patterns on its surface, resembling naturally engraved runes.

Even more strangely, a tiny, vermilion bud the size of a grain of rice had formed at the tip of the vine, faintly glowing with a rosy light.

“This is the Dragon Blood Azure Immortal Vine!” Jiang Ning’s gaze sharpened.

The relevant information immediately came to mind.

According to ancient records, this creature needs to be watered with blood containing dragon's blood and grow in a place rich in spiritual energy, taking a thousand years to mature.

The vine can reshape the foundation of the physical body, and the regeneration of severed limbs is not out of the question.

As for the immortal buds at the top, they can nourish the origin of the soul, and it is even rumored that they are of great benefit to the immortal roots of immortal cultivators.

Jiang Ning's eyes flickered, and he could sense the boundless vitality contained within the vines.

At the same time, he also felt a movement coming from deep within his body.

With a slight thought, he looked inward at his dantian and saw that the immortal seedling, which had been standing still, was now moving without any wind. Its roots were extending slightly towards the wooden box, conveying a clear sense of longing.

“This item is indeed of great benefit to me.” Jiang Ning nodded and carefully closed the wooden box.

The value of this piece of Dragon Blood Green Immortal Vine alone far surpasses that of pills like the Cleansing Dust Pill.

He immediately realized that the truly good things were still placed on the stone shelf.

As for the items piled together in the two iron and wooden crates, they could only be considered ordinary, cheap goods.

He then looked at a square box carved from black jade next to him.

The box was icy cold to the touch, and its surface was covered with fine frost.

Upon opening, the box was not filled with dazzling light; instead, it was as dark as an abyss. Only three black fruits, each the size of a pigeon's egg, were quietly displayed inside. The surface of the fruits was covered with dark gold net-like patterns, with faint lightning crackling between the patterns.

Netherworld Thunder Pattern Fruit.

Jiang Ning saw it at a glance.

After reading numerous books, he had a vast amount of knowledge in his mind.

Information about the Netherworld Thunder Pattern Fruit then surfaced in his mind.

This fruit grows in filthy lands where thunder gathers, ripening once every hundred years. Consuming it can temper the physical body, strengthen the meridians, and even draw a trace of heavenly thunder essence into the body, making it remarkably effective for cultivating thunder-attribute immortal techniques or adapting to thunder tribulations in advance.

Ancient books also record that ancient practitioners could refine a special physique using this fruit.

Jiang Ning picked up a fruit, feeling a slight tingling sensation on his fingertips, as if he were holding a condensed bolt of lightning.

He then carefully put it away and covered it again.

Then, his gaze fell on the heavy iron scroll wrapped in the hide of an unknown animal on the stone shelf.

Unhide the animal hide and unfold the iron scroll. There are no words on it, but it is engraved with a series of star trajectory diagrams using secret methods. The diagrams are dotted with countless points of light. Upon closer inspection, the points of light are actually inlaid with extremely tiny spirit crystals, forming a complex star array.

"The Zhou Tian Star Chart?" Jiang Ning immediately recognized a line of small characters in the corner of the iron scroll.

“My lord, this object is engraved with the basic principles of array formations. Those skilled in array formations can use this diagram to comprehend and deduce certain array formations,” Yun Yinzi explained, noticing the confusion on Jiang Ning’s face.

He then continued, "This diagram can also help cultivators sense the power of the stars and comprehend the order of the universe and the rules of heaven and earth. Ji Mingzhou's achievements are related to this object!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning nodded.

Finally, his gaze fell on another square jade box on the stone shelf.

This box is carved from a single piece of green jade. The body of the box is engraved with fine cloud patterns that gather spiritual energy. It is warm to the touch and seems to have a faint spiritual light flowing through it.

Upon opening the box, no brilliance was revealed.

Inside the box was a layer of dark purple velvet, on which ten crystals the size of pigeon eggs were neatly arranged.

The crystal is completely transparent, with what appears to be swirling clouds and mist inside. Its color is not the pale white or milky white of ordinary spirit crystals, but rather a deep, dark blue, like a solidified deep sea.

Even more astonishingly, as soon as the jade box was opened, the spiritual energy inside the grotto suddenly became viscous, and with each breath, a refreshing and invigorating energy, like sweet rain, seeped into the lungs, even invigorating the spirit.

"This is... a high-grade spirit crystal?" Shen Wenyuan's eyes narrowed, somewhat incredulous. "No, that can't be!"

He shook his head again: "Even ordinary high-grade spirit crystals don't have such a rich blue color! This one is a deep blue, and the spiritual mist within it has formed the appearance of flowing droplets. It is a top-grade spirit crystal, a truly exceptional one!"

"A single top-grade spirit crystal is equivalent to the spiritual energy contained in a hundred ordinary spirit crystals, and it is also easier to absorb and has almost no impurities!"

Jiang Ning lightly touched a crystal with his fingertip and immediately felt an overwhelming surge of pure spiritual energy flow into his fingertip, gentle as spring water, yet vast as the ocean.

Even more strangely, the spiritual energy carried a calm and profound charm, as if it could soothe restlessness and purify the soul.

"It is indeed a fine item." Jiang Ning closed the jade box and carefully put it away.

At this point, all the treasures on the stone shelf have been inventoried.

Gold dust is precious, but that box of gold is nothing compared to it.

The other iron and wooden box contained elixirs and other precious items that proved quite beneficial to him.

What he valued most were the Dragon Blood Azure Immortal Vine and these ten top-grade spirit crystals. (End of Chapter)