Chapter 451: Opening the Storage Bag

Wuliu Mountain.

With Chen Mobai leading the Divine Wood Sect army stationed there, Wuliu Mountain became the center of cultivation exchanges in Yan Country after the destruction of Hanshan Peak. In a short time, buildings of wood and stone sprang up, forming a large market. However, cultivators had no concept of urban planning, so the market was somewhat chaotic.

After Chen Mobai resolved the issue of the Golden Liquid Jade Restoration Pill, he was in high spirits. As he strolled through the market with his young apprentice, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly upon observing the disorder.

"Master, what's wrong?" Luo Yixuan, always keenly observing her master when by his side, immediately noticed his reaction and asked.

"Although this spontaneously formed market at Wuliu Mountain is perfectly safe because our sect is stationed here, the buildings are haphazardly arranged, lacking aesthetics. The streets are also messy and disorganized, leading to overcrowding in many areas. Overall, it gives a sense of chaos, which isn't ideal." Chen Mobai spoke casually to his own disciple, expressing his thoughts freely.

"So, Master, will you order a reorganization?" Luo Yixuan asked again. After the fall of Hanshan Peak, with the two Core Formation grand ancestors not interfering, Chen Mobai, as the lead general, held the highest position in the Yan Country cultivation world. If he spoke, no one would dare utter a word, even if he ordered the market to be leveled.

"That won't be necessary. Rather than destroying and then rebuilding, I prefer to start anew and establish something fresh." This way, it wouldn't cause any disruption to the current Wuliu Mountain market. He was, in fact, already scouting locations, planning to soon lead the Divine Wood Sect disciples to another third-tier spirit vein location in Yan Country to build a well-planned, large-scale market there.

Luo Yixuan didn't fully understand Chen Mobai's words, but that didn't stop her from committing them to memory. She believed that once her cultivation realm advanced in the future, she would surely comprehend them completely.

"Hanshan Peak Earth Master refined ores, selling cheap...""Hanshan Peak true lineage body refining cultivation method, Qi Condensation complete volume, can swear a Dao Heart Oath to guarantee authenticity...""Second-hand magical artifacts, only used by myself in this war, cheap sale for spirit stones...""First-tier talismans..."As the master and disciple navigated the crowded market streets, they observed the signs on the stalls lining both sides of the road and listened to the loud hawking, finding themselves quite intrigued.

Last time, Chen Mobai had stumbled upon an Earth Master inheritance and second-tier Earth Fiend Qi in the Rolling Thunder Mountain market, so after dealing with the high-level matters this time, he was eager to browse here as well.

"Master, this item seems quite good." Luo Yixuan's attention was drawn to an exquisite and lustrous jade pendant on a stall. The pendant was fiery red, and when she picked it up, it contrasted beautifully with her fair, delicate skin, making it appear exceptionally rosy and vibrant.

"It's a mid-grade first-tier magical artifact. Wearing it protects against external evils, prevents cold intrusion, and subtly nourishes one's spiritual sense. It's decent." Although Chen Mobai's knowledge of appraising treasures was only basic, he was, after all, a top student about to graduate from the Weapon Dao Academy. He could easily identify these first-tier magical artifacts, and if he wished, he could even deduce their refinement techniques and incantations.

"Fellow cultivator, what's the price of this artifact...?" Upon hearing this, Luo Yixuan immediately began haggling with the stall owner. Seizing the opportunity, Chen Mobai started browsing the neighboring stalls.

Although he concealed his cultivation, his aura, far surpassing that of Qi Condensation cultivators, caused the stall owners to subtly suspect his eminence, prompting them to take out their best items from their storage bags. Unfortunately, at Chen Mobai's cultivation realm, even ordinary second-tier spiritual items were of little use to him.

After Luo Yixuan contentedly purchased the jade pendant for twenty spirit stones, Chen Mobai also bought a second-tier lightning-struck stone. This was an ore struck by heavenly lightning, containing a trace of refined lightning essence qi within. Cultivators wishing to practice lightning arts could extract it, refine it into their own spiritual power, and comprehend the profound mysteries of lightning essence.

For Chen Mobai, who had already perfected the third-tier Azure Wood Divine Lightning, this was naturally useless. "Take it. With this, your 'Ren Water Lightning Art' will be perfected." Chen Mobai handed the lightning-struck stone to his young apprentice beside him, and Luo Yixuan's face lit up with surprise upon hearing his words.

