Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 467 Inspecting the Heavenly Sound Sect's Treasury

Inside the sect storehouse of Tianyin Sect, Miaoyin Mountain.

Xiao Chen meticulously inspected the entire warehouse, including every bottle and jar and every floor tile.

This ensures that you don't miss any potential secret rooms.

However, perhaps because they were very confident in their own defenses, or perhaps because they felt there was nothing particularly valuable, none of the True Lords of the Tianyin Sect chose to build a secret chamber.

Moreover, the resources collected by the sect disciples were simply and crudely piled up in the two-story hall.

The first layer contains spiritual items needed daily by Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, as well as a reserve of spirit stones sealed in boxes.

After Xiao Chen counted them, it was found that there were more than 8.39 million low-grade spirit stones inside.

However, there were only 163,500 mid-grade spirit stones.

Compared to the Yin Corpse Sect, they had nearly two million more low-grade spirit stones, but more than two hundred thousand fewer mid-grade spirit stones.

The difference in their fundamental strengths is evident from this.

The second floor contains all the remaining items, the largest of which are various musical instruments.

You should know that these musical instruments are all magical artifacts or even spiritual artifacts.

It even includes more than two hundred third-order instruments and thirteen fourth-order instruments.

Xiao Chen noticed that most of them were duplicate types of spiritual artifacts.

For example, among the three categories of musical instruments, the flute and the guqin alone account for about 70%.

Among the thirteen fourth-order musical instruments, there were two piccolo flutes, four flutes, and four guqin (a seven-stringed zither).

The key point is that they don't look significantly different from each other.

The only differences are in the overall color, size, and carved patterns.

Even two of the guqin were made primarily of fourth-grade sea coral jade, using the same forging techniques.

They are identical in size and the patterns carved on their surfaces, differing only in the decorative materials used.

"What a waste of these spiritual materials."

Xiao Chen couldn't quite understand the significance of doing this. He only knew that once the spiritual materials were made into such a spiritual artifact, it would probably be difficult to sell.

Firstly, there are too many similar magical artifacts, but cultivators with the same needs may not have that many.

Aside from popular items like flying swords and spirit shields, these items often accumulate for years without selling.

Secondly, these are all musical instruments, which makes them even harder to sell.

After all, there are very few cultivators who practice the Way of Music.

Occasionally, there is a related sect, which has its own weapon refiners and almost no need to purchase from outside.

"If it were a spirit shield or a flying sword, that would be a huge sum of spirit stones."

Xiao Chen couldn't help but sigh, "It just so happens that these are musical instruments that I don't need myself, and they're also not easy to monetize."

"But then again, it's at least better than the Yin Corpse Sect's collection of demonic artifacts."

The worst thing is comparison. Comparing people will only lead to ruin, and comparing goods will only lead to discarding them.

Compared to the Yin Corpse Sect's reckless and wasteful actions, the Heavenly Sound Sect's creation of more musical instruments is much more reasonable, since they cultivate the Way of Music.

"It seems there isn't another sect in the Eastern Region that specializes in music."

Xiao Chen put all the magical artifacts into his storage ring: "I think I should just leave all these things to Zhang Cunfu to worry about."

Having a helper is very useful; you can delegate these tedious tasks to them and let them figure out how to handle them.

Other common spiritual herbs, elixirs, and minerals can also be packaged up and handed over to the other party to take care of.

In addition, there is a relatively valuable spiritual item in the Tianyin Sect's storeroom.

They are a bottle of deep-sea gypsum, a spare fourth-tier defensive array, a scroll tied with a red ribbon, and a spirit-gathering treasure box.

Deep-sea gypsum is a rather special fourth-tier superior spiritual item.

Strictly speaking, this shouldn't be considered a rare and precious natural treasure.

Because it is not a naturally occurring spiritual object, but rather artificially created by a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

However, the reason why deep-sea gypsum is rated as a fourth-grade superior product is because its effects are exceptionally powerful. It is one of the very few rare items that can effectively improve the quality of flying swords.

