Chapter 50: Resource Hall

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Resource Hall

After stabilizing his newly advanced 5th Stage Qi Refinement cultivation and finishing cleaning his room, Li Jian finally sat down and began sorting through the spoils he had brought back.

The Ironback Demon Wolf’s beast core had already been handed over to the Mission Hall, leaving him with the remaining loot from his trip.

There were the materials he had found in the hidden cave, a few pieces of hardened wolf hide and several fangs he had kept for himself, the unused Nightshade Grass, and the small number of spirit herbs he had taken from the cave.

None of these items was valuable enough to change his life overnight.

Still, to an outer disciple like him, they were worth a decent amount of money if sold.

Li Jian stored everything inside the spatial ring before glancing at the ring on his finger.

After a moment, he began to consider whether he should get a storage pouch or something similar to keep his belongings in instead.

Wearing a spatial ring so openly was practically a way of showing off his wealth.

Even among the outer disciples, such a treasure was far from common.

Given his current status, carrying one around might attract more attention than he wanted.

However, after thinking it over for a while, Li Jian shook his head.

Perhaps the spatial ring was a valuable treasure to ordinary outer disciples, but to those with powerful backgrounds, it was hardly anything worth getting excited over.

Compared to the treasures possessed by wealthy families and influential sects, a single spatial ring was nothing particularly special.

Besides, hiding it wouldn’t necessarily make him safer.

If some greedy bastard among the outer disciples noticed it and decided to cause trouble, then so be it.

A faint smile crept across Li Jian’s face.

In fact, he wouldn’t mind if a few fools came looking for trouble.

After all, who knew? Perhaps he might even find himself another Su Qin and Han Jin.

The thought alone was enough to make him chuckle.

With that in mind, Li Jian adjusted his outer sect robes and stepped out of his residence.

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The afternoon paths of the outer sect were busier than usual.

Disciples moved in groups along the stone walkways, some heading toward the training grounds while others made their way to the Mission Hall to accept new assignments or report completed missions.

As Li Jian passed, a few disciples glanced in his direction, and some even whispered among themselves.

After all, he had become something of a topic of conversation lately. He was the unlucky fellow Senior Sister Zheng Qingyao had taken an interest in, the one who had been sent on a mission that many considered a death sentence, yet somehow managed to return alive.

Naturally, such a strange turn of events had attracted some attention.

However, no one approached him directly, and Li Jian couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to their gossip.

He simply continued along the path toward the Resource Hall.

Within the Purple Shade Sect, disciples were generally discouraged from casually trading valuable cultivation materials with outsiders.

Instead, the sect provided its own channels for exchanging such items, allowing disciples to trade them for contribution points or spirit stones at established rates.

The prices offered by the Resource Hall were usually lower than those available in the outside market, but the advantages were obvious.

Transactions were straightforward, the risk of being cheated was minimal, and there was no need to worry about attracting unwanted attention from strangers.

For Li Jian, that was more than enough.

He wasn’t trying to squeeze every last spirit stone out of his loot.

He simply wanted to turn the materials he no longer needed into something useful without creating unnecessary trouble.

Before long, the Resource Hall’s stone building came into view.

Several outer disciples were already waiting in line at the exchange counters, each carrying their own collection of materials to trade.

Li Jian joined the queue, casually observing the hall as he waited for his turn.

The line was considerably longer than usual.

On an ordinary day, exchanging a few herbs or beast materials would only take a short while.

Today, however, the queue stretched from the counters all the way to the stone steps outside.

Many disciples carried storage bags or bundles of materials, and their excited expressions suggested that they had made quite a haul.

Li Jian couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to cause such a commotion.

Before long, the two outer disciples standing in front of him began chatting in lowered voices.

"Did you hear? The Fragment Realm is booming again."

"Booming? I thought it had been quiet for months."

"That’s what everyone thought, too. But since yesterday, a bunch of disciples who’ve entered the realm have been coming back with herbs, spirit ores, and even a few low-grade treasures. The Resource Hall has been buying everything they bring out, so naturally, everyone’s rushing here to exchange their finds."

Li Jian’s ears perked up slightly.

’The Fragment Realm?’

He had heard of it after transmigrating into this body.

It was a small pocket realm under the Purple Shade Sect’s control.

Unlike the great secret realms of the cultivation world, it wasn’t a complete, independent realm but rather a fragment of an ancient world that had been destroyed long ago.

According to legend, when that world collapsed, pieces of it were scattered throughout the void.

Some of those fragments had survived, eventually becoming isolated spaces that could still be explored.

The Purple Shade Sect’s Fragment Realm was one such place.

Disciples could purchase an entry token for a fixed fee, enter the realm for a limited period, and search for whatever opportunities they could find.

These included spiritual herbs, spirit ores, and even the occasional treasure left behind by whoever had once inhabited the ancient world.

However, a question naturally arose.

If there are so many resources inside, why don’t the powerful elders explore it themselves?

After all, even the weakest elders were far stronger than ordinary outer disciples.

If anyone could explore the realm safely and gather its treasures faster, it should be them.

And the answer was surprisingly simple.

The Fragment Realm couldn’t withstand powerful cultivators.

Every fragment realm had its own limitations.

Some could accommodate powerful cultivators, while others could only withstand those at the Qi Refinement Realm, like the disciples of the outer sect.

If someone whose cultivation exceeded that limit attempted to enter, the realm would either reject them outright or, in the worst-case scenario, collapse under the pressure and destroy itself.

Naturally, no elder would risk destroying a valuable resource realm just to gather a few treasures.

That was why the sect allowed its disciples to explore the Fragment Realm instead.

For one thing, the sect wouldn’t need to spend its own resources sending powerful cultivators inside.

For another, the realm served as an excellent training ground where disciples could gain experience, test their abilities, and perhaps even stumble upon a valuable opportunity.

Anything they found could then be sold back to the sect through the Resource Hall, allowing the Purple Shade Sect to acquire the resources without having to collect them personally.

In simple terms, it was a treasure hunt.