Chapter 386: The Treasury of the Asked Dao Sect

Yunzhi had indeed forgotten about the patent fees. The Dao Seeking Sect had two main sources of income: patent fees from Hundred Refinement Peak and medicinal pill fees from Pill Cauldron Peak. Combined, these two sources could cover the operational costs of nearly half the Dao Seeking Sect.

Elder Wu and Elder Qi paid spirit stones to her, the acting Sect Master, every month. Elder Wu, in particular, submitted many types of patent fees, and Lu Yang's patent fees were mixed in with them. Yunzhi had inadvertently overlooked them.

She flipped through the ledgers and found Lu Yang's patent fees.

"There are two months of flying vehicle patent fees, totaling 110,000 spirit stones." Flying vehicles had just been developed and were not yet widespread, so the initial patent fees were low.

"Come with me to the treasury to retrieve them." Lu Yang's patent fees had been impounded, so they naturally had to be taken from the sect's public accounts.

"The treasury?" Lu Yang and Immortal Lady Bu Xiu were both surprised, not expecting the Dao Seeking Sect to have such a place. On second thought, it made sense; even a humble place like the Nine Nether Sect had a treasury, so there was no reason for the Dao Seeking Sect not to. If it didn't, where would the sect's money be kept? Lu Yang simply hadn't encountered it before.

"Is it far?"

"It's right here on Heavenly Gate Peak."

After leaving the pine forest and walking about two hundred meters, they arrived. Yunzhi walked along a winding path, then through a pine forest, which was where Daoist Bu Yu had once been imprisoned.

"It's here." Under the watchful eyes of Immortal Lady Bu Xiu and Lu Yang, Yunzhi lightly tapped the stone wall. Dense cracks appeared on the wall, which then shattered with a crash, scattering fragments everywhere. "This is it."

Lu Yang was surprised that the treasury was on Heavenly Gate Peak. What puzzled him more was that, as the sect's foundation, the treasury should ideally be guarded by elders or protected by formations to ensure its security. Why did the Dao Seeking Sect's treasury not even have a single guard? Even if the Dao Seeking Sect had a protective grand formation and wasn't afraid of external enemies, weren't they worried about insiders infiltrating the treasury? After all, Senior Sister wasn't on Heavenly Gate Peak every day; she frequently went out for various matters.

Immortal Lady Bu Xiu chuckled, "Who said there's no one guarding it?"

"Who is it?"

Immortal Lady Bu Xiu smirked, refusing to answer no matter how Lu Yang pressed her. Sharing one body, the two bickered as they entered the treasury, then fell silent.

The treasury contained various treasures Lu Yang had never seen, including natural treasures and refined artifacts whose functions and levels he couldn't discern. Immortal Lady Bu Xiu recognized them all.

"That landscape painting contains mountains, rivers, and a whole nation. It's an ink masterpiece by a great painter, capable of stabilizing territories. It's ancient, and its function conflicts with national destiny, so it might be a treasure from the Great Yu Dynasty."

"See that small red cauldron? It's made of Blood-Patterned Iron, which can be found in perilous extremes—the bottom of the deep sea, the origin of glaciers, the deepest parts of stellar cores... it's a natural creation. Some even claim the blood patterns on the iron are the blood of the heavens, though that's an exaggeration. Blood-Patterned Iron is extremely rare worldwide; it's primarily for offense. A piece the size of a fingernail can cause cultivators at the Body Integration stage to fight over it, let alone a large chunk like this."

"And this fruit, though it looks crystal clear like jade, is actually a fruit. Its name is Azure Nether Jade Fruit. One fruit can transform an ordinary five-element mixed spiritual root into the purest single spiritual root, and you can freely choose what type of spiritual root it becomes."

"The essence of ocean souls, Sea Soul Crystal..."

"Shields refined from Profound Yellow Qi..."

"These are all good things," Immortal Lady Bu Xiu said with slight surprise. The treasures stored in the treasury exceeded her expectations.