Moreover, the production process is extremely complicated.

More importantly, it takes a very long time. Even experienced craftsmen need nearly thirty years to successfully create one.

As we all know, time is money.

This statement is equally valid even for Nascent Soul cultivators.

Although a True Monarch may seem to enjoy a lifespan of a thousand years, to a low-level cultivator he is already a figure like an ancestor, an old monster, or even an Earth Immortal.

However, any True Lord who aspires to reach the Divine Transformation stage will feel the urgency and insufficiency of time.

Not to mention, just the process of condensing true essence takes hundreds of years, and it's a strict requirement that not a single strand of true essence can be missing.

In this situation.

A spiritual object that took thirty years to create will naturally be of high value, no less than those real rare and precious materials.

"This is a good item, but how did it end up in the Tianyin Sect?"

Xiao Chen was both happy and puzzled after recognizing the deep-sea gypsum.

The good thing is that whether we keep it for the Wind and Thunder Sword Pair or use it to trade with sword cultivators, it's an excellent choice.

What's puzzling is that the Tianyin Sect has no sword cultivators, and even decorative swords are rare.

Why would they have such a thing in their hands?

"Never mind, the reason isn't important."

Xiao Chen shook his head: "They say a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, who knows what they're thinking."

He put away the deep-sea gypsum and then inspected the fourth-tier defensive array.

Well, to put it simply, it's completely unremarkable.

It wasn't one of those expensive backup mountain-protecting formations, but rather something quite similar to the ordinary defensive formations on the previous island of darkness.

But don't underestimate this thing because of that.

After all, it is a completely new fourth-order formation. If it can be sold to other sects at a large auction, it can easily fetch millions of spirit stones.

Xiao Chen gathered up the array flags, array base, and array plate before looking at the painting.

"Ok?"

He reached out and unrolled the scroll, only to find that it was an exquisite painting of maple trees swaying in the wind.

At first glance, it looks like a simple ink wash landscape painting.

However, any cultivator who concentrates and looks closely can perceive that the wind in the painting seems to be moving.

I could even faintly hear the rustling sound of its wings rustling through the maple forest as it swept past.

"Oh dear, why is it a picture of Shen Yun?"

As a Nascent Soul True Monarch, Xiao Chen could directly sense that the scroll contained two different Great Daos simultaneously.

It has both the way of wind and the way of music.

To be honest, such a Shen Yun painting is actually extremely valuable.

Because most cultivators choose one of the Five Elements Paths, not many people actually choose the Path of Wind.

A cultivator who simultaneously practices both the Way of Wind and the Way of Music is extremely rare.

Seriously, even if you searched the entire Eastern Region right now, you might not be able to find a second image with similar divine charm.

"Sigh, it really is a good thing."

Xiao Chen sighed softly: "But the problem is, I don't think I need this much."

He had hardly explored either the Way of Wind or the Way of Music.

If I had to say, he did study the Way of Wind and Thunder for a period of time back then.

But in reality, he didn't delve into it deeply, and he hadn't put much effort into it since breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

"This Shen Yun painting is well-preserved and of absolutely no quality issues."

Xiao Chen felt the intense spiritual energy emanating from it, which was almost overflowing: "It would be a pity to sell such a treasure directly."

"It's better to keep it in hand for a while."

"Let's see if we can exchange it with other cultivators in the future to get a high-quality wood-elemental divine charm painting."

Such rare items are not easily sold by other cultivators.

At that point, bartering is the only way to achieve an exchange.

Xiao Chen put the scroll away and tied it up again.

Finally, their gaze fell upon the remaining Spirit-Nourishing Treasure Box.

Since there's only one treasure box, there's no need to worry about which one to open first, because there's simply no choice.

Nevertheless, Xiao Chen carefully placed the treasure box in front of him and took a deep breath.

Then he reached out and opened the box: "Open!"

Inside the box was a layer of bright red silk, and in the middle of the silk was a golden book.

Its surface has no words or patterns, and at first glance it looks a bit like a gold brick.