Her Black Water Cultivation had long reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, but the Ren Water Lightning Art recorded within its techniques had always eluded her complete mastery. This was a small blow to Luo Yixuan, who had always considered herself the most gifted among the second generation of Xiao Nan Mountain. After all, her master, Chen Mobai, was not only a sword dao genius but also a lightning art genius. She had originally thought that even if she couldn't inherit his sword dao, she should at least inherit his lightning art. But only after practicing the lightning art herself did she realize how difficult it was. Even with Chen Mobai's guidance, she barely managed to grasp the basics, yet she could never use it proficiently or control it freely. This made Luo Yixuan keenly aware of the enormous gap in talent between herself and her master. Compared to Chen Mobai, she was merely an ordinary cultivator.

"Master, you're so good to me." Luo Yixuan happily put the lightning-struck stone into her storage bag with a joyful expression. Over the years, the three disciples of the Xiao Nan Mountain lineage had grown accustomed to Chen Mobai's style, which differed greatly from other masters in the Eastern Wilderness. They no longer felt embarrassed or even dared not accept the items he bestowed upon them.

"Oh, Master, there's even an Earth Master inheritance here!" As the master and disciple reached a stall selling cultivation methods and inheritances, Luo Yixuan spotted something she had previously received from Chen Mobai. She immediately knelt down, picked up the pamphlet, and saw that its contents were identical to the first two volumes she already possessed.

"Immortal maiden, after Hanshan Peak was destroyed, these things circulated. Many Hanshan Peak disciples who fled the battlefield were captured by rogue cultivators. After their storage bags were plundered, they were forced, using mind-confusing arts, to transcribe the cultivation methods. This ensures the techniques and inheritances are authentic." The stall owner was a young man who, upon seeing the fairy-like beauty of Luo Yixuan, spoke at length with a slightly fawning manner.

"Oh, you're so familiar with this. Could it be that you're a rogue cultivator?" Luo Yixuan's bright eyes narrowed as she asked the young stall owner a question that made his face turn slightly pale.

"Oh, no, no, I only heard it from people in the market; it's not necessarily true..." Seeing his frightened demeanor, Chen Mobai nodded slightly. When the Wuliu Mountain market was established, he had roughly set a few rules: besides prohibiting combat, he forbade rogue cultivators from entering. He knew that in the Eastern Wilderness, most rogue cultivators had secretly engaged in banditry. Yet, he still set this rule to establish a common understanding in the Wuliu Mountain market: rogue cultivators were not to show their faces here. If they acted as rogue cultivators outside, Chen Mobai wouldn't interfere, but if they did so within his territory, their only fate was death. Changing the atmosphere of the Eastern Wilderness would begin here.

The master and disciple continued to browse for a while. Chen Mobai bought a few more second-tier spiritual items, and just as they were about to leave, he suddenly discovered something interesting at one of the stalls.

"How are these ores sold?" Due to the abundance of minerals in Yan Country, Hanshan Peak, besides its body cultivators, was most famous for its Earth Master inheritance, possessing a myriad of strange and varied ores.

"Fellow Daoist, these are all second-tier minerals. Each is fifty spirit stones, and if you buy more, I can give you a ten percent discount." The stall owner was an old man with an ordinary appearance, but his eyes were very sharp, making him seem not very old.

Chen Mobai glanced over the dozen or so minerals on the stall and picked out three of them. The stall owner's expression changed slightly; he had deliberately placed those items there, not expecting them to be recognized so quickly.

"Fellow Daoist is an expert. For these three crystals, just give me whatever price you deem fair." Chen Mobai was slightly surprised by the stall owner's words but then nodded gently. He felt that the old man in front of him must have recognized him, which was why he spoke that way.

The old-looking stall owner put the five hundred spirit stones left by Chen Mobai into his storage bag. He looked at the slightly greedy glances from his fellow vendors around him, feeling a hint of worry. But then he straightened his chest and continued setting up his stall. When the Wuliu Mountain market first opened, some bold rogue cultivators committed crimes, but none escaped far. They were personally apprehended by several Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Divine Wood Sect, and their bodies were left hanging on stakes at the foot of the mountain, not even dried by the wind. After two such executions, no rogue cultivator dared to operate within the Wuliu Mountain territory anymore.