It was a storage equivalent only to that of an immortal. Although she was the foremost among the Five Immortals of antiquity, she was the poorest of the five, with fewer planets, smaller territories, and fewer tributes. Sometimes she even had to feign death to scam contributions. Even so, she was richer than the Dao Seeking Sect. In ancient times, besides the Five Immortals, there were many cultivators at the Tribulation Transcending stage. These cultivators formed various large and small forces. The Dao Seeking Sect's treasury could rival that of the largest among the Tribulation Transcending forces! With Heavenly Daoist, Venerable Guiyuan (the founder of the immortal sect concept), and Lord Han Hai (the Ancestor of Revival) at the helm, it was no surprise to find such treasures!

Lu Yang said with a hint of pride, his voice rising, "My Dao Seeking Sect has stood for 120,000 years, enduring from the time of its founding patriarchs..." Immortal Lady Bu Xiu pondered this and realized it was indeed the case.

Hearing Lu Yang's proud tone, Yunzhi reminded him, "Our Dao Seeking Sect wasn't always this rich. Lord Han Hai lived 50,000 years ago; his legacy couldn't sustain us until now. Moreover, two or three thousand years ago, the sect went through a difficult period, and many valuable items were consumed to maintain its normal operations. Most of the treasures you see now were tricked from the Nine Nether Sect nine hundred years ago."

Lu Yang: "..."

This was only the outermost part of the treasury. Yunzhi led them further inside; the deeper they went, the more astonishing the value of the items became.

When they reached about halfway into the treasury, Yunzhi stopped. On either side were two mountains piled high with supreme-grade spirit stones.

Yunzhi dug out ten high-grade spirit stones from the mountain of supreme-grade spirit stones. These valuable high-grade spirit stones looked insignificant, like impurities, amidst the two mountains of supreme-grade spirit stones.

The market value of ten high-grade spirit stones was equivalent to 100,000 low-grade spirit stones. However, that was the market price. In actual transactions, converting low-grade spirit stones to high-grade ones incurred a premium; roughly ten high-grade spirit stones could be exchanged for 110,000 low-grade spirit stones.

Immortal Lady Bu Xiu was still controlling Lu Yang's body. Senior Sister Yunzhi handed over the high-grade spirit stones, but found Immortal Lady Bu Xiu staring blankly into the depths of the treasury. She realized she had underestimated them; the Dao Seeking Sect's true resources were more astonishing than she had imagined, possibly even more valuable than her own private stash!

If the outer part of the treasury contained items used by cultivators at the Body Integration and Tribulation Transcending stages, then these two mountains of supreme-grade spirit stones were the dividing line. Inside the treasury were semi-immortal artifacts, talismans, and natural treasures beneficial even to semi-immortal beings! In the deepest part of the treasury, there was a faint, indistinct light spot. Immortal Lady Bu Xiu wasn't sure what it was, but judging by its aura, it seemed like a never-before-seen prototype of a Dao Fruit – no, the aura was even stronger than that of a Dao Fruit prototype...

"Immortal Lady, Immortal Lady?" Lu Yang called out twice, and Immortal Lady Bu Xiu snapped out of her trance.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yang asked, curious.

"Nothing much. This immortal merely feels that your sect's resources are barely worthy of this immortal's title as the foremost of all ages!" Immortal Lady Bu Xiu declared, raising her head with full confidence.

After leaving the treasury, Immortal Lady Bu Xiu returned control of the body to Lu Yang, whose face went pale. "Oh no, I've been continuously using the Village in Palm technique!" Even if maintaining the Village in Palm didn't consume much spiritual power, it couldn't be sustained for such a long time. He quickly dispelled the spell and poured out everything from his mind: stones, branches, a quacking duck...

Lu Yang watched the duck flapping about, silently. Having one Immortal Lady Bu Xiu on Heavenly Gate Peak was annoying enough; he certainly couldn't keep a duck as well.

As night fell, the aroma of roasted duck filled the air. After a struggle, Lu Yang first defeated the duck, then Immortal Lady Bu Xiu, finally earning the right to cook. He presented the roasted duck to Senior Sister, who had been waiting for a long time.