Xiao Chen held it in his hand and weighed it in his hand, but it didn't feel heavy at all, weighing less than a hundred pounds.

It is probably made of pure gold, without any added spiritual materials, which allows it to be preserved for a long time.

As Xiao Chen flipped through the soft gold pages, he was surprised to find that it was actually a picture book.

On the first page, there is a nautical chart, in which the location of the Mysterious Sea Realm is marked.

The following pages describe the sea conditions near the Vast Ocean Secret Realm and the general structure of the Vast Ocean Secret Realm.

And the specific locations and reference points of all five entrances when the secret realm opens.

Following that are four more severely damaged inner world maps, which only show a portion of the outer inner world.

For the core areas, only a warning line was drawn to distinguish them.

Xiao Chen continued flipping through the pages and found that the last few pages contained written records of the valuable experiences gained by the True Monarchs of the Heavenly Sound Sect during their exploration of the inner world.

There are seven chapters of varying lengths, each corresponding to one of the seven exploration processes.

The longest of these was the seventh time, which, thanks to the accumulated experience of predecessors, allowed him to successfully avoid many dangers and obtain more than ten fourth-tier spiritual items in the inner realm at once.

The shortest was the third time, when he unexpectedly encountered a Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Western Regions on the second day after entering the inner realm.

Although he successfully escaped the enemy's pursuit, he was also seriously injured.

He had no choice but to quit halfway to save his own life.

In the end, not only did they fail to obtain any spiritual items, they also wasted a large amount of talismans and elixirs.

It can be said that they lost everything.

"Hey, this is interesting!"

After reading the description in the golden book, Xiao Chen's eyes lit up: "There's actually such a place within the Vast Sea Secret Realm?"

He wasn't particularly concerned about the dangers mentioned in the chapters; instead, he was very interested in the substantial rewards within the inner world.

Keep in mind that one can obtain more than ten fourth-tier spiritual items in a single go even in the outer areas. If one went to the core area, wouldn't the yield be doubled?
"I wonder when this place will open."

Xiao Chen only knew of the existence of the Vast Sea Secret Realm before, and had not heard any more information about it: "If we have the time, we can consider going to take a look."

"If it takes too long, then forget it."

"After we go out, we can ask someone for directions."

Although Xiao Chen didn't have any local acquaintances here.

But asking about the time isn't a big secret, so it shouldn't be difficult.

"There shouldn't be any omissions."

Xiao Chen inspected the storeroom again: "Overall, the Heavenly Sound Sect is much poorer than the Yin Corpse Sect."

Of course, he had made preparations for this before he came.

After all, the two sects are vastly different in strength, so the reserves of supplies in their respective warehouses are naturally incomparable.

Furthermore, some of the good items should be kept in a storage ring and carried with you.

However, Xiao Chen was not in a hurry to break the restriction. Instead, he planned to go outside and take a look first.

After all, he could sense that there were still many powerful auras of Dao True Monarchs outside, which meant that the other Nascent Soul cultivators had not yet left.

If nothing unexpected happens, these people should be waiting for him.

Since that's the case, he should come out and check the situation first.

While we're at it, let's also take a look around the library and see if we can find any useful information there.

Since we're already here, we definitely shouldn't miss any of the places we should visit.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Xiao Chen walked out of the warehouse at a leisurely pace and saw a large group of Tianyin Sect disciples kneeling on the wide road of the main peak.

He was truly surprised that none of these people had run away.

Based on past experience, by the time we came out of the warehouse, there should have been almost no one left.

Among those disciples, there were two leaders.

They were an elderly woman with white hair and the manager who had previously lifted the restrictions on the warehouse.

Upon seeing him emerge, they immediately bowed down in reverence.

Then he cried out, "Please, True Lord, spare my life!"

"We are completely unaware of the Yin Corpse Sect's practice of demonic cultivation, and we have absolutely no intention of practicing demonic arts."

"The previous marriage alliance was also insisted upon by the sect leader, and we had no choice but to comply."

