Chapter 13: The Inventory

The streets of the Azure Cloud City were empty by the time Ao Kuiba returned home. The crowds had already dispersed, and the traders had rolled up their mats and returned their goods to their shops. Only a few cultivators were seen strolling leisurely about the street.

Ao Kuiba pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard.

The spiritual tree rustled in the wind, brushing against the setting sun.

Ao Kuiba walked to his cultivation chamber and shut the door behind him.

It was a modest room, one that barely catered to his needs, save for the view of the courtyard he could see from his chamber. Within the room laid only a dais of seated meditation posture on the room’s center, several formations carved onto the walls, and a small window facing the courtyard. Nothing else.

Ao Kuiba sat on the dais and closed his eyes.

He took out his spatial ring and opened it.

The ring’s interior was expansive, holding countless treasures he had collected over his eight-thousand years of cultivation and countless battles fought. Treasures he had forgotten about and treasures he had used. Countless items, all stored away in the ring.

Ao Kuiba began his inventory.

SPIRIT STONES

He had more than enough spirit stones. Low-grade stones, medium-grade stones, high-grade stones, and top-grade stones. The low-grade ones were stored in stacks, glistening with a dull glow that signified their content of spiritual energy. The medium-grade ones were stacked in a smaller pile, one that would fund a sect for a century. The high-grade ones he had only a few of, a couple hundred at most, each of which pulsed with dense spiritual energy that made his body itch just looking at them.

And finally, the top-grade ones. Only a handful of them, a dozen at most, each of which had more spiritual energy than anything the Azure Cloud City had to offer combined. Each of which would overwhelm his body if he were to utilize it now.

Ao Kuiba set them aside. They were too ostentatious, and he did not wish to draw any unwanted attention, but it was good to know they were there.

PILLS AND ELIXIRS

The pills and elixirs were where Ao Kuiba’s treasures were at their most useful.

Most of his pill collection was of a grade too high for him to use, Nascent Soul pills, Void-Refining elixirs, even a few immortal-grade pills and elixirs that would have ruptured his meridians at the very start of his cultivation. He knew what they were from the markings and aura each had, the memory of their creation and acquisition echoing within him.

But within the treasures, Ao Kuiba found a few useful items.

A bottle of Qi Cleansing Pills, low-grade, common, but good enough for Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment. The markings on the bottle were faded, but Ao Kuiba recognized it as a minor master from the Lower Realm he had encountered centuries ago.

A vial of low-grade Dragon’s Blood Elixir. It would be perfect for his body tempering, allowing him to reinforce his muscles without bursting his meridians.

A few other common pills and elixirs were set aside.

Ao Kuiba found something else in his collection, something that would reinforce his body tempering. A small pouch of Spirit Herb seeds, all of which were from the Upper Realm. They had been set aside for a purpose he had long since forgotten. Now, they would reinforce one of the stages of his body tempering within his Mini World.

Ao Kuiba smiled at that. It would be useful indeed.

ARTIFACTS AND WEAPONS

Ancient blades, weapons, and armor filled an entire segment of Ao Kuiba’s ring. Their auras were overwhelming, even the lowest ones would fetch him an incredibly high price in the Lower Realm.

Ao Kuiba pushed those aside.

Within the folds of this particular segment, Ao Kuiba found several more useful items.

A collection of Formation Discs, pre-carved formations that had only to be activated. Defensive formations, formations of trapping, and a few offensive formations, all of which were too strong for him to use save for a few. Three in total, one of defensive, one of concealment, and one of trapping. Not bad at all.

Ao Kuiba set those aside.

A few low-grade defensive talismans were set aside as well. Nothing special, nothing particularly useful or powerful, but they would do.

MATERIALS AND MINERALS

Rare metals and minerals filled an entire segment of the ring. Beast cores from beasts long extinct, herbs from the Upper Realm, ores and minerals that fetched exorbitant prices in the Lower Realm. All of it was useless to Ao Kuiba, at least for now.

Ao Kuiba pushed that segment aside.

Within the next one, he found several mid-grade materials that were good enough for now. Spirit ores, array materials, and finally, a few herbs of Foundation Establishment grade.