"Master, second-tier minerals in the market are only around fifty spirit stones each. Why did you pay so much?" On the way back to the mountain peak, Luo Yixuan's face was filled with confusion.

"These aren't ordinary ores; they're refined second-tier fiend qi crystals," Chen Mobai said calmly, holding two emerald-green crystals.

"Ah..." Luo Yixuan clearly hadn't noticed it, but then she remembered the old stall owner mentioning "crystals" at the end. Evidently, he knew what they were and had deliberately placed them on the stall to attract those looking for a bargain. He just didn't expect that Chen Mobai would be the one to come across them. He must have known the master and disciple's identities, so he didn't dare play any tricks and could only conduct business honestly. However, Chen Mobai was also a righteous person; giving him five hundred spirit stones was considered a fair market price.

"These two are second-tier Clear Wind Fiends, which are useful for my Scarlet Cloud Smoke Gauze. And this one is a second-tier Peach Blossom Fiend, which can be taken back to upgrade Ming'er's Five Transformations Umbrella again." There were actually other fiend qi crystals at that stall, but only these three were useful to Chen Mobai.

"Senior Sister will definitely be very happy if she knows." Luo Yixuan, beside him, also had a happy expression. She knew Chen Mobai liked his disciples to love and care for each other. Over the years, by pretending to, she had gradually opened her heart and seemed to genuinely be transforming into that kind of person.

"These fiend qi crystals require a second-tier Earth Master to refine. Go inquire about this stall owner. If he's an Earth Master, ask him if he's interested in joining the Divine Wood Sect." Chen Mobai always valued talent. In the Eastern Wilderness, a second-tier professional could already serve as an outer elder in one of the Seven Great Sects.

"Yes, Master!" After Luo Yixuan obediently excused herself, Chen Mobai went to the summit of Wuliu Mountain, where rows of wooden houses stood. His was the topmost one. The others belonged to the Divine Wood Sect's other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Wuliu Mountain was originally a third-tier spirit vein, but Yue Zutao, in order to cultivate the precious medicinal herbs painstakingly transplanted from Hanshan Peak, did not hesitate to dissipate the spirit vein's essence and distribute it to the spirit fields. This resulted in the spirit vein at the summit now being only upper-grade second-tier at most. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, a second-tier spirit vein was just enough to maintain their cultivation progress. Furthermore, during this war, they had seized many storage bags from Hanshan Peak cultivators, obtaining a good number of spirit stones. In situations of insufficient spiritual energy, cultivating with a few more spirit stones was no worse than cultivating in a third-tier spirit vein.

In his room, Chen Mobai meticulously appraised the three fiend qi crystals. Although he had already inspected them with his Void-Piercing Spiritual Eyes in the market, he re-examined them for peace of mind. After confirming they were fine, he placed them in his own storage bag, then took out seven or eight other storage bags.

These were his spoils from slaying Hanshan Peak's Foundation Establishment cultivators. He had been fully focused on the war before, and only after relaxing now did he have time to open the bags.

His powerful eighth-layer Foundation Establishment spiritual sense surged forth, quickly erasing the spiritual imprints within these storage bags one by one. However, when he reached the last two storage bags, Chen Mobai found that his spiritual sense could not penetrate them. This indicated that the spiritual sense cultivation of these two storage bag owners was higher than his own.

Chen Mobai recalled collecting these from Ai Tuo's body. That shouldn't be right; among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Hanshan Peak who died by his hand, only Ji Dingjin had a higher cultivation realm than him. Even if one belonged to Ji Dingjin, whose was the other? Or perhaps Ai Tuo, despite only being a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, actually had a perfected Foundation Establishment spiritual sense realm?

As Chen Mobai pondered this, he suddenly noticed that one of the storage bags, exquisitely bordered with gold thread, looked somewhat familiar. Its style seemed similar to the storage bag of the female disciple from Xuanxiao Dao Palace he had opened before. Could it be Xuan Qiao's storage bag? Chen Mobai recalled that after he had slain Xuan Qiao with his Primordial Yang Sword Fiend, Xuan Qiao died in Ji Dingjin's arms. It was therefore normal for Xuan Qiao's storage bag to have fallen into Ji Dingjin's possession. Later, Ji Dingjin was determined to die and naturally wouldn't have carried the storage bag to give to Chen Mobai; perhaps he had Ai Tuo take it away. After a series of reasonable deductions, Chen Mobai first picked up the storage bags he had already opened with his spiritual sense and then emptied them one by one.