"This heart is as clear as heaven and earth; not a single word of it is false!"

In fact, when they saw their own True Lord openly helping the Demonic True Lord and then being killed with a single blow, their first thought was to escape.

This does not mean that the Tianyin Sect has no loyal disciples.

As righteous cultivators, we are all well aware of the consequences of communicating with demons.

The evidence is conclusive that in the final moments, True Lord Yangjiu had no choice but to openly unleash his demonic powers in an attempt to save his life.

At this time, both the Yin Corpse Sect and the Tianyin Sect could be considered as demonic sects.

You must understand, this is no joke. Even if you die in battle within the sect, no one will appreciate or praise you. Instead, they will curse the remnants of the demonic path for dying a good death!
In that case, persisting becomes completely meaningless.

Naturally, no one would be willing to risk their life for a 'demonic cult' or a 'demon'.

Otherwise, a trusted confidant like the warehouse manager wouldn't have directly helped Xiao Chen remove the warehouse restrictions.

But when they tried to escape, they realized they had no room to run away.

The fact that the True Lords had stepped back to observe was equivalent to them unknowingly surrounding the entire Tianyin Sect from all sides.

With the multi-stage Nascent Soul cultivator standing in mid-air, the Tianyin Sect cultivators below had nowhere to escape, nowhere to go.

So, in their haste, they gathered together at the foot of the mountain.

After a hasty discussion, they simply turned around and knelt down in front of the warehouse to beg for mercy.

They hoped that Xiao Chen would ask to let them go.

It must be said that their judgment was correct, and they indeed found the right people.

As long as Xiao Chen doesn't make things difficult for them, the other True Monarchs won't stand up and express their objections at this time.

It could even help them shed their identity as remnants of a demonic cult.

After learning roughly about their request...

Xiao Chen naturally didn't deliberately make things difficult for anyone: "You don't need to panic, I know this matter has little to do with you."

"The Yin Corpse Sect has degenerated into a demonic sect from top to bottom, and all its disciples have gone astray."

"But you are different. You still retain the ability to distinguish right from wrong and have not resisted stubbornly in order to blindly pledge allegiance to the Demon Lord Shuyu."

"In that case, you should not be regarded as demonic cultivators."

"However, there's no need to stay at the Tianyin Sect anymore. Everyone, disperse and go down the mountain now."

Upon hearing this, the disciples were overjoyed and immediately kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "We thank True Lord Burning Demon for sparing our lives!"

Then, overjoyed and with his permission, they each chose a direction and hurriedly left this dangerous place.

The other Nascent Soul True Monarchs and disciples from various sects heard this.

As expected, no one tried to stop them; they were allowed to leave freely.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao is kind-hearted; he is truly a blessing to these cultivators."

True Monarch Canye was the first to approach and speak: "Otherwise, if they are regarded as remnants of the demonic path, nine out of ten of them will not escape their fate."

During the ancient war between good and evil, many disciples died unjustly because the higher-ups of sects practiced demonic arts.

There were even instances of righteous cultivators deliberately killing innocent people and claiming credit while fighting demons and protecting the righteous path.

They believed that declaring the entire sect as demonic cultivators and eradicating the reputation of the entire demonic sect sounded better than simply killing a demon.

However, Xiao Chen didn't think that counted as a reputation at all.

Moreover, he doesn't need that so-called reputation at all.

So he gently shook his head and denied it: "What kind of kindness is this? I was just telling the truth."

Lord Canye was taken aback at first, then immediately slapped his thigh: "Oh dear, look at my muddled brain, I didn't even understand such a simple principle."

"Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Xiao's words were like a thunderclap, instantly waking up a fool like me."

"A single conversation with you is worth more than ten years of study."

"It's a pity I didn't come to ask for advice sooner, otherwise I wouldn't have made such a fool of myself today."

what?
Is... is it?
His words completely stunned Xiao Chen.

I'm not as amazing as you say, am I?

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Xiao! Today you have vanquished the demon and protected the righteous path, eliminating a long-hidden scourge for our Eastern Region!"

True Monarch Lieque of the Divine Sword Pavilion immediately came over and congratulated him with cupped hands, saying, "Such a righteous act will surely save many innocent cultivators from being persecuted by demonic cultivators."

"This is truly a great and meritorious deed!"

"I congratulate Fellow Daoist Xiao, and also congratulate the tens of thousands of cultivators who have escaped the clutches of evil!"

Um, who are you?

Xiao Chen hadn't spent much time in the Storm Sea and hadn't met many people, so he didn't really know True Monarch Lieque.

They didn't even know many of the cultivators from the Divine Sword Pavilion.

But as the saying goes, you can't hit someone who's smiling at you.

The other party stepped forward with a smile to offer their congratulations, and he naturally returned the greeting with a polite bow: "Fellow Daoist, you flatter me!"

"I just happened to be there and did my best."

“Any fellow cultivator with a righteous heart, if they learned of the numerous crimes secretly committed by the Yin Corpse Sect, would surely make the same decision as me.”

"For example, didn't Fellow Daoist Ling also rush to fight against the demonic cultivators after noticing the abnormality?"

Ling Tianyi, who was still in a daze in the distance, was taken aback when he heard these words.

Then, his face immediately turned red, and he felt a sense of shame.

Fellow Daoist Xiao is still too simple and kind-hearted, thinking too highly of others.

Little did he know that his old sect leader had already learned about the situation of the Yin Corpse Sect, yet he was actually thinking of allowing the demonic path to expand.

This is intended to instigate a new round of conflict between good and evil, thereby securing benefits for the Demon-Slaying Sword Sect.

The contrast between the two sides further reveals that one side is of noble character, while the other side is of filthy mind.

Thinking of this, Ling Tianyi lowered his head in shame, but also felt a surge of admiration.

I sighed inwardly, thinking that people like Fellow Daoist Xiao, who are always eager to help others and uphold justice, are truly role models for us!

Of course, no one knows what he's thinking; they just assume that as a newly promoted True Lord, he's a bit thin-skinned and can't handle praise.

Moreover, at this moment, no one had time to care about Ling Tianyi's condition.

Everyone was focused on watching as Lord Lieque went up to offer his congratulations.

When he noticed that Xiao Chenyi didn't show any displeasure, and didn't refuse to smile at others just because of his high cultivation level, but instead responded with a polite smile.

Secondly, he did not become arrogant or complacent because he had wiped out the evil sect on his own, nor did he become conceited and blind to the others.

Instead, he spoke humbly and did not forget to praise Ling Tianyi later.

Everyone immediately gathered around, offering their congratulations one after another, and taking the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Xiao Chen and become acquainted with him.

A group of people formed a circle, surrounding Xiao Chen in the middle.

To be honest, it might be easier to deal with if they surrounded us and started fighting.

However, this polite and courteous offer of congratulations caught Xiao Chen off guard and left him somewhat overwhelmed.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen had already interacted with many other True Monarchs when he was in the Sea of ​​Compassion before coming here.

Gradually, I got used to some polite phrases.

Secondly, everyone was very cooperative during the communication.

First of all, everyone was very patient and tacitly waited for the previous person to finish speaking before the next person spoke.

Therefore, although Xiao Chen was surrounded by many people, when they actually started talking, it was actually very orderly and not chaotic at all.

Secondly, no matter what he says, the other person will very proactively respond, usually by praising him again from a different angle.

Even those who rarely appear in public, such as Hengyi Zhenjun, quickly realized that Xiao Chen seemed unable to recall their names and Buddhist titles.

So, during the conversation, they either subtly introduced themselves or cooperated with each other to make introductions.

In short, there were absolutely no awkward silences.

The talks were held in a warm atmosphere, with all parties speaking freely and fully expressing their demands.

The only one who was somewhat dissatisfied was Cui Yunxian, who, being a junior, had to speak last.

Xiao Chen was easier to talk to than she had imagined, which was a good thing.

But she was more popular than she had imagined.

(End of this chapter)