JADE SLIPS AND SCROLLS

Jade slips and scrolls wereAo Kuiba’s most valuable treasure of all. Cultivation techniques from a dozen different sects and schools, historical records and scrolls of the different realms, and other items of interest. It was his most valuable treasure, save for a few body tempering techniques suitable for his current needs.

Ao Kuiba looked at one such jade slip.

Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art

Ao Kuiba had acquired this particular technique in his second millennium, in the Western Wastes. It had been wasted on him, as he was far beyond the level it was suitable for at the time. But Ao Kuiba still remembered it well. It had been suitable for those of Foundation Establishment, and it focused on the body tempering of the cultivator.

Perfect for him now.

Ao Kuiba set the jade slip aside.

Another scroll, one of formation inheritance, caught his eye. Within it, seventeen lost formations of the ancient Era of Divine Dragons were inscribed. He had acquired this particular treasure in his third millennium, and it had gone unused till now.

Ao Kuiba would take a good look at it later.

THE MYSTERIOUS ITEMS

Ao Kuiba hesitated before opening this particular segment. Within it, the Void Serpent’s scale was placed on a bed of old silk. It was black, an inky black that seemed to absorb the very light around it. Ao Kuiba’s soul trembled at the sight of it, the memories of the past resurfacing before his eyes.

The poison that nearly killed him was extracted from this particular serpent’s bloodline, the Yin-Yang Severing Poison. The same poison that had been used on him during the Succession War.

Ao Kuiba placed the scale back into the box and returned it to the ring.

Something to look into in the future.

Alongside the scale laid one of the Thunder Ancestor Dragon’s scales. A huge, golden-black scale that hummed with dormant lightning. It was a treasure beyond words, one that Ao Kuiba could not use at his current level.

Ao Kuiba left it be.

And so did Ao Kuiba find something else that he had forgotten. A box, wooden, and unmarked, save for the lack of any formations barring the entrance. Ao Kuiba did not remember acquiring it, did not remember what was within it.

Ao Kuiba almost opened it. But in the end, he did not.

THE ITEMS HE COULD USE NOW

Ao Kuiba looked at all the items he had selected for later.

A bottle of Qi Cleansing Pills, a vial of low potency Dragon’s Blood Elixir, three formation discs, a few defensive talismans, the body tempering technique, and some spirit her hand seeds, along with cultivation materials for his Qi Condensation stage. Nothing much, but it would do.

Ao Kuiba had three weeks till the auction, and three weeks was enough time to reinforce his Foundation and body tempering. He had the materials, the techniques, and the time, all he needed was the effort.

Ao Kuiba took the Qi Cleansing Pills and looked at them. One pill a day, for a week, and his meridians would be cleansed, his Qi purified. By the end of the week, he would be stronger than before.

Ao Kuiba looked at the vial of Dragon’s Blood Elixir. A drop a day, during his body tempering, and his body would be reinforced massively. He would feel the pain of his muscles growing, but Ao Kuiba had long since learned to steel his mind against it.

Finally, Ao Kuiba took the jade slip with the body tempering technique on it and read it.

HOURS LATER

The moonlight poured through the small window, casting shadows on the ground as the spiritual tree rustled in the wind.

Ao Kuiba put the jade slip down.

He had memorized the technique. The Nine Cycles Body Tempering Art was simple yet effective, nine cycles of body reinforcing, each one stronger than the last. It was meant for those at the peak of Qi Condensation, those on the verge of Foundation Establishment.

And Ao Kuiba was right at that point.

Ao Kuiba set the jade slip aside and took out the cultivation materials. On his palm laid the fragment of the spirit stone vein, one of the mid-grade ones. The fragment would reinforce the array within his chamber, allowing him to increase the density of the Qi within it, thus allowing him to cultivate faster.

Ao Kuiba set to work.

When he was done, a cultivation array hummed at the center of the room, the fragment of the spirit stone vein within it, increasing the Qi density within the room. It was not enough to alert the outside world, but it would be enough to let him cultivate.

Ao Kuiba sat within the array, the Qi Cleansing Pills in his hand.

He had three weeks to prepare. Three weeks till the auction. Three weeks till the Violet Cloud Summit.

Ao Kuiba swallowed the pill and closed his eyes.

The Qi surged through his meridians, and he began to cultivate.