In a short while, the floor of the moderately spacious wooden house was covered with piles of spirit stones, pills, minerals, books, and other items. His spiritual sense surged forth, and he quickly finished inventorying everything. There were approximately twenty-seven thousand spirit stones in total. The minerals, suitable for collection by Foundation Establishment cultivators, were at least second-tier, and there were even two third-tier Life-generating Stones. These stones contained extremely gentle spirit vein essence. If placed in an upper-grade second-tier spirit field and dissolved using a special method, they could yield one mu of third-tier spirit field. These two Life-generating Stones were obtained from Ai Tuo's storage bag.

Chen Mobai cherished them; his Xiao Nan Mountain currently had no third-tier spirit fields. Upgrading two mu would allow him to lead Zhuo Ming in attempting hybridization experiments with third-tier spirit rice once the Azure Jade Spirit Rice and Jade Bamboo Spirit Rice matured.

Next, he sorted out the pills and placed them into a dedicated storage bag. This bag also contained the pills he had previously obtained from Xuan Jinzhi's storage bag. Together, they were worth four to five thousand spirit stones. As for the remaining books, Chen Mobai merely flipped through them. They were all body refining techniques from Hanshan Peak or Earth Master inheritances, none of which contained a spell as surprising as the "Falling Treasure Golden Light."

He selected the books related to Earth Master inheritances, planning to give them to Luo Yixuan tomorrow. Although this disciple had not yet begun her Earth Master inheritance, he, as her teacher, would certainly support her interest.

After organizing everything, Chen Mobai looked at the last two storage bags. He went to the wooden table in his room, took out his talisman crafting tools, drew out a second-tier emerald jade talisman paper and straightened it. His brush moved like a dragon and snake, effortlessly drawing the seal-breaking talisman.

Soon, these two storage bags were also unsealed by him. With anticipation in his heart, Chen Mobai emptied them one by one this time, first picking up the one with gold threading.

The first items to fall out were ten crystalline upper-grade spirit stones. Seeing this, Chen Mobai's lips curved into a grin, and he couldn't help but chuckle aloud. This fellow was far richer than his junior sister Xuan Jinzhi. Were the storage bags of Xuanxiao Dao Palace's Foundation Establishment cultivators always so bountiful, yielding upper-grade spirit stones as a minimum?

Subsequently, two golden halberds, five golden crystals, and a large quantity of pills also tumbled from the storage bag onto the floor. The golden crystals were identical to Xuan Jinzhi's and could be used to cultivate the Falling Treasure Golden Light. Chen Mobai also remembered the golden halberds; when he had fought Xuan Qiao before, the latter had used similar ones. Their explosive power was immense, almost comparable to his Azure Flame Sword Fiend. It was a pity they were ultimately deformed by his Five-Elements Sword Finger.

After appraising these two golden halberds, Chen Mobai realized that their low quality was the reason for their deformation. These golden halberds were merely low-grade second-tier magical artifacts, yet they were disposable artifacts. When used with Xuan Qiao's secret cultivation method, they could unleash power nearly equivalent to a third-tier artifact at the cost of their own destruction.

Although Chen Mobai did not cultivate the Xuanxiao Dao Palace's techniques, with his foundation in treasure appraisal, he could deduce the refinement methods and incantations of these golden halberds if he put in the effort. To him, these artifacts were not very useful, inferior even to a casual sword fiend slash from him. However, they could be bestowed upon his disciples. While Qi Condensation cultivators couldn't unleash the full power of the golden halberds, they could perform wonders at critical moments.

After inventorying Xuan Qiao's storage bag, Chen Mobai picked up Ji Dingjin's, opened its mouth, and gently tilted it towards the ground. With thudding sounds, silver-gray ores fell onto the wooden floor, making a dull noise.

"Oh, this is..." Chen Mobai was initially somewhat disbelieving. Only after picking up a piece and meticulously appraising it multiple times did he confirm that it was Void-Eroding Stone.

Ji Dingjin's storage bag surprisingly contained only Void-Eroding Stones. Chen Mobai counted them; there were thirty-eight pieces in total. These appeared to be raw ores, unpolished, irregular in shape, but similar in size. Void-Eroding Stones were implicitly considered third-tier in the Eastern Wilderness, with each piece worth thousands of spirit stones. In other words, Ji Dingjin's bag contained nearly forty thousand spirit